Day 2: Jumping in

I guess you could say that Day 1 of my July "better me" experiment was just a day of deciding I wanted to do better, not actually doing better. This may explain why my weight was up to 126.8 this morning. Yes, I gained .8 pounds over night. Sweet.

With no further ado, here is my daily report.

Diet: Today being a new day and all that, I did somewhat better on the whole eating front. My basic plan is to stay away from bread and crackers and fistfuls of m&m's (which are supposed to be bribes for potty training). I confess that I still ate a good bit: fiber bar for breakfast and string cheese for a morning snack, three veggie dogs for lunch with baby carrots and dip (sue me), hot air popcorn for afternoon snack, laughing cow light cheese for pre-dinner snack, ratatouille (100% local produce!) and broiled tofu for dinner, and skinny cow chocolate truffle bar* for dessert. Like I said, it was a good bit of food, but I am not missing the bread and m&m's at the moment. I guess the scale will tell me if I need to cut back further.

Exercise: I walked a couple of miles between campus and the treadmill, but it wasn't strenuous. The most strenuous thing I did today was walk five flights of stairs rather than take an elevator. I worked out on machines at the gym and feel sure I'll feel that tomorrow.

Not snapping at my children: This is hard! Hard! Why must it be so hard? Perhaps I have a genetic sensitivity to whining and screeching and moaning and groaning. My maternal grandmother was an alcoholic whose elder care fell to my mother. One day when I was reluctantly pressed into service at her house, I decided to risk asking her how she started drinking. She slurred, "The whining and noise of children bothered me. I did not care for it ONE BIT." It figures.

Conversing with my husband: This morning, when he was playing on the computer and I was trying to dress two children, run the vacuum, and get ready for work, I remember thinking I should tell him an amusing story about our governor who, after going missing last week, has been the center of national attention. Instead, I told him that "I'm not getting much out of marriage these days."

Beauty: Surely there is a better word for my efforts in this area. Is there a word for "not looking like a tired hag?" This morning I remembered to use my salicylic acid peel which is basically a pretreatment for the glycolic acid peel that I will do tomorrow. Now, I just need to remember to pick up the tube of cream the dermatologist prescribed the melasma on my jawline.

The dogs that I should love more: The elder dog who is 16 had five teeth extracted yesterday. He is a sweet, arthritic old man, but should we really be plunking out $340 on a dental treatment for a dog whose bladder is sometimes faulty and whose time is limited? The younger dog who, at 11, would be considered old in any other household, has an anxiety disorder. She has just started medication for it, but we can't tell a difference thus far. More on this later, I promise.

*Seriously delicious.