My New Addiction

Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and then McDonalds joined on the bandwagon.  I never got the whole iced coffee thing.  People driving with an iced coffee in their hands or sucking their coffee through a straw as they steered their grocery cart and shopped.  Frankly, it made me want to roll my eyes. 

And then...

I became one of them.  I blame it on Target. Someone has to be to blame, right? 

They built a Target five minutes from my house.  Want to guess what else was inside?

A Starbucks.

Sometimes I have a need for caffeine, for coffee.  For breakfast after a late night or on a cold evening when I have lots of things to do, I get that craving. I need a shot of caffeine.

It was ninety degrees outside and I was missing the cooler weather.  Mother Nature had been teasing us with a few cooler days and I wanted a coffee.  Yes, I could have made it myself in my dinky little coffeepot (my 4 cup coffee pot that barely fills a cup with the steaming brew) at home for pennies.  Yet, I had been out running errands and my last stop with the girls was at Target.

When I was done navigating the behemoth cart around racks without snagging it on anything or running any unsuspecting customers over, I decided I deserved a treat.  I went to Starbucks and ordered a cappucino and a milk box for the girls to share.

The woman ended up handing me this icy monstrosity with whipped cream.  A frappucino. I took it without a word thinking that maybe I had ordered wrong. Cappucino, frappucino, they do sound somewhat similar. No.  There is no way I accidentally ordered a frappucino.


I couldn't bring myself to tell the cashier that I hadn't ordered that particular drink since she had already made it.  Anyway, I didn't really need a cup of coffee since I had a perfectly good coffee maker sitting on the counter at home that could brew one in minutes.

I handed over my money in exchange for the drink that I hadn't ordered.  

I had tried Coolattas at Dunkin Donuts and the McFrappes at McDonalds in the past when I was in the mood for something sweet. I couldn't manage even more than a few sips.  I had never thought to shell out $4.51 for a drink at Starbucks that I probably would never, ever like.

I waited til I got into the car to take my first sip.  The perfect blend of coffee, chocolate syrup, and milk mixed with crushed ice slid down my throat.  I was disappointed when at the stop light by my house, I took a deep sip which resulted in not even a drop of frappucino. I had polished off the entire cup in less than five minutes and I was feeling energized and rejuvenated from all that sugar and only a slight brain freeze.

Now I find myself looking for reasons to run to Target, as if I needed any before.  Now, whenever I leave Target, there is Starbucks beckoning.

"Come on in Joy, and sample our tasty, refreshing goodness.  You know you want to."

I do, I really do.

Are you a fellow iced coffee addict?