To Thanksgiving and Beyond!

Good morning, friends! 

Chloe gave the pie her stamp of approval! 

I have been super busy lately so not much of a chance to get on here. I've been doing well and feeling pretty in control, the scale has been giving me some trouble but I'm trying not to focus on that so much as how I feel. 

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was SUPER relaxing which is always awesome! My mom, Mr. Fox, and I went to my dad and brother's for the day - my parents are divorced but still friends. Long story. Mom and I did the cooking which was nice because I had a lot of control over what the PointsPlus values of the meal, and all the control over what went into the foods I made. I definitely did eat more than I planned on, and I stopped tracking after some stuffed mushrooms and a taste of stuffing, but I was more in control than in past years, and it felt really good! 

My favorite food was probably a tie between mom's stuffing and the cranberry sauce I made. And my favorite dessert was my butternut squash pie. This was the first time I attempted it, and it was even better than pumpkin! Super smooth and delicious! And I was able to use about half the sugar because roasted butternut is so naturally sweet!! SO yum!! 

We spent the evening relaxing by the beautiful fire! 

The rest of the long weekend was fairly uneventful, but also relaxing. Lots of snuggling and reading. I did decide to kick my commitment for intentional exercise into high gear and hopped on my stepper for 30 minutes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I skipped Monday because I had to go grocery shopping and it just got too late, but I did it again Tuesday and last night!  I'm feeling pretty good about it. 

Sunday we spent some time with my in-laws with football and good food. I love hanging out with the kids. They snuck my phone and were playing with the doodle app. I have to share their masterpiece haha! 

Conference call!

This week has been alright so far. Busy nights and dreadfully boring days due to not enough work. This weekend is fairly busy though! Dinner with mom tonight, probably dinner with dad tomorrow, Ugly Sweater 5K on Saturday morning, Mr. Fox has a show on Saturday night. Hopefully getting our tree on Sunday!! 

Post workout selfie!

My scale woes are tough. My Friday WI showed me at 255 which was right where I wanted to get to. I hopped on Wednesday night and Thursday morning and it showed a 4.5 lb gain. Which undoes weeks of work. Last night I was really excited because my body fat percentage had gone down 3% according to my scale. I did it again and again and was feeling really good - like the exercise is paying off. This morning - back up 3%. WTF. Literally WTactualF. 

Now it could be many things. I succumbed to a binge on Sunday night. I didn't even begin to track because I couldn't even think of all the things I ate. It's also TOM for me. And I have been exercising which can show a gain. 

Regardless it's still discouraging. 

I'm not going to let it stop me though. I will continue to work the plan and pray that is works for me. 

Halloween Weekend Update

Is it seriously November?! How is it November?? Am I the only one who thinks this year needs to slow down a little?? Probably not. I suppose complaining won't actually help haha. 

How was everyone's Halloween weekend? Mine was BUSY!! I have had the most jam packed weekends ever since Mr. Fox and I both started our "normal" Monday thru Friday first shift hours. I actually can't wait to have a do nothing weekend at home. Which doesn't look like I'm going to get for a while! 

Can you spot the kitty?! Disregard my mess!! 

Friday I had planned to do nothing, but the night before we found a flea on Chloe. UGH!! It was the strangest thing though - there was one, single, solitary flea. Yes, I am fully aware that for every flea there are so many eggs, larvae, etc.. but I still think it's strange to see just one. So with that, my lazy Friday night turned into spa night for Chloe. Full bath, brushing, and blow drying. Followed immediately by hours of cleaning the rest of the apartment. Vacuuming EVERYTHING, changing sheets, getting laundry together.. unfortunately our walk in closet became the room I put everything without a place in, so now I have to clean that too. 

In related news: Ashton scared the bejeezus out of me hiding in the jam packed closet! I guess he found a new cozy spot. Too bad it will be cleaned out this week, buddy. 

Mr. Fox had karaoke so he worked super late, although I had just about crawled into bed when he came in! 

Saturday we got up and ran a bunch of errands - paid rent, exchanged some sweaters, shopping. Fun stuff, really. We decided to swing by my dad's house because he is ALWAYS home. Go figure, he wasn't!! I called and he said he would be back in about a half hour - he was running errands too (our family had ALL the fun) so if we wanted to wait we could. We aaaalmost didn't, but then I decided - since we had Chloe anyway - we should take a walk in the big sand pit behind my dad's house. It was awesome to get in some unexpected exercise, and it motivated me to keep it up through the week. Now let's see how that goes. 

Grateful Dead in a Patriots glass (I'm a Cowboys fan) 

After that we had just enough time to have some sandwiches and watch Beetlejuice (Halloween favorite, of course) before heading to the in-laws. We spent some time with the kids before trick-or-treating, and some time with the grown ups while the kids were out. It was SO nice to see Mike's parents in good moods!! Things have been a little tense ever since my sister in law, her husband, and their three kids moved in. 

My Wifey and her beau in 2nd place! 

As if Saturday wasn't exciting enough, we had a Halloween party to host/attend/work. The bar down the street where Mr. Fox does karaoke wasn't doing anything special for Halloween so hubby, a friend, and I decided to plan the party. I was EXHAUSTED and did not want to go, but I ended up having so much fun! The bartender had a bunch of spooky drink specials, we had great lights, good music and people. The costume contest was hilarious. Our friend Don as Elton John took the grand prize, my neighbor/Wifey Megan took 2nd, and then there was third place.. which is a hilarious story: 

Zombie Brain Hemorrhage Shots

His name was Matt. He was dressed as a scarecrow, a really awesome scarecrow to be honest. He went up before the contest to sing a song and did an amazing job. I knew I recognized him but could not place where from. Then BAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was my GYNECOLOGIST!! Ha!! Not awkward. Not at all. OK it was awkward. Hysterically awkward!! 

Karaoke addict in my recycled 80's gear!

Another super late night, wrapped up with post-bar visit to a friends house for pizza and some laughs before heading home to bed. 

Sunday I was determined to sleep in! I made it until 9:30. Which considering I usually get up at 6:30 is super sleeping in!! Mike and I finally got a tiny taste of laziness for a couple hours before heading out. We got takeout diner breakfast and watched Heroes on Netflix. Then headed to my mom's for dinner for my dad's 64th birthday. She made the yummiest rib roast and apple pie!! We watched the Cowboys lose again football and laughed. I got to see my brother, who seems to be doing really well - we were all a little worried how Doug's passing would affect him. 

After mama's we went home and immediately to bed! All in all it was a great weekend. As much as I LOVE a lazy weekend now and then, I love to be super busy too. It makes the weekend feel so much longer!! 

Sorry for the extreme length today haha!! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend and has a great first week in November!!