Thanks, Erin! I just read your comment, and indeed, it has been too long. Allow me to explain...
The Bad:
This week has been up there in the top 3 most stressful of my life. Work was REALLY tough - made the decision to make a kid (meth addict, HIV+) homeless for the night; girl I had been working with for HOURS for the past week to get her to stay in a place with a roof over her head ran away and is most likely turning tricks to get around. Soooo... that called for a round of homemade cookie dough. Lesson learned? I need to find a better coping food. There's also been serious relationship and business issues this week (which make the above look small in comparison) that make good choices seem impossible.
I need to figure out two important strategies (suggestions welcome!):
1. How do I make good choices when under tremendous stress?
2. And more commonly, how do I make good choices when in a party/group situation? (I've discovered at recent parties/potlucks that if food is in front of me, I will eat it.)
Why I haven't lost hope yet:
Next week is the start of some great things that I hope will be instrumental in keeping me on track. My work-sponsored "Biggest Loser" competition is starting on Thursday. Excitingly, myself and two other co-workers have officially signed up for a team and are committed to winning this thing over the next 3 months. We've even discussed trading off bringing lunch for the whole team. I'm also trying to convince some non-participating co-workers to come cheerlead for us at weekly weigh-ins. (You hear that, Tritia? Dust off those pom-poms!)
My church family and I are also starting a 40 day fast next week. It's not a complete fast (I think only Jesus can do the whole 40 day thing), so what I'm thinking so far is that I'm going to go vegetarian and cut out any drinks except water and tea. I'm still debating because the point of the fast is not to give up something you want to give up - I've been thinking about being vegetarian for a while - it's about giving up something that will make you rely on God and honor Him. I know giving up soda and coffee drinks will be hard, but I don't know. We'll see what happens.
Finally, we're moving at the end of this month (2/27, if you wanna help us haul boxes), and I'm hopeful that our new neighborhood will encourage a healthier lifestyle. Parking is difficult and there's an abundance of shops/restaurants/cafes in walking distance. My hope is that we'll become much more active because of our environment. I'm also hoping/predicting that I'll have more energy because my work commute will be so short that there won't be any time for traffic to suck the life out of me on my way home. Plus they'll be more time to exercise!
In any case, these things give me hope for the future despite my walk behind the wagon the past week or two. I'm gonna launch back up on that sucker, just you watch!
