Coffee

This drink and I have always had something of a dubious love/hate relationship over the years. What is it about coffee that inspires zillion dollar businesses like Starbucks to thrive? Even in our slowed economy, I constantly see all manner of folk with $4.00 plus coffee drinks in their hands and not blinking an eye about it.

Frankly, I'm trying to STOP drinking the stuff, mostly because of the caffeine content. I could switch to decaf, but I would just rather stop. I hate the idea that I depend on caffeine. What if I were suddenly catapulted into a scenario that left me without the ability to drink caffeine? My world would fall apart for a few days as I go through withdrawals! I would be reduced to a blithering idiot begging for her morning cup of joe because the headache and pain of it all is too much!

The really horrible thing is that I WAS caffeine free for months at one point. MONTHS! I felt FINE without this stuff! I had "unleaded" coffee in the am instead of the leaded version. Caffeine is hard to get away from even throughout the day. I love carbonated drinks and most of them contain caffeine. My most favorite carbonated beverage doesn't come in a caffeine-free version. So, if it isn't coffee in the am calling my name, it is the carbonated beverage later in the day that is. I really must switch to drinking Squirt instead. Only problem is that it isn't as readily available as my preferred nemesis. I could drink 7Up or Sprite, but I am just not all that fond of it. I slowly returned back to caffeine because it was too hard to avoid it!

You know, I am not all that sure that I really even LIKE the taste of coffee. I like the smell though, and that seems to be enough. I don't drink my coffee with milk or sugar. I drink it black. Always have. Why? Because I didn't want to like it too much. Rather than like it, I just sort've gotten used to it.

I ran into a rather unpleasant scenario yesterday morning. Since I was busy all weekend with other responsibilities, I was unaware that we had run out of coffee. Monday morning, I get up to get ready for work, stumble my way to the kitchen for my morning cup of coffee and found we had NONE. Desperate, I searched the cupboards for some residual form of coffee, or even tea that was caffeinated. If I didn't have something, I knew I was going to be in for a rough day. My hubby raced to the store and purchased some coffee. I barely had to time to drink a quarter of a cup before racing to work. It wasn't enough. Once I get to work, I'm pretty much stuck there for the next several hours without a break to even get anything else. I looked all over our tiny little kitchenette for something with caffeine in it. I finally found a tea that claimed caffeine and prepared a cup for myself. It wasn't enough. I made another cup. It wasn't enough. NO ONE in the building had time to go for a coffee run. I was beginning to have mid-morning withdrawals. By afternoon, I was the blithering idiot with massive headache. I made it to the end of my work day, but had to drive to the auto repair shop to meet my hubby. I asked him to please take me to someplace where I can get a cup of coffee. Actually, I drank a diet, caffeinated soda instead, which helped; but the damage was done. It had been a horrendous, exhausting day without enough of my coffee fix.

This morning, while I write this, I am having a cup of coffee. I hate it. I hate being dependent on it, but will drink it because I don't want another day like yesterday. Oh and did I mention that coffee is stimulant? That's why most folks drink it. Raises your heart rate, raises your blood pressure, constricts the blood vessels, and not healthy for folks with heart problems, blood pressure problems or circulation problems. Worried about getting stroke? DON'T drink coffee, or coke, or pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, or Mountain Dew.....

Tomorrow, I will have another cup of coffee. Going to try to limit myself to ONE cup, just ONE!

Do I Look Like a North African Berber?

Why do I ask this question to begin with?

The reason is because my oldest brother recently had a DNA test done to determine, once and for all, if there was North American Indian blood in our family.  For several generations, there has been an ongoing belief that our family had Cherokee blood. My oldest brother, who has worked hard to research our genealogy, never found any physical evidence of this. He chose to take a DNA test to prove once and for all that we had Indian blood...or not.

The answer was...NOT.

The the DNA test showed something he wasn't prepared for. It showed that our genetic markers most closely resemble NORTH AFRICAN BERBERS?

He thought it was a silly mistake. Not so.

Now, I'm something of a history buff, so found this piece of information interesting. Mostly because I already knew that I had a significant amount of Celtic heritage. I already knew that my genealogy contained at least a significant amount of Scottish/Irish background. I already had researched the general history of my Celtic heritage and found that these people migrated from Spain. I also knew that North Africans had come into Spain and settled there. So, it was no surprise that I had some North African Berber in blood. The part that surprised me immensely was that my genetic markers was closer to this race of people more than anything else!

So close that I could be living in North Africa and it wouldn't be much different than them? Wow!

The picture below the first one shows me with my oldest son. My hair is an obvious colored blonde. It is actually a light brown, green eyes and skin that tans fairly easily but can sunburn if I'm not careful.

If my hair wasn't colored and I was dressed like those folks  in the picture above, would you be able to differentiate me from those people in the pictures above? Probably not!

Tell me what YOU think!

New Shop, New Ideas, New Fundraiser

Times are tough and fundraising for a great cause is even harder! Just ask any high school student wanting to attend Spring Tour on 2011 all the way across our U.S. continent to New York City. 

I have two...yes TWO students who have the grand opportunity to attend this great tour and experience the art and creativity that NYC has to offer...if only they can raise the money to get there.

Our school does not provide the funds. Yes, we have a fundraiser booster, but it will take much more than what they are offering to get these guys on the trip.

Solution?  Well, one is that I have opened a new shop on Artfire and with this shop, I plan to list some great items that my teens have created to help raise the funds needed to attend. They will be making a variety of items. Currently, we have dog treats up and going. These are without preservatives and monitored by mom to ensure quality and cleanliness. 100% of the proceeds will go toward the Spring Choir Tour to New York City for Evergreen High School Choir Students. More items will be showing later since this is a new shop site.
One more thing: ALL items on Ai Chihuahua will be dedicated to this Spring Choir Tour until May 2011! Fifty percent of all proceeds of all other items on this site will help defray the costs.

Are you ready to help a student with a once in a lifetime experience? Want to show your support for music in the public schools?  Stop by

I just thought I would add a video of our District Honor Choir from last year, which my teens were participants. Don't they sound great? Sorry for the picture quality. I am truly an amateur at videos!  Please click the music off my blog site to hear this fantastic choir. Many of these same students will also be going to New York this Spring...if they can raise the funds needed.