I read this book a couple weeks ago and although I'm still not sure what to think of it overall, one part of it really resonated with me; how she felt about food. I always remember food, what I ate, how it tasted, how it made me feel, etc. When I remember places I've visited, it always includes details of what I ate while I was there. It's just like the running joke on "Still Standing", where the father can't remember any place he's been until he's reminded of what he ate there.

For example: We went to Yosemite over Christmas break and it was gorgeous. Oh, the beauty..., the grandeur..., but that turkey chili at the commissary, it made the trip! And, I had pizza for the first time in about two months last week. It was sooooo delicious I've been thinking about it ever since. So much so that I can practically taste it just writing this post!

Food affect anyone else this way?

First let me say, it is good to see you back here Rowman. You've been gone a while and were missed.

In answer to your question, YES!! I've always been that way. I can still remember practically all the snacks we ate at Brownies and Camp Fire Girls, when I was a kid and at camp, and just about any vacation, I can think of something special that I ate that I loved.

We went to Disney for 3 days this past Christmas, and I went to this little place that had a big sausage roll with a salad over the top (caesar). Actually, it was supposed to be a sausage hotdog, with the salad inside it. I opted no bun . Anyway, this is so bad, but I loved it the first day so much, that it was all I could think about was how excited I was for lunch the next day. Then the next day. Got it three days in a row. I don't eat sausage at home these days, but since we were walking all day and it was vacation, I let myself.

So, I get to Disney the next day early in the morning, and everybody wants to go on rides, and I'm thinking of nothing but lunch. Once lunch was over each day I could enjoy the park. Til then I was a woman on a mission: to eat the darn sausage caesar salad.

When I think back to the vacation, that's my fondest memory.

When I was younger, I never went to the mall without getting a Mrs. Fields cookie. The idea was to get the cookie halfway through shopping, but I always had to get it right away. I couldn't concentrate til I had it.

So, thinking back to those old shopping days, I think of the cookie. Nowadays I think I'd get sick if I ate one of those. So rich. But back then...Sigh. Course I always gained weight then, but I guess it must have been worth it.

Oh well.

Is this a new book you read? Fat Girl? I've not heard of it. Do you recommend it?

Thanks for the nice thought BrookeAnn.

Fat Girl is an autobiography of Judith Moore, an NEA and Guggenheim fellowship recipient (for other books) and it has received some acclaim. I came across it by chance on the new books shelf at our library so it must be relatively new. I liked it enough to want to read her critically acclaimed memoir Never Eat Your Heart Out, so I guess that's sort of a recommendation, but I can't say I whole-heartedly recommend it. My main problem with it is that Judith Moore is simply not a very nice person, something which she readily admits in the book, and it's hard for me to relate to such an unsympathetic protagonist.

I hear what you are saying about focusing on lunch while at at Disney. All three days we were at Yosemite my wife and I ate the turkey chili for lunch and in fact planned our hikes so we would be passing by the commissary where it was served around noon. Of course our kids ate burgers and fries, but they're still young and can burn off the excess calories a lot more easily than us. Oh those were the days...

I had a very vivid dream last night about belgian chocolates (guylian's seashells) and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Does that count?

I think that my dream might have actually satisfied any cravings because it was so vivid!

Well, I don't think I'm qualified to judge whether it counts or not, but I doubt that a dream would satisfy my cravings for Belgian chocolates.

You got me thinking though and I realized that I don't dream about food or eating. In fact, I can't even remember ever having a dream where I was/am eating. My food memories always occur when I'm awake and are as much about recalling the feelings I had while eating as they are about recalling the tastes, etc.

I have them all the time. Its always chocolates, ice cream or fruit. I have the best dreams where I'm walking through an orchard picking delicious apples, cherries and pears. I don't really crave them anymore by the time I wake up (except for the fruit, oddly).

I have cravings when I'm awake sometimes. But they're usually equalized by cravings I have for healthy foods when I've eaten too much of the junk. I've had days where I was thinking about a juicy red tomato all day, and days where I thought about ice cream all day.