I’ve never been one to make New Year’s Resolutions because they would always repeat from year to year - lose weight, exercise more, be a nicer person, work less, etc. However I did make a major dietary change on January 1 mainly out of curiosity and also based on a comment from my wellness coach at work – I gave up Diet Coke! In fact, I gave up all the diet drinks since I alternated with Diet Dr. Pepper at times. I didn’t experience any withdrawal symptoms since I still made my daily early afternoon trek to the cafeteria at work just to get ice water to which I added Crystal Light lemonade mix (my new addiction!). But after a couple of weeks I noticed I fall asleep much quicker at night than I did when I was downing my daily dose of caffeine – and did I mention that my “just one drink a day” was a 42 ounce baby?!?!?
I wasn’t ready to say I’d never drink another one but just hadn’t been tempted – however yesterday at the movies, Annie had a drink coupon and they had caffeine-free Diet Coke so I got one – and guess what? It didn’t even taste that great and I only drank about 1/4 of it – and then I craved water. No after affects from drinking it but a reassurrance that any addiction I had was to the whole act of getting it – whether it was at work, Mickey D’s or QT!
Speaking of the movies – Annie and I gave a huge 2 thumbs up to “Atonement” – an awesome movie. I read the book a few years ago but had forgotten parts of it which enhanced my enjoyment. The cinematography was phenomenal, the scerenery spectacular and the costumes and period settings were incredible – not to mention some great acting to boot. I’m not pinning any hopes on Best Picture for this one but it still ranks very high with me. We watched the SAG awards last evening and I was glad to see “No Country For Old Men” take the ensemble prize (but where was Tommy Lee Jones when the cast went onstage?) – and hooray for Javier Badem for best supporting actor.
I started today with a long walk (>1 hour) in 60-degree weather which for me was perfect for running shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt. The temp must be relative because I met several natives dressed in jeans, Ugg boots, heavy jackets and knit hats who seemed to be freezing! We took off this afternoon for the golf clothing discount store where we scored a few bargains (shirts for Burl to wear to “work”) and then to the grocery store to get dinner fixin’s for Chef Burl’s spaghetti tonight. Another day of vacation paradise – working out, cuddling with Devin, knitting, reading, shopping – rough life!
