vice

vice: an evil action or habit.

I have a love for certain types of "reality" television. Nope, not Survivor. Not even so much American Idol.

Definitely Top Chef. More specifically, Top Chef- Las Vegas, airing right now on Bravo.

Last night for the elimination challenge, the chefs were to create a dish based around a vice that they have in their lives.

What does that mean to you?

To me, it means something that I do that is bad for me, and I know it's bad for me and I do it anyway.

Several of the chefs last night took that to mean the same way I did. One chef's vice was smoking, so he created a dish that had a smoked steak. (He was eliminated from the competition at the end, by the way.) Other chefs used things like bourbon in their dishes.

What is my vice, you ask? Okay, you didn't, but humor me.

Diet Coke, without a doubt. Not the trendy stuff with lime, or the cherry variety, but good old Diet Coke. Although, I will admit to being crazy about Diet Vanilla Coke when it was out! Anyone??

Some weeks are better than others. This week, with Dad having cancer surgery 400+ miles away and then all that has been happening this last few days with Caleb medically, I have a problem.

Last Thursday, when I met a friend in town for breakfast, I had stopped by the store on my way out of town. Whadda ya know, but cases of Coke products were on sale. Knowing the price I pay for a 12-pack in the town nearest to me, I grabbed one case of coke for Jon and 2 cases of Diet Coke for me. (I go through it faster than he does, based solely on the fact that right now, I'm home all day.)

Looking in the refrigerator this morning, I discovered that there were three, yep, three, cans of Diet Coke there. So, naturally, I went out to the garage to get the other case out of the van.

Coming back into the house, it hit me.

I had consumed three cans short of an entire case in seven days. While I know that it isn't evil, I do know that it isn't very good on my body to consume quite so much.

Yikes.

But I had to smile when last week, I saw this Diet Coke commercial. Who stars in it, but Tom Colicchio, head judge on Top Chef.


Yay!

And the other thing that made me smile? They've gone back to the slogan that they had when I was a kid. "Just for the taste of it"

It could be worse, right?