Are we in a tizzy of anticipation yet?

I definitely am. I'm sure you are all on the edge of you seats waiting to find out how my doctor's appointment went today. Well I ended up having two. First, I went to see the Rheumatologist, and he referred me to an Orthopedic Surgeon (like I thought) and said Orthopedic was able to get me in an hour and a half later. Boss' decision: stay where I was. I was only going to be at the office 30 minutes max before having to leave again. So I drive over to Calypso Cafe (1.5 minutes away) and had a veggie pita. Delicious! Then I hung out at the hospital until time for my appointment. Really nice people, have to tell you. Quick and courteous, efficient. Excellent. Should be to, because this whole thing is going to cost me a fortune. I describe my symptoms, and they prescribe x-rays. They have a machine in-house, so someone comes to get me from the exam room, takes me to get x-rays and brings me back to exam room. The x-rays come out pretty quickly and the Doctor comes in and talks to me. He does some tests for motion on my shoulder (of which I have very little at this point) and determines based upon symptoms and x-rays and tests that my pain could have two causes: 1. My acromion is hooked when it shouldn't be and 2. Possible injury to Labrum cartilage.

All this adds up to one solution: MRI scheduled for Monday. We're moving forward in the direction of healing! This is good, because I ran tonight and I aggravated it MORE, so now I'm in a new kind of PAIN!

I had to step on the scale today at the Doctor and I have gained a pound. Now this may be because I had just finished a large drink from Sonic, or because it's the middle of the day, or because I've gained a pound so far this week. Not good either way. So I'm buckling down and try for a good number on the scale this Saturday before going to a beer festival Saturday afternoon. The extra 35 points I get each week that start on Saturday? Gone by Saturday night. And I'm okay with that because, well it's allowed. I will stay within my points for the remainder of the week and all will be good.

It's also been requested that I move the TV shows out to the garage from the TV room so other people can record in there (and I record at least 6 shows weekly). This will be a good opportunity for me to WALK (no more serious running until the shoulder heals) while catching up. Six shows minus the commercials equals 4.5 hours per week and if I walk at a 20 minute pace (3 miles per hour), I will accomplish over 13 miles each week. That's more than I'm doing now. More than I was doing running every day. Fascinating. This is a minimum also; I normally spot-record a few extra shows as I find them. The 6 are regulars, and recorded weekly. :)

I'm going to go take a nice HOT shower and lay down and try to get comfortable.

Until next time,
:)

I'll take it!

I find myself in an interesting place. Confused, for one. I went to weigh in last week and thought for sure I was going to maintain/gain. I stepped on the scale, read the number, and said, oh good, I maintained. She said, no you lost (they take 2 pounds off for clothes and shoes). I lost 2 pounds. I am flabbergasted. I guess it's the same logic as I work harder than ever and gain. I'm a woman, I should stop being confused. So, YAY! I lost 2 pounds! Go me!

This week, well I don't know. I ran yesterday while waiting for AAA to come get the truck, and I ran a mile in a little over 9 minutes. It just about killed me and I never want to do that again. At least for now. This week, I feel like I would imagine pregnant women feel. I want to eat everything in sight. And out of sight. I'm trying to drink lots of water and Diet Dr Pepper to squash the craving.

I realized a few moments ago that I had not blogged in a week. *cringe* Right now, I have a lot on my mind that doesn't necessarily pertain to weight and I guess I didn't feel it was important enough to put in words. Maybe I wouldn't crave everything if I did.

I'm going to the doctor again tomorrow for my right shoulder (trip #3). I am now in constant pain. The next step is referral to Orthopedic Surgeon. See that last word? Scares me silly, I'm not going to lie. The best solution at this point is for them to go in and clean out my shoulder. Hopefully that will fix it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to have the big kahuna surgery, that will put me typing one handed for weeks. WEEKS. I would assume that also means no running *GASP*. My mind runs wild with possibilities. Everyone keeps telling me the cleaning will fix it, but this is me we're talking about. My body has not proven to be cooperative. I'm expecting the worst. That will allow me to be pleasantly surprised. The real kicker? My left shoulder is starting to ache when I sit still too long, or do certain tasks (that was the beginning of the right shoulder saga). Wonderful. It doesn't hurt nearly as bad as my right shoulder, so I barely notice it, but it's there.

I'm feeling a little trapped financially. I have goals I would like to meet, and I'm never going to meet them if things like expensive doctor visits keep appearing. I have already resigned to do something locally for vacation next year. No big trip. That is a defeating feeling. It'll just have to wait.

Another depressing moment this last week: My canoe trip for Saturday got cancelled *sniff sniff* because not enough people were interested. I'm planning on going hiking tomorrow, caving next Saturday, White Water Rafting the Saturday after that, and another canoe trip has been scheduled for Aug 28. All this will be ultra fun.

Something I'm loving right now? All the selection of fantastic TV Shows. One of my favorites right now is White Collar on USA. A very funny show. :)

Until next time,
:)

Life is like a box of chocolates

You never know what you're going to get. I love that quote, I really do. I have found that when I don't run regularly I am agitated and jumpy and generally disagreeable. I ran this morning and feel so much better! 10:59.66 thank you very much. I'm going to repeat this tomorrow, and the next day. On Saturday, I'm going cameoing. I've never been so it will be GREAT!

So for a background on the title. Another ill effect of the agitation caused by not running is the craving for things I haven't craved in a while. Like chocolate. Saturday I went to the grocery store to get a few things. I ended up with a box of chocolates and ate the whole thing in 36 hours. Ridiculous. I've been dreading about blogging because then it was real. Really real.

I'm trying to catch up on TV shows now and still maintain a normal bedtime.

Until next time,
:)

That's Need to Know

Last night was wonderful. I fully enjoy my own company. No boring conversation, no awkward pauses, etc. Now, if I was with someone who's company I truly enjoy, that might be different. I was watching TV yesterday afternoon and was running through the schedule for the rest of the night. I realized I would be dining along (internal sigh of happiness) and then realized that I had not accounted for someone here and that I would not be dining alone (external sigh of resign - not because of the person, but because I was really wanting to be completely alone). So, I thought about it, and it had been quite a while since I had dressed up and gone out to eat. Alone. A passion I quite enjoy. So I did. I put on a dress, twisted my hair up, put on very nice heels, and perfume and went to Olive Garden. And loved every minute of it!

The service was divine and the food was, as always, phenomenal. I had 2 bread sticks (2 points each), 2 glasses of peach tea (0 points), a glass of Riesling wine (2 points), and my dish was Venetian Apricot Chicken (7 points, but I only ate 1/4 of my plate, so that's 1.5 points). Total for dinner: 7.5 points. Total for the day: 23.5 points. Total daily points allowance: 25 points. WAHOO! A great victory for me! You know what was even better. This cost me $3. I had a gift card. :) Things just lined into good places last night. I didn't trip, or spill food on myself. It was fabulous.

I was so serenely happy I cried tears of pure joy on the way home. Then of course I learn my family has been having fun at my expense going into a tizzy over whether or not I was on a date and with whom. (lots and lots of outward sighs, groans, rages of frustration, and bad words on my part). This all stemmed from me telling my overly nosy sister "that's need to know" when she asked where and with whom I was going. I gave no details, tried to keep that part of my life private and it only fed gossip. ARE WE 12 YEARS OLD AGAIN? Then when I got home and confronted (not my style; I'm really more passive aggressive), they all told me they were having fun running the possibilities and not to spoil their fun, by being upset. They also told me that I looked/smelled good and so there had to be a date. HA! 1. Spoil their fun?!?!?! Okay, right. This is MY life! 2. It is not a crime and is recommended to dress up for ones self. If you don't like how you look, how can you expect any one else to? Ridiculous. Last time I tell them anything. Because they had so much fun with "that's need to know", that's all they're going to get from now on. Unfortunately most of the joy of the evening was lost when I came home. Sad, huh? I think so. Now I want a vacation alone. But the location/timing is TBD.

Back to the food. This would be one of those non-scale victories that I could use right now, since I didn't get an on the scale victory this week. Up 1 pound. Okay. Last week was an interesting week really, and to be honest, I was expecting a little worse. Working much later than scheduled Wednesday-Friday probably didn't help. This week will be better.

Until next time,
:)

Plaid or polka dots?

I have to be cute and clever :)

I have noticed a pattern. When I eat WAY too much (a 25 point meal, for example), my body thanks me by being sick; you know how the word was originally intended. Anyways, I've been dealing with THAT this week so I've been a little out of place. Same thing (different effects) that happened two weeks ago. Do you see the same pattern I do? Too bad it took two times being sick for me to see it, but at least I see it now and have a couple weeks to come up with a plan. At least I think I do. I had better come up with a plan quick so I do not get ambushed.

The only exercise was the 1.25 miles I ran on Saturday (in under 13 minutes by the way!). And of course to try and be nice, I have altered my eating to only eat kind things, which means I was not allowed to eat the raw, crisp, juicy bell pepper I wanted with my toast, no butter, and jelly dinner. BOO. Oh well, my dinner was 3 points, so who's complaining? :)

So I made a good decision today. I had to be at work earlier than scheduled and I was running late (story of my life I swear) this morning, so I browsed quickly on the WW site and found I could substitute my Super Sonic Breakfast Burrito for the Jr Breakfast Burrito and save 2 dollars and 5 points. 8 points was a lot for a little tiny burrito, but surprisingly, I wasn't starving around lunchtime. I was adequately hungry. I feel pretty good about getting outside of my comfort zone too. I got to work 4 minutes before I was supposed to be there today (30 minutes earlier than normal) and it all went off without a hitch! Problems were fixed before they were crises and nothing interfered! Wonderful when that happens. It doesn't often happen that way for me, so I was on cloud 9. :)

On another subject, this is post #20! 20; I cannot believe it!!! How cool. I'll have to celebrate by reading 20 extra pages, or maybe 20 extra minutes, wait, at the pace I read, it's one and the same. I will not, however, be celebrating with food. :)

Until next time,
:)

Is today Monday?

Yes, that's how the last 24 hours have gone. Right now, I want to go outside and let out a large, long scream. Or cry buckets of tears out of pure frustration. Last night, well good grief, I really went overboard. I ate lightly all day so I had 10.5 points left over for dinner since I knew I was getting together with friends. How many points did I consume last night? 25. UGH! Oh my goodness gracious. It's like I completely lose all knowledge of how to stop when I get around other people. It probably didn't help that I had NO idea what we were going to be eating. I guess I should remedy that for next time huh? GRR.

So then comes today. I was going to run this morning. What time did I get up? 7:45. Is that condusive to running? Absolutely NOT. Today was also the day that I had to take care of the dog and pick up my sister at the car repair place all before going to work. This all equals not enough time for breakfast at home, so I stopped by Sonic. 13 points for my Super Burrito. I worked out the rest of the day to not go over my points, but goodness, when I use half my daily points in one meal, it really limits my options. So after all this, I'm late to work. Fan-bloody-tastic.

Now from dealing with all this and dealing with work, I am very tired. I was going to stick in a movie, but I'm trying to adhere to going to bed at 9, reading for an hour, and then falling asleep by 10 (instead of going to bed at 11), and since all movies made now are 2 hours and I have been sitting sulking for almost an hour along with trying to catch up on e-mails and the like, I am going to find a TV show online and watch a bit and relax for the remainder of the evening and pretend to start the week over tomorrow. If only it really worked that way.

Until next time,
:)

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Some background on the title would be helpful. Have you heard of a game called Mille Bornes (pronounced Meal Born)? From Wikipedia:
"French for a thousand milestones, referring to the stone distance markers on many French roads"
In the game, you have cards with numbers of miles on them and the first player to 1000 miles wins. There are a lot of other parts of flair along with the basics, but the basics are all I need for the purposes of this post. When we play this game (or any game for that matter) with my dad, there are always hilarious sound effects to his plays. When he overcomes an obstacle and plays more mileage, we either get "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin" or "On the road again" (which is a song by Willie Nelson).

I have hit a major milestone today! I lost 3.4 pounds (yes, 3.4!!!), which brings me to a grand total of 40.2!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!

I've already been hard at work planning today. It looks as if I will be able to make my next goal on or around 8/14 (48 total pounds lost, 174.6) and the goal after that will be the GOAL goal. The big kahuna; the final milestone. How exciting! I can see it, smell it, feel it! The final goal is 157 (right now) and 65.6 total pounds lost. That means I have only 25.4 to go!!! 7.8 to my next mini-goal and 17.6 to the final goal after that. My goal for hitting my goal is no later than October 30. That will mark 1 week before 1 year on Weight Watchers (November 7). My aim is going to be to reach that goal by October 9, which is the Saturday before I go back to my Doctor for my annual check-up (this is the Doctor that gave me the kick in the seat of my pants). This is also the Saturday before my mom and I go on a day trip shopping to places exciting! October 9 is 13 weeks away and I would need to lose an average of 2 pounds per week each week. Now that I'm getting thinner, it's going to be difficult to pull such large numbers as we get closer to time. Getting to my goal on October 30 will require an average of 1.5 pounds per week, which may turn out to be a little more manageable. I am going to continue to measure, track, and run and let the numbers fall where they will. I know they will regardless.

Wish me luck: I get to practice eating in social situations today. Family is coming over. I have all the items we will eat, I'll be figuring out points this morning and inputting new recipes into the database so I will be prepared and can plan out my dinner with family and then work backwards to plan lunch/snacks so I won't be hungry when they get here. Then I'm going to stick to my plan and revel in my victorious week! Tomorrow afternoon, I am going to work in eating out at lunch one day this week. And I'm going to make good choices and not feel guilty. I have my weekly 35 (that I haven't hardly been using the past 3 weeks) that I can lean on if necessary.

Until next time,
:)

What is this feeling; so sudden and new?

Now; if you are familiar with the Broadway hit "Wicked" you know that the end of that phrase is "I felt the moment I laid eyes on you". That's not the direction in which I am going.

I was born in the North. I didn't move down South until I was 5 and we moved in December. Well if you've been in the South in December you know it doesn't snow. Ever. So I was a little confused. I love snow. I love cold. I am never cold. I am always hot. Until now. This past weekend, I noticed an alarming trend. I was chilly. A lot. It was weird. I had to wear a sweater! Really weird. I still enjoy the cold! I am going to look at it as a wonderful change to being hot ALL the time. Of course, I have really jinxed it because I've been warm all day. Maybe my body is secretly 50 and I'm having hot flashes. :)

It's been a long week. It went by really fast, but I veered outside my normal evening schedule, hence no blog posts between Sunday and today. I watched movies at night and the timing was weird so I'll try to sum up my week in a summary instead of a book (HA!).

I ran 4 days this week. If you recall, I made a goal to do all 4 runs in under 12 minutes, but to run the whole mile. I ran 11:58.56 (Monday), 11:29.47 (Tuesday), 11:40.81 (Wednesday), and 10:59.28 (Friday). YEAH for all week, but especially today. Under 11 minutes!! I'm thinking about getting Nike +. That's a topic for another day. :)

So for food. This week has been like the last two. Measure everything, track before I eat. It's getting a little easier and I'm getting a flow down. I'm getting a little harassed at home because it takes so long to prepare my food, but I laugh it off and ignore it. I'm doing this for ME and not for anyone else. This is all about doing what I need to do, not what someone else wishes. They just need someone to pick on. Well I have broad shoulders; I can take it.

I haven't been brave enough to go out to eat yet, but I need to because I'm starting to crave, and that's NEVER good. I'll end up over-indulging and starting a bad cycle. I would like a Sonic Blast. Maybe I'll actually use some of my weekly 35 points this week. It's just that with actually paying very close attention to what I put in my mouth, I find I am full after eating. A Sonic Blast is more like a meal anyways (13-15 points depending on mix-ins).

I had a pretty large-sized victory today. At work, we have a company lunch once a month on Friday during the summer. Outside. Friday? Really? I weigh in on Saturday morning. I can deal with it. And today I did! This month's theme was Christmas in July. Don't ask why; I don't have the slightest. So what was the menu? Turkey, stuffing, southern style green beans, mashed potatoes, brownies, chocolate cake, apple pie, pecan pie, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The memo we all got about it was very vague about the whole list menu, but I was able to get my hands on it and calculate estimated points values for each item. I was glad I did. Stuffing - 4 points for 1/2 cup. YIKES! So I had Turkey (3 points for 3 ounces), green beans (2 points for 1/2 cup - southern style), mashed potatoes (2 points for 1/2 cup), and a brownie (3 points). That's 10 points for a buffet! SWEET! I was so proud! Especially when I saw all the apple pie (10 points) and pecan pie (12 points!!). Those are meals!! I enjoy those foods, and on Thanksgiving, I may use my weekly points for a slice of pumpkin pie (8 points) and skip the stuffing, but I choose not to indulge on those items on a regular basis. I mean really. I was given a recipe for pecan pie-like things that supposedly taste just like the real thing, but are 2 (or 3) points per serving. I'll find it and post it eventually.

We got to wear shorts today and I got several comments on how skinny I am :):):):):):):):) FABULOUS! I'm loving it! I need to go back to Goodwill and refill my wardrobe; I'm starting to run out of clothes now that it's hot outside and I'm still losing :)

After last week's numbers, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow (no big shocker there), but I know I did my best and the numbers will fall where they will. I just have to accept that. I would like a nice little loss; of more than a pound so I keep moving forward.

This week, my mom made Quiche. I love her quiche, but some of her homemade things (as good and organic as they are) sometimes the points work out to be a little bit of a surprise. For example. Tofu pie. Guess the points values. If you guessed 7, you're right. The last time she made this was a number of weeks ago, and I had been counting it as 4, and then adding whipped cream! Just another example that guessing is not the best idea. Sometimes it's necessary, but I at least need to make and educated guess, but I digress. Back to quiche. Dinner is at 6 and I get off at 5:30, so if I get off late, they start without me. This particular night, I was late. I come upstairs and they had just sat down to dinner. I saw it was quiche and inwardly groaned because the touch app doesn't have the recipe builder; that's only on the website tools (aka I needed my computer). For a moment, I considered just eating and counting later. I stood in the middle of the kitchen for what felt like forever. And then I decided. NO. I am measuring and tracking everything before I eat it. That includes quiche. I then huff and run downstairs to grab my laptop to enter the recipe into the recipe builder. It was an educated guess instead of a downright track since mom doesn't really know what's in it. Quiche - 5 points. Glad I tracked before hand. So I pretty much ended up eating alone because by the time I finally got it all tracked and measured, everyone else had already finished. Still a victory.

Tradition has dictated that Dinner is the largest meal because that is generally when Father's get home from work and Mothers make a big dinner. There are now arguments that rock that boat and say Lunch should really be the biggest meal. I worked it through and it makes sense. You don't really need all those carbohydrates/protein at Dinner because bed time is only a few hours away. You need it at lunch when you have 8 or more hours left in the day. In Europe, Dinner is more like a snack. They also have dessert first. My kind of chaps :). I have been trying this bigger lunch, smaller dinner a little this week and having a blast with it! I will have around 7 points for breakfast, around 11 for lunch and 6 for dinner (including my 2 point dessert, so really 4). Sometimes these numbers vary, but I have found when my dinner is smaller, but has more vegetables, I do not go to bed hungry or stuffed (and therefore unable to sleep). It's a revolution. And I'm enjoying it :)

Speaking of sleep, I have not taken a sleep aid since I got better from being sick, and (knock on wood) I have been sleeping through the night every night. A little odd. Maybe it's the exercise. Maybe my body finally gave in and did as I wished (I can dream!). I'm not particularly interested in why I am now able to sleep, just the fact I am now able.

I would like to take a paragraph and sincerely thank all the people who read my blog posts and then comment (either on the post/face book or in person) about a part that spoke to them individually. I cannot express in words (or hand gestures) how tickled I am when I hear these! I love knowing I am not only helping myself by expressing it in words, but I am entertaining others with my witty prose and revelations of common sense etc. I heart all my readers!

Until next time,
:)

I had my cake and ate it too!

Today is my birthday. I was thinking about how to covertly mention it was nearing without mentioning the actual date, but I got nothing. So it's today. Happy Birthday to me! To call it even, I won't share how young I am.

So with my birthday begs the question: What did you do about celebration food? In years past, my excuse for overeating on days like this is "Oh it was my birthday". Guess what? It comes once a year and it comes at the same time each year. It's not a "whoop there it is!" because its impossible to miss (you know with all the sales, fireworks and breaking out of Christmas decorations), but I digress.

The answer: Simple, I ate my meals like normal (a little on the light side actually to put some extra cushion in my allowance). Then, since I got my choice of what kind of cake/pie to have, I choose to go out to Marble Slab Creamery. This way, I get my birthday treat, but I don't have to watch it watch me for a week begging to be eaten. It's a little easier with another person's birthday because I feel a little guilty if I think I'm "hogging" their cake. But it's MY birthday. It would have been MY cake. And there would have been a lot of whispered summons from the cake. That would not have been an ideal situation, or not even less-than-ideal. It would have been bad. Very bad. Then I would be writing about how it is not good to give into temptation and so on. I save my hips the extra pounds and you the having to read my whining. Everyone wins! :)

So for my treat, I did my research. I did decide this last night. I had all day to plan and I wanted to really make this count. I scoured the nutrition facts pages for tasty options, then calculated points on all of my picks and the choices narrowed down pretty easily. Is chocolate topped with chocolate and fudge really worth 10 points? No. I went with what they call a Red, White, and Blue (it's Sweet Cream ice cream, strawberries, and blueberries - YUM!). It was 6 points. I only went over my daily points allowance by 1.5 points and that includes the adult drink I had at dinner. YEAH!!! Victory for me!!!

I am so proud of myself! I am also still enjoying the ice cream. It's the kind of long term enjoyment. I knew going into it what I was getting and how many points it was, and I knew where that fit into my day. I went in not worried at all and the ice cream tasted twice as good with no guilt or worries! It's a bit of work on the front end, but WELL worth it on the back end (literally!).

One other thing about today that I enjoyed (and recommend) was that the opening of presents and the ice cream were two separate things. At two totally separate parts of the day. I opened presents after lunch. We had ice cream after dinner. There was no, let's eat cake and open presents, like I hear so often, and what we have done traditionally.

Overall, a GREAT day! Another year passed, survived, and this year ranks way up there in terms of how healthy I am! Another thing of which to be proud and feel blessed!

Enjoy the fireworks!

Until next time,
:)

It's "week 2" all over again!

I gained a pound. Not really what I entirely expected, but I understand why. When you begin to lose weight, week 1 is usually really good. Week 2 is always a disappointment. Always. The body thinks it's going to be starved because it's not used to this new way of eating (instead of stuffing) and so it goes into a shock of sorts. It retains things it usually wouldn't. If the plan is stuck to on week 3, the body adjusts and weight loss usually continues. A common occurrence is for people to see not as big of a weight loss (or in some cases, a gain) and think well that's it and give up. I am NOT one of those people. I know the deal and I'm going to stick with it. So there. I was also sick this week - a great week to be sick actually :). Now that I'm better, I get to start this week with a vengeance. I'm going to stick to the same goals. We're doing a rewind/repeat :).

My weight loss goal is going to be 2.5 this week. 1 to lose the pound I gained and 1.5 to keep with my 1.5 per week goal. With that logic, the goal should really be 3, but it's not. That will be my *hope/aim*.
My exercise goal is going to stay the same as it was last week. I am going to concentrate on running the whole mile, and would like to do it in under 12 minutes. All 4 times I will run this week. Barring any illness of course. Health first :)

I have found a disturbing trend that is evidence of a lack of confidence. I have found even if I have a great week, starting Friday night I start getting really nervous for Saturday AM weigh in. I don't know why, but I do. Last week, for example. I had a GREAT week, and Friday night I was really nervous. Did I do enough? Did I expect too much from myself? Did I create a hype to which I will only be disappointed and depressed? I had some pretty aggressive goals last week, and was pretty adamant about keeping them. I had a does pride really come before the fall? moment. It was disheartening. Until I stepped on the scale. Now last week, it went so far in the other direction, I'm still in shock. This week, well I guess I did have reason to be nervous. I am going to try and head in the mindset direction of if I did my best, that's all I can do. If I didn't do my best, nervous OK, but if I did my best, I have every reason to be confident in myself.

So at WW today, we talked about planning for vacations. Evidence Summer really is here. One of the suggestions is that if you are going to splurge on going out etc, to really make it count; to eat something you don't have near home. I don't believe we have a German restaurant here, but there was one in Colorado when I went and I decided I've never had German food before that I can remember, so I'm going to try it. I had pizza with apples and other things I don't remember but I wouldn't think to put on pizza. It was fantastic! Well worth the splurge. I did a WW trick and split it all in half and took the other half home and ate it for dinner. YAY for me! The only exception to this was the first night I had to order Pizza Hut because I got to the hotel around 9, hadn't eaten since early afternoon, and I didn't have a car yet (rental car drama! long story).

We also talked about how to deal with stress other than turning to food. So I didn't do this one so well. With all the rental car drama, I ate an entire box of oreos and drank 1/2 gallon of milk with it. That's 63.5 points for the oreos and 11 for the milk. YIKES right? Well I still don't feel guilty and here's why. After that lapse in judgement, instead of feeling guilty for eating the oreos and then eating MORE oreos, I chose frozen vegetables instead. I got the steamed peas and corn that all you had to do was take the bag out of the freezer and stick it in the microwave for 5 minutes and TA DA! That would be 4 points thank you. BIG difference.

I would definitely recommend when traveling to get a hotel room that has a kitchenette with a refrigerator, stove/oven, and a microwave. It was well worth it for me to buy Breakfast at the local grocery for the week and only eat out a few meals during the week. My hotel room was apartment style, with living room and all, it was GREAT!

I have figured out I cannot sit in my desk chair and blog. I have to be sitting in my arm chair with my feet propped up. I had writer's block until I made myself comfortable in the arm chair and then the words just flowed out. Go figure.

Until next time,
:)