For Mike, life is all about finding that perfect mix of fun and hard work.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  This time of year has always been my favorite.  You can keep all the other seasons, I’ll take fall any day.  The only thing I don’t like is the way I tend to always overeat during the holidays.  But this year I was determined for it to be different.  I think I did pretty well with all my goals and the execution of said goals.

For starters, I only ate twice on Thanksgiving as opposed to the normal three times – once around 11am and again later in the afternoon.  I also tried to limit my intake of certain foods, so I only had mashed potatoes, dressing and sweet potatoes during one of those meals instead of at both.  My overall plan was to sample a little of everything instead of piling it on like I normally do, until my plate resembles a certain structure in Italy that leans to the side and rhymes with Lisa.  And it really seemed to work – I never got that disgusting feeling I’m normally so accustomed to on Turkey Day.  So there’s a plus.

The Friday after (T+1), we left for a weekend trip to New Braunfels.  Most of the time, going out of town means lots of eating at restaurants and not reigning in my desire to splurge.  This tends to make my scale not like me very much.  But I’m happy to report that we’re still friends, thanks in large part to the fact that we have a kitchen where we stay when we’re there so I’m able to cook more than on a regular vacation.  On the occasions where we did dine out, I tried to order responsibly, opting for a salad one time and grilled chicken another. (Side note, if you’re in the area check out the Gruene River Grill.  I was very impressed with their food, the portions were HUGE, more than enough to share; and the prices are very respectable.  Make sure to try the Chicken Guadalupe – it’s delicious.)

The other important thing to remember was to get some kind of exercise.  So we decided to shop.  There’s nothing better than walking around an outlet mall with 25,000 of your closest friends complete strangers.  And the house we stay at backs up to a canyon, so I might try some hiking next time.  Hopefully I won’t get into a fight with a cactus.  Or a rattlesnake.  That would bite (see what I did there?)…

So for now, the journey rages on.  Some days are better than others.  But this is a lifestyle change, and I’m fully aware that I didn’t develop my bad habits and attitudes overnight so I know they won’t change overnight, either.  Although it would be a lot easier if they would.