Trying to keep up with the accumulating snow, this was my first of 6 adventures during winter storm Jonas to clear our walkway.

Winter storm Jonas did a heck of a job on us this weekend. We got about 3 feet of snow. Which meant a lot of shoveling — our long walkway, parking spaces, sidewalk, deck and even part of the backyard for the dogs.

The husband and I spend 7 hours total digging out — during and after the storm. As much as I was cursing Jonas by day 2 of the storm, it turns out it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. It was the best strength workout I’ve had in a long time. Yes, I use my resistance bands, but when it comes to heavy snow, you work your tail off a lot more.

Now I know I need to up my game with those bands. I might even take a look at picking up some more hand weights. My current set only goes up to 8 pounds. Maybe I need to get a 10, 15 and 20 pound weights.

Also the husband decided that he is going to start hitting the gym again (considering we’ve got another 8 months on his dang contract, it’s about time). He does so much better when it comes to eating right when he is weight lifting.

Weighing In Resumes Next Saturday
I didn’t weigh in the last two weeks. Last weekend I wasn’t feeling all that great. I thought I kicked my sinus infection to the curb. Well it came back for a few days then went straight to my ear. Oh what joy!  I figured it would last a few days. Try a week with the worst happening during Jonas.

There is nothing like being in a blizzard with 50 MPH gusting winds and having an ear ache.

As for this weekend, thanks to all snow, my muscles are sore — especially my upper body. No doubt I’m retaining water.

Once the water is gone I’m hopping on the scale.

30-Day No Alcohol Challenge — A Bust!
The one down side of Jonas was I blew my No Alcohol Challenge this month. We ended up walking to the grocery store yesterday as the roads were not fit for cars. The husband asked for cookies. I compromised and gave the go ahead for wine.

So yes, I had a few glasses of wine yesterday. And will have 2 glasses tonight.  Then I’m back on track. The beauty of it is I didn’t beat myself up.

I think that little negative inner voice didn’t hit for a few reasons. First, the goal of the challenge was to cut back significantly on the wine. I did and saw serious results on the scale. Second, with all of that dang shoveling and being cooped up for 3 days, some wine wasn’t going to kill me. Finally, after losing the 145 pounds I know that beating myself up doesn’t work. It just makes me want to give up. The hell with that.

Remember, if you focus on perfection you’ll never reach your goal.

That’s not to say I’m not letting myself off the hook. Because of the slip I’ve decided to extend the challenge into February. So that includes the Super Bowl party we’re going to and Valentine’s Day.

I’m expecting the Super Bowl party to be the greater challenge. It is so easy to get together with friends and have a drink. Seems natural to me. For Valentine’s, the hubby and I are staying in this year. I’m making an awesome dinner and don’t plan to pick up any alcohol to go with it. Easy peasy, right? We’ll see.

If needed, I’ll extend it into March…in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Ugh!