Uh-oh, Here we go again! Another "Foodie" challenge . . .

I am so easily swayed! One of my Foodie friends rings a bell and *ding* there I am! And once again, yep, the bell tolls for me . . . this time, it's the call of "just-say-no-to-processed-foods" (not a cause I've really put too much thought into, I'll be honest with you) and I've decided to, well, put some think to it.

How much processed food do I really eat, or cook for The Boy and me, since I'm the one who does most of that work for us these days, given our schedules? "Hmm, self, good question," I thought just now as I read the post linked from http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/ to http://www.eatingrules.com/ that took me to this whole challenge of eating non-processed foods for an entire month. I mean, I think I eat pretty healthfully, and cook that way for us - veggies, and good fats and all that, etc. - but I had to stop and think . . . I don't really spend that much time thinking deeply about the details of processed foods. Sure, I know the basics and all, and I know that getting enough colors and whole foods in my and our diet means red peppers and oranges, lean cuts of beef and green leafy vegetables not Chee-tos and Doritos or beef jerky and hot dogs (even if they have ketchup and onions as "veggie garnishes"). But . . . what might I be missing? And as our Chief Resident Dietician, what could I do better for my health and waist-line, and his?

Oh, the scent of a challenge (why do I suddenly have flashbacks to scenes from "Scent of A Woman"??) . . . Stay tuned, friends and readers, no doubtedly more snippets (of what, crankiness? victory? education?) from the ensuing days of this experiment will make their way into my posts. Let's see just how *processed* - or not - we are!

As Always,
Carrie Neal

http://www.eatingrules.com/october-unprocessed

Inspired

Inspiration.

It has struck, my friends! I've got an idea and I am So Excited. No, scratch that. I'm Beyond. I'm totally kavelling beyond any heights Cher Horowitz ever reached! I've had that stroke of genius, an idea for a
book - let's call it a slice of life with a dash of creative license - and I've put pen to paper, er, computer . . . y'all stay tuned because with the support of The Boy and the help of a key partner in crime and penning, it's just going to be fabulous!

They say "Write what you know." Well, here goes. Game on.

As Always,
Carrie Neal

                                               
  . . .  The sweet smell of inspiration . . .

"Schmoga-Istas Forever"

*Warning and Disclaimer*: Schmoopy post of sorts to follow.

The Boy and I have noticed some kind of phenomenon surrounding us recently. I'm not sure - we, I suppose, I should say, are not sure - whether to call it a strange phenomenon, but it has certainly given us pause.

On enough occasions that we've literally been stopped in our tracks to just look at each other, at first just giving a mutually raised eyebrow of the "Did you just hear what I heard?" variety, then graduating to the seriousness of stopping mid-conversation to whisper to the other at the first chance "Are you hearing what I'm hearing? Did that person we don't really know just say that??"

Here's what I'm talking about. People everywhere we go say things to us. Things like, "Y'all are the most awesome couple we know." Or, "You guys inspire me. You make me feel like there's still a chance out there." Or, one of my favorites, and one that totally blew me away "You beat out my best friends in the world of fifteen years. I was in their wedding and have always thought they were the best thing going but then I met you guys. How long have you been together?" When we said three months, I swear I thought she was going to choke on her drink and spontaneously combust at the same time.

The thing is, the people who tell us these things are everyone from our own friends to random strangers. It's amazingly cool to hear and we have some theories as to why everyone from Bobby Donlan christened us "Atlanta's Fun Couple" to why our friend Tom says we make him want to write an ode to love (and I am pretty sure he was serious!). Mostly, we think it's because we're sweet to each other and it shows, and what we call being "Us" comes through. I don't think there's a science to love, but it is an art - it isn't hard but it takes work and we've both had it Not Good before, so we recognize that what we have now is So Good (though don't ask us about that other night this week when we both wanted to throw the other out of the car window, so don't get me wrong!). We're silly and do things like drink our beers out of plastic cups that say "Yoga Schmoga" on them, just because it makes us laugh; I'm also trying to become the better chef (a tall order because he has a super leg up in that department, but we like competition) and practice by cooking dinner almost every night and often lunch too, and he regularly scans the check-out counters for lip balms I've not tried and he brings me flowers often. We take care of each other.

I share all this with you, and write this post, because we have some real stressors in our life - but as The Boy said to me last night, our love life is good. The Schmoga-Istas are really good. And that, my friends, is a blessing, and it is apparently obvious to those around us and it is what bolsters us and will help us deal with the "everything elses" of the world that tap-tap-tap at our door. We'll handle it, I just know it, together.

As Always,
Carrie Neal