Taaaa Daaaa !

Yesterday was Super Monday...

I know, like it's a real day or something, right?

Anyway, I should say that according to the sales people in the commercials on TV...

Yesterday was Super Monday...

As in the Monday after The Super Bowl...

Not because it was just a really, really great Monday.

But...

Actually...

It was! 

As you may, or may not have known, or cared to know, or even care not to know if you care or not...

I have been struggling to lose weight for some time, a few years, a little while now.

I also have had a few, some, a couple of health issues that have made it a bit more challenging to lose the extra tonnage I seem to have accumulated.

My most recent problem was the Gall Bladder thing.

It has been 6 weeks and I can now eat normal food...

and by normal I mean low-fat, low-sugar, low-flavor, low-chocolate, low-dairy, low-meat types of food...

some of it can even be in non-soup form...

without making me sick to my stomach or have to run to the bathroom in a giant hurry without warning.

Do not even ask about the Country Buffet fiasco!

So, this weekend being the Super Bowl weekend and having plans to attend a Super Bowl Party...

I was prepared to have to sit back and watch everyone else eating all the yummy food while I nibbled on a piece of Melba toast (or some other equally tasty tidbit).

Imagine my surprise, and delight, when HeMan Hubby asked me to go to dinner with him and a co-worker at another co-worker's home to celebrate the start of new jobs for him and the co-worker whose home is was not... because they both got let go from the Government contract they worked on with the person whose home it was and now they won't see each other all the time anymore... but it's a good thing, not the they won't see each other any more all the time part, but that they got new, and much better, jobs which is why they were celebrating...

And then HeMan Hubby informed me HE was doing the cooking.

His (in)Famous Chicken Cacciatore ... one of the 4 dishes that he can cook.

So, I gathered the ingredients needed and put them in a bag, told him to grab a bottle of wine and off we went.

He made the meal. 

We drank the wine ( I mean the person whose house it was and I... the guys had some... I think)

There were hors d'oeuvres - bacon wrapped scallops... and spicy nuts ( of the cashew and almond varieties)

and more wine... a lovely Seghesio Zinfadel... and something from 1996 and one from 2008 ...

Anyway...

I was starving so I ate a scallop... and the bacon it was wrapped in... and another, and another and... 

I had about 8 ...

And then dinner was ready.

Chicken Cacciatore, heavy on the garlic and onions... 

on a bed of arborio rice...

served with fresh steamed asparagus...

and more wine...

I had a little bit of chicken and rice and asparagus...

I had a lot, little bit of wine...

And then there was dessert! 

A delicious apple cobbler made by the hostess...

served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream...

I had a little apple cobbler and ice cream...

a lot, little bit of wine...

And then it was time to go home.

And I made it...

all the way home without getting sick... 

all the way to my bedroom and into my PJ's and onto the couch to watch a little TV before bed... 

before my tummy felt icky.

It was a record breaking evening!

I ate real food... 

And I did not get sick... well, at least not immediately... 

It was wonderful! 

It was terrific!

It made me want to go out and eat other things to see if I really could eat REAL food again...

And then it was Super Bowl Sunday.

And I went to a party.

Filled with good food, yummy food, deliciously wonderful food.

I ate a small bowl of chocolate chili... yes it really does have chocolate in it... and it is yummy.

So yummy in fact that I ate another small bowl of it.

And ham and swiss on a yeast roll with spicy brown mustard.

And 2 German Chocolate cookies.

And a piece of applesauce cake... or 2.

And I drank about 2 liters of diet soda and water.

And I made it all the way home and into my PJ's where I was relaxing in my very own room before my tummy rebelled... but then, I knew that it would... 

And then this morning... just as I was feeling icky and sluggish and bloated and just really not too good at all...

I stepped on the scale and...

TAAAA DAAAA!!!

I weighed in at 203.5 lbs...

Despite eating all the stuff that I really should not have eaten and feeling like I was retaining enough water to fill an ocean and really not feeling very good in general...

I did not gain any weight... not even an ounce! 

I also did not lose anything... 

But then again... maybe I did and all the bloating and feeling really yucky was hiding the loss...

But still... I did not gain anything and I ate real food!

Don't get me wrong... I was back to soup and crystal light today... 
and my seriously stomach thanks me...

but I feel like maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the soup and other 'light' foods diet plan... 

that perhaps there is a chance that someday I will be able to eat a hot dog or a plate of lasgna or an ice cream cone or slice of cheesecake... 

But for now... 

that sliver of hope...

that tiny glimpse of a dream come true...

that TAAA DAAAA! moment I had this morning...

Is enough to get me through... 

a few more weeks at the very least.

I think.

I hope.

I can do this...

Yeah.

 I.

Can. 

Do. 

This.