Why I won't lose weight this year

The greatest airplane flight I ever took was from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia. Even considering the fact that it was a 16 hour flight during which I didn't sleep a wink, it was a wonderful flight. The airline went out of its way to make us happy. Socks and eye masks were standard amenities. There were popsicles before take-off, hot towels before landing, two tasty meals that I actually wanted to eat, and orange juice as we taxied to the gate. And cookies. More to the point, Biscoff cookies. It was my first introduction to the greatest airline snack of all time.

For those who haven't had the pleasure, Biscoff cookies are a shortbread cookie with a touch of cinnamon. For me they taste a little like a mild gingerbread. Spicy and crunchy and far better than the standard fare of peanuts or pretzels which you often find on flights. The Lotus company makes the cookie as a with coffee snack but they have become synonymous with airline travel.

Well, Jeff and I haven't been traveling much lately but I found out recently that I can still get my shortbread fix. We were in the grocery store picking up peanut butter when I happened to glance at the top shelf. And my mouth dropped open. Then I started salivating.  There was a small jar of Biscoff Spread. Cookies I can spread on toast, or dunk chocolate bars in, or even just eat with a spoon. I've managed to go through half the jar in a very short period of time. Even as I type this I'm licking a spoon covered in cookie goodness. So much for those weight loss resolutions.

And many of the baking blogs I follow have started to post recipes that include this lovely spread. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to mix this heavenly delight with other things or if I'm going to selfishly eat it plain, spoonful after spoonful. Happily I know that once this jar is empty it's only a short trip back to the store for more. Even though it isn't as exciting as hopping on a flight somewhere and unwrapping the crunchy cookies, I think the spread is the better option. After all, it's like cookie dough but in spreadable form. YUM!

Sweating and Sweets

I'm a hurting person today. My poor recovering ankle is sore. My quads feel like they are on fire. Going up stairs is excruciating. You see, I jogged yesterday and it's been a while since I was out jogging. When I say a while, I really mean about 34 years. I've never been jogging. In fact I've never been in any shape. Well other than round.

So in an attempt to get into shape I've decided to try a Couch to 5K program. Technically I had decided to do the program in January but didn't start running until yesterday. I'm more of a planner than a doer, clearly. The program starts you slow with a mix of jogging and walking and thank god for that. I would have killed myself if I had tried to run the whole time. I was struggling just to finish the 20 minute workout and I really only jogged 8 of those minutes. Then again I've never jogged 8 minutes before so I'm pretty happy with that.

The big thing is that I have to get out there and jog again tomorrow. I know I'll be tempted to skip but part of me wants to develop a little discipline in my life. I've never really been the kind to push myself or keep to a schedule. I've always admired disciplined people. The kind of people who push themselves each day to be a little better. The kind of people who stick with a routine even when it's not going well. So this is my new routine. I'm announcing it to the world. I'll be ready to run a 5K by June. I'll be able to jog for 20 minutes straight. I know that each day will be easier. I hope that I gasp just a little less each day. And my muscle will hurt a little less each week. I'm excited about this.

That said, I bought Girl Scout cookies today. Apparently my discipline only extends so far. I've only had two Tagalongs (I refuse to call them Peanut Butter Patties), but the boxes are calling to me from the kitchen. We'll see how long they last. So far I'm just impressed that I haven't inhaled the box while watching TV. Perhaps there is hope for me.

A Taste of Childhood

When I was young my mother would make the most wonderful sugar cookies from a children's cookbook that we owned. I remember these being a special treat and raved about them to everyone who I would talk about cookies with. So about a year or two ago, when I happened to find the cookbook in a second hand bookstore, I knew I had to buy it. And I knew that I had to make the cookies again. Just to see.

Well it took me a year or so to get around to it but today was the day. I stopped by the store this evening and picked up all the ingredients I needed. At home I was reminded of my mother as I started mixing the Crisco and the sugar together. Somehow that act makes me think of my mother baking. Then adding the rest of the ingredients. Rather than two dozen or so teaspoon sized cookies, I went with a baker dozen of tablespoon sized ones. After twenty minutes or so they came out and I waited impatiently for them to cool. Jeff didn't care for his terribly, but I thought they had the same melt in your mouth sweetness to them that I remember. What I didn't remember was that they were so crisp. After a couple more (just to make sure they were good) I realized why I didn't remember the crispiness. We never really let her bake them. We were always too busy eating the dough to get that far. Ah live and learn. It will make wonderful cookie dough.

The cookies were just a sweet end to a perfect day. It was just beautiful outside: warm, sunny, with a bit of a breeze. Jeff and I headed out to breakfast and then ran some errands around town. After that we headed home to clean up the porch and put up the screen on the front door. I'm so excited to be able to have the door open and have a breeze blow through. We wasted a day watching the birds, reading, and juggling out on the front porch. One odd thing was that we had a number of turkey vultures circling in the area. We normally see them near the creek but today they got really low near our complex, below the roof lines even. We think they were looking for our kitty who had wisely decided to go in a bit before. Sadly by the time I grabbed the camera to take some video they had moved on. A quiet day, a peaceful day, and I would dare say a perfect day.