The magic elixir

I love coffee. There's really no other more effective way to put it. It's a magical delight that tells me the day has started and everything is going to be okay. I would drink coffee from the minute I got up until the minute I went to bed if my stomach could handle it. When I drink it, it's like someone sprinkled good-mood pixie dust on me. Now, before you start thinking I'm some hard core caffeine junkie who may as well hook up a mainline, let me come clean: I see coffee primarily as a vehicle by which to try all of the wonderful flavors of creamer the good food scientists at Coffee-mate and International Delight come up with.

For ages, I've been a dedicated Dunkin Donuts Cinnamon Spice with sugar and Creme Brûlée Coffeemate creamer girl. Recently, I finished up a bag of Gevalia French Roast that Justin had bought and didn't really care for. I didn't really, either, but who am I to let coffee go to waste? It wasn't bad, but I was pretty happy to get back to my Dunks. 

While there's comfort in being a creature of habit, I recently tried a new creamer. Make that, three new creamers. International Delight came out with - wait for it - Cold Stone Creamery inspired flavors. For someone who in high school thought that a Sweet Cream milkshake was as close to heaven as you could get in this lifetime, this is the picture of pure bliss:

I kept the Sweet Cream at home, and have the Hot For Cookie at work (Founder's Favorite is on deck on the fridge). New creamers to go with the free Folgers, Millstone, and Dunkin Donuts coffee in the break room. Do I work for an amazing company or what?

So every workday morning, I fill up my travel mug with water, pour it in the coffee pot, and make exactly one mug of coffee to take with me to work. My commute now is so short, I can't even drink the whole thing before I get to the office. When I lived in a suburb of Cincinnati, I would make a mug plus a Thermos full of coffee, and still be sitting in traffic with a full bladder before ever coming in sight of Winton Hill. I currently have four travel mugs, and Justin has two. I rotate them based on my mood or my outfit (I'm a girl, I'm allowed to make decisions like that). 

In my experience, coffee mugs are one of those things that multiply spontaneously. Kind of like wire hangers and lone socks. I think there was a five year period when I was a kid where every gift giving occasion resulted in a new mug for Mom or Dad. My parents' cupboard has a remarkable collection of mugs, consisting primarily of music, Army, and Texas Aggie designs. 

With our moving every two or three years, we've been ruthless about keeping things pared down, including our coffee mugs. We have some that match our dishes; a set that was a Christmas gift from my mom one year; photo mugs with our adorable kids' mugs (haha, very punny); and a few that the kids have collected from hot chocolate sets.

My not-pictured Army travel mug is drying on the counter...

My favorites are the mug I got at Disney last summer

and my very first kid-art mug that John made me for Mother's Day.

This morning, I pulled out an oldie but a goodie. This mug has seen far more cups of hot chocolate than coffee, as it was a Christmas gift from my Uncle Bubby and Aunt Laurel about 30 years ago. My sister has one just like it, and I always thought it was such a wonderful gift.

I have a habit of "saving" things that have incalculable worth to me, only using them on special occasions. But this blog is not just a fun New Year's Resolution for me. It also reminds me that every moment is special; all of life's little moments add up to a richness that is priceless. So this morning, I drank my coffee in a mug that reminds me of my much-loved uncle who passed so many years ago, and my aunt who is far away in North Carolina but always near to my heart. 

The magic isn't in the coffee today. This morning, the magic is in the mug. 

Signs of summer

We decided to go out for dinner tonight, and using a universally accepted practice known as "bribing your children," we told the kids that if they behaved at the restaurant, we would walk next door afterward and get frozen yogurt. The kids were reasonably well behaved, so once the bill was paid, we headed out the door toward Too Cool Frozen Yogurt.

It didn't take me and Justin three steps before we began having promiser's remorse (a first cousin to buyer's remorse). We had at least five different frozen treats in the freezer at home, and it suddenly seemed ridiculous to spend ten more dollars eating dessert out. Every once in a while, I think we must be doing something right as parents, because when we told them we would just go home and they could pick something from what we had, they didn't even argue. Much. 

Lucky for Caroline and John, we love ice cream at our house. I didn't realize the full extent to which we have already prepped for summer treats, but between the inside and outside freezers, our inventory includes:

• Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia
• Blue Bell Moo-lennium Crunch (if you've never had this, you need to find it. immediately. buy a pint, and eat the entire thing. by yourself. trust me.)
• Vanilla ice cream
• Klondike Oreo bars
• Klondike mint chocolate chip bars
• Nestle Drumsticks
• Choco Tacos (I know, right?!)
• York ice cream patties 
• Good Humor Reese's ice cream cups
• Freezer pops

Yummmmmmm....

And since it isn't truly summer yet, with oppressive heat and humidity, tonight is one of those evenings where you can't help but want to be outside. Nothing like swinging with your best friend, eating ice cream, as summer approaches.