morning miscellany
O. was an amazing slowpoke this morning, so we were already leaving late for school when we discovered that all the car doors were frozen shut! Luckily, growing up in upstate New York prepared me for this sort of thing, so I ran back inside and filled the tea kettle with hot water, which I then poured over the doors. O. was very impressed by the special effects produced thereby (steam! melting ice!), and also a bit impressed, I think, with his mom’s resourcefulness. But then we quarreled on the way to school nonetheless, and I ended up yelling at him because I got so frustrated by his lack of flexibility (I wanted him to start wearing his coat every day--it was twenty-eight degrees this morning, after all--but he had all these obsessive reasons why wearing his coat to school was impracticable for him; fun with Asperger’s and adolescence!). We made up before we actually arrived at school, though. That’s one of the lovely things about O.--he forgives and forgets very quickly and easily.
I, however, was still feeling a little stressed out as I headed on into town to do my errands, one of which was picking up a few groceries at WalMart. I am not fond of WalMart, but it is one of only two grocery stores in this entire county, and the other one is not as hygienic as I would like and has an even worse selection than WalMart. Anyway, imagine my delight when I was greeted just inside the door by Russell Crowe! Okay, it was just his picture, but, you know.... I’d forgotten that today is the release date for the Cinderella Man DVD. And yes, I may have walked past the display a few times more than were strictly necessary. At least it made the WalMart experience a bit more enjoyable--especially since a prime goal of my shopping mission was the finding and acquiring of low-fat healthy snacks (because I often do require a second breakfast, or at least elevensies, in the morning and tea in the afternoon and occasionally a bit of dessert after supper). I didn’t find the honey-mustard pretzels I’d hoped for (mmm, honey mustard!), but I got some fat-free yogurts and fat-free chocolate pudding, along with more soy crisps. I also read a lot of labels, many of which were disappointing, and scoped out a few future purchases, particularly the low-fat graham crackers and some mixed dried berries (cranberries, cherries, and blueberries) that I expect will go a long way toward relieving the tedium of oatmeal (which, apparently, I am now supposed to eat three times a week and not, Irish-fashion, with cream).
What with all the errand running, I’ve only just finished eating my five-grams-of-fat breakfast: one egg, half a bagel with fat-free cream cheese, black coffee. My beloved assures me that I can dramatically improve my cholesterol level simply by keeping my daily fat intake to twenty-five grams or less. Now that I’m counting these fat grams, I can see that I’ve been in diet denial for some time. I thought I was fine since I rarely (once a month, if that) ate fast food, fried food, or the like. But I was racking up the fat in my diet nonetheless, and not just from cheese--although that, of course, was a major source! Once I really get with this program, I will allow myself to have cheese now and then as a treat. **thinks longingly of the little wedge of gourmandise purchased the day before the physical and now sitting neglected in the refrigerator** After whining and complaining my way through the first few days of this diet, I have come to realize that it is all about choices, and there will be days when I can choose to use up a chunk of my daily twenty-five fat grams with a little cheese or rice pudding or Nutella or something. And if I get to the end of the day and haven’t yet reached my quota, and I feel a reward is in order, why, Dove chocolate caramels have only about two grams of fat each!
Another happy thing: I’ve found that I can order my favorite dried tomatoes online. Since I can’t find them in stores anymore (although, come to think of it, I haven’t yet checked the giant Publix in Gainesville), this is a wonderful discovery!
I, however, was still feeling a little stressed out as I headed on into town to do my errands, one of which was picking up a few groceries at WalMart. I am not fond of WalMart, but it is one of only two grocery stores in this entire county, and the other one is not as hygienic as I would like and has an even worse selection than WalMart. Anyway, imagine my delight when I was greeted just inside the door by Russell Crowe! Okay, it was just his picture, but, you know.... I’d forgotten that today is the release date for the Cinderella Man DVD. And yes, I may have walked past the display a few times more than were strictly necessary. At least it made the WalMart experience a bit more enjoyable--especially since a prime goal of my shopping mission was the finding and acquiring of low-fat healthy snacks (because I often do require a second breakfast, or at least elevensies, in the morning and tea in the afternoon and occasionally a bit of dessert after supper). I didn’t find the honey-mustard pretzels I’d hoped for (mmm, honey mustard!), but I got some fat-free yogurts and fat-free chocolate pudding, along with more soy crisps. I also read a lot of labels, many of which were disappointing, and scoped out a few future purchases, particularly the low-fat graham crackers and some mixed dried berries (cranberries, cherries, and blueberries) that I expect will go a long way toward relieving the tedium of oatmeal (which, apparently, I am now supposed to eat three times a week and not, Irish-fashion, with cream).
What with all the errand running, I’ve only just finished eating my five-grams-of-fat breakfast: one egg, half a bagel with fat-free cream cheese, black coffee. My beloved assures me that I can dramatically improve my cholesterol level simply by keeping my daily fat intake to twenty-five grams or less. Now that I’m counting these fat grams, I can see that I’ve been in diet denial for some time. I thought I was fine since I rarely (once a month, if that) ate fast food, fried food, or the like. But I was racking up the fat in my diet nonetheless, and not just from cheese--although that, of course, was a major source! Once I really get with this program, I will allow myself to have cheese now and then as a treat. **thinks longingly of the little wedge of gourmandise purchased the day before the physical and now sitting neglected in the refrigerator** After whining and complaining my way through the first few days of this diet, I have come to realize that it is all about choices, and there will be days when I can choose to use up a chunk of my daily twenty-five fat grams with a little cheese or rice pudding or Nutella or something. And if I get to the end of the day and haven’t yet reached my quota, and I feel a reward is in order, why, Dove chocolate caramels have only about two grams of fat each!
Another happy thing: I’ve found that I can order my favorite dried tomatoes online. Since I can’t find them in stores anymore (although, come to think of it, I haven’t yet checked the giant Publix in Gainesville), this is a wonderful discovery!