Mom's Pie

I had my mom's pie.

Best decision I ever made.

Choices, Choices!

So far this week I haven't had any sugar. Which is pretty good if you ask me. But the question now becomes, what am I going to have for my one, weekly sugar treat? I've been thinking about it, and I've narrowed it down to these finalists...

White Chocolate Brownie (Moxies)
Black Tie Mousse Cake (Olive Garden)
Tracy's Famous Ginger Snaps (Homemade - two normal sized cookies)
Haagen-Dazs Caramel Almond Crunch ice cream bar (Safeway)
One cupcake of my choice (Crave)

I didn't get a chance to eat any of these things while I was binging last week. So I'm going to try to get around to all of them in time. But I can only have one treat a week. Where should I start?

To make matters worse, my mom is having us over for supper tonight, and she's serving homemade pie for dessert. (Rhubarb and Dutch Apple) So this decision is now a matter of urgency.

I don't know what to do. (Sigh) Say a prayer for me.

What Is One To Do?

I was sick today. Not super sick. Just not feeling well. A little under the weather. A little tired. A little malnourished perhaps...

And in such cases, the most natural thing in the world is to look for a pick me up. Something to lift one's spirit, energize one's soul, elevate one's blood sugar...

So I ate quite a bit today. I won't deny it. I consumed a large quantity of food. I had a good breakfast, a hearty lunch, and a sizable supper. It was all sugar free and very satisfying. I suppose. But, just for the sake of argument...

Suppose that one comes to the end of a long day and finally has time to read the last three chapters of "Little Dorrit"...And suppose one is curled up with said book only to remember that there is a bag of animal cookies in the cupboard...And suppose that one has a sudden and irrepressible urge to consume those animal cookies while reading one's book...Well, I ask you, what is one to do?

I'll tell you what one is to do - remember the promise one made to all of cyberspace not to eat sugar. Except for once a week. That is what one is to do.

Well, that, and eat half a box of Vegetable Thins instead.

The Fat Lady Sang

Well, it's over. I was hoping to make it longer than a week, but I didn't. I never do. Yesterday the inevitable happened - the sugar binge. I had chocolate. And cookies. And chocolate. And ice cream. And chocolate. And pop. And don't forget the chocolate. Did I mention chocolate? I ate so much sugar all day that by the time I went to bed, I felt ill. That's always the sign that it's time to quit. So I'm done. No more sugar. At least, not as much sugar...

Ok, here's the big reveal. I'm not going to abstain from sugar completely. I'm going to try moderation. Just because it's never worked for me before doesn't mean it won't work this time. Right? I guess we'll find out.

I have decided to have one sugar treat a week for the rest of the month. This means one desert or one chocolate bar (regular size) or one helping of whatever. One. Uno. A single unit of measurement. That's it. Per week.

May God have mercy on my soul.

Dickens

What kind of sugar goes perfectly with Dickens?

Pistachio pudding and sugar cookies.

Coke Slurpee

No sugar binge would be complete without a coke slurpee. So yesterday I had one. It was very nice, just the right consistency, with the ice the texture of fine sand and the coke perfectly mixed, sweet and cold and spicy. Coke is spicy. Did you know that? That's one of the first things I noticed when I tasted my slurpee yesterday. Coke has a spiciness to it, almost like root beer only more subtle. I'd forgotten that.

I sucked my slurpee at first, but then I discovered that it was more fun to scoop tiny spoonfuls into my mouth with the slurpee straw, almost as if I were rationing it. (I suppose in a way I was.) The coke began to gather in little pools within the ice the way the tidal pools form on the beach. I'd plunge in my spoon and bring out a small, rich deposit of icy goodness which I would savor on my tongue for a moment before returning to the slurpee cup for another. I almost felt like a kid again, playing on the beach in the summertime, searching among the tidal pools for crabs.

There weren't any crabs in my slurpee though, which is just as well.

Gluttony

I pigged out on sugar last night. I went to a BBQ and ate way too much. Brownies. Pound cake. Homemade banana cake with chocolate icing. Afterward, I felt gross. Why do I do that? The descent into anarchy has begun.

This always happens when I eat sugar. I eat too much, feel disgusting, and then decide not to eat sugar anymore. Moderation and sugar are two words I just can't seem to use in the same sentence. (Although, I guess I just did.) What I'm trying to say is that alcoholics can't drink beer in moderation and I can't eat sugar in moderation either.

Having said that, I haven't hit rock bottom yet. I'm hoping to make it through the end of this week before I become utterly debauched and have to go back on the wagon.

We'll see how it goes.

Unsuckable

I had a Peter's milkshake today. It was very cold, perfect for a hot day. It was also very thick, too think to drink through the straw. So I took the lid off and used the straw like a spoon. I scooped it and slurped it and licked it and gulped it. It wasn't quite an ice cream cone, and it wasn't quite a milkshake. It was a wondrous hybrid, perfectly balanced between liquid and solid. That is, until it started to melt. Then it became just an ordinary milkshake, and with a decided sense of loss, I sucked it dry.

But I decided in that moment that in a perfect world all milkshakes would be unsuckable.

Today I Ate Sugar

Today I ate sugar. I went to the Cheesecake Cafe and had a banana split cheesecake sundae with extra Callebaut chocolate sauce. It was really good. Especially the first couple bites. My tongue couldn't quite believe it. That's what abstinence will do for you.

So the moral of the story is, if you ever want to heighten a pleasurable experience, go without for a while.

Tomorrow I'm Going To Eat Sugar

Tomorrow I'm going to eat sugar. This is a big deal because I haven't had any sugar for a long time. Well, a month or two.

When I don't eat sugar, I don't miss it. Not really. My body forgets. It forgets to crave it. Once I eat some though, all my cells cry out with one voice, "I REMEMBER YOU, MY LONG LOST LOVE!"

Tomorrow I'm going to eat sugar. I thought that deserved a blog.