Poor Life Choices

My mom's side of the family is Polish. We have this drink that I make for us during the holidays. It's called wazonka (wasonka depending on which spelling you feel like using that day). It consists of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, water, and everclear. Yes. Everclear. That stuff that comes with a "May Cause Death" warning on the label. Relax. The alcohol gets boiled so some of it burns off. Some. The water helps dilute it. Somewhat. You may see where this is going. Wazonka was only one poor life choice of this holiday.

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Yes, Goat. This is all my doing.

 I accept full responsibility.

My husband and I usually have one or two shots Thanksgiving morning as we are making final preparations for the big meal. Not usually a problem since we also have food in our bellies. Then, we toast with it at our meal with a big ol' Polish "Nazdrovia!" or "To your health!" Sometimes we have a second toaster with dessert. Which we did. Then, hubs and I got home and proceeded to have a few more over the course of the evening. Oh! And there were vodka seltzers involved, too.

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Yes, Jimmy. If only your cold stare of judgement had been upon me that night.

Despite the big meal and the increased water consumption, I did not prevail over the inevitable hangover. My husband did. That rat bastard. Fun fact: Too much alcohol doesn't just make you feel like shit when you have a couple chronic illnesses. I had the nausea, headache, and lethargy. However, my gums were swollen and bled when I brushed my teeth, my tongue was raw, and there were sore spots in my mouth. Thanks, Sjogren's! Then, all my fibro spots hurt so much that toweling myself after a shower hurt. Every joint ached and was swollen. Tough to say which one contributed that reaction to the entourage. Likely all of them. Incidentally I don't count the headache as part of my migraine since it's really just a typical reaction to over imbibing.

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Not really, Karen. More painful really.

The holidays are hard to navigate even without too much alcoholic involvement. There's a lot of sugar, too. I always make the pies. My family loves my pumpkin pie. They also love this sweet potato dish that really should be called a dessert given the amount of sugar and brown sugar it entails. While I had only a small spoonful of it and only a small piece of pecan pie (hubs made that one this year), it along with the alcohol and sugar from the potent potables contributed to my horrible Black Friday.

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Et tu, R2D2?

On top of these things are of course the unavoidable grains. The stuffing, the pie crusts, and the pumpkin and date bread my mother made. *sigh* I did have a large helping of Brussels sprouts to crowd my plate more than the spoonful of stuffing I had. I had half a piece of the date bread. I ate the pecan filling out of the crust. I also had an anti-histamine on the side. Yet, my gut said, "Nice try. You lose anyway." Have some IBS all night long so you can't sleep.

@ashvsevildead

You always know what to say, Lee.

The alcohol. the sugar, and the grains combined with my weakness  resulted in my still feeling less than my best three days later. The headache is gone. The gums and mouth sores are resolving. The fibro points are not as sensitive. The joints aren't screaming with every step. I'd like to say I've learned my lesson and next year I will have tea instead. I will eat just the turkey and the Brussels (which are actually an IBS trigger) and maybe mashed potatoes (they can be rough at times). I can't expect my family to change their ways. I don't think they really buy into my reactions anyway, and I tend to cheat at family gatherings, much to my detriment. Thanksgiving is not a meal to be tampered with in any way. Period.

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Don't worry, Doggo. Not gonna tamper with it. I swear.

I'd like to say I won't make poor choices again next year. But that's a year away and who knows where I'll be at by then. Maybe I'll be in the "Fuck it all!" state of mind I was this year. I really don't know. I suppose I can look into some other food options before then. WTH, right? I've got a year to figure it out.

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No, Moose. I haven't forgotten Christmas. Thanks for asking.

Shit!