Peppermint This.

What's one of my most favorite-est things, ever?

Peppermint.

I love the smell. And the taste.

I love peppermint shampoo.
(It makes your scalp all tingly.......refreshing!)

I love peppermint tea.
(Tea. I know, right?!)

I love peppermint ice cream.
(I must be monitored when eating it because I will eat the whole carton.)
(Seriously.)
(I'm so not kidding.....)

I love peppermint. But other than those swirly, hard candies- peppermint isn't easy to find.

What's one of the things I H-A-T-E the most?

Christmas decorations visually displayed anywhere prior to November 26th.

HATE it.

I was walking through J.C. Penney's the last week of October and they had already hung their Christmas swags & garlands from the rafters.

WTF?

If you will, please picture The Snarky Brunette, dressed to the nines as she's just come from work; clomp! clomp! clomping! through the store; on a mission to find orange tights for her daughter's Halloween costume, when she rounds the corner and comes face to face with (stupid) Sales People hanging CHRISTMAS RIFF RAFF!

It literally stopped me in my clomping tracks! Dumbfounded, I stood in the middle of the designated walk way, mouth agape, staring at the CHRISTMAS RIFF RAFF! I didn't snap out of it until the Sales People sang out to me: Can you believe it? It's that time again!

What I wanted to say (read: SCREAM!) was: If by "time again" you mean HALLOWEEN, then you folks are clearly needing some help with your seasonal decorations!

What I did was simply walk away.

While muttering to myself: Who I got to kill to make Christmas go away?!

Now, I'm seeing Christmas everywhere! Decorated trees are in window displays. Target had an end cap of ORNAMENTS in their card section. My co-worker was playing Christmas music in the office YESTERDAY.

(I may or may not have snapped and demanded that she TURN THAT SHIT OFF!)

Tonight, as the Monsters and I were hustling through Fred Meyer (Hannie, you grab the pizza....Mommy needs some Diet Tonic and a lime!), I walked past an end cap and abruptly stopped. And then backed up.....because The Snarky Brunette spied PEPPERMINT LIP BALM!

On the top shelf, next to the PEPPERMINT soy candle and PEPPERMINT Goat's Milk soap; there it was: as big as a glue stick! The red & white swirled packaging caught my keen eye; the yummified scent, so potent I could smell it before I actually picked up the balm.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

I may or may not have completely lost my mind in all things peppermint. I may or may not have impulsively purchased $12 worth of peppermint goodies, including the over-sized lip balm (which I'm wearing right now! Totally makes my lips all glossy!): Zumba Kiss.

And in my peppermint induced high, I may or may not be willing to concede that Christmas ain't all that bad. I mean really, it is the only holiday that guarantees I will have peppermint whatever at my disposal and for my every whim. That makes me happy. So I've decided me and my Zumba Kiss are going to meet Christmas head on..... and in the end, all the lame ass decorations & elevator inspired Muzak we are going to be subjected to over the next 2 1/2 months can SUCK IT!

That's not to say I won't bitch and piss and moan about being subjected to it, though.............that's what I do.

And you guys should totally know that by now!