I just had a great cup of coffee

I love coffee. Really, check my profile.

As much as I hate to admit it, coffee affects me. I don't get jittery or sleepless, but it causes my heart to race so I try not to drink too much. It's tough because, well, I love coffee!

And most decaf is disgusting. It tastes and smells like chemicals or plastic. Or Old Spice.

But, I do like Swiss wash decaffeinated coffee like they serve at Tommy's. And the other day at Zagara's I found a coffee that looked too good not to try.

Newman's Special Decaf from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. It's organic, fair-trade and water process decaffeinated. There's so much good on the label that I thought it was going to taste gross. But, it was bright, crisp and yummy.

It was weird to have a great cup of coffee without the bad feeling. I won't give up the real stuff, but I'm glad I found an alternative to my usual Kona.

Summer Movie Wrap-up

I like to see movies in the theater regardless of whether I'm watching the movie by myself or with a group. I also like to have popcorn and a Cherry Coke while I enjoy the show. Sometimes I get candy but not often.

I didn't manage to watch all of the summer releases that I wanted, but here's a list of the ones I saw and my grade for each. I'm basing the definition of summer on Entertainment Weekly's Summer Release Calendar, which runs from the first week of May to the first week of September.

Don't worry, it's spoiler-free.

Spider-Man 3
Grade: B
It was the weakest of the three movies by far. They tried to squish too much into it. I liked Tobey's goth makeover, though.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Grade: B-
Not as bad as the second movie, but parts of it were stupid, unfunny and not clever.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Grade: B+
I loved this movie but disliked parts of it enough to keep it below an A. It was funny and full of hotties.

A Mighty Heart
Grade: B-
Interesting movie, but I kept thinking that there was no way Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman would ever be a couple. I don't care if there was a war going on; that would not happen!

Ratatouille
Grade: B
Nice animation. Okay story.

Transformers
Grade: B
Not as bad as I thought it would be. Decent popcorn movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Grade: C+
Had some cool bits but should have been longer. Another movie that tried to do too much. If I hadn't read the book before I saw it, then I would have been really confused.

Hairspray
Grade: A-
Excellent adaptation of the Broadway musical, but John Travolta drove me crazy and not in a good way.

La Vie en Rose
Grade: B-
Wasn't a traditional biographical movie and got really confusing with all the players in the life of Edith Piaf.

The Bourne Ultimatum
Grade: A-
It would have gotten an A+ if it didn't make me physically sick to watch it. Is all the jerky camera-work really necessary? Glad I watched The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy right before I went to see this since you really have to remember what happened in those movies to catch what's going on.

Mr. Bean's Holiday
Grade: B
Silly, stupid and subtitled. It was interesting to see a live-action G rated movie that didn't star a dog.

I guess that makes the best movies of the summer:

Labor Day Baking

Apple pie (with crust made from scratch, of course)

And I made some Rice Krispies Treats (not pictured) for the people who don't like homemade apple pie. Actually, having two desserts at a holiday gathering isn't all that unusual.