Do you remember in Pump Up the Volume, the song "Love Comes in Spurts"?

Well, today, running through my head is that tune, but with the words, "Milk comes in bags."

It's my stock "clever" answer to the seemingly age-old question, "What's the biggest difference between the US and Canada?"

The real answer is intangible and not funny.

I love that scene from Better Off Dead, the neighbor mom is squeezing Monique's face and saying, "Do you have Christmas in France?  Christmas!  Chriiiiistmaaaas."

Of course, I pretty much love that movie in general.

Christmas is done now, after several different points of celebration, and while it was fun, I am still adjusting to the whole "I celebrate Christmas now" thing.  It goes against the grain.  I'm Jewish, I'll always be Jewish, and I don't even have much of a strong sense of God as a Jew.  So, of course I respect the religion and tradition of my husband and his family, but I still have trouble with the basis of the holiday.  It feels just a little disingenuous to be at mass, though I don't participate except during the handshaking bit.

I wonder how Joey will feel if I bring him to Rosh Hashanah services or whatnot sometime.  It might be easier as the stories Jews tell are also part of the Catholic sacred text.  Or it might be just as weird, since lots would be in Hebrew, and I'd know all the words, and he wouldn't.  I'm a big believer in science and things that can be proved, and have some trouble with faith in God in general, but the Jewish tradition is very important to me and I went to a lot of years of religious school, so it's home to me.

I was in Southeastern Massachusetts on a business trip a few weeks ago, and I overheard a (very loud) conversation between what appeared to be a married couple, but I could be wrong about that.  The man was spouting gems such as, "I respect all the Judeo-Christian religions, but those Muslims, I can't (expletive) get them."  I really wanted to tap him on the shoulder and say, you know the God you like so much?  Same God the Muslims believe in, dude.  And have you heard of Buddhists?  Sikhs?  Hindus?  Baha'i? etc. etc. etc.

It's all about respect.  And yes, they have Christmas in France.  Also other holidays.

Do you swear a lot?  And what country do you live in?

Just a little amateur research.

This one I saw someplace, can't remember where, but it's simple to remember.

At work, I have:
Hired people, fired people, made people audition for a job, swept floors, stripped people naked and reclothed them, ordered lunch for hundreds of people, fended off phone calls, encouraged phone calls, visited junkyards, chased a stalker out of the building, hauled boxes of books, sent someone home to change, been taken away by ambulance, upsold, met my husband, worn a tiara (same night, those last two), made a sale while having blood drawn, faked an accent, assisted a dentist (ew), called 911, pretended to be an authority on things I wasn't, helped with the inception of well-known organizations, been promoted, broken a very expensive decorative item and been congratulated for doing so, been offered a job while performing another, asked for a raise, fed a baby, made people happy.

I have never:
Waited tables, cleaned up vomit, been my own boss, changed a diaper, piloted a plane, used a hoe, been fired for cause, used an alias, used all my sick days (I am dumb), ratted on a co-worker except to their advantage which has always worked, made anything explode other than a lightbulb, been arrested. 

The 'I have never' is much, much harder.  I've done a lot of interesting stuff.

Joey and I have been trying to cook healthy delicious things since I moved into our apartment three days after our wedding (he had lived there a couple of months by that point).  I think though that we both felt that Thursday night's vegetables were revelatory.  We've come up with lots of things we like and lots of things that are healthy.  But the simplest thing of all is so, so yummy.  We had some tiny potatoes which we'd meant to use in a stew but hadn't gotten to it, and they were beginning to sprout.  I picked up some cauliflower, portobellos, red peppers, and shallots, cut them all into reasonably equivalent chunks, and spread them out on a baking sheet.  Drizzled on the olive oil, sprinkled on the salt, ground on a ton of pepper.  Mixed with my hands.  Roasted at 400 degrees for about forty minutes, keeping an eye on the mushrooms so they didn't burn and the potatoes to make sure they cooked through.  Yummy.  Sure we've roasted potatoes before, and asparagus, and whatever.  But Ina inspired me, and we just threw everything in together, and it was so very very yummy.  Mmmm.