Cravings

When I first got pregnant, a collegue of mine asked "Are you having any weird cravings yet?  Like do you want pickles and potato salad?"  At that point, I was like "no." Cause I was only 8 weeks.  He quickly answered back "let me know when you do...I'm so into knowing that stuff."  At first, it wasn't so much cravings as it was food aversion.  I was in a routine of having yogurts in the morning and suddenly, I hated yogurt...couldn't stand it.  Then all milk products just didn't interest me (ie. cottage cheese).

As time went on however, I would get on certain food kicks.  For example, I was on a bagel with peanut butter kick.  Then there was the water crackers and cheese kick.  After that I was back to cottage cheese with some sort of fruit kick.  But these were things I could relatively live without.  There wasn't anything that I HAD to have and would KILL if I didn't get it.  Not until I was nearing my first trimester.

By then the end of my first trimester, my pseudo morning sickness was subsiding and the food aversions were starting to become food cravings.  There have been a few things I have craved, the the one that tops them all has to be...pork roll.  Yes there's a story to this.  I don't know when, how, or even why (that's the beauty of cravings), but one day while I was teaching, I got it in my mind that I wanted pork roll (ie. taylor ham). I cannot explain to anyone that doesn't know what taylor ham is, what it exactly is..but do know, it's not canadian bacon, and not regular ham...it's...just different.  It's very much a New York/New Jersey thing.  And of course...here I am, in Maryland craving taylor ham.  Must be the salt...has to be the salt.  So I figure, with my New Jersey mentality, that I could just go to a deli and get taylor ham.  "Pork roll and cheese on a hard roll please".  Thought that would be easy enough...no...of course not, there would be no story then.

It was the first day of my spring break, and I had to report to school for what's called 'inservice'.  That's where we teachers basically have workshops that really don't do much of anything.  I went in regular time, however, I tried to make a stop at a deli in Bowie, only to find that I couldn't find the deli.  No biggie, I grabbed something else for breakfast.  However, I was determined as ever at the end of the inservice to go claim my sandwich.  I found the little pissant deli in Bowie (couldn't really call it a deli) and they looked at me like I had five heads when I asked for a taylor ham sandwich.  Ok...no problem...I knew sorta on the way home, was a deli by my friend Susan's.  This is a REAL deli, so they HAD to know what taylor ham is.  Furthermore, I could SWEAR I got it there before.  So I sully forth to this deli...only to be told they had no such thing.  "What?  You're a deli and you don't know what taylor ham is?"  This was suddenly becoming comical...well sorta, not very comical for the pregnant woman in need of taylor ham.  Ok...deep break...there is a solution.

Down the street from said deli was a Giant (Giant Food store--keep in mind, I don't have one of these very close to me...).  I decided to drive to Giant where I knew the sold taylor ham, cause I've brought it there before.  Now keep in mind, all food stores in this area are different.  It's not like I can actually go to a Giant in VA and get taylor ham...they cater to the demographics in each area.  For example, Shoppers Food Warehouse by my friend Karen carries all sorts of Hispanic foods cause of the high Hispanic population, Food Lion by me carries...well...nothing cause they cater to all whitebread people...Giant by Susan's caters to all kinds of uppity people that covet things like taylor ham.

So here I am, driving to the Giant foods that is like 2 minutes from the deli I once thought was a REAL deli, but was disillusioned so quickly by.  Now my story should be over right?  As John McClaughlin would say "WRONG!".  I was driving to the Giant and ran into some construction...no problem...really, I can just keep going straight and I'll be able to eventually turn right into Giant's parking lot.  Hahahahah...sure...so I'm driving...and driving...and driving...and suddenly, I find myself not in Burtonsville anymore...but heading towards Columbia...I've WAY PASSED this Giant somehow.  This is the point where I essentially start to cry out of desperation for needing taylor ham.  Hormones have WAAAYYY kicked in.  But I take a deep breath, turn around and EVENTUALLY go to Giant where I get my taylor ham (four boxes worth).  

After this experience, I took to having my stepmother provide me with taylor ham any time I was home in NJ.  She always brought a box to make, and one for me to take home (just finished one of those boxes this weekend *sniff*).  Basically taylor ham tops the charts of my cravings, but there have been others...mostly NJ based too...dammit.  Another was Jersey Mike's subs (ended up finding something close by my friend Heather).  Then there was REAL pizza.  Not Dominos, not Pizza Slut...but real pizza made from a guy that got off the boat within this generation.  Said pizza that satisfied this craving was found down the street from my parents at a place called Maria's.  (My stepmom has been totally accommodating in arranging the menu around my cravings, very cool).  Then  when Ali picked up a pizza at Maria's she also picked up an eggplant parm. sandwich at Maria's that we would split.  This was DELICIOUS.  I could add this to my list of cravings but I must admit...I had to bury it deep knowing the only place I could get it was in NJ.

 

So that's it, my crazy cravings...oh other minor things were of course chocolate, peanuts (lightly salted), OF COURSE pickles *in moderation*, and sugary cereal.  And we wonder how to date I've only gained 17 lbs...cause I won't sit STILL!