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Last night, I had a basketball game at 7:00, so rather than going home after work and rushing back into the city, I stayed in town. I worked until a bit after 5:00, then realized I had an hour and a half to kill, by myself, before I had to be at the school to play. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment instances, so texting a friend to hang out was not really an option - the time was mine to do whatever I wanted.

It's not a huge amount of time, but it's 90 minutes. 90 minutes that don't involve cooking food, cleaning up, working, doing chores, or operating on anyone else's schedule but mine.

90 minutes of freedom, something I very rarely get to indulge in.

And I could not decide what to do with myself. 

I debated doing lots of things. Go to the gym? Nah, I'd be getting a workout later (full court b-ball is no joke.) Go shopping? Nope, trying to save my pennies. Go for a walk? In the north end after dark by myself? No thank you.

I did so much humming and hawing, I ended up only having time to get takeout sushi from the place downstairs, eat it at my desk while playing on the computer, get changed in the office, and head to the school for our game.

I wasted my whole 90 minutes.

Tragic.

I don't know when I'll get 90 minutes to myself again. It could be months! Next time, I'll have a list of ideas prepared.

Go to the bookstore or a library and just browse, or even bring my book from home and sit somewhere with comfy chairs and enjoy an hour and a half of uninterrupted reading.

Go somewhere for dinner, somewhere that is not located directly below my office, somewhere I wouldn't normally get a chance to eat. Sit at a table by myself and order whatever the hell I would like to eat.

Take a walk in a new neighbourhood. Take some photos. Enjoy the change of scenery.

If there's a movie I want to see that starts at 4:30, go see it, even if it means I have to go by myself. Eat popcorn for dinner.

Get my car washed. Try on a ridiculous outfit, even if I'm not buying. Get my nails done.

Just don't ever waste 90 precious minutes again.

Parenting forums are a fresh new torture method that have caused me many anxiety attacks. When Eli was a newborn, I'd read the newborn comment threads about baby development, and there were parents talking about how their three-week-olds were laughing out loud, sitting up, rolling over and doing all sorts of crazy tricks. 

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1. Breakfast for dinner. We had pancakes on Tuesday and eggs benny on Wednesday. Breakfast foods are just so great, but during the week, we don't have time to whip up much more than a banana and peanut butter or a bowl of oatmeal before rushing out the door. Ergo, breakfast for dinner. Why not?

2. Valentine's Day. V-Day haters, I don't get it. Single, attached, confused - eat something chocolatey and tell someone you love them, even if it's your mom, your cat, or your best pair of boots. We exchanged cards, ate a pasta and wine feast at home, and watched Skyfall, and it was lovely. (PS - this is the recipe I made for dinner. It didn't take long at all and the results were delicious! And here's the wine we paired it with.)

3. Friday treats. I work across the street from a Starbucks, which is dangerous. All that coffee! All those delicious concoctions, only a moment's walk away! I try to limit it to one "fancy" drink a week and usually make Fridays my treat day. Yesterday I had a soy chai latte and it was just perfect.

4. A little more sunshine. I can keep my sunglasses on the entire drive home now! Days are getting longer and daylight savings is only about a month away. It's a small thing, but it's huge at the same time.

5. St. Ives Olive Cleanser. I found this at the drugstore for like $4. In the winter, soap is just a wee bit on the drying side so I've been looking for something milder. This is a nice, gentle cleanser that does the job without costing a million bucks. Win!

This weekend, we had the best kind of snowstorm: one where you actually feel "snowed in", but our power stayed on. Usually, I hate being housebound, but this weekend any excuse to stay home, be lazy, and wear sweats was met with open arms.

Saturday ended up being a perfect day for baking two kinds of cookies: chocolate chip with sea salt and some Valentine sugar cookie hearts, decorated by my small helper and number-one taste-tester.

I'm not a vegetarian. I eat wheat, dairy, sugar and carbs. I drink alcohol, coffee, and tea, sometimes black, sometimes green.

I love raw fish. Baked goods. Meaty burgers, veggie burgers: sometimes with buns, sometimes without.

I love fruits and vegetables, but also bread and noodles. Sometimes white rice, sometimes brown. Sometimes white bread, sometimes dark bread full of little seeds.

Some days I have salad for lunch and soup for dinner and everything's homemade and organic. Other days I eat refined carbs like it's my job. Some days are low-carb, some days are low-fat. I don't really plan it - it just happens.

Lately, I feel like a minority in that I eat everything. I'm lucky to not have any food allergies or sensitivities, and I'm cursed with a weakness for things like pasta and red wine - the thought of giving them up gives me the willies. It has never occurred to me to get rid of eating a particular food. (Except margarine. That shit'll kill you.)

I love animals, but I also happen to love parts of them on my plate. I'm not on a cleanse.  I'm not doing Whole30. I'm not even 100% sure what gluten is, but I know I eat it.

I eat everything, and it's beginning to feel uncool. But even worse, it makes me really question how I eat and whether eating everything is good or bad. Could I be doing better? Would overhauling my diet make me healthier?




I try to eat a basic, balanced diet. It's certainly not perfect, but it seems to be working OK. I generally feel fine, have enough energy to get through the day, and sleep decently. I splurge a little a lot on the occasional slice of pizza or cookie, but I eat my fair share of veggies, lean protein, and other healthy things.

Could I be feeling and looking better? Most definitely. Could I live in a world without cheese? I DON'T KNOW.

Thinking about making a big change to the way I eat is stressful and there are so many conflicting opinions on different diets, depending on who you ask. There are people who get unreal results on a Paleo diet and others that just seem to be slogging away with it and not seeing any positive change. Some people give up dairy and feel 100% better almost instantly. I know from my own experience that cutting out alcohol pretty much automatically guarantees you'll lose weight, but do I really want to say goodbye to my Friday beer or post-work glass of wine?

So many options, so many mixed reviews, SO MUCH STRESS. What to do?

For the rest of February, I'm going to keep track of what I eat and how I feel every day and see if there are any patterns. If I feel like ass every time I eat a hamburger, or if eating chickpeas gives me magical powers, then I'll know how to adjust my diet.

I am not counting calories or attempting to lose weight. This is about paying attention to the way I feel in general: energy level, moods, skin freak-outs, headaches, alertness, fitness, stomach drama, and so on, identifying foods that are good and bad for me. I'm not convinced there is a one-size-fits-all approach to a healthy diet, so hopefully this little experiment helps me figure out the best way for me to eat.