I’m a Koepsell’s Natural Flavor girl, but I think it’s regional. It’s the least microwavy microwave popcorn I’ve tried.

A number of years ago I ended up with turf toe from doing a kettlebell workout DVD that had a shit-ton of Turkish get-ups in it. Until then I didn’t even know what turf toe was, or how painful it could be. I’ve been anti-Turkish get-ups ever since.

Years ago when my step-mom was diagnosed with celiac disease I started googling around for recipes for holiday treats so she wouldn’t be left out, and happened upon a few paleo blogs. This was years before paleo really took off, and I freely admit I spent quite a bit of time reading those blogs and the comment…

I’ve got a terrible sweet tooth, which repeatedly undermines my attempts to eat a healthy, balanced diet, because I struggle with moderation when it comes to sugar. A few times a year I do a 21 day no-sugar “detox” and it helps me get a fresh start and get reacquainted with a life without tons of sugar in it.

are you me?

When I get my hands on really fresh big soft dates I take the pit out and spread them on buttered toast like jam. Even better is replacing the butter with mascarpone.

One year I decided to make orange rosemary pecans for everyone and I would have been better off just giving everyone a twenty dollar bill after I paid for all the pecans. I should have done my due diligence on pecan prices. 

My dad gets me the Harry & David Fruit of the Month club every year for Christmas. I already got the intro tower of treats and am halfway through the pears. 

I bring that artichoke pizza you make with crescent rolls for crust and a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch powder for seasoning. It’s easy to make and transport and always gone in minutes. 

God, same. And I didn’t appreciate it enough at the time.

One year there was a mysterious shortage of pistachio pudding mix in our area and we were unable to have what we call Pistachio Fluff and it was a dismal Thanksgiving for sure. Now my mom buys the pudding mix months ahead to make sure it’s on hand.

I can vouch for consistency, as that is what fixed my sleep. I would routinely stay up until midnight or 1am, drag myself out of bed for work, sleep late or nap for hours on the weekends, and I was always tired and waking up was miserable. I made myself start going to bed and getting up at the same time every day,…

Bob Ross is also helpful this way!

God, yes. I’ve already given up just about everything that is considered an indulgence, so there’s no easy “I’m going to stop eating potato chips while I watch TV!” fix for me to lose twenty pounds. Instead it’s a daily grind of thinking about every bite of food that goes into my mouth and working out when I’d rather…

This is another reason why it’s so irritating that it’s 90 degrees into October--then we just skip right to winter and miss the best weather days. And I say this as someone who actually likes winter. 

Those Luxardo cherries have to be hidden in our fridge or they are gone in an instant.

We had some dark times here in Wisconsin a few years back when they started enforcing an archaic butter law that made Kerrygold disappear from most store shelves. We bought it when we could find it, and kept a supply in the freezer.

When I was a senior in college I spent about 18 months living in a 100 year old house owned by a relative. It was right in the heart of the city, on a busy street that was one of the main north-south thoroughfares, in a neighborhood where there was only about six feet or so gap between the houses. 

I just saw this at my fancy grocery store yesterday and thought about buying it. I might go back after reading this.

I still feel almost a physical sickness every time I’m reminded that we lost Russ Feingold’s voice in the Senate in favor of this pile of smug blow-dried garbage.