This Weekend, Contests, and Daughter Does Me Proud

Ugh, I went way overboard with the eating this weekend. I did really good on Friday but Saturday I went over to Scott and Sean's for dinner. Sean made an awesome pork chop with spicy rub for dinner and it was so delicious. Amy said I should have brought my camera so I could blog about it. Well, no pics but trust me it was banging. Afterwards we had quite a few drinks and on my way home, I stopped at WaWa for a pint of Moosetracks ice cream, which I promptly scarfed down right before I went to bed.

Sunday night I met Scott, Sean, and some of our buddies at Merryfield's to watch the football games and drink cheap pitchers of beer and half priced wings and pizza. Heather was our server. We had a great time but I ate and drank too much, again. I do great during the week but when the weekend comes, I seem to lose the eating battle.


Moving on to better things, how about some contests where you can win some cool stuff? I love winning cool stuff. Hey, I just love winning. Anything. Really. Have a contest for dust bunnies? I'm there. Anywho, Jeannie over at Jeannie's Happy World is holding a contest. She's giving away a copy of her "Lose Weight-Feel Great" cookbook on CD to three lucky people. Considering how badly I want need to lose 20 lbs., I really need to win this cookbook. I get 5 entries for posting about the contest. To check it out yourself, click on the widget in my sidebar or just click here.

Diana, Cheryl, and Sheila over at 3 Scrap Booking Ladies are holding their Thankful 4 Fall Giveaway where someone is going to win a ton of scrap booking goodies. I sure hope it's me cause I want to make a scrap book for my mom for Christmas. She deserves the best and what these gals offer is definitely the best. I don't get any extra entries for blogging about the contest so I am going for any bonus "brown-nose" entries that might be available. For more details, click on the widget in my sidebar or just click here.

Heather and her boyfriend, Aaron

Finally, last night Heather asked me when I was going to get the oil company to come look at our heater. It's probably 35 years old and just recently started to barely blow any heat. Well, I haven't paid the oil bill yet so I told her I wasn't going to ask them to come take a look at it until the bill was paid. And considering it's over $350 and I am two months behind with AT&T, my paycheck on Thursday was not going to cover them both. She handed me $200 and said, "Here's $200. Pay the bill and get them out here. " I told her thanks but she didn't have to give me money. She replied, "Well, I live here too. I can help out." I hadn't asked her for any money yet because she's just started working and I wanted to make sure she had money for the holidays. It warmed my heart to think that she would offer me that money without even having to ask for it. I guess I must have done something right while I was raising her.

My Feeding Frenzy

I stepped on the scale today at work and my worst fears were realized. Ok, they weren’t my worst fears, but they were fears none-the-less. I have gained 11 pounds since I stopped smoking. I knew I had gained some extra weight. My pants are tight and my face feels bloated. I am eating bigger portions and snacking heavily throughout the night. When I smoked, I would simply light up a cigarette instead of grabbing something to eat. I don’t have that luxury now.

And that was really no luxury. Because I don’t smoke, my house and car smell better, I breathe easier, my clothes don’t stink, my teeth are getting whiter, and those around me who do smoke are cutting down when I am around. These are all good things. But I am also getting heavier.

My friends say it’s better to gain some weight and give my lungs a break. I feel that they are half right. It is a good thing I am doing for my lungs but the extra weight is not a good thing for me. My clothes are getting tight and uncomfortable. I’m hypoglycemic so this overeating has my blood sugar going crazy. I don’t sleep well and I’ve been waking up several times a night, very hungry. When I get up in the morning, I feel sick because I ate too late at night and then ate in the middle of the night. And I am starving at the same time. Why can’t I just stop one habit without replacing it with another?

I believe that recognizing a problem is half the battle. In fact, I realized I was eating way too much and I just couldn’t seem to stop myself. So knowing you have a problem and doing something about it are two different things. And half a battle won is still half a battle lost. The only way I am going to beat this thing is to step up to the plate and step away from the plate at the same time. It’s all up to me.

So why am I blogging about this? It’s not because misery loves company. I’m not looking for pity or a comforting word. I just need to share it with everyone. If I say it, write it, and read it, I know I’ll do it. And it helps to know that the millions of people who read my blog are supporting me. (One can dream, can’t one?)

Just like I was able to stop myself from smoking, I know I can stop myself from overeating. I had a fourth of July party at my home and went to another one the next day and most of the people were smoking. Did I smoke? No. Did I want a cigarette? Not once, even after many drinks. I think it’s time to scratch smoking off my “not doing” list and move overeating to the top. I’ll just take it one day and one pound at a time!