I always knew vitamins were bad for me...

It's official. Vitamins suck.

I'm not convinced I actually believe it, though it does take the stress off when I don't remember my vitamin every day. I mean, the stress alone of not taking my vitamins could cause a heart attack and now, vitamins can, too? It's not worth it, really. Somehow, though, when they were Flintstones vitamins, it wasn't such a chore to remember to be healthy.

I'm not picky - the vitamins don't need to be disguised as Pink Pebbles or Orange Barneys. They could be disguised as wine or Junior Caramels (both of which I consumed tonight as part of a well-balanced dinner). I would be happy.

In other news, I read Julie and Julia on my vacation.



I liked it but it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a daily account of the recipes she made (like her blog, although if that were the case, why wouldn't I feel cheated? After all, why would any reasonable reader pay $20 for something they could read for free online?) Instead the book sort of did a 1, 2, skip a few, 259, 300 type of narrative, interspersed with a story about her life and the imagined life of Paul and Julia Child. At first I was disappointed, and I'm not sure why, given that my own cooking repertoire consists of 7 recipes. Maybe I thought there would be a good crock pot recipe.

I got a crock pot for my birthday from my stepmom. I typically have a one-month before birthdays and Christmas rule never to mention anything or even passively agree that any product is pretty, nice, useful or interesting unless I really believe it for fear I will then receive said item for one of the two occasions. However, I mentioned, while shopping with my stepmom about a month before my birthday that I might have come around on the whole slow cooker idea and she jumped on it. I think she thought this was the first step. Like, FINALLY, my stepdaughter has grown up. It only took her three years of marriage to see the light: that every woman should own a crock pot.

As though this was the first step, and next, I'd announce I want a baby, too.

The crock pot is very shiny and matches my kitchen very nicely. I haven't used it yet.

I have very good intentions. The reason I actually wanted one is because while in France I bought a jar of homemade cassis butter, which reminded me how much I love apple butter and how I would like to eat apple butter in say, April, rather than only in October at a farm when I'm picking out pumpkins. But when I looked for a recipe, the only ones I could find required a slow cooker.

I haven't made apple butter yet but I'm blaming it on the annoyingness that is my requirement to go to work during the day. Yesterday I printed the recipe, but it said I had to slow cook the apples for 10 hours, and my stepmom's most important piece of advice when I opened my gift was this: Don't put anything in it before bed. You won't be able to sleep. So with that in mind, I'm thinking Saturday will be Apple Butter Day.

The Hubs is more excited about the prospect of pulled pork sandwiches in the crock pot and thinks that should be my focus. So far, in the time I've had the slow cooker, we've eaten pulled pork sandwiches at Cluck, Grunt and Low twice and tonight we ate pulled pork poutine. Apparently we really like pulled pork. I looked at the Rabba but they don't seem to have enough pork to fill a crock pot. Where do I buy pork for a crock pot? Perhaps at a grocery store with a parking lot?

I'm reading What is the What for my book club.



I'm hoping that there is a pulled pork scene. Perhaps with some apple butter on the side. Then, I could bring these items to the meeting. I'm only a few chapters in, but so far, I've only run across Fanta and peanut butter. Those probably wouldn't be as big a hit with the girls, though they would be easy to make.