German Beer Advent Calendar: Days 19-24

 I’m wrapping up the German Beer Advent Calendar…just a wee bit after December.

German Beer Days 1-6 here <—

German Beer Days 7-12 here <—

German Beer Days 13-18 here <—

I can’t say it enough how much I enjoyed opening the beers each morning and enjoying a beer most evenings.  I even still have a couple left in the fridge.  I love Germany and I love German beer so this was perfect for me and despite the $90 price tag, I would do it again, especially if there were different beers in the next batch.  I even found a few favorites among the mix.  

Weekly WI: What The Heck?

Good Morning.  It’s the last day of February and we are about to this the shortest month of the year finished up.  Weeeeehaaaaa!

I am ready for a brand new shinny month.  I do love the energy of a fresh clean slate.  I have been so off track that I desperately need something to cling too.  I am planning to make March a successful month by getting back into healthy habits that make me feel better.  Unfortunately Mother Nature has not been nice to us (other parts of Idaho have it way worse than my neck of the woods) and warmer temps are not on the horizon quite yet.  I am looking forward to getting out for walks and riding my bike again.  I also want to get back into strength training.  I need to commit to better meal planning and really focus on reconnecting with those habits that make weight loss successful.

My month has been crazy!  

I had a small gain before we left for our cruise, a 0.6 pound gain upon our return, a maintain, and a 0.6 pound gain last week.  Since then, my resistance muscle has been low and I’ve been flailing around not feeling connected to any part of life right now and behind 100% in everything!  My boss at work even pointed out I have not yet completed my monthly training.  Yes Boss, my life is falling apart!  Ugh.  I am so relieved to not have a trainee for my two overtime shifts my two regular shifts coming up.  What a breath of fresh air.  I can finally feel normal again!

Anyway…back to last week.  I was really worried about a five pound gain hoping I could at least sneak by with a three pound gain and was shocked to see I have lost 0.6 pounds this week.  What?!?!  I wasn’t the only one shocked this week.  Time and time again on the scale I heard pleasant surprise commentary and we handed out four awards.  It was awesome!  I have to get my employee weight on record today and I’m planning to get back to monthly weigh-ins each Tuesday at my morning workshop.  

I am starting this year higher than last year but that is okay.  

I’ll bring the scale back down.  I need to recommit to myself and to my Weight Watchers Program.

Weekly WI: Mardi Gras Fun

I swear, I’m alive and well.  I have no idea where the days go but they fly by too fast and there is just never enough hours in the day.  

Despite being on track last week and talking myself out of eating out many times, I had a small gain.  Ugh.  My head is just not 100% in the game these days.  I have no idea where my oomph went but I hope I find it again soon.

My parents and some friends joined me for Mardi Gras in downtown Caldwell visiting various businesses along Indian Creek Plaza.  We had tons of fun!  If you collected five stamps you turn your passport card in for a chance to win a table for eight at an upcoming Tuesday concert on the Plaza.  We ended up visiting seven businesses, which should have earned us an extra chance to win.  Regardless of winning or not, we really enjoyed visiting the downtown Caldwell area.

We started at Flying M Coffee for king cake.  Mom and Dad arrived earlier and also enjoyed an order of beignets, which they said were delicious.  The king cake was a little too sweet for me and tasted like a frosted cinnamon roll.  The king cake we had in New Orleans was a lot better.

Our next stop was Indian Creek Steakhouse for their $10.99 burger and fry happy hour deal along with some boneless wings, cheese curds, and a hurricane shot (forgot a photo).

We crossed the street to Mesquite Creek Outfitters for their $4 pint special.  I had a Baltic porter which was super dark but good.

Wanda had her heart set on a king cake shot and since we ventured a few blocks to Shi Sushi, a cute new sushi restaurant.  The shot was pretty good and I loved the cute Mardi Gras sugared rim.

We hoped to have an ice cream and beer flight at The Stil for our last stop but it didn’t open for an hour.  We passed time by visiting White Dog Brewing for a pint.

Where we then went to Chop Shop BBQ to share some shrimp étouffée and a margarita.  OMG we will be back.  This dish was delicious and the BBQ smelled amazing.

We ended our Mardi Gras jaunt at The Stil where my parents and I shared a beer and ice cream flight (again, no photo).  

Originally we planned to stop into Creekside Mallow Co. for some s'mores but I didn’t realize it was across the street from sushi place so we ended up not back tracking and called it a day.

When I arrived home I checked the app for our house lights and was pleasantly surprised to see they had Mardi Gras pre-sets.  It was a festive day for sure.