An Abundance of Celebrations = Mini Maintenance Period

We’ve hit the time in the summer that is both a blessing and a curse for me.  A blessing because celebrating special events with friends and family is always fun.  A curse because these memory-making events always come with indulgent foods and drinks. Still, I feel lucky to have so much to celebrate over the course of these two weeks:

• Italian Heritage Night at the SF Giants (Tuesday night)
• My dad’s birthday (Wednesday night)
• A Silpada party (last night)
• Impromptu BBQ w/ my parents (tonight)
• SJ Giants baseball game (tomorrow night)
• Dinner out with a friend for my birthday (Tuesday)
• My birthday (next Wednesday)
• 4th of July
• My friend’s annual 5th of July party

At each of these events, I’m going to make the best choices possible.  For example, Wednesday night at my dad’s birthday dinner, which we had at a local bocce court and restaurant, I ordered steamed clams and mussels in a white wine/tomato/garlic broth.  Healthy and very delicious, but we also had red wine. Which is fine, and wouldn’t affect my weight loss, except that I had a beer at the Giants game the night before, and I had cucumber sangria at my party last night.  See what I mean?  None of these choices alone are bad; but together they make it hard to lose weight.

Which is honestly why I didn’t weigh in on Wednesday.  I’d had an Italian sausage (no bun), beer, and a bit of kettle corn the night before at the game, and I knew it would put me up on the scale, even if it is just water weight.

Now I’m not saying that during this next week and a half I’m going to throw everything out the window and eat with wild abandon while lazing around at home inactive. That’s just not me anymore.  I’m still making good choices, I’m still eating small portions, and I’m still working out as much as ever.  But at this point in my weight loss journey, indulging a bit and working out equals maintaining my weight, not losing. 

Which I’m fine with – until July 6th.  I’ve decided that I’m perfectly happy to maintain my weight loss for the next week or so.  I’m actually really happy with the way I look and feel right now.  I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished and enjoy seeing the person who looks back at me in the mirror.  But I still weigh more than I’d like to, so I’m not quite ready to call this my goal weight.  Not just yet.

So beginning on July 6th I’m going to get back to my weight loss mode.  I want to drop another 30 pounds, and while I know it’s going to be a lot harder to do it now that I’m at this weight, I know I can do anything I put my mind to.  Those 30 pounds aren’t going to come off in just one summer, but I can lose 1/3 – 1/2 of them if I get back to being a bit stricter with my food choices.

Which is not to say that I can’t have fun this summer, but I want to keep my ultimate goal in mind. My journey isn’t over just yet, and I’m excited to continue on with it after this brief rest stop.

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#Reverb12, Day 30: What Can You Celebrate NOW?

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be participating in #reverb12: celebrating the successes of 2012, honoring the challenges of 2012, and planting the seeds for a rich and rewarding 2013. December is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed and start to manifest dreams for the new year.

Day 30 – Often we see our life as a humongous journey, and we believe that not only have we not arrived at our far away desired destination, but we also think we must accomplish x, y, and z, before we can declare with satisfaction that we are THERE.

For a moment, take a close look at who you are NOW. See what you can declare.
Merge the past, present, and future into one big ARRIVAL.
Describe joyously and in great celebration the BEING that you ARE.

(If you like, try writing this in third person as if you were a news reporter and this article about you is appearing in a publication you love and respect). I love the way this sums up all we have been doing over the past month. All this soul-searching has been bringing us to this very place that Ruth so beautifully celebrates: exactly where we are, right now.

I am a passionate person who lives life with intensity.

I feel things deeply.

I love with my whole heart.

I am a fighter.

I am steadfast in my PURSUITS.

I am intelligent and superficial and funny and serious.

I am a lover of writing – my own, but more importantly the words of others.

I am a dog lover, especially my wonderful Sofi.

I am a true friend whose loyalty knows no bounds.  I will  be there through everything for those I love.

My life isn’t perfect, but it’s perfect for me.  I am lucky and blessed and thankful for all that I have and all that I am, right here and now.

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So cute I can hardly stand it!

What a great weekend! There really is nothing like a family celebration to make a weekend special, is there? Ever since I took on the task of teaching that extra (6th class), life has become really hectic, and it seems like the only thing I do on the weekends is run a bunch of errands I couldn’t get to during the week. Which makes weekends like the one we just had all the more special because I was able to relax and spend some quality time with family.

Friday
Friday evening my sister and nieces had me over for a nice dinner of shrimp scampi. While I drooled over their pasta with butter and cheese, I ate my steamed zucchini and roasted cauliflower that my sister had for me. I ended up eating one piece of the pasta (literally one piece), just to satisfy the craving. And it was just as delicious as I knew it would be, but that one piece was enough. After 20 minutes my body registered that it was full and the craving for the pasta died down. I think that I gave in to the craving because I knew that I was going to eat carbs on Sunday at our Easter brunch. Not that I think eating one piece of pasta is a problem, but let’s just say I’m glad that I don’t have it in my house because it would be difficult to resist on a daily basis.

The girls were beyond excited that they were going to die Easter eggs after dinner. I forgot how much fun that whole process is. I’m so glad that my sister and my nieces are living next door now, because I realized on Friday night how much of their lives I missed out on when they lived 45 minutes away. Even though I’d see them at all the major holidays and on weekends when they’d come and visit, it’s not the same thing as being close enough to walk across the driveway. It’s so much fun to be a part of their daily lives. And the egg decorating was fun, too. They even made me a hot pink swirly egg.

Saturday
Most of the day on Saturday was spent doing housework and errands.  You know, the fun stuff – mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry, changing the sheets, dusting.  I actually don’t mind housework at all because I love the sense of accomplishment I get afterward.  Not to mention how much I love a clean house.  Plus, I just put some good music on and the tasks  go a lot more quickly.

The rest of Saturday was spent braving the grocery stores (I needed to go to two), and I kept kicking myself for not stopping at either of them on Friday night instead.  You would’ve thought they were giving food away for how busy it was in the stores.  Still, I had to get the  berries that I needed to make my fruit salad, so there was nothing to do  but deal with the crowds.

Late Saturday afternoon the breeder where I’m getting my new puppy posted new photos after their first bath and a video of their first time eating puppy food.  Too much cuteness!  I still have my favorite (Winnie), but I really think all six of those puppies are adorable, and I’d be happy with any one of them.  The selection process begins somewhere around the 5-week mark, which is coming up later this week (Saturday).  I have pick 4, which means there will be 3 puppies to choose from.  I know I’ll be on pins and needles until I know which one is mine.  If you need something to brighten your day, take a look at those photos, because I don’t think you can see them and not smile. (And now you know where the title of this post comes from.  Although my nieces are pretty cute, too).

On a side note, I can’t say enough about how thrilled I am with Heather and the LilyBits community that she’s created.  Heather is the type of breeder that we should all hope to have.  She’s so nurturing and sweet, but she also maintains such order and organization.  And she keeps things so clean! She’s definitely a woman after my own heart in that respect.  And she’s set up a wonderful community of LilyBits “parents” on Facebook who post photos and videos of their little loves all the time.  I can’t wait to become a full-fledged member!  If you’re in the market for a Shichon puppy, I highly recommend contacting Heather. 

I spent a quiet night at home on Saturday finishing up A Dog’s Purpose  (with puppies on the brain I just had to finish it) and looking for a new book to read.  I quite a few on my “to read” list, but I wasn’t in the mood to start The Girl Who Played with Fire because I’ve realized that I need to be in the right mind space for those novels because they are so dark.  Two of my favorite “fun read” authors, Jen Lancaster and Jennifer Weiner both have books coming out in early May and early June, respectively. But nothing else was jumping out at me.  Please leave recommendations of books that you’ve recently enjoyed.  I like a wide variety of genres, so any and all suggestions would be great.

Sunday
Sunday morning I made a beautiful berry salad. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed having things like this these past 10 weeks.  I’m looking forward to being able to eat fruit (and other carbs in limited quantities) again.  I mean, just look at how good this looks…

Our family brunch was delicious,  and I’m glad I allowed myself the day to enjoy the food.  I was up on the scale this morning, but I should be able to take that weight off before Wednesday.  Beyond the food, it was nice to have all of the most important people in my life together and for the atmosphere to be light and happy.  Now that my sister’s ex isn’t around, there isn’t that dread that something is going to go wrong.  Toxic people really take so much joy out of life, don’t they?  I’m so thankful that we never have to spend another family holiday with him.

After brunch my mom and I headed to Target to buy my dad and her some workout clothes.  They just joined a small gym and both of them feel like they don’t have the right clothes to workout in.  I really wanted them to join 24 Hour Fitness since my sister and I both belong there, but the gym they joined was less expensive and more suited for their needs.  So I’m disappointed that we won’t be able to work out together, but I’m so happy that they’re going to start working out on a regular basis. Our trip was cut short due to the fact that Target was closed, which was surprising.  I’m glad that the employees got the day off, though.  So my mom and I are headed there this afternoon instead.

Sunday afternoon and evening was spent getting ready for the week ahead and relaxing with mindless reality shows that have become such a staple of my Sunday evenings.

Monday
I know this post was a weekend wrapup, but I have some time on my hands this morning because the students are taking state-mandated standardized tests and I’m all caught up on my grading.  That’s why this post is so long.

This morning I woke up and checked Facebook on my iPhone as I do every morning.  The difference was I had a message from a friend of a friend whom I don’t speak to very often.  She had seen the Easter photos I posted on FB and wanted to let me know how great I looked.  What a nice way to start the day, right?  The fact that this person whom  I really only keep in touch with via FB noticed a change in my appearance really makes me feel great. I have to say that when I saw the photo I thought I looked pretty nice in it, which is a reaction I haven’t had in quite some time when seeing a photo of myself.  It makes me look forward to the future where all of the photos I take will show improvement.

Finally, the Daily Challenge for today is awesome and I’d like to encourage you to participate in it, even if you’re not doing the actual challenges.  It will definitely brighten someone’s day, and it’s easy to do, so why not?:

Draw a smiley face on a little piece of paper, sticky note, or wherever you like. Add a short message like “Have a great day!” or “Keep smiling!” Hide it somewhere your favorite person will find it tomorrow while at work, school, or home – in a drawer, desk, lunch bag, briefcase, coat pocket, purse, or book bag.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that your Monday is going well, too.

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Deciding not to break the fast, and then to break it

Recently I had to figure out if I was going to break the fast for an upcoming graduation celebration.  Our entire grad school cohort is going to go out on May 5 (Cinco de Mayo, no less!) for a party after class.  It’s not something I can decide not to go to, since they’ve let us know that the first hour is mandatory.  I’m sure there might be a few speeches, or something.  I’ve been debating about whether or not to break the fast in order to have a drink and some appetizers at this party.

At first I was all for it.  I didn’t want to lose out on truly celebrating with my class in our final two weeks of school.  I talked with CTLB and Bliss about it, and they both said it was my decision.  Bliss said she didn’t think I should break the fast because she had heard the food at the restaurant we’re going to wasn’t very good.  I looked it up on Yelp, and she’s right, the reviews of the place are terrible.

That was enough to make me decide to stay on the fast.  If I’m going to break the fast, I want it to be for food that I’m really going to enjoy, not food that is so-so at best.  Plus, I can toast with a Diet Coke or an iced tea as easily as I can with a cocktail.  (The party is on a Monday night, after all).  I’m actually really proud of myself for sticking to the fast, even with this social engagement coming up.  Of course, I should wait until I’ve actually made it through the party before I congratulate myself too much, right?

__________________________

CTLB and I are having a graduation party at my house the Friday after we graduate, May 16, and that’s when I’m going to break the fast.  I know there will be good food (since I’m making it), and healthy choices.  I’d much rather break the fast when I’m celebrating with lots of my family and friends than at some bad restaurant with lots of classmates that I don’t know too well.

I don’t feel badly about breaking the fast for my party, especially since I’m not going to break it for the other one.  This is a significant milestone in my life, and it’s worth going off the fast in order to celebrate. I also plan to workout the next day to work off the extra calories I’ll be taking in.  This seems like a good, healthy plan.  And it gives me something to look forward to in the midst of “eating” the same meal replacements, day in and day out on the fast.

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