Tomorrow, my month of reprieve is over.
I’m driving back to the house. Boo! I look forward to a few things, mind you, like snow! XC skiing! Getting on top of work! Getting back to my gym and workout routines! But most of all… oh, man.
PURGE THE SUGAR!
Travel tends to be a bit of a starchy festival for me, because starches don’t need refrigeration (like lots of proteins do), and they don’t crush in transit—produce just doesn’t pack well!—but pack a cereal, a sandwich, and no problemo. Nourishment in motion!
I stopped eating cereal for breakfast in, oh, September, and sandwiches only occasionally make an appearance in my normal roster—they’re sure not a daily (or twice daily!) event… but there they both were, roaring back as I drove across North Island…
But you know what? I was in New ZEALAND! Who cared? 😀
Well… I cared, actually—more to the point, my stomach cared. There was some upset, even though I tried to do what I could to keep up the patterns that work for me… I didn’t want to avoid experiences for the sake of rigidity, though, so that was something I was willing to handle. 🙂
I once thought that the endlessly charming HEAB had a tough line: she doesn’t budge much from her norm, needing to be able to plan even restaurant meals in advance of her visits. I like a bit of experimenting and variety… but after these last weeks, I can TOTALLY see what Heather’s about. Dare I say it, but… bring back the routine!
I am in NO WAY ungrateful for my fabulous yule, mind you! Staying in Vancouver with my friend for Christmas was great—I also did it 13 years ago, in fact. Then, it was my first Christmas away from my family, and webundled into her Tracker and drove from Calgary to Edmonton to spend Christmas with her family, back before that meant her husband and three kids. The year was 1997, I was a fat kid 🙂 , and I braved Boxing Day shopping at the MALL, because she is a killer shopper and finds deals the way truffle pigs ferret our truffles, though she will undoubtedly object to that metaphor.
This time around, we got the awesome efforts of her mom, who had baked in advance, and also did the whole prep for Christmas eve AND Christmas dinner. Wow. And yum. And between the duelling deliciousness of the sweets and savories, I got on the carb train and rode it hard. My stomach feels absolutely raw from the sugar… so while I’m seriously sad about leaving the delightful Brandts and the glories of West Van, I’m feeling pretty good about a major, major detox.
So bring on the veggies! The legumes! The fibre! The avocados (which I saw advertised in rural NZ at 10 for NZ$3—wow)!
And while I’m at it… I don’t think I told you what else I did in New Zealand.
Here’s a hint:
(source)
With a new year looming… is it time to bring on the bird?
Have you stayed true to your normal patterns, or are you in need of a holiday detox, too? What’s your plan for that?