Symptoms Of Frozen Plumbing Pipes

Are the plumbing water pipes frozen?  Is there no water coming from the faucet when it’s turned on?  If you live in a northern area, such as White Bear Lake, Minnesota, it’s very possible that the cause of no water from the faucets may be caused by frozen plumbing pipes. 

No Water Coming From Faucets

No water from the household faucets could be as simple as sediment in the plumbing pipes.  However, winter in Minnesota can be unforgiving and frozen plumbing water pipes may be the cause of no water from the faucets.  Our plumbing business is located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota therefore receiving a no water call isn’t new to us.

Causes Of Frozen Plumbing Pipes

After October in Minnesota, the plumbing water pipes are susceptible to freezing.  In White Bear Lake, MN, we at Roger Vadnais Plumbing have been on many frozen water pipe calls already this December.  No water from the faucets and frozen pipes will occur when a plumbing pipe is exposed to temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for too long, especially if there is a breeze hitting the pipe. 

Solutions To Frozen Water Pipes

Upper midwest states such as Minnesota need to properly protect plumbing piping in order to avoid freezing.  At Roger Vadnais Plumbing, we suggest that all exterior walls be insulated as much as possible.  Insulation is one of the best solutions to help avoid frozen plumbing water pipes.  Our plumbers have a machine on the trucks that is designed to thaw unthawed pipes.  If you have a frozen pipe or any other plumbing problem, we will promptly get you back in service.  To set up an appointment, contact us at (651) 429-3303 or visit us online at www.rogervadnais.com

Some of the Minnesota cities we service include:

White Bear Lake, Vadnais Heights, Little Canada, Gem Lake, Shorview, Hugo, Lino Lakes, Lake Elmo, Dellwood, Mahtomedi, Oakdale, Pine Springs, North Oaks, Maplewood, Centerville, Roseville, Stillwater, Grant, Woodbury, Arden Hills, Willernie.

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I never promised you a rose garden in the desert…

Recently, The Milwaukee Business Journal posted a Business Pulse Survey asking “Should regional leaders offer free water to lure businesses to southeastern Wisconsin?”  Although the majority of readers voted “NO,” there were still some folks in the area that wondered if “YES” might be an OK answer if the proposed plan contained provisions for the water to be cleaned and returned, and that assurances would be made that our plentiful water in the region would not be depleted by this practice.

In Milwaukee, we have many very talented, resourceful and creative business leaders, who sincerely want to help develop the floundering economic climate in the Milwaukee area.  I’m not trying to take anything away from their goals to bring new businesses to Milwaukee, however, I’m not convinced that this “free water” deal would be a sound, sustainable, long-term solution. 

I’m a member of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council – World Water Hub group and I am passionate about Water.  Working with other individuals, businesses and organizations to keep water plentiful, available, clean and healthy for all of us –  everywhere, not just in Milwaukee, or the “dryer” states in the US, but for everyone in every state, country and continent is an important goal of mine.  To that end, I would not feel that I was acting as a responsible caretaker of our water supply if it were used as a ”free gift” for businesses to move to our area.

When considering this idea further, here are some other thoughts I had:  

What kinds of businesses would/could be lured to Milwaukee by the promise of free water?  If I owned a company that used lots and lots of water, I would accept that offer and move my business here.

Has criteria been set for capacities, cleanliness standards, or the maximum number of companies that Milwaukee could afford to give free water, etc? 

 What if Wisconsin is pulled into the national issue of sending water to Western or Southern states? 

In an article in Salon.com, Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico  ”…had his region’s plight in mind when he told the Las Vegas Sun that Northern states need to start sharing their water: ‘I want a national water policy. We need a dialogue between states to deal with issues like water conservation, water reuse technology, water delivery and water production. States like Wisconsin are awash in water.’”

 It’s my opinion that Milwaukee’s treasure of “BLUE GOLD” should be carefully watched over by conservative stewardship. I don’t believe it should be given away “free” to lure businesses to the area, or sent via pipeline to drier states. If a business can no longer be sustainable in a dry climate, then the company owner/s should learn more responsible business practices and move the business to the appropriate climate. If that happens to be Milwaukee, then they should pay for their water the same way I pay for it – quarterly! 

I applaud our business leaders for looking for innovative ideas to help the Milwaukee econonomy, but isn’t just advertising the idea that our region does have plentiful water for their businesses a good enough reason to lure them here? 

For further reading on this topic:

Business Pulse: Tap jobs with free water – The Business Journal of Milwaukee:.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/01/07/water_problems/index.html

My Starbucks order has become embarrassingly complicated: Grande extra hot skim Chai tea latte, no water (the Chai taste is more potent without the water, a friendly Starbucks employee explained to me after I sent a drink back for another splash of syrup). If there aren’t any other customers within earshot, I might also ask for an extra shot of Chai.

I would never have ordered this in the UK. Complicated orders don’t go over well there. In London, I would get funny looks if I even asked for an extra hot latte. Starbucks patrons in Europe seem to be less picky than their American counterparts. Maybe that’s why I’ve witnessed tipping at shops here, which I rarely saw in London.

Ironically, as I placed my super-involved order earlier today, I noticed a large sign and huge display table promoting Starbucks’ new Via instant coffee. Yahoo! Finance reported today that instant brews are more popular in the UK than they are here in the US, confirming my theory that simplicity sells abroad.

But here in Atlanta, I am not the only demanding customer vexing Starbucks employees. I apologized today for the length of the order. The barista told me it wasn’t a problem; in fact, there is another patron who orders the exact same drink! I need to meet this person…

Whether it was too many little fingers, a power brownout or a lightning strike nearby, I don’t know. It started with the little door not opening to dispense the detergent, then it was not completely emptying water, then it was no water being pumped onto the dishes. Then the water started to empty again, the rest still not working. It took about a month for it to get to the point this Morning that the water went in, the little LEDs dutifully went through the motions and the water was pumped out and no dry cycle. All with no circulation of the water.

Figuring it was a goner, since the one year warrantee ran out in May, I went online and attempted to get help through a fix-it website. After waiting for over 20 minutes for an ‘expert’ to come into chat, I hit cancel and mumbled ‘damn computers’. A feeble little light bulb went on. I went into the cabinet that contains the electrical outlet, pulled the plug on both the dishwasher and the garbage disposal, tripped the GFI unit, re-set it, plugged the two back in. Voila ! Two of the LEDs were flashing- just like when I installed the unit brand new.

I hit the normal wash and start buttons. It immediately started to fill and in a few seconds start the water pumping. It went through the whole deal, including the dry cycle, the detergent was let loose correctly and the dishes were washed !

Actually, I have told many, many people who have asked me for help with VCRs, TVs, computers, cordless telephones, etc to first unplug the power, count to 10, and plug them back in. Do not just turn the switch off. This will usually cause the little brain inside to reset to default. I just never thought that there was one in a dishwasher !

Our neighbourhood has run out of water, and it was not even supposed to happen so they didn’t tell us. This means that we can’t use the bathroom, can’t cook certain food and C A N N O T D R I N K W A T E R. I honestly have no idea how to survive this day. If I die, my friends can come and take my belongings but don’t wish for my death. Give me hope instead; invite me to your home!

My mother is going nuts, screaming one minute and laughing the other. Please help my poor, misforrtuned family.

The students and teachers of the Ostea Jolly Primary school who were sent home due to the lack of flowing water to the school’s are now to back to classes as usaly as water services have been restored,  after only one day of being cut off.

Well, this happened to me a few days ago, this last Friday, actually.

That Friday I hadn’t had classes, for Teacher’s Day. I had to go to a friend’s house, we had to do an experiment, Light’s Decomposition (Just look at Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, and you’ll now what I’m talking about). Anyway, I was gonna take things easy. Breakfast, some MSN, a quick bath, and go to my friend’s house. I had taken my clothes off, and opened hot water’s ¿faucet? (I don’t know how to say it, sorry people…the thing you open for letting water out, when you are bathing). No Water. I said to myself: “Probably something happened with the hot water’s tube. I’ll try the other one”. Opened cold water. No Water. And I said: “#$%&, why the hell isn’t there water!?”. So I went to the sink on my bathroom, and No Water. I went to the kitchen’s sink, (after dressing up, of course xD) and No Water! I went to my mom’s bathroom, tried the sink, and NO WATER!!

I was alone, without water, without bathing… And I had to go to my friend’s house! OMG xD! Gladly I had still phone and internet, so I was able to call my mom to let her know, and to entertain myself with internet, and be on MSN. Luckily, my mom had stored some water for purifying, so I had to bath, little by little, few soap and few shampoo, very few, and quickly. I used a lot of deodorant and finally got out of my house, two hours later than I had planned. I had no problems, and I didn’t smell bad, so it was an easy day.

It just seemed to me that when I came back there would be some water. Well, there was not even a single drop. And I was tired, sweaty, and screamed “NOO!” for my inner self. I slept and woke up and still no sign of water, again I had to bath too quickly with the water my mom had stored. The day finished. I had stayed the whole day in my house, not daring to go out.

On Sunday, I woke up, hopeful, sure that that day there would be water. There wasn’t… I was like “Crap…” and had to manage the day without any water, except for drinking. Finally, at night, I had to go to another house to bath, ’cause I wasn’t going to school bathed only with buckets. I needed a shower. Of course, it was a family house. And there I received the good news! I would get water for Monday! Yay!

Imagine. That was one of my crappiest weekends. NO WATER.

We are hanging out the dining room windows watching the backhoe work it’s amazing magic.  It’s moving this bucket with surgical percision and  just scraping gently the soil from the sides of this trench.  Of course the trench will be (tomorrow???) 84 feet to the street. But right now it is fascinating to see the movements.  Of course the driver is the conductor and the backhoe the dancer, but damn!  Something that ungainly looking could be so delicate in action.  Maybe because it’s a Volvo backhoe?  I feel better about that machine monster because I’ve had three Volvos and I have faith in Volvo.

My husband came home to overlook the work…and they actually seem grateful that Harry Homemaker is Hanging around.  Probably because Fred has restored this 1880’s house and done all the electrical/plumbing/construction himself.  He knows where the  secrets are…he knows where the overflow, cleanout thingys are and they don’t.  It’s confusing when there are full basements and crawl spaces under a very old house.  And there are probably black widow spiders and bodies buried under the dirt.

I have had this entry disappear  twice because someone keeps cutting through important power lines in the basement.  But Fred is smiling and laughing and the boys on the big machinery are doing the same so there doesn’t seem to be much stress going on.  Except it’s going to rain in two days and we will have a 84 foot trench to deal with.  You don’t want rain in it….

So Fred just came in and told us that we have to NOT flush toilets, not take baths, (hey we can’t they shut off the water) don’t do the dishes…(duh…water again..) so it looks like we are eating out.  No water, no cooking.

We took up 10 fruiting blueberries from the garden, and 22 tomato plants. They look pathetic sitting in the sun. (If there are many spelling issues it’s because my spell checker doesn’t seem to be working)  We lost a big limb from one of the plum trees by the large fence outside, and all that dirt has to go somewhere, so they threw it on my grape vines.  We will have to excavate them by hand because as delicate as that backhoe bucket seems , it wouldn’t be good for  the plants.

Now the driveway is a total mess of Red Georgia Clay.  Fred wants to replace it with draining bricks, which are   ecologically sound, but will still have to be placed so they don’t squirm.  I guess we can throw grass seed between them and have the first lawn/driveway on the street.

I wonder if they can finish this project before the rains hit us?  And I also wonder how long you can stay in a house with non-flushing toilets?  And where do these lovely men pee?  They don’t seem to stop work at all.

They are an interesting bunch, and come from all over.  The camera man..(yes..down the clean out drain and there is where they found the root ball..) is a New York Jew, and he’s a funny man.  He’s married to a Southern Baptist and goes to a Baptist church. He’s got a great perspective about religion and regions and cultural differences, and I haven’t heard anyone talk so fast in a year!  I had to strain to understand him because his words were a blur.  The backhoe driver is from the Midwest, and he’s funny, too.  The young guy who is heading up the project…the actual plumber, is a Southern boy, and about as polite as they come.

They are all good blokes…and it looks like they know their work, and it looks like we are going to have to write them in the will because they will be around for a while.  The City won’t send out an inspector until all the lines and pipes, etc. are laid…and Fred is getting everything new.  The City is S-l-o-w and this could take a while.

Meanwhile, I am wondering if we should stop drinking any liquids…but Fred bought case of beer to pass around after hours, so perhaps the fruit trees will be watered tonight.

Lady Nyo

Our water bill story starts like this..

hey did you know there was no water in the pool.the water drained! but why?

Gaza detainee treatment ‘inhuman’

It is not known how many Palestinians were detained during the operation

Palestinians seized during Israel’s operation in Gaza faced “appalling” conditions and “inhuman” treatment, Israeli human rights groups have said.

The seven groups say they have gathered 20 testimonies which indicate detainees were kept in pits without shelter, toilets or adequate food and water.

Some detainees also said they had been held “near tanks” and in combat areas, the groups said.

The Israeli military says it is investigating the allegations.

The accounts were gathered by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and Hamoked, the Center for the Defense of the Individual, from Palestinians now being held in Israel.

‘Gross violation’

“The reports indicate that… many detainees – minors as well as adults – were held for many hours – sometimes for days – in pits dug in the ground, exposed to bitter cold and harsh weather, handcuffed and blindfolded,” the groups said in a statement.

“These pits lacked basic sanitary facilities… while food and shelter, when provided, were limited, and the detainees went hungry,” it said.

The groups accused the military of “gross violation of international humanitarian law” by holding some of the detainees close to tanks.

Incidents involving “extreme violence and humiliation by soldiers and interrogators” were also reported, the statement said, without giving details.

“We were handcuffed and blindfolded. They put us in a three-meter deep ditch with some 70 other people,” Majdi Muhammad Ayid al-Atar, 43, from northern Gaza described, in one of the testimonies.

“We spent two days there without any food, water or blankets. They also didn’t let us go to the toilet. Afterwards they moved us to another ditch. The soldiers kept beating anyone who dared ask for anything,” he was quoted as saying.

Lengthy preparation

The groups have addressed a written complaint to the Military Judge Advocate General, and Israel’s Attorney General, Meni Mazuz.

Attorney Bana Shoughry-Badarne, Legal Director of PCATI, said the findings were “particularly objectionable” as the Israeli military had repeatedly stressed that it “prepared at length for the Gaza operation”.

“It seems that, during these lengthy preparations, the basic rights of the detainees and captives were completely forgotten,” she said.

She said the groups had the names of 29 people who had been detained, 25 of whom were still being held.

The other groups were the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights, B’Tselem, Yesh Din and Adalah.

Source

They were using the detainees as “Human Shields”. This of course is what they said Hamas was doing, but of course Israel itself was doing it.

Seems Israel does everything, it says Hamas is doing.

One has to wonder how many detainees they have in their prisons?

Considering many people have been kidnapped from Gaza in the past, the number may be very high. One can bet they are being tortured as well.

I wonder how many “Guantanamo prisons”  there are in Israel?

Israeli troops fire warning shots at European diplomats

Israel Broke Ceasefire From Day One

Illegal Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank increased sharply in 2008

Aid Workers Protest Restricted Access to Gaza

Army rabbi ‘gave out hate leaflet to troops’,Israel: ’We Could Destroy All European Capitals’

Indexed List of all Stories in Archives

SITUATION REPORT FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR
5 January 2009 as of 17:00

Excerpts:

VIOLENCE
Many of the recent fatalities are women and children with
entire families among the dead.
This morning, an Israeli shell killed seven members of a Palestinian family
(five children and their parents) in their home in the Beach refugee camp.
Since this morning until 1500
hours, 25 Palestinians have been killed.
The main premises of the Union of Health Care Committees in
Gaza City was hit, damaging three mobile clinics and a vehicle. On 4 January, a shell struck Gaza City’s
main vegetable market, resulting in five fatalities and 40 wounded. A paramedic working for the UHWC,
an Oxfam-funded organisation, was killed when an Israeli shell struck an ambulance trying to evacuate an
injured person in the Beit Lahiya area; another paramedic lost his foot and a driver was injured in the same
incident.
MoH figures as of 1500 hours are 534 dead and at least 2470 injured since 27 December. However, the
danger to medical staff and the difficulty of extracting the injured from collapsed buildings makes proper
evacuation and estimation of casualties difficult.

FUEL / ELECTRICITY
75% of Gaza’s electricity has been cut off.

HEALTH
Hospitals are struggling to function under 24-hour per day power outages. Hospital electricity is still being
provided by back-up generators and fuel for generators is precariously low.
…                                                                                                       the
Intensive Care Units (ICUs) throughout the Gaza strip are overloaded, and all ICU beds are occupied.
There is an urgent need to evacuate patients out of Gaza.
Although a large quantity of medicines has been supplied by various donors and organizations, humanitarian
organizations are now receiving urgent requests for strong pain killers as well as for body bags and bed
sheets used for wrapping the dead.There is also an urgent need for more neuro-, vascular-, orthopedic- and
open heart surgeons.
Collateral damage to hospitals is not being repaired; broken windows, for example, have not been fixed
because of lack of glass.

WATER AND SANITATION
Gaza’s water and sewage system is on the verge of collapse due to the lack of power and fuel. The CMWU
warns that 48 of Gaza’s 130 water wells are not working at all due to lack of electricity, damage to the
pipes and/or depleting fuel reserves on which the generators depend (sufficient only for coming 2-3 days).
At least 45 additional water wells are operating only partially and will shut down within days without
additional supplies of fuel and electricity. Over 530,000 people (approximately 400,000 people in Gaza
and North Gaza, 100,000 people in Rafah, and 30,000 people in the Middle Area) are entirely cut off from
running water, and the rest are receiving water only intermittently, every few days.

SOURCE: United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
SITUATION REPORT FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR

]]> http://thegoggins.com/2008/12/04/life-is-boring-now/ Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:47:41 +0000 thegoggins http://thegoggins.com/2008/12/04/life-is-boring-now/

December 1^st

As you’ve (hopefully) quickly come to realise, I’m on vacation. That being said, I’m doing very little.

Today’s highlights include my friend Kenia telling me that me with no hair makes me look nicer. I also got a similar comment from somebody who works at the enormous pulperia. This makes me think – do I look like a serial killer with hair? What’s the deal? So far, I’ve just had once person doesn’t like my haircut, Melba. Her remark about it was something to the regard of, “What barbarity!” which was preceded by, “Noooooooooooooooooo!” So, while everybody else does like it, I intend to grow my hair back ASAP (as if I had some control over it).

I used the new cyber for the second time today as well. Now with water most of the day, a cyber, and not having to worry about making dinner, living here isn’t so mentally (and sometimes physically) straining as it once was. Sure, in terms of what I’m doing resembles little of what I did in the States (like reading – what the hell?), but at least I get through the day without any major hiccups.

I also saw a dog get hit by a truck today, and it was about as pleasant as it sounded. It couldn’t get up and walk, and when I tried to help it, it preferred to lay in the road wailing as opposed to being dragged under a tree or something.

Oh yes, exciting – I know. 

December 2^nd

Just when things start to look up, something else hits – typical. I’d be so overjoyed with my seemingly endless supply of water that I refrained to think about problems the wind could cause. In Colorado, lots of wind meant that my bike ride home would a little slower (but it’d be a challenge!) than usual.

Here in Achuapa however, the wind brings on an unforeseen problem – no power. No problem right? I mean, it’s sunny during the day anyway, so power isn’t that much of a necessity. However, when the power goes out, so does the water. So my living situation gets downgraded yet again because the quality of all the power lines and whatnot is absolutely terrible. That being said, the power lines don’t break or blow down so I don’t exactly know where the power goes – maybe the wind blows it away?

Today was more reading (gotta do something to get out of the sun), but I also met some girl who goes to the university in León who studies English. So from what it sounded like, I’ll probably start helping her with her English.

I should start working on some of my secondary projects…

December 3^rd

I only read a little bit today, but this was because I finished my book, so on that note…

Bobby Fischer Goes to War – A-. The story about Bobby Fischer’s road to the world chess championship. Really portrays him as a paranoid, ungrateful jackass. My opinion of him has definitely changed.

I did a little more socializing today than in previous days. It all started out at my counterparts house where we ate oranges from his tree, and then taught his son how to hit curve balls (this is done by throwing bottle caps – since the caps curve when you throw them, it’s just like a curve ball). After this, I headed to the cooperativa where I chatted with Karelia and Claudia (the vice president) about a wide array of things. After this, it was back to the normal routine – read, workout, visit. Rinse and repeat.

Then I found 20 dollars!

                                    When you have a power shut down in your area, you can’t think about the uninterrupted water supply that is promised by the Government to the people. The Power cuts should be taken care by the water management department and necessary re-defined plans should be made.

last night i had no water in my apartment.  that meant: no shower, no bathroom, etc.  to wash my hair, i had to go to the convenience store to buy bottled water, boil it in the kettle, then put it into a pot which i splashed my face and hair in.  quite the annoying thing…

anyways, it’s back.  i was worried i didn’t pay my bill or something, but it turns out it was the water company’s fault.  they put in a new meter at my place and just forgot to turn the water back on once it was installed.  i think they should reimburse me for the water i had to buy at the convenience store, but i can’t ask them.  i guess it’s my fault i can’t speak japanese…

Ah, the day has finally come! I apologize for the long ass delay. Between work and my crappy internet connection, it’s been hard to fill ya’ll in.

Coincidentally, the last time I wrote a beauty entry was on a rainy Sunday. Something about the wet grass and the chick flicks on TBS that makes me want to write about hair.
So here we go gals:

• PSSSSST Dry Shampoo-I bought this when I found out my local Harmon’s Discount Store did NOT carry Bumble and Bumble. However, I turned my Bumble bummer into a decidingly awesome dry shampoo find! PSSSSST is only $4.99 a bottle and you use it between shampoos, if you’re out camping (yeah, right.), or if you have a massive power outage and have no running water. For the price, it does the trick. I simply apply it like hairspray, fluff, and brush as normal. I still want to try the Bb brand, but I gotta say: a pretty great product, especially if you’re low on cash (and really, who isn’t these days?).

VERDICT: Get it, definitely worth it. Although, I must say, I remember Avril Lavigne endorses it. That kind of skeezes me out.

• Back to Basics Thickening Serum-I don’t know if it’s the placebo affect or what, but I love this. I bought it on a whim on the aforementioned trip to Harmon’s and it was around $6. You rub a “dime sized” amount on your palm and run through wet hair and style as normal. As you recall, I have that superfine, super quick to get oily, type hair. Well, this remarkably does not leave my hair greasy at all. I can’t really say if it works as a “thickener” persay, but I will give credit to the fact that it leaves my hair slightly less frizzy.

VERDICT: If you have a few bucks to spare, give it a try, it’s not super great at what it claims to do, but not a bad buy at all.

• Pond’s Clean Sweep Microdermabrasion wet cleansing towelettes-I work for a company that gets them for free, so technically, I suppose I am slightly biased. However, I was never a Pond’s user before (it was always more of my mom’s thing, although I would steal her cold cream to get rid of difficult eye makeup), but honestly, I kinda love the way these exfoliate my skin. My skin, like my hair, is seriously annoying. My t-zone isn’t oily; it’s actually really dry. Even though my favorite facial cleansers, Cetaphil mild antibacterial soap bars, are great for sensitive skin, they always leave my skin a little drier than usual, causing unnecessary flakiness (gross!). After using these once or twice a week, I could actually see a huge difference in the evenness on my face. No more chafing near the bottom corner of my mouth or the spot between my eyebrows-this worked wonderfully. Another awesome added benefit: this worked just as well as the cold cream to help get rid of last night’s eyeliner residue. Ya’ll know black eyeliner is in again this fall, right? Well, this was sweeeeet at removing the excess when I was too lazy to use a proper makeup remover.

VERDICT: YES. Even though I may be biased, I will continue using (and buying) these because they are quick, easy, cheap ($3 in many beauty stores!) and they are fabulous when I don’t have time to use a real cleanser…do you get this whole no-water trend I am on??

What are some of your favorites?

Got up at the crack of dawn for a very glamorous reason – the management is shutting hot water off in my building for most of the day, therefore, we, the residents, were forced to shower and flee our homes rather early…..

I managed to escape to the nearest Starbucks in Barnes and Noble and am reading a wonderful book I picked up yesterday called “Elvis Is Titanic” – a must! Seriously good….you won’t regret it!

As a true New Yorker, am also “enjoying” a cup of the special coffee of this season – spiced pumpkin latte with whipped cream… Always reminds me of my very first fall in NY back in 2004… Same coffee, same aroma, different Starbucks branch, though!

About to start working on the go, as they say, but can’t stop listening to the iPod – funny how a good song can capture your attention and eventually distract you from work. Especially watching the traffic early in the morning – never a pretty sight – can be inspiring, haha!!

The whipped cream has sure made my drink a little too greasy – will remember to cut that one out of my “venti spiced pumpkin latte with any milk pumpkin powder and whipped cream” order.

Starbucks generation rocks…not!