Powdered Drink Mix Sticks

We've all seen these drink mix sticks, right? In fact, they're so popular that every time you turn around, there's another brand or another flavor to choose from. Though I see them all the time, I'd never really given them much thought -- until last week.

Last week dad was in the hospital for a small surgical procedure and I stopped in at the cafeteria several times getting either coffee or cold drinks for mom and myself. At the cash register I noticed that there was every type and flavor of powdered drink mix stick that you could possibly imagine. And do you know what they wanted for them?? $2.00! TWO DOLLARS - EACH! Are you kidding me?!! Even more of an insult, if you don't already have your own bottle of water (or cup of hot water), you have to buy that, too. I can't remember how much the bottles of water were going for - my guess is somewhere between $1.50 and $3.00 depending on what size you bought.

Holy cow. Have we all lost our minds? I wondered to myself how many people buy those ridiculously expensive things. And moreover, why? I understand that sometimes you want something besides soda or just a plain bottle of water, but ... really? Why not just buy a box or two to keep at home and put one or two in your purse 'just in case'.

...which is what I did. The following day I was at Walmart and picked up a box of raspberry lemonade sticks, and a box of Taster's Choice coffee sticks (I received some as a free sample a while back - they're surprisingly good - even to a coffee snob like me!) and I put two of each in my purse. Oh, and two Wild Sweet Orange tea bags. YUM! Now, the next time I want something besides just plain water, I can pull one of these out of my purse for a little treat. Without feeling like I got robbed!