Coffee and Tea and New Car

COFFEE and TEA

Why do people drink Coffee and Tea? What made them start to like it in the beginning and why do they continue? For instance, for as long as I can remember my mom and dad have drank coffee completely black. In fact, if someone were to leave the pot on and let it sit all day, my dad would still pour a cup of coffee and say it's the best cup he's ever had. Seriously. He loves it that strong (nasty). Mom likes McDonald's coffee best. I think it's because it is cheap and always fresh. I like both tea and coffee. Usually I will switch out certain times of year that I drink them. I'll go on a tea binge or just get a coffee kick.

This morning as I fired up my Keurig I though about why I wanted to drink coffee in the first place. It has a bitter flavor that is actually not that tempting unless I cover it up with sweet-n-low and cream. So why do it? There are times that I actually drink it every morning and tell myself that it is the best drink I've ever tasted, when I know that there are far better ones out there. . I'll tell you why my friend. It has all to do with that great big word CAFFEINE.

My love affair with caffeine came about many years ago when I started drinking hot tea as a teenager. I had hoped to be able to stay awake longer with it than with Coke because I figured it had more caffeine in it than Coke. I just couldn't stand the thought of drinking coffee at that time. For years I went on drinking only hot tea, or in a pinch, cold tea, to get my caffeine. I knew it didn't compare to coffee in caffeine but the bitter taste of coffee just didn't appeal to me at that time. Ironically I still put sweet-n-low and milk in my tea, to enhance the flavor of the tea, of course. It was said to be the "British"way of doing tea.

Then for a very short time I became a barista at a coffee joint, of all things. I learned a little about the ways that lattes could be made and voila! I now could love coffee! As long as it was milked down enough I could have caffeine all I wanted! But my love waned. Lattes became passé and I was bored of them. Besides my latte maker broke I used it so much.

I really became a friend of coffee when I joined AA. That group of friends really know how to love their coffee. The first thing you do before an AA meeting is get a cup of coffee. That's the ice breaker. It's not always the best cup of coffee in the world but it sure can be a good conversation starter.

There have been times for me that coffee was one of the highlights of my entire day. No joke. Whether or not the coffee was any good in the morning could mean the difference between a good or a not so good day. During those days I also had to make do with whatever I had available to put in my cup of coffee. I might have a little sugar or milk, or if I was lucky that week I had some sweet-n-low and creamer. Coffee can truly be "the best part of waking up" whether it's Folgers in the cup or not.

So now I look at coffee quite differently from when I first began drinking it. I am grateful for having it now when I didn't think about it much before. I don't mind that it might have a little bitter taste because I know I like the caffeine and I sugar it to death anyway. I am thankful that I can do that too. I drink my coffee and I like the stuff. It is what it is and I'm just darn lucky to have it.


NEW CAR

Ken and I got a new car on Saturday. It is a Nissan Versa. A few weeks ago I took the time to research the type of car that would suit our family's needs regarding gas mileage and interior leg room. Also, the price had to be right for our budget. I didn't want a domestic car and I was tired of driving a stick shift so those things were out of the question. The Versa is what I came up with. After looking at the car Ken agreed. It took a little bit of haggling with the dealer but we got the car at the price we wanted and now it's ours! The car has the most backseat legroom of any compact car on the market. It also beats out most mid-size sedans in legroom, including Toyota Corolla and Nissan Altima! I was shocked. THAT, my friends, is why I chose this car. I don't need a sedan as nice and as expensive as the Altima since I can't afford it. Plus, Bob Allen Nissan went all the way to give us the best deal. I really put them through the wringer. I'm pretty good at negotiating a deal and they worked well with me. So, if you want a car and they have it, go there.

I Love eBooks, Book Organization and Book Community

KINDLE

I love my Kindle. Currently I'm using the Kindle app on my iPad (Erin has the Kindle), so I'll just say I love all eBooks and anything that can get a digital book to any of my digital computer type systems. Obviously my love is because I am such a consumer of the written word. BUT..

There is an even better reason to love the format eBook itself that I am proclaiming this love today. It is because I have the ability to find and GET the next book in a series IMMEDIATELY in my hands. If I have the means and am really into a story I no longer have to go to a bookstore and buy the next book in the series before I can find out what happens next to my favorite heroine! Also the Kindle price is often cheaper than the paperback price.

The number one thing that made me write this post is the kicker of them all. I found a book that was the 2nd book in its series and I really did not want to wait to have to find the first book before getting to read that book. So, I looked it up on Kindle and, low and behold! It was only $2.99 Kindle price! So I bought it and now I don't have to wait to actually try to find a paperback book cheap nor do I have to pay full paperback price! So my thoughts ran rampant. What if I could always find the first book in the series EVERY time I had this dilemma? Sure, the price may not always be right, but I have the world's library at my fingertips! I can always have the book I want right there! OK, I'm obsessed. That's going overboard and would happen only in a perfect world where I might have more money than I have brains.

SHELFARI

"Shelfari is a gathering place for authors, aspiring authors, publishers, and readers, and has many tools and features to help these groups connect with each other in a fun and engaging way. Our mission is to enhance the experience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word."

I like Shelfari, though it is a community, because it is a place to house my library of books. So far in my Shelfari library I have logged in 3,520 books. Almost all of them are eBooks. Shelfari is linked to Amazon so occasionally after I've racked up a couple dozen books I'll upload them to Shelfari and my count goes higher. Also when I buy them straight out I add them manually. If I remember books I've read in the past I'll add them also. Shelfari is really cool. It lets you separate the books into categories of Owned, Read, Want to read, To be read, Reading Now, Wish to Have, etc... So, the total count may or may not be all the books I actually own or have read. For instance, the total books logged on my Shelfari, 3,656, includes those I have read but do not own. When I remember books I have read in the past I add them to the list.

GOODREADS

"Goodreads is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world. We have more than 12,000,000 members who have added more than 400,000,000 books to their shelves. A home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more."

I like Goodreads for the actual community. Yes, they also have a place to keep the library of books but they are not connected to Amazon therefore they are not easy to upload every single book I own to the database. There are many more people that use Goodreads for community than Shelfari. It just makes sense to me to use both. 


For a book lover like me any book tool on the web is a good book tool I say. Happy Reading!