Happy Halloween

It’s more than a bit weird to go to Weight Watchers as part of my Halloween celebration. No one was in costume and they weren’t handing out any free stuff. Not that I expected candy from WW! but there weren’t even any Fruitees or little no-food things. They did give me a present, though — only a 0.8 lb gain instead of what I had expected after eating everything not nailed down this week.

I have a bowl of candy on the table, waiting for the little kids in my building to come by, but now it’s 9:30pm and clear that no one will show up. This is good to know for next year; I won’t bother to buy anything at all, but this was my first year here and I didn’t know what to expect. Before I go to bed, the candy will be in the bottom of a trash bag to be dropped off in the dumpster at 6:00am on my way up to the airport in Hartford.

I’m going to Chicago to visit my best friend and – shockingly – am not bringing a laptop with me. We’re going to play and shop and visit and talk ourselves silly. I’m bringing her a tiny pocket Buddha and three bags of Kim’s Light Bagels to try since they’re not sold up in her part of the country.

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone, and I’ll check in when I’m back home – getting ready to go get my new kitty. I’ve decided to name her Tessie, for the song sung at Red Sox games. What can I say? We won the series and I have the song going through my head.

I Found a Kitty!

I’ve been checking out Petfinder.com for the months, looking at kitties and planning to bring one home. I knew I needed to wait until my parents had visited and I have a trip to Chicago this weekend that I wanted to have behind me first. After so long without a cat, why get one only to leave it alone right away? Some really sweet ones have come and gone, adopted by new families, and others have joined the available pets from animal rescue and shelter organizations.

But now I’ve found my kitty. Her name is Tatianna and she’s about 4 years old. Her former owners were going to have her put down when they moved rather than find her a new home. Fortunately someone was in the right place as the right time to save her from that, and has been giving her a good foster home for the last month. She’s been spayed and is up to date with all her shots, and her fur was described as “bunny soft.”

Her foster mom says that Tatianna is very friendly and affectionate and will love being the center of attention. I will certainly be able to give her that! I’ve been checked out and approved – single librarians are good at passing vetting checks – and when I come back from Chicago, I’m off for an hour’s drive to go pick her up. Yayyy!

My Goal for Today

I’ve been eating out of control.  Trying to get it back again in one day isn’t going to work – I tried and failed yesterday – but today I’m scaling back to a single goal:  journal my food.

I can eat anything I want to eat today but I have to write it down as I eat it.  Doing that usually shocks me into eating less afterwards. The hope is that doing this honestly will help me get a grip.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Overeating Member of Red Sox Nation

Right now I wish I was back in Boston. Back in the heart of Red Sox Nation, to celebrate with a whole city and state full of excited happy people, dancing in the streets over last night’s World Series win.

Instead, I’m here in Connecticut. There are Red Sox people here, too, of course, but we’re dangerously close to Yankee territory and we’re definitely outnumbered. Larry Lucchino said three years ago that we were the point of the sword deep into Yankee territory – but we were still part of Red Sox Nation. Last night was a late night and when the game was over, everyone was too excited and happy to sleep. That’s not a good plan when we have a whole work week ahead.

I’m trying not to think about all the food I’ve consumed in the last three days. Everything not nailed down that had sugar and fat managed to find their way into my mouth – cookies, Halloween candy, ice cream. I didn’t journal, I didn’t drink my water (well, some but not all), I didn’t get enough veggies or fruit. I was totally out of control.

It didn’t help and probably was exacerbated by the fact that I was home doing as little as possible. I felt totally drained and mindless, without energy for doing much of anything. Those days don’t come often but when they do, I just need to recharge. Usually I can do it without stuffing my face the whole day. I’m not really sure why this time it was bad, perhaps because I’d forced myself not to snack while my parents were here and it blew out in bad ways.

I know that I’ll be up at the scale on Wednesday and I really don’t care. Actions have consequences and when I eat more of the things outside the program, I gain weight. That’s actually a cautionary truth, a hard reality that I see with my eyes as much as I feel it in the tightness of my pants.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and I’m going to water aerobics after playing hooky for two weeks. I need the workout and hope the water isn’t freezing. My new car heating pad is here and I’ll give it a whirl out in the parking lot before class.

Enjoying a Quiet Weekend

Usually my weekends are full of blowing and going with errands, and the last two weekends I had my parents as company so we had things to see and places to go. Before they came, I was running around like a crazy person making sure everything would be ready for them and doing the usual stuff.

So yesterday was a gift: a gray, rainy day with no obligations or responsibilities, a chance to snuggle into the covers and sleep in a bit, take my time over the Saturday NY Times, sit quietly and read a new book. My spirit needed the recharging and being quiet and lazy while I could – next weekend I’ll be in Chicago.

I did venture out into the wet to go to BJ’s and then Bed Bath and Beyond to find a new vacuum, and thanks to the BBB 20% off coupon, got just what I wanted. But the vacuum is sitting in the middle of the living room waiting for me to finish cleaning which I am totally not inspired to do. I’ll get it done today but yesterday it was just more than I could handle.

I don’t know how people with families do it. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been alone and responsible for myself for most of my life, and I’m spoiled to be able to do whatever I want when I want (except going to work, which is a given). Soon I’ll have a new member of my little family – a nice furry cat – and that will change the dynamics as well as what I leave sitting around to be covered in cat hair.

For today, the rain is over and the sun is out. The Sunday Times is waiting for me. The Red Sox won again last night so I’m a happy camper.  I have things to do today – a day of doing nothing means more to do the next day – but there’s time for that.  This is Me Time.