Sticky update

Just a quick update, since I’m not currently in the middle of “a week without”:

The cleanse seems to have…worked? I’m still craving healthy stuff instead of fast food. Despite that, lack of preparation has led to a lot of drive-thrus this week, so I went on a cooking blitz tonight to remedy that.

• More of the roasted winter vegetables just came out of my oven
• I made roasted chickpeas for the first time
• Ben’s pick: a quinoa egg bake is cooking now
• Plus, I’ve got the ingredients for a whole wheat veggie lasagna &/or pizza

More stuff that stuck:

I go without makeup &/or my purse pretty frequently. I choose water over pop a lot more. And we’ve been turning off the tablet in the bedroom earlier. Sometimes. Ok, we’re still pretty hooked on electronics.

Right now, I’m trying to decide my next week without. I have two ideas:

• A week without Aisle 11. That is, no paper towels, napkins, disposable plastic baggies, press-n-seal, etc. But I draw the line at toilet paper. I’m not that hardcore yet.
• A week without nagging. I think Ben will love this idea. J

So, what should I give up?

It happened.

I was joking about the "worst case scenario" in my last blog entry. Well, it happened. And forget about my face -I am way self-conscious about too many *other* body parts. Despite what it sounds like, I AM actually gaining some self-confidence from this.

In the past, I've forgotten to put on makeup, or waited until after lunch to put on my face if I had a meeting, etc. That's why I didn't expect this to be a difficult week. WRONG! When did I start caring so much about what other people think of my appearance?? It's on my mind at every meeting I attend, and at every cashier I face. Hoping that'll fade by the week's end.

"CHEAT" REPORT: I still use sunscreen. I still allow myself chapstick (plain, untinted, non-makeupy kind). And...I used a spray-on fake tan.

Was that cheating? You tell me.
- "No! If you went fake baking instead, no one would call that makeup."
- "Yes! It affects the color of your face, so you shouldn't do it this week, you cheating cheater."

It’s about time I stopped covering up all of this hotness...

Surprisingly, I think my Week Without Alcohol was my easiest week yet! Moments of weakness: When my best friend begged me to go to a bar – on a weeknight, of all nights! She had two martinis. I had 3 ice waters. (The bartender gave me a couple bite-size Snickers, too!) I went to a friend’s Game Night on Friday, but since I had to be up & driving at 3:30am, I wasn’t very tempted to drink a beer. Again, water…and delicious squash bruschetta! The worst temptation was Saturday night after the Market to Market Relay. I was the team driver, and spent approx. 16 hours driving a 15 passenger van. Granted, it was WAY easier than actually running the race :) But I was very hot and tired and thirsty and ready to celebrate. No dice. I cleaned and returned the van, had a sandwich and some milk and went straight to bed. For 12 glorious hours. Ohhhh yeahhhh!

This week is a Week Without…Makeup. It’s about time I stopped covering up all of this hotness and let the world see the real me! (haha) I thought this would be an easy one for me, but I’ll admit it was a bit of a struggle this morning. My face is breaking out a little bit, and I worry about perceptions. Will my boss think I’m tired or that I just don’t care? Do I look like I was running late and didn’t have time to put on makeup?

Best case scenario: My skin will get a reprieve from my normal routine and I’ll wind up with a naturally glowing complexion. I guess this is a chance to try some fun homemade oatmeal scrubs or something?

Worst case scenario: I have to be on camera for something at work, which will be captured and preserved for future generations. Also, not too pumped about the possibility of Facebook photos this week…