Coke and Meatballs

So - yesterday (Saturday) was Coke Day. And I resisted having any Coke until dinnertime. Which for me was meatballs. Which I dearly love. The Cokes are out on the porch now - keeps them out of sight, out of mind - and so the Coke inside the little bottles is already bitterly cold. And then over ice - it was the most refreshing feeling to have that first swallow. And the second one was also pretty good! By the end of the glass though...well, no, that was also still good.

Unlike the Unsatisfying Coke Friday - when I was so disappointed in my beverage experience. This one was really worth the wait. And I will look forward to the next Coke Day with equal delight.

You see, it isn't so much about not drinking Coke. Obviously there are worse vices in the world (and I have a couple of THOSE). To quote some random wisdom from my youth, "at least nobody drinks a Coke and beats their kids". Okay, to be fair...that quote was not about Coke. I think that was pot. My mis-spent youth...

It is about actually appreciating the Coke if I'm going to drink it! I was asked by a friend how many Cokes I used to consume in a day. I figure it averaged out to 5 or 6. How many of those was I really conscious of whether I enjoyed it or not? Maybe 1. And that was probably the first one of the day - when I swear I could feel the rejuvenating power surging through my veins. The rest of them...it was just mindless consumption.

So - I'm not so much giving up drinking Coke...I'm trying (trying!) to give up mindless consumption. I'm now going to to thoughtfully consume some potato soup that Mom made. And I shall endeavor to appreciate the experience. Including appreciating the fact that I didn't have to make it. Maybe first I should go fold her laundry. Seems like a fair exchange.

In Anticipation...

Today I have decreed will be a Coke Day!! I was tempted to have one at lunch. Went to lunch today at the Depot Grille after my nephew Jack's basketball game. Great game. I'm going to have a freakin' heart attack at one of these dang games. His team - The Sixers - did not win, but it was a great game! And Jack hit a 3 that just went SWOOSH. It was sweet.

So we went to the Depot - love their sauteed mushrooms. And then Jack and I split a Chocolate Lava Cake which was excellent. So - I thought about a Coke then. But then I was afraid that I would decide that was going to be it for another week. You see - I haven't exactly decided if it is one Coke per week or Coke one day per week. Either one would be a real accomplishment for me. Trust me. So - then I decided that the resulting potential guilt feelings might ruin it...you see... I may be over-thinking it. Too much navel-gazing?

Where was I? Oh yeah - so I'm having Coke tonight. And I think I will also have Meatballs!! Which is one of my favorite foods. Sushi, Coke and Meatballs... If I needed another name for my blog - that would probably be it. Or maybe I'll form a band?

Anyway - more random thoughts later.

Savoring Sushi

Well - if a certain person reads this blog...I'm going to be in BIG trouble. I've been cheating on sushi friends again. But when the boss wants to go have sushi...you gotta do it, right? And when he wants to go again 3 days later...that's not my fault, right?

Perhaps I'm rationalizing again.

But I must say - IT WAS AWESOME!! There are several places in Lynchburg that you can go get sushi - including Kroger. But if you really crave sushi - it must be John John's creations at Kings Island. And I was lucky enough to eat there twice this week (so far!).

I remember my very first piece of sushi. It was about 10 years ago and I was at lunch with my sister Denise and my buddy Phil Hinkle. Denise and I were there for the awesome lunch buffet but Hink chose to wait for sushi. While we chowed down on the great Chinese food - he patiently awaited the arrival of his lunch. And then when he heard I never tried sushi before - he shared a piece of his Rock and Roll. Eel and cucumber topped with avocado. And the idea that you needed to throw the whole thing in and eat it at once? Seemed too much. Like jumping off a cliff. What the heck was I going to do if it was dreadful? But I jumped - and it was NOT dreadful. And then I had another piece dipped in a sauce of wasabi/soy. And I got that little rush up my nose that only sushi aficionados will understand. By the third piece I was completely hooked.

I have eaten sushi in many cities, many restaurants, many settings. All are good. There was only one time that I didn't eat a piece of sushi that was ordered. Sea urchin. Hmmm....that just didn't smell right. Truth be told - I really now prefer my tuna raw. Even rare is too well done. And even though I KNOW that the whole mixing wasabi with soy sauce is not traditional...so far nobody has threatened to throw me out of the restaurant. I like a balance between the taste of the sushi (which is sublime) and the rush of the wasabi (which is like a roller coaster). I love the whole experience.

It usually starts with the group (my "club" the Royal Order of the Baby Octopus) debating how many and what kinds of sushi to order. We order in a couple of waves so that we can get started faster! Then there is the patient waiting for the artist to do his work. The arrival of the platter is greeted with proper reverence - oooohhs and aaaahhs. Then the decimation begins. Wasabi and soy sauce blend to each eaters preference (mine is a light tan liquid - Carl's is the consistency of wallpaper paste). There is some battling for the soy sauce bottle (I do not share very well). The first piece is chosen. For me it almost always the Spicy Scallop Roll - which is neither very spicy nor does it resemble any scallops I've ever seen. I always kiss my first and last piece. OK - I'm odd. You knew that.

I could have felt guilty today for eating sushi (twice) without my sushi pals. But I decided that guilt was not useful. So instead - I savored the experience. And today - I ate my annual baby octopus. This reconfirms me as the High Empress of the Royal Order.

But will it count if I didn't eat it with the group? As High Empress - I say yes.

Two days till Coke Saturday. Then I can savor THAT!

You knew Hamsters were going to be involved...

A very nice young lady - who I've never even met - made a request via her Dad. She really wanted Tater Tot Tuesdays to be their special thing. I wasn't that attached to the name, I just always liked the idea. So the concept of the blog remains the same...but the name has changed.

And seriously - you knew that the hamster in the lounge chair wasn't going to be the only hamster involved for long. So - I introduce the new name with this short post. Welcome to The Beaten Hamster. That ought to raise even more questions and eyebrows than TTT did!

Have a good day friends!

Tater Tot Tuesdays? What?

I wasn't even sure myself why I decided to call the blog Tater Tot Tuesdays. Perhaps that will be revealed to me in a session of navel-gazing. But here is what I know so far:

#1 - my goal for 2011 (and should be for the rest of my life) is to become a better person. I know - so many of you are asking yourself "how could she possibly be a better person?". No - in all seriousness...the most fatal flaw is believing that you have none. And believe me - I actually know that I have flaws. Big and small...serious and silly...real and imagined. So - I know I've got stuff I can work on.

#2 - the first thing I decided to do was kick my addiction to Coke. Only the first thing I realized was that there was a side effect to deciding to have only one Coke-day per week...I was also going to learn to appreciate that event.

#3 - so that led to the fact that I know I perform best under some cloud of accountability. I started taking my contacts out because my best friend told me to stop abusing my eyeballs and then I got encouragement and positive feedback when I was struggling through forming that good habit. So, I decided to blog. Even if nobody but me reads this - I am more likely to be good. Blogs need titles...so I thought of nifty phrases that I like. "you may be right" "tru dat" "don't participate" and "that's what she said" didn't really fit.

I like alliteration and a facebook friend had often mentioned that this Tuesday or that Tuesday was a "Tater Tot Tuesday" and I liked it even without knowing what he meant. For me - it was the idea that you could give up fried foods except for once a week when you would have tater tots. Or Coke. Really appreciating the special treat of a favorite food/event/vice...

Because I'll tell ya - I'm totally looking forward to my next Coke (Saturday this week maybe?) and I promise I'll really savor it this time.

Turns out that his Tater Tot Tuesday is a chance to eat lunch (ooo...school lunch!) with his daughter. And that is the coolest thing. He doesn't think that she'll be into it for many more years...and so he really savors them now. My friends...that...is the best part of life. Taking time to be in the moment. And sharing a tater tot (or a Coke) with someone.

Navel-gazing complete for the day. In order to re-balance my mind...I'm off to watch "Toddlers and Tiaras"! Yeah...not.

One Screw

Disjointed thoughts are running through my brain. It is hard to focus them enough to even come up with a title for today's post.

Discussion this morning of resolutions made me think of Lent. Lent is one of the first times I tried to give up Coke. I made it about 7 hours. I told you I wasn't good with self-denial. In the Methodist church it has depended upon the church/pastor/teacher's influence in any given year how much importance was placed on the concept of giving something up for Lent. Some years I was encouraged to add something positive instead of giving up something. I didn't have the best role models for giving up things for Lent. My great grandmother (I've been told) always gave up going to the movies. Well - she'd never been to the movies in her life. I had a friend whose mother gave up smoking - except on Sunday (which she indicated was some sort of free day) when she smoked like a chimney.

I think that the idea of adding a good habit could be as positive as deleting a bad habit. So I'm going to try to balance my changes this year between kicking some bad habits and learning the art of follow through on developing some good ones. Today I started laundry, carried dishes to the kitchen and sat down to write this post. All of them could have gotten lost in my usual habit of procrastination. That's the key obstacle to me becoming a better person - I've got to learn to just do something instead of doing it later.

I have one friend who has incredible follow through. If he says he will get something done - he does it. Then. On the other hand - I have a light over my bed that will occasionally fall down upon my head because I never got ONE screw and a screwdriver to prevent that from happening. TODAY - right now in fact - I am going to put a screw in that bracket.

And now I have a title for the post. Whatever will tomorrow bring?

Unsatisfying Coke Friday

Ok - so last night I had to bartend the New Year's Eve opening night Gala at the Renaissance Theatre. It makes for such a long day that during that brief hour between work and more work - I decided that it would be a good time to have my weekly Coke. Just to keep me going.

But since I was so overwhelmingly tired and somewhat unmotivated to go on to my next task - I don't think that I really enjoyed it! Ah well...live and learn. I shall do better next week. More planning so that a treat is really really a treat!

Once the event starts rolling - I enjoy it. It was a great to see some folks who I only see New Year's Eve. At one point during a quiet moment (we get a little down time when people go in to watch the play!) I thought to myself that the end of my year of self-improvement and navel gazing will probably be in the same place it started. After all, I've been bartending this event for about 7-8 years now...it is likely that I'll be in the same place 12/31/11. Wonder what that post will be about...

New Year's Day is a great time to assess where you are in life. Lots of people make resolutions and I hear the gym will be crowded next week. I know that I have a great job, awesome friends and an incredible family. Other positives include a roof over my head, no car payment on a car that runs (276,000 miles! Go Honda!), and I hear that my sister is bringing rolls to lunch! Stuff to work on includes too much debt, several addictions to evil foods and a tendency to spend time dreading things that I've made a commitment to do. If I've made a commitment then I KNOW I'm going to follow through - so why waste energy dreading it? That's something for the change pile.

Well - my brother, sister and their families have arrived for lunch. I'm going to go enjoy their company. And a cup of coffee. Going to be a long time till my next Coke. But I will survive. I think.