3 Most Underrated (But Awesome) Holiday Traditions

As a follow-up to my 3 Awful Holiday Traditions post – and to prove I am not a Scrooge – here are my favorite holiday traditions:

1. Tinsel.

I’ll admit it. People have their reasons for hating tinsel. Tinsel is messy. It gets tangled in the tree branches and on the carpet. Static cling can cause it to stick to anything and anyone who gets too close to the tree. But even for all its faults, tinsel is the single most amazing Christmas decoration in history. I have loved those mesmerizing silver and gold metallic plastic strips since I was a little kid. A tree just doesn’t seem “finished” without a healthy serving of those sparkly strands. I can’t help myself. Something about tinsel gets into my brain and stimulates my dopamine receptors.

I always knew tinsel was retro. (The tinsel from the 1950s was made from strands of real silver and lead.) But, I was surprised to find out tinsel has actually been around since the 1600s in Germany. My only hope is that tinsel will make a comeback, because it gets harder to find every year.

3 Awful Holiday Traditions

Not everything about the holidays can be merry and bright. In fact, some holiday traditions are downright annoying. I can’t be the only one who feels this way, right? Here are my three least favorite things about the holidays.

1. Egg Nog.

You are gross and I hate you.

For a moment, let’s set aside the fact that egg nog tastes like sugary snot. Even if you have some sort of malfunction in your taste buds that would lead you to think egg nog is palatable, there is something terrifying about what egg nog actually is. Basically, take the reproductive bodily fluids of not one but two separate animals, mix them together with a dash of sugar and nutmeg – voila!

I can understand why the British and the colonial Americans enjoyed it back in the 1700s. Snackfoods weren’t invented yet. But come on. These people also believed in “bleeding” with leeches to cure the body of ailments. Do we really want to trust their culinary expertise?

Nipples on Display: 6 Gym Etiquette Mistakes

The other day I posted a question on Twitter about gym etiquette.

Based on the responses, it seems many people are still not “getting it” when it comes to gym etiquette. So here are my top 6 etiquette pet peeves.

1. The Grunter. This one is so cliche I considered leaving it off the list, but it really deserves to be here. We have all heard that one guy who grunts and groans as loudly as he possibly can as he lifts weights. He makes a simple bicep curl sounds as painful as getting your foot caught in a meat grinder. Not only is he annoying, but he also scares me. I’m legitimately concerned that he will push so hard that his eyeballs pop out of their sockets. I don’t want to be there when that happens.

Doesn't that hurt?

Unidentified Fluids: My STL Mardi Gras Recap

It’s Mardi Gras! And here’s my recap of the weekend. Let’s start with my St. Louis Mardi Gras pros and cons.

Pros- Catching beads during the parade, Tasty food, Fun music, Ice cold Hurricanes, People-watching

Cons- Being too short to catch any beads during the parade, Vomit on the sidewalks, Foul port-a-potties, Numb hands from holding cold drinks in winter weather, Actually talking to aforementioned people

Even this Never Happened to John Candy and Steve Martin

Happy travels!

A week ago, I got to travel during the Midwest’s “Snowmaggedon” and it was quite a treat. It started with the majority of flights out of St. Louis-Lambert Airport being cancelled due to snow and ice. But that was actually the most pleasant part of the traveling experience.

I Don’t Fit In: 3 Things Social Media Has Taught Me

I don't fit in.

A friend of my husband’s asked me about how he could get into blogging and other social media. Of course I was flattered that he even found my posts to be worthy of admiration, but then it got me thinking about how much I suck at social media.

Precision Time: A Follow Up Post

I blogged last week about Precision Time and their horrible policy/customer service. And it seems someone was listening. (Ok, so I may have posted a link to my blog on their Facebook page.) In fact, I never realized so many people who could relate to my story would find my post and reach out to me to share their similar horror experiences. It grew quite larger than I’d anticipated when I started my rant.

Beware of Mall Kiosks: Just a Little Review of Precision Time

I do a few business reviews on Yelp, NOCO and right here on my blog. In fact, here is one I just wrote that was published this week.

I do my best to give businesses the benefit of the doubt and speak positively when I can. Because, let’s be honest, I want local businesses to succeed. Good retail is good for the local economy, and that is good for me as a resident.

That said, every once in a while a company inspires me to take a different approach to my reviews. This is one of those times.

I should have known better.

I Love/Hate Dierbergs

I am a big supporter of local businesses. That is why it pains me to see Dierbergs becoming one of my least favorite places to go.

I get it. The economy is bad. Staffing is expensive. But really, guys, if you are going to tout customer service as something that sets you apart from those national chains, and expect me to pay a premium for it, then you gotta give me some customer service.

Why Can’t I Join Gold’s Gym?

almost as hard as my pecs

Who knew joining a gym could be so damn hard?

I have been researching various gyms in my area and near my office because I want to join one. My elliptical machine works fine, but the electronic calorie counter is broken, and I really like to watch the calorie counter. The final push I needed to get my butt in a gym is that my awesome new company pays for half of my gym membership.