2011 Review

I don't usually do "best of" lists because frankly, I can't remember everything from the whole year. So I thought I'd use my journal as a record, but you guys, two pages into it and I had to quit. That book is seriously depressing. (Apparently I only use it to vent.) So that leaves me to fall back on mere memory which is faulty at best and inaccurate at worst. So if I list something on here that you clearly remember doing with me in 2005, just don't tell anyone. And if I don't list something here that we did together, it doesn't mean I didn't love it at the time, it just means I've forgotten about it completely. So, there's really no reason to take it personally.

So, with that introduction, here are just a handful of some of my favorite things from 2011.

1. Feather bowling with Sarah, Sara, and Matt, Sara's husband. I love trying new things and feather bowling definitely fits in that category. Plus it's always fun to do things in Detroit. And doing those new things with two of my oldest friends? Even better.

2. Amococo. In case you forgot, Amococo was this huge inflatable "building" with lots of tunnels and rooms. I was slightly scared that the whole thing would come crashing down on us and we'd have to stab our way out. This did not happen, and it ended up being a very cool thing to experience.

3. Spontaneous road trip. One summer day, a cute boy and I had a plan to drive to a place called Irish Hills, but something came over us and we ended up driving all the way across the state to Lake Michigan that day. It was fun and spontaneous and a great summer memory.

4. Shipshewana. I've always been curious about the Amish, so one day my friend Erin and I drove to an Amish community in Shipshewana, Indiana, and spent the day at their shops, eating their cheeses, and admiring their horses and buggies. I scandalized the whole community by wearing my hair down.

5. Olde Timey baseball, and Greenfield Village. Of course, the two go hand in hand since olde timey (aka historic) baseball is played at Greenfield Village, but I also went to GV on its own several times this year and loved it. It is one of my very favorite places to go and buying a season pass was one of my best decisions of the year!

6. Tigers baseball. I went to a record number of games this season and never tired of it. I know most people find baseball boring, but I love it! Especially when I'm actually at the stadium. It's one of my very favorite things to do in the summer. This year I had a special treat of having very good seats a couple of times and that was very glorious. One day, with a very cool guy, I went to both an olde timey baseball game AND a Tigers game. That was a good day.

7. Family Vacation! I love my yearly family vacation to Ludington. This year was as magical as ever. I have a great family.

8. Watching the stars from the lighthouse in Ludington. I had never walked out to the lighthouse at night before, and sitting out there with friends one summer night was truly magical.

9. Trip to DC for Barry and Dana's wedding. I love Barry and Dana (my cousin and his wife) and was so happy for them when they got married. I also had a lot of fun with my family in DC!

10. Trip to Chicago to meet up with my friend Christi. This was a whirlwind trip but we packed a lot in! I even hailed a taxi for the first time! I love Chicago. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's my favorite city.

11. The Heidelberg Project. If you ever go to Detroit, please go to the Heidelberg Project. It is so strange and unimaginable. Is it art? Is it garbage? Is it terrifying? Is it awesome? Yes, to all four.

12. The whole month of October. Between Halloween parties, Edgar Allen Poe book club, Halloween Nights at Greenfield Village, and corn mazes, October was (and always is) a magical month.

2011 definitely had its wonderful parts. It was full of rewarding relationships, personal growth, and happy memories. But it was also a hard year for me in many ways, and I'm looking forward to a fresh start. I have a really good feeling about 2012. How about you?

How to Live a Sitcom Life

I got to spend time today with some good friends, Emily and Kelly, who I only get to see a couple times a year, when they come back to Michigan to visit me. And by me, I mean their family. Well, it's like 40% for their family and 55% me (and 5% miscellaneous). But anyway, today after we went out to lunch we decided to tour around their hometown of Adrian and check out what the downtown area had to offer.

We spent a lot of time in the local used book store where the proprietor offered wayyyy too much information on how to use her store. I think she said something like,

"Hard cover books are four dollars, everything else is half off the original price, and if you bring in a trade you get half off your total order, then you also get these punch cards which you can share with each other and you get three free books when you fill this up. If this is your first time here you get five free punches."

She repeated that every time you made eye contact with her.

At one point, while looking at a book I found interesting, I said quietly to Emily, "how much was this? That lady gave me way too much information and now I can't remember." At which point the "lady" shouted over the shelves, "FOUR DOLLARS!"

I left with a bag full of books which I honestly have no shelf space left for. Mostly Agatha Christies with a couple Garrison Keillers, and one by Charles Frazier, which Kelly swore by.

I almost bought a silly looking book called, "How to Live a Sitcom Life" simply because the inscription couldn't be beat:

In case you can't read it, it says,

"Dear Julia,

We know we should have given this

to you much earlier,

but as they say on

Golden Girls, better

late than later.

Happy birthday

Love,

Mom and Dad

2003"

I have so many questions about that inscription, and the book itself, I don't even know where to begin. I just know I love it.

After leaving the bookstore, we wandered all over town, checking out the library, the opera house, the Running with E's store, and the local candy and magazine shop. Unfortunately, even though I remembered to take a whole bunch of pictures of the used book store, I forgot to take any of actual humans, except one. A stalker picture I took of Emily.

I told her she should make this her new Facebook profile picture but I'm almost positive she won't. How's that for gratitude?

Anyway, if any of you are going to be in Adrian any time soon, you can borrow my used book store punchcard. After using it for one day, I'm already on my second punchcard.

Wednesday Thoughts

I got a new coat this winter. It's full of feathers and it's very warm - in fact, it's supposed to be so warm that it will keep me warm even in temperatures of negative forty.  So up till now I've been welcoming the cold weather as a challenge. When I hear it's going to be really cold I think, "bring it!" Then I turn to my coat and say, "let's see what you're made of" in a super challenging tone.

The problem however, is that my coat isn't a snowsuit. Meaning, my torso and arms are pretty warm, but my legs and fingers are mostly frozen. So I need a better plan if I'm going to survive winter... But on a more positive note, it made me think of a poem which I will share with you now:

I heard a bird sing

I heard a bird sing

in the dark of December

a magical thing

and sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to spring

than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

in the dark of December

- Oliver Herford

I like that thought. And as far as other thoughts are concerned, I thought I'd share some instagram pictures with you today from the last few days, including Christmas. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did.

EXTREEEMME CLOSE -UP! (Waynes World reference)

My niece and I after doing each others hair

Luminaries lining the street on Christmas Eve

Broken ice today. See the little heart?

A cool lamp at a restaurant today. My friend said it wasn't cool
but that's where he's wrong because it clearly is.

One more update: I'm halfway through my vacation and I'm not at all bored yet. Usually I get all "rawr-I'm bored-what do I do with all this free time!?" But not this time. I'm loving life this week. I'm sleeping in, shopping, working out, napping, and so forth. What's your favorite thing to do on vacation?

Happy Wednesday!

A Christmas Wish

A Festivus for the rest of us!!

From me to you. Happy Festivus.

As a huge fan of Seinfeld, I want to wish you all a Happy Festivus! In case you don't love Seinfeld as much as I (or millions of other people) do, let me fill you in.

Festivus is a holiday Frank Costanza (George's dad) made up to fight the commercialism of Christmas. He explains it thus:

Frank Costanza: "Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way."

Cosmo Kramer: "What happened to the doll?"

Frank Costanza: "It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!"

Kramer: "That must have been some kind of doll."

Frank Costanza: "She was."

The celebration includes:

The airing of grievances ("I've got a lot of problems with you people!" - Frank Costanza)
Feats of Strength (until George pins his father, Festivus is not over)
Putting up an aluminum pole for decoration ("requires no decoration. I find tinsel distracting." - F.C.)
Recognizing "miracles" that are actually not miracles at all, such as this one:

Gwen: "Jerry!"

Jerry Seinfeld: "Gwen! How did you know I was here?"

Gwen: "Kramer told me!"

Cosmo Kramer: "Another Festivus Miracle!"

Also in this episode, George finds a way to get out of giving Christmas presents to his coworkers by making up a charity called "The Human Fund" and handing out  phony certificates to his coworkers which say, "A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund."

 It's one of my top three favorite episodes of Seinfeld, and that's saying a lot. Here are some great images of Festivus which I found by searching the interwebs:

Frank shows the pole to Krueger, George's boss.

Frank explains Festivus to Kramer, who
proclaims that it's scratching him where he itches.

I can't even tell you how hilarious this episode is. Besides the introduction to Festivus, other storylines include Kramer going back to work after 12 years of being on strike, and Jerry dating someone who is attractive in some lighting, and hideous in others. It's a classic. But of course, the best parts are the parts about Festivus. For some Festivus highlights, check out this video.

Happy Festivus! (I will not infringe on your rights to celebrate new holidays, unlike Kramer's manager at H&H.)

"Festivus is back! I'll get the pole out of the crawl space!"

"George, Festivus is your heritage; it's part of who you are!"

- Frank Costanza

Wednesday Thoughts

Only the best toy EVER!

Today is the shortest day of the year, and tonight is the official start of winter. Today is also my dad's birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad!) So all in all, it's a big day!

To those of you who have expressed concern that my previous post was about you, it wasn't! As far as I know, the person it was about has never read my blog. Most of my friends and family are very sensitive and would never say something like that. But we all know one or two people who seem to love putting their foot in their mouth. I'm sure the person who made the comment didn't mean any harm. She just wasn't thinking about the impact of her words.

In thinking about Christmas lately (I know, I get wayyyy too into holidays; I can't help it!), I've been thinking about Christmases from my childhood. I don't remember too many toys I asked for, though I'm sure I asked for many. But I do remember one year when I really really really really really wanted something SO BAD. Not getting it simply wasn't an option I was willing to face. That toy? A Cabbage Patch Kid.

What made the Cabbage Patch doll so amazing? Well, I'll tell you:

1. It came with its own birth certificate.
2. It had a tattoo on its butt of the name of its creator (which is kind of weird, in retrospect).
3. It was the cutest doll ever!!
4. TV told me I needed one.

I begged and begged for one that Christmas, when I was probably about seven years old. I clearly remember that Christmas morning, seeing the large wrapped box under the Christmas tree with my name on it. I remember thinking the gift looked to be the size of a Cabbage Patch Kid, but could it be!? And - because I can't keep you in suspense any longer, I'll tell you - it was. I was beyond thrilled! I simply couldn't believe my luck. A Cabbage Patch Kid of my own! I remember taking it to school after Christmas vacation, where the teacher had all of us line our Cabbage Patch dolls along the table in the back. They were glorious, sitting there all together, and I counted down the minutes to recess until we could reclaim our dolls and admire them together.

This year, on Black Friday, my sister Katherine and I went shopping together. As we were meandering through the crowded store, I came upon some Cabbage Patch Kids. I smelled them before I saw them. They have a very distinct powdery smell that, for me anyway, smells exactly like the 80's. I told Katherine to close her eyes and smell it. She was overcome with the same nostalgia as I. Neither of us bought one that night (even though they were on mega-sale), but we both regret it. Katherine still has her Cabbage Patch Kid from when she was a kid, but it is covered with liver-spot like dots now (they don't age well).

When talking about this with my mom recently, she told me that in order to fulfill my childhood Christmas wish, my dad had had to drive many towns over to find a Cabbage Patch doll for me, as they were out of stock nearly everywhere (they were hugely popular at the time). And not only that, but they were very expensive. Of course, as a child, I had no idea about any of this. I just knew I wanted one so bad! I'm grateful my parents went to so much trouble to make my silly childhood wish come true.

What was the one thing you had to have as a kid?

Happy Wednesday!

A Christmas Story

What I'm about to tell you is a true story. A few years back, one Christmas day, someone (who shall not be named) told me that I'll never understand the true joy of Christmas until I see my own children opening their presents on Christmas morning. After I punched them in the face*, I gave that idea some thought. Is it true? Can Christmas only be truly appreciated when you have children? After thinking about this over the years, I've come up with an answer: NO. Christmas can be wonderful even without children.

Do I want kids? So very much! Do I think Christmas would be even better with kids? Yeah, I do. I won't deny it. Is Christmas a bunch of garbage without kids? No way! Just get that out of your head right now!!

As a single adult, I've found other ways to enjoy Christmas. For one thing, I sorta spoil my nieces and nephews, so I guess I can kind of get a piece of that "joy I'll never understand without my own children" from them.

But I also just like to focus on the happiness part of Christmas with or without kids. The part where you make gifts for those you love, and bake and bake and bake to fatten them up for winter. The part where you watch "White Christmas" and then watch the weather reports closely hoping for an actual white Christmas. The part where you decorate your Christmas tree and put up decorations and lights, and remember happy Christmases from the past. The part where you visit old friends and get together with extended family and play games and laugh. The part where you sing Christmas songs in church, and remember the birth of Christ.

In other words, though the holiday season can be hard for single people, it can also be just fine. It can even be awesome. It's just a matter of focusing on what you do have, and thinking of others. Oh, and O.D.ing on sugar. Some day, I hope to have children of my own. But until then, it is possible to understand the true joy of Christmas. I promise.

*Totally kidding!

Calories are coming to town

A few weeks ago, we had a nutrition meeting at work.  The point of the meeting was to give us healthy tips for the holidays. The posters, which were hung up around the office building advertising the meeting said, "Calories are coming to town! Or are they?" (Spoiler alert: they are.)

The nutritionist who came to speak to us gave us all sorts of tips for keeping weight gain at bay during this holiday season. Tips like substituting oil in recipes for apple sauce. She even referred to oil (any kind of oil) as "liquid fat" and told us to avoid it at all costs. She's the one who got me on my apple eating kick too, describing apples as "so filling" that sometimes she "can't even finish one!" I've mentally rolled my eyes at that line many times since as I find myself craving a snack a half hour after finishing a whole apple.

But I digress. As the nutritionist predicted, the calories have come to town. And though I'm eating a record number of apples to help in avoiding the sugary alternatives, I'm also contributing to a serious cookie and candy problem around here. So far this season I've made:

toffee
molasses cookies
peppermint fudge
sugar cookies
brownie bites
shortbread cookies
apple crumble bread
peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

And later this week I'm still planning on making:

buckeyes
chocolate truffles
homemade thin mint cookies
sugar cookie swirls
more toffee

It's a serious problem. Luckily I've given most of it away - I don't trust myself to have self control with that stuff around. I made the mistake of keeping some toffee in a container at home to snack on between now and Christmas, thinking I could pace myself. Yesterday after church I was so hungry, I opened the tin and consumed enough to give myself a stomach ache. In my defense though, it doesn't take much of that toffee to give you a stomach ache (it's delicious but packed with butter and sugar).

What are some of your favorite holiday treats?  Do you have a recipe that you only make (or eat) at Christmas time?

Creative Wrapping

A few of you have asked to see more creative wrapping ideas so I thought I'd share some more presents I've wrapped. Feel free to use any of these ideas if you'd like! I've gotten a lot of inspiration from this website (link) so if you need more ideas, go there. She's wayyyy more talented and creative than me!

Without further ado, I present to you (get it? present?) some creative gift wrapping ideas:

Heckuva Rush!! A la The Grinch (post office scene)

Monsters peeking out of their packages.

Ornaments and felt for my little niece.

yarn ribbons

Occupy Christmas!

In case you can't see the image on the last one, here it is:

I photoshopped it with a few borrowed images from the internet. I have several more gifts to wrap later this week and can't wait to think of more wrapping ideas. If any fun inspiration strikes, I'll share it with you.

Merry Christmas! Less than one week!

Christmas Favorites

I have that Charlie Brown Christmas song in my head right now. You know, the one that goes, "Christmastime is here, happiness and cheer, blah blue blue, blue blah blue blue blue blah blah blah ya dahhhh." I love that song. And seriously, Christmastime is here. It's only eight days away!

That means I have only one week left to check the rest of my Christmas to-do list off:

* finish my Christmas shopping

* make Christmas frosted sugar cookies

* make another batch of Christmas fudge (first one got et*)

* watch Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (my favorite)

* watch It's a Wonderful Life (painful, but necessary to watch so I can learn my lesson)

* watch A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version)

* watch Forest Gump by myself (a Christmas tradition, every year after watching it I say to whoever will listen, "Forest did soooo many things with his life! What am I doing with mine!?" It motivates me to practice ping pong more.)

* watch A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out)

* go to the Greenfield Village Holiday Nights one night (I doubt this is going to happen)

* wrap Christmas presents

Usually I hate wrapping presents, and I'm not very good at it. But this year I decided to take a creative approach to wrapping presents to make it more enjoyable. I've been using googly eyes on presents, weird papers, home made bows, etc. Here's "A Christmas Story" themed gift I wrapped for my brother-in-law (the gift inside has nothing to do with the movie):

"Fra-gee-lay"

Wrapping gifts creatively is way better than wrapping them nicely. Maybe I'll evolve into being a nice wrapper next year (or even better: a nice rapper).

What's left on your Christmas to-do list? Do you have one?

*eaten

Wednesday Thoughts

Men are impossible to Christmas shop for. I can never figure out what to get them for Christmas! Here are some of the things I know men like:

1. women
2. fishing
3. gore
4. youtube videos
5. cars
6. explosions
7. sunflower seeds
8. sports
9. scars
10. chili

Most of those aren't easy to buy for Christmas presents though, let alone wrap. What do you usually buy for your dad/husband/boyfriend/brother/friend?

By comparison, women are easy to shop for. When in doubt, just get a woman: lotions, nice candles, candy, jewelry, a scarf or gift cards. So easy! (Though honestly, I kind of don't need anymore candles. If you already bought me one though, thanks! I love it!)

In other Wednesday Thoughts, some organizations are calling for a "truce" in the war over who's the real Mitten State. They're trying to turn it into a positive thing by using the mitten attention to collect mittens for those in need. Fine. I'll donate some mittens (if I remember), but I will never be ok with Wisconsin claiming to be a mitten. This is the picture on the Pure Michigan website calling for a truce. All I'm saying is would anyone in their right mind buy the mitten on the left? No. It's ridiculous.

If you'd like to donate, here's one of many places for doing so (link). It's a good cause, and personally, I think mittens are a little warmer than gloves so I like this idea. Just don't get the Wisconsin shaped mitten. It would never fit a human hand.

Happy Wednesday.

Mitten Smitten

This was just too amusing not to share.

America's High Five

I'm sorry but I'm still not over Wisconsin trying to be the Mitten State and I need to blog about it one more time. I'm pretty sure I won't be over it until they back down and go with something more fitting of their shape. They claim it's just a gimmick for winter tourism, but I'm sure if they thought about it, they'd discover that they have other options. I can't think of any right now, but I'm sure they've got 'em. Pretty sure, anyway. (If you want to read a funny article on the conflict in the Chicago Tribune by the way, click here. Then come right back.)

Last night while browsing in a little store in Royal Oak, I saw these t-shirts and had to share the picture with you:

Don't mess with the mitten.

On Friday, this was the headline of the Detroit Free Press:

"Hey Wisconsin, keep your mitts off our mitten."

In the spirit of Michigan pride I thought I'd share some Michigan-themed Pinterest finds today. Which is your favorite?

Hand map, from Pinterest (no source found)

Yep. (from here)

hehe! (from here)

Love it. (from themittenstate.com)

Our state motto (from here)
"If you seek a pleasant peninsula,
look about you."

Mitten....(from here)

By the way, I am in no way saying that this silly conflict over who the real Mitten State is is any more important than some of the very serious problems going on in the world. I'm just saying it's probably in the top three.

Mittengate

Everyone from Michigan knows that we are the Mitten State. If you look at a map of the US, it's obvious that Michigan is shaped like a mitten. You know what state isn't shaped like a mitten? Wisconsin (and the other 48 states, for that matter). However, Wisconsin recently decided to steal the mitten shape for themselves and claim that they are the Mitten State! This is an outrage.

Mittengate has been in the back of my mind all day today. Partly because it amuses me and partly because it outrages me. It's pretty much 10/90.

Here's some simple photographic evidence from this article on the Pure Michigan website, and this one on the Detroit Free Press website that proves that Michigan is the Mitten State. If you don't understand why this is a big deal, that just means you're not from Michigan. It's ok. I understand that you wouldn't feel passionately about it. But still, check out the pictures from those websites on hop on board.

One of these states looks like a mitten.

X-ray evidence

.

Wisconsin's mitten

Michigan mittens

The evidence is clear. Michigan is the Mitten State. Go to the poll on the side and vote! And if you're from Wisconsin, don't get too up in arms about this, it's all in good fun. But you and I both know you're not the Mitten State. I mean, let's get real.

PS, have you heard what Wisconsin's state motto is? "Come smell our dairy air." Wordplay.

The Eternal Question

"Can men and women be 'just friends'?" is of course, the question to which I refer.

Yesterday a male friend sent me this link:



If you watch it you'll see that when asked the question about whether or not men and women can just be friends, the women all say yes, while the men say no. I have had conversations and debates about this with friends many times. I still think that men and women can just be friends because I have had it work. But I think the key is talking openly about it.

My most successful friendship with a guy was just last year (he's married now). I think it was successful because we openly discussed our "just friends" status from time to time. Even though he was an attractive guy, I wasn't attracted to him. And even though I'm a stunning woman (I'm kidding, of course), I got the impression that he wasn't attracted to me, though he never explicitly said so (he's not an idiot). And I was totally fine with that because we were just friends. So, it can happen.

On the other hand, lots of my friendships with men haven't been that cut and dry. There always tends to be a problem like:

I like him as more than a friend.
He likes me as more than a friend.
We're both attracted to each other but think we should just be friends.
We get married but only because he needs a green card.

That last one never happened.

The problem with being friends with someone of the opposite sex is the confusion. If you think they like you as more than friends, but you don't like them back, do you mention it? Or do you wait for them to? If you don't mention it, are you leading them on? And most importantly, what are some of the signs that you are "just friends"? I'd say if you talk to them about guys you date, you're sending a clear message. But I don't know. That's not always true. I've had friendships with guys twice where it turned out they had a secret girlfriend they never told me about. Men!

That last paragraph was loaded with emotion which tells me one thing: men and women can be just friends, but it's not always easy and it's rarely uncomplicated. But it can work - I am sure of it.

What do you think?

Wednesday Thoughts

My relationship with apples might be moving too fast. Just a few days ago, I was trying to talk myself into eating one single apple. Yesterday, I ate three. Yes, three. In one day (scattered throughout the day of course). I'd forgotten how much I enjoy honeycrisp apples. But three? And what's worse is they're not in season, so they're not cheap.

I just can't find a happy medium with apples.

In other thoughts, I learned to knit! This is big news for me. My patient friend Sara took the time to teach me in a crowded Cuban restaurant last night.  I was pretty nervous about this lesson because my grandma (not the grandma I often talk about, but my other grandma, who passed away years ago) attempted to teach me once and I couldn't be taught. For some reason, the information just wouldn't click in my brain. My knitting self esteem was sort of shaken by this. But luckily, Sara stuck with it and I kind of learned! I'm pretty happy about this because now I'm one step closer to becoming a hipster.* Next step: mustache.**

Are any of you on Twitter? If you are, I hope you're following Bridger Winegar. There are several people on Twitter who crack me up daily, but none as funny and random as Bridger. I thought I'd share with you today some of my favorite Bridger tweets:

If you want to read more, click on the link on his name, above. Seriously, you will not regret it. Unless you do in which case you will. You'll find all these plus so many more, such as, "just nailed a baby with a water balloon." (I feel like I need to add, "for the low, low price of...!" I'm not trying to sell Bridger to you, I'm just trying to bring you some joy.)

You know what I realized yesterday? Christmas is in three weeks! Where did the time go? Have you done any of your Christmas shopping? I'm about half way through mine. If you're wondering what to get me, I'm running low on honeycrisps.

I feel like this was one of my more random Wednesday Thoughts. Still friends?

Happy Wednesday!

*It's obvious this was a joke, right?
** This wasn't.

I'm going to eat an apple today

I'm trying to talk myself into liking apples. Last week, we had a nutritionist come into work to give us some tips on holiday eating and weight control. As part of her presentation, she briefly mentioned apples as a good option, extolling their many virtues in an effort to get us to eat those instead of fudge. It's not like this was news to me exactly. I mean, I grew up hearing, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," though to be honest, an apple a day seems like overkill. I mean really, every day!?

I am not a picky eater. There are very few foods I won't eat, and I love apples in things - apple pie, apple sauce, apple.... (gosh it's hard to think of things with apples in them). They're fine when combined. But a straight apple? Something about the tartness, or the way you just have to bite into it like a savage beast, ripping it apart and tearing the fruit from the core with a loud crunch, juices dripping down your chin.

Maybe I'm eating them wrong.

But anyway, I don't know if it's for me. That being said, I'm going to try, in the spirit of healthy changes. However, it's going to require some mental planning before I can dive into it. I packed an apple for a snack today, and I've found myself thinking things like:

"You're going to eat an apple today. It's going to be different, but not in a bad way. I know it's tart, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. You'll feel full afterward and that's good. You ate one yesterday and you kind of enjoyed it. Just stop worrying about it, it's going to be fine. You're going to eat an apple today."

I think my apple aversion goes back to when I was six years old and lost a tooth in an apple. You guys, that's how strong apples are. They can rip teeth right out of your mouth! I'm going to add that to the "con" list. So far I have:

Pros:
High in fiber
Filling
Packed with vitamins and other good stuff

Cons:
Rip teeth out
Juices spill down chin
Tart
Must be eaten like a savage (unless sliced, which is too much work and I could cut my finger off)

Hmmm.... Is it worth it? I can't decide which column wins. I better just stick with my mantra, "I'm going to eat an apple today. I'm going to eat an apple today."

Update: I ate an apple today.

Pinterest Finds Friday

Cat wig!! YES!! (from here)

I really want this doormat! (from here)

I couldn't love this more. (from here)

A week late, I realize. but still good. (from here)

Love this! (from here)

I wish I'd seen this before Halloween!! (from here)

Pretty cool, huh? (from here)

What's your favorite?