Oops!

As Homer Simpson would say, d'oh!

I had all these grand ambitions of blogging daily, and then we went on a mini-vacay for the long weekend. And I forgot to bring my laptop. And even if I'd remembered to bring it, I was having a fabulous time with some of my favorite people - and I suspect I wouldn't have written a single thing anyways.

And if I had, it would've consisted of "I'm having a glass of wine with Brandon, my old roommate (and bridesmaid), and her husband! They're awesome! I lurve them! Yay!"

 

My grad school roomie and me, after smearing cake icing on each others' noses at graduation.

So, to say the least, I fell off the bandwagon with all things normal life for a few days: with blogging, with food, and with exercise.

But, as with all things, the most important thing isn't being sure that you never fall off the bandwagon in the first place -- it's being able to get back on whenever the inevitable slip-up occurs. (And, because we're all human here, it definitely occurs.)

As a result, my fridge is stocked with my usual staples: veggies, nonfat Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and chicken. I hit the gym this morning for a 45 minute cardio session. And I'm back in front of my computer, writing away.

I do, however, have a November challenge update: on our way to visit our friends, Brandon was feeling a bit under the weather -- so I took the reins on our faithful chariot, which just happens to be a massive SUV. (Yes, I know it's not fuel efficient, but it is paid off in full.  In the interest of saving money, we'll keep it until it meets its untimely demise.)

 

I'm used to driving our behemoth car on normal roads, but driving it on highways makes me incredibly nervous. It's difficult to control, and I have to work a lot harder to drive it properly than I would with a sedan or mid-size SUV. Add that to weekend traffic on the I-95 corridor, and you have a very freaked out driver.

It scared the crap out of me to drive our beast of a car on a fast-moving, crowded highway (to give you a sense of scale, I keep a baseball cap from the tank brigade of the Israeli Defense Force perched on the dashboard, simply because tanks are what come to mind when riding in our truck).  

 

I had to concentrate to a degree that would make you think I was performing brain surgery, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stressed out the whole time -- but I did it. 

 

Granted, I might have driven with a white-knuckle grip for a good three hours, but I got us to our destination safe and sound, and I proved to myself that I can handle the tank on one of the freak-nastiest highways in the US.  Not bad for a Saturday afternoon!

 

That evening, having arrived safely at our friends' house, I had a glass of wine. :)