My Achille's Heel...in a Shiny Blue Bag

With the holidays right around the corner, the gals and I in the office decided to ressurect our weekly weigh-ins. Each Thursday, we look up and down the hallway to make sure the coast is clear and then step on the scale. Then we head to the designated whiteboard in a coworker's office and check in that we weighed in for the week. Sometimes it's a simple checkmark to say we've weighed in. Sometimes it's a smiley face if we've lost weight. And unfortunately sometimes it's a sad face, you know what that means. :(

This way we hold each other accountable while not having to share our actual weights. It works great. We can commisserate if there's a weight gain. We can celebrate when there's a weight loss.

For me, it's all about maintenance. Now, I probably could go gangbusters and really watch what I eat and start exercising regularly (or even sporadically) and lose 10 pounds and drop a pant size. But then I'd have to buy new pants and even after a major closet purge last week, I still have 30-plus pairs of dress pants and way too many jeans to have to go out and start over.

So, I'm doing this to maintain my weight, especially with Halloween candy already out; Thanksgiving pies right around the corner; and Christmas cookies a couple of months away.

We started two Thursdays ago. I was doing OK. Stopped snacking between meals. Drinking lots more water and less soda.

Then on Wednesday night I ran into the grocery store to grab a couple of things. BAD DECISION!

Kroger is having it's 10 for $10 sale. Now, overall this isn't a bad thing. You can get some really good stuff - healthy stuff - for $1. But you can also get Snack Saks of mini Oreos for $1...I love Oreos!

I don't usually allow myself to buy Oreos because a) They are expensive; b) I tend to eat way too many at one sitting.

Now, my sisters can attest to this fact...I have a huge bowl of candy sitting on my counter 365 days a year and it doesn't tempt me that much. There's still Easter candy in it. Dark chocolate Kit Kats don't last long, but even then I can eat one of those and be satisfied. Not so with Oreos.

But they were on sale so I bought some...

I bought 3 saks (I had a coupon too) of them and a Nutter Butter just to add some color. I opened the first bag when I got home and ate a third of the bag. OK, maybe closer to half the bag.

So at weigh-in yesterday I approached the scale with trepidation...but I was down half a pound! Probably a fluke, not enough time for those Oreos to really settle around my mid-section, but I didn't care.

What did I do? Let's just say there are now only 2 saks of mini Oreos in my house!

Note to Self: Free Doesn't Always Equal Good

A Few Random Thoughts

I feel like I've been overdosing on the Indiana State Fair posts lately (though I still have some great stuff to post, so stay tuned) but I haven't been doing much else worthy of posting on here. However, I do have some random items/thoughts that are not worthy of their own posts, but I want to share. So here they are...

Odd mailbox item
Did you notice the magazine above? Destination Weddings...how the heck did my name get on that mailing list? Heck, it's been a while since I've even been on a date...OK, more like forever! And I'm so not planning a wedding, though if I were, I'd totally be trying to win the honeymoon in Kauai. I am absolutely in love with Kauai - I'd marry it if I could!

Cool new penny
OK, I may have gone out of my way on Saturday just to pick up a fountain Coke Zero from the ONLY gas station in town that offers it, but that's a whole other blog post. When I got back my change, I noticed the new 2010 penny. Abe is still on the front but the tails side got an update with the monument being replaced by a shield. I tried to get a photo of it, but I couldn't get my camera to focus, so it's just sitting in the photo above. I wonder who decides when it's time for our money to be redesigned. Anyone?

Disturbing view from the windshield
On my way through town yesterday while sipping on my Coke Zero, I was passed by three guys on motorcycles. Now, these weren't the motorcycle-gang, going for a cruise Harley Davidson type bikes. They were the bikes that as teenagers we so crudely called "cr$#@& rockets." Now I can't even type the word on this family-friendly blog - let's just say it rhymes with botch and leave it at that.

Now these three guys were being idiots...popping wheelies, weaving back and forth in their lane, nothing I hadn't seen before. That is before I caught a glimpse of the handgun strapped in a holster on the belt of one of the riders! I thought maybe I was wrong and that it was just a big cellphone but I looked again and it was definitely a handgun. Who carries a handgun while out joyriding on his motorcyle in smalltown Indiana? Crazy!

My new favorite candy bar
Have you ever tried a candy bar or other food item; fell in love with it; only to fall into a deep depression when said item is no longer available?

This happened to me several years ago when Hersheys offered the Dark Chocolate Mint Kit Kat during the Christmas holiday season. They sold it in small snack-sized servings and I bought as many bags as I could in fear that it was a limited time offering. I was right. I even emailed Hersheys begging them to reconsider and start making them again. I didn't get a response.

Now, I'm a firm believer that mint (especially peppermint) is NOT just for winter/Christmas treats. I order a peppermint mocha at Starbucks throughout the year EXCEPT for the Christmas season when they jack up the price by calling it a "holiday special."

Sorry, I digress.

A few weeks ago, I discovered the Dark Chocolate Kit Kat at my local Walgreens and while it is not as good as the mint ones, it is now my go-to candy bar when I'm in need of a chocolate fix.

This has been "random thoughts by Gal in the Middle."