Saving Christmas turns to Love Bites

Saving Christmas was a little challenge that I set for myself 10 weeks ago.   What was the challenge?  I wanted to lose 25 pounds by Christmas.   Was it crazy?  Yes.  Was it impossible?  NO.   Did I try?  Yes....I did.  I also went to Philadelphia on a short vacation during that time.  And I went on a longer vacation to Williamsburg.   Ohhh, and I spent the weekend in Virginia.  I was on the go...and lets face it...we don't always eat healthy on vacations.   Honestly, it wasn't the vacations that killed me...it was getting back into the normal daily routine that did it for me!  So how did I do?    

Well, my goal was to be 225 by the Wednesday before Christmas.   I didn't make it.  I was 234.   Which means I lost 16 pounds.   That is still pretty nice for a 10 week period!   I'll take it!!!!!!!  Because, yes, I know that 25 pounds was big....but I am realistic enough to know that 16 pounds is AMAZING!

So the next challenge????  Love bites!   There are 7 weeks until Valentines day.   14 pounds.  That's just a bit over 2 pounds a week.  Who cares that there is Christmas in in there.    Love bites....15 pounds!   (and yes...I will be just as happy if by Valentines day I weigh only 7 pounds less......or the 10 pounds that I was originally going to set my goal at!)    220 pounds by Valentines day!  I've got this in the bag!!!  

Soooo, last weekend I ended up going to Gettysburg with a friend.   We had a lot of fun.   Yeah Yeah Yeah...another little mini vacation.  (and just so you know...I have a free night through hotels.com coming up...so expect something else coming up sometime, somethere!)      We toured the battlefield, we toured the Eisenhower farm and did the National Cemetery to see the festival of wreaths and see the Gettysburg Address Memorial and site and we did a little hiking.  We ate some good food at the GarryOwen Irish Pub and the top ranked pizza joint in Gettysburg.   We had fun.    Well...not all was fun.......

We were on the battlefield and saw a hiking trail sign so just naturally headed down the path. (Bet you can guess where this is going)  We BOTH had our hiking boots in the car.  Notice I said, in the car!   We headed down a hill...me in just casual shoes.   It was apparently a little muddy.  And of course I would be the one to find the mud....my foot slipped and I landed with my leg underneath me......I heard a pop and felt the searing pain.  My friend helped get me to a standing position....and I could NOT put any weight on my foot.   My first words to my friend were "Oh no...please tell me you can drive stick shift so you can drive my car home...because I was sure that I was down and out!"   I waited and tried to shake it off...and eventually I could put some weight on my foot and we carefully made our way back to the car.   I can safely say that the monuments on the battlefield DO work as a nice screen for changing your clothes.  (Yes, I was covered with mud!).   We got our boots out of the car...and put them on...I laced mine up as tight as I could for the compression.  And yeah, I headed back down the path to finish that darn pesky trail.  I wasn't going to let it beat me!   I also walked the Eisenhower farm after this little snafu.  (ok, let me be honest and admit that  I completed almost 10k steps after this happened).  My parents asked why I did the walking at the Eisenhower farm....well I had already purchased my ticket of course.  :-).    I figured out quickly that the foot was only an ache if I kept my foot straight forward, on a flat/even surface and if I didn't twist the ankle AT ALL.   So completely manageable!!!!  Right????

I drove home, arriving just a bit before my families Christmas shindig (my bro and family will be spending the holiday in a different state so we celebrated on Sunday).   I wisely decided to leave that nice, tightly laced hiking boot on my foot until I got home after the Christmas dealio at my bro's house!    Lots of good food eaten, lots of fun presents exchanged, and lots of love in the house with the family.  

I bit the bullet when I got home after the Christmas celebration.   Yup....taking the sock and shoe off was just as bad as I assumed it would be.  The swelling kicked in...and yeah....no running for me for who knows how long.  I have improved a bit each day.....I am taking it easy....keeping it as propped as I possibly can while at work.   Walking carefully....and just trying to ease it along.  (heck no....crutches are for sissies!)   I have a cankle on my right foot....no visible...the swelling encircles pretty much the whole ankle...not really on one side or the other.  But even that has diminished some in the last few days.      No worries....I'll be running again as soon as I feel well enough.  I will be taping my foot for extra support.  And no....I won't be running a second before the pain (ache) from just simple walking is gone in my foot.....not a second before I can turn and twist my ankle without searing pain (which the searing heat of pain is slowly getting a little bit less intense each day!)    So how fun for me?????   

Pictures from Gettysburg...nothing fancy...but it was my weekend.  :-)