This Train is Rolling

This past Sunday I took a vote among myself and it was unanimous: enough is enough, after all. It seems I had it right the first time. Now I know I’ve said this before, but trust me, this time will be different. This time it’s going to click. This time I won’t hop off the train just an hour into the trip.

By the time you read this, Tuesday, it will be Day Three of Attempt #104. I’m writing this at the end of Day Two and all I have to say is, “So far, so good.” I spent a couple hours on Sunday at the grocery store, buying all new foods for my new special program. I actually enjoyed pushing the cart around and throwing all sorts of things into it: fruits, veggies, whole grain cheese, organic Cap’n Crunch, low fat Crisco, and, of course, diet fried salami on a stick (zero milligrams cholesterol!) There’s nothing quite like the boundless promise of a new diet to make you stock up on things you never normally buy.

As soon as I got home, I set to making veggie soup. I once posted the recipe at Lord of the Onion Rings. But since I shut down that blog, the recipe is no longer available on the interwebs. (Maybe I’ll start posting recipes here. Anyone game for that?) Until such time as I do upload another recipe, here’s a placeholder for my awesome veggie soup:

1. Sauté onions and celery.
2. Add stock.
3. Add vegetables.

That’s it. Let it cook between one hour and three days and you’ll be enjoying bowl after bowl of the healthiest meal Produce coupons can buy.

So here we have the first chart of my next trip back to Onederland. I packed my bags, made it to the station, and hopped on the train without a moment to lose. And I don’t care if Halloweentown, Thanksgivingland, and Christmasville are the upcoming stops. I’m not going to let the specter of festivities to come keep me from starting. If I lose twenty before then and gain ten back over the holidays that’s so much better than gaining another ten between now and the holidays and then throwing another ten on top of it.

Update! I’ve had more than one person ask about the picture thing and I realized, indeed, I wasn’t very clear in my instructions. Original instructions have now been deleted and replaced with a sample photo: