Buy One Get One Free McCafe Coffee

Many of you may know this, but I thought I’d post it anyway. Between 2pm and 4pm on weekdays, you can get 2 coffee drinks for the price of one. If you haven’t already, try the iced mocha. It’s pretty good.

Also, ask for the punch cards. If you buy I think 4 you get a fifth one free, and there’s a coupon for a free one too. You can even try asking for more…tell them you are giving them to friends.

Enjoy.

Date Night Dinner, Books, Coffee and a Movie

So, My wife’s parents came to town last night and they kicked us out.

We started the evening with a meal at Ozona Grill. It was a slow Sunday night for them, so our server was very attentive. My wife got a “Cheap Margarita” and they let me try their Ace Pear Cider on tap. I liked it so I had a glass.

Leigh had a salad and I had their Chicken Fried Steak. It was all very good. Something funny, my wife saw a sign at the server station that said “Sip and Go Policy”. We started speculating what that could mean. I thought it meant that the servers were encouraged to take a sip off the top of whatever drink they were serving, you know, total quality management, make sure the soda isn’t flat, etc. Leigh thought that it meant they would be fired if they were caught taking a sip from anyones drink. Well, truns out, it mean that if they need a drink, they are to use the small disposable cups provided to them, take the quick drink, and keep on serving. The management doesn’t want the servers hanging out at the server area having their drink. Makes total sense.

So, we finished and wen’t to Barnes and Noble to look at books. Leigh looked in the Christian section and flipped through a book called “Ruthless Trust” by Brennan Manning. It’s a book exploring the issue of “trust” being the most important aspect of a Christian life.

I looked at a book called “Masters of Deception” about optical illusions in art, including Dali, Escer, the guy who paints veggies and fruits to look like faces, etc. Really amazing book. Of course, I am attracted to the art and graphics section of the store because I’m a Graphic Designer.

The store was closing so we went to It’s A Grind for a coffee and a brownie. It was nice. Their special right now is the Funky Monkey that is a frozen coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, banana drink. yum. They even split it into two small cups for us, very nice of them. Leigh doesn’t like “banana” flavor, you know, the “banana runts” candy flavor. I do. So they made my half with banana and hers without.

So, we left there and started toward the Cinemark theater over by Sam’s to watch Star Trek. On the way there, there was a tent set up for a petition to stop the red light cameras in College Station. We stopped by and signed the petition and asked them a bunch of questions. I’ll write about that tomorrow. They have a Facebook Group.

Then we watched Star Trek. Really cool. A little confusing with the whole time travel thing, but it was fun.

So, there you go. Dinner, books, coffee, signing a petition and a movie.

And we didn’t talk about the kids the whole night.

JJ’s Sno Cone Shack Opening This Weekend on April 1st

I heard that JJ’s Snowcone shack was opening up this weekend so I asked one of the employees some questions.

Be sure to go by this weekend for some snowy goodness. And maybe try my favorite flavors: Coffee Coke or Rum and Coke. I think I might try Banana Chocolate Cream.

What is your name?
The name is Anna Hamiter, A.K.A The best “snowstress” currently employed at JJ’s.

When is JJ’s Snowcone Shack opening for this season?
We open April 1st, officially! And No, that is not an April fool’s joke. We aren’t that cruel.

What is your favorite flavor?
I don’t play favorites, really. I like a new one everyday, (considering we get all the free ones we want at any given moment HA!).

Which flavor sells the most?
By far the “Caribbean Splash”. It’s tropical goodness never fails.

Any new flavors we need to try?
At the moment, we don’t have any new flavors, other than the select few that were added towards the end of last season. But, the possibilities are endless with flavors, so who knows what we will bust out this season!

How much ice cream do you use every day?
I’m not absolutely positive on the statistics of that, but I do know that a 1/2 gallon of blue bell lasts probably 2-3 days during our raving summer months. We sell by the scoop, so I suppose if I knew how many scoops were in a 1/2 gallon, I could tell you. Unfortunately, I do not.

What is the best thing about working at JJ’s?
Oh, tough. It’s fantastic getting to know the regulars, who come up everyday getting their fill of sweet, snowy delight. It’s especially great when I can guess exactly what they want before they even say it, and I already have it waiting. I guess the customers really make it fun. Also, being a family business, I have a little leeway on the tardy factor, which is nice. I tend to run late, which would get me fired in a normal circumstance. Plus, it’s just the best job ever! Who wouldn’t love working at JJ’s snow shack?

What’s the worst thing about it?
Ha. Well, the only thing I truly don’t enjoy is the utter stickiness that occurs ALL THE TIME while working, especially in rush hours. Spills happen, and the stickiness never seems to fade, even if you put the world on hold to clean it up..it’s still everywhere, and never fails to stick to you for the rest of the day. Also, whiny customers are never my favorite part of the day.

What is the craziest combination someone has requested?
Pickle juice and blue bubblegum might be the entire worst flavor ever requested. The thought of it really makes me want to ask them…why? Just why? Especially when they order that in a jumbo…it provokes questions, usually.

Is there really a pickle juice flavor?
Yes, indeed. It’s the real deal. Straight from these giant pickle jars! We also sell those giant pickles…that some customers find entertaining to stick inside of their snow cones. Yep. It does happen. Right in front of my eyes.

How do you keep the ants away?
We have a secret cleaning formula that is thoroughly sprayed onto every surface, then that surface is wiped clean. There is a grueling cleaning process at night that the last shifters have to endure, (usually me and another unfortunate soul). But, it must be done! Or else….

You guys were selling BBQ sandwiches during the off season, any plans to do that during the Spring and Summer?
Actually, funny that you mentioned that, Jorge. The BBQ idea was a flop, and we didn’t continue with it. There was not enough time to invest in it in the first place. We just got a random idea to use the building while it wasn’t in use during the winter, but unfortunately, time and funds did not want anything to do with it. Possibly in the future, we will find a use for the building over the winter, but probably not anytime soon.

If a customer comes in a says “Surprise me”, What is your favorite option to surprise them with?
Haha! That’s the best past of my day when I can do that. If the person looks like they want something good, I’ll ask them a few simple questions to determine which route to take, (sour, sweet,fruity, or creamy) then I’ll determine their snow cone fate. But, if they looks like they can handle a whirl of craziness, i’ll just throw in random flavors like..banana, blue bubble gum and coffee with just a splash of pickle juice and cinnamon.

Has “Alfred” (that homeless guy that usually wears a stylin’ hat and pulls along his luggage on wheels) ever come by?
He hasn’t. I do wonder if he will have his path cross ours anytime in the near future. It would be interesting.

I honk whenever I pass by and you are open, does that bother you? Should I stop?
It doesn’t really bother me, personally. It might the other employees, but I doubt it. We take it as a compliment, that people are honking because they wish they were in line instead of rushing around town in their cars. Continue your honking, if you wish.

Can you tell me some of the flavors you have made up?
I have really only, officially made one up, that is one the board anyway. It’s called the “Creamy Colada”. It basically tastes like a real pina colada, minus the alcohol. It’s far better than the regular pina coloada flavor we have. I’ve been told it kicks butt. I like it too.

If someone comes up to the window and does something cool like rapping about their favorite flavor, or showing you a shirt they made that says “JJ’s Snowcones Rock” on it, or posts a homemade JJ’s Snowcones commercial to YouTube, oh, or a tattoo with “JJ’s Snowcones” on it, will you give them a free “shortie”?
Ok, if someone actually got a tattoo of JJ’s like anywhere on their body, I might have to give them a free supply of snowcones for the rest of their lives. That’s hilarious! Yes, we like to do nice things for people, and if someone did a beat-boxing, rapping thing, I’d give them any size they wanted. They can beat-box….automatic free snow cone…maybe…if it’s a good beat-box and gets everyone dancing…maybe.

What’s the story with the spray painted walls? Who painted them? There are a bunch of drawing inside the shack too, what can you tell us about those?
The spray painted walls have been there for as long as I can remember, even though we got the paint renewed recently. It’s just the style of the shack, I guess. The artist was one of the previous owner’s sons, named Peter Lammerts. He had a buddy help too. I can’t recall the buddy’s name.

Any other plans we can keep our eyes peeled for this season?
One fun thing we would like to do before we open, is set up a sound system with hidden speakers on the deck so that while people wait in line, we can have some sweet tunes playing. Also, hopefully in the future seasons to come, we can build a bigger deck so that on certain nights of the week we can have a karaoke night for anyone who would like to mess around for a little bit and perform for the waiting customers. The idea may flop completely, but I personally think the idea is great. It would bring more people by, and by that time, I’d hope we have two ice machines running keeping the line as short as possible, and keeping the customers as happy as we can manage. In due time, though. But, we like input and ideas, so if anyone has any promotional ideas, or anything you think would make JJ’s even cooler, let us know! We are always upgrading, and looking to further better our community as best as we snow cone providers are equipped to do. See ya’ll soon!

Thanks Anna

Bryan, College Station Election Day 2008 Results

Pretty much accross the board, the Brazos Valley voted for McCain.

Here’s a quote from the Eagle:

…more than 58,567 Brazos County residents voted in Tuesday’s election for the nation’s 44th president. Of those voters, more than 20,459, or 35 percent, voted for Obama, while John McCain received 37,403, or 64 percent of the ballots.

Those numbers aren’t surprising in a community that’s home to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum as well as Texas A&M, nor were the local results rare for a state that traditionally votes conservative.

Across the Bryan-College Station area Tuesday, many kept up with the televised exit polls and news reports that had Obama leading almost all day. Race was hardly mentioned, though. Instead, residents talked about a need for a change in the way the U.S. government is run and the way economic policies are carried out.

Although more local residents voted Republican than Democrat this year, many interviewed by The Eagle on Election Day expressed excitement over the race and a desire for a president who would improve what’s in place now.

Brazos County Clerk Karen McQueen said 58,567 of the county’s 93,000 registered voters cast ballots this round. That’s about the same number that voted in 2004. Obama garnered 5 percentage points more than the Democratic presidential candidate in that presidential election.

Election officials had expected high turnout Tuesday because a record-breaking number of people had cast ballots during early voting. Of the 34,136 who voted during the weeks before Election Day, 62.77 percent voted for McCain and 36.19 percent voted for Obama.

Here are the proposition results:

For:

Proposition 1 – The issuance of a $48,785,000 tax bonds and notes for street and transportation improvements.

Proposition 2 – The issuance of a $8,385,000 tax bonds and notes for library improvements.

Proposition 3 – The issuance of a $6,990,000 tax bonds and notes for fire safety improvements.

Proposition 4 – The issuance of $12,790,000 tax bonds and notes for parks or other recreational improvements.

Against:

Proposition 5 – The issuance of $7,050,000 tax bonds and notes for constructing and equipping a community center.

Proposition 6 – The issuance of $26,300,000 tax bonds and notes for constructing and equipping a city hall.

Ben & Jerry’s

On another note, I tried to take my family to Ben & Jerry’s, but the line was wrapping around the fountain. That was crazy. There had to be a few hundred people out there. Were any of you out there? How long were you in line? Did they run out of ice cream?

Starbuck’s

I most definitely got a free coffee from Starbuck’s.

jorge

What to do on Your Anniversary

OK, so today is our 14th anniversary. We’ve got a few errands to run, and we’re down to 2 kids this week (the two older ones are with their grandmother).

We’ve decided not to have a babysitter and take the kids with us in whatever adventure happens tonight.

1. OK, first things first…I took out the trash. I also cut the fat off the chicken we were going to freeze. My wife’s love language is Acts of Service, so I think the day started well. Oh, and I gave her a card that said all the right stuff.

2. We need to go to the library because we have some overdue videos. (those are $1 each day they are overdue by the way).

3. Next thing we want to do is go to Hobby Lobby. We have this wooden elephant that kinda got handed down to my wife, but the tusks are gone. We looked up what the gift for the 14th anniversary is and the traditional gift is ivory. Well, last I heard, buying ivory is illegal, so we’re gonna go and see if we can find something that resembles 2-3 inch long elephant tusks. Maybe they’ll have a cool mirror on sale at like 80% of or something. (the modern 14th anniversary gift is Gold Jewelery and my wife doesn’t like gold. She likes nickel free!

4. Starbuck’s Vanilla Latte. It’s right across the parking lot.

5. I’m thinking about Fish Taco’s at La Bodega. They have really yummy quesadillas and rice and beans for the kids and we can use one of our coupons.

5. Cafe Capri for their chocolate toffee mousse with kahlua. I think we are going to need a whole piece each…well, we’ll each share a few bites with each of our kids. I just took another look at their menu and I might be considering the Cajun Tortelini. Yum.

6. We will probably go to Post Oak Mall to Victoria’s Secret (me and the kids will be at the little soft play park in the food court). Leigh received a coupon in the mail for free Panties…yay!

7. We’ll hang out a little while at the soft play park in the mall. We like watching our kids play. Plus we’ll get to talk a little.

8. If we feel like we need to talk a little more, maybe we’ll go to Wolf Pan Creek walk around a bit…holding hands of course.

9. Maybe rent a Redbox movie. Unless we get our NetFlix rental arrives today…John & Kate plus Eight is coming next.

But first, I have to work making websites and graphics and logos and flash games and stuff.

jorge