Pie, Oh Pie!

No, I haven't weighed in after the great Thanksgiving feast yet.  But I must start by saying that I didn't overeat today.  Sure, my plate was still loaded with turkey (light and dark), potatoes (mashed and sweet), stuffing (plain and apple sausage), wheat (honey butter and raspberry butter), cranberry, a relish turkey (peppers, carrots, cucumbers, pickles, olives), and pond scum (I'll do a post on that later).

It did take a while until I was ready for pie, though.  Tonight it was Mom's traditional pumpkin, chocolate, and this year Liz tried (a very successful) raspberry chocolate cheesecake.  Whoa!  Amazing.  Again, I didn't overeat--believe it or not.

Last night we also engaged in mass pie consumption with Amy's side of the family at the traditional Puckett Pie Party, which is always held the night before Thanksgiving.  There I sampled pecan, pumpkin, apple, strawberry, raspberry, banana cream, and a pumpkin trifle.

Maybe I'll see how many different types of pie I can test before the end of the year.  Heh heh.

3.14 = Pi(e) Day!

Normally I skip lunch and stuff myself full of various pies that the math students bring in for extra credit.  However, in an effort to reign it in, I've only had two slices today.  Compare that to eight or twelve or so.  Not bad, eh?  I've also started the sit-ups again--three days straight so far.  And sometimes I can get Sam to do some "jumping jacks" with me, too.  Gotta get Zac's arm back into shape for baseball, too.  It's been rough with his broken collarbone.  This week the weather finally permitted me to put together the backboard the kids got for Christmas.  Now, we just need a good ball.  (Zac lost his other one.  Go figure.)

Last night another leader and I took the boys to buy some donuts after our service project.  We bought two dozen (boxen) assorted fatty blobs.  Wanna guess how many donuts I ate?  Answer: one.  Aren't you so proud of me?

See, it's coming.  Little by little.

Free Advice

Monday (yesterday) was the beginning of Red Ribbon Week at our school.  The National Junior Honor Society has been put in charge of activities and they have a pretty good program lined up for the week.  Today they had a few guest speakers to address alcohol and tobacco and other substance abuse.  Yesterday was supposed to highlight bad eating habits to stay away from...and so, naturally, they held a pie eating contest.  Of course, right?  It makes perfect sense.

Students were able to put their names in a drawing to participate alongside two teachers for each lunch period.  My self-conscious self and I decided to stay away once the announcements started coming out.  However, nobody else really wanted to do it either.  The students, mostly mine came begging for me to participate.

And, yes, predictably, I took one for the team.  I went down and gobbled an entire double-crusted, store-bought apple pie.  I took my time, but yes, I killed it.  There was no contest.  I was done before the others had hit the half-way point...and I wasn't even hurrying.

It wasn't until later that day that I got my prize: a nice stomach ache that lasted until today.  I mean, it was so bad I only had carrots and celery and pea pods for dinner.

So, I guess you want the advice (if you've kept with me this far).  When engaging in a pie eating contest, do not eat lunch before or after the event.  Also, make sure the pies are of the cream variety so they go down easier (and don't come back with any sort of vengeance).