The McRib Sandwich - You Know You Want It

Every year McDonald's brings back for a limited time the McRib Sandwich. A flurry of hype and excitement descends on the masses as this great sandwich returns to the menu. I can't tell you how many Facebook posts I saw announcing its triumphant return. Now mind you, this is a sandwich made of disgustingly sweet bar-b-q sauce, rubber pickles chips and reconstituted onions all on top of a meat-like substance that is suppose to replicate the shape of a pork rib, although it is boneless. (I'm guessing it is pork, but could be beef - you decide.)

I give kudos to the marketing department for creating such a mass hysteria around this sandwich when it returns. For a sandwich that just oozes processed ingredients out of its pores, people love their McRib. In a moment of weakness, I too fell for the hypnotic McRib bonanza and broke down and bought one. I will say in my defense, I was stress eating and processed foods tend to have a melatonin effect on my brain to help comfort me - that is until I crash from an overload of processed carbs. Afterward I asked myself the question "what the hell did I just eat and why did I do that?!"

While some people are proud to shout it from the rooftop "I 'heart' the McRib!" this one remains one of my dirty little secrets.

Having Children: A Choice, Not an Assumption

The other day I watched a clip from the Joy Behar Show on whether or not there was a stigma attached to women who were childless by choice. One of her guest, a biological anthropologist, said from an evolutionary perspective it was odd for women to choose not to have children because they are choosing not to pass on their DNA. It's as if they are going against their biological instincts to reproduce. But it can also be said that times have changed drastically and what was assumed of us once before may not necessarily apply today.

During the discussion it was brought up that having children has become more of a decision rather than an assumption these days. I think this is true as how life is lived today is vastly different than how it was lived in the past. A lot of women are getting married later in life in their 30s and 40s, unlike our parents and grandparents who were typically in their late teens and early twenties. Others choose to focus on their careers; something that was unheard of at one point in time when society painted women as being only mothers and wives, not powerful business women or entrepreneurs.

Being a woman in my 30s I get asked from time to time about when or how many children I want to have. My answer is simple: 'I already have all the children I want in life.' Some people pick up on that right away while others still ask 'oh, how many do you have now?" Other times I say my dog is my baby (because she really is) and people will smile but often give off the look of pity. You know the look - 'poor thing, she'll never experience the joys of parenthood' or 'poor thing, she's just not normal is she?' These looks of pity are a bit judgmental. I don't think it's an accurate assumption to make (in this day in age) that since I am a woman I must want children. What about men? Do men get the pity look? I'm sure there are some mothers out there guilt-tripping their only son for not giving them a grandchild but I don't think men feel that invisible pressure as often as women do.

Some places in the world are fearful of a declining birthrate since women and/or couples are choosing to have none or only one child.  It's not as much of a necessity anymore to have a large family of 6 more children as it once may have been in order to survive. As society changes, so must we.

While I can't say I'll never have children, I can say I don't plan on having any.

Thinking Thoughts

When I was younger, it was a struggle for me to get going in the morning and get ready for school - or anywhere for that matter. Needless to say I was not a morning person. Often times I would just start to zone out right in the middle of doing something, like tying my shoe. It was as if someone pushed the pause button and I instantly had this glazed looked on my face.

One morning while getting ready for school, my mom passed by my room to make sure I was going to be ready on time. She stopped in the doorway to witness me in one of my zoning out moments and asked me what I was doing. Knowing we were running late for school I didn't want to tell her I was zoning out. I needed to seem more productive so instead I told her "I'm thinking thoughts." She then replied, "well think thoughts while you tie your shoe or you'll be late for school."

While I'm still not a morning person, I find myself 'thinking thoughts' during my zone out moments. Not all are thought provoking or productive, but the ones that are can lead down interesting paths at times. This blog will be sort of a pit stop for those thoughts.