As soon as I returned from Florida I added one big thing to my life and took quite a few away. First of all, let's talk about the subtraction (always start with the bad news). Last Wednesday I started an elimination diet. I have been having problems over the last year with nausea and a few other things, so for four weeks I am eliminating soy, sugar, alcohol, wheat, dairy, shellfish, eggs and nightshade vegetables from my diet. Did I mention ALCOHOL? You may ask, as I did, "What is there left to eat?" Well, basically meat, fruit, most vegetables, brown rice and nuts (with a few exceptions). My diet for the past few years has primarily consisted of bread, pasta, cheese and sugar, with some fruit and veggies thrown in. So, needless to say, it has been a big shock to the system. Such a big shock in fact that for the first week I have been, for the most part, HELL to live with. I have always had a high threshold for being cranky and mean. I can hold the bitchiness title with the best of them. But this was a whole new level. I was CRANKY. And it was the fault of every person I saw. My body hurt, it hurt to walk, all I wanted to do was sleep. Then it got better, then worse. I am hopeful that things will start evening out. The interesting thing is that I have NEVER been able to "diet". The second someone puts any sort of restriction on me I revolt. But this has not been so hard. My body feels better. But my mind and my soul are another story. I LOVE food. I am often thinking of what I will have for my next meal while I am still eating the current one. Food to me is comfort, love, safety and warmth. So while my body is feeling and working a it better (with occasional bouts of being tired), my mind is grieving. Food is so much of our lives. Every social encounter I have involves some sort of refreshment. I have people in my life who have made huge dietary changes that are no longer in my life and in all honesty a big part of it was that I could not have them over for a meal. We went to the Simon's the other night and I brought my own food. As I sat around the dinner table with eight of my nearest and dearest, I felt apart. It seems silly. It's just food, right? But it is community to me. I lived in France several times and I bought their notions on food, family and community hook, line and sinker. I have lost any interest in cooking. And that makes me sad. I made cupcakes for Ben's birthday on Saturday and I could not even lick the bowl. What is surprising to me is that it is not even the food itself I really miss. It is all that other stuff I mentioned. I expected to be DYING to eat what I could not have. And don't get me wrong, when Ben had a pizza at Central Market the other day it took ALL of my willpower not to push him over, take the pizza and run. But it is the other stuff I miss. I miss the way good food makes me feel while I am eating it.
Okay enough depressing stuff. Let's get to the good news—addition. We got a new puppy from Austin Dog Rescue. He is adorable and his name is Matzah. As wonderful as he is, he is a ton of work as well (just because he is a puppy). The first few days were a bit hectic, but I think we are finally, after a week, hitting our stride. It is like having a new baby, albeit one I can crate from time to time. Maggie LOVES him and is amazingly patient with him, which is all honesty I found surprising. Why you ask, with all the stuff I have to do, all the things I am behind on and stressed out by, did I add a puppy into the mix? Well I am sure a great deal of it has to do with losing Lula. That and, well, I am an idiot. I often leap first and question later. Sometimes it serves me well, other times not so much. But we lucked out with this little guy. He is an angel.His mother is still waiting for a home, so if you know anyone who is looking, please send the link to them. I wanted to adopt mom Havana, but I made the rookie mistake of taking the boys with me and they were not going to pass up the chance to have a puppy.
And if you are wondering who owns those little human feet in photo number two, no I did not have a baby without telling you. Those belong to Mollie's youngest daughter. We visited them yesterday and Annie kept calling Matzah 'big boy'. It was pretty darn cute.
