A Peep Overdose And Sugar Addiction!

It may or may not have started with an overdose on Halloween Peeps. I ate this whole box in, oh I don't know, ten minutes? Pretty gross, if you ask me.

Did you know they made Halloween Peeps? 

I didn’t but I ran into them at a drug store in New York. Until Sunday, I only thought Peeps were available at Easter and Christmas so I've never pursued them at any other time.

You see... I’ve had a scandalous seasonal romance with Peeps (not as intense as my love affair with peanut butter but an affair none-the-less).

As a matter of fact, my mom still buys me Peeps for Easter and brings them over to my house. Is she still feeling guilty that she discontinued our Easter baskets in favor of her grandkids? I never, ever tell her that I’ve already had several boxes. That would disappoint her. I always get a box of traditional Peeps exactly like this:

And I’m not terribly partial to a color but as far as Easter Peeps go, I choose yellow first (always) but I will eat pink, purple and white bunnies as well. I'll eat any color.

What I’m confessing to here is I have an addiction to sugar, not always, but currently and I make bad decisions/food choices because of it. 

I eat way too much of it and too often; it gives me an energy boost only to drop me on my ass an hour later. And it’s a vicious cycle that I keep feeding!!!

I don’t sleep well and lack of sleep triggers sugar cravings big time.

They (web M.D. and other such sources) say the withdrawal should last only a week. It’s been 5 days.

And you know what?

I want to tear (am tearing?) my entire house apart looking for sugar because I have depleted my sources. If I dug around in my daughter’s room, I’d probably find candy somewhere but since she hasn’t lived at home for a few years, it’s would likely be stale, gray chocolate and everything else just plain nasty. That’s if she's become more lax in her hiding places in her older age.

So what have I been thinking? Just how desperate am I right this minute?

I’m almost ready to turn the Hersey's Syrup bottle upside down and take a few squirts to give me a bump. Anyone ever done that? I'm not saying.

Someone talk me off the ledge.

Or send me a piece of fine, dark chocolate.

Please!!!

There Are Places I Remember...

“All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall” 

This creamy, silky, steaming cup of cappuccino is a ritual of mine whenever I have visited my favorite city in the world. It’s enjoyed every morning, in exactly this spot, every single time and always outside. Often times I’m there as the restaurant is turning over it’s chairs and the market people setting up their offerings.

Some may think that I lack imagination for being so routine in a historic place. For me, it is anything but that. This particular cup has been enjoyed alongside some of the most special people I could ever know and reminds me of how very lucky I am in my life. 

I am talking about Rome and this is Campo dei Fiore.

This city, this cup, this spot, this feeling… the warmth and calm never elude me.

It’s not about the coffee exactly. It’s about the moments in time you allow yourself to just be and take in all the present has to offer. You feel it in your soul and know you’re creating something special with the people around you, friends or strangers. I’ve learned this here, in this spot with this cup. Take time to slow down. Be the observer and just watch it all come alive!

I’ve been to Rome on four occasions. However, it was the first one, with my mother, where my communion with this culture, it's people, began. Carving out and sharing a small piece of our day, every day, as the piazza began to bustle took us back to a simpler time.

Watching the “slow” life happen around us became a morning ceremony of sorts, each and every time we returned to Rome. These were quiet moments when none of us needed to speak, each leaving the table by ourselves, when the spirit moved, to explore and be totally drawn in by the people selling their food or the locals who were doing their daily shopping.

I visited this woman each morning. She was bundled up in a wool sweater against the morning chill and she trimmed artichokes. Each morning I would stop, watch and smile at her. She always smiled back. It became our thing and each morning our smiles became wider!

Cappuccinos in Roma make the world’s best milk mustaches!

Write On Edge

This week’s prompt was  to write a 400 word memoir piece in which one of the following features prominently–wine, coffee, or chocolate.

I can’t wait to read these savory, stimulating, and sweet stories from your life.

Remember—memoir must be true—