I don’t often post things of a heavier tone on here, but here goes.

I heard a term this week that describes J and I – DINKWADs. Dual Income No Kids With A Dog. Those of you who know us, know that we’ve struggled to have kids for more than 4 years now. Mother’s Day is a holliday filled with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m so very thankful for my Mom and I’m also very thankful for my Mother-in-Law. I’ve been blessed with godly women who are stellar examples of faithfulness and integrity and I’m grateful to spend a day honoring them. On the other hand, the day is a painful reminder that I’m not a mother, or rather that I’m the mother of children I’ll get to meet in heaven.

It’s been a long, hard road for us. Sometimes, like on Mother’s Day, all I want to do is disappear.  I want to climb into a hole and stay there until this trial passes. Ultimately though, I really don’t want to live like that. This trial should not incapacitate me.  Trials aren’t meant to ruin us, they are meant to purify us. They are meant to confirm and strengthen our faith, to loosen our grip on this world and turn our gaze toward Jesus.

I can honestly say that I’m thankful for this trial. It hurts, I want it to end, but I’m thankful. The Lord has been so kind and gracious to us. He has cared for us each step of the way. He is trustworthy, good and sovereign. On days like Mother’s Day I remind myself of those things and I carry on. There may be a few tears shed, there may be a bit of retreating, but there will also be hope. Hope in my Father’s perfect plan for our DINKWAD family of two.

WARNING – This is a long post. You might grab a cup of coffee and settle in for a bit….

I’m supposed to be working on our taxes right now. Instead I’m going to write a post about our latest leap into full fledged coffee nerd land.  I really hate taxes.

J and I have always been “coffee people.” And by that I mean that we enjoy a good cup of coffee regularly, we don’t drink instant coffee, we don’t store our coffee in the freezer, we are particular about the kind of beans we buy (whole beans, mind you), we don’t put an “x” in the word “espresso” and would probably drive an hour or more to try a new coffee shop.

Up until last week, my sister was the bigger coffee nerd in the family, regularly visiting and talking about coffeegeek.com. Sorry Beth, I think we just passed you up….not that we were trying to, it just happened. J had a meeting at LAMILL and was smitten by the Coffee Syphon, a vacuum coffee maker. Have you seen these things? Apparently, they have a long history and have recently gained some popularity again.

The first use of glass vacuum pots appears to have been in Germany in the 1830s. By the 1840s they started to gain popularity throughout Europe. Don’t be impressed… I only knew that because, like a nerd, I Google’d the history of the coffee syphon.  Yes, “Google’d.” I intend to make the verb use of the noun Google acceptable in writing. We’re all saying it anyway, right? Why not type it too?

If you’re also curious about the history of vacuum pot coffee makers (aka, also a coffee nerd) I’ll save you the Google’ing (mm hm). Just click HERE.

The syphon is pretty novel (even though it’s nearly 200 years old) and kinda looks like it belongs in a lab. I’m half expecting to come home and find J drinking coffee in a white lab coat one of these days…

Anyway, I decided it would be fun to document our first Coffee Syphon experience alla The Pioneer Woman, except my pictures aren’t as pretty and my captions aren’t as clever. Oh, Ree… you’re a wonderblogger.

There it is. Isn’t it cool? Also, notice the espresso machine in the background – that’s now the 2nd of five ways to make coffee at our house. Yes FIVE, although we don’t really use the standard drip maker anymore.  Obsessed? Maybe. Addicted? No (hands shaking and headache coming on).

Before, we start making the coffee, we must of course read the instructions. Ever heard of Engrish? These instructions are a fantastic example of Engrish. And I quote..

Wash grass bowls in water without using soap before and after coffee making. When the fatly matter adheres to the glass bowl(s), wash glassbowl(s) in water with neurtal soap. Damage unique taste of coffee with fatly matter adhered.

Do not heat not only the empty glass bowl but also the glass bowl whose external surgace gets wet. If not so, it may be broken.

Ok, let’s get brewing! Start by adding warm water (almost boiling if you want the process to go quicker) to the lower grass bowl and insert the upper grass bowl. Then grab your favorite coffee beans and grinder. Grind the coffee on the fine setting – coarser than espresso, finer than drip. We read that it’s important to grind the coffee just before you’re ready to brew in order to get the best taste experience. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the grinding experience. You’ll have to imagine it.

Add the fresh ground coffee to the top grass bowl, light the burner and slide it underneath. Now wait and watch…

See the bubbles? It’s happening!

Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?
I think so Brain, but pants with horizontal stripes make me look chubby.

The water goes up and up to mix with the grounds then you give it a little stir. How does it work? Well, J says it’s something about the gasses or the water expanding or condensing and forcing the water to go up the tube by the built up pressure. That sounds about right to me….

Now let it steep for about a minute, making sure the lower bowl keeps a little water in it, if not so it may be broken.

Doesn’t that look yummy? Now remove the burner and watch what happens.

J said something about the gasses cooling down and condensing or expanding and releasing the pressure on the water, now coffee, creating some kind of vacuum and drawing it back down through the tube. Again, sounds good to me.

And the coffee comes down, down, down. You know it’s ready to drink when you see the “turbulance” which basically looks like a low boil for a few seconds.

Remove the top grass bowl and place it in the handy dandy lid/stand. It’s ready!

Now pour and rejoice with singing. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

Enjoy the lovely aroma. Take in the beautiful sight. Get your tastebuds ready for a delightful experience….

…and enjoy a perfect cup o’ joe in a sweet little teacup that makes you smile, like this one from Anthropologie. So cute, right?

UPDATE: the Urban Dictionary already includes the word “google” as a verb in all it’s forms (ie Googled, Googling). Now to get it into Webster…. bwahahahah

J and I have been to a lot of conferences and trade shows over the years. I mean A LOT.

When we moved into our house I started a habit of hanging our conference lanyards and badges on the door handle in J’s studio. Recently I realized there were way too many. So many that they starting popping off the handle.

So tonight I decided to do something about it.

I was shocked, no, scared at how many badges we’ve collected over the last six years. I mean, I don’t even remember going to all of these conferences!

Do you know how many badges that is? 45. FORTY-FIVE. Cuarenta y cinco. Really? I’ve been spending the last hour or so trying to figure out why I kept them. Ok, so I also watched 24, but I have been wondering. I think my frugal inner voice is on full display here. I would rather collect 45 lanyards and awkwardly hang them on a door handle than throw them away.

This has been a good exercise for me. I feel like I’ve learned something about myself and I can grow through this. Maybe I’ve turned over a new leaf. A less cluttered leaf. A lanyard free leaf.

Or maybe I just got tired of picking them up off the floor. It’s good to know, at least, that I’m not alone.

Anyone need some lanyards? I’ve got roughly 45 available for free!