last big hoorah

i decided to play a new game. i invented it myself, but it's based on games that lots of other people have created and/or played before. i'm calling it "project get healthy" and i started it today. i hope it is fun and i hope i win.

anyway, i wanted to start playing the game in style, so the night before the official rules went into effect, i partied like a rockstar with my friend, crystal. and by "partied like a rockstar" i mean ate like a pig.



i tried to savor each and every bite of that delicious, last flavorful meal, but it was sort of hard to savor when i was scarfing it down as fast as i could. we sampled a few of the appetizers rather than ordering a real entree. lettuce wraps, hot artichoke & spinach dip, and avacado eggrolls. Mmmmm.



and of course we had to try out the red velvet cheesecake,





since we were at the cheesecake factory.



i got to have crystal as a house guest for 2 nights this week while she was getting some stuff done for her own schooling. it was just what i needed...a little bit of home. i got to introduce her to ikea. fun for both of us. and she took me out for this delicious meal. it was great. thanks crystal!



by the time we (okay, i) finished off the cheesecake,



i was very close to puking my guts out and sad just knowing that the flavor would soon be brushed away, not to be tasted again for quite a while.



i also got to see my papa this week. i bummed a meal of chinese food off of him, too, so i've been well fed over the past couple of days. even faye made me a yummy (unsalted) meal. well, now that my new game has started, i won't be dining out as much, so i really did appreciate all that delicious grub.

so here are the official rules of my game for anyone who would like to play along at home: i am going to try to eat healthier. i'm not giving up EVERYTHING that i like. for instance, i refuse to use less than 2% milk on my cereal (since skim milk tastes, to me, just like stink bugs smell), but i will be eating healthier/fiber-ier cereals. goodbye cap'n crunch (and consequently shredded-roof-of-mouth.) i will try to eat smaller portions of my favorite foods and bigger portions of fresh produce. i recently found (well, matt showed me) an awesome store called sunflower down the street from my house, and it sells fruits and veggies for a lot cheaper than anywhere else, so that will be helpful with my budget. and the second (probably more important and difficult) part of my health plan will be to be more active. it's just my own non-televised edition of biggest loser...without the quarter of a million dollar prize. boohoo.

i've never had an issue with my body image. i am a happy person and i really love every pound of myself, but i have noticed that i'm not breathing as easily and i probably wouldn't fit in the rides at lagoon anymore, so i've decided to take on this adventure along with all my others right now. i don't care if i ever get skinny, but i do want to be able to swim more laps without being completely out of breath. it all might have something to do with the fact that i saw a dead body today and i don't want to end up in that same position anytime too soon. wish me luck and play along if you'd like. oh, just to clarify, the dead body was the cadaver i'll be getting to know really well really soon. i thought i'd puke, but it wasn't bad at all. i'm excited.