Dear Reader:

I am totally exhausted right now.   Totally.  But, I'm posting tonight because it is a good daily discipline (see how I used that word in a way I can handle?) and because today was a day full of important stuff.  

First of all, my mom's scale says that I've lost 21 lbs. so far.  So, I've passed a goal.  And, I've got only 4 more pounds before I've lost 10% of my weight.  That's a great number for medical benefits, from all the information I've gotten.   So, I'm feeling some energy and excitement about the possibility for me continuing in this direction.   It is a long, long, long journey, but I CAN DO THIS.  (Imagine me fist pumping in an exhausted manner...)

So, for those at home reading who didn't start with me at the beginning - I started off at 254 pounds on November 1.    I am now at 233 pounds.   I still don't like putting those numbers down in writing, but I refuse to give them power over my life.  THEY ARE JUST NUMBERS.   (I'm afraid I'm going to do a lot of CAPS writing tonight - I apologize and ask for your patience.)   I would LOVE to get down to 215 by my recital in late March.   And, I would LOVE to be under 200 by the beginning of school next fall.   And, maybe by next December, I'll be at 180 (which will be, by the way, the weight at which Kate Winslet was ridiculed by the Hollywood establishment for being fat.  Oh, culture.  Oh, world.  Sometimes, you suck.  Come on.)  Just give me a moment while I faint from the thought of how MUCH WORK THAT IS GOING TO TAKE...  

OK, moment taken.   I am planning to have some medical tests taken again in January (glucose tolerance, A1C, cholesterol, etc.) to see if this much weight loss has made any impact on those numbers.   OH, THE ENDLESS NUMBERS.  

Calories consumed today (although it's kind of hard to calculate the number of calories involved in the marscapone grits that came with the salmon dinner tonight):  1617
Calories burned:  118 (a 30 minute stroll in DC)

So, I travelled from WV to DC to bring my Mom and myself and my kids over to my oldest brother's house for a few days.   Breakfast began the day at Mom's:

I think I might be able to enter the Guiness Book of World Records for number of egg pics posted.  Can we all agree that I can just mention that this is what I eat for breakfast almost every day?  K. Thanx. (You can really tell I'm tired and giddy now...)

Lunch was at Penn Alps in Grantsville, MD.   Note:  The German Mennonites really know how to do sauerkraut:

Also, I added a 1/2 cup of sugar free butter pecan ice cream and a no-bake cookie.   Although I am really enjoying these holiday adventures, I will be GLAD to get home and make SIMPLE, LOW CALORIE food.   Soon.

As soon as we landed at my brother's house and the kids mind-melded with their cousins and told me that they didn't need me any more because they were having too much fun, I headed to the Metro to go downtown to have dinner with my two good friends who GOT MARRIED TODAY.   They've been together 20 years and are my landlords and my babysitters and my friends and are the BEST. PEOPLE.   And, to just make it totally, totally clear - I would not have made it through these last five years of single parenting and being a generally crazy but functioning human being without these two guys.  They are my emergency contacts.   They are the people who tried to rush out and save me and the kids when a tornado came through town.  They mow my lawn.  They bring me dinner when I feel like I'm at the end of my rope.  They stay with one of my children when I have to take the other to the emergency room.  They allow me to live in the house next door to them (which they own) at a ridiculously low rent.  They are the kind of people that I hope my kids grow up to be.   They are good people.   Sure, they have their issues and problems like the rest of humanity, but I hope they know how much they mean to my family.   In fact, I hope they know how much I view them as my family.  MY FAMILY.   I love these guys.   And, while I know that this day on which they got married is just another day that they commit to being together, I can't help but get a bit teary-eyed at the meaning behind it.   In fact, I'm full out crying now as I write this.  And, I'm sending them the link to this blog post so that they know what I'm saying.  I LOVE YOU BOTH.   A LOT.   CONGRATULATIONS.

Anyway, I'm so sorry that I'm off my rocker now.   Here is a pic of dinner:

Salmon on a bed of marscapone grits.   Yeah.  With blueberries on top.   Well, these guys don't get married every day, so I did it.

And, then my walk tonight had a little different scenery than last night:

OK, I'm going to go to bed now before I become a basket case of too many FEELINGS.   And, I'm definitely not judging those feelings tonight.  Because they seem just right.   Tomorrow will be calmer, most likely, dear reader.  Stick with me.

Thanks for reading!