So the last three days were insanely awesome for the most part though I doubt they were great on my diet. I'll find out for sure when I get home... I suppose I'll find a lot of things out when I get home. Like if my pipes are still in tact and if there is anywhere to park with in a .5 mi radius of my place.
So Tuesday they predicted that a massive, historical, record-breaking storm would be hitting around 2-3 p.m. and they were dead on. Most schools, offices and other establishments announced that they would be closed on Wednesday before Tuesday even began. Not CPS. CPS doesn't freely declare snow days. There hadn't been one in 12 years so everyone said not to get too excited. All announcements warned a life-threatening "do not travel at all" situation was on the rise, but no way was CPS buying that. In all reality, we should have had an early dismissal. It would have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. I got sub plans ready. No way was I driving in a storm half as bad as the one they were predicting. I didn't need to worry. As the snow started to raid the air at 2:30 it was clear that they were not exaggerating this storm. Within an hour, the world was entirely white and it was showing no signs of slowing. Just after student dismissal at 3:30 p.m., the mayor announced a closing of all CPS schools, which resulted in teachers running through the now-vacant hallways high-fiving and hugging with delight before quickly packing our things and hitting the road. Luckily, I was heading to my parents' place to get snowed-in rather than brave the city. This turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I have ever made as my general route home from work, Lake Shore Drive, turned into one of the biggest disasters of the situation, with people stuck on it for 12 hours. All things considered, my ride to Orland Park was rather pleasant. Slow, yes, but moving. I walked in to my sister and mom and dad preparing a delightful stew and pouring glasses of wine so I quickly changed into some sweat pants and we all reminisced about snow days past - my parents regailing the group with tails of the great snow storm of '67 and how they jumped off roofs and will never forget it. Even the dogs seemed fascinated.
We continued to pour ourselves a few drinks and played some Trivial Pursuit and Cranium with my sister's boyfriend joining the mix as we let the powers that be coat our large city in a raging, yet eerily peaceful white. We stayed up discussing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness until the wee hours of the morning. The next morning we slept in, made some breakfast and of course hit the snow as soon as the storm stopped. Never have I seen anything like the white covering the world. Most major streets were still blocked, let alone smaller streets. We played Scrabble, then went out and built a snowman. Hadn't done so since I was a kid. Being the family that we are, building a snowman would not have been enough to make this snowstorm memorable so of course we had our bikinis under our outerwear which we shed to take pictures with the snowman, have a quick, cold fight, and all run straight into the jacuzzi and cracked open a few beers. Mom made another delicious dinner and I came up to a fascinating text stating that CPS was now closed for the second day in 12 years. Unreal!
The next day was not quite as exciting, but I did go to breakfast with Swoowski as the roads around us were pretty clear by this point and we then went with my mom and sister to the movies to see No Strings Attached, an excellent film which I give my highest recommendation. It is the finest romantic comedy I have seen in quite some time and even boys would enjoy it. It brings very interesting relationship situations to light with the ideas of blurring the lines between friends and sex and what it is like to be an independent woman who has love but doesn't want to admit she is vulnerable. Went out to eat and then got ready to brave what I feel will be a rather interesting Friday before a weekend. This break was exactly what I needed for my morale.
Food:
Tuesday:
6:45 a.m. - Coffee and creamer
11:00 a.m. - Turkey Wrap on low-carb tortilla with swiss, hummus, lettuce and avocado
3:00 p.m. - Greek yogurt with cherry
6 p.m. - Wasa toast with Chocolate Almond Butter - this is my mom's newest snack and it is low-carb/low cal and absolutely delicious. I will be stocking up the next time I find myself in the grocery store.
7:30 p.m. - Beef stew with a small piece of Asiago bread and a delicious salad
A couple of light beers and another piece of Asiago bread later.
Wednesday:
11:00 a.m. - Breakfast sandwich with Sandwich thin, Canadian bacon, colby cheese, egg and hot sauce
6 p.m. - Wasa toast with laughing cow cheese - I love all of the new varieties they have come out with of this - particularly sundried-tomato and basil.
7:30 ish p.m. - My mom made a chicken casserole - probably wasn't the absolute most healthy but it was really delicious and couldn't have been two bad either but I did have an extra half serving and a salad with it.
9 p.m. - Fiber bar
Thursday:
11:30 a.m. - Egg scramble with egg whites, chicken breast, avocado, red pepper and swiss with two small multi-grain pancakes
4:45 p.m. - Fiber bar
8:00 p.m. - Split with Swoowsk - Small vegetable flatbread, lettuce wraps, hummus and pita
OK so it would seem as though I actually ate really healthy if I am counting everything I ate and not forgetting anything. I clearly let go of the no-carb thing becuase my mom was cooking so I was at her mercy but it was delicious and we'll see how much damage I actually did. Swoowsk and I made an arangement last night to eat super healthy low-carb and work out for 16 days straight with absolutely no cheat days and then on President's Day, at the end of those 16 days, we will go to Cheesecake Factory or somewhere delicious for one fabulous cheat meal and then back at it. We figure this gives us a lot of motivation and we can definitely see a pretty big difference in 16 days if we stick with it. Today I had to pack a lunch from what my mom had so no-carb was impossible. I'll eat healthy but the no-carb part of this will have to start tomorrow.
This day is sort of ridiculous. We have about 30% attendance in our school and a half day for students. At least I should be able to get some things done (like all the things I should be doing right now instead of blogging). My 6 present journalism students are probably goofing around on the computers but hey, they have 22 minute classes. Let them be. They showed up. Interested to see what my parking situation is going to be like when I get home. Maybe I'll try to go tanning. No idea what my plans are this weekend except for a date to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday which I'm not sure what to make of yet. So many exciting things in my life!
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