Christmas Eve! Baking, Done! 24 lbs, Lost!

YAY!
I'm exhausted!

First of all, Merry Christmas Eve to you!

When I hopped on the scale this morning... it told me I weighed 169.2 lbs!
That's 24 lbs off my highest of 193.2 lbs! Woohoo! I'm ... (wait, let me get my calculator) 41% to my goal weight! YAY!

Last night Mom and I fixed our usual double batch of traditional fudge for the family... which makes 6 lbs of fudge. Yes, I said 6 lbs. And I managed to eat only a spoonful while scraping the pot. Proud of myself!
We have a lot of relatives. Mom is the second of seven children... which should give you a hint of what the Grandparents' house looks like on the holidays... (MAYHEM!)

Today was a jogging/running day... and it was raining very hard all morning long... so no jogging was done this morning.

So I got up and made a batch of the Christmas Meringue Trees, half to take to Florida to the relatives, and half to take with me to my party on the 30th.

And then I made chocolate dipped pretzel rods. I had four different kinds...
Dipped in Chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint shards
Dipped in White Chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint shards
Dipped in Chocolate and drizzled with White Chocolate
Dipped in White Chocolate and drizzled with Chocolate

They all went into celophane bags and will be given out to family and friends both in Florida and in Georgia... I don't want to see another chocolate covered pretzel for at least a year! 4 bags of Kroger pretzel rods! 4 bags! and it all translates to 26 bags with four pretzels each...

Mom made haystacks for Dad... and then she tried some experimental flavors other than the regular butterscotch... she tried caramel and chocolate haystacks... the butterscotch is still the best. After taste testing one, I said it would be better with a little bit of salt to counteract the sweet, so we sprinkled seasalt over them... of course, that doesn't make it any healthier...

So at the end of the day, I have had a serving of cherry yogurt, a scrambled egg sandwich, 5 corn chips with cream cheese and olive dip, half an apple, two haystacks...which I forgot to put into the tracker, but will do right after this... one chocolate covered pretzel, and a bowl of split pea soup and ham...

Not a great deal of healthy food, I am afraid.

I did finally go for a walk with my Mom this evening. We did one lap around the neighborhood together, and then I went for another walking lap and I did my jogging on my third lap. I really didn't think I had the energy to do it...but then I realized it would just be another excuse... And with visiting the relatives, long drives, and a party with snacks and alcohol coming up... I probably won't be getting as much time to exercise so I'd better do some while I can!

While jogging tonight I did lots of shorter intervals instead of trying for longer distances... And twice I just went as fast as I could. I didn't know I could go that fast! Of course, it didn't last very long, but eventually, I will get there! I will!

So anyway... Christmas Eve was full of baking, unhealthy snacks, and a little bit of exercise...

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
May you have a safe and happy holiday.

Julianne