Have you shopped at Aldi's?

I have heard a few bloggers mention Aldi Supermarket when they mention ways in which they saved. There wasn't a store near me so I didn't pay much attention. Last week I noticed there was an Aldi flyer in the mail. I thought that was odd but never thought about it anymore. I just tossed the flyer. A few days later, it hit me: I wouldn't have gotten a flyer if there wasn't a store nearby. Sure enough, a store opened a few weeks ago nearby. It's about 4 miles away and while that's not terribly far, I do have several supermarkets that offer me great deals within a one mile radius. It would have to be an extremely good deal for me to venture that "far".

On weekends I usually do an 8 mile walk. I don't like exercising but walking is enjoyable enough. This weekend I think I will take a trip to Aldi's. I have been reading up and the prices do look amazing. I am glad I researched it because I wouldn't have known that I needed to take my reusable bags with me. Am I the only one who always forgets the reusable bags?

If I make it tomorrow, I hope to blog about it. I think I am coming down with a cold so that may prevent me from heading out there. But let's keep our fingers crossed!

I'm not good at this

It didn't take long for me to fail at that picture-a-day task. That's just not me. I don't take pics very often and I have to do something that comes naturally to me. I will get this blogging thing done right. Eventually.

A Picture a Day: Nice to know it's not just sugar.

Does this make it a protein bar?

A Picture a Day: My trusty hair dryer

I hope this rollerset looks good in the morning.

A Picture a Day: Cereal

I am always searching for something to inspire me to blog more. I think I have found it. I am going to post a picture each day and write something about it. I won't pressure myself to write a lot. Some days it will just be the picture. However, I hope that this is the push I need to blog more. So here is today's picture.

Yes that's a box of cereal. A friend asked me to mail her cereal because she unable to find it in the country she is living in. Perhaps it's time to learn to make cereal? I wonder how hard it would be to make Honey Bunches of Oats? I would try to make Cheerios though.

What's your favourite cereal? If you were living in a country that didn't carry your favourite cereal? Would you have it mailed to you? Or would you just live without?

Simply the BEST Chocolate Cupcakes

We all love chocolate, right? After all, it is good for you. They have antioxidants and I am pretty sure there is at least one study that states that chocolate helps alleviate depression. We should eat chocolate daily. Now there are chocolate cupcakes and then there are these cupcakes. I honestly don’t think I have ever eaten a better cupcake. Usually when I try recipes, I try to think of things that I could do differently. What flavours could I add? What flavours could I remove? Is there a new technique that I could try? With these cupcakes from the Cupcake Project, there is nothing that I could do to improve them. Yes, they  are that good.

I actually made these for a friend and was very, very reluctant to share them. Luckily, I was able to snag a few for myself. They remind me of a brownie more than a cupcake – they’re almost fudgy because of the chocolate chips stirred in. Please try them today!

Does no always mean no?

Yesterday Z told me to about Deelishis (of Flavor of Love) describing being raped when she was 18. Short story:  He was 28. She went to visit him. She said she didn’t want intercourse. But she allowed oral sex. After oral sex, he insisted on intercourse and forced himself on her. Her husband said she led the man on. Z was shocked by the husband’s reaction. I wish I was.

 I heard so many similar sentiments over the years when I talk about rape in my classes.  Does no always mean no? Of course you would think that wouldn’t be up for debate but it always is. I remember a student asking, “Did she say no with bass in her voice or was it a weak no?” Yes, that was asked by an adult male. Other students have told me that if you don’t want sex, you should never put yourself in a situation where sex could happen.  

I just described Deelishis’ situation to a colleague and he also said that Deelishis was leading the man on. Legally, he says, she was raped but she can’t allow oral sex and not expect anything else.  He even said that men think about sex differently. Is it really a gender difference? Or is it that we are using that as an excuse?  If a man can easily hide behind the “It’s because I am a man” excuse, why would he need to act differently?