Postcard from the Peas: Disney Day 1

Pack It Up, Pack It In

The Cupcakes That Almost Weren’t

September 2010
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A Fluff Piece

That last post was a little heavy, huh?

I completely underestimated the amount of thoughtful feedback and support I would receive, via your comments and emails. I really cannot express to you how much it means to pour your heart into writing something that you feel so passionately about and to have others, even others with completely different views, respond with such positivity. I have such respect and high regard for you all, and it makes me more willing to share even more of my experiences and thoughts that I feel might benefit others in some way. And trust me, there are more of those experiences and thoughts than I would like. But that’s enough heaviness for now.

Let’s reward ourselves for having delved into the tough issues.

How about a nice scalp massage?

And a warm rinse.

A confidence boosting trim.

A blow out.

And a style.

Followed by a self-admiring head tilt.

When did I outgrow that? We all could use some more self-admiring head tilts.

And some more cookies.

A reader requested that I makeover the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie Cookies. Don’t pretend you don’t know what they are.

Remember when the treats you chose were based not on nutrition but based on the sheer quantities of goods you could purchase with your allowance/babysitting money/pop can returns? The quantity rule is always why I chose Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Twix. You got two! And anything Little Debbie, you could get ten individually wrapped treats for a dollar, making them oh so attractive.

But I honestly had never even seen a Little Debbie treat until I started working at a pretty sketchy grocery store in high school and college. SKETCH-E. By contrast, a few weeks ago some unkind commenter said that they found me to be “out of touch” and “spoiled” (please disregard the princess salon visits above). Just know that my job checking groceries put me “in touch” enough to last me the rest of my life.

The store I worked at was in the absolute worst part of town, otherwise known as “Felony Flats.” That is also the name of a shoe line that Paris Hilton will be releasing this winter. I knew that I was dealing with some unsavory clientele when the majority of customers, after being asked for their ID upon purchasing their carton of Camels or their Icehouse Tallboy, handed me their SID card. In other words, their prison ID.

The amazing thing is, to this day checking groceries in “Felony Flats” is one of the best jobs I ever had. I learned so much about how to relate to people from all walks of life, how to not judge others by their appearance (or criminal record), how a smile and a kind word can really make someone’s day. I also learned to always wear rubber gloves when counting bottles because you never know when you are going to find a syringe. And yes, I learned that people like their Little Debbie treats. Unfortunately most of the time, quantity really does win out over quality.

Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie Cookies are not quality. You see, they contain:

Corn Syrup, Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1] Riboflavin [Vitamin B2] Folic Acid) Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil with TBHQ to Preserve Flavor, Dextrose, Water, Oats, Sugar, Molasses, Raisins, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate) Whey [Milk] Emulsifiers (Soy Lecithin, Mono and Diglycerides, Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60) Salt, Cornstarch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Eggs, Interesterfied Palm and Palm Kernel Oils, Soybean Oil, Sorbic Acid (To Retain Freshness), Cocoa, Colors (Caramel Color, Titanium Dioxide, Red 40, Beta Carotene, Turmeric, Annatto Extract, Yellow 5), Egg Whites, Citric Acid, Pectin, Sodium Citrate, Coconut (Sulfite Treated to Preserve Color), Evaporated Apples (Sulfite Treated to Preserve Color), Nonfat Dry Milk, Carrageenan, Spices, Rice Flour.

But mine don’t.