Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Liars, fools or just plain bad taste buds?

Over the years I have tried several sugar replacement and I have found anything from horrid - like Aspartame as contained in Diet Coke and much more - to bad - like Splenda which fools you of it’s healthiness by stating it’s made from sugar - to awful - like Stevia which is not unhealthy but easily more bitter than sweet - to bearable - like Zweet which uses Erythritol.

Most often you’ll see exclamation points made of ‘how it tastes just like sugar’ and this is where I begin to shake my head. No after-taste? Bah! For a moment I thought that Erythritol could be a substitute for my tea sugar, but after drinking only 1 glass of such sweetened cold Raspberry Leaf tea I know for quite certain, this will be no possible for my breakfast Earl Grey.

How can it be that other people don’t taste it? And even though Erythritol is naturally derived it tastes fake. Is everyone trying to convince themselves that they found the perfect sugar replacement? Are they paid to state things which just are not true? Or have years of Aspartame killed their natural sensors as compared to that, everything will taste like the real deal.

Saying that it tastes ‘like sugar’ is just as bad as stating that after only a few weeks of no cigarettes the cravings will pass. I am over 8 years a non-smoker and I STILL get cravings! And only when I accepted the fact that these statements are far from reality, only then was I able to quit smoking for good.

With replacement sweeteners it seems to be a similar deal. I’ll try it again and will see if I can get used to it. But don’t come my way trying to make me belief it will taste ‘just like sugar‘ because it just won’t.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sometimes I feel fortunate.

Next to doing a lot of superficial whining, I am also good at seeing the quality and fortunes I have in my life. And even though at the time more muscles were hurting than not, midst my step aerobic workout today I felt this sudden jump of joy as I was sucking in the visuals of my whereabouts. Having our own 200 sqft. (almost 20m2) open workout space is really cool, especially because it doesn’t look like the least loved spot in the house but appealing instead. The 6×6 feet mirror is perfectly sized and enlarges the space even more next to reflecting and adding more daylight. And, today, I fitted even better into the environments as I was sweating all in green. (But geez, do I wish Apple would have improved the camera on the new iPhone 3G to come!).

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Returning to normal and whatever that means.

It is good to fall back into run-in tracks, to find time to do trivial things like going grocery shopping without time pressure or to aerate the yard. After weeks of chaos due to the changes of Wombat Studios and accordingly our offices, time is opening up to pickup where left and to file all the bits and pieces flying all around. Can hardly wait having it all done.

Friday, May 30, 2008

First time…

We have been in this house almost 5 years to the day. And for the first time, it is really only “us” here. This is amazingly great. Originally the plan had been to finish a portion downstairs and to have “the 2 guys” (Trey and Bear) work there but then to move Wombat out after about 1/2 year or so. Well, the 6 months turned 5 years.

Our latest plans where to finish the remainder of the basement - which we have accomplished only a few weeks ago, thank you, it is looking great - and to then finish Trey’s basement and have them move to there. Estimated to happen in maybe 4 months or so. But then life played again one of its cards.

This past week there have been major changes in the structure of Wombat which have the effect that it’s not taking another 4 months, no, just 1 week and it’s already done. I came home today to a “no other here” house.

The cats still need to get used to it but I’m sure they’ll adjust quickly to the fact of having suddenly more play ground. This weekend will be a dedicated cleanup and then I can finally move out of the upstairs office - which was great but already outgrew itself 2 years ago - and take room downstairs… - including the desks I’ve always liked!

One of the many cool things with this new constellation is that the ‘now office’ space will become my painting area. This is really, really, REALLY cool. No worries that I’d possibly put paint onto a new carpet - they are wood floors - or that I clutter up the living room. The grays of the walls are perfectly neutral and I get nice light in there. Oh, I am so excited about this all!



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