Trying New Food

I was disgusted when Dave told me what he'd bought.

"Yuck!  Why would they put pumpkin in Peanut Butter Cups?"  I asked.

"Why not?  It's probably good," he responded.

"Peanut Butter Cups should not be messed with ," I said.  "They are perfect."

The lecture began.  About me being closed minded when it comes to trying new food.

"I try new things," I said, defensively.  "I'm just not as brave as some people." 

"Yeah," says Dave.  "Some people,  as in 99% of the world."

That is just not true. 

The thing is, I really like pumpkin.  I do!   But I kind of OD'd on it last fall.   I was in a rare Julia Child mood and decided to experiment with pumpkin.  I made pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins.... 

My family begged me to stop cooking after tasting my pumpkin fish sticks.

And now Dave has purchased stinkin' Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!   My favorite candy in the world.  

They do not need pumpkin!

When I told Kimmy about the Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups she told me I should try them.    She reminded me that I liked the Caramel Apple M&M's she bought me in New Zealand.

But I don't have the same affinity for M&Ms as I do for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 

I thought about it and decided that maybe my family was right.  I am somewhat closed minded when it comes to trying new foods.  

I would taste the Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups.  Privately.  No way was I going to have an audience for this experiment.

I casually walked past the counter and palmed one Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cup.  

I slowly unwrapped it and noticed that it was shaped like a pumpkin.  Cute.


I bravely took a bite.

OMG.

It was a regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Shaped like a pumpkin.  

Hence it's name.   

I ate the whole thing.

Then I casually strolled into the family room where Dave was watching football.  "I did it."

"What?"

"I tried the Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cup."

"Wow!  Good for you!  How was it?"

"It wasn't terrible," I said. 

"So get off my damn case about being so closed minded about trying new food," I said.

 As I returned to the kitchen to grab another one.

Coffee, Tea or Chardonnay?

“You should have seen those Air New Zealand flight attendants,” I told Kimmy and Luke as we were leaving the Queenstown airport in New Zealand last week. “They were so funny!”

“What do you mean?” asked Kimmy.  “What’d they do?”

“OMG.  They were hysterical,” I giggled. “After they turned the lights down for the flight, they changed into costumes!”

“What kind of costumes?” Kimmy asked.

“Snow White.  And Sleeping Beauty.  And other cartoon characters.”

Kimmy glanced at Luke and then back at me suspiciously. “Mom, are you sure?  Why would they do that?”

I then described in great detail the big wigs the flight attendants were donning to match their very colorful costumes. 

Kimmy, always the skeptic (like father, like daughter) asked if the flight attendants had changed into their costumes before or after I took my Ambien.

“Very funny,"  I said.   "I WAS NOT HALLUCINATING!”  I added, perhaps a little bit too defensively. 

“Mom,” Kimmy said, in a tone that I felt to be a bit condescending.  “Why would they wait until they lowered the lights before changing into their costumes?  It makes no sense.”    

“I don’t know… because they were fun.  They wanted us to enjoy our flight…”

“Did you have wine with your Ambien, Mom?”

“Google it,” I said, with conviction.  “You’ll see!  Somebody has to have written something about Air New Zealand flight attendants changing into Disney princess costumes with big wigs when the lights go down.”

Luke, who had remained quiet during our debate said, “I just did.”

“And?”

“Well, I found a couple articles about Air New Zealand's new uniforms.”

I grabbed my iPhone and frantically conducted my own search.  This was ridiculous.

My reputation and credibility were on the line here.  

 “Flying can be a terrifying experience for many people but who’d have thought the flight attendant’s uniforms would bring passengers out in a sweat?

The airline’s latest uniforms, which are likely to startle even the most seasoned of travellers, have come under fire from staff who say the shocking pink dresses makes them look like drag queens. The new outfits, which appear to have been inspired by Barbie’s flock wallpaper, were designed by New Zealand fashion designer Trelise Cooper."

OMG.   

The flight attendants were not wearing costumes.  They were wearing their Barbie Wallpaper Drag Queen Uniforms.

I must have been mistaken.  

Man......

I really hope Cinderella wasn’t insulted when I asked her to bring me my second glass of Chardonnay!