THE HEALING POWERS OF STARBUCKS

I have a LOVE AFFAIR with coffee. Some might even say that it verges on a sick obsession. Okay, yes, for a few, there might be a tendency toward ... oh, how should I say it, an addiction perhaps? I mean, why else would I make the time to write entire blog entries on the subject? Yes, an addiction, but let's face it, folks. In the whole grand scheme of things ... in the vast field of addictions, an addiction to caffeine is not really all that bad. It's one I'm willing to take a bullet for, okay?

Because of my affection for all things Java, friends and family are quick to give me gift cards to Starbucks. As a small hint, YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG GIVING ME GIFT CARDS TO STARBUCKS. In fact, the barista that helped me out today told me that, should I need to, I could put up to $500 on a gift card. Folks, if you gave me a $500 gift card to Starbucks AND massaged my head and neck, I would be putty in your hands! Seriously!

But I digress ... this really isn't completely about coffee ...

So, today, I was at Starbucks, and I decided I would give the old, SMILE, DARN YA, SMILE trick a try (refer to yesterday's blog if you are slightly confused on this particular reference). I smiled at the guy making my Venti Cappuccino with a shot of sugar-free Hazelnut. He was dorky, and probably 12-years old, but I figured, what the heck! I need to practice on someone.

It worked, folks! He says to me, with all the boldness his voice-changing-self could muster, "This will be the BEST Venti, Cap. with sugar-free Hazelnut you've ever tasted." Then he winked.

I smiled and replied, "Fabulous! This is what I'm going for!" ... and then ever so sweetly, I said, "have a great day!"

Oh yeah! It worked!

As I was walking out the door, I noticed a KDOT crew getting ready to paint lines on the road.

Now, I must digress a bit here and insert a little known fact about me ... I LOVE men in uniform! It is bad, folks.

• Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines? It doesn't matter ... I'm a goner.
• A police officer? Pull your service revolver out and put me out of my misery!
• A firefighter in turn-out gear ... where's the fire extinguisher?
• A man in a hard hat and welding a hammer? Seriously, do I need to explain this one?

I have almost caused accidents over men in the bright yellow traffic vests standing on the side of the road. This IS a sickness, and I do probably need therapy for this one.

So, I'm walking out of Starbucks, and I notice this crew. In amongst the crew is a guy, in the cursed yellow vest, arm muscles rippling as he gripped the STOP sign. Here's the kicker, though. He noticed me, too!

I smiled.

He kept staring!

So, I decided that I would have to go through his intersection as I made my way to church ... just so I could get a better look.

He was cute, oh yeah! So, I smiled again. I can't be completely certain, but I thought it looked like he almost dropped the stop sign he was holding.

Okay, so I drove the rest of the way to church feeling pretty good about myself. Yep, I said to myself, this smiling stuff works. Amazing!

Fast forward to an hour later and a mile or so down the road. Dag-gone if I didn't see Mr. McHotty Sign Holder again!

Ladies and gentlemen, he almost stepped out in traffic when I smiled at him AGAIN!

Somewhere in my history, I've been misled into thinking that I just don't have what men want. I'm not sure when or how it happened, but it did. As a result, I think I've missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that sort of thinking. Today, though, I realized in brilliant, vivid color, that I've got it! Oh boy do I have it! Perhaps it's in the smile ... okay, it might be the "girls" in a tight t-shirt (ALL my t-shirts are tight ... the curse of big boobs). Whatever it is, I've got it.

WAHHHOOOO!!! It's amazing what the healing powers of a little Starbucks can do for a girl!