Let Them Eat Cake

One fantastic thing about Troy's parents is their love of deserts, so when they come to visit, it is basically a given that we will be partaking of a sweet treat sometime during the day. Now, I am generally a salt-loving person, but I think it would be rude to be so unaccommodating as to deny my in-laws of their sweets, so out of the goodness of my heart, I eat desert too. I am such a gracious host. Last night we enjoyed a choice of red velvet cake or carrot cake. (I had a small slice of each! But I couldn't finish them . . . )

This morning, before church, my mother-in-law told us that she had a coffee cake in the fridge we could have before we left. I cut a slice for myself and as I let the sugary goodness dissolve in my mouth, I was wondering why this baked good was acceptable for breakfast while the red velvet and carrot cake was reserved for an after meal end cap. Both are cakes. Both are made with flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Both will take up occupancy on my hips creating a saddle-bag effect. Then I realized the difference. The frosting.

That's right, frosting. Add frosting to a cake, and it can be classified a dessert. Strip the powdered sugar and egg whites and you have yourself breakfast. The frosting is the one who gets all the credit but is really just a lot of excess calories. Frosting is like the debutant reality star that doesn't really do anything but is famous anyway. Frosting is the Paris Hilton of delicatessens.

However, I feel like I need to address the rebel in this scenario. The coffee cake with icing. You've seen them. They often have the two racing stripes of some sort of fruit jelly running lengthwise and then on the cake part are small piped curly-cues of frosting that are delicate enough to be appropriate for breakfast but provocative enough to laugh in the face at the rules of breakfast. What is with that? It clearly says coffee cake on those stickers that I am convinced are made with the same glue as duct tape. The stickiness of those suckers is remarkable! Coffee cake should be eaten with, well, coffee, which is consumed primarily in the morning. It is a sneaky tactic, but so far the dessert police do not have enough evidence to arrest the frosted coffee cake for obstruction of a breakfast food.

I guess the lesson learned here, kids, is that dessert, regardless of the time of day, has but one purpose: to satisfy that sweet tooth . . . and then rot it out. But who cares? In the words of Marie Antoinette, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche." Let them eat cake.

Classy Coffee Chicka

Even though we are in the end of April, the weather has not been cooperating very nicely. We have had more chilly, cloudy days than warm, sunny days. That, mixed in with the stress of school, has been leaving me a little caffeine-deprived. Around 3 o'clock, I am really jonesin' for a cup of joe, and not the slop that is in the teacher's lounge, I am talking about some good, quality coffee . . . like Dunkin Donuts! (Come on, you know that was coming.)

Yesterday, one of the teachers I work with bought coffee for us. Scrumptious Dunn Brother's coffee! It was awesome. I swear, when he brought in that glorious coffee carrier, I was looking at that delicious mocha like it was the holy grail. I downed it so fast that I got a little light headed. I realized that this new desire of afternoon coffee, has possibly given me the golden ticket to adulthood.

Growing up, when I saw grown ups drinking coffee in the morning, it was very normal. My mom has had a cup of coffee every morning for as long as I can remember. (My dad was more of a tea guy, just in case you were curious.) But, there was something classy about the grown ups drinking coffee in the afternoon. Whenever we went to my grandma's house, she always offered to make coffee for herself and my mom. They would sit in the kitchen or front room, sip their coffee and talk about grown up stuff. I thought it looked glorious. Even now, I feel awesome when I get my little Starbucks to tootle around Target.

Unfortunately, our school does not have a fantastic barista in the teacher's lounge, so for now, I have to settle with hand outs or waiting until I get home to brew up a batch myself. That is unless . . . you'd like to have a coffee date with me . . .

Holiday Coffee Cups

I am currently working on getting my masters in education. I have class every Thursday night from 4:45 to 9:30. Since I go right to class directly from work, it makes for a long day. Because of this, I treat myself to a Dunn Brother's coffee and a yogurt parfait. **Side Note: Those yogurt parfaits are delicious. If you haven't had one, you need to drop what you are doing and get yourself one.**

Today I was feeling rather chipper and thought to myself, "Self, maybe you don't need to get a coffee today, just get that delicious, crack-infested, yogurt parfait." And so that was my plan as I was walked through the sky-ways of Minneapolis. Then, I got to the Dunn Brothers and realized . . . . that the holiday cups were there, just waiting for me to enjoy my coffee with a little cardboard cup of holiday cheer. So, I did what any self-respecting, Christmas-loving, American-consumer would do . . . I bought a cup of coffee. And you know what? It was awesome. Every. Single. Drop.

Anywho, it was a beautiful thing and I love that the Christmas coffee cups are out. And because of my love for them, I have written an haiku:

(ahem)

Christmas coffee cups,
Spreading their holiday cheer,
Who doesn't love that?

Thank you.

More Awesome Things Thought by Pam

Due to the intense popularity of the Awesome Things Thought by Pam, I have thought of a few more awesome things that you might also think are awesome. Therefore I have taken the time to type them out for your reading enjoyment. You're welcome.

1. Random, Perfect-Aim, Back Scratches. Have you ever sat next to a friend, your grandma or your mom and you feel that little twinge on the part of your back that is impossible to scratch? You know what's coming. It is going to get super itchy, really quick. Just when you are about to make the move to attempt to scratch it, the person next to reaches to scratch your back - in the exact spot you were attempting to aim! That's the best. My grandma is notorious for that. She is a really good back scratcher and she always seems to find that spot before I get to it, which is awesome. My friend Brooke is pretty notable for that too, although I have never told her so. I should probably do that.

2. Perforated Edges. Ticket stubs, legal pads, and check books have these fabulous, helpful edges. There is something really satisfying about ripping a piece of paper, in a perfect line due to the aid of those little holes punched in a row for your convenience. I have a really hard time not ripping paper with perforated edges, especially tickets. I remember going to sporting events before those fancy scanners were used. The service personal would rip the ticket but I always wanted to rip my own ticket. Those perforated edges have a spell on me. Not ripping a perforated edge is like not popping bubble wrap - impossible.

3. Humming Refrigerators. You are sitting at home after returning from work. You are too tired to turn on the TV. You plop down on the couch and let your brain unwind. After a few minutes, you realize that your house has a gentile humming that seems to be coming from the kitchen. It is the refrigerator. There is something calming about that hum. It's almost like a little lullaby that your appliance sings for you. I love that sound. I definitely associate that sound with being home and being cozy, therefore . . . awesomeness.

4. Coffee with Desert. I absolutely love fancy dinners. Whether it is a wedding, a rehearsal, a Christmas party, or a nice restaurant, I heart them all. I love enjoying a glass of wine or champagne. I love the appetizers and I love the main course but my favorite part is the desert. Not because I am a "sweets" person. To be honest, I prefer the appetizer because it is usually something salty and it means you still have the whole meal left to enjoy. I love the desert part because I always get coffee. I love having coffee with desert after a delicious meal. It almost feels like time slows down a little bit . . . but not too long because if I am sharing a desert with Troy, I need to eat quick!

5. Dry Underwear. Maybe you got caught in a rainstorm, or maybe you have been riding all the water rides at Great America, either way, you're soaked right down to your skivvies. You have to endure the ride home and after slipping out of your sloshed shoes, you take a nice hot shower, put on dry underwear and realize there is no greater feeling at that moment than dry fabric on your rump. You know what I'm talking about and it is glorious.

6. Greeting with a Kiss. Now, I know that I have stated before that I am not a touchy feely person, so this awesome thing does not apply to everyone. My apologies. But, we have a few friends who are consistent with their kiss greetings. Every time we see them, they hug both Troy and I, but give me a kiss on the cheek. I love it! It is very genuine and not at all creepy. It feels like we are in Italy and who wouldn't love that?

7. Loafers and Tassels. I love these. My grandpa used to wear these shoes a lot. You know the ones; the leather slip-on loafers with the two tassels on the top. They are great. They even make them for little boys. If I ever have boys, I am buying them and making my boys wear the tasseled loafers all the time. I secretly hope Troy will wear them some day.

8. Dogs Hanging out the Window. There have been days when I am feeling grouchy and I am on my way home from work or out running an errand. I have this gray cloud over my head, threatening to pour rain down right on my head. Then I see a dog with its head out the window, ears flapping in the breeze and just loving life. It makes me smile every time, even when I am in a rotten funk. I love how happy those dogs look with their big noggins hanging as far out the front window as possible.

9. Garlic/Onion Hands. My mom has a small silver soap bar. It's not real soap, but you are supposed to run water over your hands while rubbing this silver soap as though you were lathering up. Somehow it gets rid of the smell of onions or garlic on your hands. My mom swears by it. I do not own one of these because I love the smell of onions and garlic on my hands. I love how it stays there for two or three days, and sometimes, I purposely smell my hands during the day just to get a whiff. It smells like a good, home-cooked meal. How could you not love that?

10. Shoe Sounds. There are four specific noises that shoes make that I love. The first one is dress shoes on a tile floor. I love to wear my high heels and hear the click-clack sound on the tile. It makes me feel like a grown up. The second shoe sound I love is the squeaking noise that gym shoes make on the gym floor at a basketball game. Sometimes, I don't even listen to the announcer. I just listen to the squeaking. The third shoe sound I love it similar to the first: it is the sound of baseball cleats on the cement. I think it is for the same reason; I like the click-clack sound. They sound kind of like dress shoes. Finally, I love the sound of walking on gravel or leaves. There really isn't a reason, I just like it.

There you have it folks. More awesome things thought by me. I hope that you can identify with a few of them, and if you can't, I don't really care because the title of this blog is "Awesome Things Thought by Pam" not "Awesome Things Thought by (insert your name here)".

For Here or To Go?

Two things you need to know about me before I begin this blog. Number one, I need coffee to function in the morning. Number two, I hate waking up early. Naturally, because of these two issues I have been happily bringing my coffee to work with me in one of the stainless steel travel mugs that looks really stealth and quite possibly like I swiped it from Batman. However, I also have a fabulous collection of Starbucks mugs. (Not that I am prejudiced to any other coffee establishment, but I like how Starbucks mugs are super giant and can really hold like three cups of coffee in one mug.) Every morning I would eat my breakfast of champs--a bowl of Honey-nut Cheerios--and then fix my coffee to my liking--sugar free french vanilla creamer with two Splendas--and head off to work, but I felt like I could hear my mugs calling me from their organized place in the cabinet. These mugs were generally reserved for Saturday mornings when I had the time to lounge around and sip my Dunkin Donuts coffee that came from the extra-large bag my husband stocks up on for me at CostCo. Still, it felt like a shame to use these fun mugs only once a week.

One weekend my sister, Laura came to visit. She decided to leave Monday morning instead of Sunday night and so we had coffee in the morning before I had to leave for work. It was so fun! I loved just chillaxing (Chilling + Relaxing = Chillaxing) before hitting the grind. So, I started getting up just a little bit earlier and forced myself to sit down and enjoy my delicious coffee in my super fun and giant Starbucks mugs. I have to say, it is the best part of my day. This morning I was so enjoying my coffee moment, that I thought I would take a picture of the cup of coffee that was so delicious and helped me get my buns perpendicular for the day. I should add that is one of the few mugs that is not from Starbucks. This was a birthday present to me from Anthropologie, which by the way, has super cute mugs too.

While we are on the topic of coffee, I would like to give a shout-out to all my straight up coffee drinkers who prefer it black. You are my heroes and although I may not have told you this, there is a part of me that thinks it's super cool that you go raw-hide like that. Now, I add cream and sugar (or sugar-substitute, I should say) to my coffee. I was actually told once that I was not a true coffee lover because of this apparently blasphemous act. But I say, "nay!" If you cut me, do I not bleed? If there is moisture in the air, will my hair not frizz? If I add cream and sugar to my coffee, do I not enjoy my cup of joe? Anywho, maybe I will take this time to warn the coffee snobs out there. The next time someone tells me I am not a true coffee lover, be warned, I will kick you in the shins. Then I will run away to a safe location where you can't find me to retaliate and there I will laugh at my act of revenge. Consider you all warned.