in which twizzlers feature prominently.

listen, folks...i've got no words of wisdom today.

we're moving and it's chaos and, on top of that, i have had some bad day doozies over the past week or so.  the combination of those things has made me less apt to do anything that i normally do.

vegetables have virtually disappeared from our diet.
sugar has returned, more than i really like.
working out has been replaced by things like painting walls and putting things in boxes and hauling them across town and then unloading them.

in short, our life has, this week, made it very clear why convenience foods are...so convenient. and popular. and why they'll kill us all.

i just don't like eating this way.  i keep finding my mind traveling to my deep freezer, wondering what vegetables there are in there.  maybe a nice bag of steamable broccoli florets that i can pop in the microwave? some sweet peas? anything?

there has to be a silver lining to this story, right? or are you just telling us how bad your diet is right now, teachergirl?

no.  there's a silver lining. 

despite feeling like i really need to get back on track, i also look at the way that i'm reacting to this way of eating--that it's entirely temporary--and see how far i've come. on a really bad day, when i cried and caved and bought some twizzlers, i recognized very clearly that i was feeding my feelings.  but, hey. i recognized it, and stopped it before it could be too detrimental. i am always conscious of my water consumption, and recognize how much i need to be drinking more especially as we're moving so much in the heat. the sugar that i do eat i try to portion out, so that i don't mindlessly eat.  i am craving vegetables, for heaven's sake.

i don't feel like, today, i can tell you anything you don't already know.  i will just say this--there's no shame in realizing that life sometimes throws you periods of time when you can't be everything to all people. sometimes, you have to miss a week at the gym so that life can happen successfully. sometimes, you end up making homemade pizza on sunday night (with not a vegetable in sight) because that's really all you can make.  sometimes you have to dig in your cabinet for that can of green beans that makes you shudder a little (not a huge fan of canned green beans, i must admit) because you haven't been to the store in a while and you don't have time but you know that something naturally occurring and green needs to have a presence in your diet.

sometimes, all you can do is the best you can do. every day, that best looks a little different. 

but if you spend the other 40-something weeks making healthy habits, even during those weeks of offness, you will default to healthier choices.  you'll order grilled chicken instead of chicken fingers. you'll save half of your small ice cream cup for the next day.  you'll put applesauce into your cake mix instead of oil, and then you'll premeasure the slices to ensure that six servings come out of that delicious creation. 

and you'll begin to long for the endorphins of exercise and the vitamins of vegetables and the happiness of healthful living.

that's when you know that you are a success.