Really? REALLY? Sigh.

So, I know that the last place we should be eating is McDonalds, but, it was dumping snow, and the kids needed a snack, and it was close. I have a soft spot for driving through somewhere rather than trying to haul the kids in, and I wanted their tummies to have something in them in case we were to get stranded on the long drive home. I usually choose McDonalds, as we can pick up decent goods. This time was fruit and walnut salads and mochas, all around. Warm and sweet, just what everyone was jonesing for. This is the conversation that ensued at the order screen. (And as evil as everyone makes McD's out to be, honestly that is a pretty decent and healthy late-day snack.)

First lady (possibly Middle Eastern, nice but green, not been an employee long, so she may have a bit of an excuse): Hello, may I take your order?

Me: Yes, I would like three fruit and walnut salads,

FL: fruit and walnut salads? How many?

Me: Three. And I would like…

FL: Okay, would you like anything else?

Me: Yes, please. I would like three small whole milk caramel mochas.

FL: You want what?

Me: Three small caramel mochas.

FL: Wait just a minute. (Shuffling ensues. Some whispers in another language. Not Spanish-I would have recognized that. More shuffling).

FL: Just a minute

Me: Okay.

New Lady-young, peppy, but apparently no more of an idea of what’s going on: What do you need? (Wow, the customer service skills here just blow me away)

Me: THREE whole milk caramel mochas. (I was rather polite through the whole thing, never getting snotty, no matter how much I wanted to.)

NL: Um, we only have 1%.

Me: Okay, well your sign says whole milk or nonfat milk. I do not want nonfat milk, so whatever isn’t nonfat is fine.

NL: So you want them in cartons, or what?

Me: NO, I want caramel mochas, small, three of them, without nonfat milk.

NL: Oh, caramel mochas. So, nonfat or regular?

Me: ($B$*DGHFI…composure) I want regular, please.

NL: What size?

Me: Small. Three of them. Please.

NL: Does the screen look correct? Is that all?

Me: Yes.

OMG-what an ordeal. Luckily the kids were in a good mood, or we would have just left. I didn’t think it should be that difficult. Apparently, I was wrong.

Something Stinks

And its us. At least to foreigners, that is. Ironically, even with deoderant we offend those from other countries with our odors. This is due very much in part to our diet. American's diet of nastiness (namely, processed food wannabes) makes their scent whether we attempt to mask with with perfumes and deoderant, well, nasty. One thing that I ALWAYS notice when I crack down on what we eat around here is that I, who rarely even wears deoderant since the regular stuff most likely causes at the least cancer and who knows what else, and the "natural" stuff just doesn't work worth a darn, always have an almost pleasant (try to stop laughing here, I am serious:) ) body odor. I know it isn't offensive. Now, when I haven't been eating like a should, the total opposite happens. I offend me. I think this serves as another testament to just how wrong our culture's ideas about what is "food" and what isn't are. Like today, the last couple days have been kind of stressful (read: I have two kids. That says it all.) and when I get stressed I tend to reach for food. I didn't get the backside I have on my own :) Anyway, today while visiting a dear friend, I could smell me, and made sure to apologise. I know that all I have to do is be sure to be smart tomorrow while eating and by Thursday I won't notice me anymore. While talking with others we actually noticed that trying to cover it all up with deoderants actually makes you smell worse the next couple days. The point to all of this? Eat better. Try following more traditional diets (not American tradition, TRADITIONAL tradition. People with real history) and see what happens. It is crazy just how much the food you eat affects everything about the way your body functions. It seems like such a simple concept and yet our society tries to complicate it with "nutrients" and new scientific findings and processing all the time. Just eat good, local, whole foods, including meat, which actually IS good for you, contrary to the beliefs of some, and you will be amazed at what happens. And go a step further and rid the house of all processed foods that you can. You will not believe the difference.