Nothing New, Black Tie Edition Part 2: Other Accoutrements of Fanciness

When we left off, I had just finished telling you about my dress.

But we all know a dress alone does not an outfit make. Let's start from the ground up:

Nothing New, Black Tie Edition Part 1: The Dress

I told you about my complete and utter failure mature decision to give up making myself a dress to wear to my awards dinner last Saturday, but I didn't tell you about what I was going to do instead.

Enter Rent the Runway:

What, you can't tell what that means? It's basically like a Netflix for dresses and accessories:

(click to enlarge)

Perfect for someone who, perhaps, isn't buying anything new for a year.

Peppermint Patties: Gateway Drug?

For Lent this year I gave up Peppermint Patties.

I know, this sounds silly compared with last year,* but my PP consumption was getting out of control (not to be confused with PP).

I started getting them regularly because they’re delicious, obviously. And they're relatively low in PointsPlus Values. I’d take 3 (one serving) to work, usually have one after lunch, and then 2 left to either snack on during the day or have on the way home.

Not terrible. 

Then I started eating 2-3 after dinner.

Also not terrible. 

Then I started bringing the bag into the living room with me after dinner and eating a few more (…and a few more). Then I started going through an entire bag over the course of a weekend.  

Terrible!

I am not a failure ...right?

Guys, I have given up. Remember this?

I took that a few weeks ago. That was when things were going well.

Habit Heroes Down for the Count

Did you hear about this?

An exhibit at Disney World's Epcot center, designed to "convey a positive message about healthy lifestyles in a fun and empowering way," was recently closed for redesign.

The exhibit, called Habit Heroes, was attacked for being insensitive, and for portraying overweight people as lazy and lacking will-power. Critics argued that obesity is a much more complex issue.

You can read about it here.

I can see both sides. Of course we do not want to teach our children to see all overweight people as villains. But I do think that teaching our children to do more physical activities, eat more healthy foods, and recognize that gaining weight can be directly related to our habits is a good thing.

But maybe start by evaluating the nutritional value of the different lunch options available at the park? Or perhaps opening more rides like the Huff and Puff at Knott's Berry Farm?

Disney is set to redesign the exhibit, hopefully the new version will still have poignancy without offending the masses.

What do you think? Should Disney have taken down the exhibit? Should they have put it up in the first place? What's the best way to provide constructive commentary on destructive lifestyles?

Back to Reality...

It’s been a rough couple of weeks.

I was writing to you about how terrible work was going, and how I had only clocked a mere total of 6 hours in one week. I was about to hit publish when I received a text message from my dad telling me my cousin had died.

It suddenly seemed trite to post about how bored I was at work.

Rory had been battling melanoma (yes, skin cancer) that spread internally (yes, it can do that).  

It's kind of the worst.