{virtual} coffee

Good morning!  I am so glad you are joining me for coffee!  I think I'm going to go for coffee again this morning.  Would you like some?  I made lemon donuts over the weekend, I'll offer you one of those too!  They are delicious!

First, I'd ask yo how your Mother's Day was.  Mine was wonderful!  My house is filled with flowers right now.  Between the flowers I received from my students last week for Teacher Appreciation Day, and the ones my husband and my son got me, the house is full!  After brunch yesterday, my son walked up and picked out this bouquet with my dad and my husband.  I got to wander around downtown and I got myself a few things in the kitchen store!  I finally found myself an apron and I got myself a new spoon rest for the stove.  After shopping and brunch, we headed home.  The boys watched a movie and I fell asleep on the couch!  I love Sunday afternoon naps!

On Saturday, my little man had a baseball game.  He got to play catcher for the first time!  He was so excited.

We're having a slight back step in our weather.  At the baseball game on Saturday, it was really cold!  The wind is kicking up in the evening, and we had 2 nights of baseball where we sat there freezing!

I'm really looking forward to Zumba on Wednesday evening!  I found a local class that I can make.  I'm so excited to have the opportunity to do it again.  I hope I like the instructor as much as I did my first class!

I think that's all I have for this week.  What did you do for Mother's Day?  How is the weather where you are?  Have a wonderful week, and I hope you'll join me next week!

{virtual} coffee

Good morning!
Thank you for joining me for coffee!  The house isn't as clean as I'd like, and I don't have any yummy baked goods this week, but that's how we're rolling this morning!  I'm going to have some coffee.  Would you like a cup out of the french press or would you like to look at my tea stash and have a cup of tea?

The weekend was nice, although chaotic!  On Saturday morning, I tried my first Zumba class!  I love it.  Have you ever tried Zumba?  Its Latin Dance in the form of a cardio workout.  I had so much fun and got in a great workout too.  After Zumba, little man had his baseball game.  He had 2 great hits and got the first out of the game!  Its so fun to watch him play.  He loves the game and is getting really good!

Saturday afternoon, we had some friends over.  The kids played and the mommies hung out and chatted.  My oldest god-daughter wanted to watch the wedding.  She's getting so grown up!  She's 10.  She came over and sat in my lap and I was reminiscing about holding her the day she was born.  Between my god-daughter and my son, I want to freeze time for a little while.  They're growing so fast!

Sunday morning I made waffles and we just hung out.  We needed some family time and that's what we did!  I hope God understands why we didn't make it to church.  In the afternoon, we went to my alma mater for a baseball game.  Go Broncos! We lost, but it was still so nice to have the family just hang out and spend some time together!

I'm looking forward to this weekend, which should bring a little more relaxation, and some pampering for me at one of my favorite seafood restaurants!  My husband and son have a date Saturday afternoon for lunch and some secret mission while I go spend some time scrapbooking.

After my babbling about my weekend, I'd sit back and ask you what you've been up to.  How have you enjoyed time with your loved ones lately?  How do you celebrate Mother's Day?  Have a great week!

{virtual} coffee

Good Morning!  Welcome to my home!  I am so glad you're here.  Since I got up early this morning and went for a run, I'm drinking coffee.  Would you like a slice of the lemon bundt cake I made with little man last night?   I really wanted to just go back to bed after my run, but, alas, I must go to work.  I'm excited to say that I have 28 days left of school, and our summer plans are finally coming together!

I have so much to show you!  I know the front yard is still a mess, but did you see the 3 beautiful irises out in front?  I planted those a year ago, and they never bloomed last year.  I'm so excited they're blooming this year!  You'll also probably be greeted by the out of control rose bush in our front yard!

My husband and I had the week off together last week.  My son was with his dad all week, so my hubby and I tackled some house projects.  I don't know about you, but we started with a couple projects and one thing led to another, and now everything is moved around!  We started out by getting a new HD TV.  That went on the wall, so we didn't need the TV stand we bought 2 years ago.  Then we decided to move the cabinet that was in our bedroom downstairs to organize DVDs and my son's toys.  Finally, we got rid of the awful black curtains and got some beautiful curtains to replace them!  I think that's my favorite part!

Spring is here, and I am so excited that the sun is out.  I hope that after a couple errands this afternoon, my little man can go out in front of our house and ride his bike a little.

I'm linking up to {virtual} coffee at Lucky 13

{virtual} coffee

Good Morning! 

 Please come in and have some raspberry hot chocolate. 

I will post the recipe later this week.  

I hope you are having a good week.  The sun is out here, but its still cold.  We're supposed to have sun all week, which is good, because I am tired of clouds and rain.  

Oh, my son is better!  It was so sad to watch him last week, when he was sick.  On Wednesday, I took 1/2 day off to take him to the doctor again.  I heard his running footsteps down the hallway to my bedroom from his, and my heart leapt!  My little man was back!  His stepmom is sick again, but I'm hoping my little man will stay healthy. 

We had a busy weekend.  Little Man had a baseball game on Saturday, then we had our big school fundraiser.  We ended the evening with dinner at our favorite place!  On Sunday, we had church and did some shopping for summer clothes for Little Man (had to use those gymbucks!)  When we came home from our errands, I dropped our packages and then went to find my little man.  Here's what I found him doing! I snapped a bunch of pictures of him enjoying the weeds that have taken over our yard!  

Next week is spring break!  My son is spending the week with his dad, which makes me sad. My husband will be home with me though, which will be a nice treat.  When we got married almost 2 years ago, we moved 2 houses into one.  For about 2 weeks when we moved in, I got to park in the garage, then we moved the rest of his stuff in and my parking spot became a storage room!  Before we do anything next week, we are cleaning out the garage!  Its going to be a lot of work, but it will be good to finally have time to get all that cleaned out.  We will also make time for some fun.  

After gushing about some time off, I'd ask you what you've been up to.  How is the weather where you are?  Are you enjoying the spring weather? What projects do you need to tackle around the house?

{virtual} coffee

Good morning!

Please come in and have a cup of french press.  I stopped yesterday and picked up some fresh roasted beans at our local coffee shop downtown.  I'm having mine with frothy vanilla milk.  How would you like yours?  Yesterday, I also made some delicious homemade granola and homemade english muffins.  

Before we start talking about our week, I need to apologize.  Last week, I was not very gracious or social.  I don't think I stopped by anyone's for a cup, and I feel guilty.  It was one heck of a week last week.  I was an emotional mess and exhausted after work every day.  I will be better this week, I promise!  I chose this cup today for me.  Its time for me to snap out of it!  Last week was tough, but I need to move on!  

As we settle in on the couch, with the sun streaming in the window, you will probably notice the kid shows on in the background.  Yes, my little guy, who I brag about never getting sick, is sick again.  On Saturday morning, while I was running errands and getting ready to go meet him at his baseball game (he was at dad's house last weekend), I got a text from his stepmother that he had a 102.3 fever.  My heart broke, shattered.  He just can't catch a break this year.  He ended up getting sick to his stomach 3 times.  We've been home together yesterday and today.  His appetite isn't really back, and his fever comes and goes.  I just want to wave a magic wand and make it all better.

Next, I'd tell you that my friend is home from Europe!  I drove up there on Saturday afternoon and spent a much-needed afternoon shopping and talking with her.  Its so nice to have her home!  We live about 45 minutes apart, but just knowing she's there in her house, and I can txt her or call her makes things look brighter.  I love being able to share with each other over the years.  

I think I'd also mention that we have Spring Break coming up in a week and a half.  My son will be with his dad for the week, but my husband will be home!  We're planning to spend the beginning of the week cleaning out our scary garage.  I hope we get it done so we can take some day trips.  I'd really like to go down to Carmel and maybe spend a day wine tasting.  Maybe we'll get to San Francisco to the museum. We've been together almost 5 years and have always talked about it.  I hope this year, we can make it!

What is going on in your life?  Is everyone healthy?  I'm so glad you stopped by for a cup of coffee.  I hope to see you next week!  For another cup or 2, visit Lucky 13.

{virtual} coffee

Good morning.  Welcome, come on in and we'll sit and chat.  I'm going to have a caramel late this morning, using my frother of course!  That thing is still in my top 5 kitchen toys I've ever bought, and it was less that $20!   Oh, and have a piece of birthday cake, we have plenty and this one is delicious, its a marble cake with raspberry filling.

Please settle in and stay for a while, I'd love to sit and talk. 

 As I told you last week, one of my BFFs is in Europe, and while she's coming home later this week, I still miss her terribly!  I do love getting her emails, but its just not the same.  

We're finally enjoying spring!  I took off my jacket this afternoon and I wasn't freezing.  They say that by Thursday, we will have nice, warm temps.  I laughed this morning when the guys on the radio were joking about not knowing what the sun was, only in California.  Two weeks without sun and we all freak out.

I had a birthday party on Sunday for my 7 year old (I can not believe that he's 7) yesterday.  I had 12 children between 4 and 7 in my house for 2 hours!  It was a Ninja Party.  Imagine this: 10 boys, all 6 and 7 and all been cooped up for almost 2 weeks due to rain, and having a Ninja party.  It was a little boy's dream!  All considered, it went very well.  The boys had a ton of fun, and enjoyed being outside for a while too.  My little man has a ton of new loot to play with!

Speaking of my little man, he has been so sweet lately.  He knew that I was missing his auntie Trina and struggling with some other things lately.  He came up to me last night and gave me a huge hug and asked me how he could help.  I melted!  A few times.  Even though he's a big boy, I can't resist his hugs, those big blue eyes, and his sweet words!  He has such a good heart, and I am so proud to be his mommy!

Now, I'll sit back and listen to what's going on in your neck of the woods.  Has spring gotten there yet?  What helps you pick yourself up when you're feeling down?  Thank you for visiting, will you please take so cake home with you?!

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week! 

Time for a Cup of Tea

Hi! Thanks for coming over for a coffee break.  I think I'll have a cup of cinnamon cookie tea with frothed milk.  What would you like?  Before you can even sit down, I have to share that my baby boy turns 7 today.  I might even have to whip out pictures so you can see him 7 years ago, and now.  Its so hard to believe how fast he's growing up!  Tonight, he has specifically asked for mommy's macaroni and cheese for dinner.  Then we are heading over to Cheesecake Factory for birthday dessert!

I'd also have to tell you that I'm emotionally spent right now.  Nothing major is going on, just a lot of little things and I'm exhausted.  I feel like I have a lot of things that need to be done NOW, and I feel like I'm drowning in it all.  Part of it could be the rain, part of it could be the fact that I'm going on week #2 that one of my BFFs has been in Europe for a week and there's still a week to go.  This is my friend who I text when I'm feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or just need to vent. I know I can make it another week, its just tough not having her around!  As for the things I need to get done, I'm taking it one day at time and one task at a time.  It will all get done, or if it doesn't, the world will not end!

I'm hoping to get some baking in this week so I can decompress and spend a little time relaxing.  I got some cinnamon chips and some cappuccino chips from King Arthur Flour a week and a half ago and I want to get creative and make some yummy treats for my family.

As we continue to to sip our tea, I'll ask how your week is going.  Is there anything weighing on you right now?  Do you have a friend who keeps you on track on those harder days?  Are you planning to do any baking this week?

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week!

{virtual} coffee

Good Morning!
If we were meeting for coffee today, I'd ask you to come over to my house.  Let's sit on my comfy couch and talk for a while.  I think there's 1 or 2 homemade donutsleft, would you like one?  I'm still on my chai tea latte kick, and I'll even pull out my new kitchen gadget, a milk frother, so we can have foamy, frothy milk with our chai tea latte.

If we were sitting down this morning, I'd have to share that my aunt came to town for a visit over the weekend.  It was so nice to see her and spend time together.  We had a break in the rain and were able to enjoy some sun and fresh air.  We visited the local outdoor mall and ran into one of my students and his family.  It was fun to watch my little guy be able to play and run in the fresh air.  He seems to be on the mend, I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Here's a picture of my dad and my aunt dancing together during our quick glimpse of sun on Saturday!

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with my husband's work schedule for winter.  He's been able to be home a little more.  I snapped this picture the other night.  My boys were hanging out together, doing the nightly reading.

I'd also have to share that I'm buried under report cards right now.  They go home on Friday and I've made some progress, but I'm starting to feel the crunch!

The last thing I'd share is that I've been cooking and baking up a storm (partly procrastination and avoiding report cards!)  I got a new cookbook last week when I was at Williams-Sonoma.  I've made a couple recipes, and they were both a hit!  I'm looking forward to next week and trying another one.  The book is called One Pot and its worth checking out!

Before I rush back to report cards, I'd ask what you've been up to.  Any news, any special visitors to your home?  Thanks for stopping by!

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week!

{virtual} coffee

Good Morning!  Thank you for coming over for coffee again this week!  I'm having a Vanilla Ceylon Teal Latte, would you like one of those, or I can make you a pot of french press coffee if you'd like!  The cinnamon scones should be out of the oven in a few minutes (I cut corners this time and used a pre-mix, I don't do that often, but it sounded good at the store last week!)

If we were sitting down for coffee today, I'd have to tell you that my little guy is sick again.  I feel so bad.  He's been sick off an on for a month now.  Yesterday, he was a mess.  We had to go run a couple errands and he was whiney and crabby.  Then he fell asleep in the car.  When a 6 year old falls asleep in the car after a day of mostly doing nothing, you know he doesn't feel well.  When my husband got home from work at 8:30, I headed out to school to get sub plans ready for today.  Its dark and scary at school at night!  I'm hoping my little guy gets to sleep this morning and feels better soon, this breaks my heart.

If we were sitting down together, I'd mention that I'm back to running and working out.  I injured my leg back in November and its been a long haul of getting back to this point.  I feel like I'm back on a schedule and getting workouts in 3-4 times a week.  I'm hoping to bump it up to 4-5 times in the next two weeks.

On Sunday, my husband and I escaped for a much-needed date!  My son was at his dad's for the weekend, and my stepson doesn't want much to do with us anyway (unless we're feeding him).  We went down the street and had breakfast together, then went to see The King's Speech.  What a great movie!  I was on the edge of my seat, laughing one minute and crying the next.  So well done and beautiful!  I was touched.  I want to see it again and again!

I'd have to mention that report cards go home two weeks from Friday.  Report card time is always a stressful time.  It means extra hours at work to keep up on grading and planning.  It doesn't help that I'm home with my little man because it means I'm behind on assessments too.  OK, enough about work because I don't want to stress myself out!

I should get going and work on laundry and roust my stepson out of bed so he's not late to school. What is going on in your house?  Are you all staying healthy?  I hope so!  Have a wonderful week, and I'm looking forward to our next sit down for coffee!  For more {virtual} cups of coffee, head over to Lucky13.  For another cup of tea, you can go to Grey Umbrella.

{virtual} coffee

If we were meeting for coffee today, I'd ask you to come to my place.  I have lots of tea and some coffee, what would you like?  I have some delicious cinnamon and strawberry mini-muffins that I made last night too.  Have one or two or 3!

If you were coming to my house today, I'd have to point out my clean tile floor.  We had it cleaned on Saturday.  I am so excited!  It looks great and I am thrilled at how it turned out.  After I pointed out the floor, I'd also show you my new curtains.  Its nice to be slowly making our house our home!  I'd have to tell you that I'm trying to talk my husband into us getting new couches for our second wedding anniversary.  I'll keep you posted on my progress on that one!

Finally, I'd tell you that Valentine's Day for our family wasn't ideal.  My husband's company decided that Valentine's Day was a good day for them to go back to his crazy overtime work schedule.  So, I made mac n cheese for our family and had dinner with the 2 kids.  I got little man to bed and then the older one helped me with the dishes.  My husband came home with beautiful flowers for me.  Bless his heart!  A 12 hour work day, an hour drive home and he still thought to get me flowers.  I married a great guy!  I also got a beautiful necklace from Brighton to match the earrings he got me for Christmas!

I'd also sneak in some talk about how we're starting to really look forward to our getaway next week.  We're all so excited to get out of town and sleep in and have fun together.

What has your week been like?  How was your Valentine's Day?  I'm looking forward to hearing all about you and what's going on in your life!

For more cups of coffee or tea, you can go to Lucky Number 13 for more {virtual } coffee

{virtual} coffee

Good Morning!  I hope you are having a great day.  If we were meeting for coffee, I'd suggest we meet at Peet's Coffee.  They have the raspberry mochas back, and as always, I'm in love!  I would get mine with nonfat milk, and half the chocolate and raspberry syrup since the whole lot is WAY too sweet for me!  Maybe a little whipped cream!  Let's sit outside since the weather here is still beautiful.  The rain is supposed to be back this week.

If we were meeting for coffee today, I'd have so much to tell you!  I'm not even sure where to start!  First, I'd tell you how proud of my little man I am!  He had his first communion on Sunday.  The children participated in the church service and each child participating had a part to read.  My heart swelled with pride when he read!  He did such an awesome job.  I've been a member of that church since I was his age, and I still hate getting up in that big church and reading in front of all those people!

Next, I wouldn't be able to hold of telling you that my husband bought my birthday present yesterday.  OK, I know you'd tell me that my birthday isn't until May.  Yes, but I don't actually get my present til the week after, I'd say.  I get to go see U2 in concert!  I am so excited!  I've wanted to see them in concert since high school.  We won't talk about how long that's been.  Let's suffice it to say that I've wanted this for a long time!  Then I'd grin and tell you I married the most wonderful man in the world!

Finally, I'd tell you I'm starting to run again.  I have to start back at the beginning of the Couch 2 5k, but I'm back to it.  I've been struggling with an injury and doing Physical Therapy for a few months now.  Its hard to go back to the beginning after doing a 1/2 marathon, but it feels good to be back!

What is going on with you this week?  I hope you are having as good a week as I am!

{virtual} coffee

I thought I'd try something new this week.  I have been following Alli n Son and its become one of my favorite blogs!  She participates in virtual coffee each week and I love hearing what's going on in her life.  I thought I'd bite the bullet and try something new :-)

I'm making a pot of chai tea, would you like a cup?  If chai isn't your style, I have a whole cabinet of tea you can look through!

This week, I'll tell you how much my husband and I enjoyed a couple days away this past weekend in Calistoga!  We had a wonderful dinner, did some wine tasting and some shopping, we also did some shopping for wine!  It was so nice to have a couple days away from everything and be able to just hang out together and enjoy each other's company!

The other thing I would tell you is that I am so proud of my little man.  He's going to have his first communion on Sunday.  How can he be that big already? Wasn't it just yesterday that he was baptized?  He is growing up so fast!  He'll be doing first communion sans his 2 front teeth!  We are Episcopalian.  He is having his First Communion in the same church I did.  Its so touching to me that we're celebrating this day for him.  Many people who love him will be there to share the day!

The next few weeks are very busy for us.  I am looking forward to our family getaway to San Diego!  Less than 3 weeks! 

What's going on in your life?  Can't wait to hear!  What are you proud of?  What are you excited about?