I haven't been down here for more than 20 years, and how it has changed in the time since I last saw it: Fields full of condominiums. Some fairly serious traffic problems. There is a lot of kitschy stuff related to the Amish. (When you come here, you need to ride the tilt-a-whirl at Dutch Wonderland amusement park. Well, that's kind of grandfathered in, as I remember going there as a kid.) These are mainly located within some very ugly, highly concentrated commercial districts -- which is probably the tradeoff for the side roads, which persist in their beauty, and thus are likely strenuously zoned & preserved.

But this area feels so distinctive -- those high, narrow Pennsylvania dressed-stone or brick houses with their paneled shutters and often, with twin but separate front doors -- and the whale-like dairy barns floating nearby. The Pennsylvania barns are quite wonderful, many times bigger than the houses. When I think of the Civil War -- because of nearby Gettysburg -- I wonder what the southern soldiers on the march thought the first time they encountered a Pennsylvania German barn in all its majesty. It must have felt like encountering an alien culture.

I have my low chest and it's as nice as the many photographs I saw online. I'm pleased. What a relief to have it in the back of the minivan.

It feels both good and annoying to be here.

70 minutes in the pool. No searing, no stabbing, no numbness. Just a nice, all- over buzz.

Okay, the Pennsylvania Dutch style smorgasbord, as practiced around here? Is the devil.

I tried to minimize the damage tonight by starting with vegetarian vegetable soup, and choosing fish from the steam tables rather than lining up at the carving stations. And a plate of strawberries and melon at the end, keeping my eyes averted from the pies.

But it felt like a lot of food, nonetheless.

I did try some interesting stuff: about a half-cup of corn & chicken soup, a few tablespoons of chow-chow and pickled eggs & beets. They are great for pickling around here.

I was surrounded by food, too, not Pennsylvania Dutch style, but family birthday party style.Barbeque ribs, barbeque chicken,hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, green salad, chili beans,artichoke/jalapeno dip, watermelon. cupcakes. cheesecake.I tried to practice portion control, don't know how successful I was. After all this on Sunday, for Monday breakfast, steak and eggs, croissants and 3-4 cups of coffee.....and then off to a doctor's appointment where I knew I was going to be weighed. Is that insanity or what ? Surprisingly the scale wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. I suppose it is laying in wait for me to weigh tomorrow.

My little "mystery" ducks are buffleheads. Thank you saef and Bill. I looked at quite a few species of ducks online yesterday and there are some beauties! I would like to be more observant "in the field" but it's a bit hard to birdwatch while running down the beach in full winter gear, yelling "don't you DARE eat that".

I am not going to comment on my weight or diet as things are not going well. It seems I can't get any break right now from the relentless pace on my life and that's taking it's toll. I have to hang on somehow until the May long weekend. I'm not even going to attempt to lose anything - just fight to stay under 140.

Dagmar

saef, IMO a spicy pickled egg is a near-perfect food. It sounds like you tackled the buffet like a veteran weight-management pro. Glad to hear that the chest met your expectations. You are going to have a beautiful apartment when you get settled back in!

dagmar, I love the visual of you tearing down the beach yelling at the dogs. I find that having a kid can do the same thing - it's made me much less observant about things that don't directly impact me (or especially, him). Yet, it's also refined other senses in strange ways - I can smell an ear infection starting in either a pet or a kid; though my hearing is horrendous I know the status of every appliance in my house, and I know intimately every little vibration my car has. Sounds like you're in the spot I was in last month - just clinging on for dear life. Hang tough! This too shall pass.

bargoo, I know from your posts that you'll be right back at plan today. Even if the scale does blip for you, you will blip it back down. End of story.

I'm a 1/2# up, not unexpectedly. It's worth it to get back in the water again.
Here's an example of how "in the groove" my head is at the moment (gosh, it's been a week ... this is cool!). I bought a 2oz bag of Cheezits from the vending machine yesterday. It ended up sitting on my desk for several hours, unopened. When I did open it, I ate half of them ... and then closed up the bag and tucked it in my drawer. That's totally a mental thing. My only concern is that I don't understand the origin of why it's going well, or what would trigger it to go away. The hardest part is looking at my virtual ball of string, and NOT thinking about it. On the lighter side, I seem to be getting a lot more done.

Had an interesting talk with my doctor at my visit on Monday. He complimented me on my appearance and I said "I try to take care of myself," his response was "It pays, doesn't it ?" I may adopt that as my new motto.

My scale pulled a dirty trick on me this morning. I'm blaming it on the cat. Most mornings, I'm accompanied to the bathroom by the dog and both cats. Usually one cat heads to the litter box (which we conveniently keep in the bathtub--out of our way and the dog can't get to it). The other cat usually checks out the garbage can to see what goodies he can find (q-tips are the best toys, dontcha know?). The garbage can is best accessed by stepping on the scale first, so you get a little higher. Knock the kitty aside and step on the scale and 145!!!!. Get off, reset, get back on and 145!!!!!. Seriously? There is NO WAY I could have lost 6 pounds overnight! Or could I have????? Get off, walk away and allow the darn thing to reset. Get back on and 150.5. That's more like it!!! (Although I'd much prefer to see the 145.)

Chico is giving me the evil eye this morning. Either that or he's totally confused. First I take away his water dishes. Then I "forget" to feed him! I can feel his pain. It's like for us to have to fast (no coffee!!!) for a blood test. I take him to the vet for chest x-rays to see if the cancer has spread. I'll find out next when we'll schedule the surgery. I can imagine how confused he'll be after that.

allison, the 145 is simply a preview of what the future soon holds. Extend my sympathies to Chico - I'm also confused when food doesn't show up when it's supposed to. Sending you both good wishes for the coming days!

bargoo, yes, it would be a great motto. Caring for oneself in the present is like a downpayment on a good future.

Allison-- thinking good thoughts for Chico today. My pets are always so confused when I withhold their food/water. They're like-- HELLO-- did you forget something?!?

Your cats sound so much like mine. One of them loves to dig q-tips out of the trash can. He then takes them on my bed to play with-- yuck! They also feel the need to use the litterbox whenever I enter the bathroom. Weirdos!

Great motto Bargoo-- I agree!!

ICU-- don't know if I've ever been that much in the groove. I'm an all or nothing person. I can't start eating something like that or I can't stop. There were amazing looking homemade baked goods in our breakroom again yesterday-- where do they all come from?!?! I was drawn to them like magnets, but I kept avoiding them. By lunchtime, they were picked over, and the appeal was gone for me.

saef For a smorgasbord, I'd dare say you exercised more control of your choices than 99% of people would have been able to handle!

Megan I hope you recover swiftly from the long stressful period - sleep yourself back into a refreshed state and enjoy the time off! It's funny how driving, like sitting in a plane, = exhaustion from sitting on your bum.

Allison That is the worst when scales play cruel tricks on you. Poor Chico, I sincerely hope things work out for him!

bargoo Ahhhhhh all that food sounds so good right now...

ICUwishing Glad you got back in the pool!!! You definitely won against those Cheez-its. I don't ever go near those things - sometimes when they're out at a party I'll find I've eaten a third of a box without even realizing it.

traveling michele I'm the same way. There is a freebie area here and I just go out of my way not to go near it. Have only succumbed a couple times, to no damage. Entenmann's donuts all taste like canned Chinese wontons, so not worth it!

I bought a pair of skinny pants in size FOUR yesterday. They'll fit better in a couple pounds/some more heavy lifting, but they are definitely wearable and they were on sale at Macy's in the "fancy" department ("bar III" - not fancy but definitely outside my price range of "half off at thrift store"). Also picked up a couple FCUK (for Sears) shirts that were marked down 55%, both in size "XS." I can't believe it.

Allison, my neighbors have a sweet dog named Willow. Willow is going blind, Willow is handling this news much better than her humans. She is quickly adapting to her home environment, a little more difficult for her when she is in an unfaniliar place.

I love this!

Saef, I think if I was confronted with an Amish smorgasboard I would fill up my plate entirely with pie.

Allison, hugs to you and Chico. Let us know how the xray turns out.

Kramp, congrats on the tiny sizes!

I need to figure out some new exercise plans since they aren't doing group classes at work for the summer. I've been so lazy lately and I know I need to pick up the pace. Even if I'm slow and can't go too far, I should add back more swimming and biking. Maybe MWF run, Sa yoga + bike (biking at least to and from yoga), T bike, TTh weights/pilates, Su swim? It sounds kind of overwhelming. I find it hard to believe I used to keep up a schedule with 3 bikes, 2 runs, 2 swims, and 2 weight sessions each week. (Although to be fair, that training schedule left me sore an exhausted 90% of the time.)

In other news, I am very happy with our new dog sitter. She came while we were at work for the first time yesterday and Carter didn't even growl at her. She took him for a walk with no problem and gave him treats, and left us a nice note and a gift card to a pet supply store. I'll have to make sure that he doesn't get fat from all the treats! I am feeling much more confident about our vacation now.

I did this too this morning, lol! I pulled a fish head out of Emma's mouth before she could chow it down on the beach. We woke up to sounds of her throwing up at 1:30 AM this morning, but I didn't see her get into anything yesterday. They are devious and have weird preferences in what tastes good.

Jessica, glad you like your new dog sitter. She sounds great! Your workout schedule sounds do-able but busy. What will you do if you miss a workout/day? I have found that deciding what my top priorities are and then scheduling my "want-to-do"'s afterwards helps me make quick decisions when life doesn't go as planned (I'm such a planner it sounds obvious but this helps me). I know which workouts to let go and which to reschedule for the next day. I've also got to once again change my workout schedule (and food prep) with the coming summer season.

Krampus, congrats on the small sizes! You're taking care of yourself - like bargoo!

Allison, animals like to eat weird things. (see my above comment about Emma eating a fish head.) Since the week I got her my bathroom trash can has sat on top of the toilet. There was a used tampon incident that first week...

Occasionally as I'm doling out Emma's prescribed amount of food, and she gives me "the eyes" (you know, I'm really hungry, can't I have just a little more eyes) I feel cruel, and then I wish someone would portion out my food precisely and I wouldn't have access to any more. I would probably be trying to eat weird junk on the beach too.

Today is "exercise day" for the week. (JK, you know I'm exercising every day). But I walked the dog 4 miles, plan to do a NRLW and then head to yoga later. Does it make me weird that this is what I want to do on my day off?