Victories All Day Long

Yesterday was hubs birthday ~ he worked just half a day and while he did I whipped up a Pineapple Upside Down Cake (one of his favorites) that we'd share later on with friends.

As I was mixing it up, I was thinking about all the calories I used to consume without even thinking...specifically from licking the spoon, the beaters, the bowl when baking. True confession: if what I was making was chocolate, I might even dip that spoon back into the batter for more.  I know, horrible.  Please don't tell anyone.

Well, not yesterday. Not even one lick!

I don't really know how many calories are in those seemingly insignificant licks, maybe not that many. But, getting that little taste of sweetness on my tongue would almost always make me want more of it (as evidenced by the redipping of said spoon), more of the batter, the cake and anything else sugar-laden I could get my hands on for the rest of the day.

So, that was kinda victory #1, wouldn't ya say?

So, onto the day. Hubs and I ate lunch together at Axel's Bonfire, a casual but fine dining restaurant that specializes in yummy south western fare. We love the place, we even had our rehearsal dinner there 2 1/2 years ago, and it's fun to go back when we get the chance. I had the BonTon Bites, basically a wonton wrapper around chipotle chicken that you dip in a sweet/sour/spicy sauce. Mmmmmmm. And a glass of diet coke and another of water.

The server discovered it was hubs birthday so at the end of our meal, she {sweet girl that she is} brought a giant, thick chocolate chip cookie with a scoop of ice cream on the top. Hubs ate most of it (really), I had 2 or 3 small bites with just a tad of ice cream. {smiling proudly}

Typically (ok, not his birthday, but other times) its every man/woman for himself, no strict halvsies practiced on sweets. If you could manage to eat faster than the other person, you got more. Easy. Works for us.

But today, and every day since Jan 1, 2010 is a brand new day. Old habits are being looked at, shifted, and it seemed like the decent thing to do yesterday, being his birthday and all, to just have a nibble or two. In years past, we woulda ordered a second so nobody would have to share. :-/

Victory #2? I think so.

But, the biggest test was yesterday evening while hanging out with friends with that Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Everyone there knows what my goals are for 2010, but nobody would have criticized me for having a small piece of my husband's birthday cake.  I surprised us all (me included) and didn't have a single bite!  Yah! I think they were all, honestly, amazed.

I sipped on my black coffee and simply sat back, and enjoyed the friendships represented and counted the victories (THREE!) won throughout the day. And, THAT tasted really really good.

Savoring my sweet feelings,
Cheryl