recalled peanut butter
I totally bought – and ate – peanut butter affected by a recall.
I rarely buy the reduced fat; I usually buy something fattier and more natural. This time, I thought it would be something good and healthy to do for myself.
I was wrong.
Image from Pantene's Website
I keep waiting to feel sad, but it’s just not happening. My friends who’ve already done this warned me that I’d be sad. I’ll cry, they cautioned, it will take awhile to get used to the change. The latter part is true for sure, but not in a negative way. I’m chronically squeezing out too much shampoo and then too much conditioner. As someone raised as a Lutheran Scot in the Midwest, I definitely feel guilty about that waste, but not sad.
A week and a one-half ago, I cut off twelve inches of hair which I donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Program. This program’s mission is to provide wigs to women who lose their hair due to cancer treatments. (I considered donating to Locks of Love, which makes wigs for children. However, most LoL recipients suffer from alopecia and cancer is a more personal cause for me and my family. I looked into both organizations and both are solid causes.) The last time my hair was this short, I still had baby teeth and Mr. Reagan was clamoring for Mr. Gorbachev to “tear down that wall.” It’s clearly been awhile. I did maintain enough length that my hair is roughly at my shoulders and I can pull it back into a perky (short) little ponytail. Still, it feels kind of crazy. I reach back to touch it all the time, to make sure it’s there, but it’s also not all there.
Continue reading ‘I Chopped Off a Foot…Twelve Inches of Hair’
On Friday night, I spent a spontaneous and spirited moment as a public-service announcement. I left a bar (with my friend – “Safety is no accident!”) and there were two guys smoking outside of it, with their non-smoking friend. Being me, I probably said hello and must have made some comment about smoking or something or maybe Friend did, because one guy spiked his cigarette into the remnants snow.* The other guy said, “Well, I haven’t had a cigarette in five weeks.” To which Friend said, “Well why start now?” But! I promptly quipped, “George Bush wants you to smoke.” Well! He threw it right down and smiled. So, I cheered him “YEAH!” and we immediately knew we had to chestbump for that. Then I chestbumped his buddy who previously threw down his smoke. And then I chestbumped the guy who doesn’t smoke, because hey, non-smoker! The last guy told me he was going to go all in for our bump. I embraced it, committing my total mass as well, and did not vomit all over him. And then we had a happy walk home.
The End.
*Littering is a secondary issue
One of the great things about my job is that it allows me a fair amount of “my choice” reading time – on the clock. Because I’m a huge dork, I’m currently reading (yet another) book about Tudor England: The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. Yesterday, I got sidetracked and did not put my book away before getting the peanut up from her nap. (Aside: Really glad I’m a huge dork.)
Ever aware, Peanut spotted it and asked me what was on her coffee table. I make it a point to be as honest as possible with the kids, but also know my audience, so simplified my answer. “That is the book I am reading. It is about those two girls, who are princesses, and their brother, who is a prince. The other girl is their cousin.”
one prince, two princesses, and their cousin
Peanut nodded and moved on to her own books…which just so happen to also about princes and princesses. D’oh. Whatever. My prince, princesses, and their cousin are cooler.
Aside #2: I am aware that Jane Grey was the grandniece, not child, of Henry VIII and her inclusion on the cover bothers me.
I admit it: I was wrong. I thought that the Budweiser commercial continuance would get all sassy and feature a woman. (Come on, Bud is owned by InBev, so it’s European – shouldn’t we get a racy commercial?!?)
Nope, it features Cowboy Scraggles, who turns into Cowboy Singalong with a Bud…with a 1971 song, you know, Nixon-era. Perhaps this was a tribute to bad karaoke? Budweiser, please focus on the Clydesdales or revert to the frogs. If you need to shake things up, this is not the way to go. Nobody in my viewing group was impressed. Had you gone with a sassy broad? Well, you might have captivated half the room…
If you want to see the commercial, you can find it here
With the aid of the internet, I taught myself how to make homemade bread tonight. The only trick involved convincing my dough to rise, as it turns out that “green”* decisions about heat are not conducive to dough rising. Apparently yeast isn’t a big fan of 63. We compromised: I stuck a towel in the dryer and wrapped my bowl up in it, and then placed the bundled bowl near a space heater. It rose beautifully and baked up deliciously.
*cheap
The broadcasts of today’s NFL Divisional Championship games featured a pretty even ratio of game to commercial. While ad time during the Superbowl is widely hailed as THE commercial showcase in the US (although it’s admittedly a shell of its former self…) I do not doubt that ad space during today’s games also went for a premium.
That being said, what I DON’T get is the Budweiser ads and their ‘to be continued February 6…” nonsense. It’s an advertisement. For Budweiser. Beer. At present, the ad plays a pair of womanly cowgirl legs walking into an old-timey, Western bar. I’m pretty sure I know how this is going to end. (SPOILER ALERT: With a broad getting a beer.)
Budweiser, please focus on the Clydesdales and bring back the frogs. You are not a very good beer and this “to be continued” stuff is not very good advertising.
This post is inspired by 90% of status updates on facebook. I share with you select wisdom of my mother:
1.) It is cold outside, you are correct.
2.) It is January and you live in the tundra. What did you expect?
3.) Everyone else in the tundra is cold too. These negative temperatures do not just affect you.
4.) Whining about the weather will neither make you any warmer nor endear you to others. (I have been alerted that some folks feel solidarity with others and bond over the cold temps. Fine, you might feel solidarity, but I bet you don’t feel warm.)
5.) Buck up. Find something to do.
3.14 Confession
Tags: confession, dork, math
3.14 Pi, not misquoting John.
Due to this song by Hard ‘N Phirm…
I totally know pi out to forty-six digits beyond the decimal point. If you know me, you should ask me some time. I’ll unintentionally recite it with robotic intonation.