Food: So I Have Some Quirks

As the title suggests, I have some food quirks. I know for a fact that I'm not alone though. I mean, look at how many vegans, vegetarians, gluten and dairy-free people there are these days. My quirks are really quite simple in comparison. I eat what I like and I don't eat what I don't like. Let me explain.

I suppose the thing that confuses everyone the most is that I don't like melted cheese. That's right. I don't like melted cheese. I only like mild or medium orange cheddar fresh out of the fridge: the colder and harder, the better. This creates a lot of problems for people because they just don't understand how I could possibly not like melted cheese. This little quirk of mine means that I don't eat pizza or lasagna or grilled cheese or anything else that has melted cheese; which in turn, means that I don't have to cut those things out of my diet for health reasons. It makes eating really simple and not to mention cheap. Cheese can be very expensive. Oh, I also don't like cheese-flavoured things (cheesies, doritos, etc). Definitely no cream cheese either and I will never understand why people make icing using cream cheese.

Still with me here? Here's something else that will most likely confuse you. When I have a burger the only things I like on it are pickles. I'll take onions if they're around, but no condiments at all. I like a dry bun. I've lost count of how many times I used to have send my order back to the kitchen because the cook made a mistake with my burger. It has gotten better over the years though. I think with all of these new "healthy" food trends, my plain burger is not quite so strange anymore.

I also don't like creamy sauces or soups. They just taste wrong to me. I like clear brothy soups like chicken noodle or beef barley; those are some good soups.

I'm grateful that I'm not celiac and I can eat all the gluten I want. I had a gluten-free, dairy-free brownie the other night when some friends came over and all I will say is that I only had 1. I love brownies and I only had 1. Enough said.

I am fortunate in that I don't have to watch what I eat or count calories (thanks for the great genes, Mum and Dad), so I pretty much eat what I want. The bottom line is that I think we all have food quirks to some extent and that's okay. The world would be pretty boring if everyone liked everything. Besides, I like being one of the rare people that loves Brussel Sprouts, but don't you dare ruin them with a creamy cheese sauce :)

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

So here I am, I've been 40 for a few months now and it still hasn't really sunk in. I mean, I don't feel like I'm 40, but I guess how you feel is subjective and it really depends on the day. Of course there are days when I am all achy and such, and those are the days that I definitely feel 40 (if not older).  I also don't think I look 40, but maybe that ties into the fact that I don't feel 40. For the most part I feel the same as I did when I was in my mid-20s. If anything, I'm probably in better shape now than I've ever been before.

All the way leading up to my 40th birthday I was really dreading it. Everyone kept telling me that it's "no big deal", "life begins at 40", etc, etc. I realize that 40 is just a number and it shouldn't really matter, but to me it did.

See, when a woman turns 40 there is a certain fact that cannot be ignored: the window is closing quickly, and I don't mean the window that has blinds hanging in front of it and opens up to let the spring air in. I mean the window of opportunity for creating a life...yes, I mean making a baby.

I never used to believe in the whole biological clock ticking thing, and I was quite content with my D.I.N.K (double income no kids) status for a long time. When I realized that I was actually turning 40 sooner than later, it really hit me and almost knocked me over. I wasn't sure how to handle these new feelings and emotions and I'm still not sure. It's Murphy's Law that it takes me this long to feel emotionally and mentally ready to step across that line into possible parenthood. Could the timing be any less practical? I mean, my husband is just half-way through his schooling and I'm the sole income earner. This is so not the time to be having baby thoughts, but I can't help it. I have had a bunch of friends that have recently had babies and that doesn't make it any easier. One of these friends is older than me, so it goes to show that it's not unreasonable to think that it could happen to me. Let me clarify that precautions are being taken to prevent any surprises. I haven't made any decisions yet...just having this inner turmoil going on.

I will say it sure helps to have a distraction like this to pass the time while I'm running. I'm on week 11 now, by the way and am noticing the physical benefits taking shape (my legs are getting more toned).

Decisions, decisions. Believe me, if and when something happens I'll be blogging about it. Until then, I'll keep plodding and blogging along.

Springing Forward

So we sprang forward last night and changed the clocks ahead one hour. I'm sure I'm not the only person that misses having that hour of sleep. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that it will now be lighter out in the evenings, but it also means that it will be dark in the mornings for awhile longer. Oh well, it is what it is and there's no point moping about it.

On to other news. I did my first run for week 10 of my training the other day (5 minute warm-up walk, 3x 15 minute runs with a 1minute walk in between and a 5 minute cool-down walk) and it was alright, but I'm still not feeling the fun factor yet. I'm sure it will happen at some point. All those runners out there can't be wrong...can they? I'm optimistic that I will get to experience that "runner's high", it just might take a little longer, so until then I will keep plodding along knowing that I always have my cool-down walk at the end to look forward to.

I went to my friend's open house of her new wedding supply shop the other night, so that was fun. I think she'll do really well with it because it's such a great concept. They supply things for weddings, but a lot of the products can be used for other events as well (birthdays, etc), so they'll have a pretty good market to sell to. I've already seen a bunch of stuff that I would love to get some time. The shop is called "Avenue Weddings" for anyone that's curious.

I went and tried to give blood last week, but was unsuccessful. The vein in my right arm had too much pressure and sprayed blood everywhere as soon as the needle went in and the vein in my left arm rolled out of the way as soon as that needle went in. I still got my cookies and juice though and I will go again. I wish more people would give blood. Like the ad says "It's in you to give". I understand that some people are anemic and cannot give blood, but I think a lot of people just don't want to. I have a really hard time with that. This is something we can do that doesn't cost us anything and can save lives. Why would anyone not want to save a life? One of the girls I work with actually had to get transfusions last year, so that really drove it home to me how important it is to give blood. Okay, that's my rant on giving blood.

Now it's time to get back to the reality of life and get some chores done.

First Attempt

So I turned 40 this year and for some reason I've decided to try blogging. I think the main reason for this is that I find myself having things that I want to say to the world (or simply anyone who will listen), but I don't want to fill up people's news feeds on Facebook with my trivial thoughts.

Like today for example; I was biking home from work and a couple of guys riding side by side on road bikes went blasting past me on the Goose (local bike path). Why do "roadies", as my husband likes to call them, insist on riding side by side all the time? They give the rest of us cyclists a bad name.

Turning 40 has caused me to take stock of my life and I'm happy to say that I'm very pleased with the life I have. I have an amazing husband who is currently in his 2nd year of nursing school and I couldn't be more proud of him.

I've started training for a 10K run that is happening in June, and I've never run before in my life, so yes, it is a pretty big deal for me. I'll be starting week 10 of my training tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Since this is just my first post, I'll end it here. I should really try to save some thoughts for future posts.