There's an upside / or Am I just nuts?

I've been wishing someone would put an ice pick through my head stoically enduring a migraine for the last several days, and last night while laying in bed and praying for the life-saving pain injection to kick in, I realized something...

While a multitude of brain cells are busy dying from the agonizing pain - or at least going on an extended holiday to a land far far away ... the other brain cells, freed from their chronic over-crowdedness, kick into high gear.
And I think stuff.
Deep stuff.

Like I ponder the meaning of Grateful Dead songs.
(Which keep running through my brain like an old 8-track tape... and it brings back memories of John Pierce who kissed like an angel, but he only owned one tape... so I had to leave him. Fickle 16 year old that I was, I left him for a guy with missing teeth, but who had a GTO with a killer stereo, and an extensive 8-track library.
(So now you know how incredibly shallow I was in my youth. Not to mention how old I actually am.)

And in the depths of my deep thinkin', I wondered if Jerry Garcia actually wrote "Truckin'" just for me, somehow knowing that in the years to come, it might somehow strike, or re-strike a chord, and help me make the decision to move back home....
Well, I've already made that decision, (to move back home, I mean) and I've already set things in motion, with cheaply upgrading the kitchen and bathroom, and getting some outside work as well as landscaping done, so I can get the best price for this place.
Because the more I make, the better off I'll be.

So since the whole "Truckin" thing was kind of redundant, with me having already made the decision and all anyway... it kind of lead me to thinking about Cherry Garcia ice cream.

And since the nearest purveyor of Ben and Jerry's is miles and miles away from here, and I have no hope in he** of getting any any time soon...in my migraine pain and drug-induced stupor, my mind turned to other foods.

Namely blogs that feature food.
Lots of food.... as in recipes for a large family.

Like Pioneer Woman Cooks.
And Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet.

And I had an epiphany.

I've tried recipes from all over the place and have found a lot of favorites... but when it comes to 'down home cookin', I always seem to gravitate back to those 2 women on a semi-regular basis.

And those 2 women frustrate me.

Because, in spite of the yumminess and deliciousness of their recipes, and the prettiness of the food they cook... and no matter how much I may love them... I always wonder how anyone could cook and eat some of those foods, and still have the bodies of 18 year old girls.

And then the penny dropped.
They cook for crowds.

With PW, it's 6 people, plus the occasional guest or two or six...
And with Marjie, it's 11 all up... When all the kids are all home at the same time anyway.

So stuff like heart attack potatoes, fried mozzarella sticks, or cakes and pies isn't really as bad as you think, when the recipe or meal is being divided up a dozen ways.
And those gals would be lucky to get a mouthful at a time, so it's no wonder they look like they do.

Unfortunately, when I cook, there's just me, and occasionally the Old Guy... so I end up with a lot of leftovers that I really don't want, but which I feel morally obligated to eat over the course of a few days.
Or toss 'em in the freezer for later.
And since the freezer is outside.... well, you got it.

I eat it.

See, I taught my kids to cook at an early age.
They were told to find a recipe in one of my 1,000's of cherished cookbooks, give me the list of ingredients - which I would then buy - and then once a week, they each would cook dinner for the entire family.
Which meant that after me working 2 jobs, 6 days a week, I could have at least 3 nights off from preparing dinner. And they would gain necessary life skills.
Smart woman, eh?

Now with the recipes, they were always told that they needed to follow the recipes exactly - at least the first time. After getting an idea of how the recipe was actually meant to be, they could later tweak it a bit to suit themselves.
Exchange ingredients... add less or more of something... cut the recipe in half, etc.
I mean I drilled this into their sweet little developing heads.
And they got it.

However, I completely forgot about that rule... so when I make Chicken Spaghetti or some such, I still make enough to literally feed an army of hungry eaters. Even if it's just me and the Old Guy.
And I never think to cut the recipe in half.

So the thought of too much food led me right back to thoughts of Ben and Jerry's... and appreciating the fact that Cherry Garcia comes in cute little one person sized tubs.
Even if I can't locate any.

Which led me right back to the lyrics of "Truckin'.

And then wonder of wonders... on Face Book this morning, Robynn's (Robynn's Ravings) update was:

Sometimes the lights all shinin' on me,
Other times I can barely see,
Lately it occurs to me......What a long, strange trip it's been.

Which explains where my missing brain cells went to.

Robynn, could you send them back?

I might need them again...
Eventually anyway.

Feel free to use 'em in the meantime though... okay?