Starbucks

This week I am a way for for work. I am in the beautiful Northwest of the country....Washington State. To be exact I am in Spokane which is extremely Eastern Washington state. The weather has been less then desirable but the people are so nice in the Northwest that it really makes up for the lack of sunshine.

This morning when I got up to make coffee in my hotel room I ripped the filter that the coffee was in and needless to say was unable to make coffee. No coffee makes Jen a very sluggish girl. On my way to the office I decided to stop for coffee and headed to McDonald's. When I pulled into the parking lot there gleaming in green was a Starbucks and I knew that I was going there instead of Mickey D's.

I first thought of going through the drive through since the weather is cold and wet but the line was so long that I decided it was worth it to go inside to order. There was no line inside and I was ready to go.

Ordering at Starbucks can be as intimidating as ordering at Geno's steaks in south Philly. You don't want to sound like an idiot but yet you want to make sure that you are getting the coffee you want....plus deep down you want to appear cool. I had practiced my line in the hotel when I was in Seattle and it had worked there so I was feeling much more confident about ordering this time. I walked up to the barista and placed my order with authority. "I'll have a tall skinny mocha latte". She wrote on the cup and within minutes I had my skinny mocha...in all it's yummy deliciousness. Walking back to the car I felt a sense of accomplishment as well as the warmth of the cup in my hand and the taste of the perfectly blended coffee and chocolate.....I think I have finally graduated to being an order pro at Starbucks.

Claiming States

My husband and I have had this ongoing competition as to which has been to the most states. I have always felt that landing in an airport within a state is not the same as actually going to the state. My husband of course believes that it does count.

Which brings me to this topic is I am currently on a trip to Eastern Washington state for work. Both of us have been to Washington State so its not as though I am now one ahead. I did drive over to Idaho last night but that state has also been "claimed" by my husband. So I am on a mission to "claim" Montana. According to my local co-workers it should only take me an hour maybe hour and ten to get to the state line from the office. Tomorrow is stake a "Claim" day and I will be heading out for Montana after work.

The whole "Claiming States" thing got me to thinking about what exactly makes a marriage happy or exciting. I realize for most that "claiming" a state is not very exciting but for me and the hub...it is and its just one of the many little things that make us excited about our marriage, our friendship our life together. Its a little game between just the two of us that brings out the competitive side yet makes us laugh at the same time. It is through these little things I realize how blessed I am to have the man I married and the life we have together.

Wednesday April 21, 2010

I'd like to say I am original and thought about doing a blog all on my own but that would not be the truth. A good friend was discussing her blog last night and I thought I would give it a try....see what happens......you never know.

Whats got me all Jacked up today? Could be lots of things...but the one that is really standing out is a phone call that came this morning. It was one of those phone calls made by someone who was thinking you weren't home so they could make it look like they care by leaving a message on your answering machine. Only thing was as they were leaving the message you picked up the phone and they hung up. Since you saw their phone number on caller id you know which phone they were calling from and then try to pretend they aren't home when you dial them back at that number immediately......Dude.....seriously......seriously! You've been called out.

Being Jacked up is not always about something that makes you complain. Last night I was all Jacked up on sugar. In it's own way it was pretty sweet....no pun intended. It did remind me of Ricky Bobby though and being all Jacked up on Mountain Dew. Since being on Weight Watchers for the last 6 weeks I have had minimal sugar. Last night I let myself go and just take it all in.....needless to say when you have been living on Splenda for over a month the real deal is something to write home about. So today, I am back on the Splenda wagon.....sugar in check and all that good stuff.