Morning Window

Every morning I have a brief window right before my day truly begins. Between 6:00 and 6:30am there is a small moment for me to sit and drink espresso and it is almost like I have the world all to myself. Behind the door in the picture, all of my girls sleep tight, kind enough to grant me a little peace before they awake and the wheels really have to start moving. Right before breakfast cooking, lunch packing, laundering, cleaning, dressing and taxiing I can just sit and enjoy a little silence. It is a welcome contrast to the other twenty three and a half hours of every day.

Coffee Talk

Its been quite a while since I talked about my coffee problem. In addition to last week's curve ball, I received a couple coffee related gifts and I thought it was high time I touched on this again. First, my friend Kellet gave me an entire pound(!) of Starbucks Christmas Espresso Blend. It is not ground, which is awesome because I can grind it right before I prepare it. In case you've forgotten, her gift of the espresso machine was my gateway into addiction. Next up, my excellent and thoughtful wife grabbed me some Kahlua Mocha Coffee to keep me company over the weekend. It was excellent. She recently made the switch to decaf which means for convenience sake, I made the switch to decaf. I haven't had espresso around for awhile and it feels good to get jittery again. Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Gift Trifecta

Sometimes things just come together. Sometimes separate items work almost too well as a unit... and it is awesome when they do. We received all of these gifts on different occasions but this is really the first time we've made the most of all three of them. It is great when you can enjoy something as simple as a cup of espresso and know it was all because people can be so thoughtful and giving.

Thanks to Miss Janet, Josh and Kellet and Sutton. Also big thanks to everyone else who does the little and big things for us that enrich our lives in so many ways. We appreciate you and your gifts, material and otherwise.

Holiday Recap

     So Christmas has come and gone. Our decorations are still up but that will be remedied later today. It was a really, really good year and everyone under this roof got piles of loot and we all had a great time being together.
     Christmas Eve at my mother's house was a lot of fun. Our tradition has become a few drinks before dinner while socializing and then a big meal at the table together. Every year we have the Greek dish Pastitsio, a big salad and cookies for dessert. After we eat we open these crazy holiday poppers that have a little plastic toy, corny jokes and paper crowns inside. Ruby's came with a whistle so we were treated to her whistle stylings for the rest of the evening. Someone else got a little plastic watch which she wore all night and Christmas day.
     We did have one rough spot that night. Ruby was very upset when she found the letter that Allie Grace, our resident elf, had left for her. I guess despite knowing that the elf was just here for Christmas, she never thought about her leaving. She had a big cry and we comforted her and assured her that she would return next year.
     The next morning my mother arrived at six and kept me company until the girls woke up. It wasn't long before everyone was tearing into the gifts around the tree. The girls got everything they asked for and more. I was stoked with my scores: a Judge Dredd anthology, a camera mount for the bike, some new clothes, a handful of new flashlights...I did really good. olivia got a new camping hammock. She had been wanting one for awhile, too bad she'll have to wait a bit to use it. 
     We got both of our mothers a book version of the first year of this blog we titled "The Sidecar: Year One." It is a an awesome looking paperback with text from the posts and high quality images of all the photos. We were excited about it and were very pleased with how they turned out. olivia got an amazing recipe book from her family which also included some great family history. We got a Blu-Ray player from some friends and we have really been enjoying the upgraded quality of our movies and a ton of online content through the built-in wifi. 
     After everything settled, the girls slept and I had some friends swing by. We just chilled in front of the TV and drank beer egg nog with rum. I even got a little time in out in the garage. We had a relaxing evening just hanging out and enjoying our gifts.
     Like I said before, this was a really good year. Thanks to everyone for everything we received. We appreciate you and your gift of friendship most of all. I hope everyone's Christmas was as good as ours. Again, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas and we wish you the best for the coming New Year!

Anniversary Continued

So my mother-in-law took the girls Wednesday to Sunday leaving olivia and I alone to have some anniversary celebration time. We watched DVD's, drank beer, consumed countless coffees, ate quality food, bowled badly, caught up on sleep, read and in general just enjoyed the time together.

Thanks for all the Anniversary wishes, we had a great one.

The Young One

This is where food and drink we don't want anymore ends up: off the high chair and onto the floor. Cheerios, peas, bread, milk, etc. Each meal means sweeping and often scrubbing. If she gets a spoon and she is done with whatever is in her bowl, heaven help you.

Still not walking, still monkey scooting, standing up more and pulling up. She has worked over her fear of sitting down, several times throughout the day you can hear the baby thud as she releases and hits. She'll also walk down the couch or coffee table. She enjoys getting into and out of the bumbo and has even gotten up onto things, like her toy drum.

The phrase "Mama" has become the baby aloha, it means "pick me up," "more food please," "I'm sad," etc. I guess she has recognized the attention she gets when she says it so now, whatever she wants it's "Mama." Dada did not last long. Just Mama and the crying.

Speaking of crying, 3:30am has become the new 6:00. My wife is a soldier, waking night after night to calm, pacify and attempt to placate the child who refuses to truly communicate. At times she goes at it guns blazing: clean diaper,Tylenol, teething tabs, gas drops and a waffle. Sometimes it helps, other times not so much.

I woke up yesterday morning and found Sailor in her swing with her blanket over her head and olivia and the dog on the couch. I never knew she had gotten up. Ru slept in. I made coffee.

I'm a lucky man. 

 

Espresso Update

I feel like I have been born again, found Jesus, insert religious related idiom here, etc. Coffee nirvana, I have arrived. Regular coffee can kiss my ass, this is the only way to fly. It is 10:30am, normally I would be through with one regular pot. That thing is over half full. I can't tell if I am genuinely this excited about coffee or if the extra caffeine is contributing to a shaky, soon to crash zen-energy.

On a down note, I realize I have no restraint when it comes to espresso.  I said today I would stop at two...not so much.

The business end of my new love affair. Brew baby brew!
Here is my procedure:
Measure and pour one cup of water into machine
Load coffee
Switch machine on
Put 1 packet of sweet and low and 1 tsp creamer into mug
Wait
Pour espresso into mug
Top off with coffee and stir
Enjoy the awesome

Thank you

Today's Regularly Scheduled Photodump will be preempted by the following Thank You.

My wife came home this weekend from Church with a little something extra. A friend and reader who had an espresso machine sitting around decided to donate it to the cause of keeping our family caffeinated.

 This baby was put into immediate service Monday morning and it is awesome!

She was even so thoughtful as to include some dark blended coffee and it is excellent and perfect for this use.
Thank you Kellet for thinking of us, this is a fantastic gift.

Dark Black Gold

Coffee: I'm an addict and I am not ashamed.
Black, loaded, decaf, flavored, strong, weak...I dig it. Some days I drink a whole pot of the caffeinated goodness before I make myself switch to unleaded for the second pot. My default cheap coffee go-to was Maxwell House Master Blend but the marketing genius of Black Silk intrigued me and did not fail to deliver. I'd walk around with an iv drip of the stuff if I could. I used to take it with cream and sweetener. Since switching to black I seem to be drinking a lot more.

The coffee maker in the picture is the bane of my existence. I HATE it. It brews ok but can't pour to save it's pathetic plastic life. For every mug I pour, another half mug ends up on the counter. Serves me right for buying a coffee maker made by the same company that makes power tools. We used to have an awesome Mr. Coffee maker that we loved but it bit the dust a couple Christmases ago (the one when it snowed). We buried him in the back yard. I broke the cold ground with a shovel as an icy tear ran down my cheek. Sometimes I take a mug out in the back yard and stare at his final resting place. I always pour a little out and remember the good times.

I've had two Bodum glass French presses. I love them but I am not easy on them. The carafes are prone to breaking, hence they sell replacement glass. Wish I had known this before I threw out two perfectly good presses that just needed new glass. We've toyed with the idea of getting a maker with an espresso machine. I know, I know. I am not so blind that I cannot see that this would be like introducing a pot smoker to mainlining heroin...but I want it. When this coffee maker bites it, I might just invite a Starbucks franchise to set up next to our refrigerator.