What was once one of my favourite holidays (after Christmas, Easter, my birthday and Talk Like A Pirate Day) has now been relegated to the list of holidays that make me feel sick. Once upon a time, I used to love pancake day – I considered it deserving of a national holiday, to tell you the truth – and couldn’t stand Valentine’s Day, which really made me want to throw up.
Oh, how the tables have turned. Following a rather epic pancake, which was made from own-brand pancake mix and was lovely, we had Betty Crocker pancakes. Ahh, we thought. Betty Crocker is a respected name in the puddings and batter industry, if such an industry exists. Surely these pancakes will be incredible!
Wrong. I think everyone in the house agreed that the pancakes – despite my Dad’s incredible pancake-making skills, which are legendary and have designated him as the household pancake maker for the past goodness-knows-how-many-years – weren’t the best. They stuck to the pan, refused to turn over or flip (a disappointment after my first successful flip with the own-brand pancakes), and didn’t seem entirely cooked.
Now, I know that my Dad knows pancakes. He really does know his pancakes, and they are usually incredible. This is not an issue with my Dad’s pancake skills – it’s Betty Crocker’s pancake skills I’m calling into question now. More like Betty Cock-up, if you ask me – we’ve had a lot of shake-to-make pancake mixes in our time, and Betty Crocker’s are undoubtedly the worst.
With that in mind, combined with the fact that I’m not feeling altogether incredible, I think pancake day has been relegated into the list of holidays I’ll celebrate, but won’t anticipate with that same childlike enthusiasm. Maybe, if we have some incredible pancakes next year, I’ll change my mind.
As it is, it is now officially Lent, and I am now officially giving up chocolate (and maybe alcohol, unless I really really really want a SoCo and lemonade in the next forty days), but definitely chocolate. I love my chocolate – but I want to love my body more, so every time I want a bar of chocolate, I’m going to go for a walk instead. Hopefully by Easter I’ll be fitter, looking better and ready to absolutely devour some Easter eggs. I may also have a slightly heavier purse – I don’t spend that much on chocolate as it is, but when you consider all the things I’ll be cutting out by cutting out chocolate – it means no chocolate biscuits, no cookies (sob!), no cereal bars with chocolate in them, no chocolate mousse or ice cream, NO HOT CHOCOLATE (and I just bought marshmallows for it too!), and it’s all going to add up and save me a fair bit, I should hope. Instead I’ll be buying more fruit and veg, and fruity yoghurts to snack on instead of chocolate and biscuits. I’m not even slightly religious, but I want to get fit and healthy, and maybe Lent is the kick-start I need.
Hopefully when I give you my Lent Is Over post in (March? April? Whenever Chocolate Day is…), I’ll be coming at ya with a healthier outlook and maybe a better body. Wish me luck!
the life of a moomin 