Up in a Sip
Coffee, muffins, taxes and driving in the snow
In life, there are certain experiences worth trying at least once, but when it comes to driving in the snow, I’ve wholeheartedly avoided it. As someone who grew up in a tropical environment, I’ve never had any inkling or curiosity whatsoever about driving in inclement weather. Furthermore, I have no need to prove any navigational skills simply because I don’t have any.
So when I found myself with no choice but to drive home in the snow for the first time ever, I was nervous. Very nervous. Alone inside my 20-year-old Nissan with rapidly aging wheels, I gripped the steering wheel so tightly and sat up straighter than I usually sat. My face was burning hot, and my mouth felt as dry as the Mojave desert. My heart thumped so loudly that I was certain anyone behind me could hear it. And when I decided to hit the brakes, perhaps a little too suddenly and my wheels began to spin, I tried to remember the rules of driving in the snow that my husband had instilled in me before: ease on the brakes, steer gently, keep my distance and let the wheels recover from the slip. I did all of these things and yet…it didn’t feel like I’d achieved anything other than a complete fear of driving in the snow and the determination to never do it again. Fortunately, there weren’t too many cars on the road and I navigated the car and myself back home in one piece.
I came home and discovered that the kids already had their requisite hot chocolate with marshmallows (a must on a snow day) and spent the rest of the day crossing my fingers for no more snow because I had to work the next day. Well, Mother Nature did not listen to my plea because the next day, she dumped almost an additional foot of snow, the nice, fluffy kind that makes a satisfying crunch when you step into it with your winter boots. So we decided to let the dogs go wild outside. They loved chasing tennis balls in the field next to our house, completely unaware of how cold it was.
Portland usually gets at least one freak snowfall every year, sometime between January and April, and so, being homebound for several days, I thought, “Might as well do some household admin.” And so, I reorganized my upstairs pantry. A task that should occur more than once per season, but I digress.
Aside from organizing pantries and convincing myself that I’m a perfectly organized person who does things on a schedule, I usually get the urge to bake whenever I’m homebound. But seeing as how we’ve been having a serious egg shortage, I tried to be conscious of how many eggs I’m consuming. I ended up using two boxes of expired Jiffy muffin mix that I found while reorganizing my pantry, which turned out surprisingly good.
My husband and I also managed to bore the kids to death with our epic 2+ hour conversation about money and taxes. Yes, that’s another task I successfully completed: taxes. A topic that excites absolutely no one but me. I also spent several hours on Friday doing an analysis of our recent spending—about four months’ worth. Again, something that nobody in my household finds exciting but me. But I was determined to 1) stay married 2) be open and honest about our spending, and 3) get my husband’s input on our finances because that’s literally how you stay married—by not arguing about money-related matters.
After a lunch of homemade French fries and mac and cheese, the kids and I headed to the library to get new books and return old ones only to discover that it was closed due to President’s Day. Bummed but not defeated, I suggested that we go get bubble tea instead. Their enthusiastic “YAY!!!” was the approval I needed for an afternoon treat.
And so, after a quick stop at Trader Joe’s to get coffee and a few basic grocery items, we headed over to Ding Tea.
Even though there are many options for bubble tea in town, Ding Tea is our absolute favorite, both because their teas are delicious but also because they’re known to go all out on holiday decorations. It’s always a nice surprise to walk into their shop and see elaborate displays that are 100% Instagrammable.
Currently, they have their Lunar New Year decor still up. As usual, their resident teddy bears sat daintily and quietly on two of their wicker chairs, looking as cool as ever. My kids played with the bears while I marvelled at this incense display.
On the ride home, James (my son) asked me what I ordered for myself. I replied, “A coffee bubble tea” and he said, “Hmm…coffee…helps you get up in a sip.” Up in a sip. I thought, well, that’s freakin’ brilliant. Coffee serves a particular purpose. A sip of delicious coffee can help you wake up, that’s for sure.
“If I ever open up a coffee shop, I’m going to steal that phrase for my slogan,” I told him. I’d call my shop “Sip It! Cafe.” Now, wouldn’t that be lovely?
Delightful Discoveries of the Week
Every post, I’ll share a few delightful things that totally made my week. Here’s a few this week:
I’ve had one of these small terra cotta disks in my pantry for a while now (it came with the pack of baking storage containers that I purchased at Costco) but had no idea what they were used for…until now. Apparently, they’re used to keep your brown sugar from clumping up! Who knew?!
Get Up (Rattle) by Bingo Players
The kids and I rocked to this song so much in the car that I was inspired to create a family dance party playlist…which is exactly what I did here. Come check out my list! Perhaps it’ll inspire you to have your own family dance party.
I love how you made good use of your snow day. Catching up on life admin and spending time with the kids is priceless.