Coffee Break

Today was a lazy day. I had arranged a meet-up at the corner European coffee/bakery place (Athan's) and met 3 new people today. We had great conversations and I now have 2 more guy acquaintances in the area. For 3 hours we sat and chatted about everything from food to sports to Boston, LA, NY and the south. I treated myself for doing such a great job calorie counting this week, ordering a cappuccino, a variety of baklava and some chocolate gelato (I really think baklava is one of my favorite heavenly desserts). It was nice taking a break and meeting people from the neighborhood. I was told that I was quite happy for this time of year (apparently people here suffer from that seasonal depression) so I took that as a compliment (and am glad to know that I am sticking to my "smile more" resolution). I was also told I don't have to apologize for not having a "wonderful" job (as in- I'm just doing whatever to pay the bills so I can live life instead of working on a career). I've adopted the European attitude of work to live (vs. the U.S. live to work attitude) and should be proud of that accomplishment. Meeting these people today helped boost my confidence and I feel really great right now. It's amazing how much happier I am after getting rid of "drama". I've decided to stay in tonight and am working on a fitness routine with my exercise ball, weights and yoga mat. It seems each day I feel better about myself and my happy meter goes up a notch. My health is improving, I'm sticking to my weight loss goal, I'm spending more "real" time with friends and am content with life at the moment. Such an improvement from last year!