Coffee Mocha

The days are getting so much shorter aren't they? Snow is predicted to fall here by the end of the week. I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

I don't know why, but this time of year I get a little homesick. The other day I was thinking about how I used to go to my grandma's house between ballet rehearsals on Saturdays. I remembered how the November afternoons in the Northwest could be dark, and dreary, and wet. My Grandma would meet me at the door and usher me in out of the rain. Still in my tights and leotard, I would prop my sore feet up by the fire. Then, she would make me warm drink. Coffee mocha. It was rich, and choclatey, and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg-- all the flavors that grandmas are good at cultivating. Better than marshmallows and cocoa, it was a cozy treat to warm me up and make me feel loved. 

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I've continued to make this same coffee mocha and drink it from time to time over the years. It always brings comfort as well as warm memories of those rainy afternoons with my gram.

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As we near the Christmas Giving Season I thought I would share the recipe with you as it makes a wonderful gift. The best part about it is that you can make it now, and give it later. No baking, wrapping, freezing, thawing... just mix it up and pour it into a cute jar. Easy!

Coffee Mocha

2 Cups Hot Cocoa

2 Cups Powdered Creamer

1  1/2 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Instant Coffee

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

This will yield 6 1/2 cups of mix. You may wish to double or triple this if you plan to fill several jars.

Guess what? You can even download the little tag that I made! I printed it on label sheets and just stuck it to some card stock. Ta Dah. There you go!

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well that's better

This is what I woke up to this morning:

See that? No smoke. Well only a little. I layed awake listening to the wind last night hoping that it was going to blow the smoke away. Oh how I've missed that view coming down the hill in the morning.

Ian and I celebrated with a run outside-- to the park, of course. It was nice to actually cover some ground vs jogging around the wheel on the treadmill.

Surprisingly it seems that Autumn showed up sometime over the last few weeks. The brilliant leaves have been hidden under the smoke. 

I'm feeling good. Besides getting a lovely dose of sun and fresh air, I've been doing a little cleanse. I think it's important for me to sort of reboot from time to time. My eating habits had become a little sloppy over the last month and I needed a "get-back-on-track-quick!" plan. We leave for Hawaii in a few short weeks. How's that for motivation?

Okay, I'm going back outside! Love to you all.

cooped up

 The fires are still raging. I will never take clean air for granted again. It's pretty horrible out there right now. We're so thankful for the firefighters who are working day and night and braving these dangerous conditions. As for us? We're doing the best we can to not complain and make the best of it. 

Who can complain about a little extra snuggle time?

Or root beer floats?

The kids are cooking?!

And so are the grownups...(ie: Me) Shrimp Cobb Salad. Yum.

I did see a little blue sky- briefly. Those aren't clouds. It's Smoke.

I also caught the sun just as it went down.

Up above it really is so pretty. Poor little smoky valley below.

See the mountains barely peeking through the horizon?

I didn't edit any of these.

Straight out of the camera.

At bedtime Ian and I reminded each other of something important. No matter how smoky (or how bad our singing voices are)...

Download You are my sunshine

(he was asking for you to "clap" at the end)