silver lining

So you know how you see things in movies all the time or maybe even hear about them in real life (but usually it's in the movies) and think to yourself "oh man, that sucks! But that would never happen to me" and you laugh at the TV screen (slash person telling the story) because hey, it's happening to someone else.

Today, I was the person on the TV screen.

The story:

I went for a run this morning to the post office for stamps. I've decided that if I need to run an errand that doesn't involve carrying lots of stuff back with me (aka grocery shopping), I'm literally going to run the errand! So today I ran to the post office. Anyway. After the post office I needed to go grocery shopping, so I came back after the post office and then set out with my reusable bags. I contemplated showering in between, but decided not to since I was going for a walk and it was actually kind of warm outside (ok like upper 60's). While I was at the store, it rained. It looked like it was going to rain when I left, but I went anyway because I want my brisket! And I needed tin foil to make this dream come to fruition. But that's another story. You're probably pretty confused by now, what with me telling you about my hygiene and talking about brisket with no prior information. Or, more likely, you're just ready for me to finish this story. I'm almost done, I promise.

So it had stopped raining by the time I left Tesco, which is good for someone who just bought like, 500lbs of groceries. Or like 25. Same difference. Anyway. I was walking back, feeling happy because the rain was nice enough to stop before my walk home, when SPLASH! A car driving in the left lane went through a massive puddle and completely showered me and my groceries. I think I would have preferred walking in the rain. That way at least I knew what I was in for, ya know? It was totally like you see on TV - the water came out of nowhere and when it hit me I stopped, threw my arms out and gasped in shock. Cold, dirty water-induced shock. Ew.

So why are you telling us this, and what the heck does it have to do with silver linings?

I've been making the effort lately to see the silver lining in every situation. It kind of helps, looking for the positive in a generally negative situation. Makes it more bearable. Anyway. The silver lining in this situation? I was still in my running clothes (except for my sneakers, thank goodness. I changed into flip flops. I would have cried if my sneakers got soaked because I'm the kind of person who just loves wearing new-looking sneakers) and hadn't showered yet. So I was already hurtin' for a shower, and I wasn't wearing clothing that could have been ruined.

So yeah. Silver linings are cool. People think I'm weird sometimes for bringing them up, like how can you possibly be seeing a positive side to this story? You're just trying to make me feel better. But you know what? It usually works. So take that. I win!

things i've learned

Ok so I'm "packing" right now, aka doing everything but. In my defense though, I'm almost done! Pretty impressive, considering I'm like, a master procrastinator. I'm not just good at it, I'm friggin' awesome at it. If procrastination was an olympic sport, I would totally have the gold medal.

Anyway.

I'm leaving for London today. HOLY CRAP. 6 weeks has gone by already? Yep.

I'd say overall this trip was a success. I wouldn't necessarily call it a vacation, though. But wait, aren't trip and vacation the same thing? No, no they're not. At least not in my family. We like to distinguish between the two. A vacation is relaxing, no schedule, do what you want, yadda yadda yadda. A trip is a removal from your usual place/town/whatever of residence, but it isn't generally relaxing or full of lots of down time. I have been super duper amazingly busy these past 6 weeks! Not that it's a bad thing; I've loved every minute of my crazy packed schedule. Well, maybe not every minute. But most of them. I've definitely loved every day. I got to see lots of wonderful friends and family, I worked and saved some money (probably to be spent in London. Shopping, anyone? Just kidding dad...)

Update: I procrastinated. Shocker. I'm now in London. And now back to our regular scheduled programming...

So. I was going somewhere with this post title. I learned a few things while home.

1. I learned that it's way easier to follow an eating plan when you're cooking for yourself all the time. Adding uncertainty and delicious pizza definitely doesn't help. Especially when you have little to no willpower since you were deprived of said delicious pizza for 9 months.

2. Eating this food in moderation actually works. It satisfies cravings without overloading my body and causing successive massive gains. It's amazing what proper portion control can do.

3. I learned that I'm not always going to have the kind of free time and/or weather that I have in London, and exercise needs to be a priority. I really should schedule it in now, even when I don't have much of a schedule.

4. Getting to/from the airport with multiple bags is a pain. Getting to/from the airport with multiple bags when your tube stop only has stairs, and no elevator/escalator? That's like, a million times worse. No lie.

5. I really love living where I do at home. Being away for so long (have I mentioned this already? Whatever) has made me realize that I really want to stay in the same area that I grew up in. It's just...home. Other cities are awesome, but they're not home.

My brain hurts. I'm going to Borough.

just like riding a bicycle...

Yesterday was my first day back at work. It's almost as if I never left, except for a few small changes. Changes like our closing time a couple days out of the week, which may seem minor when the day that changed is Thursday and yesterday was Tuesday, except that when a customer asks what time we close and I give the wrong time I look like an idiot. Changes like the type of plate we use for our calzones, which should be a non-issue since I'm a manager and technically don't have to stock anything, but becomes an issue when I tell people they need to keep up with their sidework, go grab plates myself, and am subsequently told by the pizza cook that no, we don't use those plates anymore. Crap. I'm awesome.

I also noticed how easily I started to slip back into my old eating habits. Remember those habits? The ones that caused me to gain roughly 30lbs in about 6 months? Crostini and croutons have points, people! You can't just snack on them all day and expect to get away with it. Sheesh. But just look at this menu. Who wouldn't gain a bunch of weight working here? The food is just so delicious. nom nom nom.

Yesterday I made myself a small bowl of grapes ("made" is a relative term. It's not like you have to cook grapes), and whenever I felt like eating croutons I had a few grapes. Worked pretty well! I did have some soup, but it's a bean soup and really point-friendly. Yes, I had pizza (*gasp*) yesterday for lunch, but today I had a veggie wrap! Yes, I had it with a side caesar salad, but I put the dressing on the side! It's amazing how little dressing you need when you control how much goes onto your salad. Notice how I said need, not want. I could totally eat like, 5x as much caesar dressing as they give me. I love the stuff. But it's about portion control, right? Who really needs a whole cup of dressing for like, 3 bites of salad? (I kid, I kid.)

Anyway, this time around it'll be different! I can totally control what I eat.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

why today is a good day

I'm a generally happy person.



<----See? That picture just screams happy. Or neurotic. Take your pick.




Today though, I have reasons (see the "s"? There's more than one!) why I'm happy.

Why are you happy today, Adie?

Glad you asked! Although honestly, I was going to tell you regardless of whether or not you asked! Because you see, it's my blog. I do what I want! (Cue song: It's my party and I'll cry if I want to....cry if I want to...except I won't cry. Because I'm happy, remember?)

Reason 1: I have officially accomplished my goal of completing all school work before my brother gets here on Tuesday! This may not sound like such a big deal to you, but it really kind of is. I'm like, really good at procrastinating. I also seem to pick the courses where all of the work is due in the last week, so I tend to just live in the computer lab at uni for the last week of classes. I feel so much more productive getting everything done in a few long days than spreading work out over 8 weeks. Is that weird? Maybe. But it's how I roll. And I don't see any of my professors complaining. But this term I got started early! And now, heading into week 7 of 8, I have every.last.assignment.done. No exams, no presentations, nada. Yep, I'm awesome.

Reason 1.1: My brother gets here on Tuesday!

Reason 2: I had potatoes for breakfast and lunch today. That's right, twice!

But Adie, that doesn't really fulfill your GHGs very well, does it?

Well no. But I'm usually pretty good at cramming them into dinner. And anyway, I really, really needed potatoes. See, potatoes are my favorite food. Somehow I went like, 2 weeks without potatoes in my flat (adie = lazy bum). Except that I found a few small ones in my cupboard last night that I totally didn't think I had. But seriously, I was going through withdrawal! I almost forgot just how much I love potatoes. Almost.

Reason 3: I started packing today, and suddenly the fact that I'm going home in 13 days is way more real than it was say, yesterday. Sure, I've been counting down for like 2 months, but it still felt so far away. I live here. What do you mean I have to pack up all of my things and go somewhere else for 6 weeks?? I was discussing this with my friend Lauren the other day, how it will be so weird to go back to our Stateside lives when really we don't feel like there has ever been anything other than where we are now.

But Adie, you said you were listing reasons you were happy today? This doesn't sound happy

I'm getting there! Patience is a virtue, you know.

Really, I'm super duper incredibly unbelievably excited to go home. I'm pretty good at dealing with distance for lengthy periods of time, so most of the time I had the concept of "home" tucked neatly away in the back of my mind. Now, it's kind of all I can think about. I think seeing suitcases on my floor with stuff in them (instead of under my bed) really made it.....real. I packed all of the stuff I knew I wouldn't be needing for my last 2ish months in London. Ya know, winter clothes, Harry Potter books, that kind of stuff. So far I have one suitcase filled, and another about halfway. I'll save the rest of that space for summer clothes. Because I need to wear something while I'm home! And not just anything, but my super fashionable London clothing (which really isn't much different than what I normally wear, I just bought it in London. But shhhhhh).

Reason 4: I discovered this blog. This girl is friggin' hilarious. And I want to share her with the world. Because I stayed up an extra few hours last night reading her blog. I especially like the pictures. I count this in reasons I'm happy today because I spent all morning reading. So there.

And that's why I'm happy today.

hakuna matata

Another thing I love? Disney movies. So much truth (and entertainment)!

This week, I gained. And not just .2, which I wouldn't even consider a gain. I gained 1.2lbs. I have several theories on this.

Theory 1: I didn't drink enough water.

The daily recommendation for water is 6-8 8oz glasses per day. However, I've also heard that you should drink roughly half your weight in oz of water. So really I should be drinking like 95oz instead of 48-64oz. I slacked this week. Did you know that coffee =/= water? Yeah. This week my goal is to refill my water bottle twice each day (so 3 32oz bottles).


<---Look at me, I love water!



Theory 2: My day of not eating finally caught up with me.

One day last week (well, 2 weeks ago but the week leading up to last week's weigh-in) I ate about 7pts the entire day. No I was not trying to starve myself. I just didn't feel well. That probably contributed to my loss last week, kind of how when you're sick you lose a bunch of weight. But just like when you're sick, I gained that weight back. It was a false loss. They say sometimes it takes a week for your eating habits to catch up with you. I guess I had it coming.

Theory 3: I ate all of my weeklies and a couple APs, and ate some of them on Monday.

Normally I use my weeklies Fri/Sat, and maybe a few on Sunday. It doesn't seem to matter how many of them I use; if I only use them the first couple days of my week, I lose at WI. That's just the pattern I've gotten into, and it works for me. It encourages me to eat really well most days and only indulge when I really feel the need to. But not whenever I want to. See the difference? It teaches me restraint. What a concept!

I came up with these theories this morning while I was a bit miffed about the gain. Justification always makes me feel better, if only temporarily. This week, I'm trying something new. In addition to tracking normally (I write everything down in a notebook in addition to tracking online, which stemmed from an unreliable internet source but has now turned to habit), I'm going to track how many filling foods I'm eating. So next to the points value for every food I'm noting if it's SFT. I'm also adding up both sets of points. Eventually I'd like to transition to doing Simply Filling, but the last time I tried it I failed miserably. This time I want to be prepared!

SO. I'm leaving last week behind and focusing on the new week ahead of me.

Hakuna Matata!