God Bless the Coffee Bean

I am a pretty good parent. I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I'm not horrible. But what can really turn me into a borderline super mom? This:

Coffee is a must. Now, I'm not the kind of person who needs coffee every morning. I usually shoot for some sort of caffeine throughout the day but it's usually sweet tea. (Southern gal here!) Coffee, more specifically lattes and mochas, is my special treat. It's delicious and can pretty much instantly put me in a good mood. It makes me able to function on a happy level. It wakes my brain up and chases away the grumpies.

I never drank coffe of any kind until college. I was working about 30 hours a week plus going to school full time and needed energy. I kept putting off coffe because of the bitter taste. That's when someone introduced me to mochas. The sweetness of the chocolate masked the espresso taste enough that I could enjoy the flavor and get the caffeine kick. Those mochas made my studying so much smoother and tastier! Over time, I've learned to like the espresso flavor but I still prefer that sweet touch. My favorite latte is, of course, a pumpkin spice latte with a couple pumps of white chocolate! 

Now, I know some of you are about to start the "Do you know how bad that is for you?" speech, but you're fussing at the wrong mama. I don't really care that it's full of chemicals and blah. All I care about is that it is delicious, caffeinated and soothing. And don't even try the "But don't you know how easy it is to make your own?" speech either. Most days, I'm lucky to find time to whip myself up some dry toast and a glass of water. Part of the luxury of a mocha or latte is that I didn't have to make it. For once, someone is making me something exactly to my specifications. And it's all mine. I don't have to share it with either client because it's a "grown-up drink." 

Now, I'm not a coffee snob. It doesn't have to be Starbucks. It does have to be fairly decent, though. Shoot, I even like a good vanilla cupcake latte from QT. Actually, I love QT. And they're cheap which takes away the guilt of a coffee splurge. In fact, I had a delicious QT vanilla cupcake latte last night about 8:00 because it was definitely a late-night coffee kind of day! 

Coffee is my treat and when I get it, everyone is happier. So, want to get on my good side (or make me have a good side), get me some coffee. Go on. I'll wait.