Why Candy Crush Saga is Like Life, or Why I Don't Have a Life Anymore

It all started with my Niece's husband saying "you don't play Candy Crush?  You really should - I'm on level 76".

Right...just another annoying Facebook game.  I went through my Bejeweled Blitz phase, my Words With Friends phase, and even (gulp) my Farmville phase.  I'm evolved, and only use Facebook to keep up with friends.

Yep.  Uh huh.

I'm on level 79 now, and here's why I think Candy Crush Saga is like life:

1. Sometimes it seems easy - too easy
2. Sometimes you want to shake your fist in the air with frustration because you can't seem to get anywhere
3. They both take some skill, and some luck too, to get through successfully
4. Sometimes things blow up in your face - and that can be a good thing
5. Moves in one direction can give unexpected results
6. They're both colorful and noisy
7. Sometimes you have to pay to get ahead of the competition
8. There's always someone on your friends list that has a better score (or makes more money, or has a nicer car, or looks better in clothes...)
9. You learn as you go - the more you learn, the better you do
10. If I actually had a life, I wouldn't be playing Candy Crush (or blogging about it)

Day 65 - Mini Goal Reached!

One of my mini-goals for weight loss was to get to the weight I was at for about 2 minutes two years ago.  I was really active that summer, and got down to 165.6.  This morning I was at 167 - so close!  So I went for my walk and came back to weigh again.  It's really surprising how much water weight you can shed when you're sweaty!  The scale this time said 165.6 on the dot.  I'll take it!

This is surprising to me, since I have no food restrictions any longer and have found that I can eat or drink anything - I just get full fast.  I'm on vacation this week, so the beer has been reintroduced, and I've only walked twice in 10 days.

With my lap band I could drink carbonated beverages, but sometimes annoying and painful burping would result.  With my sleeve no such problems - I feel NORMAL!  I ate out at a local Mexican restaurant and had fajitas - neither the chicken nor the tortilla gave me any problem, although I was uncomfortably full after two of them.

Sunrise, Dunton Locks

Wednesday I extended my normal walk to hike through the woods at Dunton Locks County Park.  The map said that the trail I took was "difficult".  It wasn't really - there were a couple of steep climbs, but not bad.  I do need to do better about remembering to put on bug spray - the skeeters were killers!  I love hiking in the woods; I always wonder what's just around the corner.  The only wildlife I saw was the wood tick that hitched a ride home with me.  Did I mention that I need to remember bug spray?

While on vacation this week I painted my deck (Cape Cod Gray), and painted some old wooden furniture that once belonged to my parents.  That I painted Molokai Blue (think bright turquoise), and bought a couple of retro style metal chairs in yellow to make a seating arrangement.

On the agricultural front, my sugar snap peas are about ready for harvest.  Maybe this year some will actually make it into the house without being eaten right from the bush!  The deer ate my cucumbers again, and the radishes bolted (I planted them much too late), but the kohlrabi and yellow squash are doing well.  My assorted heirloom tomatoes are started to bloom (they're all late producers), and my Meyer Lemon tree has lemons about 3 inches long, so I'll have fresh lemons this winter (yes, I do haul it back and forth between Texas and Minnesota).  The wild raspberries in my back yard should be ready soon - they're little, but just as sweet!  And I need to harvest some more rhubarb for the freezer - I enjoy that in Texas too!

Two Month Surgiversary and Rainbow Kisses

Exactly 2 months ago this morning I was wheeled into an operating room for my gastric sleeve surgery.  I have lost 28.4 pounds since that day, and 58 pounds total since I started this weight loss journey 7 years ago, when I had my lap band surgery.  More importantly, I'm more active than I've ever been, my mood seems stable (knock on wood, and I'm sure hormone replacement therapy has something to do with it), and life is, well, good!

Nearing the Finish Line - That's me, in the Middle

Last weekend I did my first ever 5K - the Run or Dye in Fargo.  They had more than 11,000 people turn out for this event; the 2nd biggest in Run or Dye history, and bigger even than the Fargo Marathon.  Because of the crowds and our fear of never finding each other, my sister-in-law and niece decided to walk it with me, even though they normally run.  That meant a lot to me - this was an important milestone for me, and I wanted to share it with people I love, not alone in a sea of strangers.

They convinced me to run through the "dye stations", and I did, with my arms up high and "whoo hoo'ing" the whole time.  At the finish line they had a dance party, culminated by all of us throwing our dye in the air at the same time.  I've never been in a dessert sand storm, but for awhile we couldn't see even our closest neighbor!

After the Dance Party

Triumphant Women!

My brother and great-niece watched us from the grandstands, and took lots of great pictures and videos of the event.  He wasn't so happy, though, when he discovered that we had forgotten to bring our towels to protect the seats in his truck on the way home!  His seats are covered with rainbow kisses probably even now.  It took 3 washings to get the dye out of my clothes (I finally had to use bleach).

We made the paper the next day - the only reason I recognized myself was because of the number on my shirt!

My friend asked me if now that I had done a 5K if I would sign up for more.  At first I told her "probably not", that it wasn't my thing.  When I thought about it for awhile, I realized that I'm still horribly insecure about my abilities - I know I can finish by walking, but I want to run damn it!

So today, for the first mile of my walk, I did just that.  I ran, then walked.  I can only run for 35 seconds at a time right now, but my knees don't hurt like the last time I tried.  So, we'll see - I'll keep building up my endurance, and maybe someday I'll sign up for another 5K.  Until then, rainbow kisses to you all, and Happy 4th of July!