I feel like I'm in a sort of reverse world right now, and it's cracking me up. Normally I have the words to write about a mile a minute, but I have about zero minutes in my day to get them typed... now, here I am with miles of minutes and about zero inspiration to write anything at all. For those of you who have ever been on- or ever will be on- bed rest, maybe you'll relate! Let's be honest, there's far worse to deal with than forced rest... even when my eyes are over reading, my ears are over podcasts, and I want to take a 4-mile walk, I know there is MUCH more to be thankful for than there is to complain about.
That said, I'm finally in the mood to write about any/everything, so today I'm going to talk about cravings.
I had none particularly while pregnant with Sophie and Maggie. I maintained my unhealthy habit of consuming sour candy, and added an extra helping "because I'm pregnant." I did not send my husband to the store at 11pm to get a crazy pregnant girl craving. I was relatively balanced and I secretly judged pregnant women who had crazy pregnancy requests as just (totally justifiably!) taking advantage of their position. I even vowed that if I ever got pregnant a third time, I might use that same strategy to get a little extra Mexican food in my life just for kicks, because pregnancy cravings sounded like a great idea.
As it turns out, I didn't need to fake it this time around after all. It seems the third time is the pregnancy cravings charm. The week I found out I was pregnant, I was at the grocery store and saw a jar of - you guessed it- pickles (how predictable! I know!!), and I literally wanted to twist that cap off to get to them right then and there. I got a fork from the deli section and started in as soon as we were out of the store. The entire jar was gone in two days, and pickles were added to every grocery run I made for a month straight. Then suddenly, one day, the pickles weren't getting the job done. I looked at our jar, puzzled at how something I needed so desperately the day before was no longer looking even mildly appetizing! On to the next...
For some quick background, I'm a through and through jalepeno kettle chips girl. It's one of my two vices (the other obviously being sour candy). I generally devour them. Any other chips? I can take 'em or leave 'em. Not any longer... fresh from the pickle phase, I ran to the salt and vinegar kettle chip cravings with every inch of my being. I feel nauseous- hand me the salt and vinegars! I feel great- hand me the salt and vinegars! I already ate breakfast and it's 9:30am- perfect time for the salt and vinegars! 11pm about to go to bed? Just a hand full of salt and vinegars to round out the day!
It felt to me to be a matter of need vs. want, which is just so outlandish, I understand. But please do not do what I did and judge a poor little pregnant woman. This is for real.
Fast forward to last weekend. Brian made these ridiculously fantastic steak tacos for Valentine's day this year (using Camille Style's cookbook, which I HIGHLY recommend to all my friends). They were a hit that day, so he made them again and they were just as good as before... the recipe was perfected, it was time to share the meal with friends! Last Saturday, the Warriors played their first playoff game (WIN, in case you missed it. Also, Draymond got robbed today! He DEFINITELY should have been defensive player of the year), so we invited some friends over, and he made everything for the steak tacos (grilled onion! chimichurri! guacamole! etc), and a couple people offered to bring a side of fruit. Awesome... we said. So they brought papaya, mango, oranges, and most importantly: Tajin. Have I been hiding under a rock? All this time, I squeezed lime and sprinkled chili powder on my mangos myself, and now I find out this Tajin does all the work in one heavy-handed sprinkle?
After watching me sit in the living room devouring Tajin-sprinkled fruit for an hour straight, they offered to let me keep that Tajin forever- they had more at home- and I have been thanking them in my heart since.
SO. Saying no to all all the incredibly FUN social gatherings due to bed rest doesn't have to be so bad! Bed rest can be GREAT.
Just be sure to keep a steady supply of pickles, salt and vinegar chips, and Tajin-covered mangos and watermelon by your bed side daily and it'll feel like it's all gonna be alright.
x.