Could we start again please?

Oy vey. I haven't been here and I miss it! My life exploded a few weeks ago. Okay, that's a little dramatic. But I was working 11 hour days, and went in on a weekend to meet deadlines. Oh, those actuaries, they keep me hopping. Then my poor dog 1) Ate chocolate - not good for the puppers, but he's fine. Just a few Hershey's kisses (which aren't really chocolate, so it was harmless to him.) And this incident proved that he has secret opposable thumbs - as I found the foil wrappers. How on earth does a dog get the candy out of a wrapper? And 2) He has developed some kind of allergy that is making him chew his paws and legs. We've been running him around from vet to vet trying to figure out what the heck is happening. It breaks my heart that he can't say what is wrong and that I can't just fix it for him. So we're trying an elimination diet to see if it is food-related. Diet affects everyone - even dogs! Fingers crossed that we solve the issue soon.


This weekend all I wanted to do was curl up with my Google Reader and get caught up, but that didn't happen either. I would like to know how women with jobs, children and exercise routines still find time to blog. Maybe it is something that burns within them that they must do, where as I am more inclined to spend my free time socializing, cooking, walking the dog, doing laundry or watching television (which is shameful). In other weekend news, I digress. My cousin married one of my best friends this summer. It probably took me a year to get used to the idea that my male cousin that I wasn't that close to was going to be a larger part of my life, since he was dating one of my most favorite lady friends. Then I got to be their officiant. I registered as a reverend at the Universal Life Church, which was hilarious and an honor. They are so lovely together, and announced this weekend that they are pregnant - did so on the honeymoon. Isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard? They announced it this weekend, and confimed the suspicions I was having, since I last saw her, but couldn't bring myself to brow beat out of her. Mr. Black was hilarious after the announcement, of course. A friend arrived late to the resturant where we were having dinner, and when my cousin told him "We made a major announcement before your arrival." Mr. Black said, quick as a whip, "We're all having the veal - just for fun!".

So then there's my health. In my last post, I set new goals for myself and then boy howdy, that's when things went crazy like bananas. I stopped journaling, I stopped exercising and tried to not bite everyone's head off. My weight was pretty steady that week, which was surprising. I know that a lot of that was due to the fact that since I couldn't exercise, I was careful about what I ate. Thank goodness for good lessons learned the hard way.

On Saturday I weighed 220.2 - such a thrill. But alas, a fluke. I was back up to my old friend 224 today. I'm feeling pretty good overall. I've discovered two new passions for eating. One of them is good for me. Barley. Hulled, not pearled, so it has more fiber. I love it so much more than brown rice. It is super cheap, and you can flavor it with anything you like. Genius. I've also discovered Gimlets. Not so good for the waistline. I read about them in a book, and so I had to try. Heaven. This is as close to a martini as I'll ever get.

So, I need to get back to blogging, and being an active participant in the Healthy You Challenge. I can't promise to do any or all well, but the intent is there.