Wedded & Sugary Bliss

For those of you who have been following me for awhile, you know I began this year with a goal: 2x12, 2 treat days a monthx12 months during 2012. For those of you who like math (aka my hubby) that means that at the end of this year, I will have enjoyed "treats" 24 days, divided by 365 days in a year, equals 6.6% of the year that I've enjoyed a lovely combination of refined sugar and saturated fat.

Either this challenge is getting easier, or I'm cheating a little. You see, I've learned how to make delectable goodies, at least to me, with no refined sugar. Instead I use stevia, overripe bananas, raw honey, dates, or raw coconut sugar. I feel like I'm cheating because I get to partake of "cookies", "ice cream", "baked bars", even "chocolate" (100% cocoa)-- I use the quotation marks here because many people would disagree with me on the fact that these food items are indeed cookies, ice cream, bars, or chocolate. It is this fact that comforts me that I'm NOT cheating; I'm just getting smarter.

It's MY challenge anyway. I get to set the rules. And I say, if the husband would spit it out, it must not be a true treat ;) I will, by the way, share some of my favorite recent recipes I've tried. But I'll do each as a separate post for easy locating.

So . . . yesterday was my baby sister's wedding! It seems just yesterday I was in the delivery room with my mom, nagging her impatiently, "Is she coming yet? Is it time to push?" My baby sis & I have a special story. If you'll indulge me, I'll share the synopsis.

Let's go back to the year 1990. My parents were separated, almost divorced, after 15 years of marriage. Needless to say, this was not the greatest time of my life. We moved from our middle-class neighborhood of cedar-wood homes to a single-wide trailer in a woodsy trailer park. We had to get rid of our cat. There were other sacrifices, of course, which I won't delve into; for now, the cat is a symbol of all of that we left behind. I was the oldest of 4. When Mom realized she was pregnant, and practically divorced, it was not a good moment. She was working full time and going to school full time and attempting to raise 4 kids. And then she was pregnant?! We had some major blow-ups over this issue, & I will admit, I was a brat sometimes. But in what was probably one of my most profound epiphanies, I saw this baby girl, unexpected and unwanted just as I had been fifteen years earlier, and knew I had to step up and be there for her. I informed my mom that she was having a girl, that I would be her significant other, and that we would get through this together.

And that's how I came to be in the delivery room at age 16, pacing the room for my little Jody to arrive. I was somewhat of a mom to her until I left for  college in 1994, and it was "my baby" I missed most. Alas, I had to let my mom be the mom. And soon, I was just the big sis. And then one day, that baby was in her teens. And I began to be not just big sis but just sis. Friend.

And yesterday at age 20 (I, too, was 20 when I married, young, but too in love to wait, just like her), she married her high school sweetheart. It was a beautiful day. A perfect ceremony. And a fun reception. And in her honor, I took a treat day.

Funny, my treat days are indeed seeming to become high compliment to the person related to said day. I feel a bit bad about this-- now if I don't partake of a treat at a certain host's event, he or she may feel less worthy. But I assure you, friends, I love you all and your fantastic baking skills. I just have to space these things out, & yes, be very selective. Not sure that reasoning helped my case at all, but oh well. Know that while most people relate food directly to love, I do not. I may not eat your lovely chocolate cake, homemade candies, or fresh fruit pies. But I do still appreciate the time & effort you put into it, your talents, & YOU.

Now back to this treat day. I started with a little bite of dark chocolate that has been eyeing me since Valentine's Day. It was  Hershey's special dark heart, and I decided . . . eh. Not that great actually. Next was an iced dirty chai latte from Beany's, a local drive-thru coffee shack. I knew it would be a late night, and I needed the caffeine. But it was actually too sweet, & I wished I would've asked for less sweetener. I also nursed a coffee-bean infused dark chocolate gourmet candy bar throughout the afternoon and into the evening. I'd say this treat was worth it. My favorite combination of flavors & textures. And finally came the reception food, which included a candy & cupcake buffet. At the candy table, I stuck to the one item of interest to me: the gourmet popcorn. I'm a sucker for gourmet popcorn-- the crunch and the munch and the sweet and the bland all mixed together. I chose to skip all the other candy, except for a few chocolate-dipped pretzels (not as great as the popcorn). Then I allowed myself to taste every different flavor of bite-sized cupcakes. Strawberry lemonade, key lime, chocolate coconut, lemon. They were adorable above anything else, and tasty. But I realized I could take or leave cupcakes. It was an interesting moment.

This morning I woke up with a sore on my tongue and a legitimate sugar hangover. My body no longer understands how to metabolize sugar and recognizes it for the toxin it is-- this gives me an actual fuzzy-headed sensation, that I got to enjoy most of last night. It meant that I couldn't get to sleep well either, and opted to stay up watching this week's episode of SYTYCD until 2:00 am. It meant that my morning hill run sucked. It was a struggle, not for my muscles but for my cardio-- a very new experience for me. But perhaps this is because I'm getting over either a cold or allergies & have been taking half an Allertec every night. I need to get off this stuff-- it makes me so sluggish in the morning. I actually had the thought while running, "Maybe I should give up treat days altogether. I know how to make yummy Christy-treats. Who needs this crappy feeling?"

I'm still pondering this possibility . . . Or perhaps I should be better at my treat days meaning 1 treat, not 1 treat per hour ;)