Sunday, November 26, 2006
Jewelry, the holidays and seratonin
If you believe the commercials that are on this time of year, men can't express their feelings without spending a significant amount of money on jewelry. Maybe in the strict hunter-gatherer sense this is true. Strong, evolved men seek out expensive, hard to get prizes as a symbol of devotion. I just don't buy it. If I had a choice between jewelry and a weekend alone with The Boy, I'd choose the weekend. For some men, buying jewelry would take a little sacrifice (or at least being careful with their sheckles), saving up, picking out just the thing for their lady and would be incredibly meaningful to the recepient. I know for The Boy, it might mean a few months of debt and a quick purchase to meet someone other than his intended's expectations. I have to wonder, how many women feel the same?
Yes, I have jewelry that is special. My wedding ring leaps to mind. A necklace and earrings that The Boy got me on our honeymoon is also very special. The latter are special not because he spent a ton of cash, but because we were out wandering in a fav town of ours and into an artist's shop. I liked them because of the stone and the artistry. He wanted to do something sweet for me, so he bought them. There have been a few other instances, but they've all been because he saw something I liked....not something a large diamond consortium thought he should buy.
One of the drawbacks of having a holiday event at your house is that you're left with the leftovers. Most our meal was starch-based (dressing, cake, cake, pie, potatoes) and so are the leftovers. The dressing is gone now, mostly because I couldn't stay out of it Friday and Saturday. There wasn't much of the mashed potatoes left, so that wasn't a problem. However, there are 2 cakes left. One is a ginger cake that seems to be getting more moist as the days pass. The reviews on the site where I got the recipe said it would be better a few days after you make it. They're right. However, I have absolutely no business eating most of two cakes. Some will be going to a breakroom at Big Faceless Corp soon.
But the upside of cake (and dressing) is that starches release chemicals which trigger seratonin. It's no wonder they're called "comfort foods". And there's a lot of comfort in ginger cake, eggnog, cheese toast, tortilla chips. Much more so than in an orange, turkey jambalaya or an apple. So I'll try to get rid of the things I don't need and keep on hand better choices.
Yes, I have jewelry that is special. My wedding ring leaps to mind. A necklace and earrings that The Boy got me on our honeymoon is also very special. The latter are special not because he spent a ton of cash, but because we were out wandering in a fav town of ours and into an artist's shop. I liked them because of the stone and the artistry. He wanted to do something sweet for me, so he bought them. There have been a few other instances, but they've all been because he saw something I liked....not something a large diamond consortium thought he should buy.
One of the drawbacks of having a holiday event at your house is that you're left with the leftovers. Most our meal was starch-based (dressing, cake, cake, pie, potatoes) and so are the leftovers. The dressing is gone now, mostly because I couldn't stay out of it Friday and Saturday. There wasn't much of the mashed potatoes left, so that wasn't a problem. However, there are 2 cakes left. One is a ginger cake that seems to be getting more moist as the days pass. The reviews on the site where I got the recipe said it would be better a few days after you make it. They're right. However, I have absolutely no business eating most of two cakes. Some will be going to a breakroom at Big Faceless Corp soon.
But the upside of cake (and dressing) is that starches release chemicals which trigger seratonin. It's no wonder they're called "comfort foods". And there's a lot of comfort in ginger cake, eggnog, cheese toast, tortilla chips. Much more so than in an orange, turkey jambalaya or an apple. So I'll try to get rid of the things I don't need and keep on hand better choices.
