Thanks for the well-wishes, those of you who stopped by.
I am feeling a lot better, still a bit tired and worn down, but nothing like a couple of days ago. Bernie and I had a pleasant day yesterday at home, and since my stomach was still so “off” and I hadn’t really eaten anything much at all on Friday or Saturday, I decided to just put the healthy nutrition plan on hold for a couple of days and eat what I felt like (within reason, of course) So yesterday I actually had dinner with Bernie. Cooked the same thing for both of us for the first time in a couple of months. Sure felt good doing that! We had a nice springtime dinner of fresh asparagus, boiled new potatoes in their jackets and a broiled ham steak. I defrosted one of the precious few remaining containers of the home made applesauce I made from the last of our home-grown 100% organic apples we harvested when the developer took down the trees, and we had that with dinner. Yummy.
The Easter Rabbit didn’t arrive at our house yesterday, must have gotten lost with my basket of peeps. No Easter Beagle, either. 
But fortunately, Peeps are now available year ’round, so I will be able to have some sooner or later. Today we went out and did a lot of various errands, and since one of them was going to Walmart to get cat food and return a pair of sweatpants that didn’t fit Bernie, we raided the half-priced Easter candy carts there.
Now, don’t panic, Dear Reader, and think I have lost my mind and will willingly throw away all the hard work of the past few weeks for a sugar fix. No way. I am being very sensible (for a change). Bernie got some Easter candy that he likes, and a package of four low carb chocolate covered marshmallow Easter eggs, I think from Russel Stover. Anyway, I ate one of those. It was okay, but definitely wasn’t marshmallow. More like a cream egg, but lighter. I wouldn’t want another. But at least I got to try the low carb candies I keep hearing about. He got some regular chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, I will be sure he saves me one of those whenever he opens the package, too. The rest of the candies Bernie bought are not really anything I like that much anyway. I really prefer quality. Even in junk food!
I did, however, select three choice packages specifically for myself. You see, I know I can trust myself with these things. I have learned a lot about when and why I eat, and retrained my appetite, too, over the past three months. I have learned that I can sample something, and not have to eat the whole thing. If Bernie doesn’t want the rest (not usually a concern when it comes to chocolates) and it is not something I like enough to want to put away and save for later, I can just throw the leftovers out. I can forgive myself for “wasting food” if I just have a bite and throw away the rest, especially if it is something like half-priced Easter candy. This is the reason why I didn’t buy any full priced Easter candy, and waited till after holiday sales. It may sound silly, but the whole “waste” thing is a major issue for me. Which has been very bad, in the long run, for my waist!
So one item I bought was a carton of flavored malted-milk eggs. They were a Disney brand, and came in an assortment of four ice cream flavors — chocolate, strawberry, orange and cookie dough. Malted milk eggs, and their year-round cousins, malted milk balls, were always a favorite when I was growing up. Probably more of my brothers favorite than mine, but I liked them too. (I guess it’s obvious what my favorites were — chocolate covered marshmallows, peeps, and also a couple of others I haven’t mentioned before — spice flavored jelly beans, chocolate covered cream eggs — especially maple flavored, coconut or Cadbury’s, and our own Trenton NJ original, the Allfather’s Egg) But I have never had a flavored malted milk egg, so I had to try them. So I bought the package. And tried them. I had one of each flavor. They were okay. But I don’t want any more. So if Bernie doesn’t like them, I will just put them away and give them to my brother next time he comes out to visit. He likes to have something sweet to much on when he drives home late from here and needs a little wake-up.
But the thing is, I never thought I would be saying this: “I bought a package of assorted chocolate Easter eggs, I tried one of each and now I don’t want any more” ??? And get this, all you ladies who are reading this (’cause I know you can empathize here), it is that time of month when I usually would be ready to kill for chocolate! Even the mediocre kind!!! I must have definitely had some kind of major breakthrough with my new eating habits!
I also got a pack of four Cadbury caramel eggs. They are individually wrapped, as all Cadbury eggs are, and so will present no “open package” issues. Yeah, I guess that’s another food issue with me. Well, the Cadburys are in the closet, and will stay there until I decide I can splurge on a few self-indulgent extra sugar calories. Once I start doing a lot of heavy work out in the yard and kow I am burning off loads of carbs, I can afford to reward myself with a splurge like that now and then. But until then, I really don’t even hear the Cadbury’s calling me. Yep, must have been a definite breakthrough. I had a couple of pieces of Easter candy and I am done for now. Wow. What a concept!
I also got a small assorted package of the Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans. Those tiny little flavor powerhouses sure can satisfy the sweet tooth quickly with a minimum of damage. Right now they are also up in the closet, but eventually I will put them in a jar up on the shelf over my computer desk. I usually keep some kind of small mints or hard candies or something here for an occasional sweet, but fairly non-damaging, nibble while I am putting in hours at the keyboard working on my auctions or graphic projects. I have learned the parameters for choosing the right thing for this purpose, too. It absolutely has to be something I will be satisfied with just one or two of. (so no peanut M&M’s ) Preferably individually wrapped, so it takes longer to get to each one. Right now I have a jar that is filled with a mixture of Werther’s Originals (hard butter-toffee-ish candies) and Starlight Mints — those ubiquitous red and white peppermints. It has been there since before Christmas, and is still nearly full. I have yet to meet a person who can pig out on Starlight Mints! it just can’t be done (at least not by me, that is) I am pretty much the same way with jelly beans, especially the really flavorful gourmet kinds – a little goes a long way.
Well, I really didn’t mean to write another “candy blog”. But its not a bad subject for a rainy monday I guess…
We made significant steps this weekend toward moving a bit on the “want list” I posted the other day. We visited a flooring specialty place today and then decided to just go to Lowes about the floors. Bernie looked at the various options I have been considering, we sat down with the guy and asked some preliminary questions, and got into their system for a consultation with the contractor. We should be hearing from the contractor within the next few days to make an appointment for him to come out and look at what needs to be done, get measurements and then we will be able to decide the specifics. We will be having him look at all three of the old tile floors that need to be replaced — kitchen, bath and breezeway, so we can work on both the short-term (kitchen and bath) and the long term (breezeway) planning.
It was really too rainy to do anything about looking at nursery stock or fencing, but we talked over a lot of the options and priorities, and I did a fairly detailed drawing of my master plan, working with a scale map from the survey we had done when the house was transferred to our name last year. And today we got a new shovel. That will replace the old one I broke last week working in the yard and I can get back to work on the mulch and driveway projects. I think I am going to just start breaking up the concrete patio and making a pile of concrete as soon as the weather and my health improve. It is going to take a few weeks of doing it by hand to remove that much concrete, so we can worry about how to get rid of the pieces later, the main thing is that I get started, now that we have decided to definitely remove the old patio as part of the main prioriities in the yard. They predict rain most of the week, so maybe by the weekend I will be able to call some contractors to get estimates on the installation of a new concrete patio, and recommendations for the grading and drainage underneath.
We also got a decorative curtain rod and a set of curtain panels for our living room picture window. Still no sofa or chairs, and we still didn’t lug the heavy coffee table up from the basement, but at least the half-empty living room won’t have a big naked window anymore. Bernie tells me that he will make more of a decision about the sofa after he finds out how much the floors and yard will cost. When we get the kitchen floor done, we will definitely be getting a new stove. There is no argument there, Bernie is all for it and would have probably got one already if it wasn’t for me insisting on getting the floor done first. Just makes more sense to me to put a new stove in when we have to move the old one out ayway to get the floor done, rather than put in a new stove then have to move it again. Not to mention that the new stove will be smaller than the old stove and I have no idea what the floor looks like underneath (and expect the worst, nowing this house as I do).
So despite feeling like I got hit by a truck at the beginning of it, I guess we still had a fairly decent and eventful weekend.
I hope yours was pleasant and full of whatever makes you happy, too.
I will leave you with pictures of my “Easter Tree” all decorated for spring with pastel ribbons and eggs, and the pastel color wheel tinting the fiber-optic lights. I am enjoying decorating this tree as the seasons change, and at least it takes up some space inthe living room!
All done up for Spring!
– and that is a real ostrich egg on the shelf below.
with the lights on
I am off in search of marshmallows…
fair!
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