My son was once talking with his friends about food. They were imagining the worst food on earth. One of his buddies said, "take sugar, mix it with a little white flour and deep fry it." My son said, "you just described a donut."
And if it's a donut from Don's Donuts, not only is it deep fried sugar, it's also covered in thick maple or chocolate frosting that melts to the shape of the donut. They also do a nice glaze as well. As donuts go, Don's are pretty good. In fact, they are the best donuts I've ever tasted. We have a bit of a tradition on grand kid birthdays. We call it a breakfast donut cake. It's a Don's cinnamon role plopped in the center of a plate and ringed all the way around with donut holes. It barely fits on a large dinner plate. If you get the cinnamon role frosted with maple or chocolate, it's one honkin plate full of sugar. Fortunately the little guy is too little to know or care about this "tradition." Unfortunately, because the older grandkids did really good today in their basketball games, my husband treated them by buying donuts. I haven't had a donut in a while. Tonight I had two. Good going down but not so good once down. I knew this when I ate them.
I don't actually like the aftertaste of processed sugar mixed with grease. I think it's like Adam Lambert. On the one hand initially very appealing, on the other - when you really think about it, not very appetizing.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Chocolate
It's cliche, the thing about craving chocolate. But it's also true. Today I was craving chocolate BIG TIME. Not very diet conscious of me, if I do say so.
I had to pick up some staples at the grocery store and I ended up at the store without a list. My strategy was to walk up and down the aisles hoping my memory would be jogged by what I was seeing.
[Aside. I'm a terrible speller. But really, who knows how to spell Aisle. Ile, aile . . . there are many possible letter combinations that might make sence, but no luck. I had to use a speller dictionary to find it. A-i-s-l-e. Where's the "s" come from? That's just too hard! English sucks.]
Walking up and down aisles is not a good grocery shopping strategy. (Another one of those true cliches.) When I got to the candy aisle it occurred to me I could really use some chocolate! As you have probably noticed, there is a candy display at the front of every store, up near registers. It's full of an assortment of candy bars. Too big and sugary for what I was wanting. But - the candy aisle - that's full of a big assortment of fine chocolates. I saw several that caught my fancy. Fortunatley, there is something I like more than chocoate. That something is money. I could not bring myself to spend 5+ bucks on a small bag of chocolate, I don't care how "fine" it is. I mean, the stuff isn't even good for you. So I did not succumb. I was doing good until I ran into the Easter display. It had sale items. Fine chocolate AND a sale. Deadly combination. So I ended up getting a modestly sized pack of those Ferrero Rocher chocolate covered hazel nut thingees all wrapped in gold foil. I'm a sucker for chocolate with nuts.
So far, I've eaten 4. That's probably 400 calories. (Ok, maybe a little less.) Yes, they were tasty, but really, not all that much. They leave a sugary aftertaste. I wonder if the appeal of chocolate is that it makes you feel young? How so? Well, even though I'm in my mid 50's, after four little chocolate nut balls, I can look forward to breaking out with at least a pimple or two. Kind of like being a teenager. Then I'll feel miserable. Hum, yet again, kind of like being a teenager. Makes me think - chocolate is drama. Hum, maybe that's why they say it's addictive.
I think I'll just end this blogg right here and let this simmer for a bit. Stress, craving chocolate and drama. Hum. I'm thinking it's a spiral, and not in a good way.
I had to pick up some staples at the grocery store and I ended up at the store without a list. My strategy was to walk up and down the aisles hoping my memory would be jogged by what I was seeing.
[Aside. I'm a terrible speller. But really, who knows how to spell Aisle. Ile, aile . . . there are many possible letter combinations that might make sence, but no luck. I had to use a speller dictionary to find it. A-i-s-l-e. Where's the "s" come from? That's just too hard! English sucks.]
Walking up and down aisles is not a good grocery shopping strategy. (Another one of those true cliches.) When I got to the candy aisle it occurred to me I could really use some chocolate! As you have probably noticed, there is a candy display at the front of every store, up near registers. It's full of an assortment of candy bars. Too big and sugary for what I was wanting. But - the candy aisle - that's full of a big assortment of fine chocolates. I saw several that caught my fancy. Fortunatley, there is something I like more than chocoate. That something is money. I could not bring myself to spend 5+ bucks on a small bag of chocolate, I don't care how "fine" it is. I mean, the stuff isn't even good for you. So I did not succumb. I was doing good until I ran into the Easter display. It had sale items. Fine chocolate AND a sale. Deadly combination. So I ended up getting a modestly sized pack of those Ferrero Rocher chocolate covered hazel nut thingees all wrapped in gold foil. I'm a sucker for chocolate with nuts.
So far, I've eaten 4. That's probably 400 calories. (Ok, maybe a little less.) Yes, they were tasty, but really, not all that much. They leave a sugary aftertaste. I wonder if the appeal of chocolate is that it makes you feel young? How so? Well, even though I'm in my mid 50's, after four little chocolate nut balls, I can look forward to breaking out with at least a pimple or two. Kind of like being a teenager. Then I'll feel miserable. Hum, yet again, kind of like being a teenager. Makes me think - chocolate is drama. Hum, maybe that's why they say it's addictive.
I think I'll just end this blogg right here and let this simmer for a bit. Stress, craving chocolate and drama. Hum. I'm thinking it's a spiral, and not in a good way.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Chaos
My life is Chaos. I looked it up. "Utter confusion or disorder." Yep, that bout sums it up.
I was going good. Curves for moderate exercise, Pathways to Health for moderate attitude adjusting. Then . . . rather late in the game my husband decided to run for political office. How late? About two and a half weeks ago, well after two other candidates for his office had formally announced, developed campaign teams and strategies, and spent months politicking and fund raising. But, bottom line he was offended by the current operation of the office he is seeking and by the shallow qualifications of candidates vying to replace the retiring incumbent. So when urged to run, he decided to do it. What?!
First, we are NOT what you would call social animals. Second, other than my persistent tweeting about universal health care (I want it), we are not political animals. Ya think that might deter him? Not in the least. He started contacting basically everyone he knows and, dang, they all kept encouraging him. Then he started trying to contact politicians to identify consultants or somebody with campaign experience. Suffice it to say, the few consultant types that exist in the rural area we live in were already engaged - by our opponents. There was a moment that first week when it looked like we were facing insurmountable odds. Then, danged if he didn't connect up with a very high powered politico (hpp) who assured him it was not "too late." While too busy to consult on our campaign, hpp agreed to "advise" and lend the use of his name as a way to get calls returned. Seems politics is all about relationships. Call and leave a message in the black hole, or call and say hpp suggested I call and ta-dah, your phone rings in no time flat.
OK, as long as I'm looking up words, another one that seems to fit here is serendipity, "an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident." Or maybe it's fate -- the way we connected up with the big wig. It happened like this. We weren't getting anywhere with our efforts to find someone who could help us crack the old politics nut. Then my husband met with a fella who lost an election. He said if he had it to do over he'd just shell out the dough for high priced talent from out of the area like his victorious opponent hired. "Oh yeah, like who?" The answer was the guy who ended up being our very own high powered politico. Turns out he isn't from out of the area at all. He lives quietly in our own little town and cyber-works out of an office with no sign on the door. In fact, not only does he now live in our town, it turns out he grew up here. He's the son of a neighbor who lives just down our country road and he use to ride the bus with our oldest daughter 20 years ago. What are the chances of that?!
Within a week it was pretty clear that my husband was digging in and running for office. I actually felt kind of sick to my stomach at first but then I quickly got consumed by the process of trying to "get a clue" about campaigns. It was initially overwhelming, intimidating, daunting, scary, discouraging, distressing, etc. . .
I'm over feeling sick about it. No time or energy to waste on that. In the last two weeks my husband has filed his notice of intent, I became campaign treasurer and we recruited a couple of highly educated, energetic but underemployed young women to serve as campaign manager and assistant treasurer. Our candidate website and facebook account is up. We issued a press release announcing we are planning to announce (next Monday) and ended up on the evening news and in local newspapers. We have the endorsement of the mayor of the town we live in and a councilmen is on our steering committee. (One city down 4 to go in a county wide election.) We've raised almost $4,000 (about $31,000 to go) and we are all getting acclimated to talking to people and asking for things.
It's been a blur and seems it will continue to be until at least June and maybe all the way to November. In the last couple weeks, for me that blur has included writing and submitting a grant application and preparing and delivering a half-day presentation for a teacher training program on tribal sovereignty. Excellent results each time, but MAN have I been busy. Simply because all I've had time for is one of those healthy nut bar things for lunches and light dinners, I have actually lost 5 or 6 pounds. But I know I can't sustain that. Finally taking some down time today, I find I've been nurturing myself with food. Old habits die hard.
I haven't been to Curves for three weeks. I did not fulfill my weekly Pathways to Health action plan last week. This week I totally missed the last Pathways meeting. So much for exercise and healthy attitude ajusting. But I did learn something in Pathways to Health. It has to do with those action plans. They were all about discrete, achievable steps that take you in the direction you want to go. My plan is Curves at least two times each week. Baby steps.
I was going good. Curves for moderate exercise, Pathways to Health for moderate attitude adjusting. Then . . . rather late in the game my husband decided to run for political office. How late? About two and a half weeks ago, well after two other candidates for his office had formally announced, developed campaign teams and strategies, and spent months politicking and fund raising. But, bottom line he was offended by the current operation of the office he is seeking and by the shallow qualifications of candidates vying to replace the retiring incumbent. So when urged to run, he decided to do it. What?!
First, we are NOT what you would call social animals. Second, other than my persistent tweeting about universal health care (I want it), we are not political animals. Ya think that might deter him? Not in the least. He started contacting basically everyone he knows and, dang, they all kept encouraging him. Then he started trying to contact politicians to identify consultants or somebody with campaign experience. Suffice it to say, the few consultant types that exist in the rural area we live in were already engaged - by our opponents. There was a moment that first week when it looked like we were facing insurmountable odds. Then, danged if he didn't connect up with a very high powered politico (hpp) who assured him it was not "too late." While too busy to consult on our campaign, hpp agreed to "advise" and lend the use of his name as a way to get calls returned. Seems politics is all about relationships. Call and leave a message in the black hole, or call and say hpp suggested I call and ta-dah, your phone rings in no time flat.
OK, as long as I'm looking up words, another one that seems to fit here is serendipity, "an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident." Or maybe it's fate -- the way we connected up with the big wig. It happened like this. We weren't getting anywhere with our efforts to find someone who could help us crack the old politics nut. Then my husband met with a fella who lost an election. He said if he had it to do over he'd just shell out the dough for high priced talent from out of the area like his victorious opponent hired. "Oh yeah, like who?" The answer was the guy who ended up being our very own high powered politico. Turns out he isn't from out of the area at all. He lives quietly in our own little town and cyber-works out of an office with no sign on the door. In fact, not only does he now live in our town, it turns out he grew up here. He's the son of a neighbor who lives just down our country road and he use to ride the bus with our oldest daughter 20 years ago. What are the chances of that?!
Within a week it was pretty clear that my husband was digging in and running for office. I actually felt kind of sick to my stomach at first but then I quickly got consumed by the process of trying to "get a clue" about campaigns. It was initially overwhelming, intimidating, daunting, scary, discouraging, distressing, etc. . .
I'm over feeling sick about it. No time or energy to waste on that. In the last two weeks my husband has filed his notice of intent, I became campaign treasurer and we recruited a couple of highly educated, energetic but underemployed young women to serve as campaign manager and assistant treasurer. Our candidate website and facebook account is up. We issued a press release announcing we are planning to announce (next Monday) and ended up on the evening news and in local newspapers. We have the endorsement of the mayor of the town we live in and a councilmen is on our steering committee. (One city down 4 to go in a county wide election.) We've raised almost $4,000 (about $31,000 to go) and we are all getting acclimated to talking to people and asking for things.
It's been a blur and seems it will continue to be until at least June and maybe all the way to November. In the last couple weeks, for me that blur has included writing and submitting a grant application and preparing and delivering a half-day presentation for a teacher training program on tribal sovereignty. Excellent results each time, but MAN have I been busy. Simply because all I've had time for is one of those healthy nut bar things for lunches and light dinners, I have actually lost 5 or 6 pounds. But I know I can't sustain that. Finally taking some down time today, I find I've been nurturing myself with food. Old habits die hard.
I haven't been to Curves for three weeks. I did not fulfill my weekly Pathways to Health action plan last week. This week I totally missed the last Pathways meeting. So much for exercise and healthy attitude ajusting. But I did learn something in Pathways to Health. It has to do with those action plans. They were all about discrete, achievable steps that take you in the direction you want to go. My plan is Curves at least two times each week. Baby steps.
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