Better Than Before

This is day 4 without caffeine of any type, and I think, despite some cravings for coffee, I am doing alright. It is really tough when you wake up at 5:30 and head into a job where brewing coffee is your first task. That makes it a little more difficult. Today I feel a lot more like writing, which I am glad of.
Yesterday sister Kate stopped by the CGC and hung out for over an hour. It was nice to just catch up about our lives, something we haven't really done in awhile. There are a lot of things happening in her life, and I am really excited for my big sis. It seems like it really wasn't that long ago that she could run faster than me, had more baseball cards than me, and got to sleep on the top bunk in our room. Then I realize that was 20 years ago. A lot has changed since then, but the one thing that remains is we are still related.
She actually hung out until I was off the clock, and we headed over to a Mexican restaurant, El Jinete, where we  crashed a lunch with Mom, Dad, and Karina. We had a really nice time and it was great to see Mom and Dad (and Karina) as it has been a couple weeks since I last saw them.
From there, Kate came back to the apartment where I gave her the grand tour and introduced her to Huxley, who couldn't have cared less to meet someone new, let alone my older sister.
After she left, I set my alarm for 4pm and fell asleep with my favorite nap cat, Hux.
I picked Luke up from downtown at 4:30 and we headed to The Bongo Tree, but not before we stopped at LaRosas and picked up pizza for our dinner with Joe.
The best part of recording at The Bongo Tree with Joe is...well, I should say ONE of the best parts is that we get along so well with him. We normally spend the first 30 minutes or so just catching up on our weeks talking about random things. So after eating and chatting for a bit, we tracked some Rhodes, organ, bass drum, snare drum, and cello (midi). Joe played back  some of the stuff he worked on for a couple of songs. Some timpani, orchestra, horns, and synth on Don't Tell Anyone and Tennessee. We loved every part. It adds so much it's crazy. That't the other amazing thing about working with Joe. Not only does he get the vision, he isn't afraid to insert an opinion or part in a song and it is really paying off.
We wrapped up around 9:30 and headed home. Another session at the studio in the books. We are getting close.

This is where I would normally post what type of coffee I am having. *sigh*
I will instead post that I am eating plain oatmeal with raisins, drinking water, and about to make a cup of tea. Tea with never replace coffee, but it's not horrible.