I'm Back

Wednesday morning, as I ran through the dark streets, I felt like I hit my stride again after a couple of weeks without running.
I didn't run while I was in France. Of course, we walked a lot. But we ate more.
In spite of that, when we returned from vacation, my weight hadn't changed at all. I didn't gain a pound eating those delicious, rich meals in France.

Even when I ate things like this black forest cake in Paris.

After a week at home though and some minimal running, my weight had climbed up two pounds.
I blame the muffins.
On Saturday, I found a recipe for blueberry yogurt muffins, like the kind they now serve at Starbucks. They were so delicious. I want to give you the recipe, like the person who is addicted to something and wants others to enjoy their pleasure/pain, but I urge you not to bake and eat these muffins.
The recipe is on Taste of Home website.
The recipe calls for vanilla yogurt, but I just used plain Greek yogurt, and they were plenty sweet. I also doubled the recipe to bake 12 rather than six. That might have been my downfall, but there were four of us home this weekend and I didn't think that six would be enough.
So, I ate three muffins...
Then on Sunday, I decided to make my children real Croque Monsieur sandwiches, like the kind I ate in France one day for lunch.

I thought it was just a glorified ham and cheese sandwich. Little did I realize that the recipe called for a bechamel sauce along with the ham and cheese. Those turned out quite well too.
And after a week of enjoying cafe creme or cafe au lait, as it is called in different areas of France, when I returned home I eased my way back into mochas.
So all of these things added up to a 2-pound weight gain and I want to avoid the slippery slope.
That's why Wednesday morning when rolled out of bed, later than I planned, I knew I needed to get back to running longer distances.
And I did. I ran five miles, faster than my winter runs, and I felt pretty phenomenal afterward. I hope that I can continue running long distances and indulge in some fabulous food without overdoing it.
I'll let you know how it goes.

I Want a France Meme

Last week, on Thursday, I tried the "I Love France" meme. Unfortunately, it looks like the blog that used to do that is no longer doing it. Sigh...
I want a weekly France meme, but I don't have any bright ideas. Do you?
What could bloggers write about every week if they love France?
I'd like to include books, movies, photos, stories, food, fashion -- all from France.
I could even make a cool logo for it (or ask a more-talented friend to do it).
I'm waiting for your brilliant suggestions. Meanwhile, here's a photo that Grace took of Mont St. Michel with some sort of special effect. Lovely.

Whatever it takes... for a week

My brother texted me last night.
"Any update on Grace?"
I was in mid-margarita slurp when the phone buzzed. I assured him she seemed to be adjusting.
"Good to hear. How are you holding up?" he asked.
My chicken burrito and beef burrito arrived on a hot plate from the kitchen. The waiter at the Mexican restaurant cautioned me as he set it down.
"Eating a lot," I replied.
Sheila, Linda and I were having a rare night out. We homeschooling moms didn't see nearly as much of each other since our kids went to school. But it wasn't just the restaurant food. I'd been eating whatever I liked since I dropped Grace off at school.
Grace and I had been eating healthy, avoiding wheat, much of the summer. We definitely felt better. We'd also been exercising like crazy - P90X every day, plus running for me.
Since Grace left, eating has become my coping mechanism. I decided to do what I needed to for this first week. I just needed to find comfort where I could, even if it was food.
Which is why I fixed myself a dinner of French bread with olive oil, mozzarella, tomatoes from the garden, basil from the neighbor's garden and goat cheese. I slid it into the oven and let the cheese get melty. This is one of my favorite meals that I hadn't enjoyed with fresh ingredients this summer because I was avoiding wheat. This weekend will be my last hurrah.
I'll stop buying junk food that I like. I'll return to treats of cashews, dried blueberries or tomatoes in vinaigrette.
I'll return to my daily workouts and meet my friends for our seven and a half mile run in the morning, but I'll probably go ahead and open that bag of chocolate covered raisins tonight.