A Lightbulb Moment - Oct 10 through Oct 15, 2023

*** Written 10-10-23***

Is today the day ? I don't know. Maybe "the day" will never come. I just need to pick up the pieces and take each day as it comes.

I woke up at 6:35 this morning but dozed back off until the alarm went off at 7. Today was another gloomy drizzly day - typical Fall weather ! I've kept the heat on in the house to ensure dampness doesn't set in. I have the thermostat on 70 and that is comfortable.

Yesterday was an off day because I'm still upset about the loss of my phone. It just irks me when someone takes something that is not theirs. I have the new phone all set up and once I have my new case (identical to my old one), I think I'll feel better. On the bright side, I was a tiny bit envious when Michelle got her S23, since I had the S22. I guess someone up there decided I should have an S23 too ! I always says things happen for a reason. I had planned to exercise yesterday and that didn't happen. Oh well.

Work has slowed down some and it's allowed me to dig further into some of the old stuff that has been hanging around on my worklist. I'm taking full advantage of the lull because it likely won't last. I doubt there will be any overtime opportunities but if any pop up I will definitely take them ! I have to recoup that $600 somehow ! LOL

I managed to get myself dressed before noon but I didn't have my shoes on ! I hadn't put the trash out so I cleaned the litter boxes and then put the trash out. I also made a promise to myself that I would get on the treadmill after work. Well, that didn't happen. 

From a food perspective, I'm in better shape now. Most of the "junk" in the house is gone. I haven't bought any pizza, ice cream, candy or frozen snacks. The candy bars I had are about gone (just a couple tiny Butterfingers are left) but I still have a candy dish of Tootsie Rolls in the event of an emergency ! The Johnsonville sausages are gone. The cookies I've been having with my yogurt are down to one stack. When that is gone, game over ! I think I have 6 packets of PopTarts left, so they'll be gone soon too. I've been having an apple or two a day and I'm really enjoying them. I have 3 of the Honeycrisp I bought back on 9-30 left and I bought some Granny Smith and Snapdragon's this past weekend. My afternoon snack is cottage cheese & fruit. Here's another funny "things happen for a reason" event .. last night a nearly full can of whipped cream wouldn't stop flowing after I piled a fair amount on top of my lemon zest cake. That can erupted like a slow volcano. I ate more than I should have and gave some to Abby but a lot went to waste. So now I have 1 can left for the week ! This is a great time to start scaling back on that.

Today I had waffles with sugar free syrup for breakfast. Late morning I had yogurt and cookies. At lunch time I had an apple, only because I noticed one of my remaining Honeycrisp had a big bad spot. Around 2:30 I had a beef, bean & cheese burrito with salsa. I bought these fancy expensive salsas a few weeks ago and they were not worth the money. One that I bought was so hot it was inedible and I threw it away. $15 down the drain. The second one, which I'm eating now, is full of whole pepper seeds. I do not like it and will likely toss what is left. Another $15 wasted. I also got a jar of bleu cheese stuffed olives, which I haven't opened yet. We'll see if they were worth the money. Last item I got was jalapeno flavored salt. I'm sure that will be fine, once I open it. How can you go wrong with salt ?!?!? When we were at Crazy Daisies on 9-30 I bought a couple jars of a nice smooth salsa, which I was able to sample first. I spent $15 for 2 jars and I guarantee not a drop will go to waste ! I will never buy another expensive salsa unless I'm able to sample it. For dinner I had broccoli and roasted turkey medallions. Around 7 I had a glass of wine and 2 PopTarts. I have 5 packages left ! 

5 pm to 8 pm seems to be my trouble spot Monday through Thursday. Work is over and my casino game challenges don't reset until 8. You would think I could work up the discipline to get some things done during those 3 hours. It is plenty of time to eat, exercise, shower, vacuum, wash a few dishes etc. Friday's are troublesome because I can go to bed later and feel no sense of urgency to do anything. Weekends are even worse because there is NOTHING I "have" to do and it feels like I have all the time in the world. I have so much that needs to be done around the house and I sit here night after night and do nothing. I am really going to try very hard to accomplish some things this weekend.

*** Written 10-11-23 ***

Today IS the day ! Today I got up, fed the indoor & outdoor cats and scooped litter boxes before work ! I also made my bed. That's a big deal !

I got dressed around 11 am, made my shake, put on my shoes and got my fat ass on the treadmill at noon. I chose a 33m53s workout, so I walked for just under 40 minutes straight. That's a big deal for me right now !

Breakfast was french toast with sugar free syrup. You only get one slice of french toast and man, I could totally eat 2 or more ! I also had my yogurt and cookies. I'm on the last pack of tea cookies and I'll miss them ! My morning snack was a chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a chef salad and pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 2 apples and some peanut butter. I probably exceeded the recommended calories there but I'm not going to sweat it. Dinner was green beans and a meatloaf sandwich dressed with some barbecue sauce. Evening snack was a chocolate cupcake with a bit less whipped cream !

At 5 pm I allowed myself a few minutes to collect & return free coins on my slot games, fed the cats and then headed for the treadmill. I pushed myself through a 35m56s workout. I started at 2.3 mph and at 30 minutes to go I increased to 2.4 and then added another 0.1 every 5 minutes. I got to 2.9 with 5 minutes to go but with 2.5 left I increased to 3 mph. That's a big deal, because 3 mph has been a struggle. The fact that I could do it after over 30 minutes on the treadmill tells me a lot about my fitness. Yes - I am grossly overweight but I have the ability to push myself on the treadmill and that is key ! By 6:05 I was done and before 6:30 I was enjoying my dinner !

It really felt good. While I was cooking my dinner I realized how GOOD I felt !! I didn't feel exhausted or like I needed to sit on the couch to recover. I felt energized ! I deliberately chose the 2 longest workouts on my schedule today and tomorrow I will do the next 2 longest duration until I'm caught up. I have 8 to get done for the October iFit challenge and then I can work on some other series for the rest of the month. 

*** Written 10-12-23 ***

Yesterday was an amazingly successful day. I did almost 96 minutes on the treadmill !!! I think that is a first for 2023 ! My morning started a little slower today though. I lingered in bed until about 7:20, so I didn't have time to clean litter boxes before work. Of course I fed the indoor and outdoor cats because they are my #1 morning priority.

I got dressed just before 11 am and I also stripped my bed, to ensure I put fresh sheets on it ! I also made my shake and put on my shoes to ensure there were NO excuses when noon rolled around !

Breakfast was waffles with sugar free syrup. Late morning I had yogurt and cookies, then my shake at noon. Lunch was a chef salad and a pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was the last Honeycrisp apple ! I never got around to having my cottage cheese. Dinner was broccoli and a chicken & grain bowl. This entree is only 210 calories and I've only had it once. The first time I had it I didn't like it so the other 5 of them have been sitting in the freezer. Tonight I decided to bite the bullet and have one. I cooked it for the 4.5 minutes the package called for and then let it sit in the microwave since you're supposed to let it sit for a minute. Well, I didn't go back to it for over an hour and after a 2 minute reheat I really liked it ! I think letting it sit allowed the grain to absorb the moisture in the tray. I also added a little salt for flavor. 

Work wasn't super busy but I got a lot done. I'm using the lull to do a lot of housekeeping in my worklist and my case files.

I started my fitness day off with a 35m18s walk. I started at 2.3 mph and increased to 2.5 at 30 minutes to go. I added 0.1 mph every 5 minutes and managed to make it to 3 mph for the last 5 minutes. About 20 minute into the workout I really wanted to stop, but the real issue is I was hot - so I stepped off the treadmill just long enough to turn the fan on. I need to just turn the fan on when I start. 

After work I took a short break to collect & return free coins on my slot games and then headed back to the treadmill for workout #2. Yet again the little toe on my right foot is bothering me. I took my shoe off and the tip was blistered. I put my sock & shoe back on and powered through. I chose a shorter workout, 23m13s and didn't push the speed quite so hard. I started at 2.5 mph and at 20 minutes to go I increased to 2.6 and then 2.7 at the 15 minute mark. When I got to 10 minutes I decided to do 1 minute intervals. I accidentally boosted the speed to 3.1 (instead of 3) but was able to it. At 5 minutes to go I returned to the programmed pace, which was 2.5 mph. All and all I am happy with my effort today. I could have used the toe pain as an excuse to not workout, but I didn't let that stop me. So I put in 70m31s total today. That includes 12 minutes of warm ups and cool downs. 

Today was Amazon day ! I got in a supply of coffee syrups (6 vanilla, 4 hazelnut, 6 salted caramel) and this should get me through the winter. I also got a really nice Disney duffle bag. This is going to be my "personal item" for the plane when I go to Disney in December. It'll hold my purse, snacks, phone, etc. It's lighter and more flexible than the bag I took last year. I also got a holiday Minnie t-shirt and holiday leggings. I also got a bright red top and a navy blue dress. I'll try this stuff on over the weekend when I'm fresh and clean ! The t-shirt will likely be snug right now, but my plan is to lose at least 20 pounds between now and December 3, so it should fit perfect ! The red top looks a bit big, so we'll see how that goes ! I also got some packing cubes, in hopes of having a more organized suitcase. I'll play with those this weekend too ! I plan to pack a LOT lighter this time around. If I like the navy dress I will bring it, as we do have one "fancy" dinner scheduled.

I was done with my evening workout before 6 and after eating my broccoli I spent some time playing slots, cleaned out the litter boxes, took a shower and put fresh sheets on my bed. I'm happy with my progress today. I didn't eat any "extras" and I got 2 workouts in. Something as simple as that is really all it takes to get this diet and exercise plan back on track. 

*** Written 10-13-23 ***

Well, today got off to a super early start. I woke up at 2:22 am and could not go back to sleep. I got up around 3, made a cup of coffee and settled on the couch to watch tv and try to go back to sleep. It didn't happen. By 5 I'd had 2 cups of coffee and a cinnamon roll because I was hungry. I went on Costco's website and ordered some gift cards to pay for my next Nutrisystem order. I'm glad I thought to do that because my order is scheduled to process on Monday and Costco doesn't process gift card requests during the weekend. They arrived in my email at 12:03, so I was glad to get that taken care of !

Before I went to bed last night I tried on the dress and 2 tops I got from Amazon. I absolutely LOVE the dress and it will be packed for Disney ! I probably could have bottom a smaller size, but it's not baggy. I think any weight I lose will just make it look nicer ! The t-shirt fits but it's not as loose as I would like. I think it'll be fine by the time my trip rolls around ! I'm on the fence with the red top as I didn't have bottoms on .. lol ! It fit fine and I think it will be cute with leggings. I bought black leggings with candy canes on them and both tops will go with them. Since my Disney trip coincides with their Holiday parties, I'm going that route with my clothing. I need to find some Christmas jewelry !

About 6:10 am my body decided it was time to sleep again, so I was able to get just under an hour more of sleep before the alarm went off at 7. I fed the outdoor cats (and the indoor cats again), made my bed, cleaned out the litter boxes and swept up scattered litter, then made my 3rd cup of coffee and my pancakes. Yep - the indoor cats and I had 2 breakfasts today !

So my food intake today was an early morning cinnamon roll, pancakes with sugar free syrup, yogurt with cookies, pepperoni pizza melt, an apple, cottage cheese, green beans & a chicken enchilada. Evening snack .. well, I got into some trouble there. 2 packages of Nutrisytem cookies, 1 ice cream sandwich and a chocolate cupcake with whipped cream. Done. Over.

Even though I was dressed and had my shake ready, I was too tired to get on the treadmill at noon. I decided to give in to that and promised myself I would exercise at 5. That didn't happen. I was just too tired and spent the evening on the couch.

*** Saturday October 14, 2023 ***

I woke up at 7 today because the alarm went off on my phone. Apparently I didn't set up the sleep setting from 10pm to 7am correctly. I was able to go back to sleep for a little while but eventually I had to pee so bad there was no option. After I peed I tried to go back to sleep but that wasn't happening and I knew Abby and the outdoor cats were waiting to eat. I'm not sure what time I got up but I think it was around 8.

I fed the indoor and outdoor cats and sat down with my breakfast and first cup of coffee. I spent some time collecting & returning coins on my slot games and also finished one of last nights coin-sucking challenges. I also got out my old phone that I'm trading in and made sure the "find my phone" setting was off, then did a factory reset to delete all my data. 

The goal for today was to get a good amount of cleaning done. I cleaned the upstairs toilet while I up there. Cleaning often feels overwhelming to me because I tend to let things go for a long time. I need to put more focus on just doing things here and there instead of letting it build up to this point. Right now, every room in the house needs attention. I'm having everyone for pasta on 11-5 so I need to get the house in shape and then keep it that way ! The biggest job in front of me is cleaning the carpet in the dining room and living room, so that is my goal for this weekend. I also plan to get the dishes washed and clean up the kitchen. That won't take long and is an easy goal.

One thing that sucks up my time is my slot games. I don't spend enough time on this blog because I'm spending all my free time playing the slot games OR watching ads to earn more coins ! I finally figured out I can use 2 browser windows to run the ads in one and write my blog in another ! I just make the slot game window small and click over when each ad ends to start the next one. The ads are just ridiculous. 99% of them are Chinese scams, which is not surprising considering the slot game originates from Singapore. In a lot of them you can tell the text was written by a non-English speaker or via a translation tool. I don't understand why so many people are dumb enough to fall for so many of the scams that are out there. They are SO obvious ! So I just watch the ads until they run out. I did check out one product that seemed legit (Angelino's Coffee) but the price point is beyond what I'm willing to pay. I didn't click on the ad - I went to their website directly. If you click on an ad you run the risk of being directed to a fake site that just steals your credit card info if you place an order. I'll also NEVER spend real money on a slot game. You might as well just flush your cash ! The ads I ran this morning netted me 20B coins on one game !

Breakfast was a cinnamon roll and later a yogurt with the last of the tea biscuits ! It is a sad day for sure because I really enjoyed the cookies with my yogurt. I still have one package of cookies in the house but they are Biscoff and they are super sweet. I could never pair them with yogurt. They're best in small quantities with a cup of coffee. It's time to let the cookies go and I feel like I'm ready for that. I'm slowly coming around to weight loss mode and putting all the junk food behind me. I can't believe I let my weight balloon past 250 pounds ! Lunch was a pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was cottage cheese and an apple. Dinner was broccoli & roasted turkey medallions. Evening snack was a lemon zest cake with whipped cream. I also had PopTarts around 11 pm.

So where am I now, today ? No more pizza. Check. No more hot dogs/sausages. Check. No more ice cream. Check. No more candy. Check. No more cookies. Check. No more frozen snacks/hi-calorie entrees. Check. No more fast food. Check. What indulgence will I allow ? A Dunkin coffee on my monthly office visit. Dessert if I'm at (or hosting) a family function. I think a Pop Tart now and then too. That's it. I've proven to myself that I cannot control what I eat if I have it in the house. I've also proven that I can't exercise restraint when I'm out, so it's best to stay away from places like DQ. As I've written in the past, almost every instance of indulgence ended up not satisfying what I thought I wanted ! DQ's food quality is poor. The prepared foods at Wegman's are also not good. Even the Chinese restaurant right here in Mexico isn't good any more. Sometimes I wonder if the food was always bad and I just didn't care ?

So today the goal was to get to the phone store to drop off my trade and then find mums somewhere. I also planned a quick stop at Walmart. In an effort to keep my phone safe, I bought some velvet drawstring bags on Amazon. My phone fits perfectly and I can tuck the bag into my purse without worrying about it getting damaged. I started putting my phone in an outside pocket since an old phone ended up with a broken camera lens from rolling around inside my purse. I will never use the outside pocket again ! I still don't know how I lost my phone. Did I just drop it and not notice ? I remember hearing a thud and looking up, but the memory is fuzzy and I don't even remember where I was when that happened. It is just so odd. Regardless, it will never happen again because my phone will be safe in my zipped purse. I think I need to be more aware of my surroundings and my belongings, as there are many thieves out and about. Although I don't feel "old", I may be more of a target since I'm usually alone. I just need to be more aware and I'll be fine. I've spent a lot of time over the past week monitoring my accounts for unusual activity and I've seen nothing. I also made sure to disconnect my old phone from my Google, Samsung and Microsoft accounts. The sim in my old phone is deactivated, so it's useless and my data should be safe. That's really all I care about. They may find some way to use or sell the device itself, but I can't do anything about that. From what I've read, since the phone is locked to ATT it can only be activated on the ATT network and if anyone tries to do that the device will come up stolen. So anyone who buys it or tries to use it is out of luck ! Benefits of having a locked phone ! Educating myself went a long way towards making me feel better about the whole experience. There is also an added benefit: I will be more careful and pay more attention to my surroundings when I am out! I had a strong desire to buy a new purse .. just to remove the negativity associated with losing my phone. The one I'm using is old, so I guess I deserve a new one ! I ordered a crossbody satchel from Michael Kors and saved $50! It can be used with or without the crossbody strap, so that's a plus! I can't wait for it to arrive ! I finally put a screen protector on my new phone and that went pretty well once I figured out how to get the case off. Believe it or not, I had to watch a video on the Speck website! I had slipped off the top right side of the case and you're supposed to start with the bottom right. It was super easy once I found that out! So now the new phone has a screen protector and the velvet purse bag. My new personalized case is on the way and once everything arrives I feel like I'll be complete again. I changed the password on my MK account and going forward I'm going to change passwords as I log in to each website I use. It's probably not necessary but it's a good idea to refresh your passwords periodically.

I finally booted myself off the couch just before 2:30 pm and headed out to the phone store. By 4:30 I was back home on the couch ! I decided not to go searching for mums. I didn't have to wait at the phone store and the manager jumped right up when she saw me. It's always nice to be remembered ! After the phone store I went to PetSmart, since it was right there in the plaza. I picked up 3 different varieties of better canned food, in hopes of putting some weight on Abby. I also bought a tube of high calorie paste. I'm hoping she is willing to lap up some of that too ! I gave them one variety of food when I got home (brand is Wellness) and they both seemed to like it. Abby ate nearly every bit on her plate and then dug in to what Minnie left behind. Minnie eats a lot more dry food so she never finishes the bowl of wet food. Abby usually helps her out there ! After PetSmart I stopped at Walmart in Oswego. I didn't need much but I happened across a clearance on the nightshirts that I like. I got 2 summer themed ones on clearance for $5 each and 2 Christmas themed ones for the regular $7.98 price. I like them because they're lightweight and wash up nice ! I also bought a new shovel for winter. They only had plastic ones but the one I bought has a metal edge, so it may work well. I plan to still look for a nice metal one to use on the driveway. I like to keep one on the front porch and one in the garage, so the plastic one will go on the porch. Food went through my mind while I was out but I managed to avoid temptation and came home. I thought about going to the nearly Tully's to get some chicken tenders to go. I also thought about driving to North Syracuse to get bang bang chicken to go from Copper Top. I also thought about getting a frozen coffee at Dunkin. Wonton soup from the Chinese takeout was a passing thought as well. 

When I got home I warmed up the remains of my cup of chocolate coffee (which had a bonus squirt of chocolate syrup in it) and had my afternoon snack. I feel like I've pretty much shaken off the trauma of losing my phone. However, I did get nervous in Walmart when a couple people got too close to me in one aisle. I had my phone and wallet secured in my purse, which was zipped closed, but I was towards the back of the store in an area that felt a little secluded, so I panicked a little and got out of there quick. I don't typically go to the Oswego Walmart and it seemed small compared to Central Square and Cicero, which is where I usually go. I guess being careful and more aware is a good thing, but I don't want to be afraid to go shopping alone. Today I also took the plunge and ordered a kit to apply my own dip nail polish. I've always wanted to try this and it'll be a good winter project ! Their videos make it look super easy, so we'll see ! I guess you could say I did some retail therapy. I don't often spend extravagant amounts of money on myself ($267 for a purse, $127 for nail polish) but it's high time I treat myself to things other than food !

After my retail therapy I watched YouTube videos and played my slot games until bedtime, which was about 12:30 am.

*** Sunday 10-15-23 ***

I woke up shortly before 8 am to the sounds of rain. Abby was also pacing my bed waiting for breakfast to be served! After feeding the outdoor & indoor cats I enjoyed my breakfast and first cup of coffee before 9, then collected & returned coins on my slot games. I also spent some time watching ads to collect more coins.

Since I didn't do any cleaning other than the upstairs toilet yesterday, today was the day to get the kitchen cleaned up and start the process of shampooing the dining room and living room carpets. I decided to do it in sections, to avoid having an entire room of damp carpet. I need to buy a couple of boot trays to set the cat food bowls in. This will keep most of the wet food off the carpet. I need one for the porch and one for the entryway as well, so I'll buy 4 of them. Walmart has them for less than $5 each.

Around 10:30 I made myself a second cup of coffee and grabbed a yogurt. It was a sad day as I have no more cookies :( to go with it. I'm kind of glad since my weight is still sitting at 252. Eating cookies every day is not going to change that. I'm also down to 3 packages of Pop Tarts. I don't think I'm going to buy them again anytime soon. I need to get all of these extras gone. I'm also working on the remains of a bag of chocolate chips. They are nearly gone and won't be replenished. My coffee got cold so I reheated it at 11, with plans to finish it off and then get busy. Well, that got derailed when the last swallow of coffee was full of grounds. Ugh. I was so mad. I sat there a while playing my slots game and eating my yogurt until noon. Then I finally got up, mostly because I had to pee .. lol !

While vacuuming the carpet I decided to hold off on shampooing it. I have a vacation day on 10-27 and that is a week before my pasta party, so I'm going to wait. I stripped the sheets and blankets off the couch and remade it with fresh stuff and just those 2 things made me feel so good ! I also sprayed the sink to clean it before I start washing the plasticware, put what I could in the dishwasher and then sat down to enjoy another cup of coffee. Once the coffee was gone, I scrubbed the sink and filled it with plastic to soak, then started the laundry.

Today I feel better mentally and physically. Removing all the junk food from the house is allowing me to detox from sugar yet again. By 4:30 the dishes were done and the stove was clean. While throwing in the laundry I decided it was time to do something with the few bags of chips left from the siding project. The guys took most of the snacks with them (per my request) but a few were left in the house. I poured the 4 bags of white cheddar popcorn into a baggie and ate most of it. I also ate a bag of chips, as the "best buy" date was 10-10. Turns out the date is 10-10 on everything, but I wasn't about to eat it all today. I have 2 bags of Doritos and 1 cheetos. There is also a lone package of oreo's. I'll have a bag of chips with my lunch the next couple of days and then they'll be gone. You know what ? I don't like white cheddar popcorn, but I ate it. I also can't say I really enjoyed the potato chips. They were super greasy, but I ate them. What does that say about my relationship with food ? How many times have I written about eating food I don't enjoy.

Well, of course I did a Google search and settled on a page that focused on emotional eating. Here's an excerpt of ways to identify emotional eating, with my answers.

Are you an emotional eater?

• Do you eat more when you're feeling stressed? yes
• Do you eat when you're not hungry or when you're full? sometimes
• Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you're sad, mad, bored, anxious, etc.)? yes
• Do you reward yourself with food? yes
• Do you regularly eat until you've stuffed yourself? no
• Does food make you feel safe? yes 
• Do you feel like food is a friend? yes
• Do you feel powerless or out of control around food? sometimes

This is nothing new. I've always believes I am an emotional eater, mostly because whenever something happens (good or bad) my first thought is eating. Food to celebrate and food to comfort. At first, I was labeling yesterday's urge to eat as trauma from my phone loss. When I think about it today, perhaps it was more about feeling good and wanting food to keep that feeling going. How do you tell the difference ? The graphic below is a perfect illustration of what I experience. I'm getting better at holding off the cravings but it's clear I need to work on the "triggers", so that eating isn't #1 on the list every time the sh$t hits the fan. I downloaded a .pdf of the complete article and I plan to examine it over the next few days.

I firmly believe that my eating has always been tied to emotion and comfort. I think the isolation that came with Covid is part of the reason my weight loss didn't stick. I've been lonely for years and men have never been interested in me. It hurt when I lost weight and then realized that nothing changed. Men still weren't interested. Maybe they no longer looked at me with disgust, but they sure weren't falling over themselves to get to know me. I guess maybe I hoped I'd find a man and when that didn't happen, there was no reason not to go right back to my bad habits. That's an excuse, I know. Losing the weight made me feel better - there is no question of that. I felt better physically and I enjoyed buying clothes for the first time in my life. So I need to get back there. I need to cut off the pity party and just do it. For me. I need to do it FOR ME. No other reason.

To that end, I threw away the 2 bags of Doritos, the bag of Cheetos and the package of Oreo's ! I don't need them and they're just excess calories. The money was spent and whether I eat them or not, it's not coming back. I feel good about that decision and I regret eating the popcorn and the potato chips, since I didn't even like or enjoy them. I ate them as an alternative to throwing them away ! You know what ? Don't buy that crap and you won't have to throw it away !

So breakfast today was french toast with sugar free syrup and a yogurt. I didn't have a morning snack. Lunch was a pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 2 small apples & cottage cheese. I also had that crappy white cheddar popcorn and a bag of greasy chips. Dinner was green beans and a chicken & grain bowl. I think I have 3 of these left in the freezer. Over the next week I'll be working on eating the older entrees in the freezer. I stretched out my eating today and it was after 7 when I had dinner. Evening snack was a lemon zest cake with whipped cream.

I did a little more cleanup just before dinner. I vacuumed the carpet in the kitchen and swept the floor. I also used some cleaner on a couple food spots on the floor. I cleared a lot of junk off the kitchen & dining room tables as well. The kitchen is looking much better but the dining room table still needs some work. My office needs some organizing too.