Perkdup

Everyone loves to be appreciated.  Some people say that your appreciation is your paycheck and that's true to an extent, but there's nothing better than having someone show you how much they value your work. And while many people really scoff at the notion of "Administrative Professionals Week," I enjoy the attention. And it's always nice when one of your bosses shows you "special favor" in the form of a gift. My "girl boss" made my week with not one, but TWO boxes of this fancy French Mariage Freres Tea . I had never even heard of it, but when she came with a bag from Gump's, I knew it had to be special. She got me the tea pouches which I love for convenience sake at work and this green tea (Bouddha Bleu) has really helped with my sniffles this week as I struggle with a nasty headcold. Happy Administrative Professionals Week.  I hope you have received at least something to show how much you're valued.  

I woke up to a coffee lover's nightmare - NO coffee.   How did that happen, you say?  I have absolutely no idea.  It's actually beyond reason.  In my container lay four different bags with less than ten beans in each. Just when I started to get that "no coffee itch," I remembered that before I left my bestie's house in Houston last week, she handed me a bag of Dunkin' Donuts coffee beans.   Fire up the grinder and woo-hoo, casualty averted. Dunkin' Donuts is always reliable.  And so is a good friend.

There's a lot to be said for having so much trust in a coffee roaster that you're willing to purchase their beans without knowing which blend you're buying.  Well, I knew for sure it wasn't decaf, so that takes some of the concern away. When I saw this bag on the counter at Catahoula Coffee with the other bags of various blends with a great big "question mark" on it, my first thought was, "Yay, it's a contest." But then the barista told me that it wasn't a contest, it was leftover from a roast. I immediately grabbed it and took it to the register before anyone beat me to it.  For someone with a mildly, okay, obsessive personality like mine, that's confidence. And while I am finishing off the bag this morning, I still have no idea what I've been drinking.  Suffice to say it's very good coffee.  Isn't that all that matters?  

I just returned from a family wedding in Texas. There's no place like the South.  And since I was born in Arkansas, that makes me a Southern Girl so I should know. While I love, love, love all the wonderful micro-roasted artisan coffees that can be found around the world (including, in Texas), there's something to say for simplicity. Not to be left out of the "coffee culture," Denny's now offers a dark-roast blend. When the waitress came to our table and asked "Coffee?" I forgot to mention that I like mine dark. When she returned with my coffee, I said, "I'm sorry but I forgot to ask, do you have dark roast?"  She smiled and said, "I'll brew a fresh pot."  As I was giving her my cup back, she kindly offered, "Don't you want to sip on this until it's ready." Now that's what I call Southern Hospitality. By the way, the coffee was delicious.  And you get free refills.

For Immediate release: 12 lucky winners will take home this special keepsake box with three Novus handcrafted full-leaf teas. The Novus Tea Gift Box includes the following teas (36 tea sachets in all): Novus Dragon Well Green Tea, Novus Sapphire Earl Grey Tea and Novus Wild Encounter Herbal Tea.  Enter via the Bigelow Tea  Facebook  page and click on the sweepstakes icon under the large cover photo or on the side of the page.  Enter once each day, and be sure to share the sweepstakes on Facebook and Twitter to get bonus entries! The sweeps ends April 29th . Check Bigelow's  blog  for the names of the 12 lucky winners. Bigelow Tea Blog Bigelow Facebook Biglelow Twitter Bigelow YouTube

Every holiday seems to sneak up on me before I'm ready.  I know exactly when they're coming, yet  I just can't seem to get it together. This year, Easter was no different.   While I usually try to make sure that I attend church on Easter Sunday, this year, I decided to do something a little different.  I definitely celebrate Easter and the fact that in my belief, Christ rose on the third-day, but this year, I thought, "Why not stay home and get a head-start on dinner?" Who was it who said, "Life is short, eat dessert first?"  I'm following that person's lead.  Before I prepared my Easter ham, I baked a pound cake.  I had gotten so tired of pound cake that I realized I hadn't made one in a very long time.  Plus they're perfect for decorating.  And they just feel like Easter. But, before I got too far off-track, I wanted to make sure to hop on by and tell all my blog readers and friends to have a Wonderful Easter (and Passover) ...