One of those days

[pegkerr]

What with the layoff, I've gotten to the point of penny-pinching where buying a latte feels like a truly decadent luxury. I'll do it maybe once a week, but I have to really argue with myself first.

But today, I woke up unexplicably grumpy and so I decided to treat myself. A latte? Can I afford it? Go on, splurge a little, Peg! No, really, it's okay! You put in seven hours of overtime this week, surely you can allow yourself this, not just a standard latte, but $3.75 for a gingerbread latte!

Whereupon I managed to slop it all over the front of my blouse. Now I'm grumpier than ever.

Tell me something to cheer me up, friends list.

Comments

[folk.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I hate when that happens.

Well, here in Cornwall I'm sitting in bed under a lovely warm duvet with my knee immobilising cast on, with two cats curled up on and around me. The wind outside is whistling through the trees opposite, and I'm looking forward to heading down to the beach later to see the sunset. Although I do feel the day could be improved by some tea!

[next-bold-move.livejournal.com]

Ethan helps me cheer up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was so cute! Thanks!

[kerryp.livejournal.com]

One year ago, I went to the Miami Book Fair (this week being the anniversary of the event) and they had a Starbucks Van that gave out free samples. One of the free samples was a small cup (bathroom dixie cup sized) of hot chocolate (peppermint, I think) with copious amounts of whipped cream. I waited in a long line for my free sample, and when I finally received it, I threw back my head to drink my hot chocolate shot . . .wherein the whipped cream slid forward against my lips and the hot chocolate fountained down the front of my shirt. I was mortified, to say the least. I spent the next hour looking for a replacement shirt. Once I was cleaned up and heard my next speaker, I decided that I had been cheated, having still not had my peppermint hot chocolate. So I went back to the Starbucks van, waited again in the long line, and . . . .did exactly the same thing all over again. My friends couldn't stop laughing when I showed up with the second hot chocolate sodded shirt, which I wore for the rest of the day.

Sometimes, you have to laugh, to keep from crying.

I hope that when I go back to the fair this Saturday, I will have the willpower to avoid the Starbucks line. But, like the Monkey who won't drop the apple to get his hand out of the jar, I probably won't have that kind of self-control. I will, however, pack up a back-up shirt, just in case.

I wish you the best in cheer, soon.

[anemonerose.livejournal.com]

Bring along a small straw to stir up the whipped cream if they don't have anything like that available at their van. That's really the only way to make sure that doesn't happen. When we'd do samples of drinks in the bookstore we always put a straw in them even if they were hot drinks so that people could stir in the whipped cream and avoid potential messes. :)

[kerryp.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll try that.

[ckd]

Reuters published a news article with the headline Hide your old pills in poop, U.S. government says.

It has some great quotes, too:

Of course some people do not drink coffee. But maybe they have a pet ferret.

"Ferret waste, like nearly any other form of pet waste, can be effectively used to help prevent the abuse of unused prescription drugs," SAMHSA spokesman Mark Weber said.

This news delighted the American Ferret Association.

"The U.S. government declares ferret poop to be an effective weapon against drug abuse," the group said in a statement.

You have to imagine the reporter sitting at their keyboard, saying "I got to use the word 'poop' in a headline" over and over and giggling.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The person practicing guitar in this house has gotten to the point where he can play actual songs coherently and at speed. This makes listening to guitar practice far happier, and I also find that for me it's just a little symbol of some things in the world getting better.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I've been link hopping the various direct action organizations who are likely to be in the cities during the RNC next summer, and am pleased that there are so many progressive liberal voices out there.

K.

[sternel.livejournal.com]

I came home from my night class last night to discover my favorite cookies ever, Stella D'Oro Pfeffernusse, are out for the holidays. There were two packages on the counter. I ate a half a package. I was up half the night from the sugar and feel vaguely ill this morning from my greed, but.

That's the first time I've tasted pfeffernusse since last Christmas, and they were delicious.

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

1. You get *paid* for overtime. I'm salaried and extra time doesn't mean additional $$.

2. You might look funny with a stain on your blouse, but you'll smell like gingerbread all day, which can't be bad.

~Amanda

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

3. Orange Milano cookies.

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

4. You *don't* have to have gallbladder surgery on the 20th.

[nmsunbear.livejournal.com]

Check out this adorable little concept car from Nissan: It looks like a toy, the wheels turn sideways for parking, it's supposed to be eco-friendly, and it even has a cute little robotic head in the dashboard.

http://www2.nissan.co.jp/MS/TOKYO2007/E/index.html

[pameladean]

The House passed ENDA. Whatever happens after this, something of this nature has never gotten so far before.

P.

[carbonel]

I know it's not the same thing as buying it, but do you have an espresso/latte maker? If not, I have a spare one I'd be willing to lend you. And you can buy 750-ml bottles of gingerbread flavoring for about the price of two lattes.

Oh, and Cub has coupons for buy one, get one free for both Cameron's and McGarvey's coffee. I'm all set with French Roast and espresso (I use a mixture) for the next several months.

As for cheering things, I have a Romance Exchange this Saturday, and the table is already set, and I think I've done all the shopping I need except for hitting up the shrimp truck.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I do have an espresso maker, and I've used it extensively in the past--it's been a great money-saver. I haven't been using it as much this year once I started biking; I sort of got out of the habit since I preferred to drink water instead of coffee then. I need to get some good coffee beans to have on hand, and then I'll start using it again.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Where do you buy the gingerbread flavoring, btw?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lindsay_/]

1. I work at starbucks and get a free pound of coffee a week. Tell me what beans you want and I will send you some!

2. I'm not a big fan of (ours, at least) the gingerbread latte. Cinnamon dolce or peppermint mocha is where it's at!!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, that would be so kind of you.

I like darker, fuller-bodied roasts. French roast would be great, or else surprise me! Send to:

Peg Kerr
P.O. Box 2128
Loop Station
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Thanks ever so much.

[carbonel]

I never received this in e-mail, for some reason. I just saw it when I was looking for a post you made a while ago about Web 2.0 sites and friendship and narcissism (still looking for that one).

In any case, I get my gingerbread flavoring from netrition.com. They charge $4.95 for shipping, no matter how much you order. I like the Da Vinci brand because they have a huge selection of sugar-free syrups.

I have about 10 bottles sitting on my counter. The spicy ones (gingerbread, cinnamon, chocolate) go in coffee, and the fruit ones get mixed with seltzer water to make sodas, or Hawaiian shaved ice to make snowcones.

[eal.livejournal.com]

My son (in the above picture) has discovered the joy that is buttermilk pie. He watched us eating it. We'd offer him a bite, and he'd say no.

Two days ago, when my slice of pie was put in front of me, he tried to peer around the bowl the "papas" was in (pasta) to see what I was eating. We moved the pasta bowl, and he pointed at my plate and said, "Try."

Okay, we hear and obey, so I put a small bite on a fork and offered to him. He pointed to his plate and said, "Plate." So, I put it on his plate. He picked it up, sniffed it, and then popped it in his mouth.

"More pie," he says. He ended up eating about half of my piece. As he's finishing it up, I say, "See, trying is a good thing."

He replies, "Yes, I try it and I like it. More pie."

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

How about this. I have video of my 11 year old nephew teaching me how to drive the front loader...

[sraun]

Will telling you about someone's bigger problem help?

My brother wants to go drive a truck in Iraq for a year. The pay would be wonderful (on the order of tens of thousands of dollars per month) and tax-free. But he won't have any medical insurance for my sister-in-law and nieces (one of whom is a Type I Diabetic). My sister-in-law is ... significantly stressed by this.

We spent a while talking about it Tuesday night - I gave her some thoughts on stuff to do to discuss with my brother about it. I don't know if he's going to go or not - I should know for certain within a few weeks, the departure date I was given was 11 December.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

KFAI just got approval from the FCC to go to 900 watts (from the current effective 125, iirc). I'm not part of that... at the moment... but the station is growing.

[creepygirl-chow.livejournal.com]

This music video always makes me smile (the cheering part is about halfway through):

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2wawt_623-menomena-wet-and-rusting_creation