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Thursday, September 18, 2014

My First Love ... and My New Love

There is an east/west rivalry in my hometown that stymies all newcomers. No one really knows what started the "distaste" for the other side of town ... and other depends on which side of town you're from ... but it's definitely palpable! Each side, of course, thinks their side is best. I grew up on the east side, but have lived most of my life on the west side, and I must say, I prefer the west side.

The demarcation line is considered the highway that divides the city. Westsider's rarely venture east of the highway, and eastsider's rarely venture west. Drop an eastsider onto the west side of town, and they would likely wander for days trying to find their way out. It's easier for a westsider to navigate the east side because the east side has majors roads criss-crossing everywhere ... and that's one of the reason's westsider's hate the east side. The traffic is atrocious!

Of course, the west side has trains, so eastsider's hate coming over here, but we west sider's know how to get around the trains. They are a pain in the bottom, but we don't have to sit and wait for them to pass without getting lost!

I'm not sure why, but Ski (aka "Nectar of the Gods"), is considered "West Side Water". Ski is a local soda that is so incredibly delicious, you will think you've died and gone to heaven when the first drop hits your tongue.

I grew up on the east side and have drank Ski for as long as I can remember, but anytime someone (i.e. a non-westsider) would see me drinking a Ski, they'd say "Oh, you westsider's and your Ski!" Excuse me, but was addicted to Ski long before I lived on the west side!! Ski was bottled by Double Cola (now it's bottled by RC Cola). My mother would go to the grocery and buy 12 cartons of Double Cola, and one six-pack of Ski ... if she bought Ski at all! I asked her one time why she didn't buy more Ski. She said "Because no one likes Ski!" Well, Mama ... I guess I know where I stand in this family! That comment confused me. She would buy Ski, and it would be drank fairly quickly ... so obviously, someone likes Ski!

I decided to give up Ski once and for all last spring when I found myself 15 pounds heavier than just a few years ago. I've always been thin, so I don't have "fat clothes". I have been the same size my entire adult like, so I have one size of clothing ... and they were getting too tight. I didn't like the way I looked in anything and decided I had to do something before that 15 pounds turned into 100!

So, I quit Ski ... cold-turkey. About a month ago I stepped on the scale and realized I had reached my goal weight! I lost 15 pounds just by not drinking Ski ... and I only drank one or two a day at the most. I won't say how much I weighed before or after my 'weight loss', because even the before would sound pathetic. I'm so petite that my weight when I gave birth (after gaining 40 lbs.) was less than most women weigh before they get pregnant! But anyway, I'm back down to where I want to be.

I don't deprive myself. I eat what I want. I just don't eat until I pop ... I quit eating when I'm no longer hungry. If I want a cookie or a cupcake or a donut, I have one. I drink mostly water or milk, but if I can find it, I like to treat myself to a Diet Peach Tea Snapple. It's not as good as Ski (nothing is as good as Ski), but it's good, and my taste buds do a little dance after each sip. But don't worry, Ski ... I see fireworks every time I even think of you :)

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