taking off!

I’m feeling rather A.D.D. today.
Breakfast was cooked butternut squash mixed with vanilla yogurt. Don’t judge. It’s good. I couldn’t finish it all so I brought the extras for snack later.
For lunch I have an almond butter and banana sandwich on multigrain bread.
Almonds and a pear for snack.
Dinner is collards and carrots and probably a little grilled chicken. I have some gorgeous peppers that I might stir fry.
Although it’s a national holiday, we’re working. It’s no different from Columbus Day or President’s Day or any of those other “bank holidays” that we don’t get. We only get paid for the biggies – New Year, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Usually about 7-8 days a year.
I slept great last night. Less than 6 hours… maybe I need less sleep than I thought. Again, as I mentioned yesterday, I think the key is not panicking when it gets to be 11:30 and I’m still awake. The other thing… I had been waiting until I was about to fall over to go to bed. Now I allow myself a little wind down time.
Inspiration for healthy eating this morning – an extremely obese man in our lobby who is out of breath from walking from the parking lot into our office. It’s about twenty feet. You literally park right beside the front door. Nothing tastes good enough to compromise your quality of life that drastically. Really, at that point, it’s more about addiction than it is excess. You have to consume a huge quantity of food to maintain at that level – well over 400 pounds, probably 500.
I took a sneak peek at the tape measure this morning. I know that I have at least 4 inches lost… probably more…
The scale isn’t being my friend right now but that’s ok. I have been eating so much better, better than ever before in my LIFE… I know it will come off.
My friend Kenny (from high school) was in the same Weight Watchers group that me and my daddy used to go to. Our friend Tracy is going to WW with her dad. She’s looking for a good WW group that isn’t all women so her dad doesn’t feel weird. Kenny mentioned that my dad and I used to go together and how cool he thought that was. The family that weighs together, stays together.
I did really well in WW… but it’s an expense that I can’t justify right now. I have the knowledge. I have the tools. I have the group support. I have the accountability partners. I have the goals. I have a reward system in place. I know what I need to do, I know how to do it.
Austin moaned and groaned a bit this weekend about the lack of junk in our house. TDB. Too dang bad. Get used to it. He had about 7 servings of fruit and veggies yesterday including eggplant, kiwi, an apple pear, an orange…
I had a banana, broccoli, pinto beans, an asian pear, an orange, butternut squash…
Austin made one of those gross, highly processed, make and bake sort of meals last night- cheesy hashbrown potatoes with ham. I had about 4 bites and just couldn’t stand the taste or the texture.
This morning I caught myself studying the farms on the way to the office… getting ideas for my Farmville farm, to make it more authentic. My life is average.
I couldn’t find the shoes I prefer to wear to work this morning so I’m wearing the loud shoes. We have wood floors (well, laminate) and I sound like a horse coming down the hallway. A Clydesdale. And today, of all days, my body has decided to rid itself of the extra water that is making the scale not my friend. Good times.
Useless information: most of you know I’m left handed but did you know that I write completely sideways? It looks bizarre… but it works.
I’m still mesmerized by what’s going on in Haiti and convicted to realize how blessed I really am. Especially when they showed the church service… people sitting on cinder blocks in the open air PRAISING God in the midst of the rubble. That’s real faith… believing despite the devastation around you. Maybe… just maybe… that’s our problem. We have so much wealth and security around us that it’s hard to understand the need for a greater power. We are our own power. But everything. EV-REE-THANG can come crashing down around you in one fell swoop. One earthquake... hurricane... epidemic...
I struggle. I mean... there are bills I can't pay. I juggle. I make payment arrangements. I pay late fees. I do without some things that others see as necessity. But I ate lunch today. I have a job. I have a home. I have a car that runs. I have friends and family who love me. I have an awesome church that takes care of it's own and also takes care of folks all around the world. There is no major crisis in my life... no heartache... I am strong and independent and free.
And very soon I'm going to be healthy and fit too.
Watch me fly!