a lament on phony iced tea

It may walk like a duck and talk like a duck....

...but that, my friends, is not a duck.

Anyone who knows me knows that I should just have iced tea introduced intravenously. There is almost always a gallon of iced tea in my fridge (let's not even discuss the "wall" of 4-C canisters sitting on my kitchen floor). I keep Crystal Light on-the-go green tea packs in my desk drawer at work. I have been known to go to Wendy's drive-thru and order just a biggie iced tea (their fresh-brew is the bomb...do the kids still say that?). I am also guilty of buying two drinks for myself in one trip to Starbucks, my usual tall caramel frappuccino and a venti shaken iced tea lemonade (their blueberry white tea is good, too, if you like your drinks with a tangy kick). Suffice it to say, I mainline iced tea in just about any form I can get it.

So I thought it was pretty cool that Dunkin Donuts is offering iced tea now. The idea of having 24 hour access to fresh brewed iced tea was exciting (yeah, I know, I need a life). When I was away a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to give it a try....which I did, twice. Granted it was twice in one day, but it was from two different Dunkin Donuts locations. The first time, I got sweetened raspberry. Me being an optimistic soul, I ordered a large. I had barely pulled away from the drive-thru window when I got my first taste, and all I could think was that it tasted like tea-flavored coffee. The initial flavor was raspberry and tea-like, but it left me with an aftertaste of coffee. Still wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, I chalked up the oddness to maybe getting a bad batch.

After less than 10 minutes on the road, I passed another DD, so I found myself pulling in on my way back around. This time, I erred on the side of caution and only ordered a small, but switched to sweetened peach, and tried not to spill the large raspberry on me as I maneuvered it into the garbage can in the drive-thru line. I had the straw in the peach cup before I left the parking lot, and upon finding the same problem, proceeded to throw that one away on the way home.

So the iced tea addict is telling you "buyer beware". I'd rather drink the watered-down raspberry Nestea crap from McDonalds than this iced tea brewed through yesterday's coffee grounds.

vacation hangover

We just got home last night after a whirlwind nine days. This is really one of those times that I need a vacation from my vacation. I woke up this morning with a monster migraine. That's all the proof I need. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be taking any time off until at least October.

It all started a week ago Friday...we had to head to central NJ for a wedding that Brian was in, but before I could get there, I had a lot of stops along the way. My very dear friend Michelle had volunteered to keep Tea at her house while we were at the wedding. I was scheduled to go to Mish's around noon, and in the meantime, I managed to get squeezed in for a quick trim on the back of my hair. The only problem was that my haircut was before I could meet Michelle, so I would still have the dog. I didn't want to be a bad dog mom and leave Tea in the car, even though my haircut would probably only be about 10 minutes. So with the promise of breakfast, I enlisted Megan to come with me and sit in my running car with the a/c on while Claire cut my hair. I dropped Megan back home, brought Tea to Michelle, and after a little bit of Mommy guilt, I left to meet Brian at my dad's, where we would be leaving my car for the weekend.

Somehow we lucked out that we did not fall victim to any shore traffic as we headed to our hotel in Freehold. Once we were checked into the hotel, Brian called Joe the Groom to let him know we were there and so Joe could bring over Brian's tux. Brian tried everything on just in case we needed to make an emergency trip to the tux place and substitute anything, but everything was just right. Joe was really calm, no nerves or anxiety, at least not as far as I could see....for that matter, so was Christine, the bride, when we saw her at rehearsal and the dinner afterward. They both seemed pretty calm on the wedding day, too, even with the almost 100 degree temperatures and a hinky problem with the unity candle. Here's a before and and after of the happy couple. (If you click on the pictures, they are really huge after the jump, just be warned.)

I had such a great time that weekend...it was the first time that I've been at a function with a group of CDB friends and family where I have actually been able to chat with them and really get to know them (the last time I saw most of this group together was at my wedding, and God knows I barely had a chance to say hi to people, let alone have conversations!).

Just for posterity's sake, here's a picture of me & Brian.Its the first time he's been tuxed out since our wedding, so a nice picture was definitely in order. Its a shame that you can't see my new nails and pedicure...I felt like I had to keep up with the tux man somehow, and since I scored that dress for $4.99, I had to spend the "extra" somehow!

After all was said and done with the wedding, we headed back to north jersey to my dad's house. We hung out for a little bit, then Debbie and I went to pick up Tea, while Brian and Danny headed out on a mission to find a store that sells Dunhill cigarettes (Danny's brand of choice). The boys hung out at Dad's for a little while longer before heading to Giants Stadium to see The Police show, while Tea and I stayed behind. After the show, Brian came and picked me up, Danny headed home to the Bronx and we headed for the lake, getting there at about 4 am.

It was a short lake trip for us (Monday morning to Saturday morning), which felt even shorter when Tea got sick a few hours after we got there. She had a few Exorcist moments on Monday and other "digestive pyrotechnics", but after a few days of chicken and rice, she seemed to bounce back, and enjoy the lake in her usual style.

I also spent some time exploring the settings on the camera and found the "kids and pets" feature, so I got some good "in-motion" pictures of her...in fact, in the last picture, her semi-Yoda ears are courtesy of the wind! Messing with the settings also got me a nice flower picture on the "foliage" setting. The only downside to messing with the dials is that I couldn't get a decent lake picture!! I don't know what the hell was going on.

Most of you who might read this blog have at least seen one of my prior lake pictures, so you will understand my frustration when I tell you that this is the best lake shot I got this trip.

When we came home from the lake yesterday, our craziness was still not over. We went back to my dad's house to get my car, which Brian took to Central Park for D-Train's birthday softball game. In the meantime, I took the dog and the truck to Lisa's house, where she was having an open house/picnic for her new day care. Tea did really well, she shmoozed a little and then she spent most of the time sleeping on a futon in Lisa's basement. I think all the kids and all the commotion really would have done her in, especially since she's not used to any part of that. She and I got home last night about 9:30/10:00...we came inside and conked out while Brian unpacked the truck.....because he headed back to NJ today for his fantasy football draft and some poker.

Now its after 11 and I need to make sure I've got clean clothes for when I go back to work tomorrow....man, is that gonna suck. I feel like I haven't been there in a month. I wish I could be unemployed...or could get paid well for staying home or something!!