* I buy adorable patterned cupcake/muffin liners, but I don't use them. Why? Because I hate to "waste" them. I don't really think this through, but when I'm making muffins, and I see those nice cute liners, that's what I think. "Oh, I shouldn't waste those cute liners on muffins!"
See, no liner. I had liners when I made these. But I didn't use them...
* I buy lovely candles, but I don't light them. Why? Same reason as the muffin liners - I don't want to use them up because they're so pretty.
* I buy meat when it's on sale and I carefully wrap it up to prevent freezer burn and put it in the freezer. And then I forget about it, or think I shouldn't use it "yet", and buy more meat.
The other half of this tenderloin is in the freezer. The other half of last year's tenderloin is also in the freezer...
Do you see a pattern here? A trend? Yep, me too. I'm crazy. Obviously, there are more cupcake liners and candles at the store. More than I could use in a lifetime. And it's not like they're expensive versions of these mundane items. They're the original mundane item. Maybe cute, maybe nice smelling... but just your average every day pick it up at Target cupcake liner or candle.
Don't get me started on the time about six years ago I did that cook-for-a-month weekend. I did cook for a month, wrapped it all up, labeled it, froze it, made a chart to check off things as we used them. But then I didn't use anything. I just kept cooking as usual. OK, we did eat the muffins and pancakes. But that was it. Why? Well, I might need it. When? Someday.
My mother-in-law was a Great Depression child, and she reused aluminum foil, and plastic baggies (not zip locks, just the cheap old need-a-twist-tie plastic baggies), and jars, and rubber bands. Anything that could be washed, dried and reused, she washed, dried and reused. When we moved her into assisted living in 2005 she had unopened pantyhose from the Sixties... And I could actually relate, because if I didn't move for thirty years, I'd have meat in my freezer that long. I know what she thought about that pantyhose - "I might need it someday!" (I do draw the line at aluminum foil...)
Maybe a New Years resolution should be to live in the moment, candles, cupcake liners and all. Start using that meat (I have three freezers...seriously). Talk to that neighbor I was waiting to see at the summer picnic. Take the walk I was waiting to take in the spring. Pursue a dream starting today, instead of waiting until someday.
What if someday never comes, and I'm left with three freezers full of meat and a crate of cupcake liners? What kind of legacy is that?
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