Finish the Sentence Friday #2

My favourite decade was……

….. the nineties.  I know that a lot of people are going to choose the eighties so I’m bucking that trend.  The eighties were a huge decade in just about every way but, in my own life, the nineties were better.

I turned twenty in 1990.  Throughout my childhood and teens, I was the one who was shy, a little pudgy, suffered low self-esteem and was often the target of teasing and bullying.  It was only at the end of my teens that I found myself in a really good group of friends and my confidence grew.  In 1990, I started seeing the man who would become my husband (and later my ex-husband), moved out of my parent’s house and my life really got started.

Those ten years were undoubtedly the best time of our relationship.  It was a time of friends, family and of personal growth.  I was among people who accepted me and loved me.  I found my voice.  After growing up in a house where my opinions were mostly brushed aside and my feelings belittled, I felt empowered for the first time in my life.

It was also during this decade that I became a mother two times.  Actually, The Girl was born in 2000 so technically she doesn’t count in that decade but this is my story so I get to make up the rules on what decade to count her in.  At this point, we were married, had a house, a dog and two cats.  Kids seemed the next logical step in my evolution.  They were and still are the best thing I’ve ever done.

My "baby" before my babies

This is also the decade when my grandmother, father and mother-in-law passed away.  I had complicated relationships with all three of these people but they all had their own part in shaping me and teaching me important lessons. 

It was in the nineties that I started the job that I am still at twenty years later.  This job has had its ups and downs and will never be a dream job but it has been a steady source of income to support me and my kids and I will forever be grateful to my boss for taking a chance on an inexperienced twenty-four year old.  I think that I have managed to prove myself capable.

Overall, that was a good ten years and there isn’t a lot that I would change if I could go back.  That’s not to say that I made no mistakes but the things that I went through in the nineties, good and bad, had a huge part in shaping the person that I am today and I kind of like that person

Kat

10 Favourites

I'm back to Mama Kat's Writing Workshop and one of her prompts asks what our ten favourite snacks were when we were growing up.

It seems to me that we didn't have all of the packaged snack food back in the seventies that we have today.  Either that or my parents just didn't have enough grocery budget to afford them.  Bit of both maybe?  Anyway, a lot of my childhood favourites are still favourites today and make me smile.

1.  I think Smarties are one of my all-time favourites.  When I was a kid, I would pour them out and separate the colours, saving the red for last.  Sometimes, I would pretend that I was a doctor and pretended that they were medicine.  Even today, I'll still eat them one colour at a time.  What can I say; they bring out the kid in me.

2.  I loved celery with Cheese Whiz.  I would fill the centre trough with all of that wonderful processed cheese and that would offer a great contrast to the crisp, clean celery.  Even with processing, this is still cheese so I get to call this a healthy snack  ;)

3.    Another favourite in our house was peanut butter and crackers.  If they were Premium Plus crackers, all the better!  This is actually a snack that I haven't had in years and only thought of as I pondered this post.  I can't say why I stopped eating it; I guess that I just went on to bigger and better things.

4.  Jello!!  Is it really necessary to explain this one?  I think not.  I still love it to this day

5.  Of course chips are on most people's snack lists and I'm no different.  My favourite in this category though is cheesies (or cheese puffs, if you prefer).  I have always loved these things.  They leave your hands and lips covered in all of that yummy, artificial, orange goodness and you can never have just one.

6.   In the summertime, I have always grabbed the cherry tomatoes.  They are sweet and bite-sized and can be easily packed in a lunch bag.  Somehow I have managed to give birth to two kids who won't eat tomatoes and I just don't get it.  I guess that snack's off the table for this new generation….. sigh

7.  I have had a on/off affair with yogurt.  I am a little bit fussy about which ones I'll eat but it's a healthy snack that I enjoy most of the time.  There have been times that I have gone off it for a while - especially when I was pregnant with The Girl (just the smell of it made me want to barf!) - but I always come back to it. 

8.  This, of course, is the time of year for all of those Easter goodies.  One that I have enjoyed since I was a kid are those small, solid chocolate eggs.  I can't have just one!  I will sit there and eat them until I'm queasy if they aren't taken away from me.  I have a very big weakness for them.....help…..

9.  Ice cream is a timeless thing that I think is a staple on most snack lists.  It is truly a comfort food.  My favourites will always be the basics; chocolate, vanilla, neapolitan.  There are plenty of others that are decadent treats but I always seem to return to those ones.

10.  When I was a kid, my mother would sometimes buy Jiffy Pop popcorn and I loved to watch the dome expand as the popcorn poppped.  That was almost as much fun as actually eating it.  My wierd cat loved popcorn too and would settle in next to me when I ate it.  If I was too slow in giving him pieces, he would put his head right into the bowl and steal them.

So, my favourites are a pretty good mix of healthy and naughty just like life ought to be.  What are your favourites?



Kat

Finish the Sentence Friday

This is my first time participating in Finish the Sentence Friday.  I'm always looking for inspiration and look forward to future Fridays.

What I really want to scream out loud is…….

Grow up!! 

No, not to my kids; they’re doing that far too quickly already.

I want to scream it at my ex and his girlfriend who can’t seem to figure out how to resolve the issues that they are having with The Boy.  They are the adults here and need to take the first steps.  He’s willing to try; now they just have to step up……... (yeah, I’m a little stressed about this; can you tell?)  This is getting dangerously close to bad-mouthing (or perhaps even a toe over the line) so I’ll step away from this one now……. quietly backing away……

I want to scream it at the celebrities and quasi-celebrities who behave like juvenile delinquents with booze, drugs, lewd acts and just plain disrespectful behavior.  Unfortunately, as long as we, as a society, keep on giving them attention and making excuses for them, their behavior will not change.  I mean, really, Rob Ford, Toronto’s drunken, crack-smoking mayor, was flown to Hollywood for the Oscars and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel!  Nobody in the States would even know who he is if it weren’t for his horrible, immature behavior.   

I want to scream it at the trolls out there who think that it’s okay to hide behind the anonymity of the internet and hurl abuse at others.  I’ve seen a couple of instances of it recently and it really boils my blood.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that the internet is a great place to express ourselves and take part in lively discussion but when you use that as an opportunity to judge and insult others and just generally be rude, it’s inexcusable.   If you don’t agree with what someone has said on their blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc., a mature grown-up has two choices:  politely express your own opinion while respecting others’ right to express theirs or just walk away.  There is a place for everybody on the internet.  If you don’t like what you’re reading, one simple mouse click takes it out of your sight.  I promise they won’t chase you!

I want to scream it at the dumbasses on the road, who should never have been issued licenses, who believe that they are King of the Road.  Pedestrians have the right of way and are no competition for a couple of thousand pounds of steel.  Please be mature and don’t make us play chicken with you.  It’s a game we can’t possibly win.

Let’s all be mature grown-ups, play nicely with each other and be good role models.  It’s really not all that hard.

Kat

Wordless Wednesday

(snapshot from my cable/internet/phone bill)

3658

The number of texts The Boy sent in January

It's a record

Thank goodness we have unlimited texting on our plan!

Kat