Ta-Daaa!

My eating has been a challenge this holiday, but I did accomplish a goal.

A little backstory:  Because we had people coming in from all over and at different times, we wound up having our big holiday meal Sunday night and opening gifts on Monday morning.  So I had a little delay in the festivities.

Then after gifts were opened and leftovers consumed, my husband and I geared up and went out to walk the hilly road called Holdsworth Drive.

Did the whole thing, baby!  It was about 3.6 miles total, I think.  (Been awhile since I measured it out.)  I know for some of you die-hards, that doesn't seem like much, but at my fitness level and with all the hills, it really was pretty big for me.

It was windy, but the weather was really nice otherwise, and I had my fella with me.  All good!

And now for the photo proof of my quasi-5K:

Wait for me, dude!

Don't know if these pics do justice to the hilliness of this road

Big hill coming up in the distance!

Blue skies and sunshine

I think I might do this again sometime!

My Super-Duper Saturday!

Saturday I walked MOST of the hilly road in my town called Holdsworth Drive.  After I walked it, I went and checked the mileage, and it was 3.2, which is just short of the whole thing.  I will get there, but that was pretty good for the first run.  Perhaps I shouldn't use the word "run," because running I most certainly was not!  It was a lot of panting and whining and legs threatening to quit.  But it was really good, and my big ol' glutes are still a little sore today.

Then my hubby Mike went to ring the bell for Salvation Army for a little while and I let the kids go bonkers in the backyard, and we took the kiddie art easel out there and made Christmas paintings outside too.  Love this December Texas weather!

After that, we cleaned up and hit the road for our annual drive to Johnson City to look at pretty Christmas lights.

First up was a quick stop between Kerrville and Fredericksburg to say hello to "Scrappy."

Scrappy - Yep, that's his real name!

Next we stopped in Fredericksburg for dinner.  The case of cheesecakes looked ever-so-enticing.

I did wind up with a teensy little molecule of a bite of one of these, but no more than that.  And I ordered a sensible meal and ate a reasonable portion of it.  The chips, however?  Um, that's another story.  But I did track it all like a good Weight Watcher.

After dinner it was on to Johnson City.  First stop was the courthouse, where lots of people were milling around and waiting to go inside to a craft fair.  

Courthouse

 Because we weren't all that interested in going inside, we walked a couple of blocks over to a church that had a living nativity scene, complete with live animals and a real baby.  They even served hot chocolate and cookies afterward.  The kids indulged, but Mike and I did not!

After that, we went to the park/courtyard area which was all decked out.  It was fun to walk around in all the little holiday scenes.

Finally we left there and went to -- (I'm not making this up) -- the electric company building.  It's actually a huge building with a lot of land around it.  Santa was there for the kids, they were selling hot apple cider, and there were hayrides and horse and buggy rides.  The most amazing thing is that they light up all the trees with a gazillion lights.  It doesn't really show up in photos, but it's just incredible to walk under these trees. 

Our daughter took this picture of me and Mike.

As we were leaving town, I noticed this little beauty salon called Truvy's (like in Steel Magnolias) and had to snap a quick pic of it.

Then it was back home, listening to Christmas music in the car, and arriving home with two kids who were already sound asleep.  

Good old family fun!

Full Disclosure

This was a first.

I was telling my husband about my plan to use a blog as a weight loss tool.  As usual when I'm starting a new diet (how many times have I done that?), he asks me how much I weigh.  I never tell him.  Never.

I asked him to guess and told him I'd tell him if he guessed exactly right.  Well, he was off by one pound.  One!  So I told him.  I mean, the man has eyes and has already pretty much figured it out anyway, right?    On a much smaller scale he has a little weight issue himself, so I figure he gets it.

But, damn, it was still hard to admit.

I have gained approximately 75-85 pounds since our wedding, depending upon which recent weigh-in I go by.

Back then, when I was a size 6, I still didn't tell him how much I weighed.  Why do so many of us do that?  What's with all the shame over a number?

In some ways I feel better having told him.  I've acknowledged the fact and taken some of the secrecy and shame out of it.  Some.  Not all.

But I'm working on it.