C'mon Blogger, work with me!

Is it me, or is Blogger a trifle effed up...again?  I just tried to comment on 2 different people's blogs, and Blogger put me through the wringer with having to sign in with email, password and then attributing my comment to "anonymous"!  I'm totally offended, Blogger - I've been around these parts close to 3 years, and have never been dubbed anonymous until now.  Was it something I said?  To be fair, Blogger did "accept" my comment with my actual nom de plume on the next 2 blogs I tried.

It's been a good week, and hump day is almost a wrap, at least as far as work goes.  Actually, tomorrow (Thursday) is my Friday this week, because I'm taking real Friday off because to spend a few precious hours with our daughter Jean, who's flying in Thursday night about 11 p.m. from the Dominican Republic to spend a month in the states!  Woohoo - it's been entirely too long since we've seen her - 17+ plus months, in fact. 

In my epic-ly long dog post on Sunday, I mentioned that she signed on to do an extra 13 months of service in the Peace Corps; and because of that, the PC pays for the volunteers to fly home, and gives them a full month off for Special Leave between the previous and new gig.  So her time begins tomorrow, but we won't have her at home (other than about 18 hours from Thursday night to Friday afternoon) until about 2 weeks from now.  She is turning around and flying to Miami for a college friend's wedding Friday, then from Miami (I think early next week) she'll fly to Lexington Kentucky for her cousin's wedding, in which she'll be a bridesmaid.  Our whole family will be going to the KY wedding on June 4th.  From there, Jean will head to Atlanta to see her elderly (93 and 86) grandparents who opted out of the wedding because, as my mother-in-law stated eloquently, "We're old!"  After a few days in Atlanta, Jean will do a road trip home with the friend from the Peace Corps who brought Wally (the dog) home while we were in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.

All very exciting, but the best part will be when Jean is actually at home with us for almost 2 full weeks.  We always have so much fun just hanging out, cooking, shopping, laughing...you know.  Jean is also THRILLED to see Wally...I think she may notice that he's... ahem...filled out a bit.  He looked pretty darn lean when he arrived and wasn't a great eater in the DR.  Now that he's settled in with us, his appetite is pretty good.  American doggie cuisine est tres formidable!  Interesting that living in my house has fattened him up a bit.  Like "grandma", like granddog, siiigh.

I've definitely been struggling with wanting to eat when I'm not hungry this week.  Damn!  Why?  When does this sh*t stop?  Monday was a dismal day where by mid morning at work I decided I was going to have a free day.  Don't ask...it wasn't pretty, but didn't yield too much scale damage.  However, it DID yield emotional strife, with a smattering of shame and self disgust.  Yesterday was much better, and I got a walk in, which helps.  I'm on track so far today.

While I was in Atlanta, I ate a lot, didn't restrict or "diet" at all, and managed to lose a few.  It was because even though I ate what I wanted with meals, I didn't graze in between, and didn't really want to.  On the brief occasions where I did want to, there were people around and so I didn't make countless and mindless trips to the kitchen for...whatever.  Now that I'm back home it's been harder, and I'm aware of being unwilling to just say no to myself when the urge to eat something hits, and I know full well I'm not hungry.  But I keep working at it and trying to keep my mind occupied with other things.

I just finished a fantastic salad for lunch that I photo'd, just for the hell of it.  I'd finished about 1/2 of it before I thought to take it's pic!  Contents: butter lettuce, spring mix, radishes, red pepper, celery, carrots, Vidalia onion, 2 oz Trader Joe's lean turkey breast, and 1 oz of Cabot's 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese - dressed with olive oil, lime juice and a touch of balsamic.  The Cabot's cheese has been a great find for me - it has a good flavor, and good texture, and feels decadent.  A great addition to my work lunches.  If you haven't tried it, it's worth it.  I'm a reduced fat cheese hater and this is the only one that cuts the mustard!

Well - that's it for me today.  I'm determined to get a 3 mile walk in this afternoon before watching the last Oprah show!  I'm going to miss the show, but at least I won't have any reason to truncate after work exercising now. 

So far today, my inner binge-er is at bay.  Send out some positive vibes that she stays at bay.  Tonight I have my meditation group, which is always good, so I'm looking forward to that, and I certainly can't eat while I'm meditation in a room with 12-15 other people!  Happy Wednesday, all.

Yukky weigh in, yummy dinner anticipation

I promise to be refreshingly short on verbiage today - after the  extreme verbosity of yesterday!  Only a couple things to report:

1.  Weigh in today was not as horrible as I feared, but still craptastical - 210.0, after being 206.6 last Sunday.  The last 3 days I ate all kinds of crap, as well as at least one meal out each day.  Today I'm tracking my food - though not my Points+.  Have a 3+ mile walk planned with a friend in a couple hours.

2.  I came close to expiring this morning...from laughing.  Went to see Bridesmaids with a friend - absolutely hysterical.  Well cast, well written, well done.  Just what I needed - and maybe I even laughed off some calories?!?

3.  I'm currently unable to locate my digital camera, which takes much better food pics than my iphone.  If it shows up soon I'll take a picture of the crock pot garbanzo bean and assorted vegetables soup I threw together this morning, after soaking dried beans for 24 hours.  Never have used dried g. beans before, and I totally winged this concoction - combining ingreds. that sounded good from several googled recipes.  I'm optimistic though, because upon entering the house after the movie, the aroma is HEAVENLY.

4.  To go with the soup, I'm cooking a big pot of collard greens.  My time in Atlanta and eating at a couple of fantastic southern style restaurants rekindled my appetite for veggies cooked southern style - with a little ham or bacon for flavor.  Don't worry, I'm keeping it very lean, using thawed ham leftover from Easter.  It's cut up fine with all visible fat removed.  Be still my stomach!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I'll report on tonight's labor intensive but totally worth it dinner tomorrow.

A Doggy's Tail

Not surprisingly, it's taken a bit of time for all the pieces to fall in place  to enable me to finally write the post about our new canine family  member.  First my work computer wouldn't allow me to upload photos onto Blogger; unexpected plans came up night before last; and last night when I fully intended to write the post, our internet provider was MIA.  I know you've all been waiting with bated breath (not!) to hear the story, but no one has been waiting more fervently and expectantly than our wonderful daughter Jean.  And this is where the story begins...with Jean and a little background information about her interesting (and interested!) life.

Many of you already know that our daughter has been serving in the Peace Corps since March 2009 in the Dominican Republic.  This has been the realization of a long held dream of Jean's that began when she saw a movie in middle school about the Peace Corps.  (If any of this isn't accurate, rest assured Jean will tell me, and probably in the comments following this post!  Hi Jeannie!) She's always been a people lover, a people person, and very interested in other cultures, travel, and the world at large (a.k.a. the "Global Community").

After graduating from college in 2006 with a degree in International Relations with a Latin American and Caribbean concentration and a minor in Spanish, Jean worked as an Admissions Counselor at her university for almost 3 years.  It was about a year and a half into her time at that job she began talking in earnest about the Peace Corps, and ultimately began the long process of applying, and the longer process of extensive medical clearances once she was accepted.  She was (and still is) thrilled with her placement in the DR, because it would allow her to use her Spanish (boy, did it and does it!) and it put her in a beautiful and lush tropical island country with rich heritage and history, as well as a place where the Peace Corps has had a presence since almost the beginning of its existence.  In fact, 2011 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, and there will be a huge celebration later this year in commemoration.

So -  Jean left in early March of 2009 to begin her service, and has loved it from the beginning.  After their initial 3 month orientation in the capital city of Santo Domingo, the volunteers were placed in sites (cities, towns, villages, barrios) according to their sector (or area of specialty) where they would spend their time of service, which, by the way, is usually 2 years following orientation.  Jean was placed in a little town called Janico, sort of centrally located in the country, where she has worked in Education and Information Technology both helping establish a computer lab at the local high school and teaching both Computer skills and English.  There are countless other projects and areas in which she's become involved in her little town as well.  Early on she lived with a wonderful local family until she found her own apartment a few months into her stay.

Something, er... someONE else happened early into her time in Janico, actually before she moved into her own apartment.  (Trust me, we're getting to the dog =)! )...  While Jean was settling in to her town and getting acquainted with it's delightful and friendly inhabitants, one of her volunteer friends, Amanda, placed about an hour north of Jean, was doing the same in her town of Imbert.  Amanda was walking through the streets of her town one day and happened upon 4 very young puppies who were huddled together and alone.  Concerned and taking notice, Amanda checked early the next day and found the puppies still huddled together, still alone, and likely abandoned by their mother.  So she did what any dog loving Peace Corps Volunteer would do....she gathered them up and took them back to her house.  Within a very short time, she found homes for 3 of the 4 dogs in some of her closest volunteer buddies - one of whom was Jean.

Jean was thrilled beyond measure to be "chosen" as a doggie mama, and took the responsibility seriously and with crazy love.  CRAZY LOVE!  She named her quarter of the litter Walker Percy, after a favorite author, calling him "Wally" for short.  About a month after she got him, Jean and Wally moved into their own cute little 2 bedroom apartment and set up housekeeping.  Wally and Jean have been inseparable ever since.  It was roughly September when Jean and Wally got their own place, and 2 months later, Hubby and I went to visit and got to meet our first "grandson", as well as see Jean in action as a PCV.    It was a glorious trip that you can read about here, and here .  Below are a couple of pics from our visit of the canine of the hour:

The first is Wally and Jean sitting on her bed outside the first of the several mosquito nets Wally managed to ingest over his time in Janico.  The second, and my favorite, is Wally as the attentive student while Jean was teaching an English class.  When we were in Janico, Wally was about 5 months old - very puppyish, and very adorable.  That visit with Jean was stellar.  We had a wonderful time and got to meet many of the families and friends of Jean's that welcomed her and looked after her during her time in there.  Those same families opened their homes to us as well...fixing incredible meals, fresh fruit drinks on a moment's notice...offering incredible hospitality and kindness to us - just because we were Jean's parents!

You extremely intuitive blog readers have probably figured out that the dog we have now is Wally.  What happened is that Jean decided several months ago to extend her time of service in the Peace Corps DR by 13 months, rather than coming home this May as most of the volunteers in her group decided to do.  She was given the opportunity to serve as a Volunteer leader for the extra time, meaning that she will be a resource person over newer current volunteers throughout the DR.  This position necessitates her moving to the capital, and will require a lot of travel throughout the country so she can visit the many volunteer sites.  While in Janico - a very small town, she's had many friends who can keep Wally when Jean has to be away, and the layout and size of the town is such that it's easy to have a dog.  Being in the large and busy capital is a different ballgame - lots of traffic, congestion, busy streets, much faster pace, and fewer local connections with whom Jean could leave Wally while she travels extensively.

Soooo - she asked if we would be interested in having Wally during this last year - so she could know he was being well cared for, loved, and doted on in the manner which he'd become accustomed under her Doggie Mama crazy love.  We'd been discussing this for quite awhile once Jean made the decision to stay the extra 13 months.  This has been an agonizing decision for her because she and Wally have been joined at the hip for the past 21 months, but ultimately she's found peace with it because the short time she had Wally with her in the capital illustrated clearly that it isn't a good arrangement for the dog - or for Jean.  So with sadness but certainty of the soundness of the decision, she arranged for Wally's trip to the USA.

The timing of our trip to Atlanta for our youngest's graduation turned out to be perfect and providential, because the aforementioned savior of the original 4 puppies, Amanda, happens to be from Atlanta, and she was flying home (and terminating her Peace Corps service) while we were there last week!  She was flying in Friday, the 13th, with her own pup (one of Wally's brothers), so she ended up bringing Wally too.  A huge undertaking - bringing 2 dogs back into the country, via baggage claim, from a 2nd world country (at best), through customs...you get the picture.  So that Friday, we went to Atlanta airport and met Amanda, her mother, and the 2 dogs, and got Wally to bring home to PA.

Driving to the airport, I was so excited it felt like we were going to adopt a baby from Russia!

Here is the first glimpse of the dogs in baggage claim we saw:

Then:

And:

Followed by:
Seriously - don't tell me dogs don't smile!

Wally spent his first night in the USA at Mark's Bro house, the Double D Ranch.  Here he is hangin' with the college grads.

Wally rode home to PA with his Grandpa (aka my hubby), while I flew home, because originally we thought our college grad would be riding home, and the car wasn't big enough for 3 adults, one of whom had a bunch of stuff to bring home from school, plus the dog and his crate.  Turns out that after I made my flight reservation, we found out Mark was staying in Atlanta for an extra 10 days to hang out with his friends, so Tom and Wally came home solo, and it went great.  Turns out Wally is a much better and more peaceful traveler than Lou was, and it was quite an effortless 12 hour drive for Tom.  Wally has a zen nature - a sort of inner calm that Lou never had.

We're loving having Wally - of course he can't replace our dear Lou who we lost about 6 weeks ago, but turns out we were ready for the pitter patter of doggy feet up and down the stairs.  We knew we'd have canine love again, but didn't expect it so soon!  And we couldn't be happier.  He has adjusted quite well, though I'm sure he misses Jean.  Turns out he'll see her in less than a week as she's coming home for a family wedding and will be with us for several weeks.  I absolutely cannot wait to see her!! 

Thank you so much for slogging through this long post - if you did.  If not, I understand.  Truth be told, this post is mainly for our dear Jean, who has been missing her baby, calling daily to check as to his well being, grilling us about whether Wally seems depressed, lonely, traumatized....the answer to each is no....and trusting us to love him as much as she does.  She's been waiting patiently to see the above pictures of Wally since he deplaned in Atlanta - and finally she can.

Have a great weekend, and after this I'll be back to blogging as usual, beginning with my Sunday weigh in tomorrow that I'm sort of dreading.  The week hasn't been as clean as I'd intended, and my exercise has been truncated due to endless rainy weather.

And Jean...I love you!  Can't wait to see you and Wally reunite Thursday night.

GR's - graduation, great times and gratitude

I'm determined to get a re-entry post up today...I got back from Atlanta Saturday afternoon via air, while hubby drove home with the newest addition to our family???...!!!  I have so much news and so many pictures that it's kept me from posting because I didn't know where to start.  So I'm just going to go stream-of-consciousness and meander all over the place.  You know I can go on and on when I have nothing to say, so this could get lengthy.  Perhaps I should do installments, which my work day may necessitate.

First, on the weight front, on Sunday morning after getting home from the 8 days in Atlanta and an eating day of travel (why do I always feel binge-ish when I'm on the way home from a trip and the evening following...?), I weighed 206.6.  Actually that's the lowest I've been for awhile, so I was really pleased.  I ate well BUT sanely the whole time in Atlanta until the last morning.  I ate healthy food along with some indulgences, but I didn't graze over the course of the days as I can settle into at home.  Hmmm...because I was with people most of the time?  Coinkydink?  I think not.  Anyway, the new low has definitely motivated me to get into Onederland for the last time, and soon.  It's entirely possible, doable, and IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

Second, I ended up not meeting with Tammy and Tina for dinner while in Atlanta.  We had Wednesday evening lined up to go to one of my favorite places - The Cheesecake Factory, when one of my 3 favorite sister-in-laws (I only have 3, how lucky is it that I love and am loved by all 3!) who had a work meeting that night suddenly called saying she was free.  It was my only time to see her other than at a big family party where there's no time for a REAL visit, so I couldn't resist.  Not getting to be with Tammy and finally meet Tina was the only disappointment of the trip.  I'm so sorry it didn't work out, ladies.  By September I'll be back to visit and there will be no big events or celebrations to woo me away - so hopefully we can do it then.

Okay - so already I've hit a snafu with this intended post...I was going to pull up some pictures I'd uploaded from my new iphone into my work computer - and they won't appear!!!  Very irritated and will try to upload them again or wait until I get home and hope that my laptop charger has arrived by fed-ex (that I left in Atlanta), so I can insert pictures after the fact.

***Crisis/snafu averted.....

So - we got to Atlanta Saturday late afternoon and immediately picked up our youngest (and soon to be graduate) and took him to dinner.  It was great to see him and spend a lot of time with him all week.  He's stayed on for about 10 extra days with some of his house mates but will be home by the end of next week.  This kid has worked hard in college and done very well.  It really seems like all my kids are much more together and grounded than I was at their ages.  Thank goodness!  And if you'll allow me a proud mom moment, Mark had a 4.0 average for his senior year, and an overall 3.82 for the 4 years.  He's always had a great work ethic when it comes to schooling.

Sunday was Mothers' Day, and Mark and his 5 roomies had a big barbecue for all their families and friends.  It was really fun, and the boys went to great lengths to recognize their moms and express thanks to us.  They even got a cake from Whole Foods and had all the moms' names spelled out on it...hopefully when you read this there'll be a picture of said cake!  They cooked all kinds of good stuff on the grill, including veggie burgers and asparagus.  We were impressed.  One thing I didn't eat was the baked beans, because though homemade by one of the girlfriends, Mark warned me they were loaded with Jack Daniels.  Mom losing 19+ years of sobriety on baked beans would have been quite a drag =)!  Below is a shot of a few of the guys and their proud moms:

Monday was the actual graduation - at 8 in the morning.  Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security was the commencement speaker.  She was okay - pretty non-controversial and with a less than awe-inspiring speech, but at the end she gave a great piece of advice to the graduates:  "Don't let yourselves become cynical over the state of politics, government, economics...".  That made me realize I needed to check my own cynicism at the door!  I was actually sitting there thinking about how hard it was going to be for so many of the grads to find jobs in this still sluggish-at-best economy - and then was gently reminded that cynical negativity is not a desirable or productive state of being.

The graduation lasted 5 hours, and by 10 a.m. it was HOT and brightly sunny.  That's why they start so early in the south - beat the heat of the day. It was a lot hotter for the grads in their black mortarboards and gowns than those of us looking on adoringly in the wings.  Our Mark's portion was about 20 seconds of crossing the stage as his name was called, receiving his diploma and then mugging a big grin as I stepped in to get a picture.  Following the ceremony, we took a zillion more photos with friends, and then took Mark to lunch at an awesome barbecue place that had the BEST. Fried. OKRA. EVER.  It was incredible - entirely not greasy - with a light cornmeal base coating.  I could have eaten the whole crop of okra prepared that way.  But I digress - and where else?  To food.  Oh me.

That evening was a family party at the SIL's house where we were staying, and it was a lot of fun.  Since I have not one single family of origin member living, I really appreciate having a big in-law family of which I feel truly a part.  Lots of laughter, great food, and enjoying each others' company.  I was aware in the moment of how thankful I felt to be in the mix.  Seems like my skin was fitting okay last week, and it felt good to be in it.  Hasn't always been like that for me.  My gratitude abounds.

The rest of the week was mostly visiting with different family members, some shopping, lots of eating out, and chill-axin'.  Very therapeutic to have a week off work, being far away from my usual digs, and with not much responsibility other than leisure engineering.  I'm pretty accomplished at EASE, and plenty was available.

And finally, not the biggest, but definitely BIG news (that requires a little background info) is that we are again co-habiting with a canine member!  As of last Friday, while still in Atlanta, we have rejoined the fellowship of dog owners.  The story will follow, *but * since it's now 5:30 p.m. and I'm just getting back to this post, I'm going to save the story of our canine acquisition for tomorrow.  Maybe I'll wise up and write it tonight so I don't get overwhelmed at work and not get to it.  It's a good story with a happy (so far) ending - so dog lovers stop back tomorrow.

It's good to be back.  Home, and in blogdom.

Headin' to Dixie

I'm trying to gut it through my last hour at work before WEEK LONG VACATION TO HOTLANTA!!!  I was up even before the butt crack of dawn, finishing up laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, packing, and whatever else occurred to me in the frenzy of getting ready to begin the drive south as soon as I get off work.  I even have all my stuff in the car.  How annoying for a last minute kind of guy like Hubby!

And ready I am...I could literally drive out of the work parking lot and get on I-95 directly, but Hubby would prefer I swing by and pick him up, so that will happen.  I've told him in no uncertain terms that he and his assorted stuff better be in the driveway when I pull in so we can load it up and move it out.  He has a tendency to put off the essentials until the last minute when we're travelling, and that has driven me crazy for 29+ years.  Today I asked him for a handshake agreement that he'd be ready! (Just to pull his chain :D)

I've also had an uber productive day at work, getting things in place for while I'm away.  I tend to be very detail oriented and organized when getting ready for an event - like a trip, or if I'm having a party or something.  The rest of the time...not so much.  I don't know why I can't stay at this level of productivity all the time, but I guess it's related to the reason I can't have all good on-plan food days.  Most humans aren't programmed for 100% consistency in much of anything.  In my highly finite mind, this seems like a glitch in the devine plan, but it's possible the diviner, or the Devine, knows something I don't.

I'm really feeling good about seeing the family.  The wisps of angst over my ever-so-slightly less than perfect body and face have sort of fallen away.  I think my increasing practice of meditation has helped with this.  Letting go of thoughts doesn't come easily, but it's easier when I restfully sit and focus on my breathing and feeling my body - doing a sort of body scan from feet to head.  Of course, a thousand thoughts continually present for my consideration, but I'm learning to just refocus on the breath and the body.

Boy, it takes nothing for me to digress, does it?  Back to the family - I already have several things planned with different SILs and PILs (parents in law), but of course the big event is our youngest son's graduation from Emory.  Mark's such a great kid and has worked hard between playing lacrosse and being team captain 2 years, always being on the dean's list (he's gotten 2 B+s, everything else As over the 4 years), doing a semester in Argentina, and managaing to not get messed up with drugs, alcohol, or parenting any children (that I know of).  We're ridiculously lucky with all our kids, knock on wood.  It'll be great to see him walk across the stage and get his diploma.

If this graduation is like his sister's from the same school 5 years ago, the glory of the graduation will be about 20 seconds out of the 5 1/2 to 6 hours the ceremony lasts!  Last time, our older son Stephen was there with us (though not Mark), and he taught me how to text message and generally horsed around with me for some of the time.  I think I'll bring knitting and a book, and of course my new Iphone with which I'm playing Words With Friends with several different folks.  I can try to lure hubby into some kind of shenanigans, but he's an above board kind of guy and manages to maintain some decorum.  I know he wonders how he ended up with moi!  But I'm glad he did :)!

My eating has been good this week - no bingeing at all.  Exercise has been less than stellar - just 2 walks, 3 miles each.  I hope to get in some with the sister in law with whom we're staying.  There are some wonderful neighborhoods and parks in Atlanta near Emory, and having lived there for several years I know where to find them.  Atlanta is such a major international city now that it changes a bit every time we go back.  New buildings, new neighborhoods, new roads.  Always a beautiful place to drive around and visit all haunts.

I'm taking my laptop, so hopefully I'll stay somewhat connected to the blogs next week.  Until next time, hasta la vista!

Highway to Onederland revisited

Happy Monday all!  I'm ready to get this week in the done column, so we can get going Friday afternoon for parts south.  We'll drive 5 hours or so after I get off work, stay overnight somewhere, and then drive on in to Hotlanta on Saturday.  I wish we could make it to Durham, but that's almost 8 hours from here and I seriously doubt we'll be up for that long a drive Friday afternoon into evening, especially given we'll be driving through DC rush hour, which is the traffic equivalent of drinking anthrax.  Just awful!!

Anyway, I'm delighted to report I lost 3.4 pounds last week on my Sunday weigh in, putting me at 206.6.  I knew I had a decent week, but I really had to muster my courage to step on the scale yesterday morning!  I don't know why, except that if I hadn't had a bit of a loss, it would have added to my (happily) ever-diminishing but still present angst about seeing the Atlanta family.  Not that I'm a svelte little thing at this weight, but it's a lot better than severl weeks back.

I've settled into a routine for the last week and a half of eating the same breakfast and lunch everyday, and leaving out most bread, pasta and rice.  And sugar, though my favorite Chobani Black Cherry yogurt does have some.  It doesn't trigger me at all - maybe because of the nice hefty dose of protein the yogurt packs - 14 gms.  That's about the only sugar I've had, other than fruit.

I've actually been loosely following a combo of WWP+ and the food plan given to me by the miserable sponsor I had for the 2 months I lasted in a rigid 12 step program a few summers ago.  The breakfast is 1 cup oatmeal, one fruit and 1 cup of yogurt.  I use Trader Joe's 0% plain Greek, which is very thick and creamy.  I seriously doubt I'll ever go back to non-Greek yogurt, other than an occasional premium Swiss Emmi that is awesome (but not organic - I figure Switzerland is pure, clean and green!).

My favorite flavor of theirs is pink grapefruit, which sounds like a weird flavor for yogurt, but they get it right!

Back to eating - for lunch I have a Big. Ass. Salad.  Plus a cup of roasted veggies, and 4 ounces of protein that usually gets tossed into the salad.  Dinner is kind of the same overall

as lunch, with whatever protein I'm fixing for the husband.  I've been having a couple of organic gala apples for snacks, and then the Chobani after dinner.  For right now, this is satisfying me pretty well, and the dropped pounds add incentive to stick with it.  Exercise has been a lot of walking - 2-3 miles most days, and an occasional 5 miles at Ridley Creek State Park when I have time.

It feels good to have some healthy eating days behind me.  I feel calmer overall and my clothes are fitting well and getting a little looser.  I still have many miles to travel on this journey, but it's my fervent desire to not have to travel the parts I've already traversed.  How many times have I gotten to Onederland?  How many times have I love the pounds from 215 back down to 210?  No idea, but I've experienced the scenery on that part of the trip enough to not want to have to watch reruns.  My diet history is the Nick at Nite of weight loss! 

My head's in a good place now, but I know the inner-binge monster is lying in wait and will have to be negotiated again.  That's how it is with food addiction.  It ain't going away, and I'm starting to realize that when I don't have even one bite of certain things, I'm much less likely to get triggered and head off to the races again.  So for today, I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing for the last week and a half.  I HOPE.