When I was younger, I went with my mom everywhere. We used to visit my grandfather, we’d go to her bookkeeping job, and we’d go shopping. And we talked a lot too. Something that always sticks in my mind, from those day, is the way she’d “cup of coffee” which sounded a lot more like “cupacoffee”. Honestly, thinking back, this may be where my obsession with coffee came from. There is no better sound than my mom saying cuppacoffee.

When she talked about it, it was always in reference to visiting. She would visit so-and-so, and they’d have cake, and a cuppacoffee, and they’d visit. I guess that’s why it sounded so good, it was an experience, and the experience was sharing and catching up with a friend. And that’s what this post is today. Let’s catch up. Grab a cuppacoffee and a slice of cake and let’s talk!

Seattle and Dispesaries with my Mom

Two weeks ago, I was in Seattle with my mom. Let me clarify, I took my mom with me on a business trip. She’s always wanted to see Seattle, and she figured she’d travel with me and get a free hotel room out of it. Flattering, huh? Now, normally my hotel rooms are pretty roomy, and come with two beds. But not this time. The room was the size of my bedroom, and it had one, full sized bed. Needless to say we got pretty.

When I’m with her, I still feel like a little kid, while getting to have the fun of an adult. It’s pretty special.

I am super proud of my mom and the things she did in Seattle. She wandered out on her own for the first time in her life. She went snowshoeing, she drank mimosas, and she visited the local pot dispensaries. She got a super kick out of this last one.

Two pics she texted me during the week:

A little history about my mom. She always says that she slept through the 60’s. She was not the burn-your-bra, dropping acid, groovy chick that we think about from the 60’s (I know, I know, these are stereotypes, but I’m a child of the 80’s, this is what we were taught!). She was a pretty straight-laced gal, who didn’t know what Woodstock was until years later. And it’s not exactly her fault that she was so out of touch, she grew up in a pretty toxic household and her mind was more on survival than anything else.

As she’s gotten older, she’s gotten bolder and more independent, and it has been one of the great joys of my life to watch. She is by far my favorite person on this planet, and watching her come into her own is downright glorious.

I am Now Living that Work From Home Life

Last time we talked I told you about my new role working from home. Let me tell you, working from home has been an adjustment. Some things I did not expect include:

• Snacks…I literally want to eat all day. And sometimes I do just that.
• Conference Calls…I have about six a day, cause I’m home and that’s how people communicate with me. Which I know, makes sense, but I honestly did not expect it.
• Fresh Air…I used to spend all day in a warehouse, and didn’t get a lot of fresh air, but there is something weird about getting out of bed, sitting at my desk and seeing the outside world right in front of my face, without actually breathing in any fresh air. I’ve made a point to get out either to take a walk or run errands, at least once a day. A really easy fix to this would be to open the window, but my allergies are kicking my ass this season! Someone recently explained it as feeling like wearing a mask under your face, and that is totally spot on. OK, so another easy fix to that would be to take Claritin every day, and I honestly have no good reason for not doing that. Like, literally no good reason, I just don’t do it. Speaking of, hold on one sec while I go take my Claritin.
• Steps…When I was on site, I was walking at lest 5,000 steps a day, and on good days over 10,000. Now I can very easily go all day with only 1,000 steps, unless I make a conscious effort to get up and get moving!

I am not complaining, by any means. I am so happy to be able to work from home. So freakin happy. It’s just a total adjustment and my biggest opportunity is keeping myself on track and off of social media!

On that note, I got two Tweets with major traffic this week! They were both responses, and one was by far the nicest Tweet I’ve ever Tweeted:

So, I’m like basically still famous.

I am Officially Out of Debt!

When the year started, I created some goals for myself, and one of the most important ones was to get out of Debt. And this week, I did it!

My student loan was by far the worst of all my debts, and I literally spent the first four years paying off JUST the interest. $10,000 right down the toilet.

I’ve been living with debt for so long that I cried when I paid off the final bill. And not just a few tears, I cried like a baby. I kept taking these big long breaths, like I’d just gotten on shore from almost drowning. Debt has felt like that more than a few times over the years, and I am so happy to be done with it. I feel like a new person.

Swap Box!

I had so much with my last Swap Box in the Fall, that I signed up to do another one for Spring! I got Lowanda from Sunshine and Elephants. And she knew that this year is all about self-care! She sent me relaxation in a box!

This box smelled soooooo good when I opened it. The bath bomb smells heavenly, I took a bunch of big whiffs from this beauty, and I can’t wait to use it. I love that everything in this box was for relaxation and self-care. It’s spot on. Funny enough, Margarita’s are my mixed drink of choice! And this one is like a Capri Sun for adults. I’m not drinking this year, as part of my self-care plan, but I’m happy to share this tasty treat with my husband. He’s pretty happy about it as well.

If you want to participate in this swap box, make sure to check out Happy. Pretty. Sweet. this week, Ashley included a sign up for the Summer Swap Box in her most recent post.

Wrap Up

It feels so good to talk to y’all that I could go on all day. I’m working on a better posting schedule though, so we’ll be talking more throughout the week. I know, I know, I promised that in my last post. Well, at least I’m consistent ;).

So what’s new with  you? Tell me something about your week in the comments!

Talk soon,

The post Coffee and Cake Catch Up: The Seattle Edition appeared first on Ani Kay.