Be Still My Sugared Mind

I woke up in a fog this morning, my head pounding from lack of sugar. I'm trying to stick to my Whole 30 healthy eating, even if it's only for a week...just to prove to myself that I can still go one week without sugar and wine.

Last night Dave and I were talking about how much we think about food. So much of our idyllic life centers around planning the next meal, worrying about our wine stock, and thinking about where our next dinner or lunch out will be. Rather shameful considering the millions of people who go to sleep NOT worrying about their waistlines but how they will survive another day without starving to death.

When I try to be a healthier eater, it's funny how my mind becomes fixated on what I "can't" have. They say that your body tells you what it needs, so I guess since all I can think about is that marble cake from SusieCakes, maybe my body cells actually NEED that sugar? Probably not.

Yesterday, I was bored and I thought about I going downtown to an art gallery to pick up a little ceramic cake slice that was featured on a Facebook page.  It was only $23 and I thought it would be clever sitting on my kitchen counter.  I knew that I didn't need any artwork (we're on a new austere budget around here), so I wrestled with myself about going. When push came to shove, I had to admit that what I REALLY wanted was to get out, walk in the sunshine and get a cappuccino in a favorite coffee shop...and maybe sneak next door and get some marble cake.

 

Kudos to me, I resisted the strong impulse to waste gas, talked myself out of the artwork and made myself an espresso with my little Peet's drip cone at home. I bought it at Peet's last week when I was having another cappuccino craving, and since I'm trying not to do dairy, those are out too...along with the cube of brown sugar.

I have to admit that I was shocked when I took a hard look at our food and alcohol expenditures in any given month. Hence, the new budget. So is it that I feel deprived all of a sudden, not being able to pop over to the meat market anytime I please that makes me hungry all the time?  Or is it the extra 5 pounds and rebellious innards that brought on this re commitment to healthier eating that makes me feel like I am living in the midst of a famine? Or am I just plain self-absorbed and pouting because I can't have it all...me thinks the latter. It is unfair that we can't put whatever we want into our bodies without it getting cranky, fat and sick. 

So it's Saturday and I should go to the Farmer's market to pick up some fruits and veggies.  My customary routine was to couple it with a trip to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things that the farmers didn't have...AND a trip to Starbucks or Peet's for a mocha. See what I mean?  I am sugar obsessed right now...and I'm off caffeine. Double headache!! But if I give it a few more days, this too shall pass and I will be cured...maybe.

Think I'll go fry an egg or too...place it lovingly on a bed of ham and sweet potato...and get over myself. People are starving out there, Laurel.

P.S. It's good to know that eggs are "okay" to eat now...like I was going to give them up?

Laurel. Everything in moderation.

Sisters

This Fall we are traveling to Texas to join Dave's high school friends for their 50th class reunion. As much as I love road trips, we decided to fly this year to spend more time with family and friends.  We have driven to Texas several times in our 30 year marriage...once with the kids when we were first married, another time to celebrate another class reunion.

Road trips are special...like our trip to France this past year, you see a lot more country from the front seat of a car. As well, you can stop whenever and wherever you want. Dave and I laugh with fond memories of a road trip with his mother and aunt, taking them back to their birthplace in Kentucky. 

If you have never been in a car with two aging sisters, you would be in for a treat. One would think that time would settle all old arguments and jealousies, but that is never the case.  Once a sister, always a sister. Whether you were the youngest or the oldest, the perceived injustices of childhood never truly go away, they just mellow.

I in the front seat, beading away on my daughter's wedding dress...Dave driving a mile long Mercury through the rural roads of Kentucky...and Mom and Auntie in the back seat, "mis-remembering" everything. It was all we could do to keep from laughing aloud at some of the conversations between these two sisters. It was like time stood still and they were both taken back to their childhood. 

It reminded me that a sister is for life. Even though I don't keep in touch with mine very often, when we get together, it's like we were never separated.  My mom is celebrating her 90th birthday this coming weekend, and I will get to host my Sis and her hubby for the festivities. Perhaps we will shop, perhaps we will cook, but most of all, we will laugh...and even mis-remember fondly the details of our growing-up years together, whose doll was the prettiest or which side of the bed was "hers"!

I sorely miss my Mother-in-Law and beloved sister, the sweetest little Southern women...the way they used to make them.

Hey sister of mine...do you think we can get our daughters to take us on a road trip when we get old?

Laurel.  Sisters are forever.

Oh Water, where for art thou?

It's warm outside for February and we are wondering if we are ever going to get some rain in the valley. With the ever present threat of DROUGHT ( I'm so sick of hearing about it), I find myself yearning for the evenings on the lake that used to be.  So I thought I'd remind myself of better days...floating around in our boat when the lakes were full...sipping wine and watching the sunsets.

I sure wish Mother Nature would start cooperating!!

Laurel. Nature Girl Wanna-Be.