Dude

Whoa dude. I leave for Arizona on Sunday. That’s two days from now. Less, technically, since I fly out at 7:30 AM.

I have to figure out what to pack! It looks like it’s going to be in the 90s! Then again, I did survive Thailand earlier this year, so I’m sure I can survive the desert. The problem I’m having is everything I hear about Phoenix is superficial. My cousin said she felt fat when she moved there. And she’s like a size 8! I hear people are blond, thin, and LA-like. This is SO not me! Especially since my hair is now a dark brown. But hey, I’ve always been different, so I think I can handle this. It’s not like I need dudes at the bar to look at me. I will have my own dude waiting for me at home.

My cousin seems to have a bunch of fun stuff planned for me. I fly in (Midwest Express!) early Sunday morning. She and some of her friends want to take me to the zoo once I’m settled in. Sounds like fun! Monday she has to work, so I will take that day to lounge by the gorgeous pools and read a book. Monday is Cinco de Mayo!! I’m sure there have to be some big parties going on in Phoenix, so we’ll probably go out and celebrate with tequila.

Tuesday she wants to take me shopping in Scottsdale at the Fashion Square Mall. I am incredibly excited about this! They’re getting a Barney’s! Not until 2009, though. Holy crap. Visit that website. Check out their map. Scrolling over the stores gives me chills as the names pop up. Max Mara, Juicy Couture, Burberry, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jimmy Choo… Oh my goodness. All in one place! It’s like all the 5th and Madison Avenue stores, all in a mall!! I don’t think my cousin knows what she’s in for when she releases me on this place.

Wednesday I don’t leave until the evening, so we’ll probably hang out by the pools or wander around downtown. Or do whatever we feel like doing. The only thing that sucks is our plane doesn’t get back to Milwaukee until 11:30 PM! And I’m going to work at 8 the next morning. Sigh. At least I can sleep on the plane.

Speaking of the plane… the anxiety is starting to set in now. After spending about 40 hours on a plane to and from Thailand, I did NOT want to get on a plane for at least a year. And here I am, two and a half months later. At least it’s Midwest Express and at least I’ll be sitting next to my dad. I feel that panicked “Will I make it home safely” feeling in my stomach, though. I hate that.

Okay, I’ll just shove this in at the bottom of my post here… I spent THREE hours at Neroli last night getting my hair cut, dyed, and highlighted. It’s not a huge change on the cut, and I’m a little disappointed. It has more layers and it feels lighter and has more movement and body, but it’s not a different style. That was my choice, but I think this tells me that NEXT time, I will ask for something a little more drastic.

I loooove the color. It’s very natural, but different enough that my coworkers noticed right away. I wanted a deep, rich brown, and my stylist talked me into some soft brown highlights so it wouldn’t be harsh around my face. I just think the color is beautiful. Pictures don’t capture it too well, but here’s what I could do:

The Weight

I have always been heavier, since the age of 10. I thinned out a little in high school as I grew taller, but I was never skinny. I didn’t really care. My family always ate nutritious meals that my mom cooked. She has a degree in nutrition, and is an amazing cook, although I didn’t appreciate all the foods she made back then.

I don’t know where my problem with food came from. We never had much junk food in the house, but instead of not caring for it, I inhaled it every chance I got. Sleepovers? Baby sitting? I’d eat bags of Doritos or sneak into the kitchen for another handful of cookies. So here is my history of the last few years, complete with pictures that made me do a double take.

I was neither fat nor thin in early high school. Honestly, at that age, I didn’t really care. I was just coming out of my awkward middle school years, and that was enough for me! I was about a size 10/12 and carried about 150 pounds on my 5 foot 6 inch body.

This is me before a dance in 9th grade, at age 15 (in a dress I designed and my mom helped me make, I might add!):

The summer between 10th and 11th grade, I took a great tap dance workshop at Sunset Playhouse. There ended up being only two other girls in the class. About half the time I rode my bike there and back. And the dancing was intense. I learned more that summer than I had learned in years of lessons through the Wauwatosa Recreation Department. John Cramer, artistic director at the time, taught the class, and really pushed me, even when I was the only person who showed up. We learned a kick-ass routine to the Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week.” You know how fast that song goes? Yeah, I tapped that fast. It was awesome.

So I lost some weight that summer and toned my body. I didn’t really notice it until my friends pointed it out to me. Here’s me, happy and healthy on the first day of 11th grade, probably about 140 pounds and a comfortable size 10:

Junior year, I got less exercise and lost some of that tone that I worked so hard for. I also went through my teenage depression and gained weight. It didn’t really phase me. I had other “important” things to worry about. The dress I wore to prom was a size 12, and it just barely fit. I was back up to about 150 pounds. Here is my dad and I before prom, April of 2002:

My boyfriend broke up with me a week later, but the spring weather kept me from wallowing for too long. I didn’t have an exercise routine, except for walking to to school, and when senior year rolled around, I had gained a little more. My dress for senior ball was a size 14 and I was around 160 pounds. Early 2003:

I worked on singing and acting all winter in hopes to get a role in our school’s production of “Les Miserables.” The work paid off- I got the role of Madame Thenardier! There were weeks of long rehearsals, which included lots of junk-food snacks and fast-food dinners. Plus, they made my costume big on me, to make me look more plump, and strongly hinted that I could gain weight and look more like the Broadway pictures. I never bothered to step on a scale, but a couple months after the show, I was shocked to realize that I was up around 180 pounds! Yikes:

My mom discovered the Atkins Diet, and I tried to follow it with her. The last two months of school I went to the gym and worked out for at least an hour almost every day. I felt great! By graduation I was back down to 160. I don’t know why I don’t have any pictures of my high school graduation, but I wore a super cute black dress from Express. It was a 14, but it fit comfortably.

I stayed on Atkins for the first couple months of college, but the cost was a big deterrent. Ramen noodles and Mac & Cheese were much more budget friendly. Combine that with the late night pizzas, drinking parties, and living next to a George Webb, and the weight started creeping back on. In July of 2004, I did the Rocky Horror Show, where I met David. I was around 170 and feeling bad about it. I’m including this picture for laughs. No, that is not David, yes, I had blond hair:

David and I started dating soon after and I gained the happy relationship weight after a while. I guess that will happen when you’re dating someone who loves to cook and is damn good at it. I went to Florida with my family in the late spring of 2005, and was so embarrassed of my body. When I saw these pictures, I knew it was bad:

Yikes.

And almost three years later, I am even heavier. Ladies and gentlemen, I broke the 200 pound barrier. For the past 6 months, I have hovered around 200, the highest being 213. It makes me sick to admit this. How did I let that happen? So now I decided to make a real change. I realized I needed to devote time to this, as I would any other work. I turned down theater to make time to improve myself.

Two weeks ago, I weighed in at 204.5 on my scale at home. This morning I checked in at 194. It feels SO good to have some distance from that 200. I also hit a landmark at the YMCA. They have one of those old school doctor’s scales with the sliding weights. Since I started going to the Y near my work, about 8 months ago, I always slid the “200″ weight over first. I don’t have to anymore. I can just use the “150″ weight!! Of course, I have to move the single pound slider all the way up, but still- it is thrilling!

I am determined to keep this weight loss up. My dream weight is 140, but I will be thrilled with 150. My goal for the end of the year is 170. I know I will hit some roadblocks and will probably stall at some points, but I will come back and look at some of those early pictures of 150 and 160 for motivation. I wish it could be faster, but after all, it took five years to get to this point. Going back can’t be easy, but it will be worth it. I know I can do this!

Gimme A Head With Hair

I’m getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow. It’s been quite a while, and I feel like I want to do something different, but I’m not sure what. I really like longer hair, and I like having layers. In which case, all I’d ask for is a trim. But then I look the same! I want to do something cool, but I don’t know if it’s right for me. I’m pretty low maintenance with my hair. I like to blow-dry, brush, and go. Plus, I tend to wash my hair at night, because I hate getting up early.

Clairol’s website has this fun “try it on” studio. So I could post some crazy things I did to the picture I uploaded, but instead I’ll post these, which are actual possibilities. I’m at a loss when it comes to my own hair. My hair is weird. I have my dad’s texture, which makes it hold a curl really well, but it never really gets straight or soft and silky. Except of course right after I leave the salon. So at least tomorrow night while I’m eating dinner and continuing my house-cleaning, I’ll look fabulous!!

Here are the pictures. Go try it yourself. It’s fun! Especially some of the crazy curls and “glam” updos.

Every Now And Then

Every now and then I see a pair of shoes that takes my breath away. Today was one of those days, thanks to The Manolo.

These Roberto Cavalli shoes are drop dead gorgeous. Why couldn’t I find anything like this on my New York City trip a couple years ago? I went willing to spend about $500 on an incredible pair of shoes. But I couldn’t find anything quite right in that range.

Oh, there were Louboutins (which I would practically die for)…

And there were these beautiful Chanel platform sandals that looked like they wrapped your foot in black and gold ribbon. But these were all in the NINE HUNDRED dollar range. So instead I bought THREE pairs of shoes for about $500! I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t pass them up. Maroon suede Stuart Weitzman pumps, gray suede Isaac pumps, and this beautiful, but cheaper pair of Enzo Angiolini champagne satin sandals that I have yet to wear!! I’ll have to wear them this summer. They’re gorgeous, but they kind of look like “wedding shoes” so it’s been difficult to find a time to wear them.

I know I can’t buy those Cavalli shoes. Even if I got a huge tax rebate. $595 is just way too much for me right now. But my toes curled with delight when I saw them, picturing slipping them onto my feet and hitting the town. I’m definitely in shoe-love.

Motivation

I have quite the motivation problem. I don’t really know where it came from. But it sucks. It’s not like I sit at home and do nothing all the time… but sometimes I do! And sometimes that really is all I want to do! I think it comes from being so heavily involved in theater for the last few years. When almost every night is involved in rehearsals or performances, I tend to want to collapse into a ball of nothingness when it’s all over. I usually don’t have a problem doing things I want to do. Just the things I need to do.

Right now, this is causing a major battle with my apartment. It is messy, and dirty, and it makes me angry. But after a long day at work, it is SO difficult to work up the motivation to deal with it.

The problem is that we started off on the wrong foot. We live in the upper flat of a duplex where David and his family lived for many years. For the last handful of years, David’s dad lived in the upper, and his mom in the lower (they were all but divorced, but he stayed close to help with her medical needs.) Long story short, his dad decided to buy a foreclosed house/duplex down the street. He offered us his old apartment for a nice rental discount, providing we take care of basic house stuff.

So that’s where my living situation came from. We have a beautiful three bedroom duplex with a kitchen, dining room, and living room! It’s way more space than we needed. The house that David’s dad bought needed a lot of work, so although he moved in, he was working on renovating much of the house, including the foundation. So he didn’t need and didn’t have room for all of his stuff. So we moved it all into the front bedroom at our place.

We had moved in during a show (Grand Hotel) and during the hottest weekend of the year! There wasn’t much time for cleaning the place between David’s dad moving out and us moving in. Then, we stupidly decided to have a cast party/housewarming party ONE WEEK after we moved in. This was dumb. DUMB! We tried to get unpacked, but it just wasn’t going to happen. We put non-essential boxes and junk in the front bedroom and closed the door. We bought a ton of booze and food, and threw the party.

It was a great party, everyone had fun. But we were just never motivated then to go through the boxes and junk that had been shoved behind that bedroom door. Worse- we added to it! We never got the chance to really deep clean the apartment. Instead, it has felt like we’ve been living in a little bit of limbo. We plan to stay here for a long time, so this spring I am trying to really make it ours.

That means deep cleaning. And unpacking. And organizing. And uncluttering. And decorating. I’d love to be painting by June. That’s our goal. We are not in any major plays right now, so it should be attainable.

Last night I started deep cleaning the kitchen. I am using these spring cleaning checklists as a guide. I work better with a list. I didn’t get much done yesterday, due to a lack of sleep Sunday night. I started washing down the walls. I got one section done, and I washed out one set of cupboards that were not being used. We threw out excess serving utensils (we don’t need two ladles!) and moved our Tupperware containers from the pantry to the cabinets.

I hope to finish washing all the walls I can get to tonight. I don’t know if I’m just not cleaning hard enough, but there seems to be some stains on the walls that are NOT coming off. I hope that’s okay, and we can just paint over it.

I’d also like to finish organizing and cleaning the pantry. It’s nice to have, but we haven’t made the best use of it. Now that we have an extra shelf cleared from the Tupperware, we can spread out our pots and pans to make them more easily accessible. Also, we have many cabinets in there that aren’t being used because they need to be washed. I haven’t done this yet because… there are spider webs! And spider webs usually mean spiders. GROSS!

I’m really bad at organizing. I’m fine with washing dishes, cleaning walls, dusting window blinds, etc. But when it comes to putting things away, I’m at a loss. I like to be organized, but I have too much STUFF. I am trying to be objective and throw things away that I don’t need. This is difficult for me because of theater. You never know when something might come in handy. I could throw out this weird skirt, but what if I could use it for a costume down the road? Or what if that old cell phone could be used as a prop?

I am going to ask myself, “Can I easily buy something similar if I DO need it at some point?” If the answer is yes, I will toss it. If the answer is no, I’ll have a big bin of “theater stuff” for things like costumes and props that can be stored in the attic, NOT laying around my dining room.

I’ve been trying to embark on a cleaning and organizing mission like this for quite some time. I grew up in an orderly home, and I am determined to achieve that for myself!

Just An Entry

Twelve days into my diet, and I’m sticking to it! Wednesday will be the official end of my two-week Phase One. I’m so proud of myself! I really followed it closely. I had tiny bits of carbs (mostly sushi-roll related) a couple of times, but it probably was the equivalent of a tiny handful.

The biggest accomplishment, is I haven’t had any booze. I’m not a heavy drinker by any standard, but I do like to kick back with a micro-brew or a fruity fun drink when I hit the weekend. I was able to avoid going out to bars with friends, mostly because I was too busy.

I think I will continue following Phase One until I leave for Arizona (ON SUNDAY!!!!) so that I can allow myself a little leeway while I’m on vacation. I don’t plan on giving up the diet, but I will allow myself a couple small splurges. After all, it’s a vacation!

It will be HOT, so I’m sure I’ll have some ice cream at some point. I might be limited on what my breakfast options are (and I doubt I can get my usual egg muffin and V- so I will try to stick with fruit at the very least. I resisted chocolate cake at work today, I’m sure I can resist croissants. I will probably be eating out a lot. I will try to stick with South Beach foods, like salads and drinks like iced tea. I know we’ll be going outat least once, so I will allow myself a beer or a fruity drink or three. I just have to be aware and know in advance that I will not order carb-loaded, greasy food from a drive-thru at 3 in the morning.

I am undecided about the Midwest Airline’s chocolate chip cookies. I think I will give in, but only to one. Each way, that is.

Then, when I come back, if I fell off the wagon a little too much, I will go back on strict Phase One for another week, before venturing into Phase Two.

I am officially down 10 pounds according to my scale at home in the morning!!! It has been months since I’ve seen a number like this. And… I am right on the cusp of a breakthrough according to the (probably more correct) scale at the YMCA. In fact, when I go to workout tomorrow at lunch, I might break a barrier. I told myself if I could get below this number, I’d reveal my weight, out here, on the internet, so I can write about my weight loss in real pounds and numbers. I think I’ll do it. Tomorrow!

I am sorry I’ve turned into a diet-crazed person. I’m sure I talk about it to David way too often. But Phase One is such a drastic kick-start, that I just can’t help it. Once my weight loss slows down in Phase Two, I promise I won’t be so obsessed.

The one thing I really do hope is that I will be able to see my weight loss. I can’t tell any difference now. I hope that when I do manage to hit certain weight milestones, I will be able to see it when I look in the mirror. I don’t want to lose 30 pounds and still see my same fat body in the mirror. I hope that my eyes tell me the truth when it’s there to see. I imagine that, when I can fit comfortably into a size 10 or 12, my eyes will be forced to see the difference, but from what David says, my eyes deceive me (he tells me all the time how beautiful I am- my body included, and I just don’t see it).

I’ve never been a hugely confident person, but I noticed that as my weight grew, my confidence waned. I’ve been banking on feeling more confident and outgoing and more like my old self once I lost the weight. I’ve read horror stories about how people’s emotional state of mind doesn’t change when they get what they think they wanted, whether it be a smaller waistline or bigger boobs. I’m hoping I’m not in the same boat though, because I really am happy with most other areas of my life. I just want to lose the excess weight and feel more confident about who I am. I think I’ll be okay because I really am doing this for myself!

Foooood

The scale was not lower this morning. I directly attribute that to eating nuts. I overate cashews last night. I ate a huge handful. They’re so addictive, though! You’re allowed 15 on the South Beach Diet. 15? That’s such a measly little number. So I ate a lot more. And I didn’t feel too happy about it afterwards. From now on, when I buy cashews, I must immediately put them into “individual serving” bags. It’s just way too tempting when they’re all in one big bag. Towards the end I was like, well, I guess I should just finish them off.

I don’t know why I felt the need to snack on them after dinner. Funny how I just complained about not having any exciting dinner ideas left. Fortunately, David is amazing. He made dinner. And he described it as, “his favorite way [he's] ever made chicken.” I think I might have to agree.

He bought chicken breasts and butterflied them, and laid them on the grill, cut side down. When that side was done cooking, he flipped them and smeared pesto all over the cooked side and laid a tomato slice over the top of it. He let it cook the rest of the way and, right at the end, sprinkled shredded mozzarella cheese over the whole thing and let it melt.

Oh my goodness, it was SO good! I’m on a diet! It almost seems unfair to eat food this delicious.

I had a great workout after work yesterday. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and some weight machines. David was nice enough to start dinner even before I got home. He even did the dishes!! I was thrilled!! I didn’t have the energy to do much else in terms of cleaning after dinner. So I showered and we watched some Scrubs and played Phase 10. It was nice. The past couple of nights we just sat next to each other and did our own thing on our separate computers. It was fun to connect and play a game. Having the porch door open and hearing the trees rustling outside was a nice bonus.

I’m getting very excited about my Arizona trip. I still feel squeemish about using up so many vacation days so early in the year. But Thailand was worth it, and I’m sure Phoenix will be too. I thought about getting a massage there, but it’s just too expensive. Instead, I’m going to treat myself to a mani/pedi here at home before I leave. It’s been a long time, and my hands and feet are wishing for it!

Good Times

Lately I feel like most of my blog posts could be titled with the word GREAT. I’m feeling GREAT. The weather is GREAT. I’m really enjoying life right now.

First my South Beach Diet. It’s going so well! I’ve officially been on it for one week and it’s working like a charm. I’m running out of new and exciting ideas for meals, but fortunately I like meat, cheese, and vegetables. So even if it’s not new, at least it’s good.

I’m sure David is getting tired of hearing me say every day, “Guess what the scale said this morning!” But it’s lower almost every day and that is so exciting. This morning was the lowest yet! I weighed myself at the YMCA today. I’m guessing their scale is more accurate, but it’s also about 4 pounds MORE than my scale at home. So I might not be positive what my number is right now, but I do know that from my heaviest, last week, until this morning, I am down EIGHT pounds.

I’m starting to feel like my clothes fit better. I put on a button down shirt this morning that I hadn’t worn in a while. It’s cute, but the last few times I’ve worn it, I’ve worn my SPANX (Higher Power!) to hold in my stomach and smooth everything out so the buttons wouldn’t be quite so strained. I thought I’d try it on without the miracle that is Spanx and see how it felt. It fit! I stood in front of the mirror and it fit the way it should! And the only buttons that were a little strained were the usual bust buttons. But hey, I’m used to that. When I sit, they all still pull, but I’m not worried about that. So I’m wearing this fitted button down shirt, and a skirt, and I am not wearing my Spanx. This is a huge step forward for me!

If I can fit comfortably into my cute blue jeans before Arizona, I will be thrilled!

I went to the Y at lunch yesterday. I really do love going at lunch, but it’s hard because of the time crunch. I enjoy my 15 minutes on the elliptical, but rushing to put my clothes back on before I’m done being sweaty is not fun.

I went again today, and… I plan on going AGAIN after work! I feel a little guilty working out inside on a gorgeous day, but it’s the best way for me to really work up a sweat. I could take a walk after work, but I don’t count a stroll around the neighborhood as much exercise. I hope to maybe pick up my bike this weekend. Now that is some good outdoor exercise!

When I first learned I’d be going to Phoenix (just over a week ago) I said I hoped to lose 10 or 15 pounds before I went. With TEN days left, I think I will get there! I have a huge willpower and motivation problem. So for me to stick to this is HUGE for me!

Goodbye Cravings

Yesterday I sat next to David while he ate a bagel. And we watched a “Good Eats” episode on fudge. And I didn’t crave carbs. And at work today, I didn’t want to get a candy bar out of the vending machine. I think I might be cured. Sure, I’d LIKE to eat all those things, but I no longer feel the desperate need for them. And that is a fantastic feeling! I had almost forgotten about this benefit of South Beach. He talks about it in the book, though. The first phase will get rid of your cravings for refined carbs. I’m feeling strong and confident that I can make it through another week and a half of this strict Phase One eating!

Grrrreat Weekend!

I had so much fun this weekend! It was just great all around.

I was feeling a little down on Friday by the time I left work. It had been a long day. I knew David was out having fun with his Aunt Lisa (from Iowa) and his Uncle Todd (from Hawaii) who were visiting Milwaukee. I went home and got ready to go meet them for dinner. They originally planned on Cubanitas, but I was so happy they changed their minds to Sake-Tumi. Cubanitas is pretty much my current favorite restaurant, but they have almost NOTHING that is truly South Beach friendly. And my favorite foods there (fried cassava, empanadas, guacamole with fried plantains, mojitos) are nowhere near my diet. But sashimi is most definitely on my diet!!

I met David and his family at the restaurant and pondered what to order. My favorite item, the Sexy Scallops roll, was definitely out. I went big and got the Sashimi Omakase dinner. It was 3 pieces each of 6 different kinds of sashimi! What can I say? I love raw fish! The mackerel (I think that’s what it was) was not so good. It was very tough and a little fishy. But the hamachi (yellow tail) made up for it. It was quite possibly the best hamachi ever. It was even better than the Super White Tuna, which is usually my favorite fish.

I did have a piece each of Sandy and Jeff’s sushi rolls and the creepy leg piece of our Spider Maki. But other than that, I behaved. I didn’t even order any booze!

Afterwards, we wandered to the Third Ward to check out a few Gallery Night locations before they closed. It was fun hanging out with everyone. I’ve known Lisa for a while, but this was my first time meeting Todd. He’s a funny guy. And his service dog, Luke, is totally adorable. Luke was quite the attraction at the galleries. I almost felt bad for the paintings that got ignored. I still swooned over some of the paintings, thinking how beautiful they’d look above our mantle. And I swooned over the photographs, wondering if any of my photos could or will ever fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Afterwards, Todd, Lisa, Sandy, and Jeff came over to our place to hang out for a while. We sat around in the living room talking about anything and everything. We sat around talking until midnight! We commented the next day how it felt like we were just a group of good friends and how nice that was. Nevermind the fact that Todd is as old as my mother!

The next day, David and I slowly woke up and made more plans for the day. Todd and Lisa were going back to Iowa that evening. We headed over to Sandy’s house, picking up food from Apollo Cafe on our way there. I had the lamb shank. Yum! And I avoided eating the rice pilaf and their delicious pita.

David was planning on cooking Greek food for dinner, but based on our Greek lunch, we decided to alter plans. Everyone was really excited about the “Pimp my Pizza” idea. We’ve done this many times. It can be as simple as buying frozen cheese pizzas and adding yummy gourmet ingredients to it. We decided to buy frozen crusts and add our own sauces. Then someone realized that I wouldn’t be eating the pizza and they all felt bad and wanted to have something that I could eat too. The last thing I want is for my diet to be a problem for anyone else!! I convinced them that it was okay, and I would find something equally delicious for dinner.

Todd had plans to go to the Smart Car dealership. He’s on the waiting list for one. Ironically, our Smart Car is right near the Hummer dealership. Awesome! Sandy stayed home, recovering from a migraine. Jeff went with Todd. I was curious, but was much more interested in going grocery shopping with David and Lisa. We decided to take her on a bit of a grocery store tour! She lives near Iowa City, so it’s not like she’s without quality food and shopping, but they’re a step back from what we now have in our fair city.

First we went to Trader Joe’s, which is just fun. I don’t go there very often, because it’s pretty out of our way, but I love it. We bought some cheap goat cheese (seriously? $4.99 for a big tube of it?!) and diced pancetta for a pizza. I bought a bag of lettuce for a salad. Lisa liked all the cool food choices and frozen options. It’s such a fun place to browse. We headed to the check out with a few other random items and paid less than $20 for it all! I think I love the prices most of all.

Then we went to the holy grail mecca of food (in my opinion). Whole Foods. If I could afford it, I would shop at Whole Foods for everything. For now, we’ll just go there when we need special items. We found some tomatoes that actually smelled like ripe tomatoes!! (Smell the ones in your local mega mart. They may be red, but they often smell like… nothing. Creepy!) We wandered through the aisles, in awe of everything. Lisa couldn’t get over it, and I don’t blame her. I can’t get over how great this store is.

We (read: David and Lisa) tried all the samples. I somehow was able to ignore the scones and angelfood cake. We drooled over the cheeses for a while, where a small tube of goat cheese was $5.99! I decided that the only way to remove the pizza temptation was to get something really wonderful. I got six fresh scallops. These guys are delicious, but they are too pricey to have on a regular basis. We made one last stop at Metro Market for general groceries at reasonable prices.

We went back to Sandy’s house and hung out for a while before starting food prep. The pizzas looked great! We had two goat cheese, tomato, and pancetta pizzas; one pesto, tomato, and fresh mozzarella; and one basic one with cheese and mushrooms. Once I am off Phase One of South Beach, I will be making some variation of the pesto/tomato/mozzarella pizza. That looked so delicious! I’ll use a whole wheat dough or pita or something. Yummy!

I seasoned my scallops with salt and pepper, seared them, and served them over a salad. David’s Aunt Cathy came for dinner too and brought this great salad dressing from Beans & Barley. I raved about how good it was. It was the perfect dressing for my dinner. As we were leaving, she told me she had bought two containers of it, and I could take the second one with me! I know it’s not low in fat, but it’s all natural, and that’s good enough for me!

David and I had to leave right after dinner because we were going to see The Wizard of Ozat Tosa East, my old high school. My neighbor was playing the Tin Man! I’m so happy we went. I was really blown away by some of the performances. The show stuck pretty close to the movie, even down to the staging and acting. But I’m not sure that you could deviate too far from any of that- I mean, that IS the Wizard of Oz! The most impressive part was that they actually flew people! Dorothy, Miss Gultch, the Wicked Witch, Glinda, crows, monkeys, it was so awesome!! They got one of the top stage-fly companies in the country! I’d say it was worth it. It was closing night, and they were sold out, including the balcony! The audience burst into applause every time something exciting happened, including each time the Wicked Witch flew over the stage! The tornado scene was awesome. I cried every time something cool happened. I cried at the end of the Tin Man’s song. And I nearly sobbed at curtain call.

Because this post is pictureless, here are a couple pictures I stole from his Facebook page:

I gave him so many hugs after the show. I am SO proud of him. His voice is beautiful and his acting is great. He has come such a long way, and it’s obvious he has worked hard to get here. He was not great a few years ago. I don’t think I can sing his praises enough. I hope East does a good show next year and gives him a part he can really shine in and act honestly. Let’s face it, the characters in Wiz’ of Oz are not exactly realistic.

Could this be the longest post I’ve ever written? Quite possibly. ‘Cause here comes Sunday…

Sunday we woke up slowly and ate some breakfast, and then got ready to see Tony and Tina’s Weddingfor a second time! We got a deal on the tickets and it was just as fun as before! This time I took pictures, so I will post some once I get them online.  My diet was put to the test again. I avoided the baked ziti. I even pushed aside the carrots in the vegetable medley.

I did indulge in a couple sips of champagne. My big test was the wedding cake. I’ll say it over and over- my favorite food is cake. I just love it. I confess, I had a bite. Just a bite. And you know what? I really didn’t need to do that. Sticking to my diet and continuing my weight loss is much better than a piece of random cake. Now if it was really good cake, at a real wedding, that might be different. But I left my barely-touched piece in front of me. It sat there through the rest of the show. And I was hardly even tempted!

And the payoff of this “suffering?” According to the scale this morning, I am 6 pounds less than Wednesday. YAHOOOOOO!!!! I can’t wait to add a normal workout to my routine and see that number get smaller.

That, combined with the fabulous weekend weather and my upcoming vacation, makes me one happy girl!