Dining Out - Exposed!

I was disturbed the other night. I went to Applebee's and there, splattered across the new menus - calorie counts. My dining out experience has been ruined.

Now, don't get me wrong. This may be a good thing because maybe, just maybe, I'll look at the calories and see that I should be eating healthier, rather than heartier meals. But it also tends to just make me feel bad.

I'm not gonna lie. I've had the Applebee's Sampler as a meal and it's been delicious, but do you know that that costs me more than a days worth of calories?! I never ordered it with the intention of being healthy at that particular meal, but I was happy then.

I've never been one to count calories - I just try to take things in moderation. I'm not really sure where this calorie counting will get me (I think I need to partner it with going to the gym again), but maybe I can learn to live with this. And then my dining out experience won't be so bad and I'll learn to eat healthier when not eating a home cooked meal? Or maybe the opposite will occur - I won't care and I'll just go about my daily eating habits - taking in what I want in moderation. Or a combo of both? Only time will tell…

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

In a world of plenty, why do we never have enough? I find myself always wanting more. Three specific thoughts I had today:

-On a television of more than 1,000 channels there is never anything to watch.
-In a closet that is bursting with fun, stylish clothes that I purchased myself, I have nothing to wear.
-A computer that is just two and a half years old is not fast enough to keep up with me.

But, I think to myself, I AM satisfied with myself. I have all these good things in my life right now. What has made me feel this way?

The phrase "I'm so ADD" seems so popular these days, in a world of so many distractions. It's so easy to lose focus and start another project or get bored with what we have. We must be excellent multi-taskers so that we can keep up with society and even ourselves. It's funny when we think back to the age before cell phones and computers. Remember the beeper? Ang and I had secret number codes that we'd text each other throughout our mini-dramas. But what about the pre-Benjamin Franklin days of no electricity? I wouldn't be typing away on my "slow" laptop right now, I'd be writing by the light of a candle with my feather and quill. I cannot even imagine this.

I do wonder what the future brings - new technologies and probably new social networking tools. I'm sure we'll find new ways to waste time in the future, but will we ever be satisfied?

A Toast to the Kids

Remember when a Shirley temple was one of the most sophisticated drinks you could have when you were a kid? At a family function this weekend, these two young girls put in their order to the bartender for a pitcher of Shirley temples, aka ginger ale and grenadine. It made me laugh because I thought about how silly it was, as I now sipped on my own gin and tonic. But we always used to feel so grown up with those drinks, as if we were one of the mature adults ready to take on the world.

What is it with mimicking and longing for something you don't have? It's interesting because when you're little, you just want to be older. But when you're older you long for the days of when you were younger. I suppose no one can ever be completely satisfied at where they belong in life. Maybe if little children could have all the privileges as adults and adults could get away with things and have the carefree days back from when they were little, we'd all be pleased. But how long do you really think the satisfaction would last? Would we ever want to go back to where we belong?

Ordering vs. the Brown Bag

It never fails. I cannot bring myself to make lunch. The truth is that I usually don't have time in the morning. So the logical response is that I'd make it the night before, but I don't want to do that either. And even on days when I have a little extra time in the morning, I'll either eat breakfast or just go straight to work, thinking I'll just order today.

Clearly this is a problematic disease. And I know I’m not the only one with this problem. Dawn said that she was going to start bringing lunch as her New Year's Resolution but has also had the same problem of buying lunch a lot like me. I also hear the endless calls from the front desk each day from a variety of different deliveries.

Think about it. What's usually for lunch if you brown bag it? A sandwich? A salad? Some leftovers? I'm honestly not that thrilled with these things. I like a good sandwich but the sandwiches I'll make are only good every so often and who wants to eat the same thing every single day?! Even sometimes when I bring my lunch to work I can be persuaded by the Crew to order something that is far more appealing than last night's dinner, AGAIN!

Lunch is an extremely booming business if you think about it. People need to eat it every day. Sometimes lunch is the first meal of the day for people who either get up late or skip breakfast because they think they'll lose weight that way (I've learned that this is not true). I know that I'd save a ton of money if I didn't buy lunch all the time but I just can't help it.

I've gotta eat every day - I really just love food. But how can I make a better and more appealing lunch so that I can leave more money in the bank?! The world may never know…

Photo: HeavensLittleStuff.com

I Love Friends

My seven-year-old cousin walked into my room yesterday as I was cleaning. She asked me what I was watching on TV. It was actually the fifth season of Friends on DVD. It's one of my absolute fave shows, as we already know. But I must say, I felt so old when she asked me this question! It was as if I had asked my parents what that show with the man who puts down his wife constantly (All in the Family) was.

Last week, we read the reports of the rumored Friends movie and I must say I wish this wasn't true. While we know SATC was wildly popular and made lots and lots of money, making these wealthy stylistas even richer, it may not always do well at the box office. And, like Ang said after she saw SATC, it wasn't really necessary.

I loved Friends all the way until the last show, even though some people got fed up with it after 10 seasons. But I also loved SATC and I wasn't as thrilled with the movie, even though I did love many aspects of it. I just can't see Friends as a full-length feature film. Though the actors will always be those characters in my heart, I can still see Courtney Cox as Lucy Spiller. Matthew Perry as Alex Whitman and Jennifer Aniston as Sarah Huttinger were a bit more in their traditional Friends roles.

Of course I'll go see the movie if it comes to pass. How could I not see my faves in action once again?! And it has been often that I've been referred to as Jennifer Aniston. But hopefully (if this is really true) the movie will help little ones who have never experienced this show to see the wonder that is Friends.

Photo: WarnerBros.com