Peet and RePeet

We've lived in Texas for a little over two years now, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I discovered something about living here that surprised me -- in a good way!

When Doug was transferred to TX, I half-jokingly told him that I wouldn't complain too loudly about the relocation to the DFW area because there was a Costco, a Whole Foods, and Nordies close to our new house. On the downside, there were a few of my favorite retailers/restaurants that were noticeably absent from doing business in the Metroplex; namely I-N-O, TJ's, Il Fornaio, and Peet's Coffee. I haven't complained. Well, maybe a little.

                                                           

The Times They Are a-Changin'...

With great fanfare and very long lines, In-N-Out finally landed in Texas last year. We sneak off to get a Double-Double every few weeks, or so. Tastes like we're in California! Miss Millie is the one who gets the most frequent cravings for her favorite burger, Neapolitan shake, and fries. What a true Cali gal she is.

And the good news doesn't stop with being able to go on an occasional In-N-Outing. We will soon be able to visit Joe! There is a new Trader Joe's in Ft. Worth that is opening its doors any day now. I'm already making my list and checking it twice. Two-buck Chuck, anyone? Or I guess it's now Three-buck Chuck.

Sadly, Il Fornaio is not in Texas. And I've heard that'll NEVER happen. Sigh.

It's great that we are finally getting some of our favorites nearby. I've missed the restaurants, retailers, and brands that I associate with living in the western US. 

I do believe that I have missed my buddy Peet the most. I really miss being able to walk in and order a small, medium, or large drink. No "tall, venti, and grande" lingo is used here.  And the coffee is so smooth -- not one bit bitter -- just better.

It appeared as if this Peet's Coffee dilemma would never be resolved, as there are no plans to open a stand-alone Peet's Coffee shop in the metro area. S-$$ has a corner on the market and a store on every corner, so it would be tough for Peet's to compete against the established java giant. Several years ago, as a trial run, Peet's attempted to do business in Austin, but they ultimately had to close the store due to lackluster performance. 

For the past two years, I have been ordering my Major Dickason, Sumatra, and House Blend decaf whole coffee beans via Peet's website. Or I have been requesting that my dear sister deliver my favorites when she comes to visit from Washington state. Oh, sure, the grocery stores here sell Peet's prepackaged ground coffee, but it doesn't taste as good as the freshly-roasted, hand-packaged-and-weighed-at-the-store, I-get-to-grind-them-myself whole beans do. 

I recently learned that the Sheraton Dallas Hotel has a Peet's in the lobby. Whoo Hoo! I was just about to make the 40 mile, one-hour long drive (one-way) just to get my decaffeinated fix when I searched for other options. I had been looking at Peet's website to locate actual company stores, but the Sheraton Dallas location does not come up by searching that way. By Googling the keywords Peet's and Dallas  together, I eventually discovered a specialty grocery store in the metro area, Market Street, that has a Peet's inside. It does not show up on Peet's store locater either. Hooray for the management team at Market Street who came up with decision to include Peet's Coffee as a part of their stores. I'm guessing that they must have had a former Californian (who appreciates great coffee) somewhere in the decision-making process. 

The nearest Market Street store, which is sorta, kinda like a combination of Whole Foods and Nugget Market, is 12 miles away from where we live. I cannot believe that we have lived here for so long and I had never heard about this place. It's not off of the beaten path, but it is in a neighboring community that I do not go to all that often. 

I've been shopping at Sprouts and Central Market (both great stores) because they are close to my house. However, neither of those retailers are pullin' yummilicious shots of Peet's espresso at their locations, so I will now be making the drive past those "regular Joe" retailers to go shopping at Market Street. You'll find me with a cup o' Peet's Joe in my hand and a smile on my face. Oh! And refills on drip coffee are FREE! Even more reason to smile.

I will be a rePeet customer, for sure. 

Two-hundred ninety-one

On the 27th day of each and every month, Mr. Smith and I celebrate our monthiversary. Isn't that romantic? It's the 27th of March, which means this is our 291st month of wedded bliss. 

24x12+3=291  

That's years married x # of months/year + months since our recent anniversary. 

Since we'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary (or 300th monthiversary) in December 2012, which is nine months away, we can also do the math by subtracting.

300 - 9 = 291 

Got it?!!

You'd better believe that we're counting. And I'm certainly counting on having many, many more monthly celebrations. This marriage stuff is fun!

My mister had to leave for work dark (not bright) and early, so I was barely awake this morning when he kissed me goodbye and wished me a happy 291. Mr. S. and I haven't been able to talk very much today, and I'm feeling a bit deprived from not getting to use all of my daily allotment of 20,000 words. :-(  

I received the normal lunchtime phone call from my husband, and at dinner tonight we had lively family conversation as all five of us sat around the dinner table. No romantic monthiversary dinner for two... Looks like the two of us will have to take a walk later (sans Smithlings) to get to spend time catching up. In all the years I've known Smitty, we have NEVER run out of things to yack about.

The cartoon below definitely does not apply to us, but it makes me laugh.

I cannot imagine being at a loss for words when it comes to spending time with Mr. Smith. I guess I've got too much to say. It's a good thing he's a good listener.

Monthiversary mushiness aside, today also happens to be Bart and Jemima's 9th birthday. Meowie Birthday to mew, Smith Kitties!

Miss Millie found a cat age conversion chart and determined that the two birthday celebrants would be the equivalent of age 52 if they were human. That means that they have caught up with their master, well, sort of... Mr. Smith is turning 53 in a week. 

No, I didn't bake B&J a salmon cake, nor did I put a candle in their morning ration of Fancy Feast. They each got a pat on the noggin' as I placed their smelly canned food in the usual spot. No fanfare. No crystal serving pieces. No silver. No "Happy Birthday" song. Oh! I did scoop their poopy litter this morning, so I suppose that is my gift to the dynamic duo. Purrfect!

We gave the Coon cats baths a few days ago. (That was the real birthday gift!) They are fluffy and good smellin' now, which I'm sure means a lot to them. Our cats really do not mind getting wet and sudsy; they just don't really care all that much for the drying/brushing part. The blow dryer noise and blowing doesn't faze them, but they don't like the fact that they have to lick and groom themselves after our involvement is over. They haven't told me that, but as soon as we have them all dry, they lick every inch of their fluffy bodies, often times grooming each other, until every strand of fur is right where they want it to be. It's a long process. But the end result is well worth it, as they look show-worthy indeed. And best of all, they smell clean.

The new kitty shampoo smells incredible! And it looks strangely similar to the stuff we use. I just hope no humans in our household mistakenly use Bartholomew and Jemima's skin soothing shampoo... Passion fruit-scented fur is purrtastic indeed. Passion fruit? For cats? Really?!!! If cats could choose what they wanted to smell like, what scent do you think they'd prefer? Cat nip? Tuna? Dead vermin? Eau de litter box? I seriously doubt that passion fruit would be high on their list of choices. 

So here's something to ponder: TIGI makes it very clear that they do not test their Bed Head products (for humans) on animals; however, I wonder if Pet Head allows animal testing. Hmmmm... 

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

I'm finally heading out for that walk with my monthiversary man. Oh, I've got at least 5,000 words left in me, and you can bet that scented kitty shampoo, as a-mew-sing as it may be, will definitely NOT be on my list of talking points. ;-)

Double-Header

This past weekend, North Central Ballet combined two ballets, The Firebird and Gaîté Parisienne, into one wonderful performance. Naturally, our resident ballerina was smiling and dancing on the stage, and we were in the audience cheering loudly with friends and neighbors. We didn't whoop and holler, or do anything that was terribly embarrassing -- or at least I think we obeyed all proper etiquette rules for attending a cultural event. You can dress us up, but can't take us out?

Liesey's dear friend Claire did a wonderful job of portraying the Firebird. Claire is the same height and has the same build as our ballerina, and the two beauties look a little bit alike, so they are frequently asked if they are sisters. They love it! 

From my center-of the-stage, six-rows-back seat, I snapped 284 photos. Surprisingly, most of the images turned out rather well. Hooray for a nice lens and a steady hand! Don't fret, I will only share a mere fraction of the digital memories I preserved. Of course, for the safety of the dancers, I refrained from flash photography. ;-)

The Firebird

 Claire and David

 Maidens

 My mostest favorite Maiden

And here's the customary wedding scene that nearly all ballets seem to have. I chuckled because Brandon, the priest, reminded me of the "impressive clergyman" from The Princess Bride. "Wove, twue wove..."

Gaîté Parisienne

I'll try to keep these photos G-rated.

All the girls in Paris France

Love to do the Can Can Dance

Kick their legs up in the air

Shake, shake, shake their derrier

If you go to Paris France

You can do the Can Can dance

Easy now as un deux trois

Everybody ooh la la

Do the Can Can

Kick your legs up in the air

Do the Can Can

Shake, shake, shake your derriere

Do the Can Can

Easy now as un deux trois

Do the Can Can

Everybody ooh la la la, ooh la la la, ooh la la la

Chorus:

Oh can you do the Can Can?

If you can then I can

I can Can Can if you Can Can

Can you Can Can

Oh we can do the Can Can

Yes oui we we Can Can

We can Can Can

Yes oui we Can Can

We'll leave it at that, as there are too many additional verses to this song. You get the idea.

 My daughter is sooo modest!

And graceful. ;-)

Thanks to our friends, the Huffmans, the Hollensheads, and the wonderful Walker women, who joined us in supporting the arts. Where am I? Hiding behind the camera, of course!

The twelve of us all went out to eat dinner together and enjoyed Italian fare after a French ballet. I suppose that makes the afternoon a multicultural experience.

Over dinner, we planned our next group outing for June when NC Ballet will present A Midsummer Night's Dream. 


Mercifully, our ballerina/can-can girl's ballet class is cancelled for today, but rehearsals will begin tomorrow for the end-of-year production. Gotta keep those dancers on their toes...

Rainy Days and Mondays

The weatherman got it right. Heavy rains were in the forecast. We watched as the storm rolled in. The wind picked up, the temperature quickly dropped, the rains came down, but thankfully, the floods didn't come up!

 The clouds were dark and foreboding.

There are several houses under construction in our neighborhood. The framing carpenters kept on working, despite the impending storm. Can you see the two guys up high on the house across the creek? I think they are doing their own interpretation of a lightning rod. They stayed up there until the storm forced them to get down. Now that's dedication -- or stupidity!

It was indeed a dark and stormy night... It steadily rained for about twelve hours. The rain gauge is showing just a little over 4.5" of rainfall. I think it's safe to say that this was a genuine gully washer.

The pond around the fountain was full to almost overflowing. I hope the water level goes down a bit before we get more rain on Thursday.

It's been noted that that April showers bring May flowers, but what do March downpours bring? Mud puddles, of course.

Sky High Kitty

"A Kite"

Author Unknown

I often sit and wish that I

Could be a kite up in the sky

And ride upon the wind and go

Whichever way I chanced to blow

It must be March!

February

Somehow the entire month of February slipped by without my getting a single blog entry posted. We have been busy, so I suppose that's why I have not taken the time to update INOKWACA. I frequently write things, but sometimes (whether accidentally or on purpose) I simply do not hit the "publish" button. I'm not sure what my excuse is for such negligent behavior. I've got nothin'.

I'm leaping at the opportunity to use the extra day that this month has to offer to reflect on the past 28 days. I shan't bore you to death with a run down of the day-to-day activities; however, I will merely add pictures with comments to show you what we've been up to. 

Do these flakes represent my flakiness as a blogger? Hmmmm...
The girls and I made paper messes on the floor as we created our own snowflakes.
Looks like this might be the only snow in Keller this season.

Our teen drivers did a little driving practicing inside the garage. Bumper cars???
They may look all grown up, but they still have fun playing on the PlasmaCars. I love it!

Where's the winter weather? Snow has been a no-show in the DFW area this February. :-(  Native Texans tell us that this milder weather is "normal." I am not complaining about 70 degree temperatures.

One morning, the water in the fountain's pond was frozen, and I thought it made an interesting photo. Although it was frosty, there were no flakes.

Miss Millie doodled on the whiteboard and came up with a family portrait. Cats included. Can you tell who's who?

Although my little boy is not so little, his lap appears to be toooo small for holding both Bartholomew and Jemima. Where's the lint roller?

We Smiths love chocolate AND we love oats, so it was very exciting to find a new granola at Costco that combines chocolate, strawberries, and raspberries all in one bag. And it's "premium organic granola," to boot. (Whatever premium organic granola is...) It is appropriately named "Love Crunch."

I decided that I should try to make my own version of chocolate granola, so I did. The results?

We came up with dessert for breakfast! 

In my homemade granola concoction, I used almonds, coconut, Dutch cocoa, honey, vanilla, brown sugar, and dark chocolate chunks. Oh, and oats, of course. Five out of five Smiths agree that although the store-bought variety is really yummy, "Smith Double Chocolate Granola" or "More-to-Love Crunch" is yummier and chocolatier than the "Love Crunch" brand. Our homemade stuff is good on its own, on top of vanilla Greek yogurt or ANY flavor of ice cream, or in a bowl, topped with milk. (The residual milk at the bottom of the breakfast bowl is a treat, too.) There's just one little problem... I didn't use a real recipe for this granola. I added ingredients by the seat of my pants (not literally), so I am not sure that I can recreate it, but I'll certainly try. 

Spring is bustin' out all over, and it's not quite March. Flowering plums are one of my favorite trees, and we now have two of them planted in our backyard. Hooray!

You know that white stuff that we missed out on this winter? It's overrated, anyway... I'm quite content to see pink flower petals snowing on my lawn.

SOONER...or Later?

An OK sunrise

Saturday mornings are good for sleeping in; however, this past weekend found us up at 5:15 and on the road by 6AM headed for Norman, Oklahoma. YAWN!

Our resident OSU Cowboy willingly agreed to drive his middle child to the enemy camp -- University of Oklahoma -- for a campus tour. At least Mr. Smith has braggin' rights this year, since OSU routed/trounced/crushed/licked/defeated OU in football 44-10, and the Cowboys captured the Big 12 championship. (Although tempted, Mr. Smith didn't wear any orange and black articles of clothing on Saturday.)

We arrived on campus 30 minutes before our orientation meeting began. (It would be really corny if I said that we were there sooner than we needed to be, so I won't.) We were thankful to get to the visitor's center early because we found a really great parking spot. All was going smoothly until we realized we'd be spending that time in a torture chamber... er, uh, I mean large meeting room with seventy-some total strangers listening to "Boomer Sooner" way too many times. Awkward!

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,
Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,
Boomer Sooner, O-K-U.
     
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, O-K-U.
     
I'm a Sooner born and a Sooner bred
And when I die I'll be a Sooner dead!

Rah Oklahoma, Rah Oklahoma,
Rah Oklahoma, O-K-U!

After being subjected to an instrumental version of the OU fight song a countless number of times, a representative from the university FINALLY turned off the background music and gave an informative, thirty-minute, multi-media presentation about the school, its history, degree options, campus life, etc.  We were then treated to a walking tour of the lovely campus. It was a cool but sunny day, perfect for a stroll across the university grounds. Mercifully, while on our tour, there were no more recordings of the school fight song within earshot, but I was having a brain itch or an earworm as a result of hearing the same tune over and over and over again. Boomer Sooner's "catchy" lyrics and unforgettable melody were solidly stuck in my brain. Arrrrgh! Despite having my own personal soundtrack playing in my head, it was a wonderful visit.

I had never set foot on OU's campus before, so I was surprised to find how beautiful it is. Apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright used the phrase "Cherokee Gothic" to describe the unique architecture style found on campus. The buildings are classic gothic architecture mixed with design elements from Oklahoma Native American tribes. It is pretty and interesting, and pretty interesting!

The Great Reading Room in the library is lovely, and oh, so quiet. Shhhhhhh! When I curl up with a good read, I prefer to do so on a comfy sofa or over-sized chair, and that is one thing that is noticeably absent in this room. Perhaps furniture that would promote sleeping was deliberately omitted from the decorating scheme since snoring would be a distraction. ;-)

I snapped a photo of a couple of dancers outside the School of Dance. 

Liesey had originally scheduled a ballet audition at the school, a few hours after the campus tour; however, due to injury and a flare-up of bursitis in both shoulders, she had to relinquish her spot. (No dancing for a minimum of two weeks, doctor's orders.) We saw so many bunheads on campus, but alas, our dancer was not one of 'em.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

We are taking this as a sign that the Lord has something else in mind at this particular time, but it was disappointing, nonetheless.

It definitely was not a disappointment to get to spend time with a dear friend, Sarah.

I snapped a SECOND photo of a couple of dancers. :-)

After a very full day on campus, we met up with our long-time friends, enjoyed tasty food, then spent several hours visiting. All's well that ends well.

The college tours are complete. After visiting IU, Texas A&M, TCU, and OU, our soon-to-be college freshman now needs to decide where she wants to go to school. Bring on the scholarships! That might make the decision-making process a little bit easier.

A Brunette Moment?

Who is that brunette hiding behind the blonde? 

I guess I didn't understand the "power of the dark side," until I tried it. It's not that I have anything against being a brunette; blonde is just a shade more natural for me, as well as a more natural shade.


Yoda said, "Fear is the path to the dark side." Nope, I'm pretty sure a box of L'Oreal Excellence Medium Golden Brown was the path that I took. 


Yoda also gets credit for saying, "Once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny." I know that the wise Jedi Master wasn't talking about hair color, but I decided I'd better turn back before my roots started growing out, just to be safe.

"More fun, blondes have. Yes, hmmm?"

Despite all the flack that blondes receive about being dumb, I'm now back to being a golden girl. Brownish tresses were fun for a few weeks, but blonde is way "funner." Also, blonde jokes are better than brunette jokes. And I can certainly laugh at myself.

Q: If a blonde and a brunette are tossed off a building, who hits the ground first?
A: The brunette. The blonde has to stop to ask for directions.

I am once again blonde, but I'm no dummy.

Ahhhh! It feels good to be back -- jokes and all.