Monday, January 8, 2007

Woot.

I am a smug chickie tonight as this healthy lifestyle stuff just gets easier and easier by the day. To pay for the divorce and the debts the Estranged Husband accrued during the four years of sitting on my couch and eating Doritos and not doing much else, I have a second job teaching private music lessons in an affluent suburb of Kansas City in the evenings. It's close to a forty-five minute drive for me, and some days I work from 8:00 am to about 9:00 pm after I teach school, drive to lessons, and get home.

Mondays will be one of such days from now on, as I am greedy for the wage they pay me to teach wealthy little children named Chumley while their wealthy mothers named Cindi drink macchiatos in the waiting lounge, and so I called and requested more students. I wasn't planning on getting new kids today, but I got a phone call while I was at work and I was asked to come straight to the studio after school was dismissed. This meant not only would I miss gym hours, but I also didn't have a way to eat. I knew I had an hour long break in between two students, but there aren't many affordable restaurants near my studio, and even fewer GI-friendly establishments.

At this point I started to panic, because Old Erin would've just chucked the whole thing and declared Monday an extension of Sunday Cheat Day and various forms of fried potatoes and cheese covered flesh would've passed my lips faster than you can say "Supersized". But this time, I didn't want to. I didn't want some crappy value meal, and I didn't want the guilt, and I definitely didn't want the McFatAss that ultimately comes with such personal slovenliness. I just didn't know where to go to accomplish the healthy things I wanted for myself. So I think God or Jesus or Kansas City Power and Light was watching out for me today when the sign for a Chinese restaurant I had never noticed before was lit up instead of burnt out, and I realized I had a wonderful source of healthy food less than a half-block away from my work. I walked down there, had a half-portion of garlic chicken, vegetables, and brown rice and strutted out of the restaurant like I had just won the Tour de France. And now I even have lunch ready for tomorrow! This is so fantastic.

I never realized the world was so ready to help me get unfat if I just take advantage of it. I can't wait to open my eyes a little more and pay attention to all the other ways I'm going to better myself in the future.

Take very good care of you.

2 comments:

Lori G. said...

That's great you found that Chinese restaurant and you have the part-time job. (Love the name Chumley too!)

I have to think about this too. I have a second job ushering at a sports arena. (They offer to feed you but that offer's sporadic and it's something like pizza or a hot dog.) I'm thinking of packing a peanut butter sandwich in my car or just driving to a grocery store nearby for fruit/water. The one nice thing about this time of year is that I could probably keep a sandwich/wrap in my car during the day and it would be okay to eat. I wish I liked sushi b/c this store has a sushi bar but it also has a halfway decent salad bar.

The other thing I do is keep a copy of the WW "eating out" book in my car so when I go to a fast food place, I pick something that's not too damaging.

You're really doing a great job with managing 2 jobs, a stressful year and losing weight/exercise.

BigAssBelle said...

the world, the universe, that internal spark of self ~ all want me to be well and you too. why do we fight it?

ugh. teaching little snots. you've got a better stomach than i do. good for you.