New Starbucks Flavor - Vanilla Frappuccino Light!

Hello my friends! :) How are you doing today? I hope yesterday's quotes inspired you to love, to smile, to enjoy and forget about any anxiety...

Before I tell you about the new flavor of Starbucks.... I want to let you know about my daughter's test results.... I want to praise God because they were all great, they were testing for "diabetes insipidus" it has nothing to do with sugar or insuline but it is still scary.... It is a life time condition that prevents the body from keeping any fluid, the person is always thirsty and there are excessive amounts of urine... My daughter had those symptoms but Thank God she is fine.... And she is actually drinking less water now and she is not desperately thirsty as she was.... I know it is God who keeps her healthy... To Him be the Glory!

 ² Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

    And forget not all His benefits:

 ³ Who forgives all your iniquities,

         Who heals all your diseases,

 ⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,

         Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (Psalm 103:2-4, New King James Version)

▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩▩

And now about Starbucks... Yesterday I received an e-mail from "Mary Ann" on behalf of Starbucks.... She made nice comments about the quotes yesterday (Thanks Mary Ann, I am glad you enjoyed them) and she also let me know that Starbucks has recently introduced a new flavo,r let me actually quote what she has to say about this new beverage:

"Vanilla Frapucchino Light - This rich beverage contains 50% fewer calories and 60% less sugar than their classic Vanilla flavor, making it that much easier to justify the indulgence!"

 She is also inviting bloggers to post an image on Monday about some time in the past week that they were able to sneak away from their hectic life for a bit of relaxation even if only for 5 minutes. It could be a photo of yourself, an illustration, a picture of your cat- anything.  I am taking the challenge and I might even follow this project as a "tradition" for "The Coffee Shop" I think every picture I post might have a cup of coffee in it! j/k... Anyway I think I will post a picture every Monday about it!

So, That's it for today! I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.... Mary Ann said they would send me a sample of their new Frappuccino.... once I try it I will let you know what I think!

Hugs!

Tuesday of quotes.... and verses!

Good Tuesday everyone! I hope you are ready to enjoy a cup of coffee (ok, you can drink milk, tea, chocolate or anything you prefer!) and read our Tuesday quotes and verses...

Take this time as a moment to reflect..... just take a deep breath and read this peaceful, happy quotes.... and to gain wisdom from The Book.... The Bible.... which.... by the way.... is the God's living Word.... so it will not just stay in your brain... but it will go directly to your heart... making changes to it.... basically a heart surgery....

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

I Corinthians 13:4-8

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

The perfection of wisdom, and the end of true philosophy is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, we will then be a happy and a virtuous people - Mark Twain

Wisdom is better than rubies. - Proverbs 8:11

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. - Proverbs, 15:17

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And just to share some more about love.... Hubby and I just love doing simple things together... it makes our relationship so much stronger... there's no need of fancy stuff... some crackers and cheese are a big thing if you want it to be like that! so I want to invite everyone to enjoy the little things of life.... not worrying much about money... having it or not.... everything passes.... It is good to work but not to be anxious about anything... Those things that matter the most are not money related... Take a walk with your children, hold your husband/wife's hand, drink a glass of grape juice (it always makes me happy), enjoy your family! share with them, smile with them!

And be always grateful for your blessings!

Coldstone and Michael's kitchen

Good morning and Happy Sunday everyone!

Thanks for the great response to our last Coffee Friday! It was a lot of fun! I am also so thankful to have your "get well" wishes and prayers for my daughter... I will tell you more about what we are testing once we get the results....

I wanted to share some pics with you... Last night hubby, our girl, and I went on a date to Coldstone... Hubby had "chocolate devotion" and I had "cheesecake fantasy" ... I think I should've had the chocolate devotion one... it looked really good... but at least the cheesecake fantasy had strawberries and blueberries so I could share those with our daughter, it was so much fun!

Here is a picture of hubby giving her some chocolate ice cream:

Looks cute, doesn't it? well, that is just because I couldn't get the picture right after this... Natalia spit it all out, it seems she didn't like "chocolate ice cream" .... it's not a big deal.... As I don't want her to eat too much sweets but it was funny though! I thought she would love chocolate ice cream, I should've known better, since she loves chewing celery and eating broccoli, carrots, zucchini, etc... I guess I should not ruin that!

Something else I am very happy about... is our new follower Michael... He sent me an e-mail because he wants to be part of our Coffee Friday feature... he grabbed "The Coffee Shop" button and his blog is just DELICIOUS, his latest posts are all related to chocolate and I am sure you can't resist that! So, go stop by his blog, you will not regret it ... "Michael's Kitchen"

Ok... I have to get ready because it's getting late for church... Hubby is preaching today :D

Coffee Friday... By Ginny Marie!

Happy Coffee Friday everyone! Thanks for all of your comments! I've been trying to respond to each of them here on my blog so if you've written something I've almost for sure said something about it! I just have some comments pending to answer (the ones from last post). It's been a hectic week, my daughter has an ear infection and it's on antibiotics, please keep her in your prayers as she will have some other tests (for some other issues that might be nothing God willing) done tomorrow.


Now our Coffee Friday pics:

here they are (with the captions by Ginny Marie):

 Happy

Sad

If you still do not know who Ginny Marie   is, you have to stop by her Blog! "Lemon Drop Pie" . And this is what she wants to share with you about it:

"I started Lemon Drop Pie to reach out to young breast cancer survivors like myself, and it has changed to a blog about everything from motherhood to faith to coffee!

Here are a couple of my favorite posts:
Sticky Little Hand Prints
What's in your Mug Today

I hope you enjoy reading my blog! I'm glad that The Coffee Shop is still open!"
 
Now you know you have to stop by it and say hi to her! She is such a great, optimistic woman! And I enjoy everything she writes and  her comments! The Coffee Shop wouldn't be the same without her, that's for sure!

And now on some additional things I would like to say... well... just like the pictures above, life has its happy moments and its sad ones too. We all have things to face each day, some minor problems, some bigger problems, struggles, fears, challenges, opportunities, sad or upsetting things... But still each day the sun shines above us all and even when we might see it all dark there is always hope.... So do not get discouraged, keep fighting, keep walking and keep improving! Do not throw the towel no matter what! And if you need a friend or someone to just listen (sometimes it's easier to vent with strangers) just come to The Coffee Shop... not for the blog itself but because I will read and if you want me to... I will pray... and if you ask for it I will tell you what I think about it.... or not.... whatever you prefer, just know I am here! It has been really nice for me to know that you are there... you, yes... whoever you are... who reads, who laughs and/or cries with whatever I write and for that I thank you!

So... I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Friday! Enjoy it and Enjoy your weekend!

Love,

Tuesday of quotes....

Good morning! Are you ready for some quotes on this beautiful Tuesday? Spring is here and you can start to feel that flowers are coming! (The picture above was taken last year of course) ... Now, grab your ____ (cup, glass, bottle) of _____ (coffee, tea, water, soda, anything you prefer) and enjoy these quotes and verses that I hope will make us all reflect today:

"If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one." 
~Cavett Robert

"Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."  ~Author Unknown

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10 

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." 
Proverbs 16:3

Did you know that this coming Friday our friend Ginny Marie will be "making coffee" for us? Yes! On Coffee Friday! She will be sharing her coffee with us!  So do not miss it!


Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Time traveling... to the past!

Last night we had a very nice surprise... A friend from Mexico called and asked if him and his wife could stop over just to say hi.... I think I was probably 19 when I last saw him (I am 31 now) and he now lives about 35 mins. away from where I live! Isn't that amazing? How smaller can the world get? We come to find each other 1,700 miles away from where we used to be.... It is just incredible! It brought really nice memories... Like when we used to be part of "plays" in church... we shared funny anecdotes, some updates of the people we used to know and talked about the authentic Mexican food we miss so much and you can NEVER find anywhere in the USA... no matter how "authentic" they claim to be..... We miss the tacos on the street and laughed at the mere idea of "taco salad, taco casserole and taco soup... and even worse.... TACO MIX" (sorry) ....it was all fun... Almost like we never stopped seeing each other... Like just re-starting a "pending" conversation... I felt 19 and in Mexico again.... LOL! We had coffee and a cheesecake kringle, I met his wife and his 5 yr. old... He met my hubby and unfortunately my girl was sleeping already.... It was cool! and it was nice to talk to someone in Spanish!

I am sure God sent him... I was very nostalgic and feeling home sick yesterday.... and there you go... an old friend from Mexico knocking at my door!

Coffee Friday / Treasures in Heaven

 Hello my friends... Today is day for Coffee Friday... So... as we've been doing in the past here is a coffee picture:

"El petit Cafe" Cornella de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.

This picture was shared on my "Coffee Lovers" fotolog (as you might know I have a group of people who love coffee and share pictures of coffee) the picture was shared by "Anita" here is her page: Anita's fotolog

As you can see I've been sharing pictues of that fotolog group lately... I haven't received any pictures of any of "The Coffee Shop" followers lately.... so I hope you take one soon to share it here ;)

----

Ok... That was our Coffee Friday picture.... 

I also want to share something I was reading the other day...

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20, New King James Version)

And I was thinking how... sometimes we just talk about the "Not making treasures on earth" part... but we do not think or do anything about the other part... which is making treasures in heaven....

how do you think we could make treasures in heaven? If we stop loving the "earthly" things and accumulating for our satisfaction here on earth.... is good.... but it's not everything... we need to think of what's eternal.... What do you think we could do?

Have a wonderful Coffee Friday! And... share with us what you think "making treasures in heaven" means.... we might get good ideas... so we can work on that!

Today is a new day...

Hello my friends... thanks for all the words of wisdom, for your encouragement and prayers... I am sorry if I sounded all weird in my last post.... I was just... too discouraged... too sad about the news I watched.... but you all helped me see clearly... and "The Coffee Shop" will continue... :)

I will try to post regularly... I will try to answer to your comments here in my blog.... I love you all :) I am honored with the friends I have here...

I want to also thank those who also sent me messages through Facebook and e-mail... :) Your words meant a lot!

About my relationship with God... well... He definitely wants me to be closer to Him... but the blog does not necessarily keep me from being close to Him (unless I am blogging all day long) ... same thing with my daughter... I can still be a good mom and blogger LOL!

---

Yesterday was a good day... Hubby had 1/2 day off and we went to the park... the day was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing our 18mo. play and enjoy the sun and the wind on her face! She was so happy

Here is a video:



It was really a blast! Then we went to Starbucks... Hubby had a "Cafe Mocha" YAY!!! I convinced him to try something different, he always has just black coffee... no sugar, no cream of course! he really liked it! I had a capuccino, it was ok but I think I will stick to my frapuccino mocha! :)

"Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness" Lamentations 3:22-23

The Coffee Shop is closing....

Good morning dear friends.... and followers of "The Coffee Shop" ... I've been thinking about closing "The Coffee Shop" might be something temporary I am still not sure... But I feel I should do that...

The why's

1. Too busy to get back to the wonderful people who write or to keep up with daily posting.
2. (the most important) I've been feeling from God... to spend more time with Him and if I write I should write something of more... value and content.... something that might really help others... and as I was watching the news last night... (which I usually never do) I saw the case of a woman who left her 2 yr. old son with a guy... who beat him up... and when she came back she didn't call the hospital... the poor kid was fainting, dizzy, didn't want to eat and sometimes would throw up... she... gave him an aspirine... the poor baby was like that for 6 days until he finally died... My heart SHRUNK.... BROKE.... And I am still so .... I don't know.... in pain! And I thought It's incredible I am writing about coffee when those things are happening! I mean... I know it's not "wrong" to have a blog... and just write about nice things... I enjoy that... But I feel that If I am going to have a blog or write about anything I should write about the Good News of Salvation... and how desperately we need Jesus... and... well... you can see I was convicted... I have a big mission which is raise my child in God's path.... My husband and my daughter are my ministry.... and tell others about God's grace and love!

Sorry about ranting there... I am just .... I don't know... I knew this time was coming but I didn't want to admit it... I tried to open a giveaway and thank God it didn't succeed... LOL! Just one more sign I should stop this...

I hope I can still stay in touch with the dear friends I've found here.... you can e-mail me at love.for.coffee@gmail.com ... If I create that other blog I will let you know....

God bless u all!

Paloma.

Coffee Friday... and a giveaway!

Hello dear friends, my baby girl is still sick, she got better but she now has some fever and a cold, thanks for the words of encouragement, support and prayers... please continue to pray for her.

We still had to have our "Coffee Friday" here at "The Coffee Shop" plus a giveaway to say "Thanks" for being patient with me as I haven't been able to comment so much lately.... I want to be back on track in my blogging life... but it hasn't been possible... so bear with me!

Our picture for the day comes from my "group fotolog" ... Fotolog is a page where you can upload a daily picture of anything you want, there are some group fotologs (like mine) that can have a determined theme and others can upload pictures to it... so I administer one dedicated exclusively to coffee... and here is the picture shared by "Monse" (one of the visitors of my fotolog):

Coffee_Lovers Fotolog 

I truly loved the picture! Isn't it neat? and now... the giveaway:

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Quick post!

Hello everyone... Just to let you know that I did not forget about our "Tuesday jokes, quotes and facts" but I have a baby girl that isn't feeling well today...

Hopefully we will have a better day in "The Coffee Shop" tomorrow!

:)

Paloma.

Let's talk digital cameras!

Hello friends.... As I've said before I want this to be a space where we can talk about everything..... and anything! Who says you can only speak about coffee in a coffee shop? :) You enjoy something to drink ... anything you prefer! tea? coffee? iced coffee? juice? chocolate milk? You name it.... and you do not have to spend the whole time you are in a coffee shop speaking about "how good or bad your drink is" so... I guess you are enjoying your drink right now... and the topic I'll bring to the table is... "Digital Cameras" do you have one? do you like it? Why? Why not?

As you probably remember I mentioned a month ago that I got a new camera, my old one was a great Christmas gift form my father in law who knows I am crazy about cameras, technology and taking pictures, God knows I want to have a professional camera! I hope I can afford one soon :) .... I enjoyed my Canon Powershot A560, 7.1 megapixels were all I needed to take very good pictures (I'd say) and I really enjoyed having it for 2 yrs.... I would say that the the only thing that really bothered me about the camera is the battery compartment, it uses AA batteries (which is good, especially if you just buy rechargeable ones and a charger of course) but the lid to cover the compartment is just "held in place" by two tiny plastic "bumps" (IYKWIM) that are supposed to keep the lid shut (regardless of the pressure of the batteries), that only works for a few months (especially if you use the camera as much as I do and have to change the batteries once a day)... There were some other "cons" but nothing major.... (Just do not try to take great pictures in a night landscape)

So I ordered this year a new digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix S630 which I think it's a real beauty, good size (very slim), easy to handle, good grip and it wasn't expensive (considering it's 12 megapixels!) I watched a video from the manufacturer and some of the product reviews and it seemed to be the perfect camera for me and my budget... I was so excited when I got it but all I can say is that I got ONLY BLURRY pictures out of it.... Trust me, I know how to use a camera, I read it all, I tried it all and nothing but blurry pictures, I am returning it as defective, but I found out that a cousin also has a Coolpix and she has the same issues... I wonder if it's in general a bad product or if we both just happen to have gotten 2 defective cameras, it's still a shame

So... No pictures for today... Just a bitter "after taste" for such a bad experience.... I will be returning the camera on Monday and hopefully be reimbursed soon so I can try another camera that will hopefully be the one I need.

Any suggestions???

Coffee Friday: Special Moments

Good morning everyone! I think the morning is perfect for a good hot cup of coffee! and Today's Coffee picture is a courtesy of someone who has proven to be a real coffee lover.... "Armero" He has a very interesting space of pictures and he's been sharing great coffee pictures in the group I administer on "Fotolog"... If you want to know more of his pictures... Just visit: Armero's fotolog

So, here is the picture:

 

 "Momentos de Café en San Miguel de Allende...Sencillamente Fascinantes!!! Saludos" 

"Coffee Moments in San Miguel de Allende (MX)... Simply fascinating!!! Greetings" 

I hope you enjoyed your cup of coffee with us! These type of moments should be enjoyed slowly... 

Have a great weekend!

A "low Calorie" Mocha Frappe Recipe

Hello my dear friends... Thanks for all the comments and in case you are wondering how I am doing everything is well here, we are all healthy and doing well... doing so well that we've stayed really busy and going to the gym!  I am planning on attending some of the summer classes, we'll see how that goes!

I also want to share a recipe from a friend, she told me about this recipe and that I could use it for "The Coffee Shop" she has a very nice blog (go check it out) The things that Occupy my Mind

I am copying/pasting directly from her blog...

"First, my chocolate syrup. My grandmother used to make this for me for her homemade biscuits. She was a very large lady. I always assumed the chocolate didn't keep her from being that way. I discovered today, (when I was out of chocolate syrup and wanted a mocha frappe {recipe follows}) that it wasn't the chocolate syrup, it was those good ole bicuits. (or Bickets, we called them)

Okay, so here's the recipe
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
dash salt
1/2 cup water

combine all ingredients in a 1 qt. pan, mix well and bring to boil, stirring while it boils for a minute or two. Allow to cool and put into a refrigerator safe container and store refrigerated.

Total Calories: 30 calories, 0 fat!

Now, the mocha frappe' recipe: (I got this from this month's Good Housekeeping, and it is soooooooooo good. And so much cheaper than Starbucks ($3+) and a little lower cal and fat, too. (Starbucks 8 oz. mocha frappe' is 150 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. In this recipe, I found it to have 103 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, so the calories aren't that much different and the fat isn't different at all, but it's quick, convenient and cheaper. That's what sells me these days. and besides, do you realize how many jello cups you could eat with those extra 47 calories? LOL. (that's 4 1/2 if you're wondering, b/c sugar free jello is 10 calories a cup!)

Okay, so the recipe, sorry, I got sidetracked:
1/3 cup strong coffee (I use espresso)
1/3 cup 2% milk
1 Tbsp chocolate syrup (from above recipe)
2 tsp. sugar (you could probably omit this if you wanted, would save 15 calories)
1 cup ice cubes

put into blender and blend until smooth

Okay, y'all, my drink is gone and the dryer is done. Time to get off here for a while!"

 I hope you enjoy her recipe and her writing! I love that lady! She is a great friend!

Tuesday: Jokes, Quotes and interesting facts

 

Photo credit: http://coffeehero.com

Welcome to a new day in "The Coffee Shop", If you are a first time visitor, make yourself at home, relax and drink what you want... I am a coffee lover but you don't have to be one to enjoy a great time here and make it one of your favorite spots to just make friends and hopefully share or learn some recipes that we have around! Not everything in "The Coffee Shop" is about coffee.... our "Coffee Shop" is just a concept.... an "idea" we use as an excuse to get together!

But even when .... we can talk about anything and everything.... Tuesdays and Fridays are "Coffee Days"... and today is Tuesday so... get ready to enjoy some "jokes, quotes and facts" all about coffee!

Some quotes:

Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks? - Steven Wright

I like cappuccino, actually. But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all. - David Lynch


I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon. - Ronald Reagan

Some silly jokes 

"Here is your coffee sir! Exclusively from South America!" "Ah, that's what took you so long."

"Waiter, this coffee is cold". "Oh, I'm glad you told me. Iced coffee costs a dollar more."

"Waiter! Did you bring me coffee or tea?" "Can you tell the difference?" "Well...no...I can't" "Then it shouldn't really matter."

And some of the facts:

-Caffeine is on the International Olympic Committee list of prohibited substances. Athletes who test positive for more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per milliliter of urine may be banned from the Olympic Games. This level may be reached after drinking about 5 cups of coffee.(wow!)


- Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce!(Crazy!!!)


 So I hope you are enjoying your time at the Coffee Shop... Stay as long as you want! There's a lot of stuff to look around!

90 years and counting!

Good Monday dear readers, fellow bloggers and friends!

Today I want this post to be about a wonderful man that I am honored to call "Grandpa", he is my husband's grandfather, a fine man with a very interesting conversation, always with a smile on his face and always making everybody feel welcome in his family! We celebrated his 90th birthday on Saturday it is such a great blessing to see someone who has lived such a productive and great life, who has made every year of his life count and who has given so much to those who have been around him!

I am so happy to see a lot of him in my husband, that makes me even prouder of the man God chose for me!

Grandpa served in the military, worked for the railroad, married a great woman and raised 4 beautiful women, who gave them 6 grandchildren, 4 of them now have a total of 9 children of their own and we were all gathered on Saturday to celebrate him! to show him our love and tell him how thankful we are with God for giving him 90yrs. of life (until now) because we know there will be more!

So! Praise God for all those good grandfathers in the world!

Happy Birthday Granpda!