Day 55 - Finding inspiration

Travel season has descended upon us. Dealing with the realities of traveling to places like Las Vegas and Frankfurt has frustrated some of my efforts to lose weight. The great thing is that with each of the trips so far, I have come home barely over where I started (which with O'Reilly's Pub and "Donner Kebaps" in Frankfurt, I was kind of surprised by).

But if I needed a jolt to get me fully back on the wagon, I got it yesterday. Last night was (yes, I'll admit it) Bunco night with the Girls in the 'Hood. While there, we often eat, drink, throw some dice, and drink and eat some more. My good friend J, who is also a foodie, has been changing her eating habits and running more, and has lost about 20 pounds. B, who really doesn't need to lose ANY weight that the rest of us can discern, said through some method she's using she has lost 8 pounds. I have been stagnant with the travel and the stress of dealing with B1 and OB. These two women served as an excellent reminder to me that no matter what is going on in my life, socially or emotionally, I need to find a way to be healthy for ME. I feel better when I exercise. I feel better when I eat right and wake up each day feeling just a little bit lighter. I feel better about myself, which gives me the courage I need to make the right choices in other areas of my life.

Thanks, ladies, for providing the inspiration. When I hit my goal, I promise I will sing you a verse of a new song, "You Make My @$$ Smaller."

Zen in 2010

You know that feeling you used to get in the pit of your stomach when you were in trouble with Mom and Dad as a child? I have had that feeling since Monday night in Frankfurt, and have been unable to expel it. What started as a small problem that I thought I could help someone else with exploded by Monday night into a problem that I didn't want to be a part of.

Yesterday's flight was pretty miserable. I don't deal well with someone being angry with me - even if the reasoning is completely unreasonable. After the madness of a 12+ hour flight with OB not speaking to me, I was so relieved to be home with Darling Hubby, it wasn't even funny. Poor man had to put up with my horrendous mood after the craziness. Going to the office today, my first thought was, 'Thank God OB is off today. Maybe a day apart will be good for everyone.' I came to two realizations shortly thereafter:
1. While OB is a complete ass most of the time, I still hate seeing someone struggle when no one else will support them. Whether or not I was in the wrong, not getting along will make me so miserable that it becomes worth it to consider apologizing simply to get along with those I work with.
2. OB isn't the only thing making everything crazy there. He is a contributor but even in his absence today, there was still drama and still shenanigans. I can't handle the idea of always having this drama, whether or not OB is working there.

From what I know, I believe OB will not be back again. I think his office will most likely be clean by Monday. I feel like I need something different NOW...but I can't find it. I feel like if I quit now, people will think I'm quitting in support of OB. That's not the case. I just want to be done. I want to find sanity again - that happy, settled feeling that has been missing...

Day What? Superbowl Sunday

It's rare that I look forward to the end of the weekend, but this year I find that happening more often than not. This particular weekend went by like a couple of workdays, only faster. Starting with a family dinner Friday night to celebrate The Boy's birthday, then moving on to Saturday, which held appointments (shorter hair, y'all), laundry, cooking, rehearsal, Valentines, thank you cards, and homework...only to finish up with a Sunday which held a birthday party (hosted at Safari Sam's to save my sanity), more homework, finishing the Valentines, packing the kids' bag for next weekend, grocery shopping, gifts purchased, baking, and of course the SB with the Saints winning.

I'm glad the weekend's over.

Food-wise, what I'm learning more and more is that I do better with a regimen. On weekdays, it is so easy to do what needs to be done because it's so specifically scheduled that my body gets hungry at the right times, thirsty at the right times, and I just follow "what I always do." On the weekends, I don't sit and drink water like I do at work; I don't eat snacks at predetermined times because I'm not eating meals at the "right" times. So typically, I lose weight during the week then maintain over the weekend...blah. I'm debating between two options right now which I think will definitely help in the weight-loss arena. Number one: write down every item I put in my mouth (even those "fun size" candy bars I steal from Diane's desk...and while we're on the subject, the irony of "fun size" is one of those phrases that I think could earn its own entire post). Number two: photograph every morsel that I put in my mouth. While I think journaling my food would be helpful in my success, I think the horror of having to LOOK at pictures of what I ate would be that much more compelling.

So I was really looking forward to trying Devin's new Peppermint Brownie Pizza. Unfortunately, I was running a wee bit short on time and had to make boring reduced-fat brownies for the teachers. I will DEFINITELY be making this delectable looking treat when I return from Frankfurt. In the meantime, I firmly believe I will be the only loser packing an entire bag of protein bars and fresh produce for Germany. I figure I will need the bag to bring back whatever little German tchotchkes (if they're German, can you call them Tchotchkes or is that strictly a Russian thing?) I pick up for the kids, so I might as well take it over there with healthy foods that I can make use of. Do they take away produce coming out of the US, or only coming in?

Day 30 - Monday

So how do you politely tell your spouse NOT to follow a 13 year tradition for Valentine's Day? Every year, we have given each other See's Candies for the Most Romantic Day of the Year...but this year, I just don't want that around here...I know I could just tell him, but I think that he'll then feel like he needs to do something bigger. I'd be fine with a) nothing, b) a book, c) Starbucks, or d) nothing...Obviously I just need to let him know.

The picture above is a simple part of a dinner I made when I didn't have time to cook - prawns, a little cocktail sauce, and a big fat salad. Sooo tasty...

On Saturday, I woke up early (or earlier than the rest of the family) and made Devin's Sausage Biscuit Sandwich. First, I have to say that I think this was the most time-consuming of any of the recipes I have made so far. The biscuits were homemade, the sausage had to be mixed with herbs and so forth (so tasty!)...so it took time. Secondly, I have to say this was the perfect choice for Saturday morning, as The Girl read her first book cover to cover Friday night...and not one of those "one word per page" kind of jobbies. The title? "Biscuit Goes to School." So when she saw what I was making, she was very excited to recognize a word from her book the night before. The biscuits were tasty - The Boy liked the biscuits as much as or better than those little blue tubes of biscuits. I couldn't find sausage that was AS low in fat as Devin recommends, so I just made 6 sausages instead of 5 to balance out. Nana and Poppy got to try the sausages Sunday morning (yay leftovers), and both enjoyed them very much.
This week is a little crazy for cooking...The Boy has his birthday, so his once-every-few-months treat is due again. Ba da ba ba ba...he's lovin' it. Then he chose Chevy's for the family dinner, thanks to sombreros, singing, and El Machino. I will be as healthy as I can be, just before running away for business to Frankfurt. Wish me luck!
40% of goal met in 16% of the time frame. I think I'll be able to set my next goal sooner than expected!