Who loves ice cream?
When the names of the flavors alone are enough to make ya want some!
Buttered Pecan
Mint Chocolate Chip
Pralines & Cream
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Vanilla Cookie Dough Crunch
Choco Almond Cream
Dutch Chocolate
Cherries & Chocolate Surprise
My personal favorite is a bit weird. Though the smell of coffee nauseates me, almonds are less than a favorite. I do like fudge.
My favorite:
Jamoca Almond Fudge made by Baskin & Robbins
I was molested repeatedly as a child by an older male with strong coffee breath, so, yeah. It's weird that it's my favorite flavor. I still can't drink coffee or smell it brewing without feeling nauseated.
The joy of the shadows of childhood.
There is no specific reason as to why I'm less of a fan of almonds.
The combo of the slightly bitter coffee flavor, the ribbons of fudge, bits of almonds that softened from being in the mixture.
It just does it for me.
Another reason as to why it's my favorite is the memories attached to it. When I arrived at my first military assignment at Hickam AB, Hawai'i, I was still a bit stupid/rebellious. A USAF Captain had talked me into going out for ice cream with him. I was at the bottom of USAF enlisted rank. He was probably around 10 years older than me.
An enlisted person dating an officer was a big ol no-no.
He knew it, I knew it.
We did get away with it for a while until a disgruntled enlisted guy snitched on us. He had asked me out, I had politely declined. A blow to his ego. He retaliated by squealing on us.
Our first date was at the Baskin & Robbins on the base. I hadn't gone to many restaurants before leaving for BMT, wasn't even 20, yrs, yet.
There were so many flavors I didn't know which one to choose. He chose for me. Saying that I seemed like a complex girl who loves her chocolate.
He chose 1 scoop of chocolate 1 scoop of jamoca almond fudge on a cone. It looked like heaven stacked 2 scoops high, to me. Jamoca almond fudge has remained my favorite since then. He and I had some fun times. He bought an expensive beautiful mandarin dress for me, which I still have.
We went on dates in the Waikiki area, sometimes a beach date on the north shore of O'a'hu. Relatively far away from Hickam AB & anyone who might see us together. The first time he saw me in my hot pink bikini, he couldn't hide his reaction if you know what I mean.
We had gone out around 8 times. I'd had my heart broken twice before him so I was a bit skittish.
When my first boyfriend, my first love, began smoking cigarettes, it was a deal breaker though I still loved him.
The second was during USAF Tech School. The guy sent someone else to tell me that he wanted us to see other people. I believe I just wasn't Japanese enough for him.
It was humiliating for me.
To him, Japan along with anything Japanese was everything to him that I wasn't. He chose to go to a different assignment. Long distance romance was a deal breaker for me. When he left Lackland AFB, that was the end of it as far as I was concerned.
The guy sent gifts, cards, letters, flowers, called me on the phone from Japan to Hawai'i. I told him that he had sent someone to tell me that he wanted us to date other people, so that's what I did. I encouraged him to do the same.
My Captain tried to kiss me after our 6th date, I was too afraid. Afraid of setting myself up to have my heart broken a third time. He asked me if I liked him.
Stupid me.
I told him that I'd had my heart broken a couple times, was afraid of being hurt again. He said what any smart guy would say to that.
"I'd never hurt you; I promise. I really like you a lot."
The next time we went out was when he bought the mandarin dress for me. The fabric colors are still just as vibrant now as they were when he bought it for me.
I don't know the price; it was more than $100. I saw him take a $100 bill plus some smaller denominations out of his wallet. He played it off as if I didn't see.
To me, $100 is a lot, now, it went a lot further at that time than it does, now.
The next time we went out, we went to Eye of The Ilikai, an upscale rotating restaurant in Honolulu. I wore the beautiful mandarin dress. He was so impressed, happy at seeing heads turn as we walked by. I was on the arm of my hot Captain. That night was surreal.
No alcohol involved. I didn't touch the stuff at that time in my life.
That night, I let him kiss me good night. It was sweet, soft, slow, memorable.
We were busted the next day.
Yes, I remember his name as well as the name of the jerk who busted us.
I still love Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream.
For a long time, I was having a scoop of it or two okay maybe three - most evenings after November 2017 when my ship came in, I was so ready for it.
Living in survival mode for a decade sucked.
Guess what happened when I picked up the unhealthy life habits of another person? Coupled with my gym on temp closure due to fauxvid lockdown. My weight began to go up. I took on more work, taught myself to read a 6th language.
Go, me!
Granted, learning to read cyrillic, I was only thinking of access to beautiful needlework patterns. Having a professional advantage was far from my mind. When Russia invaded Ukraine, my new skill in reading cyrillic became extremely valuable.
When lockdown eased up, the gym reopened.
Feeling so porky at that point, so disgusted that I had done it to myself. My cute-cute clothes didn't fit.
Knowing that I had to make changes to see changes, the nearly nightly jamoca almond fudge ice cream had to go.
Blowing kisses!
To break a habit, there must be a replacement habit for it or a reminder to keep from going back down the bunny hole. When a person is quitting a bad or unhealthy habit such as tobacco, having a strong rubber band on the wrist then snapping it enough to sting a bit when the cravings hit has proven to be successful for many people.
Determining that I would begin replacing the ice cream with watermelon - sugar! 😉
(yes, I know the meaning of it ala Harry Styles)
Starting January 1, 2024.
So far, it's working.
Little did I know that a deep desire of mine was about to be fulfilled.
Getting back into regular workouts, seeing steady progress.
Through a series of events that would make this blog entry longer, tedious to read, details that are too personal.
I was to pick my Doberman puppy up after driving to Wichita, Kansas, on March 7th.
Have had dreams of my previous Doberman - Sammy at least twice weekly, sometimes more. Tried to adopt a cat or dog. It fell through every time. So discouraging.
This was a very happy life event, to finally have a Doberman puppy.
If I was going to do it right, it would mean devoting as much time as possible to training the puppy, teaching, loving, guiding. It was a lot like adopting a baby. They have no choice, I was choosing this, this wiggly, whiny baby to bring to my home to love & care for.
Dobies are high energy dogs from the start.
A male Doberman puppy of my own.
Having had 3 Dobies before, I knew that he would need a minimum of 2 hours of exercise every day. Add to that, the training he would need would also take a lot of time.
I had my gym membership frozen for a few months. Only $5 per month instead of $40.
That was manageable.
Although I worried about putting my fitness goals off, possibly going back to my ice cream habit, my puppy was worth it to me.
His name is PJ.
Shortened from a much longer name, nothing to do with USAF Pararescue, so, you can just nix that right now.
PJ and me walked or played active games for a minimum of 2 hours every day. Most days it was more like 3 - 4 hours. Thankfully the workload was lighter. Everything fell into place.
Having rarely gone anywhere without PJ, I started by leaving him at home in his crate with a kibble snack & lots to chew on for 20 minutes at a time at first.
My gym membership became active again on July 1st. When I returned & weighed myself, I had lost 30 lbs!
Thanks to PJ!
The changes I have made are:
Swapping watermelon for ice cream.
Bought some new cute gym clothes.
Taking PJ to the dog park for 30 minutes at least once per day. While he runs, plays, finds sticks, I walk from the front gate to the back of the fence 4 - 8 times. Sometimes we go twice.
Back to consistently working out at the gym.
Replacing sodas with water with lemon. Having spent my childhood in Michigan, I allow myself a Faygo Rock n Rye or a Vernors once in awhile.
When I'm craving ice cream & watermelon isn't cutting it, I mix chocolate Orgain protein powder, extra thick, freeze it, it's very similar to chocolate ice cream.
Going back to boiled chicken breast or a healthy version of deviled eggs is also helping.
The one I used to go to restaurants with is no longer a part of my life. I made the decision to adopt her unhealthy habits. It says less about her, more about me. I made the choice.
Now, I have the pain after the party.
Another change I have started just in the past month. Every night I take PJ into the bathroom with me. It's the coldest room in the house! I fill the bathtub with cool water, then, dump 3, 1-gallon pitchers of ice into the water. The first plunge is a bit shocking, after that, it is so refreshing, even helps me sleep.
I soak in the cold water until all ice is melted. PJ only drinks the water, hasn't voluntarily climbed in just yet. Dobies have very short hair. They do shed. All I have had to do is to wipe PJ down with a baby wipe & he stays fresh smelling. He rarely needs a bath.
The nightly ice baths have been said to also burn calories, have not seen evidence of that, yet.
More curves ahead.
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