She's Gone & Done It Now!

All of you lovelies who told me to come here when my Mom was driving me nuts... you're in for a "treat" because here I am. And its not a pretty visit. She has seriously gone & done it. I am just seething inside - and that's after running my mouth (just a tad) and kicking my butt for 2 1/2 hours at the gym.





Remember we all agreed that I'm going on business as usual around here - well it seems that decision will be a source of discontent. We were watching Dr. Oz & he was giving the food comparisons for different meals at Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc. When he gave the calorie count for french toast, she went on tangent number one of the day. She literally said that she can't wait to be dead so she doesn't have to worry about food anymore! Worse yet, she said it within the hearing of my son!!! OMG, I wanted to slap her!!! And, no I would never slap her... but good grief why on earth does she think its okay to say things like that? And why would you ever say something like that where a child can hear it? She clearly has no clue the impact of hearing things like that can have on a person. This isn't the first time she's said something similar... but the most blatant. Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to keep my cool on the outside... while SCREAMING loudly inside.





After that unpleasantness I got myself ready & headed to the gym. Walking through the door I was wishing for a punching bag, lol. My workout today consisted of 160 floors on the StairMaster, a mile on the elliptical and 10 miles on the bike. I wanted to do more... but I just didn't have the energy to keep on for some reason. I burned 1,155 calories...so not bad.





A quick stop at the grocery store and I came home to make these yummy chicken fajitas for dinner.

Guess what? She complained about the fajitas... because... they were messy!

Oh and she HATES all things chicken, unless its rolled in flour & fried. Considering the fact that my menu is chicken, chicken, chicken, shrimp, chicken, chicken and chicken until further notice... she's gonna have plenty to complain about.

Here comes tangent number two (or three if we count the chicken/fajita comments as a tangent) of the day. I was watching (ok more listening to) Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution while I was cleaning up from dinner. I made a comment about the "poor girl on there probably weighing 300 pounds or more" and her immediate response was "well then she doesn't have the right to a good life!" STOP right there because that's where I couldn't bite my tongue another second. At my objection, she insisted that she had heard people saying things like that on some talk show recently, which she may have... I don't know what she watches. The thing is & what I said that I probably shouldn't have was that she lives her life in a manner that says she believes that. Everything about the way she lives says "I'm fat so I don't have the right to a good life." Me saying that had her in tears... and I feel bad for making her cry... I just couldn't hold it in... I'd had all I could take.





Sorry for all the venting... but really you guys are all I have right now because I don't dare share this with The Husband... he'd probably really let her have it & I'm TRYING to maintain the peace around here. Thanks for "listening" to me, you're the best! I promise I have a positive, upbeat "thankful" post coming SOON!



Hope you all have an awesome weekend! :)

Day One is Over

Thank you for all of the supportive comments about my Mom's visit. You guys are the best!

Day one is in the books & I survived. She had one minor meltdown when I mentioned the nutritional content of the ice cream cones from Dairy Queen (yes we had these today, it was my son's treat day after his therapy so planned in my week)... something about how the only thing you can eat - that's good for you - is raw fruits & vegetables... I sort of tuned her out. We're just going about our normal routine, not making a big deal out of things & not making concessions or compromising the way we live... which I think irritates her some. Despite her sitting with her Doritos & scads of sugar free chocolate, I did a really good job staying on track with my food for the day. 1426 calories total... including the ice cream!

The gym and I had two meetings today... sometimes I even surprise myself, lol. Round one lasted for about 90 minutes. I did 3.6 miles on the treadmill, 35 floors on the stairmaster & 20 sets on the circuit machines. My pace was slow on the treadmill - oh how I detest that machine! - and the only reason I managed to stay on it for a whole hour was that one of my friends was in the audience on The Price is Right, so I was trying to spot him. Whatever works. Round two was a solid hour - 115 floors on the stairmaster & 3.5 miles on the bike. I burned 975 calories in round one & 677 calories in round two - 1652 for the day! Splitting it into two sessions like that really cuts down on the fatigue, wish I could do it that way more often. Still, I'm starting to feel anxious about the gym challenge (more on that after I've had some sleep lol).

Just for fun... while we were doing our late Egg Hunt at kids group last night, we remembered a picture that was taken of me last year and attempted to recreate it for comparison. 2009 on the left & this year on the right.

What do ya think? Is there a noticeable difference?

We Didn't Even Make It Home...

before she insisted on stopping for food. It seems that she failed to eat a proper dinner & had to have food so she could take her medicine. So naturally we were supposed to stop at McDonald's for her to get a meal... because yeah that's the first place I'd go if I were hungry & needed to take medicine. I refused to go to McDonalds, but agreed to AM PM... not much better; but there are no fries there & you can at least add fresh veggies to your burger.

When we pulled into the "lovely" AM PM parking lot, I insisted on going in by myself, figuring that if she went in she would add to the "meal." I picked up a single cheeseburger for her and loaded it with veggies & mustard. For myself, I did get a corn dog... which was a thousand times better tasting than that nasty hot dog from the other day; not the best choice but surprisingly under 300 calories.

Next stop was the pharmacy for her to pick up her meds before we headed up here. Finally we were on the road, driving toward home. She chows down her cheeseburger in the span of about five minutes - which is being generous - I seriously think she may have inhaled parts of it. Then... OMG... you wouldn't believe what comes next. She starts digging in her bag from the pharmacy and out comes a bag of - you guessed it - Nacho Cheese Doritos. I'm not even kidding. Ding, Ding, Ding... I'm the winner! Husband is gonna have to pay up now; I should have bet him something worthwhile, lol.

That was the adventure home. And now... guess where she is? On my couch... sound asleep. Oh well, at least its quiet & I can blog. :)

Thursday's plan: Put child on bus, breakfast, go to gym, lunch, pick child up from school, take husband to work, take child to therapy, round two of the gym, dinner, laundry... relax or fall face first into bed. Of course all of that is with a smattering of blogging thrown in... because lets face it I need all the moral support I can get at this point. This is gonna be a LONG seven days, but...

Mama Pimp is right - I am IN CONTROL!!!

Here She Comes...

My Mother -remember her, the third member of the conspiracy? - is coming to stay with us for a week. I'm bringing her home with me after kids group tonight. After weeks of constant complaints about us not spending enough time with her, she agreed to come here to visit. Now I know this won't stop her complaints because she has this need for us to visit her at her house... but its the best I can do right now.

These visits cause me a huge heap of STRESS! She expects to be catered to when she is here & will go hungry for hours rather than pour herself a bowl of cereal. And if I'm puttering around the house doing housework or whatever she gets upset because she can't "visit" with me. Can you imagine how she's going to react when I disappear for three (or more ) hours to hit the gym?
Those things are annoying, but the biggest stress comes from getting a true picture of her poor health. When she is at our house she does one of two things - sits in a chair trying to look at magazines (which she can barely do with her low vision) or sleeps. She has sleep apnea and is supposed to sleep with one of those breathing machines - she refuses to use it. Its obvious when you spend any real time with her that she has NO energy and is so physically weak that even walking a block is too much for her. Its sad and frustrating for me because I know she could be doing things to take better care of herself but - as I've talked about before - she doesn't think she's worth the effort.... which is where another chunk of the stress heap comes in...

Its like a healthy lifestyle pushes all of her buttons & she has a temper tantrum (for lack of a better term) - sometimes mini & sometimes full blown. I've taken her to the store & literally had her in tears for suggesting that chicken breasts might be a better option than ground beef. It used to be that I would do an "extra good job" of setting an example when she was here... which just lead to meltdown after meltdown. So lately I've been pretty laid back with my routine when she has stayed with us... BUT I CANNOT DO THAT THIS TIME... not for a whole week & not in the middle of this gym challenge. I just can't. So I can imagine the meltdowns are coming... and I don't feel like I can deal with that right now either... better to deal with that than another gain on the scale though.

The Husband and I were actually discussing this for quite awhile this morning and - hold the applause here lol - we agreed that the house will be business as usual for the duration of her visit. He of course was full things he'll say to her if she starts butting in - I so wonder what would happen if he ever actually said any of the things he comes up with. Anyway, that means my typical gym routine (on overdrive for the challenge), the healthiest meals possible (except for Saturday night dinner might be a splurge) and no unnecessary trips to stores. This is just the way it has to be... I cannot get derailed... especially after last week.

Is it bad that The Husband and I are taking bets on how long it will take her to come up with a reason to need to go to a store? Plus, we're taking bets on what she'll actually buy at the store if she gets in the door of one. I say Nacho Cheese Doritos. He says frozen pizza. I would agree on the pizza, but I'm betting she'll be suggesting we order it from somewhere before the week is over.

That's what happening here... what's going on in your world this week?

Scale Day Report & Other Ramblings

197.8... that's the number that greeted me on the scale this morning. That's a gain of nearly two pounds (1.8 to be exact). Am I upset? Am I beating myself up? Nope, not at all. Yes, I'm disappointed in the gain... but at the same I am well aware that it could have been much worse considering the week I had. Though it was a rough week, I'm right back into my normal routine... so onward with no huge fits of regret.

I kept exercise to a minimum today - one hour on the bike. Its really all of the time I had. This new schedule The Husband is on BLOWS big time. If I go back to sleep in the morning (like I did today) there is no way I can get enough gym time before he has to leave for work. Here we are on day two of the schedule & he's already moaning about not getting to see me...

Food started out on a good note today - breakfast was oat pancakes with a little reduced fat peanut butter & sliced banana - and has gone steadily downhill from there. Trying to accommodate the family, I bought a package of hot dogs planning to eat one. Well, I ate my one for lunch... and let me tell ya right now it will be super easy to stick to just one - the thing was beyond nasty! It was a "quality brand" but the taste was so gross, I barely choked it down (seriously should have thrown it away & eaten something else). This type of experience is good because yeah I won't be tempted by the rest of the package sitting there, but bad because I will be munchy hungry because I was so unsatisfied by the meal. Sure enough, an hour or so later I found myself in the kitchen browsing the cupboards. I ended up making some nachos... but at least I measured - 1 oz of tortilla chips with 1 1/2 oz of 2% Mexican blend cheese. That seems to have ebbed the munchies... thank goodness! Dinner tonight is Erika's wonderful pasta salad... I will try not to overindulge... I may need two glasses of water before I eat, lol.

Have you ever noticed that the gym you go to in an effort to get (or be) healthy also offers an array of "unhealthy" options? This had never really occurred to me before, but one of my cousins posted on her Facebook status that she was thinking of tanning at the gym today & it started me thinking. My gym is filled with "unhealthy" options! There's the tanning beds - which I understand bronzed skin is important to some people - but knowing that tanning is as dangerous if not more so than exposure to the sun, I'll take a pass on that "unhealthy" option. Then there's the Smoothie Bar - beckoning by the front counter as I walk toward the exit. Every drink there is a minimum of 300 calories for the small ones & loaded with sugar. My only saving grace is that I rarely take my purse into the building & no money means no smoothie for me - which is a good thing. Why is it that this place that is there to encourage a "healthy lifestyle" offers all of these unhealthy options?

Does your gym offer "unhealthy" options? What are they?

Dreading Scale Day

My weekly scale visit is mere hours away & I'm dreading it big time. I only got in two workouts the entire week, granted today's was killer - but still. Then there's the facts of what I ate while we were gone. I tried to do the best I could with what was offered - but really it was miserable. To make matters worse, silly me forgot my "anti-baby pills" when we went out of town... so now guess who has come to visit. Yep, none other than the one I call George. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh... on top of everything else I feel more bloated than I have in months.

Speaking of the trip to see the family...

We hadn't been to visit since October & what I found there was shocking... and made me very sad. Two of The Husband's cousins have gained a significant amount of weight over the winter. This is really scary because there are ton of health problems in their family. The male one seems oblivious to it, but with the female cousin you can tell she is really bothered by it. She is someone who has come to me "guidance" several times in the past. She is also one of those people with a thousand excuses of why she can't do it... still waiting for her "some thing's gotta give" moment. I pray it comes soon... because not only is she on this dangerous path, but she is putting her son on the same path. He is nine years old & well beyond chubby. It just makes me so sad to see the pattern repeating itself...

Do you have family members like this? How do you respond when someone asks for help, but you can tell they aren't ready?

A New Record

1424! That's the highest number that I have recorded on the heart rate monitor!

By popular opinion, I went with Option #1 from my last post. But, I got to the gym about 45 minutes later than I planned & The Husband had to get a haircut on his way to work so I wasn't able to complete everything within the limited time. It was kind of fun letting you guys pick my workout... think I may make that a weekly thing. :)

Here's what I did:

• 110 floors on the stairmaster (target was 105)
• 24 core sets (target was 22 sets)
• 40 free weight sets (target was 38 sets)
• 40 circuit sets (target was 35 sets)
• 3.1 miles on elliptical (target was 3.04 mi)
• 4 miles on bike (target was 7.5)

I missed the treadmill altogether & was 3.5 miles short on the bike. Still I'm super excited about the new record calorie burn. Surprisingly I don't feel all that tired & only a little sore. I wasn't sure how it would go after taking a whole week off...

On the way home, I stopped at the Asian buffet. Now before you think I've lost my mind, STOP. I went in and got some sushi to bring home. Its a super good deal there & they have an excellent selection. I had 10 pieces which I'm estimating to be somewhere between 350-400 calories. Honestly, it was darn good today - fresh & flavorful - I would've eaten twice as much if I'd been in the restaurant so its probably a really good thing I brought it home.

The before & after meal water goal is going well so far. I'm not sure if its helping me eat less, but I can tell its a good indicator after the meal. Last night, when I drank my after dinner glass of water, I felt totally overstuffed... a clear sign I ate a little too much. I am so not a water drinker... but doing it this way is really helping me to get it all down, lol.

It feels so good to be home & getting back to my routine!

I'm off to explore in the kitchen... we'll see what I come up with...

Play Time is OVER! Have Your Say!!

Monday... that's the last day I was really in a normal routine. And here we are back to Monday again! After a week of "play time" I am soooooo ready to get back to business as usual. Keep reading for your chance to choose my workout. Today was mostly about unpacking... and of course, Easter fun. It felt weird not to be at Church on Easter, but we really weren't up to the hour long drive. My son loved his basket & hunted for eggs in the backyard. He was so funny because he'd be staring right at an egg and asking "where are the eggs?" lol.


After the unfortunate incidents of the "forgotten" birthday & almost forgotten anniversary, I took it upon myself to make my own Easter basket. The Husband's aunt actually suggested I do it while we were there visiting & helped me pick stuff for it. :)







Contents of the "basket" (I've wanted that Caboodle forever, she suggested I used it as a basket): two pairs of pjs, some panties, nail polish, one cadbury egg & the bag of pastel egg shaped Reese's Pieces. The Reese's actually got put into the eggs for my son to hunt, so I only got a few of them.

To support the efforts of getting back to business, I picked up a cart full of goodies at Trader Joe's after the wedding. Patience is a virtue in that place, we had to drive around the parking lot four times just to find a parking spot. Here's the Trader Joe's loot...





A little bit of everything... I had to limit myself because there was barely any room in the car since it was still packed with our bags from the trip. This is my first time trying the baby kiwis; they are a bit different, but I really like them. The Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus is my new favorite dip for pretzels or homemade pita chips; its so creamy & smooth... and only 40 calories for two tablespoons.

Today: I went to the commissary and picked up a few other groceries. I haven't really meal planned yet, but the options are going to be pretty basic considering the groceries I purchased. Slowly, I'm getting stuff portioned out into single serving containers; its definitely a bit of work, but sooooo worth it in the long run.

My action plan for tomorrow: Get the child on the bus, have some breakfast & head off to the gym. I'm debating between a couple of options for my gym time & would love to hear your input.

Option 1: Visit all part of the Around the World Challenge

• 35 circuit sets
• 22 core sets
• 38 free weight sets
• 7.5 miles on bike
• 2.47 miles on treadmill
• 3.04 miles on elliptical
• 105 floors on StairMaster

Option 2: Knock out as much as possible on the StairMaster, treadmill & free weights

What would you do?

Majority rules here... this is your chance to choose my workout!

Home Sweet Home

Help me please! Wasn't I supposed to come home on Friday? Why then did it take until 7pm Saturday to get here? Hmmm... could it be the weatherman that predicted blizzard-like conditions on the mountain pass for Friday? Why yes, he gets some of the blame... but in his defense he did amend his forecast & report that the pass wasn't THAT bad after all. Moving on... could it be The Husband who chose to go off with his cousin, not answer his phone & walk into his Auntie's house stumbling drunk? Yep, he gets some of the credit too... but in his defense he was too drunk for it to have made a difference by the time the weatherman changed his tune. So yeah, we stayed over an extra day and I don't even want to say what I ate in that extra day... it was BAD, BAD, BAD. :( I cannot wait to get back to my routine & the gym (its crazy how much I miss it). Still have to face scale day & see how much these days hurt my progress... sigh.

We had to get on the road bright & early so that we could get to my nephew's wedding. The drive started out rather promising...

Down the road about an hour we saw this...

And they weren't joking about the snow & slush....

What they forgot to mention was that the advisory was going to change and start requiring traction tires - something we don't have - while we were midway across the pass. The road was miserable... but at least the snow and wind were mild when we crossed. Gawd, I miss 4-wheel drive!

Despite the slow moving across the pass we made it to the wedding... with about five minutes to spare.





It was a totally casual affair... though it was actually in a Church (I almost fell over when I got the invitation listing a Church, lol). Very thankful for that since my "wedding attire" was 90 minutes away and there was definitely NO time to go home for it.

The wedding happened to take place just a few blocks from a Trader Joe's, so being the smart girl that I pretend to be at times... I did a little shopping before heading for home. Oh & a quick stop at Ross produced what will hopefully become the replacement pants for my favorite ones. I'll share pics of the loot tomorrow... right now I have to go play Easter Bunny & then fall into bed.

I am one tired Mama tonight... long, long day... but soooooo glad to be home!

April's Lifestyle Goals.... and The Buffet Report

Okay... better late than never... here I am with my Lifestyle Goals for the month.

Lifestyle Goal #1 : FINISH the Around the World Challenge at the gym! Do you realize how far behind I am on this thing now?

This is what I would have to do on a daily basis IF I go to the gym on every available day between now & when the challenge ends (20 days because they are closed for Easter & I have one other day that I know I can't get there):

• 9 sets on the circuit machines


• 11 sets of core stuff


• 19 sets on free weights


• 3.75 miles on bike


• 1.85 miles on treadmill


• 1.52 miles on elliptical


• 79 floors on StairMaster

Considering that "stuff" ALWAYS comes up to interfere with my plans, I'm hoping to get it done with 15 visits to the gym, which would require this:

• 12 sets on the circuit machines


• 15 sets of core stuff


• 26 sets on free weights


• 5 miles on bike


• 2.47 miles on treadmill


• 2.03 miles on elliptical


• 105 floors on StairMaster

One minute I look at those numbers & think that doesn't look so hard... then the next I look and think "OMG, I'm gonna die before this is over" and visions of Mother's Day last year (when I was at the gym almost all the hours they were open) start swimming before my eyes. I know I can do it! After all, I'm in way better shape than I was last year when I finished the whole adventure!! And... there is that new Coach bag I'm working for... you can see it here if you missed it.

Lifestyle Goal #2: Drink one cup of water before & after each meal or snack I consume... starting tomorrow. Other than when I'm sweating like crazy in the gym, I haven't been drinking nearly enough water. I used to be pretty decent about this... don't know when I got out of the habit. If I do this 21 of 27 days (approx 75%), I will get myself a "special water glass" for at home use... something pretty, haven't picked out the exact "one" just yet.

That's it... just two goals this month... trying to keep it simple because I know Around the World takes a lot out of me. Besides, The Husband will be in pre-deployment (aka we need to be together every waking moment) mode soon so I don't want to to pile too much on myself right now.

Moving on to The Buffet Report...

Here is my first plate from last night's visit to the buffet.

Look at that... you can actually see a fair amount of white plate there! Everything in this picture was pretty tasty; I ate all of the mac & cheese, the roll, the chicken & half of the brisket. That chicken is Hawaiian BBQ with pineapple....so unbelievably good. Its probably best not to ask how much of it I consumed. My second plate had more chicken (lots more), mashed potatoes with gravy (which I took two bites of and decided they were gross) and a little corn. Plate number three (yes there was a third plate and yikes) had more chicken (seriously the chicken was amazing) and way too much corn bread. My only defense is that they had just put that corn bread out and its soooo tasty when its fresh. So yeah... I confess the buffet was carb & protein heavy... with not much to call a veggie or fruit in sight... except a few tidbits of pineapple. I do have to say it was a bit amusing walking out of the restaurant... everyone else in the family was groaning about how much they ate and how full they were while I was thinking to myself "I'm on the well satisfied side of things... but definitely not overstuffed."

Ok, now that my buffet confessional is over... I want to know...

What are your goals for April? How do you plan to reach them?

A New Award

Thank you to Shelli at Skinny Jeans ~ Fat Wallet for this sweet award! She actually gave it to me a few days ago, but life here in "vacationland" hasn't left me my usual time for blogging.

The Rules for this award:
1. When you have received this award you must thank the person that awarded you the award in a new post.
2. Name 10 things that make you happy.
3. Pass this award on to 10 bloggers & inform them.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:
1. Spring in the valley when all of the tulips are blooming
2. The sound of waves crashing on the beach when I'm falling asleep
3. A positive checking account balance the day before payday, lol
4. Being behind the wheel of a fast car on an open road
5. The size 12 dress hanging in my closet & the fact that it fits WELL!
6. Seeing Niko behind the bar when I walk into Applebees (the drinks aren't worth having if she's not there)
7. Blog posts that make me laugh so hard I'm crying.... hmmm bet ya can't guess who causes this most often lol
8. Pedicures
9. Good sales at my favorite stores
10. Office supply stores (love the smell lol) and craft stores

I've decided to give this award to everyone who commented on my post "Stop Being A Victim!" because that was a tough post to write & their comments made it feel worth the courage it took to share. So here they are:

• Josie @ Losing It
• Paula @ paulawannacracker
• mandy @ Finally Finishing It
• Syl @ Live, Smile, Run
• Rachel @ Rachel Murray's Weight Loss
• Sally (aka Girl Bandit) @ Ramblings From the Other Side
• Lesley @ Life as a Caterpillar
• Mama Pimp @ Its Just Me, Drazil & Sheniqua
• Cincimom11 @ Cincimom11: Losing the Baby Weight

Thank you for being my "Sweet Friends!"

No Foolin Here...

Ladies & gentlemen (wait, do I have any guy readers??? lol), I have no time for the pranks of April Fools today... so I swear everything you are about to read is the honest to goodness truth... fortunate or unfortunate as it may be.

Remember the dinner I was going to try not to eat too much of last night? Here's my plate...

Let's just say that my plan to eat a small meal went a bit awry. I had one small spoonful of the casserole after this. Hopefully the fact that I substituted a banana for the bread & butter that everyone else ate with their meal counts for something.

And about that chicken I was looking so forward to at the casino... I ordered it, they cooked it fresh and I was excited to sit down with it - 7 "flamin' wings" - at the only remaining table in the cafe area. *Insert here that I attempted to take a pic of them, but the 300+ pound security guy that came to yell at me for using a camera in the casino was less than helpful.* The first bite, of the first wing, was luscious - spicy with just the right amount of heat - and juicy. The first three were fairly tasty. On wing #4 the trouble began. There was such a thick layer of fat between the skin & the meat that I could NOT force myself to take a second bite. Wings #5 & #6 same story! Gross, disgusting, wretched nastiness! By wing #7 I gave up & was literally picking the flavored coating off the last piece - being careful not to get any of the nasty skin. And if that wasn't bad enough, when I got up and started walking around the casino, I had the WORST stomach ache I've had in ages. Lesson learned - NO MORE WINGS AT THE CASINO!!!

And while we're on the subject of the casino. I FAILED to make my regular donation! That's right, I actually left the building with more money than I took. Not a lot more - but a little - plus I bought food there. This is one time when it felt pretty darn good to fail, lol.

As I type, I am waiting for the rest of the family to assemble themselves so we can head off to dinner - at the freakin BUFFET! Honestly, I swear I will be lucky not to undo all of last weeks progress & then some at this rate. The good news is I knew what was going on for dinner ahead of time, so I had this for breakfast...

One grapefruit with 1/2 whole wheat bagel & a scant 1 tablespoon of reduced-fat peanut butter. 310 calories... and way satisfying. Plus, I've eaten a small portion of the leftover casserole from last night, which is actually pretty low calorie other than the rice since she used 96% lean ground beef, so I won't be famished when we get to the buffet (that's if we get to go sometime before now & next year).

We spent the afternoon visiting some local antique stores... and I've got to tell ya I never knew before today that its possible to pile on the calories while shopping for things older than dirt. Every store we went to had out trays of cookies and/or candy - free for their "valued" customers. Its embarrassing to report - but I had four huge malted milk balls (they were the best I've ever tasted) and five freakin cookies (not even homemade yummy cookies, but store bought sandwich cookies). Even more embarrassing that was pretty much what ended up being for lunch too! Ugh, I can't remember when the last time was I had that much sugar in a single day, much less an afternoon.

Even after all of that, I'm looking forward to the buffet tonight. I will follow my rules & it will be fine. They have awesome food & I know in advance what is worth using calories for. And the best part, I can steer clear of anything known as "beef." I swear its like I've had a "cow relapse" or something - going from eating beef maybe once a week to having had it (omg, wait while I try to count here) four times in a 48 hour period. The Husband has been "dying" for a good steak... I think his wait just got extended by a nice long period of time. Maybe that will be his farewell dinner before he goes on deployment, lol.

One "yay me" event of this trip: I have not had a single chip the whole time! Normally not a big achievement because I don't eat chips that often. But, they are everwhere here. The Husband ate them on the way here, they have bags sitting on top of the fridge beckoning, they pull them out at lunch or for snacks in the afternoon... and though they are right there mere inches from my fingers (and my nose) I do not reach for them. I am strong. I will not bend on this... small & insignificant as it may be. Now those addictively tasty pepper jack cheese sticks in the fridge are an entirely different ball of wax - or should I say artery hardening dairy product?!?

I'm gonna try to catch up on some blogs while these SLOW people are finishing getting ready, lol. I'll be back later with my April lifestyle goals & to take care of an award I received... hopefully tonight.

What surprising places have you found mounds of goodies free for the purpose of widening your arse? I must know so I can avoid them in the future, lol!