Hallo-Freeze!

My dad, dressed as...well you have to guess!

The boys: L is Darth Vader and R is a Death Eater (from Harry Potter).

Unless you live in a box, you'd probably know that last night was Halloween. And where I live, in the Great White North *snicker* it was FREEZING cold!! By far the coldest Halloween in a long long time! But I do have to say, at least it wasn't raining and cold, which is worse. It was probably hovering somewhere around 0C, which is 32F. Plus there was a wind chill. So, cold.

My dad has for the past few years, come up to our place to hang out and take the boys out trick or treating. They love having him come. Last year, he dressed as a clown, and got pulled over for speeding on his way over! Too funny. I'm sure the cops see all kinds around Halloween.

I have many fond memories of Halloween as a child. My dad used to like decorating and trying to scare the kids. For several years he put out a dummy in a chair. It was just some stuffed clothing with a mask on. Then the next year, he dressed as the dummy and sat in the chair. The kids that came the previous year remembered the dummy, and so approached without caution or care, only to have my dad jump up at the last second scaring the bejeezus out of them! I also seem to remember him rigging something to come down off the roof. Kids quickly learned to be scared of our house!

I've found that over the past few years, the Halloween spirit has really died down in my neighbourhood, which is really sad. Only a handful of houses were even decorated, and only about half the houses at all had even a jack o'lantern. It was hard to know which houses to approach. We were always taught if they don't decorate, they don't celebrate, so don't go banging on the door. I'm not so sure now.

Now that my kids are older, they want to trick or treat FOREVER! We were out until the bitter end last night. R didn't want to stop, but I told him it was bedtime, so we had to go home. I took them out to the adjoining street after my dad did a round with them on our street.

So now I must exercise restraint. It's so hard to resist eating all their candy! They are at school, and I am here at home with the temptation before me. I have a terrible time with chocolate, as you may know from previous posts, and once I start eating it, I crave it for days and weeks on end, until, as it seems, it leaves my system or something.

I wanted to give a shout out to another blog I read, Fighting Off Frumpy as she wrote an excellent post (well, all her posts are excellent) about Halloween beefs. I completely agree with all her points. Go read it, she's a very funny lady!

Chocolate Update II

It has now been two weeks (? not sure, feels like more!) since Lent began, and I am still on the wagon.
Mostly.
Ok, I cheated a few times.
One day I did have a hot chocolate (it was such a snowy day, the weather just called for it), and I have twice dipped my finger into the Nutella jar (only once each time).
So is that really cheating? I guess it is, if I was devout enough to actually adhere to the rules of Lent (ok, I don't even know what exactly the rules are, I don't even understand the whole meaning of it!), but for the purpose of my own experiment here, I don't feel I really cheated. My main goal was to stop eating actual chocolate, as in solid, large, pieces of it. And that has been accomplished so far. I have also stopped eating other smaller forms of it, as in chocolate chip cookies, or granola bars, etc., because once I get a taste for chocolate in my mouth, I want more and more, like an addict.
So all in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. Of course it helps now that I've run out of hot chocolate powder! ;)

Chocolate Update

Not that anyone cares I'm sure, but it has been one week since my last chocolate indulgence!! And whew, has it been hard! Everywhere I turn there is chocolate, I never really considered it too much.
When I started this prohibition, my main thought was that I needed to stop eating chocolate mostly because of the mass amount of Kisses, chocolate candies, and squares (ok, bars) I'd been eating. I never stopped to think about how many other things in my pantry contain chocolate.
We've been buying the granola bars made by Kashi. Of course, many of them have dark chocolate in them in some form or another. There is one type in particular that I quite enjoy, called Dark Chocolate Coconut. They have a type of icing on the top of the bar, that isn't actually real icing, just a fudgey-gooey-rich goodness made by combining date paste and dark chocolate. So it's healthy, right?
Alas, it is still chocolate.
We actually have many types of granola bars in our cupboard. Peanut-free ones for school (and DH), and many with nuts that both the boys and I love (thank goodness they didn't inherit that particular allergy!). But almost all of them have chocolate!
Then there is the hot chocolate. I was craving a hot drink the other day, not in the mood for tea for once and that is when I usually go for a hot chocolate. I had to stay my hand as it reached into the cabinet for the powder. I almost forgot!
I baked banana bread on the weekend. L begged me to put chocolate chips in it. I said, "But I gave up chocolate, remember?"
His reply was, "But we didn't!"
"But then I can't have any," I said, ignoring his 6-year-old selfishness.
"Just put them in half then!" he reasoned.
Umm, sorry, no, doesn't work that way.
But I'm managing.
I still have to deal with my sweet cravings. For that I bought myself some Golden Oreos, and Golden Oreo Cakesters. Is that any better, or is it worse?
Probably worse, as dark chocolate actually does have some health benefits, whereas I'm sure Oreos do not. However, I don't tend to binge on said Oreos like I would if they were Hershey's Dark Chocolate, or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
So for now I will try to stick to my committment, and if I can break this addiction, I will move onto tackling my sweet tooth next!

Chocolate Part II

Ok, I am officially swearing off chocolate. At least for the next six weeks or so, however long Lent is.
Now, I am not a religious person. The only time I go to church is for christenings and weddings. But I like the idea of Lent. And it serves a purpose right now.
I am actually scared a little that I am truly addicted to chocolate. This past month was the worst. I ended up buying a bag of Reeses Peanut butter hearts for MYSELF for Valentine's Day. How sad is that? I know my hormones haven't been very normal these past few months with being off the pill, but can i really blame hormones for chocolate cravings? Seriously? Because the two seem directly related, and I know that I have been eating way more chocolate over the past three months than i normally do.
So that's it, that's all. I ate up the rest of the bag today (and feel quite ill about it consequently) and after today, NO MORE.
The first few days will be tough, I know. It means no chocolate in whatever form. I'm not sure if I can be this strong.
Chocolate, I am breaking up with you. You're not good for me. So this is the end.
And don't call me.

Chocolate

Hi, my name is Jennifer, and I'm addicted to chocolate. I truly believe I am, on some level. Not as bad as an alcoholic, but maybe somewhat closer to a smoker. I need it. I crave it. At certain times of the day, of the week, of the month. Usually I can get by with a couple of squares, or bites. Other times, no. I take one bite and it's like a crack in the dam. Every subsequent bite thereafter splits the crack wider until it's an unstoppable flow.
I was desperate for some chocolate the other day. I even posted my craving on FB. My sister, N, who incidentally does not really even like chocolate, responded back to, get this, "eat an APPLE!" She heard, apparently, that they get rid of the craving. I had to laugh my ass off at that one. Spoken like a true health nut. She just doesn't understand chocolate at all.
But, to be fair to her (and to my own resolution to eat less, exercise more, and be healthier) I tried it yesterday. I had finished my workout with the Wii Active, and was craving something sweet at the usual time of day. The top cupboard in my kitchen beckoned to me, whispering sweetly in my ear like a lover, "Come, eat me, I'm here for your pleasure, I'm all yours...It's ok... you worked out...it's safe..."
"No!" I refused. And I turned instead to the fridge to retrieve an apple. As I sat munching the crunchy, sweet goodness, all I could think about was...
CHOCOLATE!!!
And when I finished the last bite and placed the core neatly in the greenbin, do you know what I did?
I went straight to the top cupboard, apologizing profusely to my spurned lover, and he welcomed me back with open arms.