our Sugar-Ball and Coco-Chum days are over

well, we're at it again. the post-holiday sweets and treats fast has begun. yes, yes, it's been done in the past but i'm feeling a greater necessity this time. this year it's about change. serious, lasting, welcome change. over the last couple years i've been looking more at food - what we eat, how we grow/produce it, where it comes from and so on - and i'm feeling the need to get off the Western diet. we've been making progress here and there and it's been a good experience so far. but our addiction to treats (a.k.a. desserts, sweets, goodies, yum-yums, etc.) has stayed strong. so what was the straw that broke the camel's back? it was definitely the culmination of several things but it has one face: i give you the Berenstain Bears...

Ash got this book for Christmas (by her request) and after reading it, i was sold. there was something about the fact that it's a kids book and it was published in 1985 (five years after the national obesity rate skyrocketed and 15 years after the industrialization of food really exploded) that provided that extra push toward real change. and the time is now.

so, here we go. it's been two weeks since we've begun and i'll be honest - at first it was pretty rough. withdrawal headaches and frequent "visions of sugar plums" tormented us for about three days. Ash, and Tom especially, expressed their frustration much more vocally than English and i but we were all feeling it. however, by the end of that week, we were already feeling much better.

indeed, we still think about days (and treats) gone by, but the longing for coconut cake or chocolate chip cookies, etc., etc., etc. is gone. one thing that is helping the overall will and keeping morale high is that it's not a complete sugar fast. we will enjoy the occasional french toast breakfast with real maple syrup. we're looking forward to chocolate cupcakes for Tom's birthday and T.R. & Ari's wedding cake next month. we're re-training ourselves to enjoy these things on a limited basis - for special occasions. and the best part is that it makes perfect sense this time.

brothers & sisters

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were . . . We live outside the touch of time. - Clara Ortega

my sister posted this on her blog and, well i had to do the same - especially since i just recently spent some good time with all of my siblings. i so love my brothers and sisters.

the lot of us in 1988