This past weekend I went to the Barista Throwdown at Javas, our local coffee shop, with a bunch of friends.

The coffee shop itself was closed for the competition and baristas from all over Rochester and Buffalo were in attendance.

They were competing in latte art, which is something I have been forever trying to do without any success.

There were many, many talented baristas, but only one winner. I was so impressed with their skills and how easy they made it look!

It was a great night full of odd people, loud music, crazy latte art, and great fellowship with people I don’t see enough.

So, obviously I was then on a mission to learn latte art for myself. I watched a few videos on youtube, armed myself with a pitcher and a gallon of milk and went to work.

A friend at work and I practiced during all our slow times. We got better as time passed.

By no means am I halfway as skilled as the baristas in the competition, but I will keep practicing! It’s always fun to make work more artistic! Here’s my best one so far…

Want a cookie?
Oh, no
Come on. They’re warm and gooey and fresh out of the oven
No, I don’t like cookies

You don’t like cookies? What’s wrong with you?
I dont know
Everybody likes cookies. I mean after a really awful no good day, didn’t your mother ever make you milk and cookies?

No. My mother didn’t bake. The only cookies I ever had were store bought
Sit down. Now. Eat a cookie.

I…I really can’t
Mr. Crick. It was a really awful day. I know. I made sure of it. So pick up the cookie. Dip it in the milk…and eat it.

I just figured if i was gonna make the world a better place, i’d do it with cookies.

* from Stranger Than Fiction

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Today was for sure interesting, from crying at work while trying to reason with my boss, to him throwing a spatula across the store and breaking it against the wall, to a guy who yelled at me for the Hunger Games CD “We’re supposed to be ELIMINATING hunger, not making games out of it!” (ummmm…). Yeah. Interesting.

So, crying at work…There was a mix up and it’s not my boss’ fault but since I’ve been with the bux so long I am capped for pay so I should get a bonus instead of a raise, but he didn’t know how to do it and entered it wrong and therefore I get no bonus. No raise, no bonus. Really frustrating. Mostly because I’ve been desperately wanting to go to the Storyline Conference next weekend and if my bonus went through today I would have had enough money to pay for it. I have been praying that God would show me if I was supposed to go and was not expecting this to be the answer, but there it was. So I was really upset for a while and told my boss I was really frustrated and tried to see if there was anything we could do to fix it, and of course I’m crying haha because that’s what I do when I’m really frustrated. To no avail. So I just prayed on my break and THANKED God for His answer even though it was NOT at all what I wanted, because I really could have used that money. My best friend reminded me that God sees what’s coming up so He knows what He’s doing. So true! My attitude was improved after that and I kept pondering why this was happening, but trusting God that it was right.

When I came home today I had one piece of mail. From the IRS. Stating that in 2008…yes 2008 I didn’t pay enough taxes so I owe them a small amount, plus a huge amount of interest since that was oh 4 years ago and they failed to tell me. Yup. Um…God really? First no bonus then a whopping bill from 2008 that I owe to the IRS? My mom just smiled and said “that’s life!” (thanks mom). But she’s right. And again, God knows what He’s doing. I am indeed frustrated that I am now a lot more poor, but still I have peace. Oh and one more thing, I have to buy a new car.

I made lemonade. No seriously, my parents are having company for dinner and my mom asked me to make lemonade. But when my dad asked what I was doing, I simply responded “God gave me lemons today, so I’m making lemonade”. Its true. God is faithful. Money is so frustrating to me. But I have been faithful in my tithing and giving and I KNOW that He will provide me with everything I need. And I am also very thankful that I have a clear answer about whether or not I should go to the conference, because I really really really wanted to go but didn’t know if it was a wise decision to travel to an unknown city by myself and spend a lot of money for a 2 day conference. I like clear answers. I don’t necessarily like the answer, but I like the fact that I am no longer undecided.

God sees what’s coming. He knows what’s up. So I’m just following Him. I’m pretty clueless!

Two days off in a row and what am I to do? Its snowing outside. A wet thick snow that has attached to everything in its path. Weighing down the branches already full of blooms and leaves. It’s hard to remember that only three days ago it was 87 and we broke the record for hottest day in April. Only in Rochester… I haven’t done anything much. My nails are painted. I’ve watched some tv. I have walked A LOT, and I’ve read three books. (Yes 3 books in two days…) I’ve forgotten how good it feels to read books. To be completely lost in another world. You would think that I would be sublimely productive having two days off in a row, but no. I haven’t done anything productive. Not really. Maybe today I’ll be more successful, but I have been completely happy to enjoy this day, walk, rest, read, and hang out with the fam. Did I mention that it was snowing?

Pinterest is my addiction. And movies. And baking. And reading cookbooks. Papa and I can read cookbooks and talk about recipes while listening to classical music for hours. He knows every song and every composer. It’s quite impressive. He also now knows how to push “I’m still listening” on Pandora so it will keep playing music. Pretty impressive for an old dude. He’s so cute. We were going to make a banana cake but then he decided we should wait until next week. Not quite sure what we are waiting for.

I lunched with Rebecca, dined with Carolyn, hung out with Dea, talked to Liz for hours…Sweet friendships. I am so thankful for them all. I am really trying to focus my time on friendships that encourage my heart. Finding ways to bless others, and writing down things I am thankful for and qualities I love in people. Focusing less on me. Some people are easy. I can find tons of good things about them. Positive, adventurous, genuine, devoted, wise, honest, beautiful, artistic, loving, tender-hearted, encouraging, musical…and that’s just one person! Others are a bit more difficult. Maybe it’s because I struggle more with loving them. I don’t know. I’ve been praying that God would reveal to me things about them that I can be thankful for. I think this will open my heart to love them more. Not complaining and not gossiping is a hard task, but I do notice it changing our conversations. I do notice that I am using my words more cautiously.

Endless ramblings with no real purpose. Just for the sake of putting something down on the paper. (screen) I jump back into my crazy work schedule. Ready to conquer a few more cappuccinos.

Jon Acuff posted this quote a few days ago and it really stuck with me. I tend to be more cautious, but my creative side is screaming to get out!

You can be Cautious or you can be Creative (but there’s no such thing as a Cautious Creative).

A creative thinker must be fearless.
If you’re more tentative than decisive, if you’re more cautious than creative, you’ll never be an innovative business leader, and certainly not a great visual communicator.

A Cautious Creative is an oxymoron.  

From Jon Acuff taken from George Lois
http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/