The Quest for the Perfect Mug

I am a creature of habit - I like things the same and I usually don't deviate from my routine. I guess if you were a serial killer, I'd be your perfect prey, or so all the detective shows on TV would have it.

But sometimes my standard routine is a blessing for me 'cause I can move throughout my day knowing I've accomplished what I set out to do. Yes, I know what you all are saying - I'm a follower, not a leader. I'm a sheep, not a Shepard. I'm the goose pulling up the rear, not the point of the V.

So, when something interferes with my normal routine, it throws a kink into my schedule, almost like a vinyl LP when the needle gets stuck - I keep stumbling over the same problem over and over again.

Case in point - my mug. I am the type of person who always has a mug full of drink with me, in case I get thirsty. After years of searching and then numerous trial-and-errors, last year I found the perfect mug - or actually, my hubby found it for me. It was about this time last year when he brought me home a translucent green mug with a handle. I was skeptical, but I was going to give it a try.

Number one - it was double insulated, so it was not supposed to leak. After weeks of use, I found this to be true - my new mug never sweated! I hate a sweaty glass! I love to fix a mug full of ice and then pour a cold drink in, so the number one thing I want in a mug is for it not to sweat.
New mug - check, no sweating

Number two - although the mug had a handle, the bottom third of the mug was free from the handle. This means that the mug fit perfectly into my car's cup holder. Do you know how hard it is to find a perfect mug to fit your car holder? I've gone through many impostors, but this mug seemed perfect.
New mug - check, fits the cup holder

Number three - the cup had a rounded lip and no lid. I don't normally like to drink using a straw. Don't get me wrong, I will use a straw in certain instances like at a fast food restaurant, but I don't like using a straw. This new mug had a comfortable lip - not like most mug that have ridges where a lid fits.
New mug - check, easy to drink from without a straw

Bonus points - because the mug was translucent, I enjoyed watching my nice, cold Coca-Cola sparkling over ice. I know it's silly, but I enjoy the little pleasures in life.
New mug - bonus point, nice to look at

So for a full year, I have been over-the-moon about my mug. It was washed every single day and it went everywhere with me - to work, to meetings - anywhere. This was the perfect mug and my happy little world was rotating smoothly.

Smoothly, that is until the fire at our house. No, my mug didn't get burned in the fire. I wasn't home when the fire started, so naturally, my mug was with me. No, my mug got injured during the clean-up process. One day, it got knocked over and fell on the concrete front porch. At first glance, my mug was okay, but I did notice a tiny separation between the double insulation.

Over the next week, it became apparent that the double insulation seal of my perfect mug had been compromised. My mug started to sweat - ick! My mug was impossible to clean because now fluid was leaking in between the layers of double insulation. The day I saw mold growing between the two layers - double ick! - was the day I knew the mug had to go. Into the trash he went and I was left without my perfect mug.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I am still without a new mug. My husband found some that I thought were really cute - translucent with a bandanna pattern. But alas, no double insulation so the glass sweats. No rounded lip, so it is not as comfortable to drink from. And the handle goes down to the bottom of the mug, so it doesn't fit into my cup holder.

For now, I'm making due with foam cups my hubby always brings in from his commute back and forth to Lexington. I know, I know, they aren't environmentally friendly, but they don't sweat and they fit my cup holder. I do have to use a straw - pooh - but I'm trying not to complain. My hubby, my daughter and myself are constantly on the look-out for the next perfect mug. I know it's out there, I just haven't found it yet.