Blog Number 95

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Our friends from around Austin, TX, were coming up today but because it is about a 4 hour drive they were not due in until slightly after noon.  I knew that both of our kids would be eager for their arrival and I remember being that age and how time just drug on when you were watching the clock in anticipation.  Because of this, around 11 I corralled both kids into the Buick and headed toward Starbucks for hot chocolate.  I say "hot" chocolate but really it is more like warm chocolate.  If you order any kids drink, they keep the temperature down.  I would guess it is mostly for safety reasons but part of me thinks it is so they don't get sued for burning some pour kids tongue.

I ordered coffee and added a little half-n-half to it.  I am cutting most sugar out of my diet in order to lose a little weight and I am not a fan of any artificial sweeteners.  A few years ago I cut most sugar out of my diet and lost about 50 lbs. over 6 or 8 months.  Since then I have put about 35 of it back on.  I knew what I weighed but it wasn't until I was looking at some pictures from Christmas 2003 that I realized how much heavier I looked.  I started my "diet" on Thursday and am already down 2 lbs. in 2 days.  If I can keep up this pace (which is not likely, nor is it healthy to lose weight this quickly), I will be down to my target weight by Thanksgiving.

Because the "hot" chocolates were not that hot and since my coffee was both hot and not sweet, the kids finished their drinks before I finished mine.  The kids sat quietly while I sipped my coffee and I even convinced the 8 year old to take a sip of my coffee.  I don't think he has ever had coffee before but if he had, it more than likely had a lot of sugar in it.  Either way, he agreed to try a sip.  In my opinion, the coffee had cooled down enough for him so he tipped the cup up and took a swig.

The look on his face was priceless.  It was obvious that he did not much care for the taste (this is Starbucks coffee with no sugar mind you, probably an acquired taste).  But the look on his face was more complicated than that.  His face said much more than just, "This is awful."  I have thought about his expression off an on during the day and the best way I can describe it is this, "This is awful, and you are drinking it?  On purpose?"  He must think I am crazy.  I stopped about half way through the cup.  Drinking coffee without sugar is going to take some getting used to.  Maybe he is right, maybe I am crazy.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon