Weighing In Again

Well, it is a day late again - my routine definately gets thrown off when Jim is home for an extended time. Not that I'm complaining!

I gained this week - and lost - for an end result of a gain of .8 lbs.

What can I say?

I'm having a hard time staying away from sweets.....'gourmet' cookies at the grocery store, chocolate bar 'singles', chocolate cake......no binges on any of them, but too many small pieces on a day to day basis.

On a positive note, I've been drinking lots more water again and I've been writing down everything I eat.

I seldom have time to sit and ponder 'why' I eat what I do....mostly, I think, I am just undisciplined - no head games involved, no big emotional reasons, just bad habits that I've allowed to develop again over time.

I am a procrastinator - I find it too easy to tell myself I'll deal with something 'later' or 'tomorrow'. This is true in my health/eating habits as well.

One of my major infractions of this past week was not eating breakfast (and I haven't eaten yet this morning, even though I've been up for 1 1/2 hrs) I still wake up hungry, but I ignore it until lunch time. According to the wisdom of the plan that I followed to lose almost 50 pounds, eating enough is as important as not eating too much - and breakfast is ultra important. I know - that is wisdom that is not limited to the LA Weight Loss Center's plan....it is just wisdom. So, part of my problem has been NOT eating everything on my plan.

So, today is the day I begin to follow my plan religiously again.

Tomorrow our family begins our annual 'family campout' - only this year, we are not exactly camping - we have rented the local church's 'Bible Camp'....just 10 minutes down the road from our house. We will have a fully stocked kitchen, bathrooms, showers, cabins, a lake, canoes, a playground....... I expect this arrangement will work real well. AND it will be less expensive than renting the primitive group campgrounds out in the mountains. Since our newest baby is not quite 3 weeks old, and the night time temperatures will be below 10C, Vinjelu and Kathryn will be spending the nights at our house so they do not need to worry about bundling little Taliah up too much.

sidenote.....Jim and I lost a baby girl when we were camping in 1980 - the cause was officially 'Sudden Infant Death Syndrome' (Crib Death) but in the years since then, much has been learned about what could have caused many SIDS deaths - CO2 poisoning caused by the baby breathing in her own expelled air with not enough oxygen rich air to replace it. (That is why the common practice now is to lay babies on their backs rather than on their tummies, as we were taught to do.) In our case, since we were camping in the mountains where the night time temperatures drop significantly, our baby was bundled up, on her tummy, and her 'crib' was covered with blankets to keep the chill off. Of course, we do not know for certain that this caused the SIDS, but ....... (If you are interested, I have written a little about this experience here....it is in the middle or so of the post)

So, you can see why we are a little overprotective of Taliah in this circumstance.

Anyway, we are beginning a weekend where I have little control over the food offered. Each family is responsible for a meal which they prepare for everyone. I will bring healthy alternatives for myself, just in case the meals offered are way out of line for me. Jim and I are responsible for 2 meals - a supper and a lunch. It is a fun way for everyone to be able to serve each other and to contribute to the weekend. Each family is also assigned to be a helper to another family who is supplying the meal, so everyone is on KP twice over the weekend. (Except me and Jim - we are 'on' three times....but we're the hosts, so...)


But...I might as well begin today to bring more discipline into my eating habits - if I wait until after the weekend there will just be something else to distract me....August is pretty booked up with special events.

Summertime takes away from computer time - which is not a bad thing - I notice many of you have not posted as often as usual lately. I am assuming that y'all are enjoying the outdoors, vacations, and family time! Isn't summer great!?

Well, I am off to have breakfast then to town for groceries so I can begin my meal preps for the weekend.....this will be my first trip into Camrose since the storm last Saturday that took down the stage at the big Country Music event our town hosts every year. Ever heard of 'Big Valley Jamboree'? It is a long weekend FULL of country music's biggest stars. This year's bigeest headliners were Josh Turner, Gary Allen, Billy Currington, and Tim McGraw (those are the only ones I can remember since I don't go to the concerts). Just before Currington finished up his show, someone came on stage and told everyone to get off.....there is an area ON stage where fans who hold VIP tickets can sit. Seconds later, a strong 'sheer wind' collapsed the enormous stage - throwing instruments, sound equipment, and other debris around the concert area. One woman was killed when a speaker fell on her - she didn't even have time to leave her seat. Several others were critically injured and many had injuries that took them to the hospital for immediate care.

We were in our 'other' town - at church - when the storm hit us first...but we were in the basement and were barely aware of it. (see my photo post for our experience).

Our son Andrew was at BVJ - with a VIP pass. We spent some anxious moments until we managed to get through to him (cell towers were jammed) after someone interupted our activities at church to tell us of the tragedy.

It must have been horrific for those who were there.

We, in Western Canada, do not often experience severe weather like this - oh, we have funnel clouds a few times a year - and once in awhile one actually touches down - in a farmer's field....but weather that causes tragedy and takes lives? - very seldom. It is one of the best things about living in Alberta.

Our home was on the southern fringe of the storm - no damage...just a few light weight things blown off the deck....nothing that doesn't happen several times a summer.

And BTW...just for some closure to the subject.....the rest of the concerts (Saturday night and into Sunday night) were cancelled. The first time in 20 years that any concerts at BVJ were cancelled - in spite of some pretty nasty weather (temperature -wise) in past years.

That was kind of a negative way to end this post, sorry.

Wish me luck over the weekend!