Shut Up and Date

I have hit a plateau.  It's my pattern.  I have one or two or four bad experiences in a row and get burnt out and then I give up on dating for brief period, a month or two.  It's not that I return to the ways of Sloth Janelle (though, with the winter months returning, an end to shaving does sound appealing, am I right ladies? high five?  Ok, maybe not) but I shut down the dating section of my brain and focus on my DVR, bake up a storm and throw my self into a hobby I usually quit after a month (blogging, par example.)  

"See how they hug each toe?" Ugh.

I'm in the middle distance of said pattern at the moment.  Whenever I find myself in one of these "dating shut down" modes, I keep replaying in my mind the trials of previous dates from HELL.  "Oh GOD, what if he repeatedly asks me to join him in his hot tub on the first date?  ICK!  What if he doesn't stop talking about toe shoes?!"  (Don't think ballet shoes, but instead picture a gorilla's foot dipped in space aged polymer rubber and then sold as shoes.  One particular gentleman loved them dearly and spoke of them excessively.  He had several pairs.  They were his Facebook profile picture.  This is is not a joke.)  Why do I keep banging my head against the proverbial wall?" 


Perhaps a better question may be, why am I such a drama queen?  Sure these dates are no fun and, yes, I come home convinced I will die alone but who doesn't? (Right?)   So this time around, I'm taking up a new mantra--Shut Up and Date. Subtext: even if it's lame it will make a good blog entry.  Henceforth I will get to know a person before I become a judgy bitch.  Who knows, it's possible Mr. Toe Shoes is currently blogging about me, the girl who refused to open her mind to five toe comfort.  


As I've gotten older, I've realized the importance of keeping an open heart/mind.  Not like they talk about in after school specials but more in a real " you can't plan everything/sometimes things work out the way they are supposed to/be open to the plans of the Universe" sort of a way.  So moving forward, I vow to keep this in mind and will try to stick to my mantra and just Shut Up and Date.  Over analyze I will not.  My visits to Crazytown will be few and far between--perhaps only to pick up a postcard or two.


In honor of those gorilla feet, this time I bring you a recipe for Monkey Bread.  Now, normally I do not advocate the use of canned biscuit dough but Monkey Bread is one of those rare foods that can actually be BETTER when made from pre-made, pre-canned dough.  If you are looking for the real deal, I would suggest checking out Smitten Kitchen, one of the best food blogs on the planet.  She makes her own dough and covers the whole thing in a cream cheese glaze.  Yes please! That said, here is the good old fashioned, classic, American Pillsbury version:


1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cans biscuit dough
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 raisins, if desired, which I never do.
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted. 


Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease fluted Bundt pan. In large ziploc bag, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon.  Separate dough into biscuits and cut each into quarters.  Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in greased pan, adding walnuts.  Mix the brown sugar and butter and pour over biscuit pieces.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes, till middle no longer doughy.  Turn upside down on to serving platter, pull apart to serve.  Serve warm.