AFTER ANOTHER SHAKY EXTENDED WEEKEND...

I can't wait until winter is over.  I've never been a winter person.  You'll never see me out on the slopes or ice skating on the lake.  Winter makes me want to stay inside and keep myself warm, instead of going out there for a walk, or something like that.  When I am inside, I am tempted more than if I am outside.  There was some chocolate involved, and even though I had a moratorium against chocolate on Valentines Day, my husband still got me a little.  I didn't share it with the kids, and it is gone now (so it never happened?).

Speaking of the cold, I have to admit that I admire those people who go out walking in 10 degree weather.  I saw one yesterday.  She was dressed in a hat, gloves, jacket and sneakers.  She must be dedicated, because she looked like she was having a horrible time fighting the wind with her red face.  She reminded me of Tom Coughlin (NY Giants head coach) at that NFC Championship against the Packers.  Like his, her face was practically blue.  

brrrrr!

But, she's in shape...

I guess that is the moral of the story here.  If you are determined to reach a goal, do not let anything get in your way.  

There will be bumps in the road, and if you fall off the wagon, make sure that you get back upon it to continue your journey until you reach your final destination.  

That advice is for myself as well.  After another vacation, I'm back on track now.

MY CONSCIENCE GOT THE BETTER OF ME

To start off, I am happy to report that I still did not get the stomach virus that the rest of the family had to suffer through.  My oldest missed a week of school, as a matter of fact, but now, he and everyone else is back to normal. 

As for the challenge, I am now down 10 lbs, so I'm 10 away from my first 20.  To tell you the truth, I am a little disappointed, because I was hoping to be closer to that first twenty. 

This is not my birthday cake, but I wish it was.
Courtesy of Kim Brandon, pastry chef (my cousin in CA...she does not ship to NY).

  
However...I did have a birthday weekend where I did not journal what I ate, so I did take a mini-vacation from the challenge.  I did not go hog wild, because I do become full faster, causing me to stop eating when the time is right.  I confess that I did have a couple of glasses of beer.  I did not gain weight this week, but I did not lose any, either.  So, a weekend of being somewhat bad has cancelled out a week of being good.

I am back to it, though.  But that was not the reason for the title of this blog post.  The title comes from what I did today.  I went shopping at the local CVS and bought some items.  I had a cloth bag in the cart filled with my mail, which I have to pick up at the post office (PO Box).  I paid for my items, including candy and valentines for the kids,  and went to the van to unload my bags.  Once there, I realized that I had forgotten to pay for some cans of tuna that were in the cart behind the cloth bag.

My conscience got the better of me.  I walked back into the store with the 10 cans of tuna that I thought were 10 for 10 dollars.  Maybe it was because it is Ash Wednesday, I don't know.  I know that some people might think that I was stupid for doing this.  I could have left and no-one would have known that I did not pay for them (and I could have used that 10 dollars).  But, like I said, my conscience would not let me do it.

So I went back in the store. The checker was confused when I came back because I put them in a bag.  It turns out that the tuna that I wanted was not on sale, so I ended up paying 20 dollars.  Instead of saving 10 dollars, I lost 20.

I may want to kick myself, but at least my conscience is clear.

THE FLU...OR WHATEVER THIS IS

I sit here, anxiously awaiting what the rest of the family has...the stomach flu or virus or whatever. I am the last woman standing at this point.  I am not looking forward to it, because as weight loss tools go, it is effective, but the most horrible way to do it.  Every twinge in my stomach gets my attention, thinking "This is it!".

Right now I am the caretaker--handing out glasses of Gatorade and cleaning up messes so that the house is in good shape before I go down.  Two of the kids are vegging out on the couch, in and out of sleep, watching Adventure time and other cartoons.  They were up late last night sick, and today, they are just listless and tired, sleeping off a bad night.  Luckily, there were no fevers involved, as it is only a stomach thing.  The oldest one is in his bed, listening to tunes and complaining about stomach cramps. Nobody has the stomach to eat anything.  Hubby went to work, as he had his ordeal yesterday, and is on the road to recovery.  Hopefully, everyone else is okay after a day, and thank God that it's the weekend.

As for my bathing suit weigh in, I lost another pound, so I am -8 and 12 away from the first 20.  I'm still sticking to the plan--eating well, taking vitamins and drinking water.