Ever since we've moved here, Starbucks has become a really regular thing for me. I could blame it on a lot of things: I'm tired. I drive 20 minutes just to get to the store..I need a pick-me-up. I get up at 5am. I need to pick up a drink on my way to work at 7am. It's right there. Convenient.
I told Scott about my plan to avoid the 'bucks for a month and he said, "…so you're just going to stop at Green Beans instead?" I hesitated a bit too long before I said no. He laughed. Green Beans is on base. It's not the best in the latte department, so I see no need to stop there if I'm avoiding pricey coffee shops anyway. The exception would be Panera because there is not a Panera even remotely near me or my school, so that might be not even be a possibility more than two times in a month anyway.
The problem is that I'm not really sensitive to caffeine in general. I never have been. It won't keep me awake at night and I think it might be the idea of it that gets me going in the morning, not the actual "drug". I can't remember if I heard this from someone in real life or in blogland (sometimes the worlds collide), but a person told me, "Hey, maybe you should stop drinking so much coffee. Then you wouldn't be so insensitive to the caffeine!". Uh, no. I don't think 1 cup of coffee a day qualifies as "so much". Sometimes I have 2. Heck, sometimes I don't have any. I've actually been drinking a lot of jasmine tea lately. Usually I have coffee when I get up in the morning and then sip tea on my way to work. But I've noticed that (as was my pattern over the last few years) if I feel particularly exhausted on my way to work, I'll stop for a latte. However, it doesn't even do much for me! So what's the point? If it's not Alaska-strong (I swear they made their Starbucks stronger up there), it's not worth it.
I know I need to go to bed earlier. That's not what this post is about. Frankly, sometimes I stop on the way home for a frappucino, especially if I have an appointment or errands to run. Because I know the work doesn't stop when I get home. This "project" of remodeling a house is a 24/7 job and sometimes just being here is stressful.
The cost of 3 lattes or frappucinos a week is like $12-15. I could take that money and save it. Or buy new boots. Either/or.
Aside from that, the extra calories aren't something I'm into. While my lifestyle isn't quite sedentary, the extra sugar isn't doing much for me. I always order non-fat/no-whip, but I refuse to go the sugar-free syrup route. Sugar-free syrup is terrible for you. Therefore, I'm drinking away my calories.
So that's where we are. No Starbucks for September. I did this once, back in August 2012, and it worked out okay.
Anyone wanna join?
