I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT I'M PACKING IN MY HOSPITAL BAG, BUT I'M PROBABLY JUST GOINGTO TALK ABOUT FOOD

There's this burger place in Carlsbad called The Counter, and their burgers are OK but their fries... THEIR FRIES! They make these parmesan rosemary fries tossed in garlic aoli sauce, and they're sticky and cheesy and I go there just for those. My mom and dad were on a diet recently, and they allowed themselves a "cheat" every day, so they didn't binge or feel deprived. My dad explained how he didn't want to waste those cheat calories on candy or white bread or sugar - he was going to make it good. So he goes and gets a small fry from McD's every. day. And I think it's genius. Why would I eat a candy bar? That would make me feel sick, and I don't ever feel as happy after a candy bar as I do after french fries, particularly the parmesan-rosemary-garlic-aoli variety.

Then there's this other place in Encinitas, one town south of us, called Borelli's. It's this little mom-and-pop that's hidden away in a corporate office building, and it has lawn chairs for sitting in the waiting section, and the lights are dim and it smells like garlic. Conrad and I go often (not often enough according to my tastebuds, but too often according to my inner thighs and double chin), and we have our regulars and we never veer. Their spaghetti with meat sauce. Oh. And for Cornad, their North County pizza (pesto, mozzarella, feta, chicken, red onion, avocado). But the dinner is like the appetizer for the real reason I want to go there. No matter how much we eat, how stuffed we are, we get tiramisu to share for dessert. Slap my hands right now for eating an espresso- and rum-saturated dessert while with child. I'm gonna keep on doing it. It's kind of soggy, and super creamy and rich, and we draw a line through the mascarpone cheese on top so nobody cheats and jips the other person, but Conrad always ends up giving me his last bite anyway.

And that is how food makes me happy.