Why tight pants are a good thing

Why, you might ask, would I say that? Tight, uncomfortable pants are a constant reminder of why I'm trying to lose weight. Today is the start of my second week of eating lean. I have salmon and shrimp thawing out for dinner and lunches. The fridge is stocked with squash, green beans, raspberries, salads, cottage cheese and yogurt. The freezer has plenty of Lean Cuisines, veggies and fish. Emily picked out her own ice cream, a flavor that doesn't tempt me. I have to stay focused so I can be comfortable in my clothes again. I was starving when I was out today. I got a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a. I scraped all the coating off with my Starbucks stirrer and ate only the chicken and pickles, no roll. It was too spicy anyway.

I submitted (electronically) the financial aid packet for Emily's coming school year yesterday. This is sent to an outside service that evaluates applications and determines how much assistance can be offered to a family based on the school's overall budget. They in turn give their recommendation to the school. I had been so stressed out about it! It was a lot of work, but I was methodical and 'got 'er done'. Last night I composed a personal letter to the financial aid committee at Emily's school, explaining Emily's history of education at her public high school and the positive impact her current school has had on her life. I spoke about my life as a single mom, my commission-only job, the effects of the economy on my finances, etc. I groveled. It was a fine piece of writing, if I do say so myself. It made for a compelling story. I sent it to my ex for his opinion, and he said it was very well written. That was nice. Today we Fed Ex'd our individual personal letters, copies of tax returns, and other supporting documents to the school. The next step will be sending in our 2009 tax returns. Then we wait and see. Emily's school is $22K a year, plus books, uniforms, etc. Crazy, huh? The only reason she is able to attend is because of the very generous financial aid we were given by the school for this school year. Her dad and I split the balance. Because we applied for admission and aid after the process was closed last year, we were given the maximum amount allowable without going through the normal application process. This time we're doing the real thing, just like everyone else. I'm trying to be optimistic. I'm hoping we get even more help this year. Hope with me, OK?

In my last post I wrote that Emily's field hockey team won their first ever game last Monday night. It was also the first time they scored. Emily scored one goal and assisted on the second. They played their final game on Thursday night and won again, 1-0. Emily scored the winning goal! It was amazing. The happiness lasted all night long!

I had fun giving out goodies to the trick-or-treaters. We have lots of kids in my neighborhood, and lots of kids that get 'bussed in' from other areas. I was the weird one who gave out mini bags of microwave popcorn and packets of hot cocoa mix. Say what you will, but the kids LOVED it. Most every one of them exclaimed with glee, I got popcorn! or, can I have the cocoa? Judging from what I could see in their baskets, there wasn't much premium candy going on. When kids came up to the door and just stood there, I just stood there too, till they said trick-or-treat. Then I said, oh, that's what you're here for! Silly me. I really did have fun.

I went to the movies this afternoon to see This Is It. The Michael Jackson movie. I wanted to see An Education, but it wasn't playing at the theater near me. I loved the MJ movie. His death has saddened me in a way that it didn't when it happened. What a terrible loss. I'd highly recommend the movie.

Well, it's time for me to start preparing dinner. I'll be cooking the salmon outside on my Foreman grill so I don't stink up the house. The salmon will be for my lunch salads. We'll have shrimp, green beans and baked potatoes for dinner. I'll get everything ready to cook, then pick Emily up from her friend's house. It's a 40 mile round trip. That's the disadvantage of going to a school that's 20 minutes away. All the friends live at least 20 miles away. It's all worth it.

Hope your Monday's been a good one. Sorry this was so long.