how ’bout a coffee break?

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Jen E @ mommablogsalot

snagged from Jen @ Stuff Jen Says…

Quick, what’ll it be: coffee or tea?
First thing in the morning, I’ll likely go for a cup of coffee; in the afternoons I prefer tea typically (or hot cocoa)
How many “hits” a week would say that you take?
Not enough that referring to them as “hits” made sense – haha – I usually have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning and a few times a week I’ll have tea in the afternoon – so around 7-10 cups a week I’d guess? Darn you for making me do math on my coffee break!
If there was to be a coffee or tea drink named after you on the menu board at Starbucks, what would it be?
“Jen’s Sweet Tooth Special” has a nice ring to it – guaranteed to be sweet enough (probably too sweet if you’re one of those weird black coffee drinkers) with as much milk as it takes (no cream or half and half please) and maybe some shots of chocolate or something else unnecessarily sweet in addition?
Do you drink coffee when it’s hot out?
I’d probably get an iced coffee, but sure – that’s the best time to have an iced coffee after all!
How do you feel about Starbucks Frappuccinos?
I’m a big fan – they are always sweet enough, and since it’s a cold drink I don’t have to wait for it to cool down so I can drink it! Besides dessert coffee is really my area of preference.
Where in the world would you most like to sit down and order a coffee or tea?
I can see being in love with the idea of having a cup of coffee in Paris – it just sounds romantic. And of course since my not-so-realistic travel bug is still nibbling, I wouldn’t mind a nice cafe in Vermont or Maine either. Actually – any celebratory ‘my husband got a job’ coffee would be awesome – if he’s employed then I’m guessing I’ll be happy wherever we are – and since I’ll be able to afford to go out for coffee then, I won’t have to worry about going to jail for stealing coffee – that’d be good, too, because drinking coffee in a jail cell is not on my list of acceptable answers to this question.
Were your parents coffee drinkers? Tea drinkers?
My dad doesn’t drink either pretty much at all – I actually have no idea which my mother would prefer as she didn’t raise me, I’ve never had either with her.
Would you prefer coffee or tea in a shop or at home?
I will probably like the drink better if it’s at home so I can mix it to my absolute preference – but I love going out for coffee or teas anyway. Nothing like relaxing at a good coffee shop.
Would you ever wear jewelry made out of coffee beans or earrings shaped like coffee cups?
No, I’m sorry, that’s just unacceptable.
What is the absolute most perfect pastry to be taken alongside a coffee or tea?
There aren’t many bad pastries to eat with coffee or tea – cakes, breads, pies, cookies – I like them all. Right now I’m craving a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven so that’s my answer today.

You?

What Splurges Are Worth It?

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Jen E @ mommablogsalot

Sara @ On Simplicity wrote a post today about what 3 splurges are still worth it in this economy. I think this question might have been easier to answer a few weeks ago. Since Dan lost his job though the question is a bit harder – we are trying to spend our bare minimum these days. We found a TON of things we simply didn’t need to buy, thank goodness, and this has helped us save some money. But some things we’ve held on to that are probably considered splurges:

Our netflix account – I thought about canceling this but for $12 a month we have cheap at home entertainment. Since our cable plan is so cheap ($10 a month) we aren’t already spending a lot on “the same thing” – in fact, we get only VERY basic cable, i.e. no movie channels so it really does still make sense. I also thought about canceling our cable plan but we’d actually lose money – some fee would be charged for only having internet (which in this day and age we need) that costs more than our cable bill! Now, all those decisions would change if he remains unemployed for a long time, but at this point, we’re holding those splurges.
Some things at the grocery store come to mind that maybe we don’t need but we’re currently still buying (for now) – like Greek yogurt (we use the heck out of our Greek yogurt though – it’s in all sorts of the things we cook). I hope we can still justify another tub of greek yogurt the next time we run out. We cut out a lot of things in our grocery lists, which I think make space for the things we really love and use – but it’s nice to know there are still things we can cut out the day we decide we need to save more.
The cost of gas to visit friends and family – when we don’t know how much longer we’ll be living here, it makes sense to visit people while we can – and it’s cheaper than going to the mall, that’s for sure!

Things like fair trade coffee, Yogi tea, going out to eat, expensive gadgets – those are nice, but they are just nice and at the end of the day, we don’t really need them. It’s almost comforting to know that though. In good news – Dan has a phone interview tomorrow with a company that is only one hour away in a town we could afford to live in if we decide the commute is too much – so cross your fingers for that one!

What three splurges are worth it in your lives?

WW: Father and Son

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Jen E @ mommablogsalot

Last Thursday I posted some pictures of MM and I at the park for the 52 Weeks photo challenge. Here are some of the other pictures we took that day, these focusing on MM and his daddy. I love how the pictures look in gray scale, but a few are in color, too. This has been the best part of this whole “unemployment” thing – more quality time with daddy!