Thursday And T.O.P.S.

Another full, full day. I picked them up about ten and, at their request, we drove to the shopping center where Trader Joe's is located. Parked, then walked across very, very busy Victoria Avenue to the CVS in the opposite center. That has a very attractive "square"--it's actually kind of a half circle--with stone benches, tables, and chairs, as well as a large and lovely functioning fountain.
P. and N. bought a few things in CVS, then we walked back across to IHOP, a culinary and calorie counters catastrophe, for an early lunch. It was early for me to eat, so I just had a salad; the others ordered more and took some home.
After, we went to Trader Joe's. I hadn't been there for probably a year and was pleasantly surprised that I liked not only the food, but the prices. I think I'll shop there more often. I got salmon, mushrooms, rice, salad makings, and a few other items for dinner, then we went back to my place so I could refrigerate them. Mr. K. played on the jungle gym and I showed P. and N. the large gathering room, then it was back to El's.
We chatted for a bit, while Mr. K. took care of the Blue Train, which was sick from eating too many bananas; these were represented by yellow Lego blocks. At that point, I left, saying I'd be back in an hour. Drove home, made the salad, set the table, got out the pans and dishes I would need, and drove back. Picked up the three and we went to Ellen's school for the book fair and open house. This was a lot of fun and Mr. K., incredibly enough, could do the sums on addition cards--for third-graders.
I drove home first, Ellen taking the others, and Greg met me when I got there.
We had a nice dinner and fun with K., and talked and laughed happily. It was close to 9:00 when they left and I cleaned up, then watched television until the outrageously late hour of 10:00, until I fell into bed and slept until almost 8:00.
Went to T.O.P.S. and, as I knew I would, I had gained--ouch!--three point two pounds. I'll be able to take that off, though, and intend to do so, following the regime I did before. The only--ONLY--reasons I attend T.O.P.S. are because I want to get weighed every week with consistency and because I like the people who go. The organization itself is sappy, I think. Traditionally, I believe, it did not concern itself with how people lost weight, only that the did with the method right for them. But today, Lolly introduced the "exchange" thing, which is modeled on diabetic discipline. I wouldn't dream of following it, as I think it's exactly the kind of thing that might work only with certain people. I have no intention of "exchanging" anything, let alone going to the trouble of recording it. I'm going back to the regime with which I lost twelve pounds in five weeks. It may not work with anyone else, but that's of no concern of mine if it works for me.