Things I Do to Make Things Better

The office was warm and inviting.

Soft lighting, soothing music.

It felt...expensive.

For those of you who are just checking in today, I had an Endodontist appointment to look over tooth #19. That's dental speak for the big molar on the bottom left that hurts when you eat.

The visit was short and I'll go back next week for the Big Drill.

The good news (cuz y'all know I like some Good News!) is that I don't have an infection, its merely a fractured tooth.

The bad news is that I still need a root canal.

But let's not talk of such things.

Let's talk about how to deal with stress, shall we?

For the sake of time, and because searching Common Ways People Deal With Stress on Google was depressing, I want to tell you how I handle stress.

On the other hand... let's keep things positive. I won't write about the ineffective ways I deal with stress such as worry, fret, over-exercise, hyperventilating, or (occasionally) crying like a baby when no one is around. I'll just assume you have your own variations on those themes.

Instead, I present Five Helpful (and highly effective) Therapies:

1. Medicinal Noodle Therapy -

Specifically Annie Chun noodle bowls (my faves are the Miso and Udon flavors). I have slurped a bowl every day for lunch more times than I am willing to admit this week.

2. Beneficial Baking -

Today's recipe of choice will be Pumpkin Bread and Peanut Butter cookies, both recipes from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. I've borrowed this book so many times from the library that I recognize my own splattered cookie-dough stains in the margins. I should just go get my own copy...especially since no one knows when the need for Beneficial Baking will strike.

3. Curative Cleaning -

This picture, is supposed to show countertop's that "shine like the top of the Chrysler building." Nothing will smooth down my rough edges quicker than a clean, orderly, shiny, kitchen counter top.

4. Re-wearing Remedy- 

In the picture above is the pair of jeans I have now worn for three days in-a-row. Why? Because jeans fresh out of the dryer are not as comforting as jeans that are soft and broken-in. I assure you, they still look and smell great.

5. The Couch and Cover Corrective with a heaping dose of  Sugar is the Solution 

Technically, these are two solutions that can be used as separate therapies, but they work so beautifully together that it seems counteractive to list them otherwise....

This is my spot on the couch with one of my beloved quilts (I have several and hope to collect more.) Have I mentioned I having a great fondness for quilts? They remind me of Psalm 139:5.

Bunny Trail: I want to tell you that my mother gave that quilt to me, but the truth is that it "accidentally" ended up in our suitcase a few years back...those darn kids. I'll have to talk to them about that.)






I enjoy wrapping up, quilted-burrito style, and eating whatever type of sugar is on the coffee table. The jar to the right is usually filled with peanut m&m's, but during seasonal times I try to mix it up.

Just in case we might run out of "sugar in its purest form", I do have a back-up plan: Sugar in its buttery-caramel form. Amazingly enough, its good for you. It says "made with REAL milk" right on the package. 

So there you have it, Five Helpful (and highly effective) Therapies for relieving stress.

I feel better already.

Candy Corn Coma

Oh y'all! I have to type fast because I am typing on a sugar rush. This means that in approximately 6 minutes I will have a sugar crash and be rendered unconscious (or just really grumpy). So I better type fast!

If you have been reading for the last month you will know that I ran in a race 8 days ago. In the weeks before the race I cut out refined sugar from my diet. This was REALLY hard for me, because I happen to enjoy sugar.

I have a theory: You either love refined sugar products or you don't. I'm talkin' candy corn, peeps, circus peanuts, Junior Mints, etc. If you love these things you probably ADORE cotton candy. I fall into this camp.

If you don't enjoy refined sugar in its many varieties, then (usually) you don't like cotton candy. If you fall into the second camp, it's OK. We can still be friends, as long as you enjoy chocolate or coffee. Oh, or ice cream. On the La Vida Dulce food chain ice cream is a crucial link. I mean, if you don't eat ice cream how do you get dairy into your diet? But I digress...

So back to my Sweets Sit Out. I decided to cut sugar out before the race because in the last several years I have found that eating refined sugars can really change my mood and completely drains my energy. I wanted to feel completely on my game when I was running. Now the race is over, so I threw caution to the wind.

I love "October" treats. I would never turn down some candy corn, but what really calls my name are the sweet little Mellowcreme Pumpkins. I thought about them in the weeks before the race. For heavens sake, I thought about them while I raced. Then I kept forgetting to buy them all. Week. Long.

Until yesterday. I bought a small package, but as I type, I am eating the last one. Luckily for me, The Boy was born with my sweet tooth and so I can't say that I ate the whole bag, but it was close.

Another "October" treat I enjoy are caramels. I made 35 caramel apples today for my Mom. She is giving them away as gifts to her clients. You would be proud of me. I only ate two of them. Caramels, not apples. But that was only because I had already ingested a bag of the cutest little pure sugar pumpkins you have ever seen. The other reason I didn't partake in the consumption of too many caramels is because I haven't found a dentist here yet, and I was a little concerned about the five billion dollars worth of dental work in my mouth.

You know you're getting old when you pass up on holiday treats because you are worried about your crowns.

Anyway, I have had my candy corn fix for the year and now I can move on...and that's exactly what I will be doing at the gym for the next 5 days, moving on, and on, and on.

Tell me, are you a refined sugar aficionado, or are your tastes more refined?


PS: It took me 45 minutes to unwrap 8 packages of Milk Maid caramels for this project today. All I can say is that using my Mother's sassy red pot and watching their huge TV with cable helped immensely! I watched 50 First Dates. It was cute. Almost as cute as Mellowcreme Pumpkins.

La Vida Dulce!