Traveling Coffee Girl

  • Gratitude After a Scare: What Really Matters Isn’t on Your To-Do List

    Gratitude After a Scare: What Really Matters Isn’t on Your To-Do List

    Marie Magoch

    A Wednesday Coffee Note

    This morning was the first time I didn’t wake up with a pit of anxiety in my stomach. Not because anything is different. I didn’t suddenly win the lottery or land a $10 million dollar contract that ended all of my financial woes. I woke up just as I have every other day for the last couple of years. Kitten by my side and fluffy blanket kicked halfway to the floor. 

    The difference this morning was the overwhelming feeling of gratitude. When I say gratitude, I am not talking about endless lists written in happiness journals or affirmations breathed into the fog of the bathroom mirror after a hot shower. It’s the realization of what has real value in life. 

    A few days ago, I finished my work for the day and got onto LinkedIn to start reviewing my  connections. Just as I was about to send an email, my daughter-in-law called me –  my son had gotten into an e-bike accident. He was on his way to the store and only a couple of blocks from home. Life360 shows that he took one minute to make the trip. One minute. Sixty seconds. The amount of times it takes to blink 15 times or fix a bed.

    His bike is totaled. His helmet melted from his head skidding across the ground. He has no memory of what happened or what caused the accident.

    Five hours  after he was released from the ER, my daughter-in-law called me. It was that dreaded 1 AM call. One of the calls no one wants to get.  My son had a seizure and was being rushed back to the ER. The good news is he’s going to be okay. His shoulder still hurts today. He’s being taken care of by his wife and friends to make sure he remains okay.

    My daughter-in-law told me my son was initially upset about the bike. It was brand new, and his way to get back and forth to work. He was understandably frustrated. 

    The rest of us? We don’t care about the bike. It’s replaceable. He’s still alive.That’s all that matters.  We know things will work out one way or another. It always does. 

    It’s a fact of life that we need money to live and pay our bills. We know it’s important to work and focus on priorities to take care of our basic needs. We might have frustrations throughout the day about this or that. But, at the end of the day, what actually matters? 

    It’s not a frustrating work day. It’s not the long lines at the grocery store. It’s not getting stuck in traffic on the freeway. It’s not the frustrating people you had to talk to today or even an argument that you’ll forget about tomorrow. 

    It’s that fear of the 1 AM phone call. The accident that happened in a matter of seconds. It’s your worst fear and the sigh of relief when you find out it’s going to be all right. 

    Then there are the boring days where only the little things happen. The days that aren’t filled with amazing adventures and the only priority is cuddling up on the couch with  your favorite person, a cup of coffee and a good movie. 

    If your focus has been locked on the bottom line and grinding through every hour trying to get ahead, it’s worth a moment to pause and ask what you might be missing. Work will always be there. No matter what happens throughout the day, the only things that do matter are our people and gratitude for every memory we get to share with them.

    Things are replaceable. Our loved ones are not. 

    Sometimes the best thing we can do is remind each other about what matters the most. If this did that for you, please share and support my work , you can buy me a coffee and keep me writing. If you’d wish to collaborate, I would love to connect with a Coffee Conversation.

  • Coffee, Chaos, and My Manager is a Cat

    Coffee, Chaos, and My Manager is a Cat

    Marie Magoch

    ,
    Notes from a Modern Girl Friday

    Today, the Managerial Executive Of Work-Life Balance (or MEOW-B) for Traveling Coffee Girl celebrates her birthday! Tabitha Jane Meow, commemorates yet another year around the sun. While the hours are sporadic and her coworkers may drive her bonkers, she takes her role very seriously. She still looks and behaves like a meddlesome kitten, and constantly discovers new, innovative ways to ensure I take time away from the computer.  Here are some of the recent ways Tabitha has insisted I focus on what is important:

    • She’s trained me to wake up without an alarm clock. Ms. Tabitha currently has an arrangement with a local avian choir, and each morning, just before the sun rises, the birds squall outside my window while she pats my face to remind me it’s time for morning affirmations. “I love you more than anyone in the world.”, “you are the best kitten ever”, and “it hardly hurts at all when you pummel me with your razor-mitts.”
    • I’ve learned responsibility is remembering to fulfill the most important tasks in the routine first. If M’lady woke up and took two bites of her food bowl at 4:00 AM, it must be refilled before 5:00 AM. She’s not responsible for her actions when she’s starving.
    • She reinforces the importance of impromptu rest and massage breaks. Studies have shown 10 minutes of petting a cat reduces stress and cortisol levels. No one can convince me that the study wasn’t actually conducted by a cat. The citations seemed fishy.
    • When the work day ends, I don’t put in free overtime. While working on a grant proposal late in the day, Tabitha jumped up and positioned herself on my lap in such an awkward way, I couldn’t write on my computer or my notebook until I finally conceded and surrendered to the snuggle. The workday was over, and more important matters needed tending.

    Whether they are meditating, concentrating on a scenic natural vista, studying physics on the edge of the table, or getting in their late night cardio, cats know how to make the most of every moment. They know the value of taking a much-needed nap and are always content to exist quietly with a friend. Unless it’s bath time because personal hygiene is paramount.

    If you have ever been friends or roommates with a cat, you know their #1 rule: a lap for a nap remains at rest until the cat is in motion. This situation can leave one feeling blessed and chosen or trapped, depending on how much of one’s to-do list is spinning through one’s mind or how desperately I need to pee. Next time this happens, take it as a signal from the Universe and your cat, it’s time to slow down.

    As an experienced Executive Assistant, I understand the importance of keeping a deadline. I also know that overextending a schedule and forgetting to rest are the professional equivalent of spinning tires in sand. There’s lots of noise and flying dirt, but solid ground is no closer. In the office, it might look like business and productivity, but projects aren’t progressing and the gap keeps widening. The first step to getting out of a busy rut begins by taking the foot off the gas:

    1. Breathe. Try it right now. Do you only have one minute? Count your breaths for the entire minute. By focusing on those essential, life-giving breaths, you’re taking a moment to block out everything except for your needs. Do this regularly. Add it to your calendar or appointments like it’s something important.*
      • checked1 PM – Breathe
      • unchecked3 PM – Breathe again

    * Remember not to hold your breath between appointments

    1. Be Picky. Have you ever given a cat a new kind of food? Cats are professionally persnickety about almost everything. Most importantly, cats are very selective about who they give their time to. So should you. Your time and energy are your most valuable resources. Why would you waste them on things not worth your attention?
    2. Fixate. Have you ever seen a cat multitask? If you have, you know it wasn’t on purpose, and it didn’t end well. A cat trying to calculate the geometry and physics of a leap from one ledge to another cannot fathom the sudden distraction of the sound of the fridge opening or a housefly careening past. If something deserves to be done, it deserves to be done well. Don’t sabotage your ascension.

    Tabitha reminds me every day that balance and delegation are essential to leading smoothly. Being picky with spent time and fixating on what brings the most joy is what shifts the difference between feeling busy and creating a life. 

    What could you accomplish if you claimed more of your time back? Each task you delegate is another step toward what matters most.

    Visit the Traveling Coffee Girl studio or Tiny Tasks today.

    Let’s accomplish your goals, together.

  • Ty Freedman, Arizona Coffee Roaster: Community, Collaboration, and Coffee

    Ty Freedman, Arizona Coffee Roaster: Community, Collaboration, and Coffee

    Marie Magoch

    My number-one rule when writing about coffee is not to openly declare a favorite. First, because everyone’s coffee preferences are as diverse as they are. Second, choosing a favorite coffee is like choosing a favorite child, frowned upon and ultimately unwise. Third, I need more coffee and can’t formulate a third reason. That being said, while I won’t declare it my favorite, this coffee lives easily in my top five.

    This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Ty Freedman and visiting his coffee-roasting operation located inside Thumb Butte Coffee Company in Prescott, Arizona. While Ty’s name may yet be unknown within Arizona coffee circles, it’s clear to see that he will have a massive positive impact for years to come.

    Arizona Coffee Roaster coffee bean can

    After receiving a warm and friendly welcome from Ty, he immediately asked if I wanted to try his light roast coffee as a pour-over. He went to work behind the counter, boiling water and prepping the filter. I was snapping some candid photos when I noticed the tall silver canister on the counter beside us. At first, I assumed it was someone’s water bottle or space-age energy drink, but when Ty picked it up, I realized the can was the container for his whole bean coffee. Excitedly, he explained why he decided on a can and not a traditional bag for his beans. Many retail and printed coffee bags aren’t recyclable due to their aluminum lining and plastic coating used to preserve freshness, and bags are easy to puncture during transit, compromising the beans therein. Each of Freedman’s cans is double-sealed in a tough, recyclable and reusable metal can, preserving the freshness and natural oils of the beans. That, and few things are more satisfying than the little thoop sound when opening the can for the first time and catching the scent of freshly roasted coffee and Prescott mountain air.

    Since he began refining the roasting process, Freedman has mainly focused his energy on perfecting his Ethiopian light roast and Honduras high-grown roasts. Recently, Ty acquired beans for a new, extraordinary Mexican Robusta coffee. While most coffee in the States is Arabica, Ty was drawn to the Robusta bean because of its high caffeine content and notable differences.

    Once I’d finished marveling at the Artemis-like capsule coffee can, I noticed the consistency of his grind. Unlike the savage, brutalized inconsistency of a blade grinder, each ground granule of his light roast was a gorgeous match to the one beside it, creating the softest, most feathery coffee I have ever witnessed. Generally, I prefer dark roast coffee because the higher caffeine content in light roast usually makes me feel odd. My favorite barista refers to this oddness as “the floops,” or “jeepers.” For example, “that Redbull made me jeepers. It gave me the floops.” I noticed Freedman’s light roast provided a crazy-caffeinated kung-fu kick without any of the odd after effects of other coffees.

    Originally hailing from Denver, Colorado, Freedman says he was once a Starbucks barista who had never actually tried coffee. In 2002, he was in Estes Park when he stopped by a bakery called Ed’s Cafe. There he tried his first real cup of coffee, and twelve cups later, a passion for coffee was contracted. While Ty pays his bills as a licensed realtor, he began roasting and selling his coffee in 2024 based on a dream to build a business he could run with his family for years to come. Ty developed and tweaks the coffee roasting development alongside his wife, Kristen, while June and his other children help finish production and package the beans.

    Rubasse Coffee Roaster, Arizona Coffee Roaster

    His coffee deserves all the hype I can type, but what really wowed me was the game-changing roaster he uses. Rubasse Roasters from Taiwan are the first roasters to use near-infrared (NIR) light as a heat source. This innovative method of roasting beans uses only one kilowatt of electricity and has an Auto Pilot system that uses NIR spectroscopy to scan developed roasting patterns so quality beans are roasted faster than a traditional drum roaster.

    Freedman enjoys getting to know every independent coffee shop, owner, and barista he can find. To him, it’s about the coffee community and collaboration. “Coffee shops aren’t in competition with each other,” he says. “Each individual coffee shop has its own culture and way of making drinks.” He dreams of having a community of local independent shop owners that connect, collaborate, and benefit from one another’s success. “When people think of coffee, I want them to think of Prescott.”

    Savor and Enjoy your own cup of Freedman’s Finest Coffee , roasted Fresh in Prescott, Arizona

    Website: freedmansfinestcoffee.com

    Address: 402 E. Sheldon St., Prescott, AZ (Inside Thumb Butte Coffee Company)

    Also, distributed at Cove Cafe 1446 W. Gurley St., Prescott, AZ

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