Getting Back On the Merry Go Round

It was quarter of 10 before I finally opened my eyes...and discovered another glorious, sunny late summer morning. I read More All-Of-A-Kind Family in bed and wrote in my journal. Got dressed, had a very quick Cheerios-and-peach breakfast, and headed outside for a walk.

I just strolled around the neighborhood. Went all the way down Manor Ave, then back up Cedar and over to Kendall. It was a wonderful day for it. The sky was that brilliant blue again. Some of the trees have leaves that are just starting to turn colors. I could hear the students at the Oaklyn School screaming and chasing each other, enjoying their recess. Watching them run around the huge field in the back of the school and the concrete area with the hopscotch court and basketball nets reminded me of the similar set-up at Cape May Elementary when I was a child. Only our field, formerly the high school football field, was a lot bigger (and still retains the football goals to this day - it took me years to figure out what those were and why they were in our school yard), as was the concrete area.

Spent an hour or so working on editing the role play and doing things online after I got in from my walk. Around 2, I watched Max and Ruby and had a quick Peanut Butter and Apple Butter Sandwich with sliced tomatoes and a plum for lunch. When I finished lunch, I grabbed the DVDs and the books I had to return this week and headed for the Haddon Township Library. (Made a brief stop at the Dollar Tree for sponges on the way, but they didn't have the kind I like, the thicker ones.)

There were huge piles of DVDs sitting on the return shelf when I arrived! I hadn't seen that many DVDs in ages. It took me over an hour to return them all. Getting the kids DVDs alone organized took nearly twenty minutes. There were a lot more non-fiction DVDs than usual, too, which took another twenty minutes.

On the other hand, I found some good DVDs pretty quickly. I ended up with the 1950s Ivanhoe with Robert Taylor, How the West Was Won, Pretty In Pink, and the second, third, and four season set for A Pup Named Scooby Doo. Also took out the children's novel Heidi.

Headed for Collingswood next. I wanted to check out the Weight Watchers group at 5:30 at the Collingswood Fire Hall. Trouble was, first of all, I got over there much later than I'd planned. Second, it took me twenty minutes just to find the entrance. By the time I had found it, the first meeting of the night was already under way. I signed up, then went to Saladworks two blocks away for an Autumn Harvest wrap and a pickle for dinner.

The Weight Watchers meeting was disappointing. First of all, as nice as the leader was, she didn't discuss anything about nutrition that I don't already know (like watch your portions, you can eat anything as long as you don't overdo it, if you eat fiber and protein, you'll feel fuller).

Second, the group didn't really do much besides sit there and say "whee, a couple of people lost four pounds!" I need more out of a group than to sit there and cheer over losing pounds. I need to actually DO something to lose those pounds.

Third (and this was one of the reasons I quit the online version), the whole "Points" thing is way too complicated. I don't mind keeping a food journal, but all the adding and trying to figure out how many points for this and that is just annoying.

Fourth, you have to go to a meeting somewhere every week, or you have to pay extra the week after. I can't always make every meeting every week. I really can't ask for the time off; that's one of the big reasons I stopped doing counseling. The only morning meetings in the area are in Cherry Hill, where I can't get to easily.

I don't regret trying it, though. It was $15, which isn't bad. I probably won't go back, but now I have a clearer idea of how I want to lose weight and to meet people. I need to meet people who DO something besides sit and yammer about how they're going to do something. I want to be active, whether it's a dance class or a yoga class or a crochet or woodworking club.

To that end, I rode past the Pillar Dance Studio on West Clinton Avenue in Oaklyn on my way home from Collingswood and found it open, for once. A girl at the desk gave me their schedule (hand-printed - she said they were out of printed ones) and said that walk-ins are welcome and yes, they do have adult classes. (In fact, an adult ballet class was going on as we talked.) I told her I lived around the corner and was considering several local dance schools.

I treated myself to an ice cream cone at Leo's next-door after that. Well, I wanted a frozen yogurt cone, but they were out of frozen yogurt. The lady there didn't seem to understand that I wanted a small cone, either. She gave me two huge scoops of Vanilla Fudge! The moment I turned away from her, I tossed the top scoop in the nearest trash can. I can't eat that much ice cream.