Bear food

I've placed myself on an austerity plan for the next 30 days (starting yesterday) so if you see me, please don't offer me a drink, a dessert or an opportunity to buy something fun. 

If I could lock myself in a room to deprive myself, I would, and that's what it will take for me to survive this month. Because I'm weak, weak, weak. If I was a gambler, I would definitely not bet on me keeping to the restrictions. But I'm going to try.

First, the cash part of my austerity plan: My beloved Mustang has run into a bit of maintenance issues that have made my mechanic happy and my checkbook sad. It's 20 years old, so I should give it up. But I'm not ready. The convertible top is the biggest issue to-date. To the disbelief of the guy who's going to replace it, the frame is bent, a condition apparently unheard of in the Mustang line.

All I know is the top won't go down all the way. That means I can't possibly see Nathan and Elayna until it's fixed. So I'm hoping the replacement top and frame gets here soon.

On the physical diet front, I've just fallen into bad habits, and with a trip to Yellowstone coming up, I need to get in hiking shape. I've already told my traveling companions that I'll sacrifice myself so they can survive in the event a bear takes out after us. It's not like I'm heroic. Facts are facts. In the case of a bear attack, all you have to do is outrun your companions. If I'm that companion, you are gonna be fine.

A bear attack is a real possibility in Yellowstone. If it happens during the night, you can be sure it's because Jeff violated the snack rule and left a bag of Twizzlers out before he crawled into bed where I'll already be asleep. 

The most probably time for me to become bear food is when we're glamping for two days and we won't have an en-tent bathroom.  I'll be out there in the dead of night needing to pee, Jeff will have left out his snack and that will be end. I'm hoping it'll be swift.

Part of my need to cut back is the fit of my jeans. We just got back from Bourbon Country where I did myself no favors. I'm not a bourbon lover, but I did enjoy most of the tastes we got at Heaven Hill, Preservation and Four Roses distilleries. The food was amazing, too, and I'm grateful Niki took home the cheesecake and Jodi took home the twice-baked, stuffed potato casserole.

Food stops included La Bodeguita de Mima in Louisville DO get the pineapple caipirinha, a cuban sandwich and the arroz con pollo ala chorrera. DO NOT try to find caparinas. That's a totally different thing. Spelling is important, folks.

We also stopped in at the historic Talbott Tavern in Bardstown. DO NOT, under any circumstance, order the Bad Bunny cocktail. It sounds fun, but after tasting it, the only thing the waitress said to Niki was, "I tried to warn you."  

Even the marshmallow bunny was bad. Think Nestle's Quick Strawberry milk with a shot of cough syrup. 

It was a great trip despite some heavy rain at times. I'll be remembering the cheesecake and the potatoes a lot the next several weeks. 

Light a candle for me that I'll stay strong and that the bears don't actually get me. 

(I stole two photos from Niki.)