Back??? ♥

I think I'm back :)  That was a much longer break from blogging than I'd anticipated, but I'm finally feeling a little urge to get back to it.

In my last post I eluded to working on something.  I wanted to see how that went before I talked about it.  Personally, I get sick of writing about all my "fresh starts", I imagine reading about it is 10 times worse.  What I was working on was another attempt at Tosca Reno's Eating Clean Phase 1.  The first week went pretty well, but I can honestly say now that it's something that I feel I just can't sustain.  My lifestyle, my family, my personality ... it just doesn't work for me.  While I'd love to be the model of clean eating, I am not and don't have a strong enough desire to ever be.

So ... what have I been up to???  Well, I went to Vegas. :)  The men had a reason to go there, and we made a family trip out of it (all on a budget of course).  It was great.  A very "filled" vacation and we were constantly on the go, but still fun.  My ideal vacation is a little more laid back, unscheduled, go-with-the-flow - but this was nice for a once in a while kind of thing.  Being there for Halloween was a blast!  Here's a few pics.  I wasn't in a photography mood and didn't take a whole lot of anything so the selection is pretty slim.

 The boys and their hats

 Me & my girl 

(it got a bit chilly one evening, good thing for $10 hoodies!)

This guy was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp

Not only did he look like him, but he acted like him and almost sounded like him.

I laughed and thought it would have been funny if it actually was him and he was just pretending to be an actor portraying him.

The kids asked if they could take a picture with him, to which he agreed and then said, "you know, we do accept tips" in that accent with the most charming smile.  HAHAHA

Lion cub (behind a very thick glass wall).  Sooo CUTE!  When she opened her eyes she had the most amazing lashes.  Just wanted to scoop her up for snuggles.

Now ... don't ask me how in the world this happened ... but I managed to lose 1 1/2 lbs while we were there. As I said, we were on a budget.  And food on the strip is actually stupidly expensive (unless you're eating in a dive at 3am).  Yes, I could have made better choices, but I didn't.  With a family of five on a limited budget, there was no room for splurging.  Sometimes we would eat at a buffet, stuffing ourselves and making it last most of the day.  Often we ate at McDonald's because it was close and cheap.  Even Subway was a rip off down there.  We drank a lot (beer/smirnoff ice is WAY cheaper than water).  $3-4 for an average size bottle of water and $2 for a large beer.

However, we did walk a TON!  I would guess we averaged 10-15 Km (6-10 miles) every day.  Got blisters and a broken back to prove it too! heeheee

After a couple of days at home, and consuming as much vegetables as I can cram in ... I'm down almost 3 lbs from before the trip.  Now, to just keep that going.  If I don't continue with this success, I do have another trick up my sleeve that I will employ in the next week or two.

That is one thing I often find when we're in the USA.  Fruits/Vegetables are way more expensive than at home, often not the greatest quality, and not as easily accessible.  I wish we'd had a car.  There were no "normal" grocery stores nearby.  If there was, we could have filled up on some produce.  If I have to pay for a meal in a restaurant, the last thing I want is a spindly salad that tastes all hopped up on chemicals.  I don't think I've ever had a decent salad in the US.  Here you can get a pretty good salad at McDonald's.  I don't know what they do to them there, but they are disgusting!  Even the buffets we went to were severely lacking in fresh produce.  Any vegetables were swimming in some kind of sauce, or pulverized into something unrecognizable.  The last 2 days we did find one that at least had a good assortment of fresh fruit - which I consumed like crazy.

It was awesome to get away, and good to get back.

The day after we got home (which was a shock going from 20°C to -3°C), it was a beautiful sunny, crisp day.  I took my big dog out for about a 3 mile run and it was absolutely glorious.  It was one of the very few runs I have enjoyed this entire year.  Just me and my dog, no garmin, no watch, no conversation to keep up ... just blissful silence.  I finally felt that "floaty" feeling again that I've missed so much.  I'm holding on TIGHT to that feeling and storing it in the forefront of my brain.  I also went for a 1 hr walk with my friend and my daughter, then later that night a 2 hr walk with my whole family.  It was an amazing day!

That was kind of a long-ish post, but hey ... it's been about 6 weeks!  Hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more from me again.

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥