Wednesday, August 3, 2011

That Funny Thing I Said That One Time



My name is JoAnna and I am an Otter Popaholic. I have to confess that it has been years since I had a popsicle. Not a fan. In fact, I used to make homemade popsicles for my kids and I made them out of plain old water. In reality, they were just icicles on a stick. You moms with young children, feel free to use this great idea.  Kids love them, they cool them off without the sugar buzz and the bonus: NOT MESSY.  It only works until they are old enough to realize that their friends are getting something more colorful. And flavorful. 

So, the last time I had an Otter Pop craving phase was when I was pregnant (no, this is not an announcement) with Spencer. He was due in mid August. We had no air conditioning and every day the weatherman informed us that it would be another record breaking high. The temperature just kept climbing and my poor pregnant self was miserable. By then my kids were on to my ice "popsicles" and I had started buying Otter Pops for them. They were cheap but you pay the price in sticky scissors and little plastic Otter Pop sleeves scattered around the house and yard. I also let them beat the heat with a little kiddy pool out on the patio. One day, as I was handing out Otter Pops and watching them frolic in the wading pool, I had an epiphany: if these things helped the youngsters stay cool--why not the pregnant mama? So I had myself an Otter Pop. And then another. And another. Then I decided to join the children in the wading pool. They didn't really appreciate the beached whale in the middle of their fun but it was a matter of survival. 

Here in southern California it's warm year-round but it gets especially warm where we are and it has been a pretty hot summer. The youngsters noticed that I was eating Otter Pops and expressed surprise. It had been 21 years since I had had one, so not in their lifetime.  They were especially surprised to see me piling three Costco-sized boxes of them into the pantry. The label on the box says that they are frozen "juice" so I have convinced myself that they are a healthy snack. I don't want to know what's really in them. I think the craving is my body's way of keeping me hydrated in this dry desert climate so I'm thinking it is a matter of survival. 

Well, this whole Otter Pop craze reminded Shayla of a little incident a few years back. I was serving in the stake Young Women's presidency up in Washington. It was our turn to supervise the stake youth dance and it was my ward's turn to supply the refreshments. My good friend Robyn was the ward YW president and she had brought a truckload of Otter Pops to cool off the youth and provide a sweet treat. The only glitch was getting them all to freeze. The first couple of rounds were consumed and we were piling them into the freezer as fast as they ate them. Soon we had a mob waiting outside of the church kitchen hoping for an Otter Pop. I was helping Robyn and so I checked on the ones we had laid out in single layers hoping they would freeze faster. 

 "How are they doing?" Robyn asked me.
"Many are COLD but few are FROZEN,"
 I replied, getting a giggle and then a hearty laugh out of my friend.

(You have to be familiar with the scripture  Matthew 20:16: "Many are called, but few are chosen." to really appreciate my attempt at humor.)

 Mmmm the Otter Pops are calling me. Sir Isaac Lime or Louie-Bloo Raspberry?
Shayla claims there is no such fruit as a "Bloo Raspberry" but I choose to believe otherwise.

3 comments:

Scott said...

Who would have thought that "WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, FRUIT JUICE, CITRIC AND/OR FUMARIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE, RED 40, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, BLUE 1" could taste so...cold?

mamagale said...

I see the word "juice" in there--don't confuse me with facts! (What is fumaric acid--or do I want to know?)

Nicole said...

leave it to scott to lay it all out there. i think otter pops sound delicious!

Happy Birthday Scott!

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