indulgences

That darn Costco! I've been betrayed again!

First, they took away my beloved Neutrogena facial peel. I try to use this twice a week, and my skin has never been smoother. It was a mere $40 for two jars, but now I have to pay a whole $25 for one jar because you-know-who stopped carrying it.

Then they started offering some delicious no-name vegetable patties. Yum! They're made with just vegetables and sunflower seeds and wheat or something like that to hold it all together. It's a treat to be able to quickly heat up one of these tasty creations and stuff it into a pita with some veggies and avocado, especially when most of your food is made from scratch and you sometimes just want something easy that still approximates the whole foods way of eating you're trying to embrace. Guess what? They're gone now too.

And now? Just when I've gotten used to the luxury of a chilled 10 ounce glass bottle of sparkling Perrier, they take those off the shelf. For the most part I stay away from caffeine and too much artificial stuff, so a mineral water is my treat when I don't feel like plain ol' ordinary flat water. I blame my time spent in Spain for turning me on to sparkling water, which I previously thought was not pleasant at all.

I love the 10 ounce size. It's a perfect amount. And I love the glass bottle because the drink inside stays so wonderfully cool.

Now Costco is stocking half liter plastic bottles, and that's just too much to drink in one sitting. Plus, if you drink it at a leisurely pace, it starts warming up! Gasp! This phenomenon takes away from the whole indulgent experience.

People will make fun of me for having a preference, for bothering to care. But it matters. It matters to me, and it even matters to a few discriminating people I know. At least I think it does since we've discussed similar reasons for drinking soda out of a can. The plastic bottle is so big that we never finish it, and if we come back to it later, it's lost some of its fizz so it's just not as satisfying and tasty. Plus, it warms up faster, and we really don't like that.

So, Costco, if you're listening, please bring back the old Perrier bottles. The new product offends my delicate sensibilities. And if it's not too much trouble can you start stocking the facial peel and vegetable patties again too? Thanks. I heart you.