Thursday - Day Thirty-One
Weight: 215

Thanksgiving Day

I woke up this morning with the harassing financial situation eating at me. I figured out the worst case scenario I could think of if the whole thing somehow exploded in my face, and realized that it was not worth worrying about. So, I did some deep breathing relaxation, and put it out of my mind.

The rest of the day was a family day. While Dot had the dinner cooking we all played monopoly. The we played poker until the turkey was done. Dinner was marvelous! More cards after our after-dinner-walk. Then we watched a movie called The Mayflower Adventure. Spencer Tracy played the captain of the ship.

I stepped on the scale before going to bed: 219 pounds. Yuk!

Friday - Day Thirty-Two
Weight: 216

I was happy to see, when I stepped on the scale this morning, that the Thanksgiving feast yesterday only added one pound to my weight. It could have been a lot worse!

Today is our traditional entrance into the Christmas season! Every year, on this day after Thanksgiving, we put up the tree and all our Christmas decorations. Dot did her normal, wonderful job of making our home beautiful! The tree went up while the camera took a time-lapse picture once every minute. It was kind of cute to watch the tape afterwards.

All day long we listened to Christmas music. I went out for a jog while Dot and LeRoy worked on the tree. There was a light rain and it was about 40º or 45º. I had to remove my sweatshirt after a couple of laps because I got too hot. I jogged 3 miles and walked another mile. My left leg did some cramping up in the evening so I used some "IcyHot" cream. In the evening, we all watched a stupid sci-fi movie: The Day of the Tiffids."

Saturday - Day Thirty-Three
Weight: 215

Dot had to go to work this morning. When I got up I found Dotti had left out the paper for me to read the story about Margaret Thatcher resigning.

I went in to the computer and did some programming. I was able to work for a while but then I started to feel jittery. So, I came into the living room to write. I went through the smoking journal book and numbered the days through to the end. I wrote the days of the week in French for practice. I did some additional labeling tasks in the journal to pass the time.

When Dot came home we watched An American Werewolf in London. It wasn't as funny as the first time we watched it, but it was still good. After that I went out and walked one mile and jogged a second mile. I wrapped my right leg and put knee supports on both legs before running. Hopefully, my legs won't hurt too much tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the night reading the book "It."

Sunday - Day Thirty-Four
Weight: 215

The Thanksgiving weekend is nearly over. My legs are a little sore this morning. I was lucky to keep my weight at 215 lbs. Before I did my run yesterday, with my sweatpants on, I weighed 221 lbs. I drank a lot of water last night and skipped supper.

It is time to start getting a hold on my weight. My head is clear. I don't have urges to smoke except when stress hits. I am still eating lemon drops and chewing toothpicks.

Spent the day watching football.

Monday - Day Thirty-Five
Weight: 215

Today I worked on drawing up diagrams for power distribution for the new course. I ate a small package of sugar wafers at lunch and then at night I ate a whole bunch of cookies that Dot had stashed away.

Watched America's Funniest Home Videos and America's Funniest People that Dot had taped last night. They were funny enough and passed the time. Then I watched Beyond 2000 on the Discovery Channel. I always liked that show.

I feel unsettled. I don't smoke but I haven't found suitable alternatives. To take a break and fully relax before, I used a cigarette. Now I eat a candy bar. Not good! I am chewing toothpicks, sucking on cloves and eating lemon drops all day long. My nerves are tingling again today.

Tuesday - Day Thirty-Six
Weight: 216

Today I didn't take my lemon drops in with me to work. Trying to cut down on my calories. I quit smoking and then I get fat.

Dot brought home a couple of movies that she had rented at work: Another Chance and Watchers II. They were okay and they passed the evening quickly.

Wednesday - Day Thirty-Seven
Weight: 216

Again I didn't take my lemon drops in to work with me. I was suffering from stress symptoms all day long. It is hard to enjoy the success that I am achieving with quitting smoking when other symptoms keep nipping at my heels.

Dot worked late tonight. LeRoy and I took the car over for her and walked back home. I watched television for the evening.