Over Indulging....And Paying For It!

There's an upside and a downside to the month of December.

The good things:
-I spend the entire month baking homemade cookies
-There are three birthdays and two major holidays, so food is plenty:)
-This year, I also had a book release, and was anticipating a second.
- I also decided to make my own candy this year.

The bad things:
-See above.

In all fairness, I only dip into the cookie dough during the first batch or the second (did I mention I LOVE raw chocolate-chip cookie dough?) and I bake while the kids are in school, so the cooled ones can be stored away from their hungry little mouths. And keeping the spouse out of the them is a chore also...which is another reason I have to make so many.  I give them away to teachers, crossing guards, special friends, etc.  And after the first two batches, the dough loses its appeal (shocking, I know!  Seriously, sugar overload?  Can it really exist?)

So I expect to put on a few pounds.

But knowing the cookies weren't going to be as plentiful as in years past, I decided to dip my finger into the homemade candies.  We had bricks of almond bark, and I love chocolate covered pretzels, so seriously, how hard would it be to try making peanut butter cups and cute chocolate shapes?

A lot more labor-intensive than it sounds!  And of course, who can resist melted chocolate?  After all, I had to TASTE it to see if it was the right temperature; I had to TASTE my final product, to make sure people would like it; and oh yes...I just couldn't scrape the last of the chocolate into the trash, because....well, you just DON'T!  If there's a spoonful left in the bowl, and you've filled your molds, you can't just put one character in the freezer; you eat the chocolate because one lonely chocolate character all by himself in the mold is too much like being the last person standing after the school yard pick.  Get my meaning?

And yes, it was a shock two days after Christmas when I realized I could not fasten my good jeans and expect to breathe while sitting down.  Thankfully, we were just lounging around Grandma's house, and no one cared if Kenzie walked around with her jeans unzipped and a large sweater covering it all up.

I've never been one of those 'lose weight' people, but I think it's finally happened:  Metabolism shutdown at age 46.  I shall HAVE to get off my butt and exercise more.  And stop eating what's left of my white and milk chocolate dinosaurs!






"I, Kenzie Michaels, do solemnly swear to lay off the sweets, cut down on the pasta, and watch my total carb intake.  I do go to the doctor next week for my physical, and I'm not looking forward to seeing how much weight I've gained since that 7 lb loss back in October...."

Again, in all fairness, injury kept me from my walking routine in October, and I could go out and resume my route, but temps are going to dip into the 30's again later this week, and why start something you know is only going to last 3 days?

And isn't it against the law to let good chocolate go to waste?  That will be my Lent goal:  To only eat half of the bad-for-my-hips chocolate and pasta, plus the temps should be rising again....now if the rain stays away so I can walk at least four days a week....

So in the meantime...(reaching for a chocolate Santa)...I'm an adult; I admit I'm a chocoholic and a carboholic and in six weeks, I'll make every effort to counteract my holiday indulgences!

This doesn't mean I have to give up my chocolate wine every month, does it?