Well, got through today without eating anything too awful!  Ended up working most of the day at home trying to get some stuff off of my desk, and with my hands busy I stayed out of the kitchen.  I was thinking though, that I had wished that I hadn’t had to work because I would have liked to work on cooking and baking.  I had plans yesterday that fell through and needless to say I didn’t get any more done today.  Oh well, only 4 days of work this week and then I am done!  Done until January 5th - and I can not be more happy.  All that time to just relax, study, bake, and really celebrate the holiday season.  I am looking forward to getting to see family and sleeping in!

So here it is Sunday night, always a bittersweet night as it means that Monday and work are waiting around the corner.  Overall a good weekend.  It has turned bitterly cold here and there is supposed to be bad weather this evening, potentially lasting through Thursday.  Yuck.  I decided to go to the grocery store tonight so that we didn’t need to worry about navigating that trip.  I went for five items and ended up with nearly $100 of groceries.  At least I won’t need to go again for awhile and we will have plenty of options for dinner!  I was thinking while I was at the store that the secret to controlling my eating is having foods in the house that can be snacked on and that are both healthy and tasty.  For instance - yogurt, carrots with fat free french onion dip (ff sour cream and french onion soup mix), fat free popcorn, etc.  I also realized that I need to have some alternatives for dessert - not that I want to give up chocolate entirely, but I think that there should be a nice mix of traditional “sweets” and healthier alternatives.  I was walking through the produce section and found some 100 calorie containers of a cream cheese dip for apples.  I thought that those would be great to make apples more of a dessert and could take the place of something sweeter for less calories.  

Okay - enough chattering here is what I had today - not a great day but it is the weekend!

Breakfast: Weight Control Banana Bread Oatmeal (160), 1/4 cup fat free milk (20), whole wheat english muffin with a bit of oleo and honey (140) (total: 320 - I must say this was very filling. A piece of fruit for a snack mid-morning would be perfect in the future).

Mid-morning - should have had fruit.  Instead had 4 pieces of Russell Stover (300 - yikes, thank goodness those are gone).

Lunch: 1/2 a baked potato, 2 tablespoons of ff sour cream, salsa, and 1 1/2 tablespoon of jarred cheese dip - for a mexi-potato!  This was not a great meal, but I was in the midst of working and didn’t really want to stop.  I am going to estimate a total of 250 calories.

Dinner: We ordered a small Papa John’s Pizza - with tomatoes, mushrooms, canadian bacon - I had one and a half pieces and 2 pieces of their chicken.  Probably 500 calories.  

I drank several large glasses of water today and have had a glass of ice water next to me all day - so that is good.  Didn’t get my milk or enough vegetables in (almost none - again laziness = no vegetables) - but I did spend some time cleaning up the backyard and we took the dogs on a short walk (very short - was not prepared for the drop in temperature) - will try again tomorrow!

Total: 1370 

I noted yesterday that I could have 1,275 calories a day and hopefully lose about 2 pounds a week.  I can have 1,525 calories and potentially lose 1.5 pounds a week.  I figure I will try to stay within these boundaries.  This week will be better as I will be at work and away from temptation!

9:30 p.m. ——————————–

Our cat Muffin came home tonight.  We are not sure but we believe that another family in the neighborhood has been fostering her - feeding her, letting her inside - because she doesn’t always come home.  Once she was gone for a week and just recently she hasn’t been home since I let her out Friday morning.  But tonight as I walked by the front door there her little face was looking into the window by the front door.  On a night like tonight, with the temperatures falling so low and the wind blowing so hard, I would hate to think of her having to be outside (or any animal for that matter).  I am so glad to have her home!