Be Gentle With You

So, funniest thing for me today (it doesn’t take much to make me giggle) was this Hint® water. Tonight, I grabbed a watermelon one for the first time. It’s the tiniest bit sweet, and when I drank it, I thought, “Huh! That takes like Hubba Bubba bubble gum from when I was kid.” Then, a bit later, I read the label. Here’s my guess: soooo many people said it tasted like bubble gum that they quoted the one person who said it didn’t! It does. It totally does.

This morning, I emailed my friends about a dinner party we are having. I have 4 of the dearest friends I have ever had in my life. We call ourselves the Gourmet Galls because we meet at one of our home’s each month, and we each bring a dish for the meal. We choose a theme for each month, sometimes picnic foods or Italian food or vegetarian dishes. I’m hosting in May, and since May’s dinner is so close to Mother’s Day, we chose the theme of “a favorite dish your mom made”. What a sweet theme! I was thinking about making rainbow jello!

But Whole 30.

I thought about just not telling them, having them bring their foods and enjoy them while I have a big salad and enjoy their company (like I did the other night with the kids). But, I thought if one of them were doing Whole 30, I would want them to tell me, so I could bring a dish that would work. So, I emailed them this morning with the two choices, assuring them there was no right answer – I was fine either way. I gave a brief description of Whole 30 and which foods I’m avoiding, as well as the lists of compliant food groups. Immediately, my dear sisters starting writing back that they would make Whole 30 dishes. I love them – for so many things.

After I emailed them, from my phone while still in bed, I got up and made breakfast for Sage and myself. Country hash browns, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Seriously, Whole 30 may be restrictive, but no one is feeling deprived around here. Sage said, “This is way better than my usual breakfast of a bowl of cereal eaten in a minute or two.” I concur completely. A nice, hot breakfast with my kid at the table for the win!

Lunch was a hearty salad again. I’m not growing tired of this, yet. I’m also not good at making dressings yet. I’ve wasted a lot of time and expensive ingredients making nasty dressings that I throw away. But, this one worked. I made a Greek dressing from Penzy’s Greek Seasoning mix (according to directions on the container), then I just mixed in some compliant mayonnaise …which I bought because my homemade junk was junk – TWICE! But, I’ll keep trying. Anyway, it made for a nice creamy Italian kind of dressing on my salad. I just dumped it all together after I took this picture. Delish!

Today, my arthritis feels the same as it ever did. Quite tight and sore. But, it’s been raining for two days straight, so I kind of wonder about that affecting it. I also had a headache for the third day in a row – had to take more Excedrin. My skin is seriously so soft! And, I feel like my face is less puffy than usual.

And there’s this thing with my stomach that I’m not sure I can explain. When my husband was alive, he would often ask if I wanted something to eat, and sometimes my answer was, “Ummm. I’m hungry-full.” I thought I was hungry, had feelings of hunger, but also felt like my stomach was full. And when I would press on my stomach (the organ, not the squishy flesh spilling over my belt), it felt hard – maybe distended. For the last 3 days or so, my stomach has felt softer when I press on it below my sternum. It’s weird that squishy stomach seems good, but I think it is. And it’s making me wonder what I have eaten prior to those “hungry-full” times.

So, 48 and I are learning to pay closer attention to what is happening physically, as well as mentally/emotionally when we eat – or don’t eat.