The Accidental Straw Holder

Check out this thing I rigged up to hold my drinking straw in place when I am using an oversized water bottle.  

My accidental straw holder.

I "accidentally" made it while testing one of the many mask-and-eye-glasses related hacks I'd seen on the web.  It was supposed to go like this:  thread a tiny elastic band through the holes in a button and then slip the elastic on the bow of your glasses so you can hook your mask to your glasses instead of over the ears.  

The statue outside the library (of a past president of the college) is showing his commitment to keeping campus open.

I tried it and found the button was always snagging my hair so I wasn't really a fan.  It wasn't an improvement.  Maybe it works best for bald or short-haired people.  Or maybe the internet is just a liar.  It certainly wouldn't be the first time.  Ha!

Since the elastic was such a tricky devil to thread through the tiny holes on the button I slipped a toothpick through the loops before I tossed it into my desk drawer.  That way, I figured, if I decided to try it again I wouldn't have to go through that fussy business twice.

Matt's mom made us a couple different Grateful Dead masks and they are so darn cool.  I mean, as far as a mask can be cool.

Weeks (months?) go by.  I grow quite accustomed to wearing both a mask and eye glasses at the library.  I spotted the toothpick-elastic-button contraption in my drawer and was struck by a different idea for it--as a straw holder for my daily dose of carbonation.

Because I love bubbles.  The bubblier the better, really.  My dad gave me a SodaStream for Christmas last year and I now regularly (and melodramatically) exclaim that I don't know how I lived without it.  Bubblewater on demand!  It is nothing short of amazing.  This has (again, melodramatically) changed my life.

I bring a liter of bubblewater to work everyday.  A lot of the time I just enjoy it plain, but I have found some stevia-sweetened water flavoring that I like, too.  

I even pack the SodaStream when we travel.  I mean, it is very compact and requires no electricity...so why not?!  We took it to the cabin we rented in the Custer National Forest in June.  It is wonderful for keeping me away from the 32 ounce Big Gulp-style soda fountains while on roadtrips.  We actually hiked a mile back to the car while backpacking at Capitol Rock just so I could make a bubblewater refill for a backcountry cocktail hour.  I've stopped buying "hard seltzers" because I can basically make my own now with a little fruit juice and vodka.  

Rolling down the seemingly endless miles of two-lane highway in southeastern Montana.

Of course, the tree hugger in me loves that I've been able to reduce my single-use cans and bottles.  Meanwhile, the health nut in me loves that is has also reduced my consumption of both chemical-laden diet soda and calorific beer.  

Okay, back to the straw bridge contraption.  A few months ago we were gifted a couple sets of metal drinking straws.  Now I am able to enjoy my daily dose of bubbles through a straw!  It makes a good thing even better!  The only problem is that my straw is several inches shorter than my SodaStream bottle.  Unless held in place the straw falls all the way inside the bottle.

Enter the failed mask hack turned accidental straw holder!

My accidental straw holder.

The toothpick acts as a bridge across the narrow neck of the bottle and the elastic holds my straw in lip-ready placement.  It is accidentally perfect for the job.  Ha!  I never would have dreamed it up for this purpose, but it was a pretty happy accident regardless.

Even our campus mascot has been doing his part!