I'm Looking Forward to This

This is what gets me going in the morning.

OK, that's a LIE. It's my kids that wake up at 6:15am that REALLY get me going in the morning, but a good cup of coffee always helps!

This is an espresso machine that I got for my birthday about 4 years ago. I love it. It's beautiful. It's shiny chrome and lots of heavy metal, and it makes an impressive latte.

Here I am trying to get a nice close up. Again, it's chrome. . . . not a lot I could do about the reflections. Don't I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame? In hindsight, I guess I should have tidied my kitchen up a bit more.

I start by steaming some milk. This seems to be an important step. Not only does it make my milk nice and frothy, but it really does make it better in the coffee. (hee hee that rhymes) I can't explain it except to say that it just plain tastes better when I steam it than when I pour it into my coffee right out of the refrigerator. So it's settled: Steamed milk = extra yummy goodness and regular cold milk = OK if I'm in a pinch.

Here are the coffee grinds in the brewing cup. I don't think that's the technical term for this device, but who the heck KNOWS where my manual is that came with this machine? Seriously, anyone know?????

After the grinds are in, then they must be pressed down in order for the espresso to brew correctly. (and I say brew loosely because the machine is actually passing pressurized liquid through the grounds to make the espresso).

Ahhhhhh. . . . . here it comes. Whoever said that oil was black gold obviously did not have one of these machines.

The espresso is added to a mug and then comes the lovely hot and steamy milk.

And that, my friends, is a delicious yummy latte made by my little self for my own personal enjoyment. I'm off to bed now so I can dream about having one of these in the morning. Now if only I could get a few good hours to sip this and read a trashy gossip magazine, then I'd be pretty close nirvana.

A Little Twinkle

I was trying to catch a nice little sun-flare through the trees with this picture. I think I captured a nice one, however my photo was HORRIBLY under exposed. I lightened and brightened as best I could, but of course it's a bit (OK, it's A LOT, I know) grainy. I think it gives it a retro seventies kinda feel.

Anyway, I wanted to post this picture because I still think it's a sweet shot. These two were on their way inside after an evening of racing and playing in the yard. He's a Daddy's boy for sure!

The Boy

I couldn't post an adorable picture of my girl from last weekend without posting an equally adorable picture of my boy from the same day.

I love that he looks a little bit shy here. Love, love, love this little monkey!

Happy Girl

My baby isn't feeling very well today, so I thought I'd post a picture from happier times. This was taken this weekend when she was playing outside.

Hope you have a happy day!

She Wants To Play Too!!

So while her brother was busy this weekend playing golf, my little girl here decided that she would try to play a little Tee-Ball.

So she picks up the ball. . . .

Tries to place it on the tee . . . .

Decides that she can't reach it unless she stands up (and let's face it, that's just WAY TOO MUCH work!), so she takes the tee out of the stand. . . . .

But now the ball won't stay on the top of the tee, so she decides it fits better on the bottom of the stand. It's more on her level now, you know?

There I times I think she is such a little girly thing - hugging her dolls and stuffed animals, patting them on the back, kissing them, and then there are times like this where I think she's going to be my little tom-boy.

Either one is fine with me - as long as I get to keep on being her momma!

He Needs To Work on His Game

His Daddy brought this lovely little Golf Set home for him this weekend. He thinks it's big fun. His FORM is a little questionable, but I can only assume that will get better with time.
OK, so it looks more like Hockey than Golf (Very Happy Gilmore, don't ya think?), but again, he's learning here . . .
And well, the golf ball fits on the baseball tee, so this kinda works . . . .

Kinda . . . .
Now his Daddy steps in and decides he needs a few pointers.
Already his FORM is improving! Maybe this kid will be the next Tiger Woods. Yeah, I'd like that - Momma could use a beach house!

Pet Week at "I Heart Faces"

It's pet week at I Heart Faces. Here is a picture of my friend and her dog Jackson. I love that I caught them in a sweet moment.

I especially love this picture because Jackson was so sick from cancer in this photo and during our playdate, but he never complained and was the happiest little doggie! Sadly, Jackson lost his battle with cancer the day after this photo was taken. He's in puppy heaven chasing rabbits, tugging on ropes, and eating as much kibble as he can stand!

To see more awesome (or "pawesome") pet photos, head on over to www.iheartfaces.com to check out all of the entries this week!