Corn...

"Corn, Corn, Corn! Nothing But corn."

As i consider the reality of what is in that package of smarties I just ate, I can't help but think about the movie "Secondhand Lions". One of the uncles is fooled by a traveling salesman to believe that each seed is different when in fact all he buys is corn seeds....lots of them. A whole garden full of corn...

First ingredient in Smarties: Dextrose.


Corn sugar (C6H12O6), commonly called D-glucose or dextrose, is the chemical [alpha]-D-glucopyranose. It occurs as the anhydrous or the monohydrate form and is produced by the complete hydrolysis of corn starch with safe and suitable acids or enzymes, followed by refinement and crystallization from the resulting hydrolysate.


So...back to corn. Corn is in EVERYTHING. Its disgusting. Why is there corn in my smarties. Why is their corn in drink mixes, McDonald's everything, Baby formula, cereals (excluding corn flakes), catsup, salad dressings, candies, vinegar, cookies, baby food, juices, .......ok so now i'm just listing anything I am finding it in on the internet.
But seriously. If it isn't Corn on the cob, has corn in the title or is "candy corn," it shouldn't contain it. If God didn't put it in there...then there is a reason its not in there.


I could say the same thing about any sugar or soy. oo....but don't get me started on soy.

Organic lemonade mix: soy
salad dressings: soy
Goldfish crackers: soy
Granola bars: soy

double takes...

Sometimes when you are riding the bus there are odd things that make you do a double take...here are some recent ones...

Man standing at the bus stop with a "cane." The "cane" was a shovel that was cut off and a gripper placed on the bottom.
High school student gets on the bus. She is clearly wearing gym clothes...like she just got out of practice...and dress shoes. Yep, you read that right...dress shoes. Ok, so how many times after track practice or whatever practice did you take your sneakers off and put your slip ons back on for your ride home....except she was in public


Another strange note about the bus. My department has two interns. One of them did not grow up in the city. She is terrified of it. In order to break her of her fears it has been suggested that I take her on a bus adventure....and have her stand by liberty pole for a while...this should be fun.

Snob or wholehearted?

So after going to the grocery store on Friday night and thinking today about what I am going to eat for lunch (still haven't decided) I have come to a place of being frustrated and bored by food. How can this be? There are hundreds of different foods! And a math wiz would tell me there were hundreds of thousands of combinations of the foods that could be eaten. So why am I bored?

I have come to a point of not wanting my eating decisions to affect my ability to live and love. If my eating plan keeps me from going out and spending time with someone who needs a friend...then what is the point? Then it has become an encumbrance.

What happened to the excitement about eating and cooking? As I was finishing up cutting vegetables for my soup last night I was remembering growing up. My mom is an amazing cook. She never measures anything and rarely uses a recipe. She can create a meal out of the fewest or strangest items. I had no interest in cooking. Why would I? If mom could cook amazing food then I had no reason to even try. I could just take the easy way out and simply splurge on all the goodness. So now as I learn how to cook and see that practice does make perfect...I go along all the ordinary challenges. Last night as I sliced a nice gash in my thumb, the first thought I had was: "i'm becoming a decent cook, and the cuts are simply evidence."

So....the food journey continues...

Purge It!

Yesterday's agenda at work was "purging". The whole day was set aside to "purge". Why? Because we are moving into a new office and who wants to move more than they need to. But the idea of purging goes much deeper. Think about it....

In my office. Well I have occupied my office for just about three months...how much would I have to purge? A lot. Every person who has occupied the office before me has left their own treasures. Brosures, business cards, emails, letters, notes, hand written instructions, old files. Each and every one of them has left a legacy that I needed to clean up. Why did they leave it? What is the  use? What does it say about them?

In my own life I have moved several times. Sometime around the end of college I counted 11 houses. Considering the amount I move I have a lot of...crap. Crap. That is what it is. Okay...well maybe not all of it. Piles of books...I love books. I collect books. I hoard books. I....well... I am addicted to books. Clothes...for a girl who never buys herself clothing...I have a lot of clothes. And pictures and cards and letters...who am I saving them for? Am I saving them for myself? Or my children? or my grand children? Well...since I don't know what God has in store for me in terms of children...why am I saving them?

What else is hidden in the box, or the drawer? What is slid under the bookshelf or under the bed? What are you collecting? What does it say about you?

For me as I ponder this reality and consider what will happen as I move, grow up, transition, change...what do I want to hold onto...then I ask the question of Why? Why am I holding onto it.
My mom has countless boxes and bins filling her basement of my stuff. My brother's stuff. My sister's stuff. What is it? Old school projects, mother's day cards, birthday cards, craft projects, pictures, odds and ends, things we cherished.... Sometimes I think mom needs to go through and just have a big bonfire!

But as easy as it is for me to say this, I have just as much difficulty getting rid of things as anybody else. It is hard to let go of the past. It is hard to leave behind something that was part of you, something that has shaped who you are.

So what can I purge today...that box under my bed and that drawer in my night stand.