FRIDAY, JANUARY 13th ... DAY THIRTEEN
Friday the 13th wasn't the best day but it wasn't the worst either.
I woke up too late for the gym, but really had wanted to go so I was pretty disappointed. But I made myself an egg with spicy sausage for breakfast. I had a morning full of meetings and was my usually over-booked self so I had no time to notice my hunger. When lunchtime came, I was so hungry that I was tempted to head across the street to the convenience store and stock up on carb-loaded, unhealthy food. But I maintained my resolve and ordered myself lunch from a restaurant near work I love. I was so good too because my favorite thing to eat there is fried chicken with a double side of baked mac & cheese. Since I can't have anything on that list, I ordered smoked kobe meatloaf with a salad (dressed with chevre ranch with makes it low-fat) and sauteed green beans. It was really good!!! I'm guessing there were bread crumbs in the meatloaf so I'm counting it as 5g of carbs.
Our family went to watch The Evil Nephew (if you recall, he was given that moniker during the first week of this challenge when he decided to cook deep friend pb & js in front of me - SUCKER) play in his first Texas High School Basketball game. The game was good: his team won and he scored 18 points.
But because my family likes to torture me, The Boy, The Son, The Extra Son & The Toddler all ate chips, candy bars and sugar-filled Gatorade right in my face. I had no interest in the chips or drinks, but watching them eat Twix almost killed me. I used to enjoy those with all the guilty pleasure I had in me. But I did resist, even when The Toddler put it right in my face, unknowingly, and asked me if I wanted a bite. "No, sweetie. Mommy can't eat that." But I was thinking "Hell Yes!!! Stuff it in my mouth NOW!!!!!"
We went to a celebratory dinner but not without first having to debate a good place to go. In an effort to save some money, we didn't go to our usual favorite. I declined the lists of fast food places brought up because I really wanted to sit down and be served. We ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant we'd often passed but never tried. I couldn't get Pho, something I LOVE in the winter and now have to pass up. I also couldn't opt for spring rolls which are another favorite of mine, but rolled in rice paper. They apparently have sushi on the menu which looked amazing, but, of course, have rice. And they do not have a brown rice option so I couldn't even justify some whole-grain carb intake. I ended up selecting a chicken and broccoli dish and a side salad. The food was satisfying and filling but only gets a cool B+ from me. Two of the folks at the table got Pho which they said was good so when January is over, I may indulge in some.
On the way home, I found that I was in serious sugar-craving mode. This is the first time in quite awhile and my powers were not strong enough. I bought a McDonald's chocolate chip cookie, something I used to love when I'd be craving sugar. Actually, as I've mentioned before warm chocolate chip cookies are my biggest sweets downfall! So, I ate the thing and then was so mad at myself I decided to Google the nutritional facts.
Challenged Tip of the Day: DON'T GOOGLE NUTRITIONAL FACTS OF UNHEALTHY FOOD YOU HAVE JUST CHEATED BY EATING!!!!
But I already had. ONE COOKIE = 170 calories (seriously?!), 9g fat (better than I'd thought) and 23g carbs (uh ... WTF) of which 14g come from sugar. Not great. So, in one cookie, I'd way out-done my carb limits for the day. SHIT.
I will give myself some credit for this being the first time I'd cheated, fallen off the carb wagon and eaten more than 20g of carbs. But still ... I didn't need the cookie, I could have chosen a different sweet, I could have avoided altogether. I definitely was weak in that moment.
Later that evening I went to see Contraband with The Boy. Slow, dry, but not horrible. It wasn't something I was dying to see (like J. Edgar or Young Adult) but it also wasn't something I've worked so hard to avoid (Zookeeper or Chipwrecked).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SATURDAY, JANUARY 14th ... DAY FOURTEEN
I slept in.
I almost feel like there is nothing else important to say about the day because I never get to sleep in. And I did ... I slept in!!
But, okay. I also wanted to feed the kids with a breakfast that I could also eat. So, despite their request for pancakes, they got a bacon/sausage scramble with a side of hashbrowns (that I didn't eat). It was good and I was glad I'd taken the time because otherwise I would have either skipped breakfast or ended up eating something I really didn't want just because I was starving. I really need to find out how to curb that. Is it just me or does everyone else also have this I'll-eat-whatever-I-can-get-my-hands-on-just-because-it's-there-and-I'm-STARVING issue??
Then I was really wanting a workout but also wanted to get The Dog some exercise. So I packed up The Toddler and The Boy we headed out to walk.
CHALLENGE TIP of the Day: Don't expect to get your heart rate up if you take a toddler and a 3-month old puppy on your walk.
But we did walk for an hour and take a 45-minute stop at the field near the house to throw the ball. And on the walk back, I even got The Dog up and running a bit. It wasn't the best workout, but at least I moved for 1 hour 45 minutes and I made the most out of it that I could.
Saturday errands were next but I was hungry. Lunch on the go? String cheese, sugar-free strawberry Jello and a handful of raw pecans. But I was actually fine afterwards.
The afternoon was taken up by a volunteer project with my kids - we helped make dinner at Ronald McDonald House in Austin. That was quite the experience. RMH provided free room and board for families with sick children in the hospital. The families are usually from out-of-town and can't afford to stay in hotels. On this night, we met a family with 4 children ages 5, 4, 3 and 3 days old. The 3-day-old girl was born January 11 but due April 30. If you don't want to do the math, that's 24 weeks, 2 days gestation. The federal law for considering a fetus "viable" is 24 weeks. This little girl, delivered at home by the father, was born ONE HOUR after the parents had been sent home from the hospital for a check up because the mother was complaining about pain. She weighed 1lb10oz at birth, has a little hair and was cleared by the doctors as having a healthy brain and lungs. I talked with the dad and he matter-of-factly said "All I cared about was that she has all her fingers and hands. The rest is out of our control." She has quite the road ahead, anything could change at any moment, she still may not survive such an early delivery, but if she does, she's bound to be one of the strongest little girls that God made.
Watching my kids cook for families like them, watching my almost-3-year-old clean the dishes used to make dinner, hearing all the raves from the kids after touring the facility and talking to this family made me PROUD and reinforced my belief that being open is important because you never know when a lesson is coming your way. Today, I expected to be proud of my kids. I expected to be impressed by RMH and its purpose. I expected to feel accomplished by our efforts. But I didn't expect and wasn't fully prepared to be touched by one family's story. The drive home was very reflective for me.
Life is hard, it comes with no guarantees and we spend many of our years begin tested and stretched, sometimes beyond our wildest imagination. But we are never given more than we can handle, and everything we go thru is for a purpose. Whether it's to teach us something or to prepare us to teach others, knowing it has a purpose helps me to get thru. I'm even okay with those times where I don't yet understand the lesson I'm supposed to learn despite my faith that it's "happening for a reason." But I appreciate most of all the times where I unexpectedly learn and grow in ways I wasn't prepared for.
=================================================================
We had planned another evening of whatever-it-brings-it-brings, but my mood was changed and I wanted Family Night. So I stopped to pick up dinner at Rudy's - the favorite BBQ joint in my house. Then I grabbed a movie and headed home.
Dinner (for me, I stuck to brisket, sausage, jalapeno sausage, cole slaw and beans) and some family TV later, I was feeling very full and fulfilled. I will save you some suspense and tell you I'm probably having leftovers for lunch tomorrow too.
We started the movie and I promptly fell asleep. PERFECT.
Friday the 13th wasn't the best day but it wasn't the worst either.
I woke up too late for the gym, but really had wanted to go so I was pretty disappointed. But I made myself an egg with spicy sausage for breakfast. I had a morning full of meetings and was my usually over-booked self so I had no time to notice my hunger. When lunchtime came, I was so hungry that I was tempted to head across the street to the convenience store and stock up on carb-loaded, unhealthy food. But I maintained my resolve and ordered myself lunch from a restaurant near work I love. I was so good too because my favorite thing to eat there is fried chicken with a double side of baked mac & cheese. Since I can't have anything on that list, I ordered smoked kobe meatloaf with a salad (dressed with chevre ranch with makes it low-fat) and sauteed green beans. It was really good!!! I'm guessing there were bread crumbs in the meatloaf so I'm counting it as 5g of carbs.
Our family went to watch The Evil Nephew (if you recall, he was given that moniker during the first week of this challenge when he decided to cook deep friend pb & js in front of me - SUCKER) play in his first Texas High School Basketball game. The game was good: his team won and he scored 18 points.
But because my family likes to torture me, The Boy, The Son, The Extra Son & The Toddler all ate chips, candy bars and sugar-filled Gatorade right in my face. I had no interest in the chips or drinks, but watching them eat Twix almost killed me. I used to enjoy those with all the guilty pleasure I had in me. But I did resist, even when The Toddler put it right in my face, unknowingly, and asked me if I wanted a bite. "No, sweetie. Mommy can't eat that." But I was thinking "Hell Yes!!! Stuff it in my mouth NOW!!!!!"
We went to a celebratory dinner but not without first having to debate a good place to go. In an effort to save some money, we didn't go to our usual favorite. I declined the lists of fast food places brought up because I really wanted to sit down and be served. We ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant we'd often passed but never tried. I couldn't get Pho, something I LOVE in the winter and now have to pass up. I also couldn't opt for spring rolls which are another favorite of mine, but rolled in rice paper. They apparently have sushi on the menu which looked amazing, but, of course, have rice. And they do not have a brown rice option so I couldn't even justify some whole-grain carb intake. I ended up selecting a chicken and broccoli dish and a side salad. The food was satisfying and filling but only gets a cool B+ from me. Two of the folks at the table got Pho which they said was good so when January is over, I may indulge in some.
On the way home, I found that I was in serious sugar-craving mode. This is the first time in quite awhile and my powers were not strong enough. I bought a McDonald's chocolate chip cookie, something I used to love when I'd be craving sugar. Actually, as I've mentioned before warm chocolate chip cookies are my biggest sweets downfall! So, I ate the thing and then was so mad at myself I decided to Google the nutritional facts.
Challenged Tip of the Day: DON'T GOOGLE NUTRITIONAL FACTS OF UNHEALTHY FOOD YOU HAVE JUST CHEATED BY EATING!!!!
But I already had. ONE COOKIE = 170 calories (seriously?!), 9g fat (better than I'd thought) and 23g carbs (uh ... WTF) of which 14g come from sugar. Not great. So, in one cookie, I'd way out-done my carb limits for the day. SHIT.
I will give myself some credit for this being the first time I'd cheated, fallen off the carb wagon and eaten more than 20g of carbs. But still ... I didn't need the cookie, I could have chosen a different sweet, I could have avoided altogether. I definitely was weak in that moment.
Later that evening I went to see Contraband with The Boy. Slow, dry, but not horrible. It wasn't something I was dying to see (like J. Edgar or Young Adult) but it also wasn't something I've worked so hard to avoid (Zookeeper or Chipwrecked).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SATURDAY, JANUARY 14th ... DAY FOURTEEN
I slept in.
I almost feel like there is nothing else important to say about the day because I never get to sleep in. And I did ... I slept in!!
But, okay. I also wanted to feed the kids with a breakfast that I could also eat. So, despite their request for pancakes, they got a bacon/sausage scramble with a side of hashbrowns (that I didn't eat). It was good and I was glad I'd taken the time because otherwise I would have either skipped breakfast or ended up eating something I really didn't want just because I was starving. I really need to find out how to curb that. Is it just me or does everyone else also have this I'll-eat-whatever-I-can-get-my-hands-on-just-because-it's-there-and-I'm-STARVING issue??
Then I was really wanting a workout but also wanted to get The Dog some exercise. So I packed up The Toddler and The Boy we headed out to walk.
CHALLENGE TIP of the Day: Don't expect to get your heart rate up if you take a toddler and a 3-month old puppy on your walk.
But we did walk for an hour and take a 45-minute stop at the field near the house to throw the ball. And on the walk back, I even got The Dog up and running a bit. It wasn't the best workout, but at least I moved for 1 hour 45 minutes and I made the most out of it that I could.
Saturday errands were next but I was hungry. Lunch on the go? String cheese, sugar-free strawberry Jello and a handful of raw pecans. But I was actually fine afterwards.
The afternoon was taken up by a volunteer project with my kids - we helped make dinner at Ronald McDonald House in Austin. That was quite the experience. RMH provided free room and board for families with sick children in the hospital. The families are usually from out-of-town and can't afford to stay in hotels. On this night, we met a family with 4 children ages 5, 4, 3 and 3 days old. The 3-day-old girl was born January 11 but due April 30. If you don't want to do the math, that's 24 weeks, 2 days gestation. The federal law for considering a fetus "viable" is 24 weeks. This little girl, delivered at home by the father, was born ONE HOUR after the parents had been sent home from the hospital for a check up because the mother was complaining about pain. She weighed 1lb10oz at birth, has a little hair and was cleared by the doctors as having a healthy brain and lungs. I talked with the dad and he matter-of-factly said "All I cared about was that she has all her fingers and hands. The rest is out of our control." She has quite the road ahead, anything could change at any moment, she still may not survive such an early delivery, but if she does, she's bound to be one of the strongest little girls that God made.
Watching my kids cook for families like them, watching my almost-3-year-old clean the dishes used to make dinner, hearing all the raves from the kids after touring the facility and talking to this family made me PROUD and reinforced my belief that being open is important because you never know when a lesson is coming your way. Today, I expected to be proud of my kids. I expected to be impressed by RMH and its purpose. I expected to feel accomplished by our efforts. But I didn't expect and wasn't fully prepared to be touched by one family's story. The drive home was very reflective for me.
Life is hard, it comes with no guarantees and we spend many of our years begin tested and stretched, sometimes beyond our wildest imagination. But we are never given more than we can handle, and everything we go thru is for a purpose. Whether it's to teach us something or to prepare us to teach others, knowing it has a purpose helps me to get thru. I'm even okay with those times where I don't yet understand the lesson I'm supposed to learn despite my faith that it's "happening for a reason." But I appreciate most of all the times where I unexpectedly learn and grow in ways I wasn't prepared for.
=================================================================
We had planned another evening of whatever-it-brings-it-brings, but my mood was changed and I wanted Family Night. So I stopped to pick up dinner at Rudy's - the favorite BBQ joint in my house. Then I grabbed a movie and headed home.
Dinner (for me, I stuck to brisket, sausage, jalapeno sausage, cole slaw and beans) and some family TV later, I was feeling very full and fulfilled. I will save you some suspense and tell you I'm probably having leftovers for lunch tomorrow too.
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