Sometime you just have to hold your head up high, blink away the tears and say good-bye.

Human's are creatures of habit. We carve out our daily routines, the friends we see, and the places we patron. It is with great sorrow that I have to inform all of you (all two followers) that the Bean Baskette Coffee Shop is closing.

Sigh.

If any of you know me, the Bean was my place to go to just take a break. It was essentially my Cheers. They'll serve you coffee, fix you a reasonably priced breakfast, name a sandwich after you, and pick on you like your family. I consider David and Mary Lin, the owners, very much like family. Hearing that they have to shut their doors is like working through the grieving process and only getting to the disbelief phase.

It wasn't unusual to steal someone's phone and change their facebook status to read something like: "I enjoy dressing up in women's clothes and riding horses bareback." It was especially funny when it was a guy's status. They would always put the phone back as if it had never been touched. Fortunately, I always held on to my phone. Partly because I have a lot of friends on facebook and I don't want to confuse them with a status like that.

The Bean would go through phases of moving furniture, changing the menu, adding wine, taking wine away and then adding it back again, opening for dinner, not opening for dinner, and so on. All of us regulars didn't mind. We all grew to know the eccentricity of having been a part of the Bean family for a while. Our Bean Baskette wasn't just David and Mary Lin, it was all of us who made it what it is.

My steady beacon of coffee and wine all started as a part of my daily routine after I returned from maternity leave from having my first child (the wine came later). It was a few month after the Bean opened. I wasn't even a coffee drinker at the time. The Bean was a place of convenience for breakfast after the gym and before work and sometimes for lunch. During this time, the same nods to the familiar faces became light conversation. Light conversation became friendship. We all became close: celebrating birthdays, planning parties together, training for 1/2 marathons that I never ran (I caught a cold okay. Don't judge).

The Bean is not just a coffee shop it is one of the neo-Evans landmarks. It is a safe haven from a shitty work environment or a break from boring Saturday breakfast. It is a place where you hate to write a letter of recommendation for Ben, because it means he won't work there any more.

Melodramatic? Yes, but it feels as though we are all being broken up with by circumstances that are out of the Bean's control. It sucks.

In all reality, it pains me to think of the heartbreak that David and Mary Lin are feeling. Then add all of our whining to increase the guilt. If I could fix this I would. Until then I'll enjoy the next few weeks getting my free wi-fi, cup of joe with a side of sarcasm and nostalgia, and speak fondly of the memories and friends that have been made at the Bean. I attribute it all it's greatness to the the hard work of David and Mary Lin. Thank you both.

Angelic Monsters

My kids are beautiful and I love them, but I swear they are devils in sheep er uhh kids' clothing.

My daughter has the same habits as a monkey. She enjoys being attached to her mother, she can climb and get into everything, and doesn't understand no. She is head strong and with throw out and show out if she is mad about something. (I have no idea where she gets that behavior.) She is definitely turning out to be a force to be reckoned with and I will have to suit up for battle for the teenage years. (I love you, mom.)

My son, well if you ever need to sharpen your sales skills come on over. I should send him to DC to work for the government negotiating international deals for the US. Think Stewie from Family Guy. He doesn't take no for an answer either, but twists the answer around until it works in his favor. He also has a memory like an elephant and this may only apply to food items. He just told me today that when we go on vacation we need granola bars with chocolate chips in them for a snack like what we took to the beach 7 months ago.

Aren't kids fun?

Were you thinking fresh start?

So many things can happen during a year and even in an instant. Reflecting on where life has taken me and where I would like to go it seems appropriate to set some goals for the new year.

1. Be more patient with the little things. I have a problem with making mountains out of molehills with respect to how things get done in my house hold and it is unfair to the people I love. Medication seems to be helping with not allowing my panties to get into a bunch, so doing good on this one so far.

2. Sell a ton of houses. I have started a new role in the real estate profession - realtor. Whoop! Whoop! Check out my listings selling JR Homes in Canterbury Farms. So excited about this. Also, if you need a professional photo contact Smashing Photography by Ashley Thomas she is fabulous, talented, and is one of the funniest women I know.

3. Plan and go on a family vacation and one alone with my husband. It has been too long and this may require some persistence, duck tape, quaaludes, warm chocolate chip cookies, and some careful scheduling. I'm thinking someplace warm and beachy...

4. At least do one Bible study and preferably with my husband. This really should be number 1, but these are in no particular order. I owe some really great girls Bible study time that I never got around to doing and I will work on that also.

5. Work out again. Thinning down does not mean a person is in shape. My pants have gotten loose, but then again so has the flab. Time to tighten up. P90X here I come!

This new year holds so many possibilities. Here is to the new year and I wish the best for all my friends and family. May this year be everything you want it to be and more.

XOXO

Rachel

Write this down

It is no secret to my friends that it would totally freakin' rock if we could all join comedic forces and write a novel that would be turned into a major motion picture. We would base a fictitious story with real life and sometimes embarrassing experiences.

This week has been full of interesting quotes. Here's just a few ditties to chew on:

"I need sex so bad I can't stand it, but not enough to have sex with my ex husband."

After a lengthy conversation on how and when Edward turned Bella into a vampire, "I can't believe we are talking about this. Can we go back to talking about sex or something."

"Mary Kay ladies are the Jehovah witnesses of make-up."

"He's a nice guy, but I think he smokes the pot."

"Her email address on her resume is 'dashowstoppa'. What show is she stoppin' anyway? Good God, and yahoo is free."

"I saw a woman in hot pink hot pants and a toddler tee shirt that had hot momma bedazzled on the front. I felt like a construction worker staring at her. I almost ran into the person in front of me."

"That is a biggest mullet I have ever seen on a woman."

"Don't you cross your eyes at me. If I smack you on the back of your head your eyes can stick that way. Didn't your momma ever tell you that."

"Do you see that over there? (referring to a gentleman with a white man's afro) It looks like a topiary. I want to decorate it and put it on my front porch. Maybe a magnolia bloom or something seasonal for Christmas."

"You are going to hell. Well, you are going to be right there with me."

Dominican Blues

Golf husband and I planned a vacation. A real vacation with white sand, clear waters, a pool that was more like a lazy river, drinks with tropical fruit and little umbrellas. The passport was obtained, tickets bought, and childcare arranged only to have the trip cancelled five days before we were to fly off into paradise.

Sigh...

Choco-nom nom Oprah...

The other night I happened to come across an episode of Oprah where her whole set was made of Godiva Chocolate. It was an interesting 5 minutes of my time to watch how they made the walls, chandelier, and everything down to the logs in the chocolate fireplace to the chairs.

Don't get me wrong it was interesting and all, but I couldn't help noticing Oprah's demeanor. It was like bringing an alcoholic into a liquor store. Her eyes were glossy, pupils dilated, and she was gitty about how after they were done taping she and her audience were going to eat it. She was interviewing the "designers" and had to interrupt them speaking with comments like "it smells so good."

I wish that they would flash back to all the past footage to like the skinny Oprah wheeling out the little red wagon of fat. Really Oprah? You want to do that to yourself? Gorge yourself on all the rich chocolate?

She knows she not going to share and perhaps that's wherein lies my problem.

I'm also not a fan of whoever dressed Oprah that show. I mean, do you have make her match the chocolate?

TWSS

It is say to say that I and those around me like stupid humor. It makes life richer like adding Hershey's chocolate syrup to your ice cream or simply squeezing a shot into your mouth when you were looking for ingredients for dinner. Lately, our (or maybe just mine) humor is taking on a 9th grade level of maturity or immaturity.

So, I dedicate this post to Steve Carell from The Office for allowing us to laugh at normal everyday innocent comments and spin them into perversion by responding with "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID."

These are a few that were told or occurred today.

1. I was meeting with some men about getting spray foam put into the attic of my house and they were explaining that their competitors were cheating on the foam. "They are only spraying in 3 inches. We do 5 inches." TWSS! (I said it on the inside. My cheeks hurt as I fought the initial spasm of a smile trying to escape onto my face.)

2. A friend was helping her very aggravated boyfriend with docking the boat and he yelled to her to grab the pole and pull. TWSS! She then asked him what it was like to date a women with the mind of a man.

3. I was getting a cup of coffee at my favorite local coffee shop. The owner loves stupid humor too. His coffee selections are foreign selections such as Kenyan and Sumatra. The vanilla syrup I like to use I typically call "sweet." Today I asked for a medium, sweet Asian. He started giggling, so to make things more interesting I added, "leave room for cream." TWSS! He had to compose himself before pouring anything into the cup.