MY FAVORITES

Foods - I should have been a rabbit.  I love veggies of all kinds.  I prefer salads over meat & potatoes.  I would have a salad every night if I could get away with it.  When I was younger, I know I had a sweet tooth & loved candy of all kinds.  We didn't have desserts regularly, only on special occasions, but my dad would always let me get a piece of penny candy when I was with him at a store...I loved carefully choosing my favorite of the day. 

During my elementary school years, we purchased school lunches.  That was when we had a "lunch lady" who actually cooked hot lunches in the school cafeteria & we wouldn't be dismissed until we ate everything on our tray.  I learned to like all kinds of foods, I was not a picky eater.  During high school, Mom gave me $5.00 a week for my lunches.  I could have purchased a hot lunch in the cafeteria, but I chose to eat at the "snack shack" - I had a maple bar (donut) & a Dr Pepper everyday & I spent 50 cents for that, leaving me $2.50 for the weekends.  We would go to Pizzaville USA after football/basketball games or sometimes we'd go to Taco Bell.

I was a pretty skinny kid & never had to watch my weight until I became a G'ma.  I have always loved sodas of any kind.  I ignored the fact that they were unhealthy until Ty helped me realize how many I drank.  I was teaching school & Ty told me I shouldn't drink so many Diet Cokes.  I was surprised when he pointed out that I always had a Big Gulp in my hand or in my car.  He was right!  I would have a Diet Coke on my way to school everyday, one at morning recess, one at lunchtime, one at afternoon recess, one after school, & one on the way home!  Good grief - thats a six pack per day!  That's a lot!  So I made a conscientious effort to quit drinking them. 

Call it an addiction or just a habit, but it was more difficult to stop drinking sodas than I thought it would be.  I will still drink one occasionally, but my body definitely objects when I do!  When I was younger, I could eat anything I wanted & as much as I wanted without any adverse effects.  I never seemed to gain weight & I had an extremely high metabolism.  I'm sure my active lifestyle (teaching dance & gymnastics) had a lot to do with that! 

As I got older, my sweet tooth remained but I also developed a taste for salty things.  I love chips & popcorn & often I would choose that over candy.  I have always preferred cake over pies & sherbets or sorbets over ice creams.  German chocolate cake is a favorite but I'm pretty sure I've never met a cake I didn't like.  But as I have aged, it is interesting to realize how food affects my body.  I gain weight easier than I used to & it is more difficult to take that weight off!  Certain foods hurt my stomach, too.  I try to eat healthy & light, limiting my intake of sugar & starches.  I am at risk of Diabetes (my mother & her mother both had it) & my blood sugars have been dangerously close in the past if I do not watch what I eat.  Fortunately, I love healthy foods & my body doesn't require as much food as it used to so if I overeat or indulge in rich foods, I will usually regret it.  I'm still a rabbit at heart.

Movies - ANY musical!  I used to watch the Saturday Morning Matinee on TV when I was a kid & many of those movies were old westerns or musicals!  I have always been drawn to music & the songs from the movies were so fun!  In no particular order...Calamity Jane, Flower Drum Song, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Show Boat, Pajama Game, Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, all things Elvis, & the list continues to grow!  My mom loved musicals, too, & she seemed to know the words to all the songs! The Wizard of Oz was her favorite.  She loved Judy Garland & "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was her favorite song, so naturally, I love it, too. Musicals help me find my "happy place."  Most Disney movies rank right up there with a good musical, too.  I am also a fan of a good action flick...the Star Wars series, The Bourne series, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc.  I have always enjoyed going to the movies for good clean fun.  Although serious drama has its place, it is not always entertaining & I prefer something light-hearted.