Catching Up...

Whew, towards the end of last week I was busy! Work was crazy - budget time for a non-profit is never fun and everyone around me was alternatively panicking/scurrying/gathering facts - while I redesigned our monthly e-newsletter. So except for the tons of phone calls that I had to answer, which interrupted my flow, I had fun making the changes that I've actually wanted to do since I took it over more than two years ago, but couldn't, because my previous boss wanted it a certain way. But he's gone, and our acting director was fine with the changes, so I took it and ran! It will go out on the first, so we'll see how many compliments and complaints our readers have - hopefully more of the former!

After I got off work on Saturday (yes, still working on Saturdays, boo), Jeff and I did the Sam's Club run (strawberries, cucumbers, turkey, pepperjack cheese and Kashi Golean Crunch) and a quick trip to the grocery store for a couple of small avocados and a bottle of mustard (god knows we do not need the Sam's Club size of mustard for the two of us!).

I made one of my huge salads for dinner while Jeff packed for his trip to California - that's right, I am a single lady as of today! He will be gone until very late next Sunday, so of course I spent all day today getting the house clean as I know it will stay that way for an entire week - woohoo! It's amazing how much more clutter amasses when he's home - shoot, I know that he has to drop his wallet, sunglasses, regular glasses, keys, keys and keys, along with various paperwork somewhere, but you'd think he could pick one spot and leave it all there...but no. Dribs and drabs on the kitchen counter, nightstand, end table, laundry room - some days it drives me crazy! Other days I don't notice it as much. But this week, it's all put away and will stay that way. Yeehaw!

I am looking forward to a week of eating what I want - except that Shelley '09 is a much different version than the Shelley of past years...whereas before, it was a free-for-all week of Taco Bell, McDonalds, pizza delivery, chips, candy and more garbage than you can imagine, this week I'm looking forward to being able to have my fruit/yogurt/cereal combination for dinner...or a scrambled egg and whole wheat English muffin, or a fruit smoothie - picking exactly what I want to eat and not worrying that it won't be substantial enough for Jeff will be nice for a week. Of course, by the time he comes back I'll be ready to start grilling chicken again - glad that I can have it both ways!

Wednesday Workout Update - With Proof!

So the lovely Linda brought her camera to our workout on Monday and I have actual proof of me running! With the added bonus of my '80s Olivia Newton-John headband! Oh the humanity...I can't believe I'm really going to post these pictures of my sweaty, red-faced self - but since I hounded Linda enough over the past couple of days to email me the pics, it's the least I can do! Oh, and if you think the pictures are a little blurry, well, that's just because I was running!so!fast!

First - me starting my five minute RUN on the treadmill - notice the smile. This is my enthusiastic woohoo, I'm actually running phase...

Then I'm all business - it's about two minutes in and I'm thinking how am I going to do this for another three minutes?!?

Followed by me gasping for breath with I'm about to die over here thoughts...but then Linda came by and said "do you want to go for six minutes?" and of course I said yes (I do believe my brain was deprived of oxygen at this point!)

So there you have it - I ran on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday - for six minutes each day!!! Now I know that to some of you out there, this is nothing...and I salute you, because running is hard! But man is it ever challenging! I want to be able to run a mile without stopping before this next 12 week challenge is up - I think I was close to a half mile at six minutes, so I just have to double it...no problem, right?!?

Here's one more picture, taken in the gym (love the purple walls!) - I was doing something like 50-kajillion squats (the ball behind me is what your butt has to touch in order for it to count):

I know, I know...my sports bra gives me an awesome uniboob!

There you have it - a peek into my workouts. I like it when I'm doing them, and I love it when I'm done!

Walking Through the Park and Reminiscing*

When you think back to your childhood, have you ever wondered how far it was to ride your bike to the public library, or your school? Or the mall, your friend's house or egads, Stan's Donuts? Well, thanks to Google Maps, you can figure it out (and please don't tell me that I'm the last person on earth to think of this).

What brought this up was a post by Katie J, where she wrote about walking in Central Park - the very same Central Park that I hung out in as a teenager. Our library was on the edge of the park, and I used to ride my bike there all the time - I would check out way too many books to carry home, and yet somehow I managed the 2 mile round trip. I biked all over town, and now I know that it was 1.5 miles each way to my high school, 2.5 miles to the mall, and a mile to Barbara's house. Nowhere was super far, but I probably rode at least 3 miles most days, usually more.

So apparently I got a lot of exercise when I was a teenager, even though I didn't think of bike riding as such back then. If I didn't bike somewhere, I usually walked. I don't think the concept of "Mom's Taxi" was around back then - at least it wasn't for me and my friends. If we wanted to go to each other's house, we got ourselves there. Luckily for us, our town was very pedestrian-friendly, with sidewalks everywhere, along with great bike lanes. Plus, the weather in Northern California was much more conducive to getting somewhere without ending up a sweaty mess, or worse yet, with heatstroke (hello, Texas!). And guess what? I was in pretty good shape, although in my later teenage years I didn't think so. For someone who tried very hard to avoid doing anything in P.E., I actually was exercising!

But I wonder - as I ride my five miles around my neighborhood in the evenings, getting my exercise - if I lived now in a town like the one I grew up in, would I ride my bike to the library? At this point in my journey to health and fitness, I'd like to think so. Maybe one of these days we'll move to a more pedestrian-friendly area and I'll get the chance to find out. In the meantime, I'm looking back and feeling pretty good about my activity level as a teenager now!



*Yeah, sorry about putting that song in your head!

An Open Letter To My Face

Dear Face:

I get it. You are (usually) the first thing people see, and you want all the glory. But enough is enough. You've lost enough weight. Stop hogging the limelight, wouldja? How 'bout letting the stomach or better yet, the thighs drop some pounds? And the upper arms - they could stand to lose some more as well. It's not that I'm unhappy that you are showing a jawline and cheekbones (although the few extra wrinkles now that the fat isn't there to fill you out is taking a little getting used to), but please, next time some weight is trying to decide where to drop off, step aside and let it come from somewhere more needy.

Thank you,
Shelley's (still chubby) Body

**********
This was brought on by the numerous "your face is so thin" comments I've received in the last week or so...and while I'm glad to be losing weight somewhere, those size 10 bermudas still don't fit (last night zippage happened, along with severe muffin-top - argh!) and my belly is still out-to-there. Plus, I really would like to get to my goal weight so I can actually build a wardrobe instead of buying just a few things to tide me over until the next size. I'm ready to get to the maintenance stage - just wish my body would hurry up and cooperate!

Ponds Giveaway Winner!

Thank you all for participating...it was fun to see all the middle names out there! There were the most "Maries" followed by the "Anns" and some interesting family names as well! But I guess you all are most interested in who won the Ponds Towelettes...the lucky lady is SkinnyHollie! Congratulations Hollie - please email me your address and the towelettes will be on their way to you!

**********
I am honored that Bonnie, Tammy, Amy H, Michelle, Hollie and Dana bestowed the "Lovely Blog Award" to me...y'all are too nice and I really appreciate it! I am supposed to choose 15 bloggers to pass it on to, but I'm taking the chicken way out and am going to point to my blog roll on the left and tell you that everyone listed there totally deserves this award. So if you haven't already checked them out, please do...I think you'll find some excellent and inspiring reading!

Wednesday Workout Update

Subtitle: Let's Talk About Linda!

You all know Linda, my lovely cardio trainer. She is a ball of energy and just plain makes workouts fun, even when I'm not enjoying them at that exact moment (argh, the stepper!). She truly inspires me to go beyond what I think my stopping point is - and I'm always glad she gives me that extra push.

Not only does Linda train, she also works out with Brad in another group. Of course, since the only time I see her is when she is training my group, I've just heard rumors of how hard she works out. However, a couple of weeks ago, I got to witness Linda in action, and all I can say is WOW!

Case in point: Linda worked out with our Tuesday group (she had missed her workout that morning) and we did the Filthy Fifty - 50 reps of ten exercises each. The last time we did this was the infamous "box jump" episode. We do this trying to beat our previous time...my previous time was 43 minutes (that box jump took a lot of extra time!). Linda's was 19 minutes. So while I was just trying to get through the entire set (and testing out my stomach muscles on crunches for the first time since the surgery), Linda blasted through the Filthy Fifty TWICE. In less time than it took me to get through it once. And I was ok with it...I'm 10 years older than Linda, and let's face it, a heck of a lot less fit! But she was a sight to see - a whirling dervish in action! I was stunned at her focus and intensity. Girlfriend got the job done!

Oh - you know how I've been wanting Samantha Harris arms? Well, forget that - I have a new goal...lovely Linda's back and shoulders. She wore a tank top while working out, and at one point when she was doing push ups while I was doing bicep curls, I looked down at her and was so amazed and inspired by her gorgeous back muscles! I want that! I told Linda she should wear tank tops while she's training us so we can be reminded of what can happen if we work hard. Really, really hard. OK, I might not get there...but I can try, right?!?

Updating my workout situation, as I predicted, my legs finally started feeling better on Friday. I don't know what I did, but that was too much pain for me. A day or two, I can take...but not five! MizFit suggested a massage might help, and while I didn't (and don't) have the funds for one now, I'll keep that in mind should this ever happen again.

I was able to go for a bike ride on Sunday and I think that helped get my legs ready for Monday's workout. We were doing an "Olympics" set with four minutes at each station in the gym, doing as many reps as we could, adding everything to get a grand total for the gold, silver or bronze. Except that one station was the wall-sit. A four minute wall-sit. For every time you rested, you got 10 reps taken off of your total count. I was dreading this one - I just knew I'd lose everything I'd worked for at my previous station! But guess what? I did it. A four minute wall-sit. I know! I can't believe it either! I even asked Linda the next day if I really was doing it correctly, because I was still so shocked that I did it! She said I was. I will say that my legs were visibly shaking for the last 90 seconds, and there may have been an F-bomb dropped (quietly) - but I completed that dastardly wall-sit! Victory (and the gold) was mine!!!

Ponds Towelettes Review and Giveaway!

Woohoo, what fun! As a cool perk of blogging, I was given a 30-day supply of Ponds Towelettes in Original Clean formula to review! If you want to read about the ingredients and why these work the way they do, click here...and you can also get a $1.50 off coupon!

It was suggested that I keep the towelettes in my gym bag and use them to clean my face after I workout. Well, as my car is my gym bag, that's where the towelettes went, along with my weight gloves and sweatband (yes, I'm rocking the Olivia Newton-John look, circa 1982...very fashionable).

Now, normally I workout and then go home to shower, except sometimes I take a detour to the grocery store or Target - hey, it's 9 am and yes I look like a sweaty mess, but these stores are right on the way home and sometimes it's just easier to get those errands out of the way early! I have to say that it was really handy to have the little packet of the Pond's Towelettes in my car, where I could grab one and quickly freshen up by wiping my face (and hands) clean. They have a very light fragrance...it was just enough to notice, but not strong enough to bother me like a lot of other skincare products scents do - what can I say, I'm sensitive!

Anyway, I started using them, and I have to say that I like them. It's been a few weeks and I've gotten into the habit of cleaning my face right after I workout, which I'm sure my skin is thanking me for. Better than driving home with the sweat drying on my face, then fixing my protein shake, reading the newspaper (and sometimes a few blogs) before finally jumping into the shower...um, I'm sure you are all interested in my morning routine, right? Not so much? Well, OK then...let's jump to the fun part - the giveaway!

I have a 30-day supply of Pond's Towelettes to give to one lucky reader, and all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me what your middle name is. What can I say - I'm curious how many Ann's and Diane's there are among us (I'm thinking a lot)! U.S. residents only; contest ends Thursday night at 10 pm (CDT); winner will be randomly selected and announced on Friday (interwebs-willing). Good luck!

Two Months!

Two months until our Hawaii trip!
Two months to lose more weight - 10 pounds...is it possible?
Two months to get rid of my "toddler tummy" - I swear, my stomach is so rounded that I look like a two-year-old in my new swimsuit...well, except for Lucy and Ethel - they are most definitely NOT toddler-sized (apologies to Gigi for borrowing this phrase!)
Two months to get the pets cared for, newspaper stopped, suitcase bought. What else am I forgetting?!?
Two months to scrape up every last nickel and dime we have in order to be able to do a few things while in Hawaii.
Two months to go on the biggest trip in our marriage since our honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta.
Two months to calm my nerves (Really Shelley, you're nervous? Hah! Couldn't tell!)

We finally booked our trip - the one that my parents so generously gave us the money for in June as our 25th wedding anniversary gift. Let me tell you, this was one of the more difficult things I have ever done - there are so many choices and options and deals that my head was spinning trying to figure everything out! You could spend a month going back and forth on all the different websites - we spent close to a week, and it was crazy. Just when I thought we had it set, another option came up...and of course we had to explore it. We ended up booking our trip from Texas to Maui via Portland, Oregon - yes it sounds loco but we are going to fly there and spend a few days visiting my parents, and then fly to Maui. Of course, it will be cool (hopefully not cold) in Oregon in mid-October, so I will look slightly schizo packing jeans and hiking boots along with a swimsuit, sandals and a couple of sundresses! Luckily for me, with all the weight that I've lost I can now borrow a jacket or fleece from my mom so I don't have to pack them - how cool is that?

One thing that I am excited about is that we were able to get the breakfast buffet with our hotel reservation. I am really looking forward to all of the delicious fresh fruits - and what a treat - they will be cut up and prepared and I don't have to do anything except fill my plate - woohoo! I figure we can eat a good breakfast, making sure to get some protein and whole grains in, and hopefully that will hold us so that we can get by with a very light snack for lunch, and then for dinner we can split most of our meals - the restaurant portions are usually so large that we end up doing this now. With our limited budget, we will probably end up losing weight while on vacation!

OK. I am going to do some cardio and some ab crunches now...lots of calories to burn off in the next two months!

Still Bitching About the Workouts...

I made it through one of the hardest weeks of working out, no lie, since I started this back in February. My legs are still really sore (I fully admit to grunting and groaning whenever I sit down or stand back up) and I have not been my normal happy-to-be-challenged self.

In case you've forgotten (how could you! ::pouts::) I workout Monday at 8 am, Tuesday at 4 pm and Wednesday at 8 am - I wish I could space them out a little better throughout the week, but it doesn't jive with my work schedule of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Anyway, I went to the Tuesday workout knowing that it would help the soreness. And it did...until I sat down for dinner and HGTV's House Hunters...man oh man, my legs were not wanting to move after that. And so I pretty much didn't - let's hear it for the sedentary!

This morning when I woke up, I really did not want to go workout. But I have never missed one (except for surgery) and I don't want to get into that habit - it's a bad one that the old Shelley knew well. So I went. And we had a good, lively group - there were seven of us, and we all worked out, switching stations and cheering each other on. It was fun. But I am still so freaking sore! And crabby, with apologies to Ms. Slacker. I have not felt the endorphin rush that I normally get after working out - darn it, I rely on that to get my house clean!

It became clear to me at some point that I was just going to have to get through this. The worst was done on Monday and there was no turning back the clock. As I could not undo the workout that caused the pain, I had no choice but to trudge ahead. And I know that I will probably feel much more normal by Friday, and since it didn't kill me, it will obviously make me stronger. I'm sure that next week will be much better, workout-wise, and I will be back to my happy-to-be-challenged self. But dang, what a pain (literally) to have to go through this! It's exactly why I never skipped a workout - because I didn't want to go through that first week of soreness again...and yet, there it was.

One last thing - I want to thank all y'all for leaving such great comments after my last post. You gave me motivation, sympathy and empathy - and I needed it! It really helped get me to the next two workouts - believe me, that extra push was necessary! So thanks for being there.

Workout, Ouch!

Holy hell, I have not had legs this sore in a long time...not since the first week of my workouts, back in February! This is the type of sore legs that make you really consider whether you want to sit down...or stand back up. Ouch on both directions!

My group started in the gym, where after doing some floor workouts for the glutes and quads, and then holding a wall sit for 2 full minutes (woohoo, I did it w/o taking a break!), we did the leg press machine where Brad exerts negative pressure as you are letting the bar go back - so you have to fight to keep it from slamming back. This was harder than usual for me. During the third set of 15 reps, my legs got so visibly shaky that I had to take a break - and when I was finally done, they were jiggling like jell-o!

Then, after an all-too-short water break, we did the dreaded "bottom-to-bottom" Tabata - which is doing squats as quick as you can for 20 seconds, then hold a squat for 10 seconds, then repeat - eight times!!! In the past, I have never made it through an entire set without having to take a break, but this, after the intensity of the leg press, wiped me out! I could not hold the squat, I was not moving quickly...I could not push myself to do this. I have not been this beat down by exercise in a long time!

When we were done and the three of us finally stumbled into the cardio room, Linda took one look and asked "What did Brad do to y'all?!?" - seriously, we were in bad shape! And then we had 30 minutes of cardio to do! Ugh, it was not pretty, and I was not at my best.

I was bummed that I felt so sore for a number of reasons: For one, I started the day with a lot of energy and was excited and ready to run on the treadmill. And since my group began in the gym yesterday, I was not at my best by the time cardio rolled around and ended up just walking on an incline. And I knew that this kind of soreness would not be gone in a few hours - heck, it's still going full-force this morning! Which slows me down and makes me feel out of shape, which in turn is a little depressing. There is a difference between sore muscles that make you feel like you got a good workout, and sore muscles that just hurt and make you feel weak. This is the latter.

I know I'm not in superb, tip-tip shape. I know I have a long way to go for that, and I can accept my limitations because I know that I am improving, slowly. But this type of muscle soreness really brings me back down to earth on how far I still have to go with getting myself physically fit. Sigh.

When Food Feels Wrong

It's still such a mental thing for me, this whole "diet" thing.

Example: For Saturday's dinner, I needed to throw something together pretty quick since we had tickets to our local community theatre and wanted to leave the house around 6:00 pm. I made an old favorite - sauteed onions, turkey sausage and sliced zucchini, tossed with whole wheat penne pasta, a few tablespoons of Parmesan, some pasta sprinkle and a little crushed red pepper. I modified the recipe - used Pam for the sauteeing instead of olive oil, turkey sausage instead of polska kielbasa, and whole wheat pasta instead of egg noodles.

So why did it feel wrong to be eating this meal?

I had 1 1/2 cups of the dish - not too much considering what I had eaten that day - but I felt like I shouldn't have had any of it! It was a strange feeling...I have not experienced "food guilt" for a long time...and really, I shouldn't have had it then. But I did. And it got me wondering - was it because it was similar tasting to a less-healthy meal that I made in the past? Was it the pasta? I haven't been eating pasta much, but recently have been adding it back into my diet since I discovered I could tolerate the taste of whole wheat pasta.

Even though it had protein, veggies and carbs, all in reasonable amounts, and therefore was a balanced dinner, why was I so bothered? What is wrong with me? I don't want to become phobic about foods and be the person who will only eat salads, fruit and yogurt, yet they have become my mainstays, mostly because I don't have to think a lot when I'm putting a meal together. I keep those ingredients on hand and feel that by doing so, it helps me to stay on the weight-loss path. Honestly, I am a little bothered by my reaction to that meal. Not enough to not eat it, but it was unsettling.

And in other food news, Jeff and I went to the movies today (Sunday) to see "Funny People" which was excellent, btw. Just as the movie was starting, a young couple sat down a seat away from me with hand-scooped ice cream in waffle cones!!! When did movie theatres start serving good ice cream, not those teeth-cracking frozen bonbon things?!? Of course I had to go check it out after the movie - turns out that next to the regular snack bar, there is a "cafe" with said ice cream (eight flavors!) and other foods...honestly, I couldn't tell you what, because I was just looking at the ice cream. Have I mentioned that I worked at a Baskin Robbins when I was in high school? Yes I did, and I had a perfect 4 oz. scoop and the built-up forearm to prove it! Um, anyway...ice cream at the movies! Who knew?!?

Spring Rolls! (And Pork Chop Recipe)

Back when Barbara and Theresa visited in June (can't believe it's been that long!), they brought out a couple of special ingredients and the recipe for some unbelievably fresh, tasty and healthy Spring Rolls. I grabbed my camera to immortalize the moment and part-way through realized that this would made a great blog post...unfortunately for you, my sweet readers, I am not a proficient food photographer and hadn't discovered the macro setting on my camera, so these are not the greatest shots - and in fact some are a little blurry. Sorry 'bout that. But these Spring Rolls came out so good, you need to see how to make them - and then in fact make some, because believe me, you will be happy that you did!

First, get some of these...they came from California, but we did find them in my local grocery store. The round things are Spring Roll wrappers - ingredients: rice flour, salt and water. The other is bean threads - those clear noodle-type thingies.Next, assemble your ingredients. Fresh mint, romaine lettuce, mango, grated carrot, cucumber and avocado. Plus the wrappers, which are soaking in a dish of hot water and the bean threads that were soaked in hot water and then strained.Close up of said ingredients - slice everything length-wise.

Start with the wrapper (hard to see because it's on a paper towel), then a couple of sprigs of fresh mint (I know, I was like "mint, really?" and Barbara was all "you'll see") and then a small piece of romaine lettuce.Next, add the shredded carrots.Then comes the cucumber.Followed by the mango.Add a few thin slices of avocado...And then the bean threads.

Wrap like a burrito...

And there you have it!

A beautiful, fresh Spring Roll!

Sliced so you can see the gorgeous insides (again, sorry for the blurry picture).

I have never had a Spring Roll that wasn't deep fried, and let me tell you, these were so good! The mint brought a burst of unexpected flavor, and combined with the mango and avocado, it was just delightful! We drizzled a tiny bit of thickened balsamic vinegar (left-over from a restaurant salad) onto the cut sides - yum, yum, yum! They went together pretty quickly, and I have to say it was fun watching mother and daughter collaborate on the assembly. We ate several, and then wrapped the remaining Spring Rolls in plastic wrap - and they were still tasty a couple of days later! I haven't made these since Barbara and Theresa left, but I'm thinking that I need to remedy that...like this weekend! Drool...


And just to show you how easy these are to assemble, here is seven-year-old Theresa making one of many...

Of course, all the ingredients were sliced up for her...no sharp knives around those cute little hands!She even did the rolling part perfectly!

**********
Several of you have asked for the pork chop recipe from this post. Well, it couldn't be simpler. First, put your husband in charge of the grill. Then sit back, relax, and wait for food to appear! OK, it's a little more complicated than that, but this is what he used on the pork chops:
Apply liberally, cook however long it takes to get the pork done (see, I really had nothing to do with this) and BAM! You've got some mighty tasty pork chops!

Looking Ahead

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take a page out of Fat[Free]Me's book and buy a pair of pants (in this case, bermudas) the next size down. I've always liked how she writes about hanging a pair of pants on the back of her door so she is constantly aware of her next goal...and it's been fun to read when she tries the pants on and they fit! So here they are, and here is my public declaration that one of these days, hopefully before summer ends, I will fit into them!

P.S. As our first cold day isn't traditionally until Halloween, I feel pretty certain that I will get to wear them this summer!

P.S.S. Just so you know, I can get them on, but the zippage ain't happening. Plus they are skintight!

P.S.S.S. Anybody else do something like this?

Stress Eating

As I've mentioned before, I work part-time - from 9 am to 6 pm on Thursdays (sometimes longer if we are having an artist's reception), 9 am - 5 pm on Fridays and 10 am - 2 pm on Saturdays. Since I started my diet/healthy lifestyle, I've been packing my breakfast, lunch and snacks to bring to work in order to save me from myself and the plethora of cakes, cookies and other desserts that always seem to be around. My system has worked well - I do keep some raw almonds and a couple of protein bars in my drawer in case I am starving, but usually what I've packed for the day is sufficient.

But the last two weeks, ever since I came back from a week off due to my surgery, have been different. It's like I am constantly eating - and even though I'm eating what I've brought, it feels different. I couldn't quite figure it out - why was I doing this? I wasn't really overeating, but I had been bringing extra fruit "just in case" and guess what? I was eating it! I finally realized on Friday that I hadn't refilled my water bottle once during the work day, which obviously meant I wasn't drinking enough, because at home, I refill that thing at least 4 - 5 times a day!

Then I started thinking about the "event" - not that it's really been out of my thoughts, but I guess I hadn't acknowledged the enormity of it. My boss resigned the night before my surgery. And cleared out all of his stuff the day of my surgery. And I haven't heard from him since the Friday before, which is a bit weird. I mean, I worked for him for over two years, and would have thought that there might have been some communication. But no. And because it was a surprise to the general public (not to us, as it's been in the works for months now), we are still getting phone calls from people asking what had happened, why, etc. - and we are not allowed to say anything except that he resigned.

So yeah, I guess I've been feeling a little unsettled over this and without necessarily binging or even eating the wrong kinds of food, I've obviously turned to food while I'm at work. Interestingly enough, I don't have this problem on the days I'm not working - I guess I'm able to put it out of mind when I'm not there, which is good.

It seems strange to me that with all of my good habits, I still unconsciously gravitate toward food to try and feel better. This situation is completely out of my control, and I recognize that. So what's up with the munchies?

Heartbreaking Tragedy

Y'all, Jen from Prior Fat Girl lost her mother yesterday in a heartbreaking, tragic accident - please, if you can, leave her some words of condolence. I just cannot imagine what she must be going through - her mother was her biggest supporter. Let's all be there for her, just as she's been there for us so often. Life is so fragile.