Spicy Spicy Pain

So, now that my guests have left, and the temperature is reasonable, I have started walking again. In the mornings. With Mama Bird, to her office. The idea is to also walk down and meet her in the evenings, but it seems that for the past three days it rains at 5pm. Thunderstorms actually. In a few weeks I'll also add bike riding to the daily schedule. You know, because I apparently like pain. The only thing wrong with all of this is how early morning comes. How much I do not want to get out of my bed. And it's not all that comfy either! I wake up sweaty, and really, I would rather just lie there. It really wouldn't be so bad if I didn't wake up 5-10 times a night.
The warmer weather also means a change in diet. I don't mean GOING on a diet (per se) I just mean my eating habits change in the warmer weather. Less heavy pastas and roasted chickens, and a whole lot more salads and sandwiches. I'm currently on a caesar salad kick. Next up is likely to be caprese. I can't wait for the farmers markets to get into full swing, so I can make STELLAR salads. And picnics. If it ever stops raining.
While I said I wasn't going on a diet (per se) I DO have a weight loss goal. But I expect a lot of that to be through exercise. Summer foods (for me) do tend to be on the lighter side, but it's not a hardship, so it doesn't feel like a diet. I plan to lose around 20 lbs. Again. I gained most of what I lost last summer back over the winter so I'd kind of like to shed a few now.
Sitting in my hall closet are 4 and 1/2 bags of Old Vienna brand Red Hot Ripplets. A potato chip so hot, your lips burn. A potato chip so addictive my friends and I call them "crack chips". I do not understand why I love them so, but I practically begged my friends to bring them up with them when they visited. I cannot find them here reliably. The little convenience store in my neighborhood had the bitty bags for about a week (it's entirely possible I ate their entire stock) but they only have had them twice. Watch, I'll go in tomorrow, they'll have them and then someone ELSE will discover the tasty tasty pain and by the time I'm out of the ones I have, the store will be out of them. And they won't get the in again until September.
I could order them online, and have them shipped (by the case) to my apartment. But if I did that they'd be in my apartment, just begging to be eaten. And then Mama Bird would come over to find me dead of spicy potato chip overdose. With little reddish crumbs everywhere. The bags I have are bad enough! There is sort of a built in punishment. Eating too many of these wonderfully spicy chips can have nasty repercussions in the morning. Especially if you partner them with just a little too much beer. So far I've been good, just a little here, a little there.
I'll end this with a recipe of sorts. There are no real measurements for it though.

Basil Oregano Vinegar
Purple basil (a good sized sprig, about 4 big leaves on it)
Oregano (the top of a sprig, where the flowers are)
White wine vinegar (enough to fill the bottle to the very brim)
A bottle that seals completely.

Fill bottle halfway with vinegar.
Put both herbs (do NOT chop) inside bottle.
Fill the rest of the way up, over flowing just a tiny bit (you want to not have air in the bottle).
Seal tightly and put in a dark dry place for at least a month.
In a month the vinegar should be bright pink and is ready for use. You do not have to remove the herbs.
I use this over caprese, and leafy salads, with olive oil.

--Little Bird feels the burn