A Hit

So, I got tagged by my fellow blogging friend, Mona, of Mona's Apple which is in my links section on the right side of the page-- you should check her out if you haven't already.

This is my first tag as a blogger and I'm touched that she picked my lazy ass to participate. She picked me on Sept. 26 and since I've been in and out of town, this is my first opportunity to take action--it's not really because I'm lazy that this took so long. Anyway, here's the deal:

Here are the instructions/reference for whoever I tag next :

It's the 23/5 meme. The blogger tagged has to go to their 23rd post, find the 5th sentence, and then write something interesting about it on their blog. So:
Delve into your blog archive.
Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas...Tag five people to do the same.

Without further ado...here's my longwinded take on this perfectly unassuming sentence taken from a post from November 2004 about making Country-Style Ribs in my oven. The link for the post, artfully titled "Country Style Ribs = Yummy" is:

http://backyardchef.blogspot.com/2004/11/country-style-ribs-yummy.html

Sentence #5: "I foiled them and refrigerated about 8 hours."

Woah, dude. First of all, the post was about making the ribs in the oven, and then I break the rules again by talking about foil, a bbq purists no-no. Man, I'm 0-for-2.

What's really interesting to me and resonates is the awkward way that I said "and refrigerated about 8 hours." It sounds like I chilled myself-- that's something I don't do often enough. The reason I was cooking in the oven that day was because I didn't have the energy to fire up the pit-- I had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure-- severely high. I don't know for how long that was the case, but I do know I could've damaged my heart. I also have super high cholesterol, so, I was pretty down about it all and feeling pretty blah. People don't often have symptoms from High B.P., but I was having some and the doctor knew before he even checked me out what was going on.

Since then, I've started on medication, quit smoking cigarettes (just over a year and G-D do I miss those lil' bastards!), started exercising and trying (trying....) to eat better. It's all hard, especially for a meat and potatoes person, and to be honest, scary.

When my doctor picked up the high blood pressure we talked alot about stress and it's effects on the body. It totally cracks me up to remember how he bluntly just sputtered, "You need to find a new job." He was right. Since then, some things have changed and others not so much. Here I am almost a year later waiting to start my new job on October 10, digesting some of the 'que I cooked over the last days, feeling stiff from splitting oak and hickory logs-- enjoying the sore muscles and the 'work'/'play' of cooking outdoors and wondering how else my life will change in the next few years-- will there be kids....a house...a new city and a new start...will we stay in NYC...will the job work out? Will I be able to find a balance, and refrigerate (or at least relax and learn how to take it all a little less seriously)?

Who knows? But, I hope so. And, boy, I can't wait to find out-- and I know that just a few years back I never thought I'd be here now, blogging, q'ing, helping my mom recover from cancer, putting the ashes of my cat, Caesar, on the shelf, or being 'grown up' and married and wondering about kids and houses and all this 'grown up' stuff....or even knowing people like Mona....

Life has a way of doing that to you-- the minute you think you know where you are and you like it, watch out, because change comes whether you want it or not.

So, look out WhiteTrashBBQ, Rookery, Bacon Show, and others, I'm coming to tag ya. And thanks, Mona, for the chance to look back. I'll let you know who the five are a little bit later-- after I post some pics and whatnot from the last few days.

Backyard Chef, out.