What is This "Will Power" You Speak Of?

I'm pretty sure I was born without the gene-trait thing that lets humans resist temptation. Specifically, the temptation to eat potato chips and drink Dr. Pepper.

There is chocolate in my house that is almost a solid two years old, and I am never tempted by it. Well, especially now that it's developed those white-ish spots that old chocolate gets, but you know what I mean.

However, I have never met a potato chip that I wouldn't eat. Even if I don't like the flavour, I will still eat it because it's there. And generally, I have to keep eating until I get to the bottom of the bag/bowl/basket. Which is problematic, really, since I've also never met a potato chip that didn't wind up lodged firmly around my ass/thighs.

Sigh.

And Dr. Pepper? Don't even get me started. For some reason, Diet Dr. Pepper doesn't seem to be available in Newfoundland. And straight-calorie DP isn't even widely available in my city. Which means that I have to buy one whenever I see it, for fear that it could be my very last one, ever. (It-could-be-you-don't-know-shut-up-and-let-me-enjoy-it)

I'm off to lunch with my sister and a few girlfriends today. Here's hoping that the restaurant doesn't stock DP.

To My Unborn, Not Conceived, Not-Planned-For, Hypothetical Future Child:

I promise that I will never, EVER, make you wear one of those scrunchy headbands with a bow on it. Especially one made of red and green plaid.

Let's See What You've Got, 2010

I started to write this post, and it was (unintentionally) turning into a serious reflection of self, which wasn't my plan. Rather than posting, I saved a draft and came back later.

After reading the posts of several other wonderful bloggers who seem to have my sentiments exactly on 2009 (boiled down to nice, succinct posts), I abandoned my emo piece post and decided instead to kill two birds with one stone.

Every January, my Beta group gets together for a night of chatting, eating, and catching up after the holidays. We'll each take turns dishing how our festivies/family craziness turned out, and then we give our Top 3 Things for the year just passed. Some are funny, some are exciting, others are heart-wrenching, but all are wonderful to learn about. In prep for our upcoming meeting, I have been thinking about 2009 so I'll hit a few highlights (and lowlights) of what I thought was a lacklustre year:

• Bought a snowboard and got worked learned how to ride (-ish)
• Welcomed Caleb to the McDonald family and Charlie to the Paulse family
• Joined a ladies bowling league
• Had three scary PAP tests and had minor surgery (thankfully, things are okay)
• Took a group of students to a national competition as their advisor
• Won my category at Old Sam Day
• Took in some of the East Coast Music Awards
• Went to a 10-year reunion for staff of 1999 Canada Winter Games
• Joined Combat Fitness, and have gotten up at 5:30am (almost) every weekday since July
• Didn't win the league soccer finals... or even semi-finals
• Officiated a Pan-American Cup triathlon and Canada Games triathlon
• Did NOT see The Tragically Hip in concert, and lost $200 on the tickets
• Vacationed in Montreal during JazzFest - saw Cirque de Soliel's OVO, and Ben Harper
• Ran a 5k
• Finally visited our friends at their wonderful Bed and Breakfast
• Saw the Corner Brook Triathlon Committee Inc. come to a bittersweet end and said goodbye to 28 Brook Street
• Had a totally self-centred weekend of out of town shopping by myself
• Shared my beautiful friend Janice's special wedding day with her
• Booked a ticket to the 2010 Olympics!!!
• Learned to love scallops
• Started a sadly-neglected blog

If this is what okay looks like, I'm looking forward to a great year in 2010.

Every Rule Has an Exception

My mother once said that it's completely unacceptable for a man to give a woman appliances for any occasion other than a housewarming. And I agree with her, 100%.

Unless those men are my father and ST, the appliances are a KitchenAid blender and food processor, and the recipient is me.

My Christmas morning smoothies were delicious.

Truly the Worst

Blogger on earth, that is. I'm a sad specimen. I love you, Internet, I just am not good at keeping up my end of the bargain. Maybe I'll do better when my stupid classes end for Christmas. Oh wait, they DID already (picture my shi*-eating grin right now).

So I have discovered my new favourite part of the Internet - the make-your-own photobooks offered at blurb.com. Seen them yet? Visit, and I promise that you'll be hooked. Possibly so hooked that you'll neglect all the student papers and test that keep piling up on your desk, papers and test that you should be marking, but instead are ignoring in the hope that the marking fairies will show up overnight. Or, that may just be me. But it's worth the gamble. Go on over and have a look.

I am still trying to figure out what I want this blog to be. Witty, mainly. I read the wonderful chronicles of several women, and want to be as snappy and smart as them. Sadly, I don't think blogger is selling that brand. Guess I'm stuck with mediocre posts and maybe a reader someday?

Sigh

There's just something about Sunday afternoons in the fall - I remember delicious smells from the oven, the lull of some televised sporting event floating out of the living room, and being curled up with a book, maybe some homework. Generally, it was cozy, homey, and comfortable. It might be that "home" time that I miss the most about living out of my parents' house.

I know, at 30, I shouldn't miss home. Or should I? We don't have any children yet, and no pets, so it's a pretty quiet place. I grew up in a house where it was hard to find a place that someone hadn't already staked out, but it was nice and comforting to be a part of the contained chaos. ST was an only child of a single mother - he doesn't quite understand how I like the madness.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, as friends and acquaintances are growing their families. It seems like there's been a huge influx of babies and pregnancies in the last year or so, and it makes me sort of sad to look at my own life and see that I don't have that yet. I didn't think I'd wind up in this place - 30, unmarried, no children yet. I had such a good plan - I'd already have 2 or 3 children by this time, would have been married for years. And life happens, and the plans go out the window, and here we are. At work on a Sunday afternoon missing my mommy.

Note that I said "at work", and not "working".

All Swine Flu, All the Time

I know people who are germophobes. I know people who disinfect doorknobs on a regular basis and boil their childrens' toys.

I am not one of these people. I was raised by a stay-at-home mom who kept a clean house, but she didn't stress over us being dirty. Which we were, most often. And so as a result, I keep a clean(ish) house, and I don't stress about hand washing and doorknob disinfection as much as other people do. ST was also raised by a clean, but laid-back mother and claims that if you don't let your kids get dirty you are setting them up as a weakling because they'll never develop immunity to anything.

But the entire community I live in is now in PANIC mode about H1N1. And the university I work in is even worse, since it's basically just a giant germ pool anyway, what with kids living on top of one another in residence and sharing computers in the labs, and books in the library (or at least they would, if they knew where the library was).

There's a mini-bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse right now.

I find myself almost looking over my shoulder for germs. Everywhere people are trying very hard not to shake your hand, there's sanitizer around every corner and people are dutifully coughing into their elbows. It's making me totally paranoid.

So if I look twitchy the next time you see me, just ignore it.

On the Up Side, the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy Were Delicious

I am dubbing today "The Great Meatloaf Experiment". Sadly, the results were not what I was aiming for. I generally consider myself to be a good cook but there may be some doubt after today's production.

I did the weekly grocery shop yesterday but didn't think far enough ahead; when I realized this afternoon at about 3:00 that I had frozen all of this week's meat buys, I was thrown for a loop. After a quick inventory, we decided that ground beef was probably our quickest thaw, and ST asked for a meatloaf. Sure, I thought. I can do that. But what I should have factored in was the fact that:

1. I am Canadian. Meatloaf is not called a "a classic Canadian meal".
2. I have never eaten meatloaf. My own mother did not make it, it wasn't available in our school cafeterias, and I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.
3. I did not know that there is a special meatloaf pan that enables you to actually cook the loaf without deep frying it in the grease that's released from the ground beef, and that allows you to actually remove the damn thing from the pan when the time comes.

It's a good thing I'm not living in the 50's. I'd never catch me a husband.

Who Doesn't Like Cake?

So it turns out that I'm not so good at this blogging business. I was moderately ashamed when I realized today that my last post was Oct. 1 - I am the worst. Luckily, I don't think anyone has actually read this blog yet, so I'm not disappointing legions of fans, anyway.

My niece turned 3 last week and, being the wonderful Auntie that I am, I made her a cake to go with her Pooh theme. Totally excited with the outcome of this one! I know that at 3 she's just excited about the fact that there is cake, and probably doesn't appreciate the effort, but it's still fun to do.

What is NOT so much fun is cooking for 6 boys who are shingling your roof (ST and five of our friends who volunteered to help out - I am paying them in food and beer). What is even less fun is feeding those boys baked beans without really realizing what the consequences would be.

Things I Have Learned So Far Today

1. Some pairs of tights are not.
2. Wearing tights with a slippery lining makes your skirt ride up, destroying any type of look that you may have been going for.
3. Although some tights are far superior to others, they all suck.
4. Pancakes - while delicious - don't really have much lasting power to get you through the morning.
5. Adults are totally getting ripped off by not having recess in their lives anymore.
6. I am really REALLY bad at push ups. Especially at 6am.
7. I am worse at chin ups.
8. Some Many people should have their driver's license revoked.
9. There is no food in my house. Well, there is probably enough food for both of us to eat well for about 3 weeks, but I am not one bit interested in any of the stuff that's there.
10. We ran out of milk this morning but I didn't know it until after I had brewed a pot of coffee. I used a dash of unwhipped cream  instead. It's actually not bad.
11. I think I'm an above-average speller.
12. Other people do indeed notice how heavy-chested I am. Not that I thought I was really hiding it, but it still suprises me when people point it out.
13. It's October. OCTOBER. Already.
14. It's only 11:15 and I feel like today has been a week long.