Friday, January 11, 2013

Confession Time


All the programs out there say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  Basically, admitting you cannot control your addiction or compulsion.  So, here it goes…..

Hi.  My name is Tina and I’m a Starbucks addict.



Do we have a coffee pot at work?  Sure do.  We actually have a coffee pot and a Keurig and it is all FREE.  I also have both a coffee pot and Keurig at home!

However, if I had my choice between a cup of coffee, a k-cup or a Starbucks Venti Non-fat Dirty Chai Latte, I would choose the Chai every time. Not just any Chai, but a venti non-fat dirty Chai (dirty meaning it has 3 shots of espresso) and this girl is happy. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy coffee too, but the Chai is my drug…..I mean drink of choice.

I haven’t always been like this.  There was a time when I would roll my eyes and shake my head at someone who would wait patiently in a long drive-thru line multiple times a day to order drinks with names like Grande No Whip Cinnamon Dolce Crème Frappuccino!  I couldn't even say it let alone want to drink it! LOL

But I have become one of those peeps and the numbers don’t lie folks.  Before I continue, I want to make it clear that I take full responsibility for my problem.  Nobody is forcing me to shell out the kind of money I have on Starbucks and after doing the math of how much I actually spent in 2012, I have definitely quit cold turkey.  I am 11 days clean so far.

In 2012, I spent (with my debit card) $1,887.28 on Starbucks.  The number is more than likely a little higher than that but I don’t track cash purchases so we can probably round that up to an even $2,000.  However, I "drank" a whole lot more than $2,000 worth because my children would also contribute to my addiction but not nearly as much as I did.

How did I spend that much on Chai?  Easy, it started out as being convenient and it tasted good and then was a routine until it turned into me needing it to function.  If I was running late for work, it didn't matter because I was still getting in that long drive-thru line to get my fix.

Anyway, my Starbucks spending spree has come to an end and now it is time to focus on controlling this addiction and spending that money elsewhere in 2013.....but definitely not on another addiction.  An extra $2000 a year towards my mortgage will go a long way in helping to pay this house off.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Blast From The Past

Classic toys I had growing up.  My kids think I had some 'pretty funny' toys!  They have Xbox, Wii, iPods and iPhones so I can see how my toys were funny to them.  






I loved playing Centipede on the Atari and destroying spiders, fleas and centipedes.  Way before PlayStation, Xbox and Wii days!  LOL





We used to load our sweet boom-box up with 8 D batteries and lug it down to the beach so we could listen to our favorite jams while getting our Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 tanning oil covered body just one more shade darker!!  Ah, those were the days.  LOL