Hi everyone! Catching back up after quite a weekend...QOTDs first:
1) Superstitions...I was famous at my old WW meeting for wearing the *same* *darn* *dress* every single week to weigh in. I was somehow convinced that wearing anything else to weigh in would through throw the whole thing off. My little touch of OCD didn't help matters any!
Been there, done that!!
2) Secrets to success - I always, always do better when I write down everything I eat. My last WW leader had a whole list of sayings - If you bite it, write it. Before you pick up a utensil, pick up a pencil. Etc, etc. Whenever I get off track, the first thing I do to put it back together is start tracking every nibble.
I've got BOTH of those written inside my food journal!!
3) Motivational quotes - I don't so much have full quotes as I do short little mantras for while I'm running. There are two: "Suck it up, buttercup" and "Allons-y!" Anyone who loves the tenth doctor as much as I do knows that second one. It's French for "let's go!" and it's even engraved on my RoadID.
Speaking of running...oh, you guys. That race on Saturday was baaaad. I mean, I finished, and I'm so glad, but it was a poorly organized race and ended up being my worst time to date. I can blame external factors to a point, but I also learned good lessons about doing extra research and prep for races that are new.
The traffic getting to the race was terrible. I left twice the time I'd need to get to the start line an hour early, and I was still sitting in traffic when the roads were supposed to be closing. The race started 90 minutes late (!!!), so my pre-race food and water were a moot point by the time we started running.
The organizers misstated the elevation gain for the race - they said 266 feet, but it was more like 800 feet. A much, much hillier race than advertised! And they forgot to note that a lot of the race was on dirt roads...rocks, dust, not anything I'd trained for, and the uneven terrain caused a lot of runners to trip.
DH and DDs came to cheer me on - they saw me off at the start and were at the finish line when I finally staggered across. I made sure to run across the finish line to show DDs a strong mommy
but I was really feeling it by then. I posted my slowest time for a half (2:33), but all in all, I'm proud of myself for not quitting when I felt like that's all I wanted to do, and I have some good experience under my belt for future races. That which does not kill us, right? The next one is less than four weeks away - my cousin is running it, too, and my mom will get to see me race for the first time! I want to stay good and strong for that one.
In other news, DD the Older turns 9 today!
My sweet, beautiful girl is growing up so fast. Today is my on-campus commuting day, and I hate that I had to leave before she was up, but I'm going to call her before they leave for the bus stop. I made her mommy cake last night (what we call the homemade cake - she gets a party cake at American Girl this weekend, save me now!!), and that's coming with us out to dinner tonight. Birthday girl's choice, and we're going to our favorite local sushi restaurant! That and a light lunch mean Mommy will enjoy a nice piece of cake without going over points today.
And not to end on a down note, but I'd be remiss not to acknowledge the sadness here in DC today...a friend's husband works at the Navy Yard and was running late yesterday. He got there after they'd shut the place down, and he went back home to his wife and their two little boys. My heart is aching for those families who weren't able to have those reunions yesterday.
Lots of love to all - I'm calling this a count-my-blessings Tuesday.
XOXO
Liz
That being said, I could have been a LOT worse, but made a conscious effort to keep things in check. Of course, throwing in a 2 hour nap in the middle of Sunday afternoon helped too! 
Here's to kicking the scale's butt this week for all of us. 
