Day 39 - Weight 116: Post HCG Day 1 of 3

I have two children, both boys, 15-months apart in age. When they were little, strangers used to ask me if they were twins and I would say, "Almost." It's true that when their birthdays are that close they go through most of life's growth stages at pretty much the same time. Instead of two distinct phases, it just seems like one long phase for each period. From the moment each miniature man took his first breath, though, he was his own soul. Individual does not begin to describe their uniqueness. They are so different from each other! Their personalities, how their brains work and how they learn, their approaches to life and social situations, their interests and talents are all completely their own. They don't even look alike which is funny because they don't look like me or their biological father, either. I always told them that, clearly, they were "themselves," here on the planet to fulfill their own destiny.

My oldest has been working this summer at two resorts in the mountains above Cedar City, Utah, about 2 hours away from our house in St. George. He's live-in staff, waiting tables and working the front desk, at a small family-owned lodge in Duck Creek and also waits tables for the Cedar Breaks Lodge and Spa ( http://www.cedarbreakslodge.com ). Cedar Breaks is a world-recognized resort mostly known for ski season but definitely a great place for summer fun like ATV riding, mountain biking, and hiking. He's pulling about 60 hours-a-week and loving it. He's an adventurer like his mom and his new plan is to move to Boston with a friend of his from Texas, who is an executive chef. They've already lined up jobs & an apartment for themselves and next week my firstborn will get into his little Subaru Impreza and drive across the country; by himself to Texas where they'll meet up, and then in their separate cars they'll "caravan" and head the rest of the way across the middle of this huge land mass, taking a sharp left at the I-95 and heading north until they reach their destination... Boston: 'most confusing city to drive in in all of the United States of America.'

So, today my youngest and I drove up to Duck Creek to see where all the work had taken place so far, where he'd been living, and what he'd made of himself in the big wide world. LOL! It was nearly 20 degrees cooler in the mountains and mostly it reminded me a lot of Big Bear, in California. We hung out and caught up, and he updated the operating system on the Boot Camp/PC side of my MAC. (He's really into computers and all things "tech"). Eating proved to be a little bit of a challenge. Thankfully, I had brought an apple which I ate for my snack!

LIQUIDS

• 2 cups Coffee
• 1 liter Water
• 2 cups Mint Tea, herbal

SNACK

• Apple

LUNCH

• Hamburger patty (Plain. And there could be no doubt - it was cooked to death.)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Pepperoncinis (CHEAT - because it's a mix of veggies. I had about 5 of them.)

SNACK/DINNER COMBO

• Strawberries
• Chicken & Cabbage Soup (Pico de gallo, Herbs de Provence, Garlic Salt)