First, traffic around LA is insane. I am talking 6 lanes of stop and go traffic almost 24/7. The weird thing? I didn’t see lots of accidents. We saw two accidents the entire time we were here and that is it. If you had 6 lanes of stop and go traffic around Detroit, the entire interstate would be at a standstill. It is fire season and there was a fire in one of the areas that we drove through the day after we explored it. We were staying with some firefighters from Colorado at our first hotel and their fire truck broke down on the side of the road. One of the guys said that he defended the hill well all day long while they waited to get a tow truck that could tow their firetruck. We switched hotels 3 times while we were on this trip.
Also, Costco currently has poo-potpourri on sale and I highly recommend it. I am not going to travel without my bottle anymore. It is well worth the $$, just a friendly tip. The food has been good but I am trying to regulate things a little bit. The first day I over-indulged so I’ve tried to scale back. I’ve dipped into my fitness points now so I am thinking that if I can break even and not have a huge gain or just maintain for the week, then I will call it a victory. The thing that I’ve done, which I have never done before, it track all my food. Even after day 1, I’ve tracked what I’ve eaten. The new WW app on your phone makes things pretty easy to track so it isn’t very hard and I didn’t want to get out of the habit. I’ve been able to get a fresh veggie omelet for breakfast each morning, along with fresh fruit and good coffee so I start out my day well. Even for my “fat snacks” I picked out some hot flavored peanuts and skinny popcorn so I am being mindful. I didn’t have a scale to weigh in this morning so we’ll see what it says tomorrow, after I wake up. That said, Gilbert and I did split a Ghiradhalli ice cream bowl, so I am not being a saint either. I am on vacation after all, but I do go for my annual check up in less than a month so I am mindful of that was well.
I also found out that my summer clothes are all too big now. My capri pants are too big and my short sleeve shirts are too big. I didn’t realize that until I put on my clothing. So, some of the pictures I look a little bit bigger than what I actually am but I like the pictures that we’ve taken, even with me wearing the wrong sized clothes. I have realized that I hate having my picture taken from a side angle. Oh wow! All the progress that I think that I’ve done is undone in my mind when I look at myself sideways and I realize that I have a long way to go, but at least I have started the journey.
I have been the quintessential tourist while in LA. I had these index cards that I made out and I would arrange the index cards each morning of what I wanted to do and Gilbert would help me plan out the day. It has been great! I have loved every minute. It has been awhile since Gilbert and I were last on a trip together and we haven’t killed each other yet. I did discover that walking and climbing all the stairs and going to all the tourist attractions do not bother me at all. The initial weight loss was good in this regard. At the end of the day, I soak in a nice hot tub of water and relax. I also found out that although I can keep up with a full packed day, at the end of the evening, I am stinky and ready for a bath. I have to wash my feet twice, pooh-wee! He-he. I am having a lot of fun and Gilbert is the best driver/tour guide in the world. My beloved Hunter was spoiled rotten by his nanna so I didn’t even worried about him. It was good getting away. LA was a nice place to visit but I would never want to live there, ever. We are already planning our next vacation!
Thefirstpoundisthehardest 