What I Learned from a Polar Bear

Our weekend started with a not so fun trip to the oral surgeon. I have had a "sore" in my mouth for a couple of months. It has slowly become more obtrusive. Then after it started bleeding, I finally figured I better get it checked out. The surgeon doesn't think it is too much to worry about, but he is going to remove and biopsy it. Despite a doctor's reassurances, dropping the word "biopsy" had a small part of me asking - seriously? why can't gall bladder surgery, a miscarriage and the ever present MS be enough medical drama for one two year span?

While we were on that side of town we made a little trip to the Lego store after the appointment. There is a wall of random lego pieces you can purchase by the cupful. Unfortunately, they didn't have what my husband was looking for to build a stand for his Imperial Shuttle.

I enjoyed the fun little displays.

Of course, my husband was most interested in this section of the store. He was a bit disappointed in the selection of Star Wars sets.

However, seeing Boba Fett's ship Slave I, in person, helped. This is definitely the next Lego set on his list. I am trying to hold him off until his birthday, but not sure I can....

Another perk on that side of town is a bakery/deli that serves the most yummy Oven Roasted Salmon Panini - salmon marinated in lemon dill vinaigrette on focaccia bread, havarti, feta and cream cheese, topped with red onions and capers. It is pretty decadent, but we are rarely on that side of town so I am relatively safe :)

Saturday morning I was proud of myself for getting up and taking a walk - 3 miles and a decent pace. I am completely out of selfie practice it seems. This was the best one I managed.

Love these pods - anyone know what kind of tree it is?

 Looks like a bad lotion accident :(

I spent some time in the garden. Things are not going so well in that department. The squirrels are still winning the tomato war and the last of the zucchini died :(  A few carrots got left behind so at least I know what a carrot blossom looks like.

 I harvested the Brussels sprouts that were supposed to be broccoli.

 I ate a giant plate of sprouts for dinner, but still have not forgiven them for not being broccoli.

 My cucumbers are still doing well. I made a batch of Fresh Cucumber Salad - so simple and tasty.

Speaking of cucumbers...I grew these Mexican Sour Gherkins last year. The are about the size of grapes and have a bit of a lemony taste. The volunteers that came up this year are stronger and more productive than the ones I purposefully planted last year.  Now I am wondering if I will ever be able to get rid of them.

Back to work on Monday morning. We were holding a workshop at the campus of a local community college. The buildings are a former plumbing fixtures factory built in the late 1800s. It is such a pretty campus I couldn't help but take a few pictures while I waited for people to arrive.

The clouds back at my office were incredible.  It couldn't seem to decide if a storm was rolling in or not. We ended up with a few sprinkles.

 Please tell me I am not the only one who sees a dragon lurking over our building!!!

Tuesday we had a great day at the zoo. There will be tons more pictures tomorrow, but I had to share a little polar bear lesson for weigh-in day.

Just because you eat your veggies....

...doesn't mean you won't be 850 pounds and have a gigantic hiney. Sorry little bear for the fat shaming, but we bloggers gotta make our points. Dear Self: I am proud of you for trying, but eating a few veggies is not going to negate the results of those other goodies and inconsistent exercise.

Which brings me to my weigh-in... Even though I made some great choices this week I made some bad ones too. The scale tells me it is was 2.8 pounds worth of bad choices. I will never understand how the gains show up so much more quickly than losses...grrr!

Here is to a week of better consistency.