"WOW! What a ride!"

Earlier this week, my friend Brittany gave me this quote:
   "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'WOW! What a ride!'" -Hunter S. Thompson.

    After mulling it over for a few days, I have started thinking that maybe we should all look at life in that context. I'm not saying that you should throw all caution to the wind and do whatever hairbrained idea pops into your head, or eat your way into an early grave. However, it might bode us well to lose some of our super-cautious, strict, penny-pinching ways and actually enjoy life. Such as trying new things, eating different foods, or whatever things you have never done because it would be considered "frivolous," or a "waste of time," or "maybe I'll break a leg." In light of that, I think that over the last week Jason and I have been enjoying life. Here are a few examples of our (or my) lifestyle that might help us to "skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke" into our graves.

Grilled Lobster Tails. Yep, they are going to send us to the grave "thoroughly used up."

Seriously though, I almost never buy seafood because I think it's too expensive. However, we both love it and sometimes eat it at restaurants. So when I saw these guys on sale, I decided that I was going to fork over the money to get them. I also determined that buying and cooking seafood at home probably costs about 50% less then going out to a restaurant to eat seafood. Same with the Buffalo Burgers that I made about a month ago. (I know there's a huge difference between seafood and buffalo, but it was the same money idea.)

Grilled Pork Ribs. I had the same thoughts about these ribs on sale as I did about the lobster. So why not get them and enjoy them to the fullest?

This line-up was the bulk of the ingredients for the rib sauce. And yes, some of that stuff is expensive (like the honey, soy sauce, and whiskey; the wine was cheap) but I have found that most recipes don't call for cups and cups of these ingredients. Usually just a tablespoon or two. So guess what? I don't have to buy it very often, so is it really that expensive?

The ribs in the sauce just before going on the grill. I wish I had an "after" picture, because it looked more appealing when it was finished. Also, I was sure that was to much sauce for just those couple of ribs. But after an hour of grilling, the sauce reduced down to about 1/3 to 1/4 of that amount. And let me tell you, those ribs were to sooooo good! I have never had ribs that good in a restaurant. And we had leftovers. To eat this in a restaurant would've probably cost us 3 times as much as it did to buy them on sale at the supermarket and make them at home. So I think I'll give up arriving at my grave "safely in a pretty and well-preserved body" with my money stuffed into a mattress somewhere.

New snowboard boots. This one could send me to an early grave. (I'm still trying to get Jason back into them.) 

I already owned a pair of boots (the white ones), but after trying out a better quality of boots in the right size and feeling the difference, I decided it was okay to spend the money to buy the better ones. I hope to purchase a board and bindings this week, too. (It helps that these items are on sale for probably 75% off!)

Also, snowboarding would seem to be either a frivolous use of money or a dangerous sport. However, it is fun. A lot of fun. So why not have some fun? And I have to say, other then bruising my tailbone severely multiple times (such that it still hurts on occasion just from sitting) and my knees screaming at me the day after each time, I have never injured myself snowboarding.

So maybe I will arrive at my grave "totally worn out," but I hope I'll be saying, "Wow! What a ride!"