They Don't Call It Fat Tuesday For Nothing

You may be aware that Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, which means that it's almost the end of Mardi Gras season. Today's last hurrah is Fat Tuesday, a last opportunity to enjoy things that you will be giving up for the Lent.

For the past few days I've been overindulging in honor of the season. It started off with nightly servings of Girl Scout Thin Mints Hubby Tony bought from a co-workers daughter. Last Saturday I had a lunch meeting, then later in the day enjoyed dinner out with Tony. Sunday we ate our way through a contest to determine the best soup and dessert from local restaurants. Yesterday I had a more than substantial working breakfast at a downtown hotel.

My body is starting to rebel from all the rich food, so today I alternated between healthy (a protein bar and piece of fruit for breakfast) and not. Between lunch and dinner I treated myself to several snacks, and I turned my normal cup of black coffee into a sweet mocha. All was a lead-in to the dinner that I knew was coming.

I had a dinner assignment at a restaurant just up the road from our condo. Right after Tony arrived home from work we got into the car. As we walked into the restaurant I could smell the sizzling meat cooking on the grill. We walked through the line and ordered our food (a BLT sandwich for me, a burger for Tony, an order of fries to split, and drinks). And in a nice stroke a luck one of the assignment requirements was to add a shake to the order. This restaurant's shakes come with a wide variety of add-ins. I chose chocolate and cherry flavorings, and asked Tony to pick another one or two. He decided that crushed Oreo pieces would taste good.

While we were waiting for our food we munched on the in-shell peanuts the restaurant has available for customers. I'm proud to say that they didn't ruin our appetite; we finished all the items we ordered. And because I was honoring the Fat Tuesday tradition I didn't worry about how many calories I was consuming. Tomorrow I can go back to my healthy eating habits.

Five years ago today: Can I Ask You A Few Questions?