Friday's Fave Five

What kind of blogger posts a Friday post late on a Saturday???  Well that would be me - better late than never, right? Of course my Dad would say, "A day late and a dollar short."  :)

I was far too busy to post on Friday and the whole Blogger being down thing didn't help.  And by the time I got home last night, I was too tired.  Today I was busy - hubs and I were trying to get caught up on a few things around the house.  You should be glad about that 'cause now there are no more tufts of dog hair floating along the floor - ew.  OK - so here's Friday's post...finally:

I thought it would be fun to join in Friday's Fave Five today, hosted by Living to Tell the Story!  I like randomness and I like to share some of my fave things - sounds like fun!

Some of my fave things this week...

1.  Pinterest.  Have you been there?  Love it!  You might get addicted to "pinning" things - don't say I didn't warn you.  It's like visual bookmarking and it makes me happy.  I was having trouble getting an invite and through the connections of Twitter, the lovely and talented Lisa Leonard got me an official invite so I could get signed up (Thank you Lisa)!  You can check out my Yummy Things to Make board (in progress) to give you an idea of what it's like.  According to Pinterest, you can request an invite here and they will e-mail you one.

2.  Happy Hour at Starbucks.  It was a fun treat to have some half-price frappuccinos this week.  And it's still going on through Sunday (3-5pm)!

3.  Not turning on the A/C yet.  By this time, the A/C has usually been running for a while, but we have had cooler weather this year.  So we haven't turned it on once!  Now it did get up to 80 degrees in the house a couple of times, but that's what we set our thermostat at anyway so no need to start it up.  It'll be turning on soon enough, I'm sure!

4.  My kiddo's professional e-mail skillz.  My son is the Patrol Leader for the youngest/newest Boy Scouts and is learning as he goes along.  He needed to send an e-mail to remind a Scout about something and I didn't tell him what he should say.  Later on I had a chance to see what he had sent out and I was so impressed at his professional little e-mail (since he's only 11)!  Here it is:

Hi J.....!
               I wanted to remind you that if you have any gear from Camp O
Ree,  you need to wash it and give it back to N..... because he is the
quartermaster. If you have any gear after a campout, you should have it done 
by the next meeting if you can. See you at the meeting.
                         
Thanks,
                       
B.....  :)

Maybe it sounds like no big deal, but I liked it!  Anybody wanna hire my kid?  :)

5.  My friend Brooke's blog post: the kindness of God {to the aspiring writers}.  Such a good post and talked about something I have definitely struggled with in the past and probably most bloggers have struggled with at one time or another.  It's about wanting what someone else has in the blogging/writing world.  I love Brooke's heart!  You should check out her blog: A Life in Need of Change.  You won't regret it!

Whew - that's 5!!  What are some of your fave things this week?

Stop over at Living to Tell the Story to see everybody's Fave Five!

Have a lovely weekend friends!

Saturday Happenings

I had high hopes of using this day to catch up on all sorts of cleaning since I'm so far behind on the 31 Days to Clean challenge.  It didn't happen, but that's OK - it was a nice day!  And you know what?  All that cleaning will still be waiting right here for me - LOL!!

The morning started out late - slept in - so nice.  Then hubs made me a caramel latte...

A yummy way to start the day!  And my kiddo insisted on making pancakes all by himself this morning!  Is that because I did such a good job teaching him how?  Oh no, that's because he learned how on a Boy Scout campout!  :)  (Boy Scouts rock.)  He made awesome pancakes - something I have not been able to do well in a long time for some reason.

And he surprised me with a smiley face pancake!

It's a little hard to see - but isn't that so cute and sweet?

A little later, in order to help the kiddo get signed off on a Boy Scout requirement that he needed, we went on a spontaneous outing with another family to locate some poison oak - I know, FUN - LOL!  But it was a beautiful day and nice to be in the great outdoors!

Success!  Don't get too close to your screen - that there is poison oak.

After that, it just happened to be Happy Hour at Starbucks, so we made a detour into the drive-through for some half-price Frappuccinos!  Woo Hoo!  Well, when we got ot the window to pay, the employee told us there was no charge because the man in front of us had paid for our drinks.  Sweet!!  Hubs was completely baffled by this (LOL) and I had to explain that it was a random act of kindness.  Good thing I was there or hubs might not have realized that the fun thing to do is to then pay for the car behind you - which we did!  How lovely - free frapps for us and an unexpected blessing for the car behind us. 

Now THAT'S what I call Happy Hour!!  :)

And then this evening we attended the kiddo's school Western Fair.  It was really fun!  We had some yummy food, visited with friends, played some games, and I line-danced!  Yes I did!  And hubs (who did not dance) was not even embarrassed of me...or so he says.  :)

Here's a pic of me and the kiddo before the Western Fair...

Did I accomplish what I set out to do when the day started?  Not at all.  Was it a good day?  Yes it was.  :)

How was your day?  Enjoy your weekend friends and Happy Mother's Day!

Another Reason I Had To Come Back

There is another reason why I simply had to come back to my blog!

How else could I continue using my fave customized Starbucks card??

LOL!  Hope you all are enjoying a beautiful day!

Wordless Wednesday: The Busiest Starbucks?

When I was in Florida recently, I saw something I had never seen!  Now I have been to many different Starbucks locations in a few different states (and yes, I'm a gold member), but these Florida Starbucks people must be *really* obsessed!  Do you see this Starbucks sign?

It's ACROSS the street from a Starbucks with a parking lot and a drive-thru!!  Wow.  That's it - I'm buying stock.  LOL!  Have you ever seen a sign like this?

For more Wordless Wednesday pics, be sure to stop by 5 Minutes For Mom!

The Coffee's Always Better On The Other Side

So I mentioned that I went to visit my friend Kim from Homesteader's Heart last week.  That involved traveling from one side of the country to the other - exciting!

I must say - she took me to some very exciting Florida destinations right off the bat!  Here's one:

But that's not all - she took me here too:

Apparently all the Florida coffee shops are called "Arbucks Coffee."  ;)

What could be better?  How about Starbucks on the beach??

Who would write such a thing in the sand?  Probably some California chick...

Not realizing that I was actually a latte drinker rather than a *coffee* drinker, coffee-loving Kim provided me with an adorable coffee mug and a bag of Starbucks coffee (along with sugar and half 'n half, of course!) to use during my stay.  

Actually, she got me Vanilla Starbucks coffee, but it's gone, baby gone (I prefer the vanilla flavor to the caramel as the caramel is a little too bold for me).

Wanting to be just like Kim, I got *brave* and brewed myself coffee!  I discovered that I don't need as much sugar and half 'n half as I expected (though it's still a lot) so I'll be drinking the coffee from now on - with occasional lattes.  :)

And speaking of having coffee with Kim, did you see our video yet?  We show you - in between laughter - how to make your own pumpkin spice lattes and they're yummy!  Go check it out if you haven't!

Disclosurish stuff:  Hard to believe, but Starbucks did not sponsor this post!  This is all on my own.  And no, I am not obsessed.  Really!  However, I am a Starbucks gold member.  I've even got a coupon for a free Starbucks drink (that I earned myself) in my purse - and I'm not afraid to use it.

More Florida adventures tomorrow...

Have a fabulous day friends!

Tea for Two-sday ~ Starbucks Tea Lattes

Have you tried the new Tea Lattes or Tea Infusions at Starbucks? Starbucks is finally having TeaTime!

I've had a couple of the Tea Lattes and I definitely like them. There are 3 flavors - Vanilla Rooibos, London Fog (made with Earl Grey tea), and Black Tea. All are made with Tazo teas. There are also 2 flavors of infusions (Chai tea mixed with juice) - Berry Chai and Apple Chai.

Here is what it said on my cup sleeve tonight:

Oh Starbucks - I love you! Thanks for the excellent suggestion - LOL!

I HAD to show you what the tea bag looks like. It's actually good quality loose-leaf tea packaged in a special infuser bag, much better and larger than the usual tea bag.

I tried the London Fog tonight, but it did confirm for me that I am not a big Earl Grey tea fan. I had the Vanilla Rooibos the other day and really liked it. I normally drink my tea unsweetened and these lattes automatically come with sweetened syrup (either Classic or Vanilla depending on the flavor you get) - 4 pumps in a Grande. That is a little too sweet for me personally, so tonight I asked for 2 pumps instead. It was good and let the tea flavor really come through, though I might actually like 3 pumps of syrup. And I'm sure I could ask for sugar-free syrup instead. Starbucks is nice that way - making it any way I like!

I haven't tried the tea infusions so can't give you any thoughts on those.

Have you tried any of the new tea drinks at Starbucks? What did you think?

Dreamed A Little Dream 'Bout Starbucks

This is sad, but true. I did actually dream a detailed dream about Starbucks last night. Who would think that I'd write a post on it? If you think other people's strange dreams are boring, you might want to skip this post, but maybe you can use the dream to psychoanalyze me and figure out why I'm so weird - my husband would really like to know!

Just a dream, NOT a true story: I'll try to give you the short version. At a Starbucks counter, I order a flavored latte (my usual) and wave to my Dad, who is meeting me there. The guy ringing me up gives me the wrong total ($17.00!), tries to give me a pound of coffee I don't want, and then gives me extra coffee. I get an extra cup for the coffee and realize that it's black coffee - I absolutely do not drink regular coffee (That's true in real life!)! Back to the counter I go and wait...and wait...and wait. The line is hardly moving so I give up and sit down. (I couldn't see my face, but I'm sure I was pouting at this point.)

I go to the register again - not happy at all! I explain my problem and wait...and wait. They forget about me and ignore me as I try to make eye contact. (Can you believe they would take such a chance with a woman who has not had her morning caffeine yet?) My Dad is drinking and refilling his coffee and is feeling a little sorry for me.

I sit down again, fuming. I want to leave, but now want a free drink first! Dad has to leave - apparently he has things to do (apparently I don't?). Up to the counter for one last try. Everything is gone - equipment, food, shelving. I have to leave. (And I never had anything to drink!) I realize that the Starbucks has closed, not just for the day, but forever!! No wonder the service has been so bad!

Off I head toward home...walking (Walking? That is weird!)...in the rain (oh, poor me)...in high heels (What?). That's it. The End! Sigh...I really am weird.

What does it all mean? Am I concerned about upcoming Starbucks closures? Do I feel ignored by people? Am I supposed to stop drinking flavored lattes and start drinking black coffee? Maybe you can help me...

Reminder: Find or prepare a chocolate-themed post to link up here tomorrow for "Would you like chocolate with that?". It can be old or new, recipes, poems, pictures, thoughts on chocolate, taste-tests, etc. as long as it's family friendly! Looking forward to some new chocolate ideas!