Tag Archives: coffee

food, mommyhood, random thoughts

10 Reasons I Brunch

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Brunch is super trendy right now. You probably see memes about it, pictures your friends post on your Instagram feed, and local restaurants promoting their brunch specials. Whichever day you brunch, it’s likely a lovely event with friends, yummy food, and a mimosa or two. Here are the reasons I personally love brunch.brunch.jpg

1. I love breakfast. I’ve written about this before, but it’ll never stop being true. Breakfast food is the best food. Any time of day.  So there.

2. Sunday is my busy day. It might be the most common brunch day anyway, but on Sunday, I’m often too tired by the time church is over to even consider what I’d like to do for lunch. This is where my hubby and besties come in, whisking me off to brunch.

3. The kids love it. What’s something easy your kids will actually eat at a restaurant? Brunch food. I feel like most kids love things like pancakes, waffles, French toast, and other brunchy things.

4. Mimosas. I don’t even have to explain why something bubbly and sweet is a perk, do I?

5. I love seeing my friends. What is brunch unless you’ve got all your people with you? My kids are the cutest, my hubby is the best, and our friends and their kids can complete a brunch date with their good company.

6. It’s springtime. The weather has been beautiful, the sun is gleaming but not blistering hot, and there’s usually a pleasant breeze around brunchtime. It’s the perfect excuse to eat bacon outdoors.

7. Eggs. Shall I elaborate on why eggs are the ideal food? Okay, you forced my hand. I hardly need to count the hundred ways that eggs could be prepared by even the most basic of chefs. I also don’t need to list reasons that eggs are very healthy and beneficial for your body. What I will say is this: have you ever had a perfectly fried egg?

8. I can sleep late and still not cook. Brunch on a Saturday means that I don’t have to worry about feeding the family anything right when we get up. We can snooze a little longer, and not have to rush to the kitchen to get breakfast in before we head out for the day. Brunch IS heading out for the day!

9. You can have the sweet and the savory. I’m always torn at brunch places on whether to get something sweet or something savory. I love having a veggie omelette, for example. But I know when my kids chocolate chip pancakes arrive, I’m going to covet that dessert-like dish. But I think it’s acceptable (and there’s an option on most brunch menus!) to have a little bit of both. Best of both worlds, if you will. After all, it is breakfast and lunch.

10. It’s easier than going out to dinner. Taking our kids out to dinner sometimes means that they’re already tired, or too hungry, or that they just can’t sit still any more that day. But at brunchtime, they’re still fresh, and they’re more likely to behave (or at least stay in their chairs). We want our kids to know what it means to go to a restaurant, but brunch is a great time to practice restaurant etiquette.

Well, there you have it… ten reasons I think brunch is worth doing. You can find me brunching pretty much every weekend – join me!

food, food, home, mommyhood, NaBloPoMo, random thoughts

My Love Affair with Breakfast Food

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If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: breakfast is my favorite. 

I grew up in a household that made sure breakfast was important, healthy, and delicious. There was usually a carb involved, probably some eggs, maybe a cured meat or a sweet item. But there was always plenty of it, because my brother and I came hungry. 

You see, it was love at first sight with me and breakfast food. And it has been ever since. If I’m at lunch at a restaurant that also has a brunch menu, I don’t think twice about which menu to choose. If a restaurant serves breakfast all day, it’s a no-brainer. When I visited Texas and became aware of breakfast tacos, my life was changed forever. 
In related news, brunch is pretty trendy nowadays. We’re all “Let’s get brunch!” and “Brunch is for lovers!” and “Mimosas!” I agree with those things. But do you know what you’re typically doing at brunch? Having breakfast later in the day. Breakfast is the heart of brunch. 
I’ve done my best to instill the love of all things breakfast into my children as well. They love bagels or biscuits. They love French toast. They love scrambled eggs and fruit. They REALLY love pancakes and waffles, especially when I flavor them with strawberries or pumpkin. They don’t even need the sweet things in their breakfast. They will, of course, gorge themselves on cinnamon rolls. They will also eat a mountain of grits. 
In short, breakfast is the king of meals. It doesn’t matter when you eat it, or what it looks like. All things breakfast are greater than all other things. Pair the breakfast item with coffee during the week, or a mimosa on Saturday, and you’ve got a perfect way to start your day. I’m pretty sure there’s even some science to back it up. 
Breakfast, I love you. 

This post is a part of my NaBloPoMo, where I publish a piece every day in November. 

mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently

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This may be my latest Currently yet! Sorry for the delay, but Monday (and apparently Tuesday of this week) just are busy these days. So, here it is… What I’m up to currently, linking up as usual with Becky at Choose Happy!

Drinking || lots of coffee. Partially because I’ve been needing the boost, and partially because fall and coffee go perfectly together! Because I make my coffee one cup at a time in the keurig (I have the little cup you fail with your own grounds) I can adjust the caffeine. Sometimes it’s full caffeine, sometimes it’s half-caff or decaf, so that I don’t give myself the jitters!


Sleeping || not as much as I’d like. D is still only sleeping about three hours at a time at night. Maybe four in the first stretch – which is inevitably the one of the night, that starts around 9:00 usually. So I don’t get those four hours, because sometimes EK hasn’t even gone all the way to sleep yet. So I’m feeling the effects of not having any more than four hours at a time in a whiiiiiiile. Hence the coffee.

Watching || James and the Giant Peach with the kids. I haven’t seen it in forever (read: since it came out) and honestly had forgotten about it. But I found it this morning, messing around on Netflix, trying to find something we hadn’t seen eight times. They are loving it!

Planning || a trip to Georgia in October to see my family! My parents come visit fairly often, but everyone else usually comes twice or three times a year. We are excited to go down there and spend several days!

Well, that’s a little update for y’all! What are you up to currently? I’d love to hear!

food, food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Why We HAVE to Buy a New Espresso Machine

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Naturally, as a parent, I need some caffeine. Hubby and I are constantly feeding our addictions. We wouldn’t survive a moment without it. So we have a percolator, a Keurig, a French press, and an espresso machine. And a grinder, of course. Between these things, we usually manage to survive on our coffee intake without having to go out and get it from somewhere (although we have a few choice places around here we like to go if, you know, we’re already out).

But recently, our beloved espresso machine is doing this thing… It’s like it wants to explode a little. We aren’t overfilling it, or letting it run out of water or letting it run too long. Truly, I think the machine is just old. It’s about 20 years old and we are the third owners (all in our family – it’s not from Craig’s List or anything). But anyway, it’s put a serious kink in our routine. 

 We like to have a cup of coffee, or even two, in the morning, and then about lunchtime we like another little punch. This is usually in the form of a beverage from the espresso machine. Hubby typically likes a straight up shot (or four). He likes to do the least amount of sipping with the most amount of power. I go back and forth… I like regular espresso, but I also like to make fancy drinks or iced lattes when it’s hot. This blast to push us through the afternoon is crucial. If we don’t get it, we don’t get anything done during naptime (like gardening, bill paying or house cleaning) and we are in terrible moods the rest of the evening. If Hubby has to go into work late, it takes another round of caffeine shots. It’s like a vaccination against tiredness. 

 So, in light of our addiction, our broken espresso machine, and our upcoming addition to the family, we pretty much know that we’re going to need a hasty replacement or else we are IN FOR IT when Baby D gets here and is waking us up at all hours of the night. I know we’d survive, but I don’t think I’d remember anything. I use caffeine as a motivator, an encourager, a Rememberall (a little HP reference for those of you fellow nerds), a communicator (often I let it speak for me), and a peacekeeper. I’m less annoyed, more able to function and generally happier if I’ve got a little caffeine flowing through my veins. Okay, fine. It does sound like I have a problem.

holidays, mommyhood, women

6 Things She’d REALLY Like for Mother’s Day

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Because Mother’s Day is next weekend, and you need to start dropping hints NOW, I decided to post this a week in advance. As a mama, I think I’ve got a lead on the whole mother’s day gifting thing. Jewelry is always nice, and so are coffee mugs with sweet little sayings on them. But here are some things that I think would be a real hit with any mom, less expensive than diamonds, and a little better received than her 14th coffee mug.

If you do happen to think this mug would pair nicely with any of the suggestions below – you know, if the mama has a sense of humor – you can find it on amazon.com!

1. House Cleaning Service. It would be lovely for the mother in your life to not have to clean her toilets or mop the floors for a little while. She’d love it if you hired someone to do it for her for a change!

2. Date Night with her Significant Other. I bet she’d love to be wined and dined and out on the town for a little while, kid-free, in a cute top and dangly earrings. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive joint in town, as long as it also isn’t a Chili’s.Not hating on Chili’s, but not on date night, folks. Not on date night.

3. Coffee. To put in last year’s mug, of course! Whether it’s a gift card to the local coffee shop or a bag of her favorite expensively-roasted beans, this little caffeinated treat will ensure the safety and sanity of all involved. If she’s a coffee connoisseur, consider a French press or a nice bean grinder to feed her addiction.

4. Massage, Facial, or Mani/Pedi. One of the biggest perks of spa-type gifts is alone time. No kiddos at your massage, am I right? I think any spa-type gift is a relaxing and thoughtful one, and the better you know the mama, the better you’ll be at choosing which kind to get. If you don’t know her too well (maybe it’s your new mother-in-law) you could get a gift certificate to the location, instead of the service.

5. Wine.  A newly-encountered bottle of foreign wine to pair with the next meal of her choice, or a nice bottle of her favorite to enjoy while bathing the kids then watching Netflix, wine can be a much appreciated gift! Better still, a night out with the girls at a local wine bar could be the thing that keeps your favorite mother sane. The mama you’re thinking of isn’t a wine drinker? Get her a fresh bottle or six-pack of her favorite libation and she’ll thank you just the same.

6. Movies. This doesn’t necessarily mean take her to the movies. That can be a super expensive evening if you’ve got to hire a babysitter, go out to dinner beforehand, and get some snacks and two $15 tickets. Since that’s typically the deal with an at-the-movies date, she might just be willing to settle for watching that flick she missed in the theatre snuggled up with you on the couch with a glass of wine. Bonus points if you cooked her dinner and put the kids to bed. After all – quality time is the goal.

Whatever you decide to get the lady who bore the children, make sure you have her mind when you get it. Pair it with a card with something you wrote inside it, and she’ll swoon. Show some love, add a few hugs and kisses, and it’ll be perfect.

faith, home, random thoughts, women

Jesus and Coffee – a Saturday Morning Talk

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I’ve seen a few posts from different bloggers about “If we were having coffee” and “Coffee and Jesus” and “Weekend Coffee Date”. I’d like to have my own take on it, and combine some of the styles and things I’ve read.

  
If we were having coffee this morning, sitting on my (new!) couch, looking at a gorgeous morning out our big windows, we might be watching my kids run circles around us. Our coffee might need to be reheated once or twice, because I often break for diaper changes, snacks, help with starting a puzzle, or (honesty, here) to go to the bathroom. My coffee would be half-caff, with some cream, and a little bit of sweetness. What would yours be?

If we were having coffee, I would want you to ask me challenging questions. I like that. I might not seem to, especially what it’s hard for me to answer. But I want you to ask anyway. It’s good for me. Really.

I want to tell you all about what the Lord is doing in my life. I want to tell you how I feel like I’m in a good place, how I’m super thankful for everything I have. I also want to tell you that sometimes my hormones and stress get the best of me, and I break down. I want to tell you about how I have hard times, how I get angry or sad, and how that’s okay. I want to tell you all about how I deal with those feelings.

I want to ask you the hard questions, too. I want to know what’s the best thing in your life right now, and what’s hard about your life, too. I want to know all about your job, your children, your home life, your friends. I want to know your dreams and goals, short term and long term. I want to connect with you, to speak life and truth to you, and to pray for you.

If we were together this morning, in my home, getting to know each other, I would be happy to make a new friend. I’d be excited to build a relationship with you.

faith, food, holidays, home, mommyhood

Happy Christmas Eve!

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Today is a happy day, full of family, music, Christmas pajamas, twinkling lights, yummy food, and gratitude. I’m thankful for so many things, on this day of wonder and joy, and I’ll list a few of them here:

A family that wanted to visit me for Christmas, and arrived safely
Cute kids in their pjs
A Hubby that provides and loves well
A roof over my head to shelter me from this rain
Lots of food to eat
A church family I’m excited to celebrate with tonight
Presents under the tree
A Savior who came for us all

Here’s a glimpse of the lazy morning, and I hope you’re doing the same thing!

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Christmas stockings my mom made for us! We’ve just picked out one for EK, and are looking for one for J!

 

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EK in her Christmas pj’s watching a Dr. Suess Christmas (from very close)
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J’s Christmas stripes and his current favorite toy.

 

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My lovely mom, the sausage balls master!

 

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She also makes delicious stove top coffee. I’m spoiled when she’s in town.

What are you plans for the day? Is it dreary and raining where you are?

 

health and fitness, Run Away.

Run Away – From Running?

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Time for a confession. I went a week and a half without going on a run.

YIKES! WHAT DID SHE SAY?!

Yes, I’m training for a 10K that’s happening at the end of this month, and I just went 10 days without running. In my defense, the weather played a part. Also in my defense, I worked out in different ways than running. So I wasn’t a total bum. I just didn’t run.

When I finally got back to it, I got in 3 miles that first day. I might have been able to go longer, but I didn’t get out there quickly enough, and J decided after the second mile he needed a nap in his own crib, so I headed home. Side note: I’d like to thank Jesus for finally ending the weird spitting rain that lasted for days, and not raising the temperature too much. It’s been lovely!

But I am committed. Well, re-committed. I am going to kick the snot out of this 10K if it kills me (it might). I’m going to try getting that run out of the way right after breakfast each day, which might be hard, because I am always guzzling coffee, and it makes it… uncomfortable… to run right after it. So here’s to a few more weeks of ONE cup of coffee before my run, and the rest after it! If I want more coffee, I have to run for it!

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And on the note of running for coffee, I sometimes run to Lowe’s Foods near my house (the one on Robinhood) if I can think of a couple of things I can grab quickly and toss in the bottom of the stroller. They’ve just done a massive upgrade (that was super annoying while it was happening) including a little coffee shop right inside the door. I have now had their brewed coffee, plain espresso, and a flavored latte (pumpkin spice, of course). All were delicious, not to mention inexpensive and served with a smile; the baristas are wonderful! So if you live close by, pop in there for a warm drink while you shop!