Gummi 101

i like to think of myself as a gummi connoisseur. from a young age i have loved the gummi. but i am picky. only the best gummi for moi. so i have three favorite brands, all other people hawking gummi can go elsewhere.

haribo is the best gummi brand in the whole world, they are also the largest gummi manufacturer in the world. they were founded around 1920 in Germany, and today they are made in other haribo factories around europe. i think there is a total of 18 factories, you can look on the back of your package and see where your gummi was made. i remember when i was in germany all the little gummi stores and the gummi i could not get here in the states. amazing! spain was the other country who had a lot of gummi, there is a haribo factory there. i don't remember gummi in other countries as i do spain and germany. what makes gummi great is the consistency, which comes from gelatin. haribo uses beef and pork. with out the gelatin, gummi is not gummi.

my next favorite brand is trolli. it is another german company, they were started in 1948. where haribo is a gummi making machine, trolli does a lot of other things as well. they began as a pasta company. but it wasn't till 1975 they came up with the trolli logo and candies became a front runner. in my opinion they do a good job, not as good as haribo, but better than everything else out there.

don't let the name deceive you. the black forest gummi is not from the great land of gummi, germany, but from chicago, il. that's right folks, the united states can make some gummi. black forest is made by ferrara pan company. it was founded in 1908 by an italian immigrant i do believe. what they have going for them is the gelatin they use. if your gummi is not al dente, then it ain't gummi.

so there is a little lesson on my favorite candy....next lesson will be in peeps!

Foot Surgery

Here is my beautiful foot before surgery a week ago. I got a bunionectomy. I have never had surgery of any kind before, the closest thing to any kind of hospitalization was when I gave birth to my daughters. I have had a fear of "going under," of not having control or having no idea of what was going on. The idea brought me to tears, but so did the pain in my foot. I was scheduled to have this same surgery 2 years ago, but chickened out. This time Marc was with me and I felt I wasn't so alone.

He was with me while they explained the whole process and took pictures of me with tears in my eyes as they explained the anesthesia. I sucked my fear up and left my cozy little room with my Dad and Marc in it for the big room where they hooked me up to monitors. To fight my fear I played a game with the heart monitor. Go fast! S-L-O-W down...Go fast! The numbers on the heart monitor would jump to the 90's down to the 70's in a matter of seconds. Thank you yoga. They put a block in at the back of my knee and my leg went numb. I felt very proud as the girl behind the curtain next to me cried and whined out loud as she got a block in her arm, I hardly let out a whimper as the burning liquid rushed into my leg.{Smug smile} They wheeled me to a room with large lights on the ceiling and told me to breathe some "oxygen." Right, oxygen. I was waking up to a nurse calling my name and a burning sensation in my throat. I just wanted my Marc-ee who also had my blankie. Marc and my Dad and Mom showed up minutes later. I also got a ginger-ale! I don't remember much but my fear of "going under" has been squelched.
I have been in bed with my foot propped on pillows for a week now. Marc has been wonderful, he puts cold packs on my foot, feeds me, bathes me, takes the kids to school, picks them up, packs the lunches, everything. Yesterday he took me to my appointment and they took 11 stitches out of my cuts they made. Everyone has been great. Now if I can just start walking....