Visual Miscellany, Part 2

I started to share some of this stuff the other day. I intended to share a little everyday, but quite frankly, I've been feeling like stir-fried shit lately. The past couple of days, I've been baking and candy making, which isn't really helping with the exhaustion I've been feeling. But, it needs to be done, so what can I do?

Anyway, I wanted to share some more with my Bloggy Buddies. This is one of the Christmas presents I bought myself this year.

Oh, yes, I did! I've been wanting one for a very long time. Then, last week, while shopping at Sam's Club, I came upon a display of these beauties. (Apparently, I just missed the samples. Poop.) The price was WAY too good to pass up, so I finally bit the bullet, and bought it. Before I share all the details, and make you all jealous, let me tell you a funny little story.

After I bought it, I called my sister to tell her all about my awesome score, and she immediately became exasperated with me. Um, yeah...apparently she has already bought me one!! Like I said, I've been wanting one forever, and being the awesome sister that she is, she took note. When a different model went on sale at the store where she works, she snatched it up for me for Christmas from her and my mom.

She was even more annoyed because this isn't the first time this has happened. See, here's the thing. I realized years ago, after being on my own for quite some time, that the only one I need to depend on is myself. And, as part of that realization, I decided that from that point on, if there was something I wanted, I could just get it for myself, and it would be ok. There was no husband/boyfriend who was going to swoop in and surprise me with the perfect gift (which, on some level, is a gift in and of itself!). So, for the past few years, I've been getting my own Christmas presents for myself. And, surprise, surprise, I always get myself the perfect thing! tee hee!

So, back to my thoughtful sister. She's very attuned to the things I want/like, and makes mental notes to herself. Then, when she sees something she knows I would like, she picks it up. She's like that with all of us, not just me. Unfortunately, the last couple of 'big' things that she's picked up have been things I've already picked up for myself. Then, she gets stuck having to return those things, which really annoys her. Which would explain why she was so ticked when I told her about my newest toy. I convinced her that the one I bought was a better deal, since it was a nicer model, and came with a 'bonus.' (In the windup, a friend of ours actually wanted to get one of these for her daughter for Christmas, so she bought it from my sister. It was a win-win, since my sister didn't have to take it back, and our friend got it for a really great sale price.)

I finally opened the box on Monday. (I was waiting to find out if my sister returned the one she bought before I opened the one I bought. It was an excruciatingly long couple of days!)
Here's what was in the bonus pack.
I'm REALLY excited about the reusable filter cup that came in the bonus pack. That means I won't have to buy the coffee cups if I don't want to, which I probably won't very often, because they're a little expensive. Although, when you compare the cost of the cups to buying coffee through the drive-thru every morning, it's pretty comparable. I figured out that by the time I use the 60 cups that came in my bonus pack, it will have saved me more money (by NOT going to the drive-thru) than I spent on the machine. And, just yesterday, while at Target, I checked out the price of the reusable filter, and it was nearly $20! So, yeah, bonus pack, indeed! I came out ahead in this deal.

After unpacking the coffee, I removed this from the box.
It was a cute little folder with all the manuals inside.
My beautiful machine!
I was so psyched to try it out. The manual says to use filtered water so you don't get a build up of minerals in the machine. That is seriously the only downside I see for this new toy. I used those water bottles the first time I used the machine because it was all I had in the house, but I bought a 2 1/2 gallon dispenser bottle of filtered water at Target yesterday just for the machine.
I decided to try hazelnut first, since it's my favorite coffee flavor.
The model I have brews 3 different cup sizes. The "small mug" setting was perfect. It left the perfect amount of room for my extra cream.
I couldn't wait to drink some before taking the next picture. Ah, it was delish!!
One of the boxes was a variety pack. Being the nerd that I am, I'm keeping notes on every cup I try from this box, so I'll have an idea of which cups to buy later. So far, they've all been yummy.
This machine can also be used to make iced drinks, which I'm really excited about. I LOVE iced coffee, and I start my day with some most days. Two of the boxes that came in the bonus pack have coffee that is labeled 'bold,' which worried me a little, since I don't really like my coffee super strong. But, then it occurred to me that those would be perfect for making iced coffee, since the ice will dilute it just enough. Yay! I can't wait to try it.

Here's the other Christmas present I bought myself.
I've always wanted a Le Creuset dutch oven. However, the $300 price tag has been laughing in my face for a very long time. Imagine my delight when I saw this little beauty at Sam's Club for less than $40! It's enameled cast iron, just like a Le Creuset, so I imagine it should work just about the same, no? I'll let you know.

Ok, some more random nonsense. I've been meaning to share this for over 6 months now. I can NOT believe I found this shirt for my darling son. I literally laughed out loud in the middle of the store!
This photo doesn't do this drawing justice. This was Stud's first attempt at creating with pastels. It's a landscape of an Italian seashore. I think he did a great job, even if he doesn't like it.
Ok, I know this is a totally crappy, blurry photo. It's a picture of me and my oldest & dearest friend. We met when I was in kindergarten! Her daughter was my first goddaughter. We were in high school in this picture. The reason I tried to take a picture of this picture (which hangs on my living room wall) is because the day I took it, Dec. 13, was her birthday, and I had planned to wish her a happy birthday here. Yeah, well, you can see that didn't happen. Better late than never, I suppose.
While I was trying to take the picture above, I realized that some of my favorite pictures of Stud were in a frame directly below it on the wall. Luckily, this one turned out. How cute is this kid?! I especially love the one on the right of him with the giant mug. To this day, he still uses those mugs for everything. It cracks me up that the mug is as big as his head in this picture. Now, it look like a teacup in his hands.
Wow, can you tell I'm on vacation? This is one long-ass post! I've been sitting her for nearly two hours now! My apologies to those of you who are still with me. I guess I'll hold off on the rest until tomorrow. THAT'S how much I love you guys! ;-)