The quest for happy imperfection…

… but are anyway. Our Denny’s blew up. And that makes me giggle. I mean, I know, I shouldn’t laugh. But, no one was seriously hurt, and it was a freak accident (gas built up in the attic, nothing malicious or intentional). And the mental picture of our Denny’s blowing up is just very funny. (I’m imagining flying pancakes) I just can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign from God. Y’know, like, thou shalt not consume more than your daily reccomended calories in one meal alone. And thinking of that makes me giggle more.

So Denny’s blew up the weekend before last. Then, last Thursday, someone drove into the front of Subway with a Uhaul. What is going on here? It’s not safe to eat out in Tahoe anymore! I’ve since decided that God is trying to tell me to eat at home.

Today was pretty good. I weighed in at 192.5. As much as I would like to see more loss than gain, I’m okay with it. I always bounce between 1-2 pounds, and that bounce is getting lower. I had yogurt and a banana for breakfast and snacked on a string cheese. For lunch, I had my new favorite wrap- tortilla with turkey, center cut bacon, ligth ranch, lettuce, and the tiniest sprinkle of cheese. I had that with a cup of sugar snap peas and a 100 calorie pack of cheez-its. At work, I snacked on one Hershey’s kiss, and a delicious pear.  I also made an effort to get my water in, and I think that helped a lot.

After work, McDonald’s was calling to me like a siren song. My mouth cried out for salty fries. So when I left work, I made sure that I peeled out of the parking lot and made a bee-line in the opposite direction. On the way home, I realized that I really didn’t have anything appetizing waiting for me at home. So I swung by the Grocery Outlet. It’s one of those discount stores that the inventory is never the same, but the prices are good. Normally I don’t shop there (it’s very heavy on processed food) but it was on my way home. I picked up some awesome 100 calorie packs and desserts, which was a nice surprise. But I just couldn’t find anything I wanted for dinner. I still wanted McDonalds. Fine. If I wanted a burger and fries, that was fine. But I was going to make it. I grabbed some 96% lean ground beef, some seasoned fries, some whole wheat buns and went to town. Granted, dinner calories were higher than normal. But, it was still better for me than McDonalds, and probably lower in calories anyway. Overall, I still fit right in today, which makes me pretty happy.  I even had dessert- baked some frozen peaches with splenda and spices and topped with a bit of whipped cream. Super good.

As for things that rock- I cut down my mile time by 25 seconds from last time, which is 39 seconds faster than my first mile. And that’s an improvement over the course of  a week. I’m pretty excited. I even ran for about 45 seconds (6mph). It’s not fast by most standards, but considering I normally move at the speed of remote, I consider it pretty amazing. I followed that up with 35 minutes on the elliptical, and got in my weights for the first time. I did 3 sets of 12 reps for each, and my starting lifts are: 30 pounds for row, pec fly and rear delt. 45 for lat pull down and 20 for tricep push down. It’s embarrassing to see how low those numbers are, because I used to lift so much more. But, it’s a starting point, and I know that I finished each rep perfectly.  Total distance- 3.5 miles.  I’m sore. I’m butt tired. And that feels good.

 I’ve been keeping up with the nightly bath ritual. It’s given me a lot of time to reflect on my day and wind down and yadda yadda. Last night I found myself wishing I had some bath toys. Maybe a little rubber ducky, or a little boat. Better yet- maybe some of those markers that you can write on shower walls with. Hmm. Must look into this. I’ll probably have to go incognito when I buy them- being as I don’t have kids, that whole business might make me look creepy, or just really “special”. I could borrow a kid, but that probably puts me right back in the creepy category. Hm. I’ll think it over in my bath, while playing with my imaginary rubber ducky. But don’t tell anyone about that, I don’t want to look creepy, or “special”.