Five Favorites: Food

While we're all recovering from being overloaded on turkey and stuffing, let's talk about food some more, shall we? When I have a say in what I eat, I don't always make the healthiest choices, but they sure are yummy ones!

1. Brownies

This is the absolute best dessert ever in my opinion. Chocolate gooey-ness, pure indulgence. They are so many calories, but I can't resist them. Any time there is a potluck at work or anywhere, I offer to bring in brownies, hoping I will be able to take a lot home. Brownies are also really easy to make from a box. Betty Crocker is my best friend.

2. Cheetos Snack Crackers

These, oh my goodness. These are a bite of heaven. If you like Cheetos, you will love these. I discovered these when I was in college, and my local grocery store carried them. At some point, they stopped, and I was totally devastated, but I got over it (mostly) eventually. Recently, my fiance and I tried a grocery store that we always pass by near our house. They have lots of international foods and unique things. Lo and behold, they had my crackers! Now I am hooked again.

3. Green Beans

This is the one healthy thing on this list. If I had to pick a favorite vegetable, green beans would be it. Real green beans though, not fake ones. I consider fake green beans to be the kind from cans, or frozen. Real green beans are fresh. Fresh and delicious. I love the just-picked nature flavor, with just a little bit of butter. Nothing compares to the rich flavor of green beans. Corn, lima beans, carrots -- nope. It has to be green beans.

4. Smoothies

Smoothies are fantastic for being on the go, sitting at home relaxing, or anytime really. I love that they can be a junk food if you are in a junk food mood, or they can be really healthy with fruits, veggies, and certain additives. Either way, they are always delicious. When you don't feel like a meal, but you know you need something in your stomach, smoothies are a great solution.

5. Pizza

The food of all foods. It is the ultimate in deliciousness. Cheese, bread, tomato sauce, pepperoni, just give it all to me. I love pizza. I could eat pizza 5 days a week and not get sick of it. In fact, I nearly did that when I lived around the corner from a place with $1 slices. It was the perfect lunch before my afternoon job. How can you resist $1 slices? My favorite places now are Mellow Mushroom and Hungry Howie's. Hungry Howie's really has some great pizza, with free flavored crust, for very reasonable prices.

What are some of your favorite foods?

Writing and Words

Work sometimes takes us away from the fun things we want to do in life, but that doesn't mean we should just give up! I have been incredibly busy lately and haven't had time to write, but now I have just a bit of time before the Thanksgiving frenzy begins, so hooray for writing!

Some people like to be super formal in their posts, and others write like it is a conversation. Some people even make up words or have posts full of slang phrases. I think it is good to have a combination of those styles in blog posts to keep it interesting, but it is still important to maintain your own voice.

Similarly, with the English language, I think some variation in style is ok, but it's important to maintain the roots of what makes words words. The Oxford Dictionary recently released its word of the year, and can you guess what it is?

Selfie.

Selfie, really? Many people probably feel that this is a disgrace to the English language. Others think it is the coolest thing in the world. I was a little surprised when I first found out about the word of the year, but I am not too disappointed.

The way of nature is change. The reason we use the words we use today is because of change. We would be speaking some ancient dialect if it weren't for the evolution of words over time to better fit our current culture and experiences. These days everything is moving faster and everyone has less time, so abbreviated words like this are becoming more common.

Although I am a fan of the more traditional English language that I grew up learning and studying, and although I am a former journalist who is sort of obsessed with proper grammar and writing style, I am ok with selfie being the word of the year. I am ok with change, and I welcome it because I know it is just part of the way the world works. 

Can you imagine how the English language might change in the years to come? How do you feel about selfie being the word of the year?

Getting Up When You're Down

Sometimes everything just falls onto your plate at once, and it's overflowing, and it's heavy, and you're tired, and you just want it all to go away. You don't want any of it. In those situations it can be hard to be positive. It can be a struggle to work or get through your day. We've all had days like this, and we all get through them somehow, but how? Luckily I have found something that I try to focus on when I have days like this.

Whatever you put your energy into is what will surround you. They always say the grass is greener on the other side, but the truth is, the grass is greener where you water it. You have the power to make the grass green and brighten your day. It is easy to feel defeated, but when you remind yourself that you do have this control, it can make things a little easier.

When you focus on all the tasks you have to do at work, and that new project you have absolutely no time for, and the appointment you have after work that is going to cause you to have to work late another day, it is really hard to get that green grass to grow. You're focusing in on all the dirt and awful stuff.

Now imagine focusing on the good instead -- you have a job, you are able to afford to go to the doctor when you need to, you are trusted to take on extra tasks at work, you have a partner who loves you, you have a roof over your head and a comfy bed, etc. These things might seem like little things when you have the negativity overpowering you, but the more you "water" the good things, the more green grass you will have, and the easier it will be to stay positive.

This is a technique that I use when I have bad days, and I really try to stay positive by using this thought process. It isn't always easy or instantaneous, but it does help. What helps you get more positive when you are having a bad day?