My weight this morning. The last time I weighed myself (right before we left) I was at 184.8. So not good. I had hoped to never see a weight that high. I'm not happy about it. But I'm ready to fix the problem. I also realize that some of that is water retention.....ohhh my water consumption was poor to say the least. (non-existent would be closer to the truth)
I was writing an email to a friend telling her about my vacation and I decided to copy it here for my own records! :-) (Sorry Vanessa ...just skip the rest of this entry!) So you can just skip it...in fact, I go into detail about what i ate...maybe I should skip it too......it may make me hungry for food I shouldn't be eating!
Ahhhhhhhh vacation always leaves such mixed feelings when it is over. It is always soooooo good to get home. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! Just being at home was sounding really good! HOWEVER, coming back to work.....I could have done without. But at least work will give me the opportunity to catch up on all sorts of things online! :-)
Vacation....lets talk about food first! Hey, it's nearest and dearest to my heart. I ate. Food. Lots and lots of yummy tasting food (I'll go more into detail later!) Toward the end of the vacation I just felt miserable and icky from the food I was eating. Not just the amounts (that I'm not used to) but the choices! I was actually looking forward to coming home and eating healthy! In answer to your next question. Nope, I didn't let the way I felt change the way I ate. That is so sad isn't it????
OK, vacation overview by day!
Wednesday
We had planned on getting up and leaving for Indiana by 4AM. Things were going well. We went to bed and the car was totally packed. The alarm went off at 3:45. I was sooo tired that I decided to sleep for 1/2 hour more. I reset the alarm and went back to sleep. Uhhhhh...I forgot to turn the alarm back on! I woke up at 5:40! We were on the road by six. The trip out was uneventful. It did however start to rain at about the Ohio state line and it poured the whole trip out....until about 30 miles from my brothers house! That slowed us down so it actually took about 2 hours longer to get there! Pretty much once we got there, we unloaded the car and talked a bit (and played with the kids in my case) and we then headed out for dinner. Food on Wednesday. Todd and I stopped and ate at Panera Bread for breakfast. I had a cinnamon crunch bagel and a fruit cup. (I love that bagel...so yummy) For lunch we just stopped at Bob evans. I had a veggie plate. :-) For dinner we went to this local brewery. I ordered a brewhouse club. It was a warm club on a hoagie roll. I chose to get a side of pasta salad. I had asked the waitress if it was an oil based pasta salad or a mayonnaise based salad. She answered oil. It wasn't. It was totally a cream based salad. Ohhh well....it was still tasty. My brother and Cindy ordered a basket of "scooby snacks". They were potato wedges, liberally sprinkled with old bay with a dip. The dip was a ranch dip with finely chopped cucumbers in it. REALLY good combo. I had about 3 wedges. I can't remember what Todd ate....but he did have a pumpkin ale and a bloody mary. I managed to drink all my normal water today...over 64 ounces.
Thursday
Thursday was a relaxing day. I started out by jogging for 55 minutes. I was totally amazed at my endurance. Yes that was 55 minutes of straight jogging. I can't say that I was pushing myself...because I was. HOWEVER, I did it! And ohhh boy, did I ever do it! I am used to exercising...but not jogging. The muscles in my legs just screamed! I was so stiff and sore for the next few days that it was ridiculous.....it also put an end to my exercise during my vacation! I could barely walk up the steps or get in and out of my car without groaning. Oh wait...I did groan! Todd and I walked through the Village at Winona. It is a cool little 'village' This village is all cool little buildings that house shops for local artisans. All sorts of things! Todd and I saw that they actually had just put in a building (since our last visit) that housed a spa. Hmmmm...that got the wheels a turnin'. But we continued on. Most of the day was spent at my brothers relaxing with them. I did ride over to the YMCA with my brother to drop Alison off at gymnastics. She was given clearance to go back to gymnastics. She can't do much, since she has her broken wrist (she slipped off the balance beam while doing a handstand), but she wanted to go back...and she works on her floor and leg stuff. While she was there, Alan and I went over and walked through an orchard that he has permission to utilize. We picked about 3/4 of a bushel of apples. We did go back and watch Alison for about a half hour (she wanted me to see her at gymnastics) Eating this day was very healthy. For breakfast I had toast, lunch was fruit and veggies and for dinner Cindy grilled chicken breasts, cooked carrots and zucchini. We also had a side salad. So Thursday we ate at home the whole time. We did run to the coffee shop and get drinks. I got an Italian Ice! I also once again managed to drink my water for the day!
FRIDAY
This is the day that the eating went downhill! Todd and I had talked about it and decided to get massages while we were on vacation. So after eating breakfast at home, we headed out. We stopped at the coffee shop again I got another Italian Ice. Then it was off to Winona Lake. We walked on the new walking path and then headed to the village at Winona and made our appointment for our massages. We went into one other shop that we had skipped previously. By that time it was time for lunch. We chose to eat at Cerelean (spelling?). It is a Japanese influenced restaurant located in the Village at Winona. Cindy and Alan basically said that we should try to eat there because it was a neat place. My brother told me what stuff he had made in the restaurant (hostess stand, display, tabletops and benches). Todd LOVED it! Of course he would love any place where he can get really good sushi! Yes, he got sushi. I got a bento box lunch. I chose the Panko Crusted Chicken over a bed of sticky rice. It came with a dipping sauce (raspberry and something else). For my sides (you get three). I chose Asian noodles, Mandarin Orange salad with a vinaigrette dressing and the broccolini (tis a broccoli salad to DIE for!) YUMMY! We left there and walked back through the village to the ice cream shop. I got the banana fudge pontoon. It is vanilla ice cream, banana slices and hot fudge served in a waffle cone bowl. Topped with whipped cream and cherries (I nixed the nuts). Todd got some peanut butter fudge sundae. (I told you the food went downhill, didn't I.....well or uphill depending on how you look at it). I played with the kids all afternoon and then for dinner we all went to the little mexican restaurant in downtown Warsaw. I had a vegetarian combo. It had refried beans, a bean burrito, a cheese enchilada and a chalupa. YES, I had the chips and salsa AND I even splurged and had some of the cheese dip that Alan and Cindy ordered! I dind't even fill up my water mug today....and stopped getting water in restaurants....I switched to straight up diet soda! And I didn't drink much water for the rest of the vacation!
Saturday
We woke up and headed out almost immediately. Sullivan, where Julies wedding was being held is about 4-5 hours from Warsaw. I had also researched and found the Clabber Girl Museum in Terre Haute.....I just had to go. We showered and headed out. I grabbed the last of the biscotti that I had packed to take along. We stopped at the coffee shop that we love (courthouse coffee) out there and Todd got a coffee drink. I got an Apple Pie Chai. We enjoyed our drinks and biscotti during the drive down. The drive was uneventful and we made it to Terre Haute (30 miles outside of Sullivan) in good time. It was lunchtime by that point. BUT no fear. I had read that there was a little cafe in the museum. Of course we ate there! I was still doing pretty good...trying to make healthier choices in the midst of grand disaster foodwise! I got a turkey sandwich served on a flatbread. It came with either chips or pasta salad. I got the salad (oil based...which I prefer anyway). So I felt like I did decent for lunch. Todd and I walked through the museum. It was a quaint little place. And when we were done, we decided that we just had to partake of some dessert in the bakery/cafe. I got a double chocolate scone. It was ok...but looking back I wonder why in the world I ordered it. I mean, I like ooey gooey desserts and scones are typically dry! No matter, I ate every bite! Todd and I then travelled onward to Sullivan. We found our hotel and the church. we went out exploring a bit and found an antique fleamarket place. I bought a few bottles to add to my collection. Then it was back to the hotel to relax, shower and get ready for the wedding. The wedding was at 6:30. I had to be there early of course. It was good, I got to see Julie for a few minutes before the wedding (she called me down to talk to her). The wedding was very nice. Formal yet not stuck up and stiff. The reception was nice and relaxed and a lot of fun. Food at the reception. Julie had lots of different sandwiches. I think Todd got Roast Beef. I chose a turkey croissant. I picked up some veggies from the veggie platter that she had with a little bit of a veggie dip. She had Cole slaw (I think), potato salad and macaroni salad. I had a little spoon of the macaroni salad. She had chips and stuff like that also. Drinks ...there was a whole assortment of sodas. They had iced tea and bottled water. Yep, I skipped the bottled water and went right to the sodas. At least I stuck with diet! tee hee hee. I did have a piece of wedding cake! Her wedding cake was a mixture of chocolate and vanilla cake. (different tiers were different types). I went up to get Todd and I cake. I got one of each. Todd chose the chocolate...so i had the vanilla. I did have some of the green punch...but ignored the mints and nuts! We got back to the hotel room at around 11.
Sunday
We woke up and went down for the free breakfast at the hotel. I knew it would be something like donuts and bagels (Days Inn.....apparently brand new...and I think the only hotel for like 30 miles). I got a cinnamon cake donut and a banana (yep, I was still half heartily trying to cling to some semblance of healthiness...tee hee hee). We then drove back to Indianapolis (about 2 hours away.) The plan was to visit the Indianapolis Art Museum. Being as it was Sunday, it didn't open until noon. We got to Indy at about 10:30. So we drove around and explored for a while. For lunch we decided to go to O'Charleys. I got pretzel crusted chicken and mashed potatoes. It came with a side salad (honey mustard was my choice). The problem for me came when Todd decided to get an after dinner/lunch drink. I decided to peruse the dessert menu. HOT mini cinnamon donuts, served with a cream cheese dip! Ohhhh I HAD HAD HAD to have them! Todd said he would help me by taking a few bites. His drink came (coffee and Irish cream~~~ reminds me, I want to make some of my own Irish Cream again) and then my donuts came. She came out with a plate and a little bowl of the dip. The donuts were in a white bag. She shook the bag to coat the donuts and then dumped them onto the plate. (she left the bag for leftovers). HEAVEN! That is exactly where I was after the first bite! And the second bite! I could have happily skipped the whole meal and went straight to the hot donuts! Donuts done, I was feeling sooooo stuffed. We hopped into the car and drove to the art museum. What a great museum...and FREE! We were able to visit every section of the museum EXCEPT for the Asian section. I bought some Christmas gifts in the gift shop, so I was happy to get my Christmas shopping started! At the Art museum...on the campus, they have what they call the Lilly House. It is a huge estate and house. The gardens are spectacular and the house is a wonderful architectural treasure. We left the museum grounds just before 5PM (when they close) and started out for Warsaw. It should have been only 2 hours. But somehow it stretched into 3.5 hours! The traffic was horrendous! We hit EVERY red light and they were the shortest lights I had ever seen. We had to sit through some of them two or three times until we got through the intersection! We stopped at a convenience store to get drinks. I had a chocolate milk! YUMMY! :-) We FINALLY got back to my brothers and we were just so happy to get there that we stayed there and ate some stuff there. I had fruit and veggies. :-)
Monday
Monday morning dawned. We showered and headed out to Big Apple Bagels, a bagel shop (obviously). I had an apple pie bagel and a diet coke. (yep, still drinking the diet drinks, no water). And then we headed over for our massages. I had chosen to do the hot rocks massage. I've read about it and the thought of hot rocks on my always cold body just sounded really neat. I was informed that this would be a unique hot rocks as she still focused heavily on massage. It did feel good. I will admit that I'm not used to being massaged so every once in a while I would tense up....she would wait until I relaxed and then continue. I'll probably do another someday. I wasn't like Todd though. HE loves massages (he's had them before). When he came out he was raving about it. Me, it was nice but nothing that I just went gaga over. :-)
*After the massages, we headed back to my brothers place. They have a locally owned fast food place. I think they have 8 locations. It's called Penguin Point. Todd had decided that he would break his no fast food vow to go to Penguin Point. So we walked down there with Cindy and the kids. I got a grilled chicken breast sandwich and a side of baked beans with my diet coke. Todd on the other hand got a Wally Burger (double cheeseburger) and french fries! We walked back to my brothers house and Todd and I hopped in the car. We went back to the apple orchard and picked apples for a while. I filled up my trunk. We picked about 4 or 5 bushels to bring home. Yes, I'm done with my applesauce...but FREE apples! So I'm doing more! Oh and a bushel or so is for mom. We stopped at the coffee shop again after picking. I got an Italian ice AND a cinnamon roll :-)
*Dinner was at my brothers house...pasta and homemade bread. Interestingly enough, this was the day that Alex decided that he really really really liked Uncle Todd. He wanted Uncle Todd to push his stroller. He wanted Uncle Todd to sit with him at the drums. He wanted Uncle Todd, Uncle Todd, Uncle Todd. I was chopped liver. :-)
Tuesday
I woke up early. I got dressed and read for a while until the house really stirred. I ran to the coffee shop while Todd was in the shower. I got a chai and another cinnamon roll! Then we headed out in a caravan with my brother and his family for Peru, In. We went to The Grissom Air Museum. Twas really cool. We got to sit in the cockpit of an F4 and in a helicopter. They had tons of cool stuff and pictures. Then we went outside and they had a bunch of military jets that you could see. We went up into the observation tower which was neat because you could look over and see the runway of the Grissom AFB.
*We ate lunch at a restaurant that I think was called The Siding. It was an old train station with two train cars attached to it. We ate in the train cars (they were dining rooms). I had a turkey club and french fries. Wait! I had water!!!!! Riley sat next to me. He had gotten the potato chips (fresh...fried there) I had a few off of his plate....YUMMO!
*On the way back from Peru we ran into a bulk food store. Oh my word...the prices were HALF of what we pay around here! I bought a few things that I knew that I needed or would need soon!
*For dinner, Alan and Cindy got a babysitter and the four of us went to NoaNoa. Todd got a bunch of Sushi. I got the pesto chicken pasta. Oh my word is that stuff good! I got the house raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It is to die for! After we ate, even though I was stuffed full, we got one piece of rum brownie and split it four ways.
Wednesday
This was really a ho hum day. Todd and I pulled out of Warsaw at 4:30. I drove the first 5-6 hours and then we stopped for breakfast (boring Bob Evans again...but I love the cinnamon pancakes...and heck the bacon was tasty also) and then Todd drove the rest of the way home. We swung through H-Town and picked up the few groceries that I needed for the upcoming week. (basically perishables). We ate at Gandolfos (I got a Burning bridge....a turkey sub, and a diet coke).
*Finally at home, we petted the cats and unloaded the car. I immediately started on laundry and processing the apples! I finally stopped making applesauce at about 8 last night. I have a few more hours to do tonight. :-)
So that brings me up to date! Today I'm back at work. Wishing I wasn't here. I would be happy just to be at home for a day to get my 'bearings'. But oh well. :-)
I'm back in the saddle again. My food consumption today has been on target...and I'm working on the water!
