Bounce Back

Things are looking up this morning. Fio slept well, probably because she has drastically adjusted her diet to combat the GERD that can wake her up in the middle of the night and keep her up for hours. Also, she is busily engaged in setting up the aforementioned computer era murder mystery/romance she and a friend are planning to write.
Another thing that is putting a smile on Fio's face and a spring in her step is that today is the day she calls friend Suzy in England and catches up on all the news across the pond. And today is also the day that she'll get the Microsoft sytem installed in her computer. And maybe today will also be the day she gets the family ranch land problem taken care of.

Who, What, Why, When, Where

(1) Why is the Easter chocolate put out on the supermarket shelves the second the Valentine's chocolate has sold out? Can't Fio's diet be given a sporting chance?

(2) Who will show Fiorella how to move photos onto her blog again? She has a beautiful baby photo she wants to show off.

(3) How did the Austin American-Statesman screw up its comic section two weeks in a row, once last week by not including it in the paper, and again this last Sunday, by reprinting the previous Sunday's comics? Please--inquiring minds NEED funny papers.

(4) What is it about these people who are still posting nasty stuff on Facebook about the Obamas? Why aren't the hoeing their own political gardens? When will Trump's fans finally figure him out? What will it take for them to realize they've been taken?

(5) Where does all Fiorella's time go?  Why is she writing this post at 11:30 at night when she's half-asleep and feeling blue?

Fio's Health Update

The wind is blowing, the fire is glowing, and Fio is getting better at last.  Those strange little pills that can somehow seek out just the right ligament in her jaw and and make it work right are having a positive effect bit by bit (pun intended), and the antibiotics she's taking to clear out her upper respiratory system are allowing her breath again.  Now let's hope the raw throat recovers enough that she can eat more than chicken rice soup, chocolate pudding, and vanilla ice cream.

Appetite

A friend of Fiorella's announced that she is going on a sugar-free regimen, which made Fio think about how fortunate we are in this time and place to actually be able to pick and choose what we eat. She remembers reading about a Russian family, self-exiled into the wilds during some political upheaval, that survived on nuts, berries, grass, and small trapped game for three generations.  And one bad winter, the grandmother starved herself to death so the children would have enough food.

We are blessed.

Specialty Menu

Fio lives on chocolate bars,
And chocolate drinks, and ice box pies
And chocolate-frosted chocolate cakes
And chocolate kisses, oversize,
On chocolate Hard Shell, chocolate sauce,
On Easter bunnies in their season
On chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge,
Ah--chocolate, chocolate --always pleasing!

Food Fads

Fiorella is sick and tired of being told what to eat--what is GOOD for her to eat, to be more exact.  She grew up being told that milk was nature's most perfect food, but later she was told that it was fattening and that adult digestive systems didn't handle it well.  She also learned that chocolate, which she loved, was bad for her.  Coffee too.  And that she should cut down on eggs and bacon and saturated fats in favor of carbohydrates.  Now, all of that has been reversed.

All Fio asks for is that she be left in peace to enjoy her hamburger, fries, and ice cream..  

We All Scream for Ice Cream

My name is Fiorella. I am an ice cream-aholic.

I love biting into the creamy confection, savoring the buttery taste, feeling it melt in my mouth.  And I love the whole experience again an hour later.  Yes, I'm hooked.

Which is why I bought apples, oranges, raspberries, lettuce, and grapes at HEB yesterday.  Now watch--I'll probably get hooked on raspberries.

Chocolate and Chicken

Thus is no April Fool's joke, but chocolate is now a diet food.

Yes, recent studies out of California have shown that "people who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner than those who never or very rarely consume chocolate." Apparently some kinds of chocolate improve "factors related to metabolism, including insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, as well as cholesterol levels."

You'll remember that Harry Potter understood the medicinal benefits of chocolate all along. Fiorella has too. It's yummy in her tummy.

Now she wants someone to discover the health benefits of fried chicken.

Holiday Recipe

No more parties, no more sweets,
No more tastey Christmas treats--
Times have been too good of late
And Fiorella has gained weight.
So stay away from her, beware--
DO NOT FEED THE FIO BEAR!

Fio vs. Brussels Sprouts

In my childhood, mothers read up on nutrition and meticulously regulated what their families ate. Call it the pro-vegetable era.

When my own children were little, the word was out that everyone should eat whatever they wanted to because their bodies would tell them what they needed. Call it the anti-vegetable era.

Now we are regularly deluged with studies about people who will live five months longer eating this food or that, mainly vegetables. Call it the neo-vegetable era

On the other hand, there are also several studies which have shown that people who are happy live longer--and I'm happier not eating vegetables. Call it the Fiorella-will-eat-whatever-the-heck-she wants-to era