Coming Home, Halloween and Weight Loss

I was incredibly ready to get home from my recent trip to Germany. Not that Germany wasn't a lovely country and it certainly was a challenging adventure, but I was ready to be home. I missed my kids and got a bit run down while traveling. So run down, in fact, that I got a nasty cold and it took a bit of effort to manage my health. All is well, however, and I returned home just in time for Halloween.

Halloween was pretty low-key but the kids all wanted to carve pumpkins and we made an evening of it--they didn't need my help, of course, but I think I definitely needed to be there! In fact, they saved the activity for my return and regardless of my complaints of remnant cold and jet lag, they all three insisted I buck up!

Coming home also gave me the chance to stand on the scales and see that I have reached the first 20 pound mark in my attempt to get more fit. It was quite challenging to manage my diet while in Germany but I got plenty of exercise hiking up and down hills and stairs. I was actually expecting to gain a little so I was pleasantly surprised to find I am still on track and still losing gradually. It is strange to be on the wane after all this time since my weight/size have not been vanity issues for me. If it wasn't for the health scare in August, I probably would not have made the lifestyle changes that are leading to the weight loss and improved health!

So, as November unfurls, it is gorgeously fall-like here in Oregon. I have already had a couple weeks of European fall (and it is not all that different--a little colder maybe.) I am trying to get grounded back into my world and to figure out what has been going on with my kids. I have to admit that it has been great to walk my own neighborhood trails again and get back on the stairmaster!