Lemon All-Shook-Up

I am declareing this week a sucess. I in no way resisted the fair food, don't get me wrong, just check out the last post, but I broke even as far as weight. Need to check out Mama Notes to see if the rest of the Red Team fared better. Given the amount of lemon shake-ups and cheesecake on a stick I consumed, I call it a win that I did not gain 5 pounds! As the picture demonstrates, it was ridiculously close, and I am a weak, weak woman when it comes to fair food. The picture is taken from my back yard over the neighbors fence, all I had to do was cut through their gate and bam, sugary and/or deep-fried awesomeness. Already back on the wagon. Water instead of shake-ups, fruit instead of elephant ears. Moving on!
H.W.

Back to reality

This years Elwood Glass Festival is drawing to a close. My 4 yr old is glad to be getting 'her' park back, and I am glad for a few more reasons. I love the festival, don't get me wrong. There has, in fact, been only 1 year of my 34 so far I ever missed it...granted I spent the majority of those years, including this one, living in a house literal steps from it, but that's beside the point. I love sitting in the "Busybo" in our front yard and people watching, then spending time with friends who drop in to sit along with me. I love seeing people I only seem to run into during the festival. I love the parade. I love finding that one booth at the festival that has something new I love. I love the Optimist fruit drink, elephant ears, and my new favorite...chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick. I love that this year there were wood carving and blacksmithing demonstrations, very cool. I love that there are bus tours to take people to some of the great businesses in this town like Spencer's Lapidary, New Day Meadery, Venus Chocolate, The Opera House, and of course the glass factories, St Clair and Prestige. But, as usual, by the last day I am ready for it all to go. I want to not have to put up a barricade so that people will not park in my driveway and block us in. I am tired of people with loud cars/motorcycles pulling out of the elementary school lot across the street late at night and waking up the baby. I am tired of our yard being a trash can, a short-cut, a hang-out for people who were kicked out of the park when they closed down for the night. I am tired of watching the Praise Puppets again and again as they slaughter classic rock into cheesy Christian songs(I Wanna Rock and Roll all Night was fine with the original lyrics k, thanks) and getting the stink-eye from the other parents when they notice my pentacle. I want to be able to sit on the 'Busybo' at night and it be quiet enough to hear the fountain across the yard gurgle. I will miss it when it is gone, and I will start to get excited about it about mid-July next year...but I am ready for my small town peace and quiet again. H.W.

B.A.B. halfway mark!

I am halfway through my Body After Baby challenge, and I am really doing great. Check Mama Notes to see how the Red Team is doing! This morning I weigh 266, which means I have lost 15lbs of my 20lb goal! I am not quite where I want to be lifestyle change wise but I said I wanted slow and steady. The water and exercise have been hit or miss, but I have been doing good making small changes in my eating habits that add up. I did a lot of research over the weekend on new slow cooker recipies because evening is when Mojo is worst with the colic crying and dinner is a challenge that is too often solved in a drive thru. I found a great site called A Year of Slow Cooking with some great ones, even one for making yogurt which I have been wanting to do and will be trying this week, so check back on that one! I also want to get going on doing my dance workout videos this week, if all else fails I think I could do the bellydance ones with Mojo in the sling if I had to...how funny will that be! Will post a pic if that happens. I am really getting excited because I am doing well and am not killing myself working out or starving myself, which I have done time and again, and then burning out and gaining it all back plus 20. I just keep telling myself this is a lifestyle change, and I can't go the rest of my life with no ice cream, for example, but I can learn to be satisfied with a small dish instead of mindlessly eating half the container, barely tasting it because I am watching T.V. I am finding that if I want something and really concentrate on enjoying it, I can have just a little and be full. I have even noticed that when I eat fast food, if I slow down and taste it I don't finish it all...which is huge for me, I mean throwing away french fries! Amazing! Especially since I have been struggling with post-pardem depression and a colicky baby keeping me up all night...the fact I am not bingeing to comfort myself is really awesome, because I have turned to food as comfort all my life. Oh no! The Elwood Glass Festival is this week and the park behind my house will be full of fair food...elephant ears and polish sausage literally steps from my back door...yikes! Be strong, Tori, be strong!
H.W.