“Don’t refer to elderly people as “cute”. Ever. It’s so fucking condescending. Stop it.”

— #lizadvice

Canada Post's Letters To Santa

Canada is great because of things like this. I'm not sure how long Canada Post has been doing this, but I'm so glad they still are. Such a nice idea.

Instant Crush

Can't stop listening to this song. 

McDonald's Poutine Back in Canada

McDonald's Poutine Back in Canada

I know they've done this in the past, but they're using REAL CURDS now. So... I'm all over this, guys. You know how I feel about real curds. Will let you soon as soon as I try one.

UPDATE: It was amazing. Don't listen to the haters. If you're into squeaky curds, you'll be into this.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would create new religions overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch television.”

— Paul Hawkens

Correspondence

I write letters every so often, and you're probably going to get a birthday card from me in the mail if we've met more than 3.2 times. Why is this? It isn't because I'm kinder than you are - it's because I love mail. And typically speaking, the more you give the more you get. And really, receiving any kind of handwritten mail is just so romantic to me. Even if it's from someone whom I have no romantic feelings for. It's just a sweet thought to think of someone sitting at a desk for a minute and writing out my address with their fingers. Fuck, that's so nice. 

Why is it great to write letters or send cards?

• No one has any time to be calling all the important people in his/her life every week or even month - but a letter is so much easier to write and send, in my opinion. And the best part? It's one way. They can choose to reply or not! I love that! 
• Whenever people go away, they will usually always send me a postcard since they know how into correspondence I am - and I love postcards. Pictures of great places, with words about how great it is? Yes, please! 
• The amount of effort put into writing and sending any form of letter or card is so minimal, but that same effort seems so large when received. And that's great! Minimal effort, but with a nice payoff.
• One day I will be dead. And how will you know it? You'll stop receiving cards from me. I really think a lot of people will find out that way, about my death. Is that abnormal to think about? I think I like it. Someone off somewhere just going, "Hmmm... Liz hasn't sent anything this year. She must have passed on. Sad." That idea seems so nice to me. (I'm taking liberties with assuming the "Sad." line, I realize.)
• Sometimes people forget that you love or care about them. And really, there are so many people in all of our lives, it's hard to keep track of them all especially when we're so invested in our own junk going on. So sending something once in awhile is just a gentle reminder that, "Hey! You're being thought of!" Which, I think, is always an instant boost.

Now if you're sitting there going, "Hey dummy, y'ever heard of email?" -- don't speak to me like that. Email is wonderful. My problem with it is that it's too fast. Sometimes I don't want to write to someone and know that I'll get their reply instantly. I feel like doing that lessens whatever words we've exchanged. Not because they weren't meaningful, but because the whole experience was too quick for me to put any value in it - and likely, I'll forget about it even more quickly and move on to other things going on in my day. Everyone's in such a hurry, and I don't want to be in a hurry with them. 

Even if you do it once a year, please mail someone something. Guaranteed it'll make them happier for even just a second. 

I didn't intend for this to be so long, I apologize. If I had your address, I could've just mailed this to you and saved us all some time. 

Bob's Burgers Made Into REAL Burgers

I'm going to assume that you already watch Bob's Burgers. And if you haven't? Well, I'll speak to you privately later. Everyone should be watching this show.

Anyway, in every episode there's a different burger-of-the-day that's featured in the background of the restaurant on a chalkboard (see above photos). And I just found out that there's some magical human being out there WHO'S ACTUALLY MAKING THESE BURGERS! I love it when people do stuff like this. Ya know, fun stuff. Just such a neat idea. You can see for yourself over at The Bob's Burgers Experiment. I've included a few examples of what they've done below.

The Cauliflower’s Cumin From Inside The House Burger (comes with cauliflower and cumin)

Angus beef patty topped with jalapeno cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion and of course - the triple C combo: a mash of cauliflower, cumin and cilantro.

The Bruschetta-bout it Burger

An angus beef patty topped with bruschetta and mozzarella cheese, dressed lightly with balsamic vinegar on toasted french bread. Comes with a light salad.

Pickle My Funny Bone Burger

All beef patty topped with fried pickles (delicious dill coated in an italian herb and red pepper batter) and a deliciously creamy mayo-ketchup-hot sauce combo.  Served with a pickled beet salad.

SUCH a good idea for a blog. Can't wait to see what other ones they make. 

James Brown's - Please Come Home For Christmas

This is (by far) my favourite Christmas song. God, I love it. 

Bayberry Candles on Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve

“Light a bayberry candle on Christmas Eve and allow it to burn completely until it goes out on its own, as shortly after midnight as possible. After midnight, the closer to midnight it burns out on its own, the more prosperous one will be in the new year. You can do this on New Year’s Eve, also.”

I don't usually write about upcoming posts for my Mom Says section, but this is the one exception. And I'm writing about it so early in December so that you have time to order these candles if for some strange reason you actually LISTEN to my advice. (I always buy them off Amazon since they seem to be the cheapest on there.) (And they're surprisingly hard to find in candle shops.)

Anyway, where does this tradition/superstition come from? Lots of places, apparently. Just Google "legend of the bayberry candle" and you'll see for yourself. Why do I do it? Well, because my mom is probably the luckiest person I know and if she tells me to burn a candle, then I'm gonna burn that candle. 

“This bayberry candle comes from a friend,

so on Christmas Eve burn it to the end.

For a bayberry candle burned to the socket,

will bring joy to the heart, and gold to the pocket.”

— Legend of the Bayberry Candle Poem