I remember being upset as a kid that I was told that I couldn't have chocolate milk or ice cream or cookies because they were fattening, but my friends ate them all the time and were thinner than me.

In general, we didn't have food my parents didn't want to eat in the house, and none of us are huge sweets people. So, no chocolate milk, always whole grain bread, no everyday dessert. Diet Pepsi.

Chocolate milk, check (mom's house only; there was always milk and always Hershey's syrup).

White bread, no--whole wheat and sourdough (both places).

Dessert after dinner, check (as long as we'd eaten all or most of dinner, which was never a problem at mom's house, as she knew exactly what veggies we liked, but caused some nights of huge misery at dad's house).

Soda, check (mom's house only, diet only).

Not just white bread, but Bunny Bread. Ever have that, Hil?

Never even heard of it. The only white bread in our house was challah, and sometimes hot dog and hamburger rolls, because they didn't make whole wheat ones then.

Bunny may just be a New Orleans thing and I'm sure you weren't eating it in college. It was very squishy.

In our recent conversation, my mother's reaction to hearing that my friends' parents let them eat all that sugary stuff was, "Then why aren't my kids the skinniest?" Sometimes I think it's a miracle that my attitudes toward food and weight aren't even more screwed up than they are.

LOVE THE THERAPIST!

I still need to get new paint samples, but am too tired tonight. I am not sure I am going to make it to 8pm.

Soda was allowed, but not with meals, and only before 5pm because of the caffeine, and not every day. Chocolate milk, you bet, and white bread, but the Pepperidge Farm kind. Dessert we had, but usually cookies or fresh fruit with sour cream and brown sugar on top. Once we got older, ice cream with chocolate sauce was the Sunday night treat.

We had most of those around. The soda was Diet Pepsi though, and the chocolate (or other flavor milk) was, a la Tep, to get us to drink it. Oh god, now I'm remembering my sister used to drink milk with grenadine all the time growing up. Ugh. Dessert was something sweet, but almost never a "made" dessert like a cake or pie.

We defaulted to white bread and soft drinks were available, but juice and kool aid were the home defaults, at least in Jamaica. No chocolate milk. Not a thing. But we always had Milo (like hot chocolate) on hand. For some reason England is less clear. And desserts were around. My mother is an excellent baker and has a huge sweet tooth.

Ugh. It just started raining again. Just in time for the commute home.