I said December was going to be a busy month and I wasn’t kidding! The Weight Watchers project wrapped and I went back to my normal life, which is a bit less exciting, but not by much. Next up was my birthday. The night before my birthday I had a small celebration with Miguel and the kids, including some yummy desserts that I picked up for the occasion.

And the morning of my birthday those two little loves almost made me cry with their sweet birthday wishes, getting ready for school like angels and offering to “make your favorite cereal because it’s your birthday mommy.” Nothing better than that.

I worked that day but I still managed to enjoy it. I snapped this picture of the Golden Gate on my way to the hospital. Taking in that view made my day that much better.

And for lunch I went to one of my faves, Sol Food, and had ribs, black beans, rice, salad and fried plantains (“maduros” meaning ripe, which also means sweet – so good). It was a great meal.

  
That night Marek went to a birthday party so Ms Myra and I attended the San Francisco Symphony. A few months back Marek and I had a “special night,” so now it was her turn. We were a bit rushed so we ate dinner in the car on the way (Panda Express, don’t tell anyone). The symphony was the music of Looney Toons cartoons, so fun to hear live! During the performance they projected cartoons onto a big screen over the orchestra.  

After the show we searched for ice cream and ended up at the original Swensen’s ice cream. We both had a scoop and chatted like two little girls all the way home. I had such a great time with my girl.

Saturday morning was the next birthday gathering. I’m realizing there were kind of a lot of birthday celebrations and feeling quite loved. I went to breakfast with my mom, the kids and M. I had a veggie omelet and splurged on the home fried potatoes, some bacon and multiple bites of other people’s pancakes. Plus, more cake. 

 
Then it was off to buy a Christmas tree.

And then home to get the holiday decorations started. We couldn’t finish though because I had to get ready for dinner out with M to celebrate my birthday. Oh boy, it was so good. I actually had a ribeye steak. That, plus the martini, wine, dessert – well, it’s no wonder my weight took quite a jump this week. 

Sunday was round two of holiday decorating and by the end of the night the house was ready for Santa!

And we were exhausted. We piled up on the couch to watch another Star Wars movie. We’re trying to get through all six before the new one comes out. 

Oh, before I wrap up – a few final things. I exercised three times last week and, so far, two times this week. My goal right now is three times a week. It‘s taking mental effort to get myself to go. I’m still of the “ah, skip it” mentality. Sad, right? But I know exercise is VITAL to my happiness. Absolutely vital. So I’m going. And I know, I believe, I’ll get the bug again and it won’t be something I have to push myself to do. Bottom line, I’m going. Mostly I’ve been running on the treadmill and then doing random, easy weight lifting. My back has been so bad lately so I’m going slow. 

Speaking of my back, I finally went to an orthopedist to see what the deal is. She took x-rays, talked to me about what she thinks it might be (spinal/disc mumbo-jumbo), and then ordered an MRI. All I remember is it doesn’t seem to be awful/need surgery like I’d feared, and she‘s confident that with physical therapy, maybe some injections and good management I can get pain free. Imagine! I don‘t talk a lot about it but the back has been so bad lately that I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night in so much pain I can hardly move. And if you watched me put my socks on in the morning you’d think I was recovering from abdominal surgery. It’s bad.

waiting to get x-rays

Final thing, and this might be a whole blog post soon, Weight Watchers. I went to my meeting today and got all the details for the new Beyond the Scale plan. I have to say, I think I love it. It encourages people to eat more like I think I eat. Emphasis on lean proteins, some consideration of calories, and sugar and saturated fat are discouraged through having a high Point value.  

The next two weeks are no less splendidly busy than these past weeks have been. Holiday parties, dinners with friends, family gatherings…lots of food and drink I’m sure. It will be a victory to keep up my exercise and not gain weight, let alone lose, through all the festivities. 

Speaking of weight gain…my weight jumped by over three pounds from last week. Huh? Ok, I don’t think I ate that much. But I reminded myself that whenever I start or increase exercise I usually gain at first. I think it’s water retention as the body adjusts to all the new activity. Or maybe I’m PMSing? Ok fine, I ate a lot. No matter, I know what to do, keep plugging along. It will work eventually. I just passed my third year of maintenance. I know as long as I don‘t ignore the issue, I can tackle it. I’m a bit irritated though because the WW app stopped working for me. I want to track this week but it won’t hold anything I enter. I know people all over are struggling with the app and it will take the WW tech people time to get the bugs out but grrr.

Speaking of WW, keep on eye on their social media. I hear you might catch a glimpse of me just after Christmas. I’m not working for them and I’m not a spokesperson – but I did get to do something that I hope will inspire someone, even just one person, to get out there and start living. I can’t wait to see it myself and share it with you. Ok, that’s it from me.