How I Spent My Vacation

I'm combining a few different topics in here so this is gonna be a longish post.

I want to start by telling you what I did on Monday for the first time since I started Weight Watchers. I didn't track. Not a single bite. I have been tracking every piece of food I put in my mouth every day for five months straight. Let me explain why Monday was different.

While I was in New York, Clay's mother passed away. Hannah, being the person that she is, cut her own vacation a day short to have me back in time for the viewing and funeral on Sunday. I tracked for the morning half of Sunday, but I spent the night at Clay's dad's house, so the latter half of Sunday went untracked. Then on Monday, I helped out with some house cleaning and organizing and they don't have the internet at their house, so I didn't track then either. I ate funeral food all weekend. Macaroni salad, rigatoni, sandwiches, cake. I didn't overeat, but I didn't scrutinize my plate either. I felt okay with it because I knew on Tuesday I would be back in my routine and the macaroni salad wouldn't be in my grasp. I didn't see the not-tracking thing coming, but I can't say I'm all that upset about it. It's nice to have a break from the internet once in a while (I love internet-less days), and it was relieving to not be tethered to a set of eating rules for a day. Of course, those days will be the exception to the rule, but I'm happy to know that I can have one now and then and not go overboard with food or feel guilt-ridden for the rest of the week.

Back up a bit, I had a great time in New York. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, but I will try to remember to post a few on here once I do. We visited another waterfall, Salmon River Falls, and perused a fantastic antique shop (I got a cute side table and a very sharp-looking purse). Activity was minimal, at least the kind of activity I've been accustomed to, but we did get in a few hikes and leisurely walks.

And if you back up a bit more, you'll arrive at my bike trip Clay and I took last weekend. We wanted to start in Williamsport, WV and bike 40 miles to Harpers Ferry, but the trail was washed out so we just continued on to Harpers Ferry and biked from there. That part of the trail is an old towpath, so it was pretty rough. I had been asking around about it prior to biking and the people who biked it kept explaining it as "rough." It was driving me nuts. Was it bumpy? Are you more likely to wreck? Will I have to push my bike around the rocks? Once I got there I understood. It's rough. That's the only way to describe it. It's rocky and bumpy and you have to slow your speed considerably to navigate without wrecking. We only did 20 miles the first day, spent the night in Harpers Ferry, then headed to Meyersdale the next day to bike another 25 miles. We didn't get in the 80 miles like we planned, but I had a great time. Here are some pictures:

Clay's obligatory Captain Morgan pose:

I find it pretty hilarious that both Clay and I treat our bikes like they are our children. I am obsessed with taking portraits of them on every bike ride.

Creepy house in the woods near Harpers Ferry:

The room we stayed in was actually an old telephone building from 1941. It was just big enough for a bed, a small sitting area, and a bathroom. It was pretty awesome.

It's becoming a tradition of mine to eat ice cream after a long bike ride. So I guess I bike for ice cream. Which is funny because I never used to crave ice cream all that much. Now I want it all the time. Rightthissecond, in fact. We lucked into some pumpkin frozen custard after our ride in Harpers Ferry:

To get to the bike trail from the town of Harpers Ferry, you had dismount from your bike and push it across a pedestrian bridge over the Potomac. Then, you had to carry your bike down (or up, depending on which way you were going) this spiral staircase. God bless Clay. He carried both our bikes up and down the staircase. What a sweetie.

So that's been my vacation, basically. I think I might post something a bit more food-oriented soon as I've gotten away from talking about what I've been eating lately. That will be for another time perhaps. However, I will say I made sloppy joes in the Crockpot and they were delicious. I used ground chicken and used my food chopper to puree celery, onions, and carrots to add to the mix. It was fantastic. Ask Hannah.

One last thing, I am doing hot yoga on Friday night with my friend Stephanie. A flow-yoga in a 90-degree room. What am I thinking? I'll let you know how it goes. I'm pretty nervous/excited about the whole thing.

Here's my picture for the week. 

Weight loss this week: 4.6 pounds

Total weight loss: 27.6 pounds

p.s. I noticed upon rereading this that my pictures aren't a uniform size. I'm too lazy to look into it, so just pretend they're all the same.