Days 6 & 7 ~ Weekend Adventures

So a very late post after a very hectic weekend. So what have I learnt over the weekend  ? Planning is absolutely key to success. Saturday morning was the usual blur of chasing my tail trying to get everything done and organised whilst acheiving little. I was not motivated and sleep deprived due to playing chauffuer to the elder sloth the night before. Saturday afternoon brought a rare occurance where nothing was planned, scheduled or required so we took the opportunity to all go to the movies. After initial debate on what to see that all four of us could agree upon it was off to see Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. So tickets bought time for candybar ummm well for everyone but me, whilst the sloths and Mark went off to find frozen cokes, popcorn or choc tops I was left pondering the thrill of my bottled water. Yep I had not put any thought into this and it was empty handed I entered the theatre leaving me me to realise how much we are all creatures of habit and how simple it is to mindlessly shovel crap into ourselves when sitting in a cinema. I didn't miss or need the popcorn but I did wish I had packed some nuts or similar. Lesson 1 learnt.
Saturday evening one of our girls was home for dinner and we were babysitting our youngest grand-daughter, all fine until the cry for dessert went up and off every-one trooped to Il Forno to indulge. I was happy to stay home in the warmth with the little one and the offer was made to bring something back for me , nice... Well once again it was not going to happen there was nothing suitable n the menu that would meet Paleo Challenge requirements. So did I fall to temptation ? No, thankfully I had made a fruit salad earlier and I had this for my dessert and the sated hordes returned bringing with them an expresso for me . Sunday the youngest sloth was competing at Chandler at the Irish Dancing State titles always a busy time and a full day. But had I learnt anything from the previous day? Unfortunately no, all was well until I wanted to eat. Had I packed food/snacks? You bet I hadn't, my focus had been making sure the sloth was prepared, ready and on time. What I really want to know is why these venues don't cater for people who don't want to eat crap? I am not talking just Paleo here, but something other than deep fried, pastry encased or sugar filled. I know I am not the only one who would have happily paid for a salad or something similar. The venue was hosting Irish Dance titles, Trampolining Championships and a Short Course Swimming event, hello, atheletes one and all and nothing on offer but crap. I wandered across to the nearby markets in hope of finding something only to find them packing up and finished, so it was from venue kiosk to venue kiosk I went searching in vain. Down at the pool the menu at first looked promising, bacon and eggs hooray. My excitement soon changed to disappointment when told only for breakfast and besides we are all out, can the fish be grilled? No it comes crumbed, so what about a vege burger with no roll after some eye rolling and a statement of we really dont have much to offer salad wise they agreed to my request. Again it was followed by disappointment the 'vege pattie' was frozen ,deep fried and coated in breadcrumbs (so I didn't eat it )something nobody had bothered to mention dispite my prior questioning and requests. The salad , well I got some chopped lettuce, grated carrot, three slices of tomato and two slices of cucumber and beleive me by this point I was happy for anything. Later in the afternoon I gobbled down some of the sloths hot chips and regretted it almost instantly. My only saviour was the knowledge that I would arrive home to a meal of slow cooked beef cheeks and veges yum. Lesson 2 well and truely learnt.
The moral of the story? Be prepared, the wider world doesn't care what you eat, they will provide for the masses and until the masses revolt and demand better pack a lunch and save your money.
So after a week of the challenge I am happy to say my only downfall was a handful of hot chips and with no-one to blame but my own lack of forethought I am happy with my results so far. I am not really missing anything and on most occasions can easily feed myself whilst out and about. I am feeling great and also feel less bloated so awesome results. Now for week two.

Oh and we are very proud of the sloth, he and his eight hand team placed third, well done all of you.