Indulgences

I know my last post was kind of long and not very upbeat, but for this one, I am Suzy Sunshine! 😉  And short! Ha ha!  I’m trying to catch up on my posts, so this one is about last week.

We’ll start with my running calendar.  This is a gift from my friend Ann, and it’s one of those “daily” calendars with a running theme.  The tidbit for Monday, March 7, made me laugh out loud.

It’s true!!!! 😉

After that, we’ll talk about Wednesday, March 9.  It just so happens that it was my one-year anniversary at my current job. For those who’ve been around my blog a while, you know that moving from my last job (which I’d held for seven years) to my current job was a big change.  I debated it a long time, and it was hard to make the switch, not just because change is scary, but (and I’ll go ahead and admit this now), it also represented a fairly big income cut.  That part was scary, too!  But despite the fact that we had to really tighten the belt, and we’re still trying to maneuver all the changes, I can honestly say it was the best career move I’ve ever made.  I love my job and the people I work with, and although I definitely work hard, I love that I am appreciated for my hard work.  Case in point:  before I got to work on Wednesday, I posted on Facebook that it was my one-year work anniversary. I know it may not seem like a big deal, but it was to me, and I wanted to celebrate it. 🙂  Well, when I got into the office, I was in for a surprise:

When I came to my desk, I found that big sign on top of all those packages of—cookies!!  A lot of folks like to bring treats into our office, and although I can resist a lot of things, my love for cookies is well known. I was really touched that my boss not only remembered my anniversary, but wanted to help me celebrate with something that I really enjoy. 🙂  I shared them with the rest of the office (well, most of them 😉 ), but I will admit to having had my fair share.  (She bought a whole package of Kroger Apple Cinnamon Soft Cookies, and those are ah-mazing!!) So, although I may have over-indulged a teeny bit, I couldn’t help but celebrate how much I still love my job after one year!  (And lest you think I fell completely off the wagon, I did track every cookie…and go WAY over my allotted calories, lol!)

After the cookies, there were…more cookies. 😮  Several weeks ago, I volunteered to lead the 8^th grade bake sale for March (proceeds help us to pay for the kids’ class trip to Mackinac).  I don’t mind heading up a project when I have the time, but this one was a little more than I bargained for.  You see, anyone who couldn’t bring their baked goods the day of the sale had to drop them off at my house the day before.  And that meant I had dozens of baked goods in my house, plus the ones I personally was making, and I could not eat them.

Torture, I tell you!!  (Okay, I may have eaten a little bit of the cake batter for both the fudge cake and—my absolute favorite thing on earth—the lemon cake that I made.)

At the parish breakfast the next morning, it was me, a few students, and about a bazillion treats.

It was pretty much like putting a recovered alcoholic in charge of the beer tent at the church festival. :p I won’t lie…I had my share of goodies, including chocolate covered pretzels, more lemon cake, and a few cookies I just couldn’t resist.  I paid for it all, though, so that reduces the calories, right?? (Just kidding; I counted the calories, too.  And went over my daily allotment…again.)

So yes, I had more than my share of treats last week. And yes, it reflected on the scale.

But really..it’s only about half a pound (.6 to be exact), and that’s really not much.  Heaven knows my body fluctuates every week without any added baked goods, so half a pound isn’t going to kill me.  I’m still below my goal of 120, so I won’t complain!

On top of that, I had some real eye-opening experiences last week that had nothing to do with the scale.  My boss is hiring for a second person who does my job, and she actually asked me to help with the interviews.  I was quite honored to be asked to participate in the interview process, since I’ve only been in the job for a year.  On the downside…that meant I had to actually wear real business clothes for the days we were interviewing. :p  (We are jeans all day, every day normally.)  So, three different days, I had to wear dress pants and nice shirts. I was a bit worried, because I don’t wear them often, and last year fall all my dress pants were tight, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that all three pairs of size 6s not only fit, but were comfortable!

In addition, when I worked the bake sale, I decided to dress up a little bit, just because normally when I go to the school, I look like a boring old hockey mom. 😉 I pulled out the shirt and jacket I wore for last year’s family pictures.

I really like that outfit, but when I bought the shirt in that photo, they only had it in a small.  Because I’m pretty tiny up top, smalls are usually okay, but when I put that one on…it was unnervingly tight. You can’t really tell in the photo, but trust me—it was form-fitting, and not by design. :/  But I really liked it, so I just bought it and figured I would always wear it under something.

And yet, I was so embarrassed by how tight it was, I ended up never wearing it again.  On Sunday, I decided to try it on again, and I was shocked—the shirt was perfectly comfortable, even a little loose!  I wore that outfit for the bake sale, complete with cute-but-uncomfortable boots, and I felt really good about myself all morning.  (As I shoveled baked goods into my mouth, ha ha!)

So, although I definitely had more than my share of treats this week, I don’t feel guilty about it.  In fact, I’m glad I did.  I love love love sweets, and I like that I have learned that I can indulge now and again, without going overboard and without worrying that I will completely derail my weight loss efforts.  It’s taken me a long time to learn how much is enough, but I’m happy to say that I’m finally to the point where I can make good choices without too much effort!

Okay, I’m caught up with last week.  🙂 Phew!  Thanks for reading!