Think about it. From a week before Thanksgiving, the stores and malls are decorated and illuminated with all kinds of pretty lights and decorations. It creates a feeling of anticipation unmatched by anything else.
Then Christmas happens, and the world closes down completely. Only twenty-four hours later, you walk through the very same mall with the very same decorations, and you want them to go the hell away. And if you hear Christmas music after the presents are opened and the dinner is over, it makes you want to hurl whatever device playing said Christmas music into the first wall you see.
And then there is the matter of merchandise. Just like magic, the items you were paying full price for up until the twenty-fourth of December suddenly have lost their appeal, and much of their value. Things with holiday iconography are now marked down 40% or so, and they still seem expensive. If you are organized, you buy them on sale and use them the following year. If you are disorganized (like some people I know), you buy them, then put them away, and when you are ready to use them, you can't find them. You then have to go back to the store and buy more holiday items, this time at full price. So now you have two sets of stuff with trees and little snowmen and nativity scenes and crap like that all over them.
Years ago, there was a store called Evans that had advertising with some singer singing, "There's magic at Christmas..." and now I understand.
Now, on to the food update. Today I had thought that the company would be footing the bill for a lunch from one of the local restaurants, but they went and did that yesterday. Far from being annoyed at having been left out of this, I was actually relieved. I am also lucky I decided to bring something for lunch today. So I was mercifully spared having more high-calorie food thrown at me. I ended the day at about 1400 calories, which was fine, since I could use today to mitigate the effects of the last couple of days.
Tomorrow is the "birthday feeding" for me and my co-worker. I hope to heaven that it is something light. My boss, who has been a relentless cheerleader for my weight loss, wouldn't try to get me to screw up. Since I am working the late shift tomorrow, I will be following the plan that I laid forth for all night shifts: get there really early and walk for an hour before my shift begins.
Today is the last Friday before Christmas, and I was looking forward to grabbing my dork weights and hitting the mall tonight. After my dinner at Subway, I started on my way, but found the crowds to be entirely too huge to use the weights. If I had swung too hard, I could have very easily clocked another shopper upside the head. So I went back to my car, dropped the weights off, and did the laps without them. I feel like I cheated by body somewhat, but I don't think I did. I still got my exercise, and even if I don't do any walking tomorrow, I still walked six times this week.
The challenge is next week. I am working early Sunday, and then having dinner with Diane. The next day is Christmas Eve, and I am bound and determined to get myself up and to the mall before it gets too crowded. I will have no chance of walking the next day (which is Christmas), so I must capitalize on every opportunity I have to exercise.
Just to remember the three mantras:
1. Good habits are just as hard to break as bad ones.
2. If I never skip one day of exercise, I can never skip two.
3. Julie wants me to fail. I will not let this happen.
And on that note, it is goodnight.
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