Hit Me on my Egg Noggin'

There's a lot of peer pressure at this time of year... trying to find that perfect present... trying to throw a great party... trying to get through the mountain of food that your Mom is trying to stuff down your throat... and if you're a stress eater like I am, it's hell running around trying to get everything accomplished for the holidays and not feeding your face in the necessity of time or comfort.  Isn't "stressed" spelled backwards "desserts", after all?  Even Webster's has it in for me.

There's one force that can't be reckoned with.... You.  Let's face it, we've all been there.  "I'm going on a diet right after the holidays"... "on Monday"... "on"... but that day never comes.  What does come is the onslaught of self-loathing and guilt which, if you're anything like me, follows with more eating.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  Why do we, and society, put so much pressure on being thin?  Although there's a huge difference between being an unhealthy weight and being overweight, we are a country of overweight people... just take a minute out to think how many unhappy, self-loathing people there are out there... lots!

This time of year not only offers a pile of good food to eat, but it does it right before resolutions are to be made, followed by Lent... two times of the year where you're supposed to give up your bad habits and turn over a new leaf.  Diet, stop smoking, stop cursing, stop drinking... all the things that make us happy one minute, but have some adverse effect on us at some other point.  And we're supposed to replace it with stuff like spending more time with the children, learning a new language, going to the gym... ahhhhh... no wonder we don't do that crap... that doesn't sound like fun...  It sounds like work.  It's been on my resolution short list to learn Spanish for the last 15 years.  Tanto por que!!  That hasn't happened.

There's always this push and pull with me.  One day, I'm plump and happy, the next day I want to be skinny and sweet.  The same goes with changing our personalities... letting go of things, making amends, turning over a new leaf.  Is it all unattainable?  Are we chasing a dead end?  Or are we just lazy?  I truly wish that I could be self-centered enough or have the mental focus to make it a priority to transform my body (into something that I may want?)... and on the other hand, I wish that I could just be happy with who I am at this point in my life.  It seems as though both are unattainable, doesn't it?

Someone pass the pizzelles.