Progress

It's been seven weeks since I started watching my weight and calorie intake. I switched to tracking via MyFitnessPal instead of Livestrong's Daily Plate because their Android app is better, and their database is larger and more current. As of this morning I have lost 9.5 lbs, some of which happened quickly and drastically during a brief illness a few weeks ago, but I'm not complaining. My clothes fit better and my energy level is improved. Onwards...

My boss kept gently reminding me that I needed to use my vacation days before I stopped accruing them, so I took a week of staycation. I'll be taking another week later on in the year, and going away from home, so I wanted to save money this time around. For each of the days, I scheduled myself a chore (cleaning a room or area of the house), some computer game playing time, a venue to go out locally and take photos, and a restaurant treat.

On the very first day, I had to alter this self-imposed schedule slightly due to two unexpected invitations - one, to spend some time with my friend Logan and her daughter - and the other, to go to a Journey/Foreigner/Night Ranger concert with my friend Sharon and her boyfriend Andrew. The concert had been suggested some time ago, but the plans were cancelled for financial reasons, and I was overjoyed when Sharon said she could manage it after all. It was the first big concert I'd been to since Neil Diamond came to the Birmingham Arena in the mid 1980s. Even though there was thunder, lightning and rain towards the end, our spirits weren't dampened in the slightest.

Day 4 was the most successful financially, as I finished up with a profit! My "restaurant treat" for the day was the local casino's excellent buffet but as I arrived early, I decided to amuse myself by putting $20 in the cheap slots and seeing how long it would last me. Within less than ten minutes, my balance was $38.60 and I've never had trouble quitting while I'm ahead. So I cashed out, with my winnings paying not only for the buffet but for everything else I'd spent that day with room to spare.

You can see all my Staycation photos on Flickr. A picture is worth a thousand words, which luckily saves me from having to textually describe each day here. I may blog again before my September vacation, but if I don't, I promise to blog as soon as I return!

Meanwhile, if there's anything you - my readers - would specifically like to ask me to blog about, make a comment. And no, I'm not going to start a Formspring account! All comments are moderated, so if you want to ask me something that you'd prefer to keep private, say so in the comment and I'll make sure it isn't published. I reserve the right to pick and choose which ones I respond to.