All Things Reconsidered

Kat
A few weeks ago we featured some of our favorite podcasts. One of mine was/is the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. It’s all things pop culture and all things ridiculous. It’s my love languages.

Knox McCoy (one of the hosts) is an author. He started his career writing Bachelor recaps, and now he has actual thought-provoking books. I read his first book, The Wondering Years, last summer and found myself laughing out loud or reading sections of it out loud to whomever was closest because when someone makes a Perfect Strangers or Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines reference, I can’t be selfish and enjoy that alone. It’s a great poolside read. His latest book, All Things Reconsidered, released last week. I started reading it, and it’s good. It has the same humor and writing style that I’ve come to know him for, but this one is hitting a little deeper. The premise of the book is centered around things in his life, that upon recollection, he is reconsidering. It ranges from reconsidering streaking through a Taco Bell drive thru to the principles of his faith. This led Caroline and I down a path. What have we reconsidered?

I’m VERY stubborn, so coming up with a list of things that I have to admit I was wrong about was difficult for me. But it’s called “growth”, and I’m doing it.

-Cheese and Mayo Sandwich

It grossed me out to even type that, but as a kid, this was my favorite lunch. Sunbeam white bread. A Kraft single. Hellman’s mayonnaise. I cannot. I simply cannot. Reconsidered.

– Over-plucking my eyebrows
I feel like every girl in the late 90s/early 2000s fell victim to her tweezers. The thing is I don’t even remember really doing it. It must be PTSD related because I’ve completely blocked out of my memory going into my bathroom and making a conscious decision to only have maximum five hairs above my eye. But photographs tell me it happened. Tweezer induced amnesia? Is that a thing? Reconsidered.

-Bumpits as a hair accessory
I blame this on what we should refer to in the late 2000s as the Snooki Paradigm. Why wouldn’t I want to be just like Snooki Polizzi? Answer: NO ONE should be just like Snooki Polizzi. Nevertheless, my freshman and sophomore years of college were sponsored by: the bumpit. Reconsidered.

-Favorite movies
As I’m reaching into the catacombs of my brain for things that I’ve reconsidered, most of them are coming up fashion/beauty related. But I can blame the trends on those, right? Glitter eyeshadow, low rise jeans, and the ones I mentioned above are proof that I am a victim to my surroundings and peer pressure. Well, the next movies that I’ve reconsidered are going to prove the opposite. That I was a child who marched to the beat of her own drum. A child who, did love the Disney classics, but saw beauty and potential in other films when maybe I should have recognized them as trash.
We lived next door to the library growing up, and we could rent movies from there. Every time my mom would let us rent a movie from the library I would rent: Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. It is an anti-drug movie that features all the cartoon characters from the early 90s and teaches you how to “just say no”. It was my FAVORITE. And I’m convinced the reason that I’m drug free today, but is it a great movie? Reconsidered.

Rock-A-Doodle is about a rooster who thinks he’s Elvis. That’s really all I need to say, but I LOVED it. If you put it on my tv right now, I’d be willing to bet that I could quote 80% of it. Reconsidered.

Happily Ever After was a low budget Snow White wannabe. The dwarves were women. Phyllis Diller was the voice of Mother Nature. It was weird, but I loved (still love) weird. Reconsidered.

Caroline
When I first started thinking about things I’ve reconsidered, I was struggling. I had to dig deep in the trenches to find them. Once I got going, I was on a roll and had to narrow down my list. It’s a vast list that ranges from paste meat to a mom mobile. Here we go.

-Being majorly tan and having short hair
Oy. Why did I think I needed to scorch my body every summer? Melanoma is not cute and neither is looking like a wallet. I cringe at the thought that I used to lay in a tanning bed and lay in the sun for hours on end. Why didn’t someone stop me? Tanning. Reconsidered.

I used to think the only way my hair would work was short. As evidenced by this picture, that is very untrue. I have now come to realize I look better with a little length. I don’t want length that makes it look unruly and like I haven’t had a haircut in a year, but a little length helps me not look mushroomy. Short hair. Reconsidered.

-Arby’s Sandwiches
It pains me to type this, but if me sharing this helps save one person, then it’s worth it. A guilty pleasure of mine used to be an Arby’s sandwich and a giant curly fry swimming in Arby’s sauce. I used to let myself eat it once a year and then I was good for 364 more days. WELL, then I read that it first arrives on scene as a paste, and that was it. I was done. Could this be a rumor? Yes, but the fact that someone came up with this idea to even spread it as a rumor was enough for me. Reconsidered.

-My minivan
“I will NEVER drive a minivan.”-me as a 25 year old
“That van is a dream car.”-me now

Never say never. When I was pregnant with the twins, everyone told me a van was the only option for having 3 little ones in car seats. I turned up my nose at the idea, but it was the best decision. The sliding doors, the room, the vacuum, and so much more make me president of The Minivan Fan Club. I don’t have a picture of me with it, but I do have this, and it’s much better. This is how Kat “parked” my car last summer, and this was a legitimate effort by her. Minivan. Reconsidered.

-Winter
I used to think it was the absolute worst time of the year. Don’t get me wrong; it’s still my least favorite season. However, in recent years I’ve found there is something endearing about it. I appreciate the seasonal food, the fact that it’s the time of year to listen to Christmas music all day, every day, the clothes, and that it gives somewhat of an excuse to stay home. I appreciate the cozy factor of it. This doesn’t mean I’ll be packing a U-haul and moving to Michigan to shovel snow all winter, but I have a new-found appreciation for it. Reconsidered.

-Scott Peterson
It’s no secret that I am a weirdo and like watching true crime stories. I recently watched a 6-part series about Scott Peterson on Hulu, and my whole opinion changed. I don’t think he’s guilty. Do I think he’s an upstanding human with character that should be praised? No. BUT I don’t think he did it. Reconsidered.

Thanks for reading our reconsiderations. We’d love to hear some of yours. Fire away. Polly, if you’re reading this, we want you to reconsider vegetables.

If you need a good read, grab that book. It will make you laugh, make you cry, make you reconsider cheese and mayonnaise as lunch.