DATE NIGHT!!

We are going on a date tonight!! A double date with some friends. We are going to a sushi place and I made sure to clarify that they have other things to order because-I'm not hip or trendy. There you have it folks, a newsflash. I am totally uncool. I wear my mom jeans with pride and a long shirt. (Okay, they are not the ones that come up to just below your bra but they are certainly not low-rise either.) Some of the latest trends feature the extremes and I just won't go there. I have good reasons for the decisions I make. I thought I would share a few of them with you.

Extreme movies- I don't even like non-extreme scary movies. Silence of the Lambs gave me nightmares and daymares for a long long time. I will forever be leery of vans without windows. Some of the latest SCARIEST movies may or may not be realistic and scary-but I ain't seeing them!! Saw, Hostel, The Ring-you won't see a penny of my entertainment dollar. Extreme movies about youth and sex, like American Pie, don't even want to be around people who watch them. Don't ask, don't tell. Extreme statement movies-Brokeback Mountain, Million Dollar Baby-Hollywood-I liked you better when you were entertaining me. I daresay, My Own Private Idaho would beat Brokeback in a race-but I'll never know cause I ain't watching Brokeback.

Extreme rides- I rode Mr. Freeze a long time ago-I think it was before kids but I don't remember, wait, yes I do they were really little and spending the weekend somewhere while Erik and I had a long weekend together in St. Louis. Anyway-NEVER AGAIN. That is not fun for me. I won't step foot on another roller coaster with "G" forces.

Extreme reality shows- I would eat a bug for money. I would have to know you would pay me and not pocket it, laugh and walk away-and it would have to be alot of money(relativity here, there are days when $20 would be alot of money)-but I would do it. I would also want to wash it with vinegar and water first-but then I would do it. I would NOT go on a show where I would be televised eating all sorts of disgusting crap and THEN, if I don't get eliminated, I MIGHT have a shot at big money. Fear factor, Survivor, etc.-I am not your girl. Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, The Price is Right-call anytime. Not only would I not do an extreme show like that-I don't want to watch one either.

Extreme foods-I fully realize I am gonna lose some of you here in my definition of extreme foods. That is okay and just know I don't make these decisions lightly. I completed, with a B, a course of microbiology that robbed every joy in my life for a year. Then I lightened up-a little. Not much really but I just had to forget some things I knew to carry on with the day to day. (500 random and gross micro facts just assaulted my brain.) I wash my hands about 20 times a day and I wish I was exaggerating. If I can't wash my hands, I have purell's generic cousin in my purse.

Anyhoo, I will never eat sushi, a rare hamburger, any rare pork-EVAH, raw oysters or basically any raw meat. I do like my steak medium-but that means pink in my world. I also do not eat organ meats of any kind. I have eaten clams and squid fried but do not intend to again. Also-fresh from the garden greens, broccoli, lettuce,cabbage must be washed a bazillion times(vinegar!) by me for me to ingest them. These are what I consider extreme foods. More extreme than these? Only if I am a castaway on a dessert island eating for survival(for real, not the show).

All this to say, no scary movies or sushi for me tonight. But I do hope they have something steak-like and I will totally be risky with a salad!!

Just a heads-up for you Sushi lovers:

From this website:

Eat at Your Own Risk
Sushi
The danger: The primary cause for concern with sushi is the presence of parasites—tapeworms, flatworms and roundworms, for example—in the fish. (YUMMY!) Eating sushi and sashimi at restaurants where the chefs not only know how to purchase the best fish, but also know how to identify and remove parasites during preparation, can help minimize the risk, but no raw fish can be guaranteed safe. And dipping it in soy sauce and wasabi may have a mildly antimicrobial effect, but it’s not likely to ensure a completely safe sushi meal.

The safer solution: Cooking fish to at least 145 degrees for a minute or more will kill any parasites residing in the fish. But then you no longer have sushi! The only way to eat it raw and still be sure it’s not harboring any parasites is to eat fish that has been frozen before it became sushi. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends freezing fish to an internal temperate of -31 degrees for at least 15 hours in order to kill parasites.