working mommy wednesday

How important to you, as a working mom, is a schedule/routine for your kids?

This prompt is from last week. I really wanted to write about it, but ran out of time for blogging! So, I'm doing this one instead of the prompts for this week. :)

A schedule or routine isn't just important for Nate but also for ME!

If Nate gets off his schedule, he is grumpy because it usually means he's missing a nap or getting a nap at the wrong time causing all sorts of other issues. This would be the case even if I weren't working. He's 18 months old; he needs to stick to his routine. We've been having some issues with this lately because of switching back to daycare. The class he's in right now at daycare takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap. Except on rare occasions, Nate's a 1 nap kind of guy. He goes down for nap right after lunch. With Rodgers' work schedule, Nate usually gets to daycare as the kids are getting up from morning nap, but when Rodgers works in the morning, as he did yesterday (gotta give the guy props - he worked a double shift) Nate has to take morning nap with the other kids. Then, he sleeps for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon, and he never really gets the good naptime rest he needs during the day. Even when he doesn't have morning nap it is hard on him because afternoon nap is a couple of hours after lunch. Even though he's been doing this for 6 weeks, he can't really adjust to the schedule 100% because of weekends and those few days when Rodgers has to take him early. It's tough for the poor little guy.

As for me, if I get off my schedule, things don't get done.

Saturday, Nate and I got to go out of town and see some of my family. It was a great day, but it meant that I didn't do my usual Saturday cooking. Usually, I meal plan on Saturdays, too. We'll have 3 meals cooked, usually 2 on Saturday and 1 on Thursday when Rodgers is off, and eat leftovers the rest of the week. Rodgers eats his meals at lunch because he works 2nd shift, and Nate and I eat at supper.

I realized late Sunday night that we didn't have any food cooked for this week. Nate and I eat supper as soon as we get home from work. It's not like I could just cook on Monday after work, we needed to eat before that would happen. Besides that, Rodgers needed lunch for Monday (yes, he does cook, but I like to have his lunch ready for him to heat up). So I ended up staying up late Sunday cooking 1 meal for this week. I made enough to last through Tuesday. We eat supper at church Wednesdays so at least we had something different to eat today. Rodgers will cook something new tomorrow. :) We are, at this very moment, discussing what that will be.

Remember when I used to clean house on a schedule? That went out the window when I started working again. I kept up with it last year while I was working, but then, I wasn't pregnant last year. I kept up with it when I was pregnant and not working. I still have the chores in our online calendar, and this week, I've started trying to get back into the habit. (Today is laundry day, BTW, and Rodgers already did it! He makes my life so much easier.) Our house hasn't been going uncleaned, it's just been a bit more ad hoc lately, rather than staying clean like it used to.

So the moral of the story is: if Nate gets off his schedule, naps are messed up, and he is a fussy grumpy kid who throws a tantrum every 90 seconds. If Mama gets off her schedule, we have to figure out what we're going to eat on the fly and clean house only when it becomes too awful to live in, and Rodgers has to do a lot more of these tasks, even though he worked 16 hours in a row yesterday. He never complains and really doesn't seem to care. But, schedules greatly reduce my stress.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt #1 - My go-to ______ is ... (pick any 5 things... go-to movie, go-to snack, go-to book, go-to song, go-to vacation spot... ANY 5 things!!)

1. My go-to refreshment when we're out and about running errands (or I just need a treat!) is a large vanilla Coke with easy ice from Sonic.

2. My go-to side item when planning dinners is steamed brown rice. We eat it several times a week. If Nate is refusing to eat veggies, I can mix some chopped up veggies in rice, and he will eat them. I always say that I'll make a big pot every weekend so that we don't always have to wait for it to cook. Never do it, though.

3. My go-to breakfast is Raisin Bran Crunch with 1% milk, followed by coffee with a splash of International Delight Hershey's Chocolate Caramel. If I'm cooking, trade the cereal for eggs. If we're getting donuts, give me chocolate iced with sprinkles.

4. My go-to song to sing Nate when he's upset is "Elmo's Song." He loves it.

5. My go-to nail polish is in the range of dark red/wine/burgundy/raisin.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt #1- Are you an early bird or night owl? When are you most productive?

Both? Neither? I guess it depends on what kind of productivity we're talking about. My body and mind are not in sync right now.

I am absolutely not an early bird. Baby Brother has me waking up early on my days off because I have to puke, and then eat breakfast, before 8. If I have chores to do on Saturdays, I usually do them in mornings, as long as they don't require thought. The brain doesn't function in the a.m., but my body is ready to work. I can be productive with physical things like running errands and cleaning.

I'm not really a night owl, either. These days, my body is tired of moving by about 8, and I can't seem to do any housework after that, nor can I muster the energy to actually leave home and go somewhere. Nate goes to bed at 7:30, and that's a good excuse to make sure we're home by 7, which is my current preferred curfew. Usually, I spend my evenings on the loveseat. If I have things to do that require thought, such as blogging, designing materials for Full Life, or reading something I need to think about and want to remember, I get started on it around 9. My body is tired but my mind is active. I am most productive with creative things at night.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt #2 - 5 things perpetually on your to-do list.

During this pregnancy, and especially since I started working again, I've had no memory at all. Rodgers has always relied on me to remember things for him. Actually, he sometimes calls me his brain. This makes my forgetfulness even more of a problem. Last week, I created not a to-do list, but a to-do notebook.

It's full of lists - what we need to do each week, what goes into Nate's diaper bag for various length trips, what groceries we currently need, what groceries we usually keep on hand, and whatever else I think of that we need to remember.

There are some things that never get crossed off either because they never get done or because as soon as I've accomplished that thing, it needs to be done again.

1. You may remember that we have a cleaning schedule that rotates every two weeks. That's kind of like a continuous to-do list. Since I went back to work, I have not been keeping up with the cleaning. Our home looks about as bad as it did when I originally got fed up with it and initiated the cleaning schedule. But, pregnant + toddler + work = I don't care right now. We (and by we, I mean Rodgers) keep up with the laundry and keep the kitchen clean, and that's good enough.

2. Food is always on my to-do list. What groceries to buy, what meals to cook, what am I going to eat right now?

3. Trimming Nate's fingernails. When he was very small I just kept mittens on him because it seemed as soon as I'd trimmed and filed his nails, he was scratching both of us again. Now, he pretty much just scratches me, not himself.

4. Make Nate a photo album of family and events in Texas. I was given a super cute scrapbook for Nate before he was born and have never done anything with it. I finally decided to make it a photo album for him to take with us when we move to Kenya so that I can remind him of all these people and things that he won't remember because he's too young. Of course, the pics are online and on my computer, too, but I think he'd really like flipping through a hard copy. I made the title page a couple of months ago. Making more progress, I had some pics printed this week to put in it, but the photo album is yet to be made.

5. Write a blog post. I am always getting ideas for posts which never make it to a physical (or virtual) to-do list, but stay on my mental one, which, as we've already established, is basically worthless at this point. So my blog post ideas never get written and are never crossed off the list because I can't remember what the list was in the first place.

QOTW: 
> Oh? And just how do you think he will survive?
>> "How do you think he will..." What do you mean "how do you think he..." He's with me, ain't he? And I'll learn him all I know.
> Oh? That shouldn't take too long.

working mommy wednesday!

I stopped doing WMW for a few weeks (or a month or so) because I had started thinking I may never get a job again. But, I have one now! It's a temp job in customer service at a computer (hardware) company. Just two months for now. We'll see if it turns into something longer term.






Prompt #2- Make us laugh- one of your funniest memories to date.

This isn't one of my funniest memories, actually. So maybe I'm not following the prompt right. It's just that most of my funniest memories are dumb when they're typed out. But this is something that made me laugh recently.

Rodgers and I both have our own laptops. He sits in the big chair with his, and I lounge on the loveseat with mine. Sometimes we sit together, but we don't have a full sized sofa, so there's not really enough elbow room for us to both type if we're sitting next to each other.

The other day, Rodgers suddenly looked up from his laptop and asked me, "When are you due? Septemberish?"

I pretended to cry, "You don't know when I'm due! It's like you don't even know me!"

He said, "Hey. I'm not the one who's pregnant! I make people pregnant!"

I was laughing too hard to ask him who these people are.

[I was pleased, though, to hear that he finally agrees with me that I'm the one who's pregnant, not both of us. I think what made him change his mind was witnessing Nate's delivery.]

QOTW: I really can't think of anything tonight besides: I make people pregnant! It might be my new catch phrase.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 2: favorite recipe

You must know, we love to crockpot. Especially when I'm actually working, it's so incredibly efficient and makes such yummy meals. We used to crockpot once a week. Now, not so much. Our favorite is pot roast. I don't exactly have a recipe per se. And definitely no measurements. More like...estimations.

---

Ingredients:
1 beef roast
Some potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
3 handfuls of frozen whole green beans
2 handfuls of frozen chopped carrots
1 can cream of something soup (I use whatever happens to be in the pantry, usually mushroom)
1 packet dry vegetable soup mix (onion soup mix works great, too)

Directions:
Put roast in the crockpot
Throw veggies on top
Pour soup and soup mix over and stir
Cook on low for 6-8 hours

---

Doesn't get much easier than that.

We also cook in substitutions. Don't have the "right" veggies? Throw anything in there. Almost everything tastes awesome in that sauce. The only thing I don't recommend is cauliflower. We tried that once, and we both thought that the flavor of it overpowered the other flavors. Sometimes we mash the potatoes instead of serving them cubed. Or, sometimes we don't have potatoes so I make biscuits to go with it instead. The only thing you really have to have is the roast. Without it, this is vegetable soup, which is also good, but not pot roast.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt #2: Biggest challenge of the new year.

I'm not ready to talk about it in detail on this blog yet, but my biggest challenge for the new year is huge. I mean HUGE. Not wanting to leave you too much in the dark, I give you a brief overview:

Rodgers and I have had a dream to start and run an orphanage in Kenya. They don't have the same kind of system that we do, where the state takes care of children when they lose their parents. It is expected that aunts, uncles, and grandparents will take the children in. However, there are many cases where there are no relatives, or at least there are none who can take care of the children. Maybe they have already adopted so many of their nieces, nephews, and grandchildren that they really can't handle any more. Or maybe all the relatives have died, or they have no contact with them. However it happens, children end up living in the streets. There are an estimated 250,000-300,000 street kids in Kenya. We want to help out a few of them.

We had been thinking that this project is years away, but it's becoming clear that 2011 is the year we get all the logistics worked out. Like I said, it is a huge challenge.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 2. Top Ten things about the Christmas season (that you love, don't love, etc.)

I really, really love Christmas, so my list will be things that I love!

1. Christmas lights. I love driving through the neighborhoods after dark and looking at all the lights. Lights are pretty.

2. Christmas tree ornaments. I love clear blown glass ones. I love milk glass ones. I love commemorative ornaments. I love souvenir ornaments. I love ornaments that we used to put on our Christmas tree when I was a kid.

3. Baking. I rarely bake sweets. I love cookies, but I don't bake them to just keep at home and eat. I do bake them for Christmas (and Thanksgiving).

4. Advent calendars. 

5. Visiting family. 

6. Stocking stuffers (receiving). They are tiny, inexpensive bits of joy. 

7. Christmas music!!! I start playing it way before Thanksgiving, and sometimes in the middle of the year, too.  No music is as full of hope as Christmas music. 

8. Christmas cards. I string up ribbon across doorways, windows, walls, whatever, and we hang our Christmas cards as we receive them. I usually leave them up long after the tree and other decorations are taken down. Actually, if it's a picture Christmas card, I will probably leave it up on the fridge until I receive a new one the following year. Also, I love sending Christmas cards.

9. Giving gifts. I've spent many Christmases pretty close to broke, but I still gave Christmas gifts because it's such a joy to give, even if I had to set a $5 limit per person. The lower the dollar limit, the more creativity involved in the shopping. 

10. Most of all, I love that Christmas exists. I love the celebration and renewed focus on Jesus coming to earth to die for us, while we were still sinners. I love that his sacrifice, which we focus on at Easter, is enough to pay for my sins, that I may know God, have a relationship with him, and be with him forever. This is why Christmas music is filled with hope. And this is why I celebrate and love Christmas.

advent - day 1 (and Working Mommy Wednesday)

Prompt: Write about whatever you want!

Today, I'm following Wycliffe Bible Translator's Pray Today blog. Wycliffe is an organization dedicated to translating the Bible into every language in the world. There are over 6900 languages spoken in the world today. Almost 2100 of them do not have any scripture. Actually, only 457 languages have the complete Bible translated cover to cover. See more statistics here.

I was a member of Wycliffe for 3 years. I love what they do, I love what they stand for, and I love praying for them. Their daily prayer blog is here:

http://wycliffeprayer.wordpress.com/




P.S. If you're joining me from WMW, the explanation for my advent posts is here.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt #1. Top Ten "non-negotiables" in life.

I'm not sure if I can come up with 10, but we'll see...

1. I will take pictures and videos of my family, for my own enjoyment and to share with others.

2. Coffee is a must every morning, many afternoons, and occasional evenings.

3. While many yummy treats exist in this world, none will ever be better than classic chocolate chip cookies.

4. My relationship with God comes first, second is Rodgers, and Nate is third. That's how it has to be.

5. My medicine cabinet can never run out of Excedrin (name-brand, fast-acting variety) or Benadryl (generic). If it does, someone needs to go to the store to get me some RIGHT NOW.

6. Rodgers and I are committed to giving. Every month, we give a set percentage of our income to our church, and a set percentage to missions/charity/other. We prefer to donate things we don't want anymore rather than sell them. It feels really good to give stuff away.

7. We will only buy used cars. (I swiped this from some other working moms' lists.) We own both our cars, and have no car payments right now. One of them needs to be replaced soonish, but for now, it is awesome!

8. We will always live in a different country from half of our family (mine or Rodgers). But, we are committed to seeing the other half. I would like for us to visit every year, but we will visit every other year, at a minimum.

9. We will have fun together as a family.

10. I am committed to never, ever using Comic Sans, especially not on our Christmas letter, Christmas cards, address labels, or return address labels. That it won't be on resumes, fax cover pages, cover letters, or job applications goes without saying.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 1: What was your college major and did you end up working in that career?

I majored in Computer Graphics Design. It sounded like a fun field of study, and it was!

It turns out that I can only work in graphic design. I know they say that most people don't work in the field they studied. But, when potential employers see my graphic design degree, they don't think I can do anything else. If I didn't have a degree, maybe they'd be more open minded about my range of skills. If I had a general degree in business, maybe they'd consider that I can do different kinds of jobs. But, with a graphic design degree, I can only do graphic design jobs.

Actually, I do know multiple graphic designers who are working as bankers, but with no cash handling experience, I can't have any kind of job in a bank. I mean, I've handled cash in everyday life, but apparently that's not good enough.

So, all that to say I did end up working in the field my degree is in, and I can't get out of it unless I study something else.

I enjoy my field, but the job market being what it is, I wish I could branch out. I'd have a better chance of getting a job if I weren't trapped inside the graphic design box.

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 2. Things in my purse.

I really enjoyed reading other working moms' posts about what's in their purses, so I decided to go with that prompt as well.

• wallet (which contains the usual things you would find in a [big] wallet, minus cash, plus a smattering of coupons for baby items and my voter's registration card)
• packet of kleenex
• small calendar
• notepad with a list of books to get from the library, and a pen clipped onto it
• 2 DVDs that I burned for Ashlie but forgot to give to her
• a pink baby spoon in a ziploc baggie
• a Nature's Valley Chewy Trail Mix bar that has been in there so long it is flattened
• a pair of earrings
• a compact mirror
• a mini notebook that I keep usual prices of usual items on my grocery list (so I know if it's really a good sale or not)
• a nail file and 2 chapsticks (we went over this last week)
• 6 pens (besides the one clipped to my library list)
• a small hand lotion
• 3 cough drops
• 2 tubes of lipstick
• a handful of tampons
• key to the ignition of one of our cars (the ring part of the key is broken; the rest of my keys are on the keychain, which doesn't stay in my purse at home)
• a fortune from a fortune cookie that says, "Listen carefully. An upcoming important message may be subtle." When did I eat Chinese food?
• not my cell phone: I usually accidentally leave my it in there at home, and don't hear it when it rings (oops), but today I remembered to take it out! 

working mommy wednesday

Prompt 2. Little things I love

I didn't do WMW last week. It was my first week as an unemployed WM, so I didn't know if I qualified. Now, I'm thinking that I do qualify, so I can participate in WMW.

1. My Starbucks tumbler from South Korea. I named it Korwen. It's not the biggest coffee tumbler I have, or the most insulated, or the best. But, it carries with it memories of lots of adventures. By the time I bought it, those adventures were almost over, but I looked for it in several other countries before finally finding The One.

2. Chapstick and nail files. You will find them stashed somewhere in every room of my apartment and every handbag I own. I really can't be without either of these.

3. The clock in Nate's room. It is awesome. I found it during my travels in Asia.

Click to enlarge. Don't mind the dust.

4. Funny signs. Need I say more?

5. Silly adventure story books. The more ridiculous, far-fetched, and unrealistic, the better.

Other things I love I would consider to be big things, such as air conditioning, my boys, family, friends, coffee, my car...

working mommy wednesday

Show us your life/ room/ work/ house/ drive to work, etc. in pictures!

Rodgers and I were talking about our living room furniture last night or the night before, so I'll show you our living room. Most of our furniture is handmedowns. I bought the chair-and-a-half used. We have a bookcase, designed by me, constructed by my dad, which is the only piece in the living room that has no previous owners. I don't have recent pictures, but here's how it looked when we first moved in:

This is our living room as seen from the hallway.

On the wall you don't see, to the left of the picture, is a loveseat. Nate was born 8 days late. I worked until 1 day after his due date. The week in between due date and induction date, I rarely left that loveseat. When I had contractions the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy (which would last for hours in the evenings), that loveseat is where I would lie down. I had countless pillows arranged just-so on the loveseat. It was the most comfortable I could possibly be at that point.

The chair-and-a-half is our cuddler. Rodgers and I sit there together, watching TV or movies in the evenings and on weekends. Rodgers usually sits there by himself in the evenings if I'm busy. After dinner, he can hardly keep himself awake in that chair. When Nate was newborn and I was on maternity leave, Rodgers and I split the night getting up with him. Rodgers would take the first half, and I would take the second half. Usually, Rodgers would use the monitor so that he could sleep in bed between Nate's bottles. Once it was my turn, I would turn off the monitor and get up with Nate. He usually had a hard time going back to bed by then, so I often cuddled him in the cuddler, and we would both sleep.

The recliner is where Nate and I spent our days during my maternity leave. It is also where I fed him most of his bottles at home once I went back to work. We spent many a Saturday afternoon there those first weeks I was back at work. When Nate would fall asleep, Rodgers would tell me to go put him down in his crib, but I relished those cuddly naps in the recliner. Sometimes I would have my laptop set up on a bar stool next to me and surf the internet, sometimes I would read a book, and sometimes I would just watch Nate sleep on me. The recliner is kind of gross now because it's coated in spit up. I really should clean it now that Nate spits up less...

The ottoman is no longer in front of the cuddler, except on movie night. We keep it under the bar next to the highchair, since the bar stools were never used there and have become our laptop tables. The floor is open, and often covered in toys. Rather than spending hours rocking in the recliner together, Nate and I (and Rodgers) spend hours in the living room floor, playing with cups and socks and monkeys, reading books, practicing standing up and walking, and exploring the variety of fuzzies that tend to gather in the carpet (which means Nate tries to eat them, and we find them stuck to his lips or chin).

There is now a basket of toys next to the recliner, and usually a Bumbo and bouncy seat sitting in the floor in front of the TV. Also, various burp cloths and blankets tend to be draped over the arms of the chairs. Sometimes a stray bottle is hiding under the recliner. There is probably a blue pacifier with sailboats on it somewhere in this room, but we have yet to find it... 

working mommy wednesday

You know you're a working mom when...

...you buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes at 6 weeks postpartum, even though you have no intention of remaining three sizes bigger than you were before pregnancy, but you have to have something decent to wear to work!

...your goal getting ready in the mornings is "good enough," but when you get to work and see your childless female coworkers, you realize that "good enough" = frumpy.

...baby pictures now replace wedding pictures on your desk.

...you cut your lunch break down to 30 minutes so that you can leave work 30 minutes early because if you don't, you risk being late picking the kid up from daycare, a $15-per-minute risk (and you can't just start work 30 minutes earlier because the daycare isn't open that early).

..."me" time consists of reading a book during your 30 minute lunchbreak. Oh, how sacred that time is!

...while digging through your work tote bag, looking for Excedrin, you find instead a pair of tiny socks and a bib.

...you don't go out for dinner on weeknights anymore because it takes too much time.

...rather than being concerned about what food is most economical and healthy, you're more concerned with what food is fastest/easiest to prepare. Additionally, you may be a bit too attached to your crockpot.

...while frying eggs for breakfast Sunday, you also make some mashed potatoes to eat with dinner Monday night.

...your husband does more housework than you do.

Working Mom Wednesday

Working life BEFORE kids vs. Working life AFTER kids
(don't have kids?? working life as a teen/young adult vs. working life as an adult.)

Before kids and before husband, my work wasn't so different. I've had a lot of jobs since graduating in 2004. I've never been one to work long hours, though. Maybe I haven't had demanding jobs, but I get my stuff done for the day and go home on time. Only once or twice did I have a project come up with an immediate deadline that required more than an 8 hour day. At one job that required staying late at the office. At another job it meant taking my laptop home with me.

Pre-marriage, my evenings were mostly free. I tried to cook dinner once a week but usually didn't care enough to put forth the effort. I'd go to evening Bible study groups, grocery shop when I needed to, never planned out meals, and watched a lot of TV.

I had a 2 hour bedtime routine because I had trouble sleeping at night. I usually went to bed around 11, later on the weekends. I got up in the mornings as late as possible and had a morning routine as well. I got up about 7 (later when I had jobs with a shorter commute or later start time), poured the coffee, spent 15-20 minutes reading my Bible and a short devotional, then got ready for the day, and hoped that I wouldn't be late for work (but I was usually 5 minutes late).

Once Rodgers and I started dating, I spent on average an hour on the phone with him every evening. He wouldn't talk to me longer than that.

When I moved to the same town Rodgers was living in, and we were no longer LDR, he would come over for dinner every night. I had a different job, since I'd moved, but still, I worked my hours and went home. I did start cooking more often because Rodgers would cook and clean up with me, and I enjoyed doing those tasks together. He would go home around 8, and I had the rest of the evening to myself. I did nothing productive with it.

I spent so much of my evenings doing nothing. It was fabulous. I enjoy doing nothing.

After getting married, my evenings were similar to our short distance relationship, except Rodgers didn't go home at night (obviously). We watched a lot of movies in the evenings. Once I had the pregnancy fatigue and 24 hour nausea, I did even less than I'd done before.

When Nate was born, my free, nothing-filled evenings were over. I work the same hours, but now I have to plan our meals, buy groceries on the weekend, and split up the chores because who has the time to clean a whole 850 square foot apartment in one day? Not me. As I've blogged before, we have a schedule for all cleaning and laundry to make sure we don't get behind. My attempts to schedule exercise in to my evenings has been somewhat successful. Now, Rodgers and I have started MasterLife, and we are trying to work the daily homework from that into our evenings. I no longer have a drawn out evening routine. I don't have trouble falling asleep any more, probably because my days are full, and I'm exhausted.

I get up between 5:45 and 6 now. The morning routine is slightly different. It's an abbreviated version of my previous routine, with some baby-getting-ready thrown in there. Rodgers gets Nate ready for the most part, though. I haven't been late for work a single time since Nate was born because he doesn't let us oversleep. We leave between 7 and 7:10, I drop him at daycare, and I usually arrive at work a few minutes early.

The biggest difference between being a working mom and a working wife or single adult is that there are no more evenings or weekends filled with doing nothing. There are a lot more demands on my time, and my life is much more scheduled and routine. We'll still take off on a spontaneous weekend trip from time to time, but it takes us longer to get out the door.

working mom wednesday

 What do you consider necessary to get through the day?  (items, routines, coffee, etc.)

Coffee is definitely a "thing" of mine. When I first became a coffee drinker, I would drink it socially or make some for myself if I had a particularly early morning.

Three (four?) years ago, I bought a coffee pot with a clock and preset option. When we're on the ball, we set it up the night before, and it brews itself at 5:45. If we forget, either Rodgers or I make it when we get up, first thing. I don't always drink it right away; sometimes I just carry my coffee cup around with me in the morning, smelling it.

I'm ok without it - no caffeine withdrawal or anything. But I love the smell and taste of it.

Edit: oops. had to cut that short because we just discovered a leak in the ceiling. :/