Confusion

I saw a billboard today. It had a Pine tree branch on it and an ornament. The wording says "have a jolly holiday" and then underneath that in smaller print "Don't make it your last." At first, I thought it was an alcoholic beverage ad, and the ornament was the bottle cap. They are always putting that on billboards and commercials- "please drink responsibly." But then I realized that it was a chewing tobacco ad and the ornament was a can of tobacco. Then the confusion set in. What exactly does that last line mean? Is it "don't make it your last" as in quit chewing tobacco so that you don't get some horrible mouth cancer and die? Or is it "don't make it your last" as in don't ever quit chewing tobacco because your holidays will be awful without it? If it means the first interpretation, why does the company continue to advertise, if they know that their product is awful and dangerous? Wouldn't not advertising and removing the product from the market be more effective than subliminal messaging telling us to quit chewing tobacco? And if it is the latter interpretation, that's just mean. I still don't know what the billboard meant.

In other news...

We are almost out of laundry detergent, maybe one more load or so left in the bottle. So when I was at Costco the other day, I perused the laundry detergent aisle. I had heard good things about the Kirkland environmentally friendly laundry detergent, so I looked at it. It's actually cheaper than All, which is what we had been using. (I tried making my own, but it didn't work. I think our water is too hard for the recipe or something. I still use it on dog towels and stuff, but regular clothes don't seem as clean as I would like.) So I bought a bottle. Hopefully this works well. I've heard good things about it even for diapers, so I am looking forward to using it. And if it is as environmentally friendly as it claims, all the better. Laundry detergent is one of those things that is just so expensive it makes me crazy. But as long as this stuff works well, it should last us a good long while. I usually use even less than the detergent "recommends" because you know what, it still works. Try it. First, read the bottle and see how much it recommends for your type of washer and how large the load is. Chances are, it isn't the top of the cap. Then, try using how much it recommends, if you aren't already doing that. Then slowly decrease the amount until you get to the "break even" point- where your clothes are still clean, but any less would result in not clean clothes. You might have to rewash one load of clothes, but I think that the savings you gain in knowing how much you actually need is bigger in the long run than using way too much every load. You can also try this crazy experiment with the dishwasher. Chances are, you don't need to fill both cups all the way full. I never do. I usually go halfway on both and my dishes come out just fine.

I also bought bananas at Costco. 4 pounds. They are still green, but they were .44 a pound, which is much better than I have been seeing around here lately. Usually it is .69, unless I can find red-band or overripe ones. Since I have been making lots of smoothies and eating more bananas in general to overcome these stupid leg cramps, we have probably gone through 10 pounds of bananas. This weekend I hope to find some red-bands and buy a whole lot, then peel and freeze them individually so that I can just throw them in the smoothies. I'll leave some that are still good for eating plain, because I don't make a smoothie every day. Some days if I know I am eating beef, I don't bother with the iron smoothie and have a plain banana instead. Like today. I have chili for lunch. MMM. Actually, I was thinking it was beef, but it is turkey. But it still has iron in it. I think. Oh well, I have hummus for my afternoon snack too. I made this chili for a chili cookoff in our ward. It isn't any spicier than I usually make it. It was probably a little bit more tame than usual. But EVERYONE there was impressed/scared/injured by how spicy it was. It was by far the spiciest chili being judged. All the others were pretty tame. Apparently we just like spicy foods more than the average person, or at least the average ward member. What do you expect? I'm from AZ, and Alann's taste buds are broken (ok, not broken, just not very sensitive).

I bought a case of canned diced tomatoes on sale a while back. They are salt-free, and it was good price. But since I bought them, I haven't opened a single can. We have had fresh tomatoes from the garden almost nonstop. We have another green set that has just about ripened up. I think I need to dice and can them this weekend or we will lose them all. But overall, the post-garden ripening process has been more successful this year than last year.

One of my single, young, female coworkers asked me the other day "Does being pregnant hurt?" Um, short answer, yes. Long answer: the baby doesn't hurt me, but everything I do takes a lot more effort and energy. So things that would have not been a problem before suddenly become difficult- like bending over or rolling over in bed. Even sitting forward in my chair is hard. If you would like a comparison, take a soccer ball and strap it to your stomach. Then try maneuvering around it. Because it doesn't move much. All your other organs bend and move with you, but this baby thing suddenly takes on a life of its own and refuses to do what you say. I guess I should just get used to it huh? All in all, I love being pregnant. I know I have been lucky and Alann is grateful as well that my pregnancy has been pretty easy so far. Here is hoping the rest of it is easy too.