Some of you know I've been participating in a "health challenge" for several weeks in an attempt to shed some of this baby weight and create better habits. My friend Linn put together a group of girls who are blogging together and competing for points. It's been a lot of fun, and it's really helped me stay focused. What a difference it makes to have someone you are accountable to! Everytime I want to throw my diet out the window, I remember I committed myself to the challenge until Halloween. I can stick it out just a little bit longer.

We get points for percentage of body weight lost each week, exercise minutes, and each day we complete the week's challenge. One week the challenge was to keep a food journal---no problem. Another week was to drink 8 glasses of water a day---not too hard. Another week was no sweets. Um. . . I thought I could do this. It's just one week, right? Well, that was until my mom served chocolate mint brownies after Sunday dinner, and the next day Giannina shows up with a platter full of her perfect little cookies. That week didn't go so well. I was so looking forward to the week of getting 8 hours of sleep. Once again, huge challenge for this night owl. Each night I had such good intentions. . . The week I hated most was no eating after 8PM. Not my thing! Anyway, I have to say that this has been a really good experience for me. It's really pushed me in a good direction---especially when I comes to exercise. It's been quite awhile since exercise was part of my daily routine. There are a million reasons for that, but when it comes down to it, they are all just excuses. One of the girls in the challenge averages 2+ hours a day, and it totally boggles my mind! I know it has a lot to do with priorities and time management (and sleep deprivation), but I really, truly admire all of my mom friends who somehow manage consistent exercise. It takes so much motivation to overcome all of those hurdles!

Anyway, apparently my friends do not know that I am watching what I eat, because they keep showing up on my doorstep with goodies like these:

I watched those cupcakes very carefully before inhaling them!

To all my cute friends who have brought by cupcakes, bread & jam, cookies, pumpkin cake (can I have the recipe please?), carmel apple, and peaches: Thank you so much! I won't lie by saying that these goodies haven't made my health challenge a little more challenging. We all know that if you hand me a cupcake, I'm going to eat it! But, I will say that I enjoyed every bite, and it is so comforting to know that I have so many sweet friends who are thinking about me. Thanks again!