Fruitify My Life

Each year, after the holidays, I reach a point where my body says: ENOUGH. Enough of the wine, the heavy desserts, the appetizers made with buttery pastry. Enough Christmas cookies. I even reach the point where (gasp) I'm a bit sick of chocolate.

I'm at that point now, and I'm fully ready to embrace fruit. Right now, a juicy orange really sounds delicious to me. Or a wonderful pear.

Or those frozen dark cherries that defrost so wonderfully in the microwave... At the risk of sounding really strange, when I found that Costco carried those things in megabags, maybe I cried. Or did Gangam Style, or something. In any case, they make me happy.

Bring on the melons, the Clementines, and apples! I just re-embraced Fuji apples after years of Galas; can't believe I forgot how flavorful they are.

I'm down for greens too, and I mean salads that are NOT laden down with dollops of dressing and a bag of cheese. Last night I had a simple salad made with crisp romaine drizzled with a tad of olive oil, and it was delicious.

In this mode, I always go overboard and buy something a bit too adventurous - kale, or parsnips. I love both, but am I really going to prepare and roast parsnips? No. As for the kale, supposedly it makes a great smoothie... Maybe I'll go back to that aisle and get some. and some beets while I'm at it.

At this point, my body is gasping for fresh air and exercise, after weeks of hunkering over wrapping paper and leg of lamb. I'm all about carrot juice, not eggnog. Bring on the green tea, not the champagne. Obviously, my system just wants a detox.

It all sounds a bit scary and dreadful, but honestly that fruit tastes delicious. The Clementines are like a fresh burst of orange on my tongue, and my husband and I have eaten most of the Fuji apples that I bought - oh - three days ago.

Carrots! How could I forget carrots? And I mean real ones, not the machine-lathed substitutes. They seem to take ages to peel, but the flavor in soups is unforgettable. And of course I'm not above buying the baby carrots; just maybe I ate a whole bag while I was editing the other night.

Yup, it's time for color and contrast in my diet. We'll just see how long this phase lasts.

Blog on Fire Award #2

My sincere thanks to Johanna Garth for awarding me the Blog on Fire award! You can read her entertaining columns here, at Losing Sanity.

(BTW, Johanna is also the author of the book Losing Beauty, an updated version of the Persephone myth. Now tell me you don't want to follow someone who riffed in such a cool way on their book title.)

Like Johanna, I am the worst at accepting blog awards. But I liked these fun questions that came with the Blog on Fire award, and besides, after a week of editing and writing I had squat for blog inspiration, so I'm so totally cribbing 

1)  Are you a rutabaga? Since I'm always backwards, I'm actually an "agabatur."

2) Who is your current crush? If you've read my blogs at all, you'll know it is Rupert Grint of Ron Weasely fame. It's been Rupert for a long time now, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

3)  Upload a heartwarming picture that makes you smile.  

So, following the train of thought in Question #2:

4) When was the last time you ate a vine-ripened tomato?  For lunch, with Kirby cucumbers, from my local farm stand. Juliet tomatoes, too. With olive oil. And mozzarella. Score!

5) Name one habit that causes other people to plot your demise.  When I start reading a book, you can yell right in my ear and I won't hear you. 

6) What is the weirdest, most disgusting job you've ever had to do? Having to clean out the fryers at McDonalds. That's right - I worked for that clown.   

7) Where da muffin top at?  I must assume it's with the donut hole and the bear claw, and since I'm on a diet, I don't know where that is or I would gulp them all down. With coffee coolattas.

8)What author introduced you to your genre?  My genre is steampunk. H.G. Wells is the Man.

9)  Describe yourself using obscure Latin words.  Doofus? That's Latin, right?

And I hereby pass the Blog on Fire along to my fellow Fantasy Island Book Publishing author, Lisa Zhang Wharton. You can read her here:

Lisa Zhang Wharton: http://lisazhangwharton.blogspot.com/

Lisa, it's now up to you to answer these fun questions!