A day in the mouth of.......

5:00 am - My tounge is hanging out I am so ready for some water, and I wait in anticipation to see if brain will read the message or ignore it, as is often the case. What's that smell??? Mmmmmm toothpaste...... Gosh that feels good! Don't just swish and spit brain! Drain that glass!...... I guess that was better than nothing, but it is also the signal to brace myself for what comes next.

Not so bad this morning, brain got enough half and half in the coffee to knock most of the bitterness out of the first sip. If it tasted like this every morning, I could learn to live with it. Not that I'm complalining, but the guy that makes the coffee needs to work on his technique. Seems it is usually either see-through weak, or so strong it could grow hair on the back of my throat, rarely just right.

6:30 am - I know your busy brain, but a gal could die of thirst around here. That's it.... the sweet taste of water I crave. Only a couple of ounces? What am I, on a diet or something?

7:20 am - Yum, a bite of egg.... eating left-overs again. Pay attention to me brain, I'm talking to YOU!

8:00 am - 1/2 of a banana, a multi-vitamin, and a calcium chew. You call that breakfast?

9:30 am - Just when I was thinking of recruiting stomach into action, I smell oatmeal cooking (thank goodness for microwaves, they are so much faster than the stove). Just as I conclude "THIS MUST BE FOR ME", I hear the phone ring and .... NOTHING!

9:40 am - Brain just doesn't get the whole mindful eating thing. How is a gal suppose to enjoy oatmeal while talking? Not that there is much to enjoy anyway. The oatmeal is cold and sticky, and there isn't enough Splenda brown sugar in it. The cinnamon and vanilla brain added are pretty tasty though, and I suppose it's better than nothing. Bring on the water!

10:15 am - At teeth bite down, pure bliss explodes inside of me. the sweet juice of grapefuit fills me to overflowing, and dribbles down chin, but I don't care; I've died and gone to heaven! Once I swallow the juice, there is still the exercise of chewing the flesh of the grapefruit. Oh I LOVE exercise! I enjoy this pleasure for close to ten minutes, and when it finally ends, I feel completely satified, and in need of nothing. Good job with the mindful eating thing brain. And thanks to the residents for not interrupting my mini-meal.

11:00 am - Drink brain drink...... 12 ounces of water, that's more like it.

12:00 noon - two bites of lima beans, and a couple slices of an apple. Brain and I have worked out an agreement. Once the residents plates are prepared, the dogs get the meat left-overs, but she is willing to let me have the fruits and veggies (sometimes). I can live with that. I understand that we can't pratcise mindful eating while working, but I am so bored, and ready to exercise again. At least I am getting sips of water while brain/body works, and the 16 ounces consumed over the resident's lunch time gave me something to entertain myself with. I know that lots of mouths proclaim that they "hate the taste of water", but water is my drink of choice, and over the years I have convinced brain of it's benefits and gotten her on the bandwagon as well.

1:30 pm - A little behind schedule, but lunch is ready. Since it is one of my favorites I am not going to hold a grudge, but instead enjoy the moment, I deserve it (Brain HATES it when I say this. She blames me, and my desire for pleasure, for body's weight problem). As teeth tear into the nappa cabbage salad I feel like an addict getting a fix. Talking is not only neccessary, but enjoyable. We all know that kissing comes with it's own set of pleasures, but it is eating that I LIVE FOR! Getting back to the nappa cabbage (which is really a lettuce of sorts) salad... It is one of those perfect foods. Crunchy (from the mixture of sesame seeds,slivered almonds, and crunched up Ramon noodles that are then browned in a lttle butter with 1/2 of the noodle seasoning packet added. Too much sodium, but well worth it), salty (from the seasoning), and sweet and tangy (from the dressing of sugar, vinegar, and olive oil (brain lets me have olive oil now that it has been proclaimed the "good" fat)). While I am eating, brain entertains herself by reading, listening to a talk radio show, jumping up every other bite to attend to one of the residents, and checking her bank balance. I whispered to her about mindful eating, but not too loudly because why brain is busy, I am focused enough on the enjoyment of the salad for both of us. In fact, I am so lost in the moment that before I (or brain) even realize it, the salad was finished(with brain being so busy while I ate, the experience was much less pleasant than eating the grapefruit had been), and stomach was calling out "enough already! Pay attention up there!" This woke brain up, and she soothed stomach (and herself) with a nice cup of peach tea (with a little half and half) which reminds her of the summertime treat of a bowl of peaches and cream.

The afternoon passes, and my (near constant) nagging is rewarded with lots of room temperature water (I can drink more if it isn't cold). The memories of the food consumed earlier keeps me pretty satified, and I don't whine for ice cream.

7:15 pm - Yippee!!!! The residents have been fed (a couple of them ate twice because when they smelled my dinner cooking, they wanted to try some. This pushed my meal behind, because there's has to be mashed beyond recgonition.),and my dinner is ready. For some mouths, this would seem late, but there are LOTS of nights when 9:30-10:00 is dinner time. I will say that brain is making a real effort to take better care of me (by eating earlier), and lately has been doing an okay job of it. As I was saying.... dinner. Pasta (is there anything better? Okay maybe eggplant parmesan, but I digress), with lots of onions, broccoli, and tomatoes (I kinda missed the green peppers and mushrooms, but brain didn't think they were fresh looking enough the last time we went shopping), seasoned with grey sea salt, fesh cracked pepper, and fresh lemon juice. Slowly, brain is tuning into the delights of good quality ingredients.... it makes eating much more of an experience, and helps me be satified with less. The pasta was served piping hot with just a little (maybe a 1/2 ounce) fresh grated Asiago (like parmesan) cheese on top. I was in hog heaven, and must have eaten like a pig, because again (way before my taste buds were sated)stomach was screaming "Stop! Put down the fork! I can't hold one more bite!" To which I replied, "Shut up! There's only a few more bites, and I'm eating them." Which I promptly did. Am I selfish and spoiled?..... YOU BET I AM! Brain let's me get away with too much, but I like to remind her that if she paid more attention to eating rather then trying to multi-task while I exercise, I would be easier to control.

After being so badly behaved, I let up on brain and stomach for a few hours (it helped that brain kept me well supplied with water). Around 10:00 pm, I tried a few of my old tricks to get a treat. It is this little power struggle that brain and I go through often, but especially late at night. Brain grew up in an environment in which food was used as a reward, and used as a way to show someone you loved them. I use this information to get my way. "You've worked hard today, just a litte bite won't hurt. How bad can a couple of cookies be for you? If I don't get me something salty RIGHT NOW, I cannot promise that I won't kill someone! If you loved me, you would feed me." I have a whole arsenal I use on brain. Tonight though, I was pretty satified from the quality food I had consumed throughout the day, and it only took one small piece of See's candy (again, only high quality chocolate for us)to get me to shut up and let brain drift quickly off to sleep. I don't mind giving in sometimes..... There's always tomorrow!