"You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job everybody! It's great to be here." -Buddy "Elf"

(I woke up this morning totally rarin' to get back at this whole blogging thing, but by the time I spent, like, 2 hours reconfiguring everything, I had lost every creative impulse I had. So... here's a "Best of GBF" rerun. Enjoy. I'll be back tomorrow.)

My family pretty much lives at the soccer field year round. Here in Washington that means a whole lot of Saturdays out in the rain, damp, drizzle, shower or downpour. There is no possible way that that is going to happen on a regular basis without some form of hot, caffeinated beverage in my hand. My husband started developing a twitch whenever he saw me with one of those $4 cups of coffee, so I’ve had to figure out how to make a passable facsimile at home.
Step one: Get the way-cutest travel mug you can find. Some prefer the ones with the removable paper liner that you can use as a template for printing your own pictures. Excellent choice. As far as I’m concerned, though, I’ve already proven my devotion to the small people in my family, by even BEING THERE, standing in the freezing rain at 8:00 on a Saturday morning, so I feel no guilt what-so-ever at choosing a caffeine receptacle that is all about me.
As we know, all about me starts with pink, and if it sparkles, all the better. That said, I have found my own personal, perfect caffeine delivery system, seeing as how I can’t get anyone with medical training to hook me up with an IV.


Here it is! The official pink, sparkly Gilmore Girls travel coffee mug. Have we talked about Gilmore Girls yet? Oh, don’t worry. We will.
But, now, back on task girls! You probably have only moments until one of your sweet little offspring will be screaming like a banshee for a shin guard or a water bottle, and as important as those things are, we both know that they pale in comparison to legal, addictive stimulants for mom. So, I’ll wait while you find your own perfect mug, but hurry or the kids will have you hunting for who knows what again.
Okay, got it? Good. Now, before we can get to the fun part of carrying around our cute mugs looking extremely hip (for moms) we must first put something in the mugs. That would be step two. Follow your own bliss regarding the schmanciness of the bean. I like to buy whole beans, ‘cause it’s just as easy as buying the pre-ground stuff and they taste so much fresher, but I’ll pretty much buy whichever brand is on sale. Then, because I can think of 18 bajillion other things to spend money on, I try to keep the rest of it super-cheapo. I’m talkin’ skim milk and cocoa powder. That’s it, girls. The soccer mom mocha. Remember, as long as the mug looks good, and there’s caffeine inside, you’ve pretty much got it made.