In Search Of: July 2015

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

In Search Of. . . Starbucks Secret Menu Wednesday: Teddy Graham

Oh, look it's that day of the week again... and not just the one ending in "Y."

It's Starbucks Secret Menu Wednesday, and today's flavor is Teddy Graham. We all remember Teddy Grahams don't we?

Cute little honey flavored graham crackers that you always bit the heads off first. Or maybe that was just me. Anyway, coming back to the present, that was today's flavor.

Here it is in all its glory this time on top of the roof of my Avenger, Natasha. (She couldn't be Black Widow. It's a white car.)

Actually it all looks like it's floating.... that's kind of cool. The top of the telephone pole looks like a mini straw. And yes, the sky here is really that blue. So that was lunch, and let me tell you, I scarfed that blueberry muffin like it was going out of style.

You can kind of see what I ordered there, but not really. I probably should have turned it around so you could see the logo a little better. This was one of their fancy summer cups. I'll stop rambling now and tell you how to order the Teddy Graham.

This is a grande, but I think the one in the picture is a tall, so keep that in mind.

Order a coffee Frappuccino
Sub heavy whipping cream for milk
Add 1.5 hot bar pumps vanilla
Add 1.5 hot bar pumps cinnamon dolce
2 packets of honey
blend in whipped cream
Add caramel sauce on the top and bottom
Add whipped cream and chestnut praline topping... which obviously I didn't have.

So this doesn't exactly taste like a teddy graham, or at least how I remember teddy grahams tasting as a kid. At first I could only taste coffee. No honey or anything. I think he over blended it. When I was dumping it out of the Starbucks cup and into my work approved cup, I got some honey out of the straw, but other than that I couldn't really taste it.

I will say, as it settled and mixed in the work approved cup, I got a lot more teddy graham taste out of it. It could have been the ratio of flavors versus the size.

I'm going to say it was most definitely not the worst one I've had, but it isn't my favorite either. It's very middle of the road.

Let me know if you get this and tell me what you think.

As always,

Here's to hoping we find what we're searching for.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

In Search Of. . . Starbucks Secret Menu Wednesday: Caramel Snickerdoodle Macchiato

(Even though it's Thursday)

So, we're back with our bi-monthly coffee flavor. Today we went with an iced drink instead of a Frappucino. It's hot, muggy, and cloudy, which is weird for here. That's why and I was thinking how I didn't want the frap but I didn't want a summer iced drink. Macchiato it is.

(Maybe one day I'll put up the tutorial on how to make your own Macchiato. :D)

Here it is...

I tried to make it pretty, but it didn't work.

Here are the ingredients:

An iced soy caramel macchiato upside down
Add 1-2 vanilla pumps. I got a venti so I got two pumps.
Add 1-2 Cinnamon Dolce pumps. I got two of those too.

This so far is the most authentic tasting one. It actually tasted like a snickerdoodle. I think though that they made mine wrong. It didn't agree with my stomach very well. Also, that white stuff down at the bottom really shouldn't be there. It still tasted good though.

As always,

Here's to hoping we find what we're searching for.

Court

In Search Of. . . Fitness: Horizontal Running.

In Search Of. . . Fitness: Horizontal Running

I know I already posted this but genius me deleted that post. *face palm.* Anyway, I thought I'd repost it. Mostly because I love Fat Amy and can relate to her awkwardness.

So, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been asked to be a bridesmaid four times now. Each time, I'm super happy to be considered close enough to a person that they would even ask. Every time I always tell myself that I'm not going to be the fat bridesmaid... you know the one who feels ashamed of her body.

Each time I start with good intentions, but my working out usually turns into this

Anyway, this month my friend asked me to be her bridesmaid. (CONGRATS TO HER!) Naturally, I said yes, and then I realized, I've turned into a porky little pork chop and if I were a sheep I'd have mutton chops and if I were a man I'd still have mutton chops, but I'd work them like Elvis. lol.

Shhh.... let it happen.

Back to reality, I've picked back up on working out, and I try to do it every night, but I fail miserably. I'm doing the Leonardo routine (because Brazilian butt Lift sounds so awkward). It has target area work outs.

I didn't realize how out of shape I was. When I used to do the Leonardo routine, I could do nearly the 45 minute body sculpt with barely any interruptions. The past couple of nights, I stopped every 10 minutes to rest.

That's pretty close to how I felt and probably looked. Too much horizontal running. So after my work out I did the most productive thing I could think of doing....

Just kidding, I took a shower and went to bed.

On the upside, I've lost 4 lbs, I think. I'm determined to not be the chunky bridesmaid. I just am.

Here's to hoping that I don't do any more horizontal running, and you finding what you're searching for.

As always,
Court

Monday, July 6, 2015

In Search Of. . . Observations:The End

Normally, I don't post much about my personal beliefs, not because I'm ashamed of them, but because one of my great fears is being a bad testimony for God. If one day I post something that damages my testimony for God not I'd rather have been no testimony at all than a bad one.

So, bear that in mind.

Recently, I enrolled in my church's Bible institute to get a two year associates degree. I did it partially because I missed school, and this is an amazing opportunity, and partially because I want to learn about the Bible. I've been in church all my life, even went to a Christian college, but some how I don't feel like my focus was ever really on Bible study.

It's my nature to study things that interest me. The Bible interests me, and all too often I feel inadequate to witness to people because I don't know how to answer all the questions specifically. For example, I never knew how to tell people how the Bible was canonized. I had to write a small paper on in it for class, and I learned a lot. Now I can actually explain things, maybe not on a college professor level, but I can explain them.

Anyway, most Christians know that God knows the end game. He has since the creation of the world and probably before. That's not news. Sometimes, I think we forget that Satan knows the end game too.

In the memory verse Isaiah 14:15 it specifically says "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell." The funny thing about using shall vs will. Will kind of means that this will maybe happen. Shall means it is going to happen. No ifs, ands, or buts. God decreed that Satan shall be brought down to the pits of hell.

Which, on a side note, is kind of ironic because the preceding verses are talking about how Satan will make himself above God. I kind of imagine the parent listening to the kid spouting off all these threats. Then saying oh really? Well, I'm going to spank you.

I know that's not a very high analogy, but still.

What's really funny though is that even the demons, Satan's minions, know they're going to be judged.

I'm reading through Matthew for class, and unlike college where I had at least six classes and work to distract me, I can focus on my reading. I read for more comprehension and pick up on the little nuances like in Matthew 8:29.

This is where Jesus casts the demons out of them men and into the pigs. The demons ask Jesus why he has come to torment them before the time. The demons knew that their time was going to end on earth, and it will.

Now for practical application:

The world is going to end.

It will. We know it. God knows it. Satan and his demons know it. We also know that God is in control. So, as we watch the world implode on itself-- racial segregation, radical beliefs, murders, deaths, and natural disasters-- we can rest on the fact that God is in control. Yes, man has the ability to make decisions but nothing we do or say will affect God's end goal.

As always,

Here's to hoping we find what we're searching for.

Court