Update

So much to Blog about..... Rush Limbaugh... The election... contraception....

But I think I'll start with updating everyone on the progress of my diet and fasting.

At the start of the year, I promised to eat healthier food, bring lunch rather than go out, and exercise regularly.

Healthier... CHECK. Apart from the occasional party dalliance, (My friend Brian makes bacon, and bacon just HAS to be eaten) I've been good. I've been avoiding Sonic, and making better fast food choices. One brilliant discovery is Big Sal's. It's a sandwich joint that makes Salads. Just salads. You can put your salad on a wrap, and it tastes AWESOME. I'm also sticking to food joints that I know make their own food from scratch. So Pizza, Deli's, Chipotle, Panera, etc.; not Burger King, White Castle, Taco Bell....

I've been bringing lunch for the most part. My Sunday plans now include shopping and making sandwiches for the week. I'm not always able to do it, and this week in particular threw me. It was SCMEA weekend (Our county's All-County festival,) and as chairman of the 7th and 8th grade choir, I was busy. It threw off my schedule, and I did not plan for this week as I should have. So, we make some trips to Big Sal's and all is well.

I'm very proud of the exercise. I've been averaging 3 days a week of swimming, 20 minutes a day, and I feel great. Whereas I started off panting and gasping for air after half a lap of the crawlstroke, I can now do several laps in succession. I'm up to 3 pool lengths of crawl, the most strenuous of the strokes, alternating with breaststroke, backstroke and sidestroke. I notice things like my clothes fitting better, and not being winded, but the gut is still there, and according to the scale, I have only lost 4 pounds. Then again, I went off the wagon a few weeks ago, and some experts (my friends who have also lost weight) say that it's my body changing rather than a failure.

The toughest part of my resolutions only happened 4 weeks ago. LENT. I was sitting in church, wondering what to give up this year. I already drink less Pepsi than ever, and I'm ON my usual lenten diet year round. So, while brainstorming ideas, I had a thought that seemed to come from an other worldly place... COFFEE. Yes, I'm THAT much of an idiot, I gave up coffee for Lent. I've been off coffee for 22 days, and I feel... like crap!!!! This is one year that my fasting is really something I notice and feel; which is the whole idea of Lent in the first place. I've been drinking tea exclusively, and I have now discovered a few things: A) Tea does NOT have more caffeine than coffee. Not even close. hjgvlwetrjd;itjio5ugp Sorry, I just fell asleep on my keyboard. 2) There is a textural thing happening with coffee that just doesn't happen with tea. In espresso, it's called the crema, and it's part of the overall enjoyment of the coffee, and D) Coffee has been literally keeping me going for all this time. Without it, I am feeling as if I can't function. This little experiment is going to help me rethink some of my procedures in life. And on Easter Sunday, those church hymns are going to be PRESTISSIMO, because I'm bringing a Trenta Triple shot latte from Starbucks, and I am going to be celebrating!!!!!!!