Do you believe you can have your cake and eat it too?
I have never understood this idiom and therefore never used it.  So in order to answer this question, I looked it up online.  It supposedly means "you can't have it both ways."  An example often cited is that of an engaged person still wanting to date other people.  Others have recommended switching the phrase and saying "you can't eat your cake and have it too" as in you can't eat it and save it for later.  This question is sort of lost on me.  I don't think it is right to date when you are engaged, but surely that cannot be the only way in which to use this saying.  Perhaps I will use school.  You can't get good grades and play all the time too.  Well, I beg to differ.  I have lots of fun in school and I get good grades.  But I don't party ALL the time and I sometimes have to blow off my friends to do homework.  Okay, work.  You can't have a good job and work hard and get paid well and still enjoy what you do.  I can see this a little bit more, considering I want to be a teacher.  Anything else that would pay more is not something I really want to do.  But I enjoy the work I do.  And I make enough money to support myself and pay my debts and have some extra, so I suppose this is alright for now.  Love life.  You can't expect to meet Mr. Right without doing a little footwork yourself.  True true.  So perhaps for this saying to mean more to me, it should be more like, "You can't eat a cake that is super high calorie and expect to stay thin."  Meaning you can't expect everything to be easy.  If you want to eat your cake you have to exercise.  But you can still have your cake and eat it.  As long as you exercise.  Or don't eat as much.  If I want good grades I have to do my homework.  If I want a job which I enjoy I have to accept a lower salary. If I want to meet the man of my dreams I have to get off my ass.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that in all aspects of life, compromise and diligence are key.