Om nom nom (alternate title: Yep, I'm still a fatty)

Perhaps it's because I've been on a diet for more than a month. Perhaps it's because I'm craving some particularly Southern food lately. Perhaps it's because the Mister and I are almost a month away from going home for the summer, but I have been having some massive food cravings lately! I've been hankering for some shawarma, so it's not all about missing my typical American eateries, but golly I would kill to enjoy some of my favorite noshes. Below is a list of the top 6 places/things I'm going to eat as soon as I step off the plane in July.

#1:

It's sad that there are some unfortunate souls in the world that have not gotten to enjoy the magic of a Chick-fil-A #1 combo with waffle fries, fresh lemonade and a side order of coleslaw to put on their Southern style chicken sandwich. Yes, I realize that probably adds up to a few thousand calories but GOLLY is it good and I can't wait to have one this summer!

#2: Yep, you can take the fat girl out of the South, but you can't take her love of Southern fast food. I know that you're probably all judging me for putting two notoriously fattening fast foods as the top two things that I can't wait to put in my mouth but I don't care! Anyone who has a Sonic nearby understands why I miss happy hour in the summer with Route 44 cherry limeades, tater tots, and carhops on skates. Sonic is definitely one of the few places that result in instant regret as soon as you've wolfed down one of their burgers, but the fatty, juicy, blissful euphoria you get while pigging out totally makes it worth it!

#3: Jacks Bar-B-Que, or barbeque of any sort, is obviously not going to be found anywhere in

our new home. I never realized how much barbeque I ate until it wasn't a menu option anymore. Well I've got some munching to make up for, and Jack's is Nashville's finest place to get a pork craving under control. Their barbeque is the stuff of Food Network specials. I love going to the Broadway location, sitting upstairs next to those big windows and watching the tourists walking by Nashville's best restaurant. I can't wait to get a side of their potato salad, or the cucumber tomato salad. Their sweet tea is awesome and they indulge their patrons in something diners in Saudi are frequently denied: FREE REFILLS! In Saudi, if you go to the big restaurants like Chili's or Appebee's, you get free refills. But if you go to a local shawarma place or one that's not part of a major franchise, you get your drink in a can. Want more than 12 ounces of refreshment? That'll be another few riyals, please. I can't wait to gorge myself on pulled pork, sweet tea and heavenly sauces.

#4: Because we were not privy to the onslaught of holiday marketing, and the complete lack of

all things non-Muslim, there were no Cadbury creme eggs to be had this Easter. This is a guilty pleasure for both the Mister and me and boy did we miss 'em! Facebook friends saw my pleas for them to stockpile the chocolate eggs filled with a wonderful, almost-grainy with sugar creme. The Mister and I always got a half dozen of these from our moms on Easter and while the Mister usually goes about it wisely and has one a day, I typically had one per meal--including breakfast. Are any of you still wondering how it is that I've gained as much weight as I have?! I'll need to adopt a more Mister-like habit if it turns out that we do have a little basket of Cadbury creme eggs waiting for us after we arrive home this summer.

#5: Welcome to Moe's!! Or any burrito establishment, for that matter! Moe's, Chipotle, Baja

Fresh, it doesn't matter. I can't wait to go have a great big Joey Bag of Donuts or Homewrecker with a big basket of fresh tortilla chips and tomatillo salsa. There are Mexican restaurants here...sort of. We haven't actually frequented any (unless you count Chili's at TexMex) because they look shady. But even when we try to imitate the yummy goodness of beans and rice or nachos, we run into roadblocks. Tortilla chips are nearly impossible to find. They are sometimes stocked in the grocery store owned by Safeway, but those shipments are few and far between. The Lulu where we shop sometimes stocks those Old El Paso burritos-in-a-box meals with the flour tortillas and refried beans, but those just aren't the same thing. There's something magical about the fresh guacamole being plopped in the middle of your chicken burrito right in front of your eyes. Saudi Arabia doesn't know what it's missing. BUT I DO and I can't wait to have some Moe's ASAP.

#6: I am doing a quick unit on personal narratives with my eighth-grade class. The other day, I was sharing one of my happiest memories with them in order to model storytelling, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that this memory involved Cracker Barrel. Being that none of my students have vacationed in the American South (with the exception of DisneyWorld, but that's not real America so it doesn't count), I had to explain to them what made Cracker Barrel so wonderful. As I was describing the chicken and dumplins, hashbrown casserole, heavenly biscuits and chicken fried steak, I literally had to stop to make sure I didn't start drooling, my mouth was watering so much! Cracker Barrel is mine and the Mister's go-to pit stop restaurant on road trips, and we have a few of those planned for this summer. Front porch rockers, rock candy, and that triangle pegboard game thing is in my near future and I can't be more excited!!

Vicariously yours,