and starbucks gets another one . . .

so today . . . i went to starbucks. again. i am afraid i am becoming one of those people who goes to starbucks. i said this would never happen to me, and yet i've been to starbucks three times in the last month . . . i don't even like coffee, but then again, i'm not sure you can call something named "peppermint white chocolate mocha" coffee.

it isn't that i have anything against starbucks--but really, most of their drinks probably have more sugar than a piece of chocolate cake, and given a choice, i would rather have cake. and i think spending $3.50 for a small drink (which, btw, they call "tall" even though it is the shortest, smallest cup) is crazy, and i am just not going to do it. although i have--3 times in the last month!

in my defense, let me just say that i have been using gift cards, but still . . .

so here is what happened. just before christmas i was meeting with my leadership group and since it was our last meeting before christmas, i wanted to do something a little bit festive. i thought going to starbucks would be a special treat, so we drove the half mile to the nearest one and stood in line to order. i had not planned ahead enough to be armed with my usual soda, so i scanned the menu for SOMETHING i thought i could drink. and that's when i saw it--peppermint white chocolate mocha. i could probably choke that down, i thought. i like peppermint and white chocolate, and maybe the mocha won't be too strong. and it's christmas, so what's a little extra sugar . . . so i ordered it. and it was delicious! i drank the whole small tall thing and wished there were more!

the next week, we were in portland for christmas. it was COLD and there were several inches of snow and ice on the ground. my mom needed to go to the grocery store near her house, but it was too slick for her to drive, so rollie said he would take her. diandra and i went along because, guess what? there was a starbucks in her grocery store! so while my mom picked up a few things, diandra and i ordered tall (meaning small) peppermint white chocolate mochas. only THIS time we also bought special starbucks sippy cups to drink it from! (hey! if you take your own cup you get a 10 cent discount!!) i was starting to feel the transformation taking place . . .

that brings us to today. again i blame the leadership group meeting, because one person was sick, so that just left two of us. and it was a lovely, but cool afternoon. and starbucks was only half a mile away. and if we WALKED there and back . . .

so, to all of you who love starbucks, whom i have mocked over the years, i'm sorry. now i understand. i don't know what will happen when they no longer have the peppermint to add to the white chocolate mochas (which they only do at christmas, apparently) but until that happens, i am one of you . . .