A Secret Revealed

Ever notice how people invited to a surprise party end up avoiding the guest of honor until the big event out of fear they’ll accidentally spill the beans?

In a sense, that’s how I’ve been with this blog. I have been keeping a big secret and, frankly, I’m not a natural at keeping secrets. So, rather than risk inadvertently hinting at my news or letting it slip before I really should, I’ve been avoiding all of you.

What’s worse, as time passed, it became increasingly important to find a clever way to make my grand revelation. But the truth is, I’m tired. I’ve been working long hours, our house is a tornado of boxes and packing supplies, and I’m too cranky to be witty or cute.

So here goes: I’m pregnant.

In fact, this has been going on for quite awhile. I am now about half-way through my pregnancy, and thankfully, feeling great.

I had very little nausea in my first trimester, which meant unlike many pregnant women, this food blogger never stopped eating. Indeed, the sheer quantity of food that I’ve been eating is rather mind blowing. I may only be 5-feet 3-inches tall, but lately, I can out-eat any linebacker.

As for crazy food cravings and aversions – oh yes, my friends, those are real.

Early on, I became obsessed with ginger, which was odd since I’ve actually always disliked the taste – even the smell – of ginger. John, the dutiful husband and terrified father-to-be, sweetly purchased an assortment of ginger-related food products ranging from candies, to dried ginger chews, to flavored teas. I was thrilled – until a few days later when even the thought of ginger made me gag.

Similarly, although I wasn’t sick to my stomach, I was feeling permanently off-balance, like I was stuck on a sailboat in choppy waters. I discovered that fizzy water helped ease that sickly feeling. So again, John ran to the store, this time buying a car-load of sparkling water. Within a week, the sheer sight of Perrier made me want to hurl.

Even now, whole meals that I enjoy one day sound as good as dog food the next. Take the calamari feast that I wrote about in August. The meal was, indeed, delicious. Yet by the time I was ready to buckle down and write about it, I couldn’t even bare to look at the photos.

Which brings me to another bizarre truth about pregnancy – your taste buds truly change. In my case, I’m sorry to report it has not been for the better.

This became clear to me one night after eating dinner with a friend where I dutifully ordered a salad and then spent the night picking french fries off John’s plate. During the car ride home I remarked that I must have been craving something salty to eat all those fries. John shook his head in disbelief and then made an admission of his own.

Apparently, I’d been over-salting our meals for weeks. He’d been too afraid of the pregnancy hormones to bring it up, but it was getting out of hand. While I recalled a lot of olives, capers, and experiments with sea salt, I had absolutely no idea that I’d become such a lousy cook.

So, again, you can see why I have been a reluctant blogger for the past few months. It was truly in our own best interest at the time.

But now that my big secret is out in the open and I am eating like a truck driver, I’m ready to share my life and meals with you once again.

Let this next chapter begin!

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