Best Donuts in the Whole World - Blue Gate Bakery

I have been ruined. Ruined I tell you.

This place has THE BEST DONUTS in the entire world.

The Blue Gate Bakery in Shipshewana, Indiana. It is located inside the Blue Gate Restaurant and Theater in Amish Country.

OMG. I have never had a donut this good. I have tried many all over the world and they win. They win. I don't even need to look any more.
I remember the day. It was Monday August 5th, 2013 when I tasted the best donuts in the world.
We were hungry and were going to eat at the restaurant when my nose found it's way to the bakery. Ahh the bakery.
The donuts were shining like gold in the display case. There is was on the top shelf: a long john with freshly knife spread chocolate frosting and creamy white cream peeking out from inside. We ordered a full dozen donuts. Carl thought he saw a maple bar, but no, it turned out to be caramel frosting, his wildest dreams come true. We took the huge white box back to the car. I lifted my long john out of the box and nearly dropped it from the weight. It must have been a solid one pounder. I took a bite and melted into donut heaven. The frosting was so fresh. The cream was so heavy and light at the same time and the dough was solid. I didn't mean to eat the whole thing, but I did. I couldn't put it down even though my stomach was screaming, please stop, my mouth was screaming, EAT IT ALL! and then have another.
I have never had a donut this delicious. EVER. Look at all the capitals in this post. I am not joking. I am serious. If you are a donut lover and connoisseur you must make the pilgrimage to the Blue Gate Bakery and taste the heaven that is Amish donuts.
There are two kinds of donuts: french fry grease crispy donuts, also known as Asian donuts that are made in LA. The others are the lard based donuts that are made in the Middle West. Both delicious, but very different.
The Shipshewana donuts were lard based and can't be compared to the french fry grease type of donuts.
Since getting back from our trip I have not been able to eat a single donut. They all look so pale in comparison. Don't even try and get me to sample a Dunkin Donut after my donut euphoria in Indiana. I can't do it. I can't eat them. What's the point? They won't be as good. They won't satisfy the way that other donut did. I'm ruined and I love donuts.
I'm scheming and trying to figure out a way to get those donuts here to me from Indiana. Are you driving this way? Can you bring me one? Can I FedEx custom critical one? I will need this donut to survive.

That's them from the web site. I'm just going to look and drool for a while.

PMS Panic Attach

I just finished paying the price for a 2 week long vacation. During that 2 weeks I did not exercise. I did not get in my 3-4 miles a day walk and it made me miserable. It has nothing to do with my weight or the way my pants fit.
It has everything to do with the way I react to PMS. It did not go well at all last week. I was out of my mind. Things are starting to come back around to normal today, but it was evil. It was terrifying and made me question my sanity on deep levels.
Things get real sketchy when I don't exercise or stick to a regular schedule. Things were fine while we were traveling, but once home the shit started to hit the fan.
There is the usual depression associated with returning from a trip and the starting of school. But combine that with the fact that I hadn't been exercising or eating normally and the PMS last week just knocked my on my mental and physical ass.
I couldn't handle anything. I had to leave the house for the evening Thursday and take myself out of the game. That was the low point. I immediately took some Midol, peed 4 times, had a Diet Coke, and some Chipotle and my mind seemed to come back around.
It's hard to verbalize what was going through head before I left the house, but I had to leave. Luckily my children are old enough that I can leave them at home and not worry about the consequesces. I called my husband, let him know I was out and quickly made my getaway.
It's not the children. It's the pressure of all the things that needed me. Dinner, homework, laundry, parent night at school, bills, the pets. It's all so mundane, but it's all so big in my mind that I can't cope with it a second longer or I will explode.
It's scary and there doesn't seem to be a solution to all the pressure, except to just leave the situation. It feels like a cop out even now just describing it, but the feeling is very real and the need for escape is overpowering.
It's my version of a panic attack. I will die if I stay where I am. I have to leave.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish by describing my mental illness to you, but maybe some understanding as to why I try and keep things "just so". Life is scary and not just for me, but for everyone. We all have different ways of coping with the scary things and this is my way. I have to walk. I have to eat the same things. I have to have a schedule. I have to have away time.

This week will be my testimony to all things normal.
Walk 3 miles this am. check
Eat Rice Krispies daily. check
Vacuum. check

Road Trip 3013 - The After Photos

We're Back!

It was a VERY long road trip followed by an even longer back-to-school week. It was epic. We saw so many things, people, and bodies of water. I highly recommend it if you have the means. Yes it was tedious at times and we were asked way too many times "How much longer?" and "Where are we?", but it was totally worth it. Our children have seen things they have never seen before and experienced life in variety of American locales.

Chicago was immense and overwhelming for children who have only known LA, San Diego, and Vegas. It was truly metropolitan. I mistakenly called this sculpture "the blob" when it's actually known as "the bean".

We were on a tubing trip with all the peeps on my mother's side of the family and stopped here at Smith Falls in Nebraska.

This is the building, Foellinger Auditorium at the University of Illinois, where I graduated from not just high school but also college. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Standing on the steps of the Nelson Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City. Luckily we were there the night it was open until 9:00 and there was FREE admission. One of my all time favorite art galleries.

I'll expand on some more details and tidbits as the weeks entering school calm down. I will only be working 3 days a week this year. I am job sharing so that I have more time for writing, cleaning and crunching numbers. I am so excited!