The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Around 2am this morning I was up for a feeding with my son. In order to keep myself awake for these middle of the night feeds I usually turn on the TV, but my husband has been objecting lately. So instead I make him talk to me. I know that sounds kind of rough, but given the alternative is me almost falling off the bed with my son in my hands, I think hubbie will survive just fine. Besides, I think he secretly enjoys these late night convos.

We were talking about someone, who shall remain nameless in this post for 2 reasons. One) I don't think I was saying something particularly nice, and two), I honestly don't remember what the context of the conversation was. It was, afterall, 2am.

I found myself saying something like "thinks they're the best thing since...". I know the saying goes "best thing since sliced bread," but it got me thinking right there in mid-sentence. Do you know how many completely cool, amazing things have been invested since sliced freaking bread? According to wikipedia that was way back in 1928.

My favorites? DVR, smart phones and the Internet. DVR has completely changed my TV watching life and I don't think I can go back. I can't. I won't. Being able to look up things such as "when was sliced bread invented" with one hand using an iphone while I feed my son at 2am is too cool.

Digital cameras. No more paying $7 for a roll of film that has 20 pictures that are out of focus with chopped heads. Preview, delete, and print. Gotta love it.

And those are just in the tech arena. Food wise? Chipotle. I never did meet a Chipotle burrito, taco or bowl I didn't like. Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream? Whoever thought of putting brownies in ice cream deserves a special place in heaven. Bravo, Ben! Well done, Jerry!

Coffee shops. Now I know you could probably go into a diner and get a cup of coffee back in the day, but the latter part of the 20th century took it to another level. Though I haven't gotten to do it in a long time (say since my kids were born), I so used to love being able to buy a cup of coffee and sitting down for 2 hours at a Starbucks reading or just hanging out with a friend. My personal favorite would be the Espresso Royale Cafe in Dinkytown (either location).

Flat irons. As someone with naturally frizzy hair, I do love my flat iron, especially with ceramic plates.

So needless to say, there have been some pretty awesome inventions since sliced bread. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against it. I do love me some PB&J every now and then. I'm just thinking, the next time I want to talk about something being the best thing since xyz, I might choose from a whole list of advances to pick from.

Regrets? I've had a few...

When asked if you have any regrets, the popular response seems to be some variation of "I have none. Every decision and mistake I've made has helped shape me into the person I am today."

I get it and to some degree, I agree. I've made my mistakes and some of them have certainly been character building. I love the saying "good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement." So, I understand where it comes from.

But no regrets whatsoever? I beg to differ.

That extra half slice of pizza I might have on a Friday night dinner? I regret it the next morning, as do my thighs.

Not sleeping in a whole heck of a lot more before I had kids? I regret it.

My biggest financial regret thus far has been in buying a house in California in 2005. BIG mistake. We made a big down payment, have never missed or was late on a single payment, and yet we are so screwed. Do I regret it? Absolutely.

I think about my regrets sometimes and run through them in my head repeatedly, wishing I could go back in time. Some require just a single second of thought to change. ONE second. Shouldn't we all be entitled to a couple of do overs in our lifetime?

So having a few regrets and owning the fact that I have them, makes me wonder when making a big decision. Will I regret this? Will I regret not doing this? I guess only time will tell, but this much is for sure: if I regret my actions, I will probably call it a regret, not a "character building karmic accident", not that there's anything wrong with that. If that works for you, more power to you. Call me crazy, but I think having some regrets is a good thing. The lyrics to one of my currently favorite songs goes "to never regret means you have to forget, and I don't think that could." That sums it up much better than I ever could and it sort of rhymes. Nice one, Weepies, nice one.

Are We There Yet?

Today was the day I bought my first tube of anti-wrinkle cream. I told myself it was more of a pro-active, preventive measure, but seriously? Apparently, we are so there.

The items in my Target shopping cart today included the anti-wrinkle cream, something called "butt paste" (for my 4 month old, not me, thank you very much), and decaff coffee. Who is this person?? If it weren't for those familiar onset wrinkles, I'd hardly recognize myself.