Celebrating Independence - In More Ways Than One!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
I'm typing this from the deck of my in-laws place at the beach. I've come down here every 4th of July since meeting my husband and it's one of my most favorite places in the world. Part of me thinks I may have some sea creature DNA. I love the ocean and the beach - it is truly my happy place.

I know I STILL need to get my pics and measurements posted for this week - I haven't forgotten. We've just been busy being a wee bit lazy, laying on the sand and playing in the surf. Josh did run to CVS for me yesterday and picked up the measurement tape though, so I can do that today and then pose for a lovely full body shot, and face shot later.  I doubt there is much of a difference, but I'll admit I'm kind of curious, especially about the measurements since I've swapped my couch potato ways for a much more active lifestyle lately. I'm not expecting miracles or anything - but hey, a girl can dream.

The only downside about being away from home right now is not having our "go-to scale" here. We use a doctor's scale at home for weigh-ins and we had to bring my old, weird, finicky, never-give-you-the-same-reading-twice-in-a-row, digital scale along for when we are staying down here. I'm not quite sure how accurate or inaccurate the damn thing is and it's frustrating, especially when the goal this week is to drop two stinking pounds!
My husband told me that he weighed himself at home, right before we left to come down here and then right when we got here, on that scale - and he said I should subtract 1 1/2 lbs from what the scale actually reads. But the thing is so whackadoodle I am not sure if I buy that - so I'm sticking to whatever number it spits at me while I'm down here and will face the real music when I get home.

If I DID do the subtraction that my husband suggested, I'd be VERY happy! However, I'm an extremely cautious skeptic, and I don't want to be disappointed when I get home, so I'll just deal with the numbers I'm seeing here. According to today's weight, I have two days to drop about .5 lbs in order to meet the goal (I weigh in on Fridays). I must admit that in years past I would have said that would be impossible, given the holiday gluttony I knew I would be rolling in. But this year is extremely different. Never in my life have I come to the beach and eaten so healthy! It's a completely different experience.

Believe it or not, I haven't had ice cream once since I've been here and that is no small feat, I can assure you. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Kohrs Brothers soft serve and usually have it a few times during any given vacation. But not this time. THIS time, we have loaded up on great stuff from the Bethany Beach Farmer's Market. Dessert has become peaches and grapes and apples with natural peanut butter. We have roasted a ton of veggies and have been eating seared tuna steaks and that healthy chicken salad recipe I posted on Sunday. Salad is a staple, as is low-calorie cereals loaded with fresh blueberries. Trust me when I say this is a far cry from any semblance of meals I have had here in the past. Not that I always ate unhealthy here before - because I didn't. But this is a whole new level of conscious eating that I have not done before - and it feels pretty dang good!

Despite the positive changes in my eating this time around, I'm not going to go all "I Am Healthy, Hear Me Roar" however - because I would be lying if I said I didn't still miss some of the "bad" foods I used to eat here. Yesterday, I had the most intense craving for an iced orange roll from a bakery in the neighboring beach town (think soft and squishy - like the perfect marriage between a doughnut and a soft roll delicately infused with the zest of an orange and iced with a slather of sugary white butter-creamy taste of friggin' heaven). Thank the LORD it's a 12 mile drive and there was no way to indulge my fantasy of strapping on a feed bag filled with a dozen of those rolls and devouring them one by one. But I sure thought about it.

I guess I'm learning how to manage those cravings and the few food stuffs I have been able to turn away (there is still a blueberry pie hanging out on the counter I have not touched) proves I am stronger than my desires for the bad stuff. In a way, I'm celebrating the independence of more than just my awesome country today - but I also feel like I've declared my own independence against all that has been holding me back in the past. How great is that?

Anyway,  the beach beckons! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday - and if you're not celebrating the 4th, then just have a wonderful day in general! How's that?

I'll leave you with some pics of the fabulous farmers market!

So fresh looking!

We got some!

We look forward to this every summer!

Take a peach to the beach!

Look at the gorgeous colors!

The flower vendors were amazing.

What says "summer" more than corn on the cob?

The corn was to die for!