Coconut palm sugar is awesome. Similar to brown sugar in taste.

I feel like some of those new sugar alcohol sweeteners (like maltitol and xylitol) must be working some kind of dark magic, because they taste pretty much like sugar to me. But maybe that's a low carb thing, not a low glycemic index thing?

SLOW INTERNET DAY. And I didn't plan as far ahead as lunch--I turned someone down because a) me, and b) haven't even thought about what will be satisfying other than a burger where I toss the bun and stare sadly at the fries (why do only some sites say sweet potatoes count?)

I think I'm going to give coconut palm sugar a try because if nothing else, reading makes it sound like it's extra tasty. And being low glycemic without the high fructose would be nice? I don't even know anymore. Everyone is a bullshitter, everyone has an agenda. And coconut people don't want you to like the sugar because ONE TREE CANNOT PRODUCE COCONUTS AND SUGAR. Although sources (aka a web page) say coconut trees were meant to produce coconut (it's in the name! der!) and not sugar, I am interested in removing coconuts from the market. Sugar ahoy!

(Can alcohols be made out of these sugar mashes like rum is made from cane?)

now I want rum

too early in the day to be contemplating rum

Burrell, they do taste like the real deal. Unfortunately, my intestines decided to reject them in the way stated on the warning label. (I had no problem for years! And then one day, BAM.)

Yep, that'd be a deal-breaker for me too. So maybe not a good choice for cookies then given that I'd want to eat more than one of them. With chocolate, I tend to just eat a square or two.

Oh god. Yeah, I tried some of the xylitol candy and it did not work out for me.

xylitol - which my dentist said is better than sugar free gum, caused me serious stomach aches

Awkwardness at work: so ED granted me a four day/32 hour work week for a slight raise. I agreed without much thought, because, hey, three-day weekend and extra coffee money.

But it hit me on the fourth that I'll be out this coming Tuesday, when I'd promised that I'd help the Ed department with their planting project. If I don't show, boss lady will either have to step up and lose some hours on wrapping up work in the house, or she'll leave them to fend for themselves. And possibly be pissed off at me for conspiring behind her back (worst case scenario).

And there are other Tuesday appointments that had been made well in advance that she will be permanently gone for, and we'll either have to cancel them, or I'll have to come in anyway.

And it turns out that this is not just for July, but a semi-permanent change of schedule until I get a new boss. And it means that there is no one at work watering the greenhouse or the new plantings three days of the week.

ED says he made this offer to me because he wanted me to not lose momentum with the Saturday volunteers, and he felt bad about that and wanted to reduce my stress. Except what he really wants is weekend coverage, and is ignoring the fact that volunteer numbers are down during July and August and we didn't lose momentum when we were closed for five months and only doing it once a month.

I feel like I've been put in a position to punish myself, or to deny myself without reward.

He insists that even just getting one extra pair of hands on a Saturday is worthwhile. If they were a trained, knowledgable staff member, yes. If they're a 12 year old their parent drops off, not so much.

I feel like we keep having the same conversation over and over. I worry about watering coverage so our plants don't fucking die, and he wants to send out emails to our "reliable" volunteers that I haven't seen since the spring. And lord knows how fucking long until we get a response, if any at all, and then I'd have to take time to train them. And volunteers are finicky and unreliable and have lives and vacations, and I just want to hire my current unpaid intern who already knows half the watering duties and pay her $9 bucks an hour to come in for two or three hours on a Sunday so I don't have to work seven days a week.

Yeah, I think I'll take this one three day weekend as a freebie, but I don't know if I have a leg to stand on to say "hey, since I choose to work a proper 40 hour week, how about upping that raise a little bit more?".

The alcohol sugars TASTE right to me, which is the only 'artificial' sweetener that does (some taste sweet, but not Right, some have terrible sub- or after- tastes) but more than a dab brings on the intestinal miseries.