What was I thinking when I signed up for Lighten Up 2013. My daughter came for Christmas and stayed through the 11 of January which was wonderful but very hectic. We shopped and ate out and ate at friends houses etc. ect. ect... After Erin left to go home to Scotland, I was depressed and sad but ready to get on with my new healthy lifestyle. I can do this I said to myself.

Along came the selling of my beloved house in Dover, I signed papers on the !5th of January. I didn't really want to sell but after my husband died I didn't have the energy, the time or the money, that a an old Victorian Painted Lady required, plus the enthusiasm just wasn't there for all the gardens and I sort of rattled around in the huge house. I also had a mother who is 92 and in declining health so after my husband died I moved back to Chardon to help with my mom while still trying to keep up with the Dover house.

I weighed in on Saturday and went straight to Dover to pack, deciding to move the stuff that I could not part with back to my mom's house and packing the other things up for an auction. Do you have any idea of how much a family of three can accumulate in 33 years, well neither did I. So anyways, far too much stuff has sentimental value to me. The stack of what I can't live without has far exceeded the stuff for the auction. Friends came to help pack and while we did get a lot done, there is so much more to do. So, I have friends in the house but no food. Off to the El Pappas we go. A huge burrito and a pitcher of margaritas later I waddled home. Then comes breakfast out and eating at friends houses and fast food, you probably get the picture now.

So to make a long story short, I have to be a little more organized in the menu planning area this week. It will be hard with no pots and pans left, dishes packed, and silverware displaced, but I know I can and will make healthier choices the week. Lots more planning, a little shopping and better selections when I do find myself eating out or at a friends.

net gain 2.5 lbs!