Cheddar's!

My husband and I went to Cheddar's last night and I enjoyed trying some things that I previously never would have considered. There was only one salad that didn't have something on it I needed to avoid and all the Lighter Side  meals included rice. I would've been very happy with the one salad choice but I was hoping for something else because I'd eaten a lot of salads the last two days. I chose the Vegetable Plate that included a dinner salad and my choice of 4 of their 13"Made-From-Scratch Sides". I chose: Broccoli Casserole (very yummy but it had a little rice so I had to skip a lot of the cheese sauce), Homemade Black Beans, Coleslaw, and Corn. I never in a million years would have ordered those and they were all really good. I didn't even notice that French Fries was one of the choices, that is HUUUGE for me!!! I did have one slip, I absentmindedly took a bite of a crouton. So strange since I was obviously being so mindful. I knew this would happen eventually and I'm sure it will happen again, no big deal and actually kind of funny. My choices were also practically meatless, when I have a meatless meal I feel connected to my daughter who has been vegetarian for a year or two and has really enjoyed how her body has responded.

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My husband ordered potato skins* for us as an appetizer and couldn't help but notice I was picking at the cheese and bacon and had left the potato. I told him that I was taking a break from potatoes for a while and some other foods because I think about them too much. I am transparent by nature but sometimes there are certain details in my life I hold on to and keep private. It's not so much that I don't want others to know but more because I want to live in my thoughts longer. For some people it is really hard to share their struggles and so they challenge themselves by opening up. It's often the opposite for me, my candor nature wants everything out in the open and I have to discipline myself to hold back telling. I understand one reason why it's hard for some to share, the longer I hold off on telling something the more I become attached to my ability to control the information. I also have a tendency to overshare, somethings just don't need to be said. Sometimes oversharing can be hurtful and sometimes it's a kind of waste of space, too much fluff. I try to read people and their openness to sharing themselves and base my own transparent levels on what they do. For example I have a friend who shares openly regarding her struggles as a mom of grown children, their spouses, and several grandchildren. I know she is a good person for me to share similarly regarding my family relationships.

* BTW: these were a lot more potato than skin which for me is usually a big thumbs UP!