Mark My Words

I rarely go to McDonald’s, and when I do, it’s usually for a McMuffin. But once in a blue moon I’ll stop by for something else, like this past Friday. I was craving a Filet-O-Fish, which almost seems like a sin because I could have stopped at virtually a dozen other places in town for cod or walleye or bluegill. This is the Land of the Friday Fish Fry, after all, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

When I got home and unwrapped the Filet-O-Fish, I almost laughed. I don’t remember the Filet-O-Fish being so tiny, I texted Tara. (For the record, I do not have large hands.)

Shrinkflation! she replied.

Geez Louise, I guess so! It had been years since my last Filet-O-Fish, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t this tiny back in the day. More like a Filet-O-Minnow if you ask me.

By the way, I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Filet-O-Fish is made with wild-caught Alaskan Pollock from sustainably managed fisheries. I’d just assumed it was some inferior species of questionable origin. I mean yeah, every filet is the same uniform rectangular shape, so you know they’re all mass-produced somewhere, but the same can be said for a burger patty. All in all, it’s not a terrible sandwich. We’ll see if it’s gotten any smaller in 2028, the next time my craving will strike.

Speaking of shrinkflation, we ordered Chinese food a few weeks ago, and check out my fortune cookie.

Apparently someone ran the fortune through a shredder, ’cause all I got was a thin sliver of paper with nary a word of wisdom on it.

At least the fried rice was good (and the kernels were normal-sized).

We’re up to two million this year

Last week, we went to the Holiday Light Show at the Rotary Botanical Garden in Janesville. This is the closest thing we’ve got to a winter tradition here in Wisconsin, though we skipped last year because Tara was in Mexico.

When we first went in 2022, there were 1.2 million lights, which seemed amazing at the time. The following year, they upped their game and had 1.5 million lights. Well, they keep adding to their LED budget, because there are 2 million lights this year. Amazeballs.

The last time we went, we made the mistake of buying tickets for 8:00 on a Friday night. We had to park half a mile away, and the line was so long, it took us 45 minutes to reach the entrance. They started turning people away just a few spots behind us in line, and all the pathways were elbow-to-elbow with people.

Never again, we vowed. This year, we decided to go on a Wednesday evening at 5:30. This made all the difference in the world: we found a parking spot in the main lot, there was no line to get in, and the place wasn’t bustling with people. The whole experience was a thousand times better, especially with all that snow on the ground. I’m pretty sure the Grinch’s heart would have grown three sizes that day if he were strolling through the incredibly festive display.

Afterward, we stopped for sushi, which totally hit the spot. (Apparently, I had a real hankering for food with gills last week.) If this becomes our new tradition – early on a weeknight, raw fish for supper – I can live with that.

Gettin’ my shawarma on

A couple of weekends ago, I mentioned that we went to our town’s Holiday Market. One of the venues was a church, where they were raffling off a bunch of gift baskets. I held my breath walking through the door, sure we’d burst into flames or something, but when that didn’t happen, we decided to buy $10 worth of tickets, spreading them out among a few baskets.

Tara texted me at work one day last week. It’s a major award! she wrote. We won the Mediterranean basket from the church raffle.

Score!

It’s actually a pretty decent basket: there’s a cookbook, candles, dipping bowls, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, an assortment of spices with clunky names (Sabaa Baharat, Za’atar, etc.), an oil mister, dish towel, and a $50 gift card to World Market. Not a bad return on our $10 investment, huh?

I’m making chicken shawarma tomorrow. I’ve never made chicken shawarma before. I have high hopes.

I’m cooking, she’s working

Christmas is only a few days away! I can hardly believe it. But I’m sure I say that every year.

The best part about the holidays? Not working. Wednesday and Thursday are state holidays, so all CheeseGov offices are closed. I’m taking Monday, Tuesday, and Friday off to give myself a nice, long 9-day break. I rarely ever have a whole week off; usually, I take a day or two of PTO here and there, so I get a bunch of long weekends. It’s nice to have a more substantial break for once.

Tara, on the other hand? Well. It’s her busiest time of year and she was unable to take any time off, so we won’t talk about that.

“I just realized, you’re doing all the cooking this week,” she said this morning.
“That’s okay,” I replied. “You’re doing all the working this week.”

They don’t call us Team MarTar for no reason, folks.

I’ve got some stuff planned; I have to go to Janesville tomorrow to buy stocking stuffers, and Milwaukee on Tuesday to pick up a HoneyBaked ham (our go-to butcher shop closed this year, so we are forgoing our usual prime rib). But I also checked out a bunch of DVDs from the library yesterday, so there will be plenty of leisure time too.

Hope y’all have a festive Christmas!

Have you experienced shrinkage lately? Do you have an annual holiday tradition? Ever won a major award?