This past week, I flew to Idaho to visit my sister and her family. They won’t be able to spend Christmas with our family this year due to distance, so we were able to celebrate early and enjoy one another’s company. On Friday, my sister threw her 2nd annual Christmas ornament exchange party, where she invites many local women. We ate, visited, laughed, exchanged, stole one another’s ornaments (part of the game, not a klepto party) and had a good time. Prior to the party, my sister looked to my mother and I to write a poem about an ornament she recently had to buy at a store because she dropped and broke it. She blames it on many factors, including the fact that the store offers lotion samples. My mother tried to write the poem, but I took over. Here’s what I wrote and read at the party:
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In recent months, my visits to Starbucks have included reading my cup for the “Way I See It” quote. Starbucks has gathered quotes from well-known and lesser known people and shared their ideas on the cups. Some quotes are average while others have caught my eye. One quote that stood out was The Way I See It #230. Joel Stein, a columnist for the LA Times and contributor to Time Magazine, made the following statement:

Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They’re basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell.

I’m not sure what Bible Joel is reading (or if he’s reading one at all), but his description of Heaven is off base from what the Bible says.
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I will admit it. I’m a Starbucks lover. Many people turn up their nose at this coffee monopolizing conglomerate, but I say “bring it on”. I love Starbucks. I love the atmosphere, the comfy chairs, the checkerboard tables, and the huge kitchen table at my local Starbucks. I do not consider myself a coffee addict in the least. I do not even own a coffee maker myself. I don’t need a cup to start off my day. I just enjoy the taste once a week or so. Read more »