Never trust a skinny cook.........

I'm a foodie. A kitchenista. A cooking fool. A woman with a severe menu problem. I know, I know, we've been over this before. But, honestly... when it gets this close to the holidays, my mania powers up, goes full throttle and literally does drop kicks on my world. I just can't help myself. Judiland revolves around food, cooking, menus and plans for more food, menus and cooking. It's that simple--I'm a woman with an apron who is out of control. Not just in the kitchen. It's everywhere I go. Everywhere. We are having a lovely lunch in a quaint little, ambiance-filled cafe and I'm obsessed with figuring out the ingredients in a bowl of soup. We're sitting in a huge auditorium waiting for a college visit program to begin and I hear someone 5 rows back mention a sale at a local kitchen emporium and I'm planning my escape. Does my daughter really want to go to this college? Nah....let's go find that store! We're driving through horrendous rain--the kind that hits the ground and bounces back up--making it very hard to drive....but yet, I'm in the grips of menu planning and mentally toiling over if there's enough room on the table to add yet another side dish. Do I need a new, space-saving platter?

It's official, friends...I'm hopelessly obsessed and there is no hope for recovery. Well, at least anytime soon. Or, not anytime in the next 8 weeks. The food network is on during a good portion of my waking and at-home hours. Plus, deep into the night, I'm either pouring through food magazines, cook books or my menu diary (yes, I keep one...) or I'm making lists and hunting down ingredients and looking for new ideas using traditional foods. Right now, my conversations with others and with myself involve food over 80% of the time. It's no wonder I found myself laying on an operating table having a Lapband put around my stomach...... Oh wait....it was much more than food that drove me there....right? It was genetics and dumb luck and poor exercise habits brought on by the pain of obesity.... Ah, I feel so much better. It wasn't because I was a raging foodaholic.....

You know, before I beat myself up too bad here....I want to say this---my love affair with food may have cost me quite a few years and it may have helped me to pile on quite a few pounds. But, let's face it---not all of the results were awful. It clearly gave me a deep appreciation for good food and creative cooking. Yes, I may go overboard and I may find my life being ruled by the almighty Thanksgiving menu. But, damn....I know good food. And, yes, good food knows me.