I had planned to get quite a bit of stuff done over the weekend, and while I did do several things on my list, I didn't get even half of what I'd planned accomplished. Friday I went and worked out for the infomercial thing, went grocery shopping, and made some of the phone calls that I needed to make. I crashed about 4pm, and then went down to Anne's for dinner and to watch "Joan of Arcadia". Exciting Friday night for two single women, eh? Did get a phone call from the new guy I met at Starbucks last week. We now have plans for dinner this coming Friday evening.

Was in bed again by 11pm, and woke up at 4am Saturday. Managed to sleep some more and finally got up around 8:30, which was pretty good. Then I ran some errands, went to get my hair cut, and went to Blockbuster and rented a few movies. I watched "The Big Blue", which I'd seen years ago when it first came out, but couldn't recall the details, and wanted to see again. It was weirder than I remembered, but still intriguing. After that, I took a nap, and then met up with Mike to watch SNL. We hadn't even talked much this week because we've both been so busy, so it was good to catch up a bit and spend some time together. Donald Trump hosted SNL, and it was pretty funny. I never used to like the show, but it appealled to me more this time, perhaps because now that I've done some improv I can appreciate how difficult it really is to perform live without a lot of rehearsal time!

Sunday was a really nice day. I slept late, and then Mike called and asked me to brunch. I was so hungry that I ate the entire omelette - it was a BIG omelette, too! We had a nice brunch, and then I headed home to clean my apartment. Except that Anne had called while I was out, and she wanted to go do something, so we went and ran some errands together, and grabbed some dinner while we were out. We shared some caesar salad, french fries, and tuna salad sandwich. Then we went to the music store because she wanted a Def Leppard CD from the 80s. I had no idea she even liked their music, and I can't really say that *I* like their music, but okay. I've been wanting to fill in some gaps in MY music collection, because as much as I like some performers, somehow I had never bought any of their CDs - how I managed to live this long without any Beatles or Elvis in my collection, I'll never know! (And I know at least one BTD follower who is appalled by what she just read!) I bought a Beatles CD a couple of weeks ago, so that had been taken care of, and today I found the Elvis CD I wanted, as well as a THREE CD set of Tom Jones for the bargain basement price of $14.99. So I have filled in a few gaps in my collection now, and now all I need to find is a good CD of Elton John's greatest hits. Again, how did I live this long without an Elton John CD? I dunno.....

I did absolutely no working out this weekend, and actually kind of ate like crap today. It always seems to happen right BEFORE I realize that I am PMSing, and sure enough, I ate that date nut bread with cream cheese on it, enjoyed every bite, and THEN came to my senses and realized that it was about THAT time. And THEN I realized that I blew my goal of not touching wheat until my birthday. Phooey. I'm back on track, though.

I do know that I will eat wheat Tuesday night. It's Passover, and I'm joining Anne's family for dinner that evening. Her 91 year old grandmother is cooking, and I will offend her if I don't eat everything that is served to me. Plus, she's a good cook, and it's a religious holiday, so I'm eating whatever we're served (except beef -- never touch the stuff). I will be moderate, though, and I will take Deflect (which I did today, too) and otherwise I will be a good little doobie until my birthday. I always feel like holidays should be holidays from the strictness of my diet, too. It's just no fun to work this hard at the BTD and not be able to have a little break from time to time.

The rest of this week it will be a challenge to get enough rest. I've got something going on every day except Wednesday, and I've already turned down other activities so that I can sleep. I have to - if I don't sleep enough, I'll get sick, and I can't afford to be sick!

For lunch today I've got turkey breast and salad, and pumpkin seeds for snacks. I'm easing my way into low carbing for a couple weeks - the carbs have gotten out of control again, and I am bound and determined to lose this weight before my birthday. It's time to stop messing around!

My life seems to revolve around getting enough sleep, and getting to work on time. I went to work last night after dinner with my uncle and the others, went home this morning, slept until right before my acting class, went to class (which was really good, BTW), and came straight to work. I haven't had time to prepare any food for lunch, so I grabbed some chicken and salad from the grocery store, as well as some already prepared smoothies to get me through the night.

Friday will be spent cleaning my apartment, preparing food for the weekend, and exercising like a madwoman since it didn't happen today. I've also got to make some phone calls tomorrow that I've been putting off all week! And submit to a few acting jobs that I would be great in, among other things. I don't get to do any 'administrative' stuff during the week because I end up sleeping and cooking or working out all week.

It's getting frustrating! I hope that as I continue to work out really hard that my energy level will increase and I won't need to sleep quite as much, either. I can dream, can't I?

I didn't have any avoids today, but I can't say it was the ideal BTD day, either. Woke up and had two pieces of Ezekial toast for breakfast, one with blueberry jam on it, the other with almond butter on it. Trail mix for a snack during class, and some of the chicken breast from the grocery store right before I started work tonight.

As promised, dinner tonight WAS utterly lavish and decadent, and I have a ton of sushi in the fridge here at work as a result. I even drank alcohol, which is rare for me! Had two cosmopolitans, and the first one was just the perfect combination of cranberry juice and alcohol. The second was also good, but not perfect like the first. There were five of us at the table: my uncle, his friend/broker (J.), another man who is both my uncle's friend and the broker's colleague (B.), and another woman who is friends with B. (C.). We had a marvelous time, and all of us ate WAAAAAAAY too much. And they had flourless chocolate cake on the menu, so we ordered it for dessert, and it was out of this world. I'm sure it had dairy in it, but with an evening like tonight, I wasn't going to worry about that!

I'm now back on track with the diet/fitness regime, and will probably work out every day for the next several days to get back on track AND be in good shape for the next splurge for Passover.

I slept from 10am to 5pm today, and then left my place by 6pm, drove an hour south to meet my uncle and the gang, brough him back this way after dinner, and then took him back to the hotel, which was 20 miles west of here, and then had to come back the same 20 miles and go 5 miles north to get to work. I covered over 100 miles getting to and from dinner, at least 40 of which was just running my uncle back to the hotel. Made it to work with 10 minutes to spare.

Between the sushi, the alcohol, and the dessert, I am incredibly thirsty tonight, and I'm sucking down the water like crazy to help flush this stuff out of my system. Will also be taking deflect and lots of other supplements to deal with what I put into my body tonight. It was worth it, though!

Besides, it could be worse - I could be eating Twinkies and Ding Dongs all the time, right? : )

I woke up at 6:24 pm today, and realized that I had to be in my second spinning class by 6:30pm. Oops. I'd set my alarm for 6am instead of 6pm. I went into turbo bumblebee mode, and dashed out the door. Fortunately, the gym is only a mile or so away, so I arrived at 6:35, quickly set up the bike, and started pedalling away. Was so glad to be on that bike I swear I was grinning like a fool for the first ten minutes I was there. Then, of course, the pain set in!

I pushed myself really hard on the bike tonight - it felt good to see what my limits were with this, and the trainer is so motivational that I really 'went someplace' internally and pulled up whatever it was that I needed to find to continue to push. It was an awesome class, and we spun for nearly an hour (apparently spinning classes are usually 40 minutes), and aside from having jelly-like legs again, I felt great. Considering that the average spinning class burns about 500 calories in 40 minutes, I have probably burned around 1,000 calories just from spinning in the last two days. My seat is incredibly sore from sitting in the bike saddle, but apparently it just takes a while to get used to it. I don't have a pair of biking shorts, so I've been sitting on a folded up towel to provide SOME cushioning. The first class it kept falling off, so I used a rubber band to hold it onto the seat for the second class. It worked like a charm, and will save me from having to invest in a pair of biking shorts for a while. I want to see how much I think I'll be spinning in the future before I go spend money on a new form of exercise.

The rest of today was fun, too. This morning after work I called my uncle, and we went out for a quick breakfast. It was really good to see him, and I can't wait to see him again tomorrow night. : ) Then I went home and slept, and after spinning class I went home and made some salmon and spinach for dinner. Then Anne stopped by, and we talked for about an hour before I had to kick her out and get ready for work. She and I had a terrific conversation, and howled with laughter about a couple things that we hadn't had time to talk about before - her dates, Brad phasing himself out, life in general - and she said that she'll be laughing for days about one story I told her. Heck, I'm still giggling about it! Unfortunately, it doesn't translate well to the written word, or I would share it here, too.

After Anne left, I had about an hour and 15 minutes to get ready for work, and I puttered around a little too long, and got out of the shower with 12 minutes to get ready for work. Bumblebee time again - threw on some clothes, grabbed my lunch and purse, and raced out the door. No makeup, hair still damp, etc. Made it to work on time, though, and have been doing stuff on-line since then, interrupted by the occasional call.

Tomorrow I will head home and go directly to sleep, and then I hope to head to the gym before going to dinner with my uncle. Dinner promises to be 'lavish and decadent', so I want to burn off some calories before I even indulge. The indulgence will be minor, anyway. I will have a nice meal, and might have some wine, but dessert is probably out of the question BTD-wise, so I won't stray too far.

I know that I can be completely compliant the rest of the week through the weekend, so the next planned indulgence will be next Tuesday evening for Passover dinner at Anne's grandmother's home, with both her parents, me, some other friends of the family, and I'm bringing Mike. Should prove to be an entertaining evening. Anne's parents bicker all the time (they divorced 30 years ago) and Mike hasn't met Anne's mother or grandmother, though he has met her father. Last year it was a traditional dinner, but also a comedic evening. I suspect this year will be the same, but more so.

I watched "Whalerider" this morning before I went to bed - incredible movie, and I think it is my favorite of the five I rented over the weekend. I loved it. I don't know that I agree that the young woman in it should have been nominated for an Academy Award, but whatever, she was, and she did a fine, fine job acting in the movie. I just don't think her performance was as demanding or as dazzling as the other actresses who were nominated. Doesn't take away from my appreciation of the movie, though!

I slept fitfully today, and then had to get up and go to a spinning class tonight for the infomercial. I've never done a spinning class before, so this was an experience! I was grateful that I've been working out for six months now, because I know I kept up better than I would have otherwise. I never felt like I was huffing and puffing, so all those hours on the elliptical machine were good for something! My legs, on the other hand, were exhausted by the end. I can definitely see the need for cross training! By the time I got off the bike I felt like I could barely stand up! Enjoyed it, though, and the trainer is VERY motivational for this O, and brings out my competitive side. I need that right now, as that sense of competition has been pushed down for a while!

After the spinning class, I was supposed to have dinner with my uncle, but when I called him to see where to meet him, he cancelled on me - the time difference was too much for him, and he was exhausted after having travelled all day. We may not even get to see each other tomorrow since I have another spinning class tomorrow at 6:30 that I have to attend. That will depend on how tired he is tomorrow night. But Wednesday evening is a definite go, and he said we would do something utterly lavish and decadent for dinner. Cool! Except that I really need to stay focused on this program for the infomercial! I might have a little bit of dessert, though, or wine or something.

Since he cancelled for tonight, I went home and napped for a couple hours before coming in to work. Then got up, threw my clothes on, and headed in here. Nearly forgot my lunch and snacks, which would have been a first, and a disaster in terms of my diet. I had some ground lamb that I threw into a skillet with a little bit of olive oil, some toasted walnuts, sweet potato, and spinach, and I put some curry and garlic salt on it and mixed it all together. It was divine, all HBs, and I have more for lunch. Had some celery stalks with almond butter for a snack. Haven't juiced in a couple of days since we're supposed to limit our sugar intake. : ( Once a week we have a 'free' day to eat whatever we want, within reason. I suspect I'll have some juice on those days.

Went to Starbucks the other day and was chatting with this cute young guy about 'the industry' as the movie biz is usually referred to out here, and he is a wanna-be writer/producer. He currently works with some high-powered folks, and said he'd give my headshot and resume to them, so we exchanged information. He asked me out for that evening (Saturday, I had plans with Mike) and then he called me today because he had a terrific job interview and wanted to celebrate with me, and again I couldn't because I was supposed to have dinner with my uncle. But I think we'll get together one evening next week. At first I was against the idea of going out with him at all since he's about 25, but he seems mature, kind, intelligent, and fun, so why not? Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz are both dating younger men, Oprah did a show on it, so what the heck. If nothing else it would be interesting to contrast dating a man 8-10 years younger than me to one who is 8 years older than me.