BC

March of Dimes

All Stirred Up! has teamed up with the March of Dimes on 3 events to help give babies a healthy start. To do your part, visit www.weareallstirredup.com and purchase a bag of our Empowerment Coffee. Choose March of Dimes in the drop down box and they will receive $5 of every bag purchased. It's our Coffee For A Cause program and we need your help. Come see us at the Celery Flats in Portage on Saturday, May 1 where we will be serving coffee to all the walkers at this year's March of Dimes Walk For Babies.

what if you could buy everything out of a vending machine?

What if you could buy everything out of a vending machine? You walk through the mall, swipe your credit card, press E5 and out comes your girlfriend’s engagement ring, your prescription, or even the keys to a new car. You wouldn't have pushy sales people or big stores to deal with. Wouldn't that make life convenient? Maybe at first it would seem like it but I personally don't like doing business with a vending machine. What would you do if you swiped your credit card and the ring never fell down to that little door? What would you do if you had questions about that prescription? And how would you test drive a car you bought from a vending machine? Vending machines don't learn your name. Vending machines don't say thank you. Vending machines don't appreciate your business. Vending machines can't answer questions about their product or fix a problem when one occurs. They are strictly programmed to facilitate a transaction.

Doing business, no matter what you're buying, should be about the people you interact with. It should be an experience, not just a transaction. Why do we buy where we buy? I will pass several salons, probably offering the same service at lower prices, to go to my salon. Why? Because I like the people. They know me there. It's a great atmosphere where the experience is just as much about catching up with my stylist as it is about the haircut she provides.

We have beverage vending machines right in front of our kiosk in the mall. People approach us all the time and ask us for change so they can buy a drink from the vending machine that doesn't take credit cards or offer a change machine. Some stop and ask us how they get their money back when they didn't receive their product. While the machine may seem convenient, it is relying on people, my people, to do some of the work. At All Stirred Up! we are in the business of people serving people. Not just taking your money and throwing a product at you. While I can appreciate the need to drop your dollar in for a quick snack in a hotel or airport, can we get back to doing business with people and not machines?

Mariel Mauck is All Stirred Up!

Mariel Mauck is All Stirred Up! about helping children facing health challenges. 19 year old Mariel can relate. She was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 14 and has been living with the disorder ever since. But if you ask Mariel what stirs her up, she would say, "I started this project a few years after I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I wanted to help others who didn't have the Holy Spirit in them. I wondered what it would be like to be "alone" with this health trouble. Jesus wants us to help others, so I figured this would be a good idea to start with." So with all her passion, she started Operation Warm and Fuzzy. The goal is to make warm blankets to be given to children to comfort them as they fight for their health. "I have made a few blankets:
Blue with white, Cat with pink, fairy with purple, sports with blue, Fish with blue, cats with pink, rainbow with yellow, planets with yellow, and a few more." When I met Mariel, I was impressed with her generous spirit and she stirred me to action. I had to have one of her blankets for a friend's baby facing physical challenges. If you want to help Mariel provide blankets to children in need, go to our website www.weareallstirredup.com. Use the promo code "Mariel" and $5 of each bag of coffee purchased will be used to buy Mariel's blankets. Big organizations can do big things but never underestimate the power of a passionate individual. Keep up the great work Mariel.

How do you like your coffee?

An older gentleman, about my grandfather's age requested a cup of coffee from me recently. I asked him, as I do all my customers, if he would like cream and sugar in it. After he declined, he began to tell me a story about how his love for black coffee started. He was in the Army, obviously many years ago, and they served coffee in a large trough. He described it looking like mud. Soldiers approached single file and dipped their cup for their share of the brew. I guess the Army didn't offer cream and sugar so the soldiers who wanted a hot cup of coffee accepted it. He said you either took it or left it. All these years later, he still takes his coffee black.

I wonder how many of the things we like and dislike is acquired tastes. Do we have preferences because of the way our taste buds biologically form? Or do we have preferences based on life experiences that force us to adapt, like the man in the Army? Maybe if he was never in the Army and grew up drinking Triple Mocha Lattes with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, he would despise his coffee black.

It's interesting how much flavor preferences are a part of our culture. At All Stirred Up!, we serve two flavors that are primarily found in Asian cuisine. They are Red Bean and Taro. I've tried both and I can honestly say I'm not a big fan of either one. Is it because my taste buds were made to respond negatively? Or is it because it isn't part of the culture I grew up in?

My tastes have changed as I've grown older. Things I disliked as a child, I actually really enjoy now. Why does that happen? I'm sure there is some sort of scientific answer that at least partially explains it. I think I will ponder it over a hot cup of coffee...with cream and sugar.

Refreshments anyone?

How many times have you gone to a gathering and been offered refreshments? Did you ever stop to think about that word and what it implies? For most of us, our lives entail running a million directions at a ridiculous pace. We are always on the go, moving faster than we should. Most of us never stop to think about the toll it takes on us, because we're thinking about the next place to go and the next thing we need to cross off our never ending to do list. So today I challenge you (and myself) to stop and enjoy the refreshments.

The word refresh means to become fresh or vigorous again. To revive, restore or repair. When is the last time you restored yourself back to a state of strength and vigor? How long has it been since you revived your soul by allowing yourself 15 minutes to day dream or pray? When did you last repair your mind, reading a few chapters of your favorite book, flipping through a magazine, or reminiscing with your treasured photo albums? We often see these activities as time wasters, valuable minutes that we cannot afford to lose. I would say, we can't afford not to slow down each day, for just a few minutes.

I travel a lot and every time I get on the airplane and here the flight attendant tell me about the oxygen masks I'm reminded to "secure my own mask before assisting others." That is a simple life lesson that those of us running around need to remember. Because eventually, our running around will only run us down. We deserve to revive ourselves and we must if we want to be any good to the world around us. Find time to do something that refreshes you today. Stop and enjoy the refreshments.

Bubble tea $4, breakfast in bed $10, best birthday ever? PRICELESS

I don't know about you but it seems to me every year buying gifts gets harder and harder. What do you get someone who has everything? In my family, special occassions like birthdays and Mother's Day are a big deal. We take time to honor each other, which usually means gifts. We all love getting gifts, it just seems to me it's getting harder and harder to find something meaningful and special.

To solve the Christmas gift challenge, we decided a few years ago as a family to not exchange gifts and go on a family vacation. So once a year, we all go away for a week and spend time together at a resort or waterpark or sporting event. It's a great adventure that we have all come to value more than any gift we could ever give or get. The older I get, the more I realize that experiences and memories are so much more valuable than things.

One of our customers at All Stirred Up! gets it too. He stopped by the mall and wanted to buy his wife a Bubble Tea for her birthday. His gift to her was waking up with her favorite special drink and breakfast in bed on her special day. Wow! So simple, yet so special. He obviously understands the idea that creating a moment is the most valuable gift.

If you asked me what I got for my birthday 5 years ago, I couldn't tell you. But if you want me to tell you the story about my 90 year old Great Grandma playing poker and shooting paintball on our vacation 5 years ago, I will get out the pictures and we would laugh for hours. So instead of looking for the newest gadget or the latest fad for that special gift, why not give moments that live forever. Share a cup of coffee and a conversation, or a Bubble Tea in bed.