Now I’ve done it. I told my friend Sandy about my plan to lose at least 50 pounds and get my HbA1c under 6.5% before I can book another cruise. She’s an RN who also holds a degree in nutrition and is a CDE on top of that, so she’s quite capable of kicking my heinie if I venture too far off the path.
She’s also had an affinity for cruises ever since she tagged along on one to the Caribbean with my granddaughter and me last year. Now she’s salivating about going through the Panama Canal.
I decided on the Panama Canal as my ultimate reward after finding a strange-looking coin among my change. Turns out it was from Panama. I took it as a sign.
As for interim rewards—I love this place! Some of you have given me some good suggestions in the comments section of last week’s blog entry (“Finding My Inner Beach Ball”).
Of course, I immediately hit on the idea of a “real” bagel in Montreal, but that’s not carb-free. Actually, I don’t recall ever having been to Montreal. Most of my time in Canada has been in British Columbia, because I lived in the Seattle area for awhile.
Fresh, fragrant flowers. Mmmmmm. Once upon a time, I dreamed of having a gleaming table in the dining room with a bowl of fresh flowers in the middle of its pristine wooden expanse.
It’s still a dream. Oh, I have the table and the dining room, but discovered I could either have fresh flowers or cats. I have cats. There was a two-year period when there were no cats in the house, but I couldn’t have those fresh flowers on a pristine wooden expanse for two reasons:
- A former cat knocked over a vase of flowers while I was gone one day and the resulting flood of water raised the grain on the practically new table, and
- My husband thinks the dining room table is his own, personal desk that does not have to be kept cleaned off.
However, I suppose having a husband is better than having a clean table, even with a bowl of flowers in the middle. Plus, you can’t take a romantic walk with a dining room table, despite the fact that it has twice as many legs as a husband.
Books are a great idea. I used to reward myself with books. It helped get me through a major project if I knew Tom Clancy’s new novel was waiting for me to read. Perhaps I should buy something I really want to read and make myself wait until I’ve lost a certain amount of weight.
I have, however, decided on my first reward, which nobody could have suggested since they didn’t know (until now) that I am going to Alaska in May. Don’t yell at me: This cruise was booked last fall! If I lose 10 pounds by the time we sail, I can buy myself something totally frivolous in Alaska. Or maybe in Seattle, where Sandy and I are stopping over for a day before we sail.
What will that be? I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet. I was unable to look much the last time I was in Alaska, because the grandchildren were with me. Those of you who have children know that they can take up all of your time with their wants and needs!
So. A book for the second round of interim rewards and, for the first, a totally frivolous “something” from Alaska.
But only if I’ve lost 10 pounds first. Which means I should probably try and locate that elusive reward sometime before the chocolate extravaganza on-board.
