Potatoes, Water, and Chapstick

Alright, so here it goes.... (how many blogs must start like that)

After precisely 6 months and 10 days of clinical depression and recovery I am...blogging. Writing. Confessing. Sharing....Attempting to  make a baked potato in the oven. 

I know, I know everyone tells me that baked potatoes are not that hard to make, that in fact they are supper easy! I, however, would argue the contrary....and just trust me when I say, when it comes to bad kitchen mishaps, I would know. 
For example, another incredibly easy dish to make (or so they say) is stir fry. Well, last time I attempted to make stir fry my small apartment smelled like soy sauce for days, the veggies and chicken ended up in the trash, and after some thorough cursing, I went and had a chocolate shake for dinner instead. 

Anyways, we shall see how this baked potato goes. At least I am in a much larger kitchen now. The least of things that have changed since my last cooking adventure. In fact, that seems like years and years ago...an entire life ago. Im sure young people like me say that all the time and it drives our grandparents and older friends nuts but hey, thats what we are here for! Right....? 

Talking about this potato so much makes me nervous....hold on....
Ok, so I have no clue what good it does to check the oven when you are baking a potato, but for me the fact that they are still inside the oven (instead of blown up or perhaps scheming to sprout legs and run around the house tormenting my dog) makes me feel much, much better. 

Ok. So enough about the darn potato (just to be specific, there are actually two potatoes in the oven....aw! ok so does anyone else remember the talking muffin joke?? It was around in like middle school...I really did not find it funny at the time but I think it is firkin hilarious now! In case you need a refresher: 
Two muffins are sitting in an oven. 
One muffin says to the other: “Man its hot in here”
The other muffin says: “Oh my god its a talking muffin!” 
*Cue: Laughter. 
My peers who were much more comedic than I back in the day must excuse me of any inaccuracies, this is simply how I remember it and for some unknown reason my seasoned brain of twenty-two (after sitting through lectures, exams, and various life lessons) finds this joke hilarious. I mean, come on? Whats better than talking muffins after a long day of trigonometry, or research, meetings, running, working, or baking potatoes? I think I will take the talking muffins.) 

Do any of you guys ever think about how incredibly important water is? Aren't we made up mostly of water? And isn't this world make up of mostly water? I think it is. Yea I am pretty sure it is. But no, I am not going to google it to find out the percentages. I don't know why I never thought about it very much before (well yes I did, I was incredibly busy thinking about other things) but seriously, we should think about water way more. Its one thing that can come from above or below us, outside or inside us, around us, it can save us, it can kill us, its like the ultimate double edged sword....except when you are crazy thirsty, your mouth is dry as a leaf, and you take a nice cool drink of water...there is nothing better than that, no negative side to that. 

There are so many small things that I never thought about before. “Before” meaning...before depression, before immense change, before my biggest struggles, before I was granted a second chance....”before” meaning before. In my other life, my other choices, my other realm. I cant say my other soul, because as much as I feel separated from this “before” I know it is still a part of me, a very big part. But it is not now...it is, it was, before now. 

One thing I did always think about was Chapstick. Holy cow, do not ask me why, but I firkin love Chapstick. Actually you can ask me why, I remember why. It is incredibly silly, but just goes to show there are certain things we do not forget! When I was in 8th grade I was ‘dating’ (ha) this boy named Danny (yes, of course there is a boy involved!) Anyways after we had spent time together, movie-going and walking to Tae Kwon Do from Walgreens together (yes, it was oh so romantic under the glow of street lights and into the smell of sweat, B.O, and the romantic soundtrack of “hi yah!”) I asked him why he had not kissed me yet. His eloquent answer: “Your lips looked so chapped I thought they would cut mine if I tried.” 
Yea. Awesome. Thus begins my slightly obsessive relationship with Chapstick which still exists almost a decade later, and you can bet my lips are now lusciously soft, so take that Mr. Dried Lips!! 

Water, Chapstick...they are both pretty small things to think about in the grand scheme of things. I don't know many people who ponder very long about either of those things unless its a thought like “Where the hell did I put that damn water bottle now? Ok! Who stole my water bottle? Come on!” or “Where is the Chapstick? Like, seriously, I put it right in this specific pocket in my purse and now it is not here...what are the chances any of these other pockets are going to have the Chapstick?! It is not here! Ugh! I have to go to Target now. Yea! I do love Target. I mean seriously, who doesn't?” 
Yea, so you get my point...they are pretty simple things in the big picture of our every day lives. I mean unless you have to pee desperately, or you just ate a hot wing and your lips are on fire, chances are you wont be running around crazily ranting about either of the two. 
Despite their size and traditional place in the back of our minds throughout our daily routines, I would argue it might do us some good to think about these small things every once in a while. No I don't expect you to go write paragraphs about water, Chapstick, or even baked potatoes, I mean only a crazy nutso person would do that, but I would argue that reflecting on the simple things in life might do us some good. 
Lets try it. 
Water, it keeps us alive. We drink it. Most of us (unless we possess cat like genes) enjoy it in the form of pools, oceans, ponds, lakes, streams....water parks etc. There are like a million (and zero calorie!) ways to flavor it and keep it exciting. We really like it a lot after physical exertion. We bathe in it, shower in it, gargle salt water with it when we have a sore throat....ok so you get the picture...we use it a lot. 
But, I mean Im just wondering here, can you recall the sensation of taking just one drink of water? Have you ever slowed down just to enjoy the way it makes your body feel to have a nice little sip of water in the middle of your day? I don't know if I ever would have paid attention to that. Or really even cared to. But, if you feel like trying it, its pretty cool. I guess I just wouldn't want to get to the end of my life and not be able to say that I’ve really, thoroughly enjoyed a glass of water. 
As for Chapstick though, now that I can say I have enjoyed many times. 
Enjoy your water. 


Keep on truckin'
C.M.S