Monday, September 27, 2010

Fall Confession Two


Two

In my younger teens, prank phone calls were the norm.  

***********


Usually it was done on an evening when the parent’s were out. We would pull out the phonebook, skim the numbers, and make the phone calls. 

The average, I’m bored and not creative phone calls usually went something like this: 

Kid One: “Let’s call that number!” 
Kid Two: “Hi, is Michael there?” “Oh, I’m sorry… thanks, bye.”

A little more creative:

Kid one:    “Hi, would you like to buy a zebra?”
                 “They come in many different colors” 
                 “We’re selling them on a discount today, only $2,000”
                 “Alright, bye.”
Kid two: What did they SAY?

What are the chances:

Sister #2 at one point liked a particular boy. His parents were ultra paranoid and didn’t have a listed phone number and at that time, one couldn’t just let the boy know they had a crush on him.  However, his family was best friends with a second family my sister knew. *Disguising her voice* She called second family’s number asking for *Jake’s* number. What does any best family friend do? Not give out the number of course.  A couple years later, we find out that Jake’s mother thought someone was out to get her boy. Ooops. Fail. 

Should have known….

Kid one: Call this number- 555-555-5555. And ask for a Ben!
Kid two: *suspicious look* “Ok- it better not be someone we know”
Kid one: “pssh, no worries”
Kid two: “Hi, may I speak to Ben?” “No, no message, I’ll call back later”
Kid one: *giggles*
Kid two: “You said it wasn’t anyone we knew!!” “That was Ben's mom!” 

It was wrong but it was fun at the time. 

***********

FBI agents cheated on a security test, oh my. I suppose most people will take the easy route if they can. That’s not what caught my attention though. According to Reuters- The test’s final question asked if the test taker had consulted with anyone while taking the test. (which they had). The article made a point to mention that the 22 people that had cheated on the test answered no to that question. 

Excuse me…. Would you have answered yes if you had cheated? The only reason I can think one would give themselves away so easily was if they were overcome by a wave of guilt. You might as well just study for it or just go fail it at that point. 

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington. 

Friday, September 24, 2010

Love Triangles

Photobucket
      We all like a good love triangle. (or not) Take Edward, Bella, and Jacob. Jacob has quite the following, sans me. I read the books before I even watched the movies and my heart went to Edward. Period. I’m not a Twilight fanatic but there was something about the books.  Jacob didn’t like Edward but he didn’t kill him.



When I was in my teens I took a trip to Mexico with a group of boys and girls on a mission's trip. We built 3 houses in a period of 10 days. There’s a saying- what happens in _______ stays in ______.  For real for true. My sister and I ended up liking the same boy - I still think we’re psychologically recovering from that. I remember how excited I was when I realized he liked me too- I couldn’t bring myself to tell my sister though. How do you say, “I’m sorry girl, I just really really like him?” She liked him first. Sister was mad at me but she didn’t kill me. 


Let’s turn our attention away from fiction and Mexico towards Belgium four years ago. Two friends each had separate relationships with their skydiving instructor.  Els Clottemans is now on trial for the sabotaging of her friend’s parachute, which ended in her death.  That’s cold. Apparently she didn’t like her friend and decided- enough of the competition! I don’t know if I can understand that. Why not change skydiving instructors? Grow up? Move on? I suppose when you think you’re in love, logic comes second.

So, next time you decide to go skydiving with your friend… evaluate how good your relationship is.

I spent a good portion of this morning finishing up my final project for my Federal Income Taxation class.  This girl is happy!! I celebrated by heading to Barnes and Noble, buying some GMAT flashcards, and catching up with the girlfriends.

And that’s Emily, reporting to you live from Sk- Washington

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Be Safe. Be Sexy.

Photobucket
        I still have no idea if today is the first day of Fall or if yesterday was. I’m hearing conflicting reports! It did start me thinking though. We live in an information age where everything you could ever want to know is right at your fingertips. Theoretically, suppose someone decided to change something on us such as when the first day of Fall is. (all scientific principles aside). How would you really know? Nowadays,  you don’t need to  memorize. You just need to pull out your nifty iphone. 


When I was studying managerial accounting I recall finding a picture on Wikipedia and sharing it “with the class.” Big no no and I should have known better. Embarrassed, yes. Lesson learned, yes. I suppose that was a win win for my teacher. They do say, don’t rely on one source for your information. (and don‘t rely on a sketchy source like Wiki).


One scenario which happens all the time: Someone decides to write an article and does his or her research completely online. They then proceed to blast their writings all over the world wide web. Fast forward 5 years; next person uses the article that was written by that someone + other information found online. Surprise! Surprise! For the average person doing a quick bit of research, what is written will appear to be fact.


Let’s look at the example of Shane Fitzgerald. The student from Ireland who decided to have a bit o’ fun and wrote a fake quote on his Wikipedia article. Newspapers were using his quote and they would have gotten away with it if Shane hadn’t cleared the issue up. Newspapers! *gulp* All that to say, my goodness… we could be totally brainwashed and have no idea of it. Let's not forget, information is power.


PhotobucketI read about the Emergency Bra awhile ago and now it appears it’s for sure and for sale! The idea is that it can be turned into a gas mask.  Dr. Elena really is ingenious and I think they might be coming out with something for the men. The quote on the websitebe safe, be sexy.” I suppose you never know when you might need one. And ladies, it also means we are responsible for the person we are with when the time comes- don’t be afraid to put all differences aside.


Sadly, blockbuster filed for chapter 11 Bankruptcy. I bet nobody saw that coming. We’ll see what happens once they restructure. Truly though, after Netflix, walk in rental stores are kind of a thing of the past. I haven’t been inside a movie rental place since forever. You can‘t beat having a movie come right to your house. My trips to the movie store usually took an hour where I would go around the movie store 3 times before I finally settled on something. As luck would have it, usually the first movie I thought I might want to see was the one I walked out with.


On a different note, I would love to read any of your Fall Confessions!! If you want to use my logo, just let me know and I’ll get you the HTML code. Either way, if you decide to start it up TELL ME!!! I’ll be posting mine once a week until the next season. 


And that’s Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Fall Confession One

    Tomorrow is the first day of Fall and I’ve decided a blogger theme is in order. Each week I shall be posting one confession. These confessions will be my way of adding just a bit o’ salt to my blog. 



One
During my recent past relationship my boyfriend never topped my love for coffee. 

***********

        I think when I realized that, it was time for him to go. Coffee inspires me, energizes me, and get’s me through long study hours. I began drinking coffee when I was studying for my first college exams and working a full time job. You begin to realize you are no super human and an ounce of sleep is all you really want. It was exhausting and I don’t see that ending until I finish school.  

One of my favorite pastimes is experiencing new coffee shops. I’m a Starbucks addict but it has nothing to do with the SB brand name. Truth is, they make a mean cup of coffee. One popular coffee chain in my area is Peet’s Coffee or even Dutch Bro’s Coffee. I’ve heard from various sources how wonderful the coffee is and I find that to be sadly untrue. After tasting I’ve discovered the coffee is weak. 

Beyond trying out chain coffee shops, it’s fun going to the little ones. It’s slightly hit or miss as to the quality of coffee though. A little town I frequent features two coffee shops of note. One is an excellent place to study, thanks to free wifi and plenty of tables. The negative side is the taste of their coffee. It’s truly awful. The second coffee shop has wonderful coffee but no place to study. I wish they could switch places and keep their coffee skill methods. 

One day I plan to open up my own coffee shop. I visualize a place that is in a university town and my focus will be creating an excellent study environment. I’ll keep the place open until 11 at night and the music won’t be excessively loud. Here’s to dreaming. 

And that’s Emily, not quite reporting to you, but still live, from Sk- Washington 

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Perfect Bride

         Most girls dream of having the perfect wedding. We want the tuxedos, the beautiful bridesmaids, the flowers,  the perfect dress, and of course, the perfect groom. We are marrying him, after all! That’s just what you do. And it doesn’t really matter the price, it’s all about how good the wedding looks when it’s over.  If you recall Miss. Clinton’s wedding came up to around $3 million. It’s nice she had access to money for that wedding. I imagine she was most likely just doing her part to keep the economy running.  Let’s not be too hard on her!

Have you ever noticed how awkward weddings are? It’s not uncommon to see people just sitting there after the ceremony, eating their cake, and surveying the room for an escape route. After they have paid their respects to the bride and groom they make a beeline for the door.

That being said, I am not big into the dress and the bridesmaids .In concept, I think it is wonderful to have the support of friends and family on your big day. But that’s the extent. Instead of a wedding, I would prefer a huge reception party. Half the stress and twice the fun. That’s just me though… and most young women I chance to speak to about this topic are dreaming of their prince charming and picking out their wedding colors.

Society has  warped sense of perfection when it comes to people. Each and every person is beautiful and perfect because each person has their own unique and individual beauty. No two people are the same. You may look a lot like Sarah, but you are still YOU with your own character. But the magazines and films won’t let you get away with that! It’s all about appearances. Check out this site if you want to see just SOME examples of photoshop gone wrong.

Definition of PERFECT according to the MWD

a : being entirely without fault or defect : flawless
b : satisfying all requirements : accuratec : corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept
d : faithfully reproducing the original; specifically : letter-perfect


That being stated, whose standards are we living up to when we are entirely without fault of defect? The chance that your definition of perfection is the same as mine is slim. Let’s look at (B) again, same question. Whose requirements? TV/Films/Magazines? 

You are beautiful and perfect just the way you are! You are a unique individual! There is no one else quite like you out there. So you can and should feel special!! 

I like reality tv shows. There’s a new reality tv show in the making E! is coming out with called “Bridalplasty” and I think it is sad. It’s centered around creating one’s dream wedding. Each competitor has an assignment and after completion, the winner get’s to have any plastic surgery she wants. The focus is on becoming the perfect bride. When they’re all finished, they show off their new plastic self on their wedding. Thereby, having the perfect wedding with the perfect bride

I find that disturbing. But that’s not all I find disturbing. A couple weeks ago or so, I wrote about an acid attack happening right in my neighborhood. It was strange to hear about but even more strange is the fact it was all a hoax. She did it to herself. I think she needs help.

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from Gresham, Oregon.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Kiss Kiss Kiss

Photobucket
Photo - complements of my amazing sis-in-law

I like feet. When I first possessed my own camera I was addicted to taking pictures of my feet or taking pictures of other’s feet. I like shoes better. Feet are beautiful though and everyone has their own unique feet. I believe shoe shopping is highly therapeutic and just plain fun. In my closet I have an amazing pair of zebra striped heels- I don‘t wear them to every event. But I have them!  In the course of a day one takes anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 steps. That’s a lot of steps. Apparently if you’re going to shop for shoes, the best time of day to do it is in the afternoon. Our feet swell from those 8,000 steps and it’s best to buy our shoes when the feet have at least done half of their walking for the day.

How much care do you put into your feet? Personally, I don’t have a lot of spare time to spend on my feet. If I’m not working I’m studying. If I’m not studying I’m working. If I’m not doing either studying or working I’m probably sleeping/shopping/hanging out(or blogging). One of the last things I want to do is spend time pampering my feet. I hate spending the money on pedicures and manicures to. Pick your poison- I’d rather have that cute dress I just saw at New York and Company. However, if we didn’t have our feet life would be pretty strange. Perhaps we should rethink the amount of time we put into our feet.

PhotobucketOur feet are made up of 28 bones and they consist of 250,000 sweat glands. Ewww, smelly feet.

Reflexology, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a: massage of the hands or feet based on the belief that pressure applied to specific points on these extremities benefits other parts of the body.

It really does work. I used to suffer from year round allergies and I discovered that taking clothes pins and attaching them to all of my toes relieved the pressure in my face to the point I could breath easier. And that’s reflexology. If you have a headache, applying pressure to your big toe is supposed to help relieve that too. However, when I have a headache, quick fixes that last for 2 seconds are just not going to cut it. I usually run for the aspirin.

By the way, just because you can walk on your foot does not mean you didn’t break it. I think people don’t understand that and thereby cause themselves excess problems and excess pain. Ouch. I really hope I never chance to break my foot. Now that I’ve said that….

What’s wrong with kissing someone’s feet or asking someone to kiss your feet? Perhaps there is therapy in that, who knows. Maybe instead of shopping we’ll all take to feet kissing.

Meet Difkat Khantimero, a Russian Official. He subbed for a PE teacher and had the basketball team all doing press-ups. At one point he made some mention of “kiss” and had the lovely basketball team members kiss his feet as they did pushups.  Maybe people are over sensitive now a days. I’ll admit, yes, it’s a little strange. But, it’s not like he was inviting each one to privately kiss his feet. He’s in a public area. There are babies walking around. I thought it was rather humorous actually. He did get fired over that stunt. Too bad he did not know in advance that he would be canned. Perhaps if he had, he would have at least made it worth it. Maybe a few more pressups?

Perhaps we should try to relax instead of always looking for something to have a problem with. Do you think that the boys are in need of therapy? Do you think that down the road they will say things like “If only he hadn’t made me kissed his feet, my life would not be such a mess.”  In life there’s a lot of crap that happens. I think we should be less concerned with finding issue in the stupid things and perhaps a bit more concerned with the things that actually matter.

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from rainy rainy Sk- Washington.

If you wanna check the 'kissing' movie out, here's a link.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

tagged :)

I was tagged by Novie ~ Thanks!! :D I'd love to hear anyone else's answers!





1.What was your fondest childhood memory?
Acting out books and videos with my two sisters closest in age. We fell in love with Star Wars/Chronicles of Narnia/Perimeter One/Star Trek. Countless hours were spent reenacting scenes with legos and such. We would also create our own light sabers from sticks. We bordered along obsessive for most things but we did manage to have lots of fun. <3

2. How was your first kiss?
hmmm... haha, wrong person, wrong place, wrong time

3. Where do you think is the best place to retire?
There's a cruise ship called The World. It's a brilliant idea and if I could finance it I would. Can you imagine how much fun that would be?
http://www.aboardtheworld.com/

4. If given the chance to speak to God face to face, what would you tell Him?
I would tell him that I have no idea why he cared so much for someone like me and that I will never understand completely why he would put himself through crucifixion. And I would tell him thank you.

5. Do you consider yourself LUCKY?
Somewhat lucky. I really do believe that some people are born with a sense of luck and others just aren't.


6. Are you aggressive or the shy type?
I am somewhat aggressive- haha. Depends on the situation though!

7. Cake or Ice cream?
Ice Cream - absolutely beyond a doubt undoubtedly.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The Killers

I watched a great movie the other day called The Killers. The movie has just the right amount of humor, action, romance, and the acting is decent! Ashton Kutcher plays the male lead and Katherine Heigl plays the female lead. I've seen both in several movies and it would appear their acting quality has improved. 27 dresses killed me.

AK plays a dude that works as an assassin until he meets KH and marries her. He's always wanted to live a normal life so once that ring is on his finger he leaves his life as an assassin and settles down to live in one of 'those perfect neighborhoods.' All is well until his past life catches up to him. If you have a chance you should totally see it. Some people like it and some people just don't. I knew nothing about the movie when I decided I'd watch it. So I was pleasantly surprised. 

I was running errands with my sister Lee the other day, and what should I happen upon? I couldn't resist. I wanted to do something obsessive Twilight fans do. (I do like Twilight, just not to the point of obsession.)

Photobucket


BTW_ if you have a husband and you feel inclined to make him eggs, please make sure you make them just the way he likes them. Or stay away from men who live in Kentucky. Apparently, dear husband decided he didn't like his eggs and ran after his dear wife with a shotgun. And his step daughter. And the neighbors they ran to for help. Killing people over eggs? At least he did us a favor and turned the gun on himself.


I will not forget September 11th. Some Americans find it easy to brush off and forget- perhaps they did not lose a friend or family member. And perhaps they operate as if the only important thing in life is what happens in their own backyard. 

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington




Thursday, September 9, 2010

You're SOOOO Vain

Carly Simon sings a song “You’re so Vain.” When I was growing up my music exposure was limited and I heard that song for the first time in the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” One of my favorites as far as typical chick flicks go. I'm sure that had something to do with Matthew McConaughey. There’s a line in the song that goes “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee.” Now I’m sure there’s a real and official interpretation of that line, but I haven’t bothered to use Google and look it up. Here’s what I believe it means.




I was house-sitting for a family a few months ago. They have this beautiful sweet kitty who does not like alone time. It was one of those mornings where you really needed your coffee and I gave in to the desire. I made myself coffee and then went for the milk. I can go without sugar… but I really do like my milk. I poured it in and to my dismay, all these white flakes jumped to the top. So in the song, my interpretation would be dreams gone sour. Never drink coffee or any beverage when there are white flakes at the top. 

In China the one child rule is under discussion. Apparently China would like extra workers and additional members for a society that is growing older. In my family I’m one of eight. It’s strange to think of only being allowed to have one child. If my parents had lived in China I would not exist. Stop.Listen would not exist. I think one day I would like to go to China and see it. It is a country that is indeed fascinating. Maybe if a family is allowed two children China will have more girls!  

On a side note, I try not to discriminate by saying things like “I don’t like all people who live in Antarctica!”  Sha Zukang a UN official for China said “I don’t like Americans” amongst a lot more. It must be tiring to have to put on an open and negotiating peaceful front all the time. In politics it’s all about diplomacy. If your opening words are insulting your chance of influencing the second party is pretty much nil. Unless they dig the insult thing.  When it comes to politics or religion one could talk until their face was blue and the other person would likely still stick to their guns. That’s why I find debating somewhat pointless. Nobody wants to change their mind! Most people I know hate change. If there’s change I’m initiating, I’ll initiate it as slow as I can. The end result is something we’re pleased with but the getting there is a difficult process. 

To burn or not to burn. I don’t know what your opinion is… but if it was any other book besides the Koran I doubt anybody would care. 

And that’s Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington. 

By the way, I just read an article that discussed the use of facebook as a correlation to one’s narcissism tendencies. Interesting.  I’m starting to feel defensive. 

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Hollywood

I'm really in love with Michael Buble's music. It really doesn't stop at his smooth and sexy, beautiful voice. We still have his charismatic gorgeous good looks to consider. I fell in love with his "Haven't met you yet" song and that was just the beginning.
I'm writing this post to share his amazing new single "Hollywood."



And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Of Pens and Pencils

Photobucket
I am now using Google Reader to stay in connection with the various blogs I am subscribed too. So much for trying to stay away from Google. They have the advantage because everything is Google and everything Google creates is right there, easy and convenient.

Have you ever noticed how normal it is to know something is not quite right but to not bother doing anything about it? We like convenience and we don’t like change. I procrastinate on a daily basis and the effect is me, all stressed out, needing to go to anger management class. If anyone comes up with an easy solution on breaking bad habits, I’m sold. However, it will probably be a while before I can apply the method. Beyond procrastination, to each his own.

There is a psychology term “functional fixedness.” It’s an interesting concept and I just read an example that I am going to share with you. NASA decided its boys needed a space pen so they could write upside down and not deal with those “no ink” problems. Lots of dollars later, they figured it out! The Russians wanted the same thing for their space boys. Without spending money they settled on using a pencil. You can’t say American’s don’t persevere.

I hope I read this wrong or perhaps it was mis-written or something. Apparently Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran’s cleric said the WW2 Holocaust was a myth and people should accept that. Yes, indeed. An atrocity like that is best forgotten. According to George Santayana “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We like to be ignorant though. It’s easier to be happy that way.

Next time you deliver a pizza pack a gun. That might be the only way to make sure nothing hooky goes on. Richel Nova was delivering dominoes pizza and was stabbed to death. And that’s probably right after he rang the doorbell. What I find interesting is how young the suspects are. I wonder if the video games and movies we have today desensitize people to the point that killing someone is no big deal. I’ve never been into the horror movies genre but I have seen a few. Some I’d like to forget. I think if everyone walked around with machine guns, we would think twice before stabbing someone for the thrill of it.

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Evils of Google

Photobucket
Is it just me or has Google been in the news a lot this last month? Usually about invasion of privacy, China and Google, Germany and Google, or “bedbugs sighted in Google’s Office!” I suppose the last one is the most amusing.  So if Google’s getting the heat from all over right now, how do YOU feel about Google?

They’ve recently added a feature called Google Dashboard so you can see what kind of information Google collects about you and how public that information is to others.  I use Google as my primary search tool, I like how it looks and I haven’t had much opportunity to locate something else. Apparently Chrome has a function that allows you to search “privately.” I don’t believe that really solves anything though.  I have a conspiracy theorist inside me though, so I always think there’s probably more than meets the eye in most situations.

If you want to check out Google and privacy, look up google.com/privacy. On the left side you’ll see a link titled Dashboard. Go ahead and click it, you might just learn something about yourself.

People are not happy with Google and now they’re speaking out about it.  If you‘ve ever been to Times Square you were probably one in a million walking about. A 15 second clip of the movie below will be advertised there around Christmas. Check this video out: Can we all say CREEPY together? Wait... that would probably be even more creepy.



So in my last post I talked about Starbucks. I really do spend a lot of time there so that makes us pretty tight. I read a story about a 28 year old woman who stepped out of her car and was heading into Starbucks when an African American woman threw acid in her face. Her eyes were saved by her sunglasses but can we all say HATE CRIME? That’s so awful! And she was right outside a Starbucks I visit all the time in Vancouver Washington. Eeek. It gets worse, the same thing happened to a woman getting out of her car and heading to her home. Her HOME!! What’s up with these people? Dude. Like are you serious?? I suppose that means we should all be on our guard no matter where we’re headed. It's disturbing.

By the way, I learned how to take snap shots of my screen- thrilled! I love having techy brothers and knowing how to use the Google search function.

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk-Washington.
Stay safe and enjoy the holiday!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Barista Hottie


In 2010 something changed. My usual trips to Starbucks began involving regular coffee instead of lattes. My summer drink of choice; iced coffees. To shake things up a bit I would ask for a different syrup instead of the signature sweetener they use. 

After drinking regular coffee and paying a decent price for that, I started to really take into account the cost of a latte. If I were to go anywhere else besides Starbucks I would die before I'd pay $4-5 for a 16 ounce drink. I'd walk out the door and find something else. Starbucks appears to have somewhat of a religious following. They do have something going for them, mainly, environment, excellent service, and good drinks. I've done coffee shop surfing and usually walk away thinking there's something really wrong with the taste of the coffee and never come back. Unless, they have free wifi and it's highly convenient. 

I spend many hours studying in Starbucks. At one point, I spent 2 days consecutively working on my Tax Accounting assignments. I hated Starbucks for the next few days. The only highlight, besides the delicious coffee was the BH behind the counter. BH stands for: barista hottie. (And he really took that one to a whole new level) Yes, a barista is not just a woman. It's any human who has been trained and can make those amazing espresso drinks we throw down $$$ to enjoy. When robots start making espresso drinks I'll change the definition to "any "thing" that makes those amazing espresso drinks..." 

It gets better though. After spending many hours in Starbucks you get to see and hear people ordering there drinks. Something about the heat outside causes people to order venti's and to add a little of this and a little of that. I'm guessing when they're all done, they've probably spent $8 on their drink. It better be a  good one. 

My family buys whole milk and I grew up drinking whole milk. However, when I started working I began drinking skim milk. And ever since then, that's usually what I'll drink cause it's there. Now whenever I put milk in my coffee I usually always go for nonfat milk- it just tastes right. Yesterday I drank a glass of whole milk and it tasted like whipping cream minus the density. I was like WOW you really can tasted a difference!

Starbucks came out with a new drink and I put the $$ down to try it. It's called a Toffee Mocha. It was delicious! It wasn't freaky sweet and it had a nice mix of flavor. Last year they came out with a Caramel Brulee Latte and that was so sweet one couldn't even finish the thing.  As I was ordering the drink the barista making it confirmed with the barista taking my money that the Toffee Mocha didn't include whipped cream. "No whipped cream?" said I. "Would you like whipped cream added to it?" said he. "Is it going to cost me extra?" said I. "no, I wouldn't dream of charging you for whipped cream!" said he. "I'll take it." said I. I take nonfat milk with my regular coffee and add whipped cream to my lattes. That's almost a contradiction. 

Starbucks is doing something right because when all is said and done, I still spend my money there. I usually always walk away satisfied which is the important thing. In today's day and age, competition is coming at a business in all directions. Rule of thumb: Your coffee shouldn't suck if your business is a coffee shop. We can all be happy that Starbucks is going green. My last gift card from my dear sister Lee, was green. And the girl was happy. 

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington

By the by, it's return of the bedbugs and you're next! XD -pop quiz- what do bedbugs, mosquitoes, leeches, and Edward have in common?