Oh yeah

I forgot to write about the Valentine's Day party we went to. It was a good experience in many ways.

First of all, it was a party! The friend who threw it usually has a xmas party but he was out of town this year so he had a Valentine's one instead. :-) It was fun to see people we hadn't seen in a while.

But what I really want to write about because it was more interesting to me, was how I handled it. It was a potluck, which is usually hard because there are so many tasty things. I filled my plate half with salad and had a taste of just about everything else. I ate it, put the plate down and just sat there (as opposed to going for seconds) and when someone asked if they could take my plate, I only had a split second of hesitation before saying yes (as opposed to hanging on to the plate to go for seconds).

I had several moments where I found myself feeling a little uncomfortable, embarrassed, shy or awkward (which is normal for me at just about any party). I didn't go up to the table and grab stuff to munch on or drink just so I would have something to do. I didn't go for my phone or ipod either. I just sat with it, observed myself and the people at the party, and after a while I would either get interested in a conversation going on or someone would start talking to me.

There was a cake at the end. I had my piece, and took a brownie. The cake was great, but after a bite of the brownie, I decided it wasn't OMG amazing, so I handed it over to G (normally I would have eaten the whole thing anyway).

There was a gift exchange game, the one where it's a big pile of generic gifts and people draw numbers and then steal from each other or pick from the pile till all the presents are gone. It being Valentine's day, there was a lot of chocolate to go around. I ended up opening a beautiful pair of handmade earrings, which I very much hoped I could keep because I didn't need a big box of chocolate talking to me for days after the party, and I didn't want another teddy bear or toy cluttering up the house. There was one lady who came to see if she wanted to steal them but said they weren't her style. So they are mine! I was grateful to get the perfect thing for me, and happy that the gift I brought was popular enough to get passed around. Just a little trinket, but I included $10 cash in with it, so that may have been the reason! :D

I decided to not even try to add up all the calories from the party but just write it off as 1000 collectively, which was fairly close in number to the party I went to in January. On the way home, I realized that I was actually a little bit hungry! (as opposed to being so stuffed I couldn't possibly eat anything for dinner). The next day I had even lost a little weight!

So, a great success and a good example for me to remember. I had fun, I didn't deny myself any of the things I wanted or stress about it but I was very mindful and aware of my choices. I enjoyed what I ate because I was conscious of what it was and savored it. Any of the uncomfortable moments were just that - moments. Nothing to freak out about. And rather than feeling depressed, stuffed, frustrated or drained after when I came home, I felt happy, content, proud, fulfilled and satisfied. Hooray!