Excess leads to exercise

The most amazing thing happened tonight. It was the start of Restaurant Week in Wilmington. I went to dinner with a friend and splurged -- linguine primavera and two glasses of wine. Oh, and half of a bruschetta appetizer and a salad. I could have made much worse choices and I really enjoyed what I ate. In fact, it was one of the best entrees I've had at that restaurant. Anyway, I splurged.

I was feeling a little guilty when I got home, especially since the scale was not my friend when I weighed this morning. So I was thinking about walking a couple of laps around my neighborhood. I really couldn't believe I was thinking about it -- it was almost 9 o'clock at night. I made a post on facebook and a friend quickly replied that I should walk The Loop at Wrightsville Beach again tonight. I felt great after last night's outing, but I didn't think I was up to it. Just knowing that my friend was going to do it inspired me to make three laps around my neighborhood (1.8 miles). I even jogged a little. It was an amazing feeling.

I don't think I burned off the pasta and wine, but I am so proud of myself for doing something. In the past, I would have eaten that way and spent the rest of the night on the couch. In fact, I might have even had another glass of wine at home. And I definitely would have ordered something much worse for me at dinner.

And I'm so thankful to my friend who spurred me to at least get in a little exercise today. Her comments were just the push I needed to head out the door. I also know that she's exercising a lot more than I am and she looks fabulous. If she can do it, I can do it. And I know I can do more than I am ... I just need a push in the right direction.

On a related note, here's my list of the 5 things that made me happy today.

1. See above. Exercising after splurging at dinner is a huge accomplishment ... physically and mentally.

2. Overall, it was a great day at work. Tomorrow's newspaper has a ton of interesting stories. I felt like every time I turned around today a reporter had another good story. Good stories and hard-working reporters always make me happy.

3. I had a nice dinner with a friend. I shared a secret I'd been keeping for a couple of weeks. And I'm happy she knows what's going on in my life, especially since it's ultimately a really good sign of progress for me.

4. I'm happy I keep bug spray in the car. After dinner, we sat outside for a bit. But a quick trip to the car kept most of the mosquitoes at bay. (When I was walking at home later, the bug spray didn't seem to be helping at all, though.)

5. Finally, I played catch with a 2-year-old (or maybe 3. He said he was 3 but held up 2 fingers.) at work. He's the son of our photo editor. The five-minute encounter brightened my morning because he was so adorable.