Blue skies are back, baby

Now that’s more like it!

Finally, some decent weather. After two days of snow, I couldn’t be happier with the cloudless blue sky. Heck, I can even find some beauty in the snow-covered Peaks … so long as the white stuff stays up there, not down on the streets where I live.

You know, I never realized how much I depend on seeing the sun and beautiful sky. It makes me feel so much cheerier. How on earth did I survive Indiana winters, where you don’t see blue skies for weeks on end?

It’s still cold outside, though … or maybe it’s just cold in my office. The thermostat may say it’s 72 degrees, but my frozen fingers say otherwise.

At least I managed to leave the afghan I took to work while I was sick a few weeks ago folded up and draped over the partition. Yesterday, I had to bundle up in it. I hope that doesn’t mean I’m coming down with something again.

Not very sexy, but that’s what happens when you oversleep.

I had more than one reason to smile Wednesday. It wasn’t because of my breakfast, mind you. I forgot to set my alarm — therefore sleeping til nearly noon and getting stuck with a frozen SmartOnes English Muffin sandwich instead of the omelet I’d wanted. (I was dreaming about that omelet, darn it! Onions, cheese and salsa.)

But skipping breakfast completely wasn’t an option, because the Skinny Jeans Challenge this week is to eat a healthy breakfast every day. A SmartOnes sandwich may not be a super-healthy (or fantastically filling) choice, but at only 6 Points, it’s better than a donut or a Pop-Tart.

But my morning wasn’t all bad. It marked the end of Roni’s DietBet, so the minute I got up, I headed for my scale. I weighed in with a winning weight … and that’s when the fun began. You see, I had to take verification photos.

When the game started, I was at the Boyfriend’s, so I recruited him to take my pix. This time, I was at my place with only the dogs and cats for company. It required some creative thinking — and a little luck — to get a full-length shot of me on the scale.

I positioned the scale in the bathroom doorway and fired up the AutoShutter app,  then put my phone on the ledge of the tub. But I stepped on the scale too soon, and the readout disappeared before the timer went off.

Terrible timing.

Here, you see me tapping the scale to try to get it back on before the timer goes off. #fail

In my next attempt, for some reason, the scale didn’t show up.

No scale!

#fail And what’s with that expression? Yikes.

You know what they say: Third time’s a charm.

Success!

This time, I moved the phone up to the soap holder and pushed the scale forward a bit. I just noticed Cinnamon’s in all three of those pictures. She was very interested in what I was up to. The adjustments worked, and I got a useable photo to submit. #success

The second photo was easier to snap. Just feet on the scale, with the day’s weigh-in word.

A few hours later, I got word that my weigh-in had been verified, and officially joined the ranks of the winners.

I have to say, even without knowing how much cash I won (those details will come once everyone’s verified), I’m glad I decided to join the DietBet. I went from 248.8 to 233, losing 15.8 pounds. And I had a lot of fun in the process.

It sure is nice to be able to wake up NOT dreading a check-in on the scale. Before joining the DietBet and recommitting to WW, that didn’t happen. I avoided the scale because I knew I wouldn’t like what I saw. No more!

I’d recommend it to anyone because it was a great experience. It’s one I  can repeat, too. Roni decided to host a new game for February, and I’m getting in on the action. Click that link and I get some sort of credit for inviting you to play, I think.

I may not lose 15 pounds, but I can certainly try to drop another 8, at least. My goal is 9.7 pounds, according to the game page. I can do that, right?

I remembered to bring home the pass I printed out for Anytime Fitness — and I’m going to set my alarm so I actually have the time to use it today.

It starts with a single step …