Basketball season is back!
And baseball season is almost over (stupid rain)!
Makes me happy! 
Archive for October, 2008
Real Girls Eat Meat
October 28, 2008I never thought I would say this, but Jessica Simpson might be on to something after all (and it’s not the injured Tony Romo in this case).
The country “singer” raised a little hell earlier this year when she donned a red t-shirt that read, “Real Girls Eat Meat”, which many interpreted as a not-so-subtle slight to the long-time vegetarian Carrie Underwood, her competitor in both music and men.
Anyways, the point of this fascinating Hollywood tale is… okay, there’s no point.
Yesterday, I read an article in the Vancouver Sun entitled, “Eat more fat, it’s good for you.” I like what I’m hearing – almost a Makes-Me-Happy Moment! I reach for my Costco-sized bag of mixed nuts…
Barry and Monica Groves, aged 72 and 70 respectively, have long been living on a diet of whole eggs, lard-fried liver, cocoa and double cream, fatty pork chops, vegetables (only if they’re soaked in butter), fruit and cheese with cream… you get the idea.
No, Barry doesn’t appear to have escaped from Riverview; in fact, he holds a doctorate in nutritional science (though the article doesn’t state his alma mater). Barry claims to weigh only 155 pounds, which he attributes to his high fat diet (though he is quite old, and for all we know, he could be 4 feet tall – in which case, he should probably take it easy on the lard). His cholesterol is higher than the mainstream medical community would advise, but he seems to think that everyone but him is wrong. And his blood pressure is supposedly impressive, even according to the British Heart Foundation’s standards.
Barry recently wrote a book called “Trick and Treat: How Healthy Eating Is Making Us Ill”. Apparently, we’re not getting enough fat, which the body can read and interpret, unlike low fat foods. Even saturated fats are fair game; society’s fear, based on “two old reports”, are unfounded.
Barry goes on to say that wheat is tainted with rat feces (oh no!) and that soy beans are highly dangerous (double oh no!). Fruit is filled with fructose, which will make you fat. Complex carbohydrates? Bad! (What am I going to eat?!)
Instead, he advocates a diet of animal protein, “anything that used to move around, that wasn’t stuck in the ground.” (Music to TDH’s ears!)
I don’t think I like Barry all that much right now. Don’t get me wrong; I will happily devour a lean, mean steak (medium rare, please!). But so what if my power muffin didn’t suffer a painful death?! I’ll go drown my sorrows with a ladle and a tub of peanut butter – if only it had more saturated fat.
Makes-Me-Happy Moment #4
October 28, 2008For the past four consecutive business days, I’ve received a magazine in the mail. Makes me happy!
Never mind that I don’t have a spare moment to open them…
Makes-Me-Happy Moment #3
October 28, 2008Mama Bear and I went to stock up on underwear for her trip.
At the store, we met an adorable elderly lady who was struggling to navigate the expansive racks for the right ones – a 3-pack of her “regular panties” in Medium.
Yes, the woman knows what she’s looking for. Because a girl’s gotta stick to what works for her, and in this case, Hanes hi-rise briefs were it. In fact, she brought a worn pair, carefully enclosed in a Ziploc freezer bag (and seemingly vacuum-sealed), as reference.
Makes me happy!
I can only pray to be so cute when I’m old.
Raisins are cute, right?
Makes-Me-Happy Moment #2 / In Defense of Christmas
October 28, 2008I’m walking by Best Buy on October 25 – two months till Christmas, Halloween still to come – when I see a dancing Santa Claus in the window. (Cyborg asked me if it was a real Santa Claus. Think about it.) Makes me happy!
And suddenly, everything reminds me of the holidays: the crisp air, magazine ads for seasonal gifts, sales on last year’s stock of ski equipment, my Michael Buble CD…
It’s easy to accuse business of commercializing Christmas, a state-recognized holiday with religious origins, but I have no problem saying it’s my favourite season. I hear people say that it sickens them how materialistic and secular the holiday has become, how awful it is to push Christmas items in stores before the leaves have even fallen. Personally, I don’t care if stores have Christmas displays up before Halloween. In fact, I would love it if society could capture the sentiment of the holidays and spread it out over the entire year. What a better place this world would be.
Christmas is perhaps the only occasion when everyone makes an effort to spend time with family – even if just over Skype – no matter how far away they live. Presents don’t have to be evidence of the world gone to shit, its nasty greed and materialism taking the place of humility and fiscal prudence (though I am curious about the effects of the tanking economy on consumers during the holiday season – homemade fruitcake anyone?). It really is the thought that counts.
At Christmas, we finally take a moment to think of others. We volunteer to wrap gifts at the mall for charity, we make it a point to donate to the food bank (which, by the way, needs food all year round), we participate in making hampers for the less fortunate in our very own neighbourhoods. We spread cheer by going door-to-door to sing Christmas carols, we give warm soup to the homeless, we gladly put our chump change into the Salvation Army kettles… We love each other, and we show it.
I recently learned that my new Muslim friend celebrates Christmas, partaking in more traditions than even my family would, including the selection and felling of a real, live Christmas tree, under which presents will sit tauntingly.
Give Christmas a break. It doesn’t have to be an ugly thing.
Now, if only they sold the Christmas countdown calendars this early… I’d be all over that.
