Aaaaaaooooo....

We had the most beautiful moonrise here in SoCal tonight!! This huge, bright, white, full moon rose up into a crimson sky streaked with orange and teases of yellow. The mountains stood in stark relief against a darkening horizon...aaahhh...pure perfection!

It is such a pretty day today!! I love waking up to crisp sunshine…

Life on the BTD is still going well. I’ve really taken to the checklist format to track food for the week. It is so telling to know what I haven’t had enough of yet; my main problem is still getting seafood into my diet. I’ve also found that I’m having trouble eating enough of the grains and starches. But after being back in the pool this week, my body is starting to catch up to the need for fuel!!

So the tradition around here is that I make the birthday dessert for everyone else, made to order. Well, I don’t really care for store bought sweets, and no one else really bakes…so I get to make my own b’day treat (though my bestest friends pay for the ingredients!). I have this problem--I finish all of whatever is made or opened (when it’s junkie food…chips, cookies, cake, etc.). So this time I’ve made little cheesecake cupcakes!! They are easier to give away and even better, I can control how much I eat. If I have three or four over a weekend, it’s about the same as a large piece of cheesecake. Hopefully the junk food hangover won’t be so bad this go around!

Okay, I know, I know…I’m a couple of bumps behind (wavelength bumps!!) on the whole LR4YT thing…but my b’day is coming up soon and must be that I’ll ask for that book. I read the other bloggers have gotten lots of great info from it…I wanna play too!!

Anyhow, I’m living well on the BTD with classes in full swing. Portioning out meals to the weekly “rations” chart has been great…I’ve lost three pounds already!! My body is rejoicing to be back in the water…but my muscles are still trying to play catch up. I think it shouldn’t take too much more than a week to be back…in…the…swim…of…things…soon!! Har har har…

Phew…made it through the first round of classes. Two more tomorrow night and two more after that on Thursday. Sixteen hours of sitting on my butt (not counting So. Cal. drive time) squashed into three tiny nights. Does all that sitting really change one’s hips and bottom? At any rate, my bum, knees and head are sore from the sitting and looking under bad lights.

All this from a girl who is so thankful and happy to be back on the other side of the classroom!! I love every bit of pursuing a higher education, really!!

Anyhow, DAY ONE of the pack-and-go eating schedule went swimmingly. I didn’t get to finish everything that I brought, but don’t feel hungry. I managed turkey flesh today, and I think that that helped. I have a hard time not falling back into my vegetarian ways…it’s just easier (and more fun) to prepare veg. friendly foods…but I know that the animal protein has really made a difference in my energy levels and strength.

Got back in the pool after six weeks off and had a great workout…actually, my buddies kicked my butt up and down the lanes…but it’s a good kind of “kicked around,” my body was so happy to be back in the water! And my emotions were happy to see my swim friends again…I highly recommend working out with a group of wonderful, supportive people…it just makes the whole experience joyous!!

Here’s my thought for the evening: It is worth the time and energy to prepare the food ahead of time for a pack-and-go kind of schedule because it’s healthy and much cheaper than eating on the road. And all those little tupperwares are so cute!!

Classes start tomorrow and after having had a month off, I must say that I’m very ready to be back on a schedule. My daily swim will resume tomorrow and if the game continues as it’s going…then I’ll have all of my food portioned out for the week!! I took one of the other blogger’s advice and printed out a chart showing servings for each food group for the week and just checked them off as I ate this week. I had no fish or meat all week…so much for being the well balanced person that I thought I was!! At least keeping track weekly helps me to make minor/major improvements to my technique for keeping on the “program.” I will also be trying out a yoga studio on Tuesday to perhaps retain some of that youthful flexibility that I feel trying to slip away from me!

Happy beginning of a new week to us all…with love in “big” games and new commercials…