How Do You Tolerate It?

I am feeling pretty defeated. I have been chugging coffee all morning due to exhaustion but feel no nervous, caffeinated jolts of hope working their way through my body. Sigh.

I damn the tolerance my body so sneakingly built up while I was off sipping delicious lattes and Americanos at my leisure. Now what I ask?

NOW WHAT?

PS- I made it through my first weekend at the pumpkin patch and have great pictures to share with you later on this week!

A Coffee Bar Of My Very Own

Hello and good afternoon and thank goodness it’s Thursday. My apologies for the lack of posting- I seem to be on a mental vacation (as well as a blogging vacation) since my return form Australia. This departure from reality has been teamed with the dream of building a coffee bar in my dining room. I am talking about a space devoted to the consumption and love of liquid caffeine. I’d like to start with a table or cart…

And add a fancy new brewing machine of some variety…

And complete the look with colorful mugs, cups, and accessories…

A girl can dream, can’t she?!

Aside from this necessary coffee bar project, I am back to the usual comings and goings of daily life. You can take this post as an indication that I am also writing again. It’s cold and snowy in Minnesota, and I’m completely over it. But while the weather is below zero life is good. I found myself driving to work this week thinking that everything was just right and the stuff  that has been giving me doubts would work itself out. It was a liberating feeling that I hope carries through to the content of my posts as well as the coming spring season.

I’ve been sending out a lot of notes and cards via U.S. post lately which is a nice change of pace from email. I got these notes for Christmas from my sister, which I find so charming. I’ve got guests coming for Thursday night dinner today and I’ll be making this dish, which I would hesitate to call stir-fry but should be delicious regardless of the name. And yeah… that pretty much brings us up to date.

Cheers for Thursday and future Abby’s Road postings!

PS- These Pantone paint chip cookies are fantastic!!

Wow, You Look Tired!

I look like crap today. Fatigued and disheveled are me. And I have coworkers who are kind enough to confirm, “Wow you look tired!” which of course is the only polite way of saying a person looks like $#!+.

Why, you ask, do I look so tired? Because I was shooting my mouth off on Monday about our nations obsession with soda pop. I can speak freely about how gross and unhealthy soda is because I didn’t grow up with it and have never had the desire to become a religious consumer of the product.

And as a result of this mouth shooting, I was called out on my coffee consumption. I won’t deny that a fraction of my paycheck goes to every coffee shop in the metro area, and I will be the first to admit that a whole pot sounds like the perfect volume for breakfast. Yes, I do love coffee. Yes, it is my best friend. Yes, I do drink it all the time.

Or I should say I did drink it all the time! That stopped on Monday when I accepted the challenge to quit. The competition will go on until someone fails. Until the temptation for the bitter sweet taste of coffee becomes too much for me to go without. Or until the soda drinker caves.

Now… day 3! I am cranky and tired, running on empty, feeling the pains of withdrawal, and apparently looking the part. I miss coffee, our relationship was more than caffeine. I love coffee for the experience of having a cup of something warm wake you up in the morning. I love sitting in cafes and drinking endless cups of coffee and watching the day waste away. I love the smell of coffee and the way it takes over your kitchen. I love stopping for a to-go cup at the start of a road trip. I love the endless number of ways you can make one ingredient taste so different, unique, and wonderful. I love how well it photographs!

This is a true test of self control. Let the count down begin!

I look like crap today. Fatigued and disheveled are me. And I have coworkers who are kind enough to confirm, “Wow you look tired!” which of course is the only polite way of saying a person looks like $#!+.

Syrup, Not Just For Your Pancakes!

Innovation is the result of desperation! I ran out of sugar and for the last couple of days I have been sweetening my coffee with maple syrup. Ingenious! Throw in a bit of milk and your in business. I love what happens when I’m too lazy to go to the grocery store.

No Rest for the Procrastinator

Have I ever mentioned that I am working on a maters degree? And that I am a procrastinator!?

The degree’s in International Business and my current class is called International Economics and Finance. I am spending this weekend writing a paper on sweatshops. It’s all very Norma Rae.

The paper is posing a question of ethics- Which is more ethical, to maintain or eliminate sweatshops? What are the ramifications of these choices? What are the limitations? Why does improving the work atmosphere and pay rates defeat the purpose? And so on, etc. etc. etc.

I’ll let you know what I’ve concluded if I ever make it through the weekend.

I am starting to feel the way Sally Fields looks.

Less coffee.

More sleep.

Please.