Good times...

We had SO many great experiences together....so much fun and laughter! Remember when we grilled chicken outside in the dead of winter and ate it with our fingers right off the grill while standing out of the wind (in the dark) by the back door! LOL...it was so good! No spices, just grilled with cherry wood. The chicken was pink with cherry smoke and was so delicious I ate two whole pieces!
You used to laugh at me when it was time for a meal, because I would eat just a tiny bit....you told me I ate like a bird.....then I would eat a HUGE chunk of whatever was offered for dessert! Then you made up my nickname of "The Dessert Queen".  You wouldn't let me eat dessert unless I ate a regular meal and I was NOT used to that! I had lived alone long enough to enjoy my "food freedom" and rebelled vigorously!  Finally, I gave in to your wishes....mostly because I knew you were right, well....except for the meat part. I don't particularly like meat and you ate quite a bit of it!  I still would rather have cheese or nuts or something...unless turkey is offered! I LOVE turkey with cranberry sauce and that way I can give leftovers to my kitties, who adore turkey!

We used to grill almost every Sunday when we'd cook for the week together. We would sit and talk and laugh while drinking wine in winter and beer in summer. The best was when we had finished up on a long day of hot yard work or something like that. Sitting in the cool of a summer evening with an ice-cold beer and chatting with your love is a great feeling!  When we finished, we'd had an entire weeks worth of food to pack in our lunches for work and have when we got home from work.  That was one of your ideas that I REALLY agreed with!  We had fun preparing and cooking and even cleaning up! Having you to share in that chore made me like cooking for myself again. LOL....when you first met me and looked into my pantry and refrigerator, I remember the look of true HORROR on your face. I think I had milk and cheese in the frig and Cafe Vienna instant coffee and crackers in the pantry. You could not believe that I didn't have "real" food in my kitchen. You didn't realize then that I usually ate out, stopping at a Denny's after work and going out with my friends on weekends or going to a family members house for dinner.  You told me I was too skinny and that you could see all of my ribs in my back. You wanted to fatten me up and "teach" me how to eat RIGHT! To you, that meant eating LOTS of meat! Something I resisted (and mostly succeeded) to avoid the whole time we were together.  You even conceded that you ate too much meat there at the end...after listening to your doctor talk about heart disease and the efforts of too much red meat. I guess growing up on a farm with cows and pigs to butcher and freeze had much to do with your tendency to eat so much meat. It agreed with you until a certain point, then it started to put unhealthy "belly weight" on you. That was when you really took a close look at your diet.