Dessert tea

First thing this morning, I got on the scale for my Wednesday Weigh-in. After Monday's brush with bringing my weekly PointsPlus into the negative, I had a great day yesterday and finished the week right on target. The scale didn't really reflect my great day, though:

I was 132 today, which is up a pound from last week. But in all honesty, I'm not worried about it. I know that I did well with eating and exercise this week, so it's probably just a normal fluctuation. When I logged my weight into Weight Watchers, I looked over the last couple of months on maintenance (yesterday marked 2 months since I reached my goal weight of 133), and I'm really happy with how well I've been doing!

The bottom (12/12) is when I reached goal, and I've not once gone over my goal weight in two months. That's pretty damn good!

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For the past 36 hours or so, I've been drinking tons of new tea, thanks to Ellen. She and I talk about tea quite a bit, and we have the same taste preferences for the most part (we like black dessert teas). She wrote a post about David's Tea, and how great it was--after reading that, I just had to try it out.

I certainly didn't need any tea at the moment (I have a lifetime's worth in my cupboard right now), but after reading how great it was, I went on the website and bought a little five different flavors. It arrived yesterday, and I've been trying out all of them. Check out these unique flavors:

 The bottom picture is of three samples they sent. So I had eight new tea flavors to try! The first one I tried was the sample of Banana Dream Pie. It was FANTASTIC. The banana flavor wasn't "fake" tasting at all, and it tasted like a subtle banana cream pie. I tried the Red Velvet Cake next, since that was Ellen's favorite--and it was just as good!

Jerry and I had a cup of the Toasted Marshmallow last night, and I think that was my favorite so far. Today, I had Ceylon Star and Buttered Rum. I've really enjoyed all of them. The Movie Night one looks very interesting, and I'll probably try that tonight.

Anyway, if you're a tea person, you've got to check out this site. I want to try them ALL.

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Today was technically a rest day, but since I didn't run yesterday, and the weather was good today, I decided to run four miles this morning (instead of doing it tomorrow). First, I sat around for a little bit because the cats were being lap-hogs:

It's not uncommon for two of the cats to sit with me, but three is unheard of! Finally I got dressed and headed out to run.

My legs felt really tired today, and I was struggling to keep what has become a "normal" pace for my shorter runs (8:30/mi). I ran out two miles and then turned around, and the way back was a little better (tail wind versus the head wind I had going out). I still finished in good time, but it was a tough run today.

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And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... the winner of the Special K giveaway! Congratulations to:

Please e-mail me ASAP with your full name and mailing address at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com so I can pass it along and you can get your prize. Enjoy!!

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Running it off

Yesterday was day 155 of being binge-free, but it was extremely difficult. I'd been doing so well with having nut butters in the house and not overeating them, but the past few days have been extra hard. Then yesterday, well, I almost ruined my binge-free streak.

I had some fun with InstaCollage, so I made a storyline of what happened... ;)

When I first tried Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread, it was love at first bite. I did great spreading a teaspoon on an English muffin here and there. Then yesterday, I was putting away dishes, when I impulsively grabbed a spoon, went to the pantry, and took a spoonful of it (one serving, 2 Tbsp--which is 6 PP).

Then I thought, "Well, I know I have some extra activity PP, so I'm going to have another." I grabbed another spoon, and took another serving. I planned to be done, but I impulsively took a third spoonful. When I put it all into my tracker, I saw that it totaled 17 PP for 3 servings, and that I'd actually gone OVER on my total PP for the week. I was so mad at myself for doing that!

I texted Andrea (from my Ragnar team) and basically asked her to talk me out of bingeing. Even though I'd only gone 5 PP over, in my mindset, it felt like 100. I had that brief moment of, "Well, I already screwed up, might as well keep eating!" Thankfully, Andrea talked me out of it, and told me to get rid of the almond spread. I knew throwing it away wouldn't work, so I put dish soap in it and then threw it away.

I was still feeling mad about having my PP be in the negative, though. At around 7:00 pm, I decided to earn my 5 activity PP by running on the treadmill. It could have waited until today, but I just wanted to be able to go to sleep last night NOT having my PP in the negative. So I hopped on the treadmill and ran until I'd earned 5 PP--enough to take me back to 0. It was a rough run, so I definitely learned a lesson (and as a bonus, I got to take a rest day today since I got the run done last night instead).

And because of my issue with the nut butters, I've decided to give up sweetened nut butters for Lent. I'm not Catholic, but I do like to challenge myself to give something up if it's a problem for me. I've been getting too "spoon happy" with the White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, the Biscoff Spread (not technically a "nut" butter), and the Nutella-like spreads, so I'm going to stick to unsweetened spreads at least until after Lent!

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Today, I got a very exciting package in the mail. A jacket that I ordered from Ragnar--I wanted one SO badly in Florida, but they were sold out by the time we got to the finish line :(  So when I got an e-mail saying that they were offering free shipping, I took advantage of it and ordered the jacket.

I'm so glad I did--It's SUPER cozy and perfect for running!

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Jessica told me about a recipe a couple of days ago, and I was very skeptical to try it, but I'm so glad I did. It is this recipe for Two-Ingredient Cookies. The two ingredients are just quick-cooking oats and bananas!

I'm not a huge banana fan (I like them, but I don't love them, and I really have to be in the mood for them). People always tell me to try making "banana ice cream", and I've tried it, but I don't care for it. Banana has this overpowering flavor, so when you use it as an ingredient, it makes everything taste like bananas.

I made the cookies into a single serving, and here is what I used:

3/4 of a medium banana (roughly 80 grams)
1/3 cup (33 grams) dry quick-cooking oats
1.5 tsp. mini chocolate chips
1.5 tsp. shredded coconut
1 packet of stevia (the recipe doesn't call for sweetener, so you could certainly leave it out, but I wanted my cookies to be as cookie-like as possible, so I threw it in).

I just mashed the banana, and added the rest of the ingredients, stirring until it came together. I formed 2 cookie shaped patties and put them on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, and to my surprise, they turned out like actual cookies! I guess I expected them to be mushy and not hold together, but that wasn't the case at all.

Even though I'm not a huge banana-person, I really liked them! They definitely tasted very banana-y, but in a good way. Kind of like mini loaves of banana bread. Today, I tried them with Craisins instead of the chocolate chips, and I liked that even better! If you read the comments on the original recipe post, there are tons of ideas for mix-ins to change it up. (I didn't calculate the calories, because it totally varies by what you mix in to the cookies).

With coconut and Craisins... so good!

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If you haven't entered the Special K giveaway, make sure you check out yesterday's post. I'll be randomly picking a winner tomorrow. A quick update--I just learned that the gift card is going to be a $100 Visa gift card (not Wal-Mart card, as I wrote yesterday). Good luck!

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Motivational Monday #2 and a "special" giveaway

It's Motivational Monday! Once again, I was wowed by the accomplishments that you've all done over the past week--way to go!

Here is a small peek at what some of you are proud of this week:

 

Reader Angie completed a Mardi Gras Color Run, and said she had a blast doing it (with great photos to prove it!):

For more motivation, you can check out the full Facebook conversation here, and the Twitter conversation here.

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I have a very "special" giveaway today...

With the academy awards coming up on February 24, how fun would it be to have a viewing party with your girlfriends, courtesy of Special K?! I received this package:

That includes a couple of boxes of Special K Popcorn Chips, four beautiful beaded coasters, a bottle of OPI nail polish, some Oscar Predictions voting ballots, a red carpet (?!) and... a $100 Visa gift card to buy the party supplies! (After the party, I'll of course write my thoughts on the chips--but I'll spill the beans now and say that I've bought them more than a couple of times in the past, so it's not a secret that I like them).

Having an awards party sounded like so much fun--I'm super excited for it :) And one of you lucky readers will be able to host your very own party with a box of the same goodies! To enter a random drawing, just leave ONE comment on this post, telling me something you did in the past week that you are proud of. I will use Random.org to choose a winner on Wednesday, Feb. 13th at 7:00 pm EST. CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED. (Click here for official rules). I'll announce the winner on Feb. 13th.

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Calories experiment

After two rest days in a row, my legs were really aching to go for a run this morning. It's funny, my legs always ached when I was obese, and I assumed it was from being obese--and maybe it was--but now, if I go more than two days without a run, I get that same ache. The only way to make them feel better is to run!

With four miles on the schedule, and the temp at a toasty 21 this morning, I headed outside. I did my favorite out-and-back route. There were a few patches of solid ice, and it was kind of scary running on it, but most of the road was dry.

It felt really good to run this morning! That's the best part about taking a couple of days off--it actually feels good to do it again.

When I uploaded my run, I noticed that Garmin Connect added a new feature to their website--the weather from the time of day and location that you ran.

So, for the last week, I've been logging my food on Weight Watchers, like usual, but I've also been tracking calories because people keep asking me how many calories I eat per day while on WW. The beauty of WW is that I don't have to track calories, but I did it this week just out of curiosity. So here is the result:

This could vary enormously, depending on the amount of fruits and veggies eaten (I happen to eat quite a bit of fruit, which is 0 PP but I still counted the calories for it). My PP target is 32 on maintenance, and usually I don't only eat the minimum like I did Sunday and Monday, but that was right after I went out Saturday and spent a billion PP on Mexican food and margaritas. Thursday was my long run day, so naturally, I ate a lot more. Regardless, I averaged 1814 calories per day (or 40 PP), which is probably pretty typical on maintenance (for me, anyway).

A few people were curious where I got the number 80 from when I explained how I calculate my activity PP earned. I don't remember where I read that! I read to take the calories burned and divide by 80, and that will give you the PP earned. However, I'm going to start logging the activity PP that is calculated when I enter my activity into the e-tools tracker. Usually it tells me a couple of PP more than I've calculated, but I don't think it'll make much difference in my maintenance... and I want all the PP I can get! ;)

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I am SO ready for it to be summer. Going to Key West was a tease--even though it was hot to run the Ragnar in Florida, it was so nice to vacation there, and just walk around in a sundress. Normally, I enjoy the cold weather, but right now I'm really in the mood for some sunshine and warmth. (Of course, when I'm running in the heat this summer, I'll be complaining that it's too hot and I wish it was February again!)

Just looking at this picture makes me feel warm and cozy!

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The forgotten necklace

While a lot of the country got dumped on with snow, we surprisingly didn't get a whole lot! That changed our plans for this weekend. The boys were off school yesterday, but the snow was more like slush, which is not good for our plans to go sledding.

Since I ran 13 miles on Thursday, I took yesterday off. Today is a rest day anyway, and it's been a while since I took two days off in a row--it's kind of nice!

Yesterday, I was going through some boxes in my closet. I found a box of letters that my dad had written my kids while he spent an entire year in Iraq, working as a civilian. After my little brother Nathan was discharged from the Army, he ended up going to back to Iraq as a civilian also--my poor mother was worried all year about her husband and her son being away, but thankfully, both came home safely.

Anyway, my dad has always been very close with my kids, so it was hard on them to not see him for a whole year, and he would send them letters from Iraq, mostly just silly pictures he drew. And once in a while, I would get a letter from him, too ;)  All this has a point, I'm getting to it...

When my dad came home, he brought a bunch of stuff that he bought in Iraq--t-shirts and some jewelry, and other stuff. He was handing out t-shirts, and it got a little awkward when he realized that he didn't have one that would fit me. I was my heaviest at the time, over 250 pounds, and even the XL men's shirts wouldn't have fit.

He gave me a necklace that he said a woman made and sold on the street. I remember thinking at the time, "Oh good, a necklace is safe, because jewelry always fits." Obviously, I didn't wear a lot of jewelry. When I got home, and tried to put it on, it was INCHES away from hooking in the back. I thought to myself that it must have been made for a child, because it was so small.

I put it in the box and forgot all about it. Until yesterday. I found the necklace in the box, and even though I knew it didn't fit, I held it up to see if it was even close to fitting...

It actually clasped, with room to spare! I was stunned, but then I realized--duh, I've lost 4.5 inches from my neck, of course it fits.

It's kind of funny, because when I was obese, I never thought of my neck as being fat. Sure, I could tell that my stomach was fat, my arms were fat, my legs were fat... but my neck was just, well, my neck.

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Anyway, I never got around to going to Weight Watchers yesterday, so I went today to weigh-in. I had to bring the boys with me, so I didn't stay for the meeting. I weighed in (on their scale, I was up 0.1), and I asked about how Lifetime membership works, just to be sure--I'm sick of weighing in every week on maintenance, because I get the same, "Oh, at least you didn't gain!" or "You're up a little this week" or whatever. Since I'm in maintenance, I'd rather not hear any comments about the ups and downs of my weight, because I monitor it at home.

They said I just have to weigh-in once a month to keep my membership free; if my weight goes more than two pounds over goal, then I have to start paying again until I'm back at goal. I can go to as many meetings as I'd like, and I don't have to weigh in to stay at a meeting. As long as I've weighed in once that month, then I don't have to worry about it.

So as of right now, I'm well-under my goal, and I don't have to weigh in again until March (I'll still do my weekly weigh-ins at home, for accountability, though).

After we left WW, I took the boys to the community college because there was a robotics tournament going on there today. Definitely not something I was interested in, but my dad was disappointed he couldn't take the kids today, and thought they would like it. I'm glad I went, because the boys really did like it. It was about as exciting as it sounds ;)

We sat up in the bleachers, and this was our view: 

 The robots had to pick up bean bags and put them in "baskets", and got a certain number of points for the number of bags they got. Noah and Eli both said that they can't wait until they are in high school so that they can be on a robotics team.

On the way out, the kids wanted to buy a soda from the concession stand, so we stopped there for a minute. The woman working looked at me and said, "Oh, you're Katie!" I didn't recognize her, but I said yes. I learned her name is Lori (Laurie?) and she reads my blog. That was fun--it's very, very rare that I run into someone that reads my blog, and even then, it's always at a race.

The kids and I watched a couple of movies this afternoon. The first was Beethoven, and Phoebe was very interested in that one!

Then we watched "The Wizard", a movie that I loved as a kid--and I figured the boys would like it because they love video games. It was a very relaxing afternoon.

Tonight is my wine club meeting, and my friend Shannon (whom I haven't seen in FOREVER) is coming over to my house and then going to Winers with me. I'm excited to see what she's been up to!

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The Basics of Weight Watchers

(Note: This post pertains to the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program. They've changed their program several times since then. I am no longer a fan of Weight Watchers, which you can read about here.)

A few people have e-mailed me about Weight Watchers lately, wanting to know exactly how it works if I think it's worth the money, and all that. So I figured I'd write a post all about it, and hopefully answer some questions. Keep in mind, I'm not a Weight Watchers leader or anything, but I've done their programs about a billion times, so I know it well ;)

The day I reached my Weight Watchers goal weight

If you're not familiar with Weight Watchers, here is how the program works (I'm not going to get super detailed, because that would make for a very long post):

  All foods are assigned a PointsPlus (PP) value, based on the carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and fat grams that they contain. For example--an English muffin has 3 PP, two tablespoons of peanut butter has 5 PP, and a cup of skim milk has 2 PP.

  You are given a PP target to aim for each day--for example, my target is 32. That means I can eat 32 PP worth of food each day (I can go over that, which I will explain later...). Your target is personalized to YOU, so yours may be different from mine.

  Healthier foods are usually lower in PP than the junk food, which makes you want to eat healthier so that you can eat more :)

  Weight Watchers does have "Good Health Guidelines" that they like you to follow when you spend your PP (for example, getting two dairy servings a day), but I won't get in-depth about all of that right now. Basically, you can spend your PP however you'd like, as long as you eat your target amount of PP.

  Most fruits and vegetables are 0 PP. The starchy veggies like potatoes, corn, and peas are not 0 PP. I like to use these foods as fillers, to have along with a meal and fill me up.

I'm pretty sure that my veins are filled with grape juice by now, rather than blood...

There are two other types of PP that you can spend, however, so you're not confined to your target every single day:

  You are also given a weekly PointsPlus allowance of 49. Those can be used at any time during the week, and you can divide them up however you'd like. You can use them all in one day if you have a special occasion, or you can have seven of them every day.... or you can choose not to use them (I personally recommend that you DO use them).

  You can also "earn" more PP for food by doing activity. For example, when I run 4 miles, I might earn 5 PP. I can use those earned PP however I'd like. You don't have to use them, but again, I personally recommend using them.

Dessert after a 5K run :)

  Your daily PP target cannot be carried over from day to day. For example, since my target is 32, if I only use 30, I cannot carry over 2 PP to tomorrow. You should try to use all of your target PP each day. Similarly, you cannot carry over your weekly PP. If you don't use all 49, then on the starting day of your week, you automatically get 49 again.

  Activity PP can be used any time during the week that they are earned, but cannot be carried over to the next week either. Basically, your slate is wiped clean at the start of each week (my weeks start on Wednesday, my weigh-in day).

Here is a typical day from my Weight Watchers food journal:

Breakfast--1/3 cup oats (3); 1 tsp. peanut butter (1), 1 tsp. mini chocolate chips (1), 1 tsp. shredded coconut (1), and 2 tsp. fat-free caramel dip (1); grapes (0)
Lunch--English muffin (3) with 1 Tbsp. jelly (1); 1 egg, 1 egg white, scrambled (2) with 2 Tbsp. Hormel crumbled bacon (1), and 1 slice low-fat cheese (1); grapes (0)
Snack--1/2 Clif bar (3) and 1/2 oz. almonds (2)
Dinner--CrockPot chicken chili (10)
Snack--orange (0)
Snack--5 oz. wine (4) and 1 Dove Promise (1)
Total for the day: 35 PP (my 32 daily target PP + 3 weekly or activity PP)

Obviously I am lacking in the vegetable department, but this is an honest typical day for me. I tried to pick a day where I ate on the lower side of my target PP (usually, I eat at least 40 PP per day, because I use all of my weekly PP and activity PP every week).

So, those are the basics of the program. Pretty simple!

Now, my thoughts on the program... a lot of people want to know if I think it's worth trying. I don't want to say yes or no to this, because it totally depends on the person. Weight Watchers isn't magical; if you're having a hard time eating healthier, or counting calories, or sticking with any program, then Weight Watchers probably won't be much different. It still requires US to do the work--they just give us the tools to do so. Weight Watchers isn't going to be the one making food decisions, so I can't say whether it's the right program for you or anyone else.

Here is an updated version of the positives and negatives (in MY opinion) about WW.

Positives:

  I like that the numbers are small--counting PP is MUCH easier to track than counting calories.

  I love that fruits are "free"--I've said it over and over, but grapes definitely helped me get through the first few weeks on plan! With free fruits and veggies, there is no reason to ever be hungry.

  I do tend to make healthier choices, since they are lower in PP values.

  I love that I get extra PP to use after I exercise--it's a big incentive for me to go out for a run! (Yesterday, for example, I earned 15 PP on a long run, and bought an insanely good dessert at Mrs. Fields)

  You don't have to give up any foods--you can eat anything you want, if you just count it. You can fit any food into your plan if you plan for it!

  At the meetings, you get little rewards for milestones, like 5% lost, 10% lost, 10-lbs, 25-lbs, etc. Maybe it sounds lame, but it's kind of exciting to look forward to that reward!

Negatives:

  The meetings are expensive. And even the online program is expensive. (Check with your insurance company, however, because a lot of them pay for it now!). However, if you're frugal like me, then spending that money might actually help you stick with it. I would have quit on Day 1 if I hadn't spend $60-something for the online program.

  It can take a lot of time when you're getting to know the program--calculating the PP values in all of your regular foods, your recipes, totaling everything up and either writing it down or entering it online. Once you get used to it, it's not as time consuming, but it still takes some of your time.

  It's tempting to find ways to bend the rules--like with the free fruit. "Technically", you could eat 10 bananas for breakfast and still be on plan--but we know that 10 bananas contains a LOT of calories! So I think it's important to be honest with myself while following the program. If I swipe a spoonful of peanut butter from the pantry, well, I have to count it.

That seemingly harmless spoonful has 225 calories!

Another question I was asked was about the meetings--how public the weigh-in part is. I wouldn't let this intimidate you at all! There is a tall desk, with a few receptionists behind it. On the floor, in front of each receptionist, is a small scale (without numbers on it). You just step on the scale, but the numbers only show behind the counter--so YOU can't even see what your weight is, let alone anyone else in the room.

If you're uncomfortable with anyone knowing your weight, it's very easy to keep it a secret between you and the receptionist. And if you're shy, like I am, you can let the receptionist or leader know that, and they won't (or shouldn't anyway) make you feel uncomfortable at the meeting by asking you questions and all that.

I guess that pretty much sums it up! I didn't intend for this to be so long, but it's hard to fit everything in.  I'm not promoting Weight Watchers in any way, because if someone isn't ready to take control of their eating habits, then WW isn't the answer. But if someone is looking for something different to try, and it sounds interesting, then I'd say give it a go and see!

If you're a Weight Watchers member (now or in the past) I'm curious what you think... feel free to weigh in on your likes and dislikes of the program.

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My impromptu half-marathon

This morning, I so badly just wanted to do nothing but sit around with some tea--basically a repeat of my rest day yesterday. I only had four miles on the schedule (I posted my running schedule on the right sidebar of my blog for reference, since a lot of people ask me what it is), but I was feeling lazy.

Since I had a Weight Watchers meeting at 10, I couldn't put off my run too long, so I finally got ready and headed out at 8:30. I didn't wear my IceSpikes, because I wanted to take my favorite out-and-back route, which is pretty clear about 1/2 mile into the run (my neighborhood is still ice/snow covered).

About 3/4 of the way into the run, I started thinking about how tomorrow is my long run day, and I would have to do it on the treadmill for two reasons: 1) My kids don't have school tomorrow, and 2) We're supposed to have a snowstorm. While I was running, these thoughts started running through my head:
"I could just run my long run (12 miles) today instead of tomorrow."
"No, I can't do that, I have Weight Watchers this morning."
"I could go to WW tomorrow instead."
"But I don't have to run 12 today--I only have to run 4!"
"But it be worse to run 12 on the treadmill tomorrow."
"If I can avoid the treadmill, I really want to..."
"I'm already dressed in my running clothes, and out running, so I could just go farther and get it done now."

I was seriously debating back and forth, and finally made it to the two-mile mark, where I would turn around to go back home and finish four miles. I didn't even hesitate to keep running, and I decided to do 12.

About four miles in, I thought, "I could just do 10 today--turn around in a mile and head back. Yeah, that's what I'll do." But then when I got to mile five, I thought, "What's one more? I'll regret it if I don't get in all 12 while I can."

At the six-mile mark, there was a car coming toward me. I always feel embarrassed turning around (I have no idea why) in front of a car, so I kept going. And then I just thought, "Might as well run a half-marathon!" So I ran to mile 6.55 and turned around.

I realized it then that I'd had a tail wind the whole way out, and now I was going to have a head wind all the way home--bummer! But after that, my main focus was keeping each mile under nine minutes. It wasn't too bad! I didn't feel like I was dying or anything, and my heart rate was good, so I just went with it.

At about mile 11, I was so ready to be done. But I was so close to meeting my goal of not only a sub-2:00 half-marathon, but having ALL of my mile splits under 9 minutes. I kept going, and the last couple of miles felt like they were taking a long time, but I finally reached 13.11 and pressed stop on my Garmin.

I'd run the entire thing without even slowing down. Someone on Facebook asked me what I do about water when I run, considering I was only planning on four miles today--I find that in the winter I can run about 14 miles without water; but in the summer, I can't do that! It helps that I drink an entire quart of water right when I wake up, so I'm well-hydrated when I start my run.

Anyway, I was shocked when I saw my time!!

I didn't just hit sub-2:00, I totally crushed it by 6 1/2 minutes! That may not seem like a big difference if you're not a runner, but each minute is "worth" quite a bit. I couldn't believe it! I sent out a few "OMG!" texts, posted this picture to social media, and just reveled in my excitement about hitting that goal.

To make it an "official" PR, I will have to do it at a race, but I'm VERY confident that I can do sub-2:00 now ;)

Stephanie asked me how I was going to celebrate, and only one thing popped into my head:

I haven't had anything from Mrs. Fields since my marathon in October, and it was due time that I truly ran for a cookie! When I got there, I couldn't decide between a Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bar or a frosted cookie slice; I ultimately decided on the Dream Bar, but I got a cookie slice for Jerry.

I planned to wait until Jerry got home to eat my Dream Bar but I only lasted about 10 minutes at home before I decided to eat it ;) It was SO good.

It was 19 PointsPlus. I'd earned 15 on my run, so it didn't even set me back too far. Definitely worth every bite. Jerry's cookie slice was in the box on the counter, and I decided to take just a little nibble.

Well, a couple of hours later, it looked like this:

I ate the bottom part of the wedge. I felt bad, so I sent him a text telling him I'm sorry. But I should never be trusted around cookies! Especially cookies with frosting. I looked up the PP in a cookie slice and estimated how much I ate, so I counted it. For the record, that was worth it, too ;)

Needless to say, I missed my Weight Watchers meeting today, but I'll just go to a meeting tomorrow. I'm wondering which would make a better explanation for skipping--that I was running, or that I was at Mrs. Fields? Hahaha.

Tomorrow, I may just take an extra rest day. If I feel up to it, I'll run the four miles I had on the schedule today, but if not, then I'll just skip it without guilt. If we get a lot of snow, I told Jerry and the kids I would go sledding! I haven't gone sledding since I was about Noah's age. Will definitely be interesting... ;)

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