Moments D719: Bodum Coffee

Sometimes it's the smallest thing that brings a smile.  This morning I was up early so that I might have a good, long, productive study day.  Coffee was definitely needed.

And so, today was the first day I was able to try my new Bodum French press.  Ooooh coffee love!

This is not to say I haven't pressed my coffee before.  I most certainly have, but I have (and had) the cheaper knock-offs.  This latest cheap knock off was terrible at actually filtering out the coffee grounds and more often than not my cup of java had a present near the bottom.  I could never enjoy a full cup.

I tired of this, and so I found this beauty discounted on eBay.  It arrived on Friday.  TODAY I cracked it open and put her to use.

Heaven.

A full bodied and delightful right to the bottom of my mug.

Yes, sometimes it's worth spending a little more to get a much better quality product.  Lesson learned.

Oh - and I learned something else today, other than the fact that Bodum has other very cool coffee/tea related accessories - they have a sprouter! That too makes me smile.  I know Arizona would love one of those.  I may have to pick it up now as it's on sale!

The things you learn as you do a blog post.

Moments enjoy a clean cup of coffee.
Moments recognizing quality sometimes comes at a cost.

Moments D713: Take a break!

Today was another day dedicated to school.  That said, I slept in, enjoyed a cup (or two) of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and had a good long "wake-him-up" chat with EQ (he's at NAB!) before I dove into the pages and pages of information I had to read.

Instead of ploughing through the day as I normally would, ignoring the outside world entirely, I decided to take Heini up on her offer - a coffee break.  And so late afternoon, tea time if you will, I headed out to meet her and another friend for a coffee.

I was diligent.  I was only gone for 1.5 hours.  Sure a long coffee break, but given that it would have been easy to spend the rest of the late afternoon/evening catching up, I'm pretty proud of myself for (a) getting out and taking a break at all and (b) sticking to my guns and not being longer than an hour over coffee.  (I know, I know it was actually 1.5 hours all said and done.  That's not so far off the mark, right?)

I had a great (short) visit with Heini and her friend.
I had a productive day with my readings.
And I made some banana bread to share with Heini.

My moment:  taking a break.

I could (should!) get used to this.

Moments hitting pause and enjoying a beautiful spring day.
Moments realizing you can still be productive even if you take a break.

Moments D696: Brioche & Jamaican Blue

Yesterday I brought in some of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee for the office.  What a treat it was for everyone as we savoured the famous smooth, deep, rich coffee from blue mountains of Jamaica.

Today, to celebrate further, on of our team members lives quite close to Bonjour Briaoche and he was inspired to bring in enough chocolate brioche for everyone in the department to enjoy alongside their cup morning cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

Wow.  What a luxurious treat and what a great way to start the day!

Moments with a great cup of java.

Moments shared with your entire department.

Moments D374: Saved Coffee

Today was an incredible day. It was jam packed with productivity, information, and weather graced us with our first 25 degree, full of sunshine day. AND top all that off with my volleyball team winning the first round of playoffs to hold on to first place for the season. Next week, we’ll take it all! But my special moment happened early this morning.

I didn’t sleep well last night. I woke mid-night and had a hard time falling back to sleep. I re-set my alarm knowing that I’d have to skip my morning workout with the lack of sleep (for the second night in a row!)…..

When I woke, I didn’t feel rushed, and yet I was buzzing around quickly to get off to work quickly. Time seemed to be moving slowly and I was moving quickly. Given my lack of sleep, that’s a good way to start the day.

And then my moment happened. I was out the door, heading to the car with many bags (volleyball gear, lunch, purse) and my coffee travel mug in hand. I quickly realized I didn’t have enough hands to open my passenger door. I mindfully put my travel mug on the roof of my car, thinking to myself “Do not forget your coffee!”. I fussed with my bags, placing everything just so and then I climbed into the car.

As I started the car an adorable elderly gentlemen quickened his very slow pace to reach me before I pulled away. He was pointing, of course, at my roof. I had a good laugh at myself, pulled up my parking brake and jumped out of the car. As I opened my door, the lovely gentleman said “You don’t want to lose your coffee - glad we could save it.” I laughed and agreed quite heartily. I thanked him and we parted ways.

I giggle to myself for being so “mindful” of and then promptly forgetting my coffee.

A good, silly moment and apparently a good way to start the day.

Moments appreciating the kindness of a stranger.

Moments D313: Coffee Walks

Today I did something different. I was cooped up all day yesterday so this morning I got up and walked to the local coffee shop.

Strangely, the door opened wide for me as I approached. There stood a strikingly handsome man. What a pleasure that moment was as we shared a smile and morning pleasantries over coffee.

In the end, a great morning for a walk to pick up coffee.

Moments D205: Coffee Time

Today’s moment came out of an act of kindness this morning at work.

I woke up late, feeling quite tired and reluctantly dragged myself out from beneath my cozy duvet into the chill of my apartment. The tired, the cold inspired me to stop at my neighbourhood Starbucks and today, today I wanted to share the coffee love with my office mates. So, I contacted one of the girls in the office to get everyone’s order.

After ordering 12 coffees and holding up the line (I’m sure you can imagine) I had three full trays of coffee to take into the office all by myself. One of the gentlemen behind me laughed and asked how on earth I’d ever do this by myself. I said “Simple. I stack ‘em”. And stack them I did. I had to walk a good 1/2 block to where my car was parked, and I won’t lie, I was nervous as I’ve never stacked three trays tall before! BUT, I managed to get to the car without incident. A small moment of a win.

When I got into the office there was much love and thanks for the coffees, which is sure to always bring a smile. But it wasn’t until nearly 2 hours later as I was catching up on my emails that I found this:







The image was actually animated in my email and was doing a happy-dance-jig. Oh my goodness. I couldn’t stop giggling. Yes. Best moment of the day. Unexpected giggles.

I just wanted to say thank you to my wonderful team who work so hard every day and in the end, I was given love & positive energy back. Yes. It was a good day, even with all the struggles we had!

Moments to thank your department.

Moments to giggle.