Orange

Arguably orange is E's favorite color. L told him so when he was a baby and it has stuck.

"I like all the colors." he will say, "except white and most of all orange." He is so diplomatic.

I really have no thoughts about orange, nice in sunsets, I never thought I would like to have walls in the house painted orange, but my office is a very pleasing shade of pumpkin.

Last night for dinner, I managed, without even thinking about it to make only orange foods. H and I had butternut squash risotto. Yumm-o and very very orange.

The kids had mac and cheese, made with cheddar, so it was lite orange. I par boiled carrots, also orange and for desert they finished the pumpkin pie.

Today I checked out what the color orange might mean.

One site says: "Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation."

Not sure what it means in terms of food, but boy am I happy the walls of my office are that pleasing pumpkin.

Better with Almond Milk

I have been eating Chia Goodness on and off for a bit. Honestly the choices are out there, if you get your stomach to think outside the box. Seeing as Whole Foods has this item on sale, says to me that they will not be carrying it much longer, at my local store. Story of my life.

I have to say that you can eat this hot or cold and cold is better, with almond milk and not water. The water seems to make the seeds more slimy than the milk alternatives. It is an odd mixture and raw, but it seems to hit the spot and it has all the good stuff one would want at breakfast. like vitamins, fat and protein. I wonder what juice would do. Some apple juice or something might be yummy too, but it adds a fair amount of sugar.

I like the cranberry ginger a good bit. That said I do not eat it day in and day out and it seems to hold in the pantry very very well.

To learn more visit their website.

The Wrong Mother; Sophie Hannah

I picked this book up on a lark, while shopping with my mother. I do like mysteries and particularly British ones. This one was a delight. Her writing style is straightforward, but still twisted in terms of plot lines.

She has about three narratives going and they all fit together, one I could have lived without, but the rest was in their head, deep and twisted.

I think she handles this delicate topic very very well, the fact that motherhood is hard and life long and a struggle and guilt abounds in heaps and heaps.

All in all this was a delightful read, it took me awhile to actually read it, not because the story was challenging or the writing hard to digest, but purely because I am super busy right now.

I also love all the delicious British slang. So fun. I also learned a new word. Scrote. Not nearly as funny to say as 'wanker' but then it is a bird of a different feather, now isn't it?

Black Friday

Oh no, stop the presses, Black Friday Deals have been leaked. (So says the Yahoo headline and I say, "Like I care.")

I would not go to (Insert favorite retailer) at 4 am or 5 am or anytime on Black Friday. It could all be free (and we know I am totally opposed to paying full price) and I still would not go.

The entire concept of Black Friday is stupid. It is a bad strategy I think to hang your entire years profitability on one day or a single season.

I refuse to drive anywhere on that day. When I worked downtown and had to work the day after Thanksgiving, I walked the long way or took the bus. When I worked in the burbs, I did not have much trouble, but the mall parking lot was always full.

It is well and duly established that I am more "Bah Humbug" than "Merry Merry" and this is part of the reason. Normal, reasonably rational people, lose their minds this time of year and it all starts on Black Friday.

My shopping is more or less done.

I plan to be home with the kiddos on Black Friday and if the weather is nice, we will go to the park. It is my aim, to spend nothing on Black Friday, just be contrary and bucking the trend!

My idea of a perfect holiday season. It starts December 21 and ends December 26. There that would be more than enough "season" for me.

I am already over the Christmas music and it is not even Black Friday yet!

I just don't get it...

SPAM, I get alot of it, to various email addresses, but I just do not get it. Understand it. What is the point? Here is a sampling of subject lines from some recent SPAM.

1. Form rod for better love
2. Take and be inside her tonight
3. Secret of male power
4. Sustain your wooden-thing

Really? This is the best anyone could come up with in terms of a tag line. #3 mildly peeked my curiosity. Mildly. The rest of it just sounds stupid.

If this were not bad enough - these lines from a body of one of the emails - sealed the deal for me.

When you're nervous, mating can be spoiled by the specific male problems. OR
Your shaft will never be 'sad', when you need his fervor!

Your shaft will never be SAD? Fervor? Who uses that word? I can honestly say I have been married for 10 years and that is not a word that I associate with well, sex, exactly, but it is most assuredly something from a bad romance novel.

Are you kidding me. Mind you I did not click on the links, but who writes this stuff, bad romance novel rejects? Shaft? Seriously?

Now I suppose this works, it must, because this ridiculousness keeps arriving in my INBOX.

I have no idea what they are actually selling, one would think herbs for ah, shall we say enhancement.

The MBA candidate in me wants to analyze their marketing plan just a bit. First of all, I am a woman, shocking, but true. Therefore I do not have a shaft or a lack of fervor as it were. While I might, in a fit of well meaning but misguided efforts to help my guy feel better about himself or solve an issue, MIGHT think to give this a try, but that is doubtful. Men take their fervor seriously, and therefore this is a touchy space for a welling meaning but misguided woman to travel.

Moving on.

I have read men's magazines. They do not use words like fervor or shaft. So in the "know your audience" category of marketing, these clowns are falling short.

My third and I think final observation, spelling is in fact important. Grammar maybe less so, but spelling, kinda important. These SPAM emails read like a bad translation most of the time. Clearly English is not the primary language of the SPAMMER.

While I realize this type of marketing is largely free, it has to be less than useful. You have narrowed your market, to that of bored teens, people of questionable intelligence and well maybe the occasional weirdo. (Or MBA students/writers with some time on their hands, with designs at poking fun at you.)

See, I have even given it 15 minutes of thought and I still do not get it.