My Nook

This is my new home office nook. It has been the mud room off of our kitchen that has done little more than store our bag of potatoes and step stool.

It is a small space, but when you think about, I think everyone should have their very own small space. Maybe it is because I grew up with my own room and could shut the door and just do whatever I wanted to do in that room, but I have always craved individual isolation in small doses. I like having a space to put things that are mine and mine alone.

I have my cookbooks, picture frames, and tech tools on the shelves. I have artifacts from my life mingling with the picture frames. Iris the ipod and Charlotte the Shuffle have their very own spot on the shelf too! When you walk into my nook, you will know that Sara lives here and checks her recipes, blogs, and more in this space. I feel blessed today.

I Believe...

1. That a look at someone's ipod is like a window into his/her soul. (I posted a picture of my first ipod, Greta the Green. She now plays kindergarten music for five year old souls.)
   
2. Personal rituals make life better.
   
3. That the Oscars don't matter. It's just a place for rich, self-absorbed people to pat themselves on the back while wearing insanely expensive clothes.
4. It is reasonable to buy the exact same Banana Republic white, black, and gray stretch t-shirt summer after summer.
   
5. It's old timey and fun to keep money in a jar for something interesting on a rainy day.
6. Peanut butter and sour cream are excellent foods...just not together.
7. That I am not taking advantage of as many things as I should in Philadelphia. I need to get cracking on that.
8. It's time to start wearing the puffy vests again.
9. That I have the same haircut that she had when she graduated high school and I didn't even try to do it.
10. A simple life is a good life.
    

Time Well Spent

President's Day weekend has turned out to be one of the reasons that I love working at my job. We get Friday and Monday off! I have made it a habit to travel and see friends during this time of the year or I like to plan for people to come and see me in Philadelphia.

This year, I traveled to Minneapolis to see some of my nearest and dearest friends in my life. So, in typical Midwestern Position fashion, I will give it to by the numbers...

2 - New babies born to my friends Jolene and Steve. Welcome to the world Lauryn and Emily! I am so glad that I was able to meet you and hold you in your first days.

5 - The number of Wall Street Journals that the man next to me read during the flight from Philly to Minneapolis. He insisted on reading it in the big, wide way...you know so his fist was in my face because he refused to fold his paper in half to read.

$140,000 - The amount of money that I won playing the DVD game of Deal or No Deal with five year old Julia. I thought that was pretty good.

10 - The number of children under the age of six at the Valentine's Day Dance Party. Very fun.

2 - The number of Caribou Coffee shops that I stopped at during my Minneapolis trip. I love the Caribou. I miss it.

Reading Twilight

I couldn't resist. I started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. When someone handed me the book, I responded with, "I do not really like vampire books."

She asked, "Do you like steamy teenage love stories?" My response, was a simple "yes" as I grabbed the book from her hand.

I am finished with half of the novel and I wonder what is the matter with me sometimes. All I hear is how great the book is and how people beyond teenage girls love this book. There are grown women who love this series of books. The first three chapters were painful. The inner dialogue was cheesy and pretty typical. Without giving anything away, the main character Bella has this helpless, clumsy streak that makes Edward feel like he has to protect her. He reminds her to the point of nagging to "be careful" on every other page. This annoys me. I just don't empathize with Bella. If I had a guy telling me to be careful all of the time, he'd be history. Their entire relationship is so uneven. He has all of these reasons that he wants to be with her and she has one...he is dreamy.

Scammed at Starbucks

I have been accused of being naive before, but it was affirmed in midtown Manhattan on Sunday afternoon.

I was standing next to a man waiting for my drink at a Starbucks. When the woman barista asked him what he ordered, he replied with "Venti Caramel Machiatto".

In my mind, I thought, "ME TOO!"

So, the first Caramel Machiatto came up and he took it because he was there before I was. Then, a man barista asked me what I ordered. I told him and the barista said, "That guy just took your drink."

What? I realized in a half second that I was scammed. Or...Starbucks was scammed. Guys stand around and listen to orders and then belly up to the pick up counter and take other people's drinks. The barista stood there and I had a feeling like he was not going to make my drink so I had to explain to him that it is possible for people to order the same drink so it is not my responsibility to keep track of who ordered what. He made me another drink and I knew he would. It's Starbucks.

However, what is wrong with people? It's not like it was food. Maybe I would be more understanding if it was food and the person was starving, but it was coffee and a frilly girl drink at that.