Disapointment Rides High

I totally carbed-out yesterday. Why, you might ask? Was it a stressful day? Kids driving you nuts? Hubby being hateful? Nope. Just lost my mind, I guess. And when I say carbed-out, I ain't a lyin'. I'm talking about full on, diabetic coma inducing, bread fest.
The day started out innocently enough. Had a healthy breakfast of whole wheat toast w/ homemade sugar-free strawberry jam. Had an amazing workout at the gym then took the babies to our nearby state park for a bit of a hike and a picnic of turkey on whole wheat pita, laughing cow lite cheese wedges, fresh fruit, and yogurt. The kids splashed around in the creek for a bit then we packed up and came home. I did a bit of yard work while the kids played outside. Then we all came in for a snack. They wanted granola bars and chocolate milk, which I provided. Then I proceeded to eat the rest of the pack of pitas. (2 pitas - dry) WTF? What in the world was I smokin'? And I swear smokin' grass makes about as much sense as anything for the munchies that followed.
I realized that I was going down a path that was self-destructive. I tried to snap out of it and eat a healthier dinner. I had earlier put in a chicken to roast with rosemary and thyme. I planned on serving it w/ fresh green beans and thick slices of tomato. Healthy, no? When everything was done the kids were starving. I, of course, not so much. So I fed the kids and tried to distract myself with a few household chores. As it got closer to 8:00 I figured I had better eat something because I didn't want to leave it to too late and I knew if I didn't eat anything before going to bed I would feel like dirt in the morning. So, I ate chicken. That's it, just chicken. Then to top that all off, I ate a few pieces of raisin bread. OK, four, but I can only plead chemical induced hysteria. The chemical being simple sugar.
So, I work up this morning feeling like dirt anyway and maybe even lower than that. A plan, yeah that's it. I need a plan. So hear it is. I started breakfast with yogurt and juice. Gonna do a super cardio workout (might as well use all those carbs to fuel something) then gonna have a moderately sized green salad for lunch. Gonna flush out my system with mass quantities of water and green tea. And gonna hula hoop until I can't hoop no more. And most of all, I am absolutely not gonna eat any simple carbs.

"Is this Russia? . . . This isn't Russia."

Let me start off by saying that it is snowing here in the hills and my kids are going on their fourth snow day after going back for one - that's right, one - day of school after winter break. It's snowing and I'm stuck in the house with two adorably sweet but bored and cranky kids. My husband is, of course, out of town.
As if all that weren't enough the cold is making me crave . . .dun dun dun . . . CARBS. Now, I'm not one of those crazy Adkins crazies who swear of all semblance of carbohydrates in favor of animal by-products. But I do try to take a sensible path of carb limitations. I enjoy whole grain breads and whole wheat pasta and I like fruit and sweet potatoes way to much to go cold-turkey. But, sadly, what I'm craving is Aunt Jemima's buttermilk pancakes and/or mashed potatoes. Maybe even a big hunl of pound cake. As if I didn't do enough carby damage over the holidays.
Now here comes the snow and I'm contemplating building a fire in the fireplace. Which of course leads to. . . hot cocoa. I guess it wouldn't be so bad had I actually chopped the wood and hauled it up the hill from the woodpile. But I think we all know that didn't happen.
My question is this. Why does the cold weather lead to natural carb cravings. Is it a comfort food thing that makes us think of when we were kids and would stare eagerly at the (considerable smaller that today's) TV just waiting for the "No school today in___" to flash across the screen. Or is it deeper than that? Are we all just cavemen at heart. Fattening up for the long winter ahead? Is this why all the Russian steriotypes focus on Borsht and Vodka? Surely no body freezes to death in Russia nowadays. Boredom, maybe. But hypothermia? OK, OK, I know I'm being culterally insensitve, but carbs are about to get me and I have to blame someone. And who can we as Americans blame if not the Russians?
I have firm resolve not to let it end badly. I mean, this snow is supposed to last for days. I can't hole up and hibernate - much as I may want to. So, I'm thinking, in the spirit of the end of the Berlin Wall, a compromise is in order. Perhaps a cup of hot cocoa in front of the fire would not be so terrible if I log a few extra miles on the treddy. Plus I have my Wii fit which I love, and my Walk Away the Pounds, and most exciting my new Valerie Bertinelli DVD which came by UPS today. (more on that - the DVD, not UPS - later) I'm having somewhat of a girl crush going on with Valerie right now.  Alright, so I'm firing up the DVD player right now. Hot cocoa, here I come. Pancakes, perhaps another day. Like after a marathon or something.