Caution: Contents May Be Hot

Welcome the newest addition to our pack. My Starbucks travel mug. He holds 16 oz and he has his daddy's chin. He was not planned at all but was born out of a love for espresso. Ahhhhh......espresso.

Rewind to 1995. The O.J. Simpson trial keeps viewers glued to the television while Toy Story plays on the big screen. A small town girl from Arkansas takes a job at the first Starbucks cafe to open in the state. As a barista, I learn the art of making the perfect latte and cappuccino. I offer up demitasses of con pannas and macchiatos. I introduce to my fellow southerners the wonder that is a mocha. The knowledge is overwelming yet empowering at the same time. I am able to expound on Ginsberg's obsession with Walt Whitman with confidence and passion while Dickinson dashes make their way into my own writing. However, customer service jobs stink to high heaven and do you know what's worse than a rude customer? Why, a rude customer who hasn't had his morning coffee, of course! So I left, taking all of their secrets with me.

Fast forward to 2007. As I drive my oldest pup to Kindergarten, Clifford the Big Red Dog plays on the portable DVD player and my travel mug sits in the cupholder. I quickly glance in the rearview mirror to make sure nobody sees me take a sip of my decaf 2% no whipped cream sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte. I'm too slow. My 5 year old sees me and yells from the backseat, "MOMMY! You CAN'T drink and drive!"