Christmas Spirit - Where is it?

So last night when I was at the local Meijer picking up some things for my apartment, I had a rare moment. It shouldn't be rare though. And it frustrates me that maybe I'm too naive.. but I still think that people are inherently good.

The Story:

Meijer is packed as it's only 3 days till Christmas. I'm buzzing around the store, trying to shorten my time spent in the store. I get to the check out line, and the lady in front of me puts down her stuff, and I"m waiting for a divider. She says "go ahead and put your things down, I'll let him know to stop." So I do so, saying thanks, and begin to unload. I eventually get the divider and am waiting for her to finish paying. As the clerk begins to check out my items, the woman grabs her bags and races off to the exit as most people are doing. I noticed she's left her purse though! I yell for her "ma'm! ma'm! excuse me! you forgot your purse!!" Luckily she heard me and came running back, out of breath, and a bit frazzled she had forgotten such an important item. She comes up to me and is overly thankful, saying that was really nice of me and she can't believe I told her! She is still breathing a bit hard from the running and panic, and is still jabbering her thanks to me, all while I'm telling her - "Don't worry about it. You've got it back, I just did what I hoped someone else would do for me." She said her checkbook was in there, wallet, photos of her grandkids, etc. Basically her lifeline. I'm glad I helped out that old woman at Meijer and as she was leaving she yelled back to me "Merry Christmas!!"

Now if that's not some Christmas spirit I don't know what is. I'm so happy for the woman, and she touched me just by wishing me a Merry Christmas in the most honest way. I could tell she really meant it and it warmed my heart.

The only part that bothers me is that she was so surprised that I let her know she left it. Really? Is our society so bad that if you leave your purse, you assume someone is going to steal it? That's horrible and it makes me sad. I really don't know why we only have the "christmas spirit" around Christmas time. Yes, I know it's tied down by it's name. But why can't we spread a positive, happy feeling around all the time? Why must it be limited by the holidays? What's my new year's resolution? Do random acts of kindness all year (ok so not so random to me, but to other's hopefully!) when I see the opportunity. Be it help pay for someone's groceries when they are a bit short, give someone a ride to where they need to go, bake cookies for people and drop them off, etc. Do you have some ideas? The best ideas should be shared for everyone to work at!

Thankfully I did experience some Christmas cheer this holiday, and I wanted to pass it on to you. So please, if you see the opportunity to spread some cheer, take it! Make the world a better place, one moment at a time.


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Ice Cream

From my poll... about 3 months ago, my one voter said they wanted me to talk about ice cream as a topic.

So I'll do just that - and I'll enjoy it as it is SWELTERING here at work. I need to remember to buy a cheap little USB powered fan so I don't fall asleep.

The History of Ice Cream
The origins of ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C. Early references include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings, and King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China who had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe. Over time, recipes for ices, sherbets, and milk ices evolved and served in the fashionable Italian and French royal courts. (from about.com)


Baskin-Robbins
This was and still is one of my favorite ice cream places. Read a bit about them:

"It wasn’t until 1953 that the ice cream chain dropped the separate identities of Snowbird and Burton's and became Baskin-Robbins. A local advertising agency, Carson/Roberts, advised a uniform identity and image under the name Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream. Their recommendations included the "31®" logo to represent a flavor for every day of the month, Cherry (pink) and Chocolate (brown) polka dots to be reminiscent of clowns, carnivals and fun and lastly, the use of cartoons to bring their flavors alive with personality to graphically highlight the name and delicious ingredients. With this over-arching branding, Baskin-Robbins' iconic pink spoons were created with the belief that people should be able to try any of their many flavors without cost." (baskinrobbins.com)


Flavors
There are hundreds of ice cream flavors - and even ones you can create yourself. The top 15 ice cream flavors are:

1. Vanilla - 29%
2. Chocolate - 8.9%
3. Butter Pecan - 5.3%
4. Strawberry - 5.3%
5. Neapolitan - 4.2%
6. Chocolate Chip - 3.9%
7. French Vanilla - 3.8%
8. Cookies and Cream - 3.6%
9. Vanilla Fudge - 2.6%
10. Praline Pecan - 1.7%
11. Cherry - 1.6%
12. Chocolate Almond - 1.6%
13. Coffee - 1.6%
14. Rocky Road - 1.5%
15. Chocolate Marshmallow - 1.3%

All others - 23.7%
(Source - International Ice Cream Assocation, 888 16th St., Washington, D.C., 20006)

My favorite flavor of ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip. There is nothing better than two scoops of MCC in a waffle cone on a hot day. MMMM! I like other flavors, but my default when i doubt is MCC. The big runner up is Coldstones Strawberry flavor with mini chocolate chips mixed in. That is also super refreshing on a hot (even cold) day! I used to not like ColdStone, but since I found this flavor mix, I've enjoyed it much more!

What's my beef?
The fact that all the fat free/sugar free/better for your ones never taste good. I love ice cream, but hate what it does to me. Boo that. I think someone should invent an ice cream that is good for you, but also tastes amazing. What's up with all these acai berry commercials - why not make that flavor, and throw in dark chocolate chunks. It's an anti-oxident lover's dream! I'm just throwing out ideas here.

What else can I say about ice cream? I love it!