This is a picture of Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah, GA.  This is Paula Deen’s restaurant, and when we were on vacation, we made plans to stop in Savannah, hoping to be able to get a reservation at this very famous restaurant.  We did get a reservation for lunch, and it was worth the trouble of getting in line at 6:55 to wait for the reservation line to open at 9:30.  By then, the line waiting went all the way down the block and wrapped around the corner.  I don’t know how far it went then.  People love to come to this restaurant to experience the Southern cooking of Paula Deen.  The food was delicious, very rich, and very filling.  We started the meal with a fresh from the oven hoe cake and cheese biscuit, and then we helped ourselves to a buffet that included three meats (fried chicken, baked chicken, and baked pork ribs) and ten side dishes (creamed corn, butter beans, collards, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, green beans, candied yams, black eyed peas, dirty rice, and one other item that I can’t even remember.  There was also a complete salad bar with home made dressings.  Then, there was dessert, a choice of banana pudding (my husband got that), peach cobbler (I got that), and Paula’s gooey butter cake.  We left there extremely full!  We plan to go again the next chance we get to go to Savannah.  Did I tell you that we ate a lot on our vacation?  That is probably an understatement.  I didn’t overdo it to the point that I was uncomfortably full, but I was never hungry; that’s for sure! 

So, when I got home, although I was glad to see my pugs, I really had a hard time adjusting to cooking my own food and turning down my own bed.  In fact, I have felt downright pooped for the past week.  I attribute some of it to the long drive and all the excitement of the cruise, and then the long drive back home.  That’s enough to wear anyone out.  But I figured I feel better after a few days at home.  I didn’t.  I still had extreme fatigue and aching joints and very poor sleep.  Of course, sleeping in a bed with two pugs, who take up enormous amounts of space for such little dogs, could add to the trouble sleeping.  But I just felt terrible.  I felt as if I had picked up some horrible virus or something.  I even spent some time surfing the Internet trying to figure out what kind of ailment I might have.  But then, all of a sudden, I knew what was wrong:  SUGAR!  I had been eating sugary desserts on vacation, and I hadn’t stopped even when I was back home.  And sugar always makes me feel bad.  I always have the achy joints, the headaches, the fatigue, the poor sleep when I’m ingesting sugar.  You might just say for all practical purposes, I’m allergic to it.  If you do some research on the Web, you will find lists of reasons not to consume sugar.  It’s basically poisonous to our systems, and I always feel horrible when I’m eating it. 

You probably are thinking, then why eat it?  Why, indeed!  I’m an addict when it comes to sugar.  I can’t just have a little.  Once I start consuming it, I crave it, and I eat a lot of it.  It would be best if I would just leave it alone and not have to go through withdrawal over and over again.  Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment!  More likely, I’m a glutton for sugary foods.  Anyway, although I really don’t get it sometimes, I finally got it:  cut out the sugar = feel better.  So, yesterday, I quit sugar again.  I’m already feeling much, much better.  I slept better last night.  And so far, I haven’t experienced any of the usual withdrawal symptoms.  Lucky me! 

I enjoyed my vacation, every single bit and bite of it.  I planned to indulge, but for some reason, I forgot about the adverse effects I could expect.  I did think of gaining weight, and gain weight I did, seven pounds.  But I forgot how poisonous sugar is to my system.  I forgot how bad I would feel as a result of my “going off the wagon.”  Still, it was worth it.  No regrets.  I’m just glad I figured out that I needed to come off my sugar high instead of facing some rare Caribbean disease!  Viva la vacation!  And viva la detox, too!