Feeling Good!

It's Monday and I must say, I did pretty well this past weekend.  I took a 3 day weekend to relax, do some work around the house and (mostly) to make sure I take some of my vacation time before I stop accruing it! 

I worked around the house Friday am and went to walk around the mall with a girlfriend in the afternoon before our facial appts.  We walked for 2 hours, stopping here and there, so I called it a one hour leisurly walk on my points calculator.  My friend LOVES to go out to eat and she doesn't watch what she's eating at all, so I have to be careful about going out with her.  Part of why I gained so much was because I was eating right along with her for the past year and I can't do that.

After our facials I convinced her that if I were to go out to eat with her that it would have to be at Applebee's where I can easily track my points.  You know, I've only been to Applebee's once before and I wasn't impressed.  However, this time I so very much appreciated my french onion soup and chicken dinner!  Even with dessert I only used 13 points of the 16 I had left for dinner so I went home feeling really good about my choices.

Saturday I continued working around the house.  I have a huge bookshelf that came out of my church's bookstore before it was remodeled.  Solid wood, 6feet tall and 8 feet wide and I had the thing packed with books and cds.  I unpacked everything, moved it out to the garage and my roommate and I started sanding it down so I could paint it.  Took all afternoon but we got it completely sanded and ready for paint!  It felt good to have a day that wasn't pouring rain and to be able to get outside and work in the garage.  I also cleaned up the driveway, which was littered with gardening debris that needed taken care of.

I did go to a facial party (yes, two in one weekend!) that night and ate the snacks that were around.  Mostly veggies with very little dip, but there were swiss stuffed dates that were amazing.  Also drank water instead of wine so I saved points and calories there.  We did play the Wii dance party game - the one where you stand on a mat and step according to which direction the arrows pointed.  For a group of women in our 30s and 40s we did pretty well!  Of course, when one was on the mat the rest of us were behind her doing the same thing as practice.  That group of women are really fun and I'm so glad to have met them.

Sunday we primed the bookshelf - two coats.  Unfortunately the rain made us stop.  Can't paint when the rain is coming down so hard that it is splashing back up and into the garage and onto the project!  Instead we walked over to the neighbor's woodshop and helped her move a stack of teak she had recycled from a remodeling project.  This neighbor has an amazing woodshop in her garage and I love going over there to play around and smell the sawdust.  The smell of freshly cut wood has always been a favorite of mine.

Besides, what is more powerful than a woman who knows her way around tools?  Well, she's different than most, but she teaches the women in the neighborhood how to do things and is always happy to have us in the shop with her visiting and working together.  Every neighborhood needs a woman like this who honors the strengths in women that we may not recognize in ourselves.

After planning meals for the week from the WW cookbook, we headed off to Trader Joe's and Safeway for supplies.  For 2 of us we spent $90 for more than a week's worth of groceries.  I'll make another pot of lamb stew, my roommate made her amazing 4pt taco salad last night and I've got pork chops to cook this week as well.  We're eating really well on Weight Watchers I tell you!

All that work on the bookshelf burned off some calories for sure and I was sweating while moving those books and cds around.  It feels so very good to have a rain free day where I could actually get out and do something!  It also helps having a housemate who likes to work around the house like I do.  The last 3 roommates I've had were pretty much couch potatoes!

I did well.  I'm happy with my progress and again, no matter what the scale says on Wednesday weigh-in, I feel good and my jeans are getting looser, so I'm winning the battle right now!

Here's to a great week everyone!

Aileen