Why did I eat all that??

It happens every year--but this year it happened even bigger. First off--we got a zillion delicious variations of sugar and butter and cocoa in little bags tied with ribbon. YUMMY! I'd tell myself every morning to stay away from the treats...but, I'd end up eating little bits throughout the day.

Then, we left Tennessee for our annual Christmas pilgrimmage to Georgia, and my mother (who happens to be the BEST COOK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD), greets us with...pecan pie, coconut pie, plum nutty cake, raisin cake, cocounut cake (made from REAL coconut peeled and grated) and assorted goodies her neighbor dropped by. I told myself that I would have just one piece of the coconut and raisin cakes (we only get those at Christmas) and that would be enough.

But, I had a sliver of pecan pie on Christmas Eve, a pile of coconut cake crumbs and sliver of raisin cake after feasting on turkey, dressing, squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, strawberry congealed salad, lettuce and mayo --with green peas and bacon salad, AND green beans. THEN in the afternoon I had my own personal spoon that I used to scrape the crumbs all the others left behind on both those cakes. I also took another sliver or two of the coconut cake and when the leftovers were set out for people to pick on for dinner, I did my fair share of picking with the rest.

I went to bed and my stomach looked like the grinch's when he finished taste testing the fudge in who-ville.

December 25.

So, on December 26 I said, "Leighann, no more sweets for you--that is enough!" In fact, I decided that I could most likely go until 2009 before I needed anything else to eat. But, by ten, I feasted on my friend Laura's leftovers--hashbrown casserole, egg casserole, ham, creamy grits, and ambrosia! YUM! (Their family had brunch on Christmas Day). Then, I actually asked her if I could munch on her daughter's chex mix??!! How ridiculous is that? But, since I'd been away from my mom's house all day, I did keep my promise to leave the coconut and raisin cakes alone. Until...I made my way back home for dinner. We ordered out Chinese. So--I ate rice and chicken with cashews, and pork and cabbage and who knows what else that always tastes good after eating ham and turkey AND for dessert? You guessed it, another pile of coconut cake crumbs and a tiny sliver of raisin cake.

December 26

This morning I got out of bed, squeezed myself into the biggest pair of jeans I own, went downstairs and ate a bowl of oatmeal. My stomach thanked me sincerely...finally something normal. (I even sweetened it with splenda). But, while I was eating breakfast my mother was making another pecan pie.

Why was my mother making pecan pie? Did we lack sweets in our Christmas house? NO...but my sister made this innocent comment last night when she was packing her Christmas sweets to go: "Oh, I missed the pecan pie. Bummer!"

That's all it took...with that, my SWEET Mama got up this morning and baked my poor sweet-deprived little sister her very own pecan pie to take home with her today.

So, what does that have to do with me? Well, you see, Mama had just a teeny bit of crust leftover when she made her pie. And so, she spread that little bit of crust in another pie pan, and topped it with just a dab of pecan pie filling. The result? One of the most delicious pecan pie tartlett/cookies you've ever tasted! And, yes...I tasted it.

But finally I made it home. No more pies...no more cakes. Oh, except for those candied pecans that are still sitting on my kitchen counter AND that chocolate pound cake I had to eat to top off my lean cuisine.

December 27.