Good morning. Well back to the daily grind and stability the work week brings, it forces me to think ahead, prepare and follow carefully; whereas, the weekends are a little less planned and more flying by the seat of my pants in terms of structure. I still log with the exception of this weekend. Things were just too chaotic with the having the grand baby in the ER Saturday (Sunday’s post explains) and keeping him over night into yesterday evening.

His dad arrived to pick him up at 4:45 pm but didn’t leave my house until 7:15 pm, not that we minded but our dinner was delayed. We had Penne with sauce and Parmesan cheese, I didn’t weigh, I eyeballed. So not like me I know, but for lunch I had the other half of Saturday’s takeout and trust me my serving was small…I weighed 4 servings of the dry pasta going in but not the pasta coming out, I did however weigh the sauce.

Shortly after I finished my dishes we heard a loud BANG , there was a car accident at the intersection a few houses down. My husband and I ran outside bare foot, the street was flooded with thick white smoke. I had my phone in hand, so I ran up the street to check on the drivers and help if needed totally forgetting I was barefoot. One car, driven by a teenage boy rear ended another car sitting at the intersection waiting to make a left onto the side street. A car coming in the opposite direction saw it and stopped. The impact was so hard both the boy’s airbags deployed and the truck of the other car was in the back seat. The boy was dazed and got out of his car and was wandering into the oncoming traffic, the people from the car who stopped brought him to the side of the road to sit on the curb. He just kept saying “I hit my brakes but they didn’t work and I tried to go around my steering was locked…I’m sorry” The man who was hit was standing there and he called me by name, I didn’t recognize him at first, it was Eddie, my father-in-law’s friend. Oddly his wife was hit the same place 15 years earlier and I unfortunately passed away last year…she was a lovely woman. His phone was in his grocery bag in the car but everything had gone flying when he was hit so I ran down the street to get his son.

Yes I ran, barefoot at night, down a street that had no sidewalks and barely any street lights, barefoot. I was half way down the street when I realized oh crap “I’m barefoot and is this good for my back, and oh my knees”, but I kept going watching the placement of my feet carefully and pulling my abs in tight to support my back. I had to walk once to catch my breath but I got there and don’t you know they replaced the dirt driveway with tiny sharp stone. There is an apartment at the back of the house where his son lives and the dog who doesn’t like strangers was out so I banged on the front door and yelled for him until he answered. He had to get the baby so I ran back up the street to let his dad know he was coming. Eddie had an infant car seat in the back seat and would have had the 9 month old baby with him if not for a twist of fate. So lucky! Eddie seemed to be a little in shock, when I asked him about the empty car seat he had to think for a minute. So sad, I live on the left side of this road and I always have to watch my rear view when sitting to make the left in my driveway because people don’t pay attention.

I also learned something about myself yesterday, my lungs didn’t tolerate running, my legs, and knees and back held up but not my lungs…I was so freaking winded. I mean I can pedal on a bike doing hills at level 7 for an hour but I can’t jog ¼ a mile up the road or ¼ mile back without getting winded? I will need to discuss this with Elle on Tuesday. Two months ago I never would have even been able to run or jog, so I guess that’s progress.

Yesterday I weighed in at 199 lbs and 4 oz but alas my visit to Onederland was short but memorable. Today I’m up 6oz, weighing in at 200 lbs even…this could be the water I drank in the middle of the night, so we’ll see tomorrow. I can tell you either way it’s been seven years since I’ve been below 204 lbs and it feels great…I’m doing it despite the physical limitations, I AM MAKING PROGRESS and KNOW I will get there.

A few weeks ago I set a summer time goal to be under 200 by the first wed in September (the day the kids go back to school here) and I know I will do that. Its time for a new goal, my sister-in-law and her husband will be visiting from San Diego on 9/23, they are super fitness, health nuts, vegetarian, gluten free, latest health fad, judge mental people and have made some comments about my weight over the years…some true and straight forward like “we all have choices and you made yours” so it would be nice to drop another 10 -15 lbs before they come home…just so they will shut up. I think it’s an east coast or a Cali thing but they come off as so self absorbed snobs but they really aren’t (she’s not anyway)…it’s all in their delivery. I guess I don’t relate to the money driven attitude her husband has which is funny because she is a partner at a firm and makes 3 times more annually then he ever did. Everything they have, all the toys, etc., are because she is super smart and worked hard, the three house, cars, etc., …HE doesn’t realize HE is a kept man and has been since she was head hunted to come work for this company, then made partner after being there just 3 years. But HE is the one who judges on material things not her, he is in all the current men’s labels, all the current “IN” toys and is always label name and price dropping, like we care that he spent $200 on shoes. I turn it around and tell him “we all have choices you made yours, as shallow as it may be”…because I can play the game too! I realize he grew up dirt poor in here in NJ, went out there and stayed but don’t forget that until she landed this job, you were struggling to pay bills or where you came from. His family isn’t like that and neither is my husbands family, they are all very humble people…I think he’s over compensating for what he went through as a kid and thinks money is everything. People are every thing, money is just paper with dye on it, no comparison to life, feelings and humanity.

For the record…I’m not saying all West Coast people or all Californian’s are like this, just like that god awful show, Jersey Shore are not what we are like, here at the New Jersey Shore.

Ok so goal set, let’s see what I can do over the next few weeks.

My quotes from today’s Yogi Teas are “The voice of your soul is breath” and my favorite of the day “You are Unlimited”.

Have a great Monday!