Rosh Hashanah starts tonight.

Last year I wrote a lengthy blog on attending High Holiday services for the first time at SOJC.  It's dated September. 29, 2011 ("Some Thoughts on the Rosh Hashanah Services") if you are interested in re-reading it.  I just went back and read it again.  Mostly I talked about the choir and how I missed them more than I thought I would.  Well, I guess this year I won't feel like that. I have another choir!

My new little choir of 10 people will sing our usual "Sim Shalom" followed by a Hassidic Kassdish Shaleim along with the cantor after the Musaf Amidah repetition on the first and second day of Rosh Hashanah and on Kol Nidre and during the day and evening of Yom Kippur.  We are also singing harmony along with the cantor for "Yigdal" at the end of Kol Nidre.  They have worked hard, and this shul has never had anything like this before. I hope it enhances their spirituality on these days.  I do believe it will bring a level of ruach that they have not experienced in the past.  I'll let you know!

As for weight management, my week has been going great since I restarted my weight loss plans on Tuesday.  This morning I was 256.4, which means all of the weight from the western trip is gone!  Tonight and tomorrow night are a challenge because of the holiday meals. As High Holidays go, it's about as good as it's ever been, calorie-wise, because we are not having company or being invited out, so that gives me a level of control that I often don't have. I also noticed that last year on the day before the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I weighed 249.3.  I'm up seven pounds for the year, but I feel confident that can be changed.

Here's the menu for the two nights:
2 ounces of Challah, 132 calories
1/4 small apple with 1 tsp of honey 40 calories
2 ounces of sweet wine, 94 calories
1 cup of broth and 2 small matzo balls (from a mix) 80 calories
Mark's special Merlot baked brisket with vegetables, 1/8 of recipe, 900 calories. YEAH!  That's where the problem really lies!  Haha!!  He has had that brisket in the freezer for MONTHS.  It's time to use it up.  We've had this recipe before and it's great.
1/8 of Honey Cake for dessert 180 calories.

That makes my dinner my whole day's calories, 1,427.

Unfortunately for me, before I calculated those dinner calories, I had already eaten Mark's special Sunday morning breakfast of a lo-carb biscuit with half a T of Smart Balance margarine and two scrambled eggs, That's only 296 calories, 96 over my usual breakfast.  On any other day it does not matter, but I forgot about the dinner when I did that. LOL!  Now I'm up to 1,723 for the day and NO LUNCH!

Well, the answer is more exercise.  We were going to go to a movie this afternoon, but now we are putting that off until Wednesday.  Instead, I'm going to walk 30 minutes and swim 30 minutes.  According to my Lose It! program that will burn off 427 calories, making my net calorie intake for the day only 1297.  THAT'S a reasonable amount which would allow me to eat a little bit of lunch.  If I have a can of tuna (140 calories) on 2 cups of salad greens (44 calories), I will bring the total for the day up to 1481 net, well within the 1504 that my program says I can have.  I love the Lose It! app on my phone!  It's a helpful tool when I use it correctly.

So no more time to blog!  I have to shower and dress and head out to exercise.  For once, I'm actual looking forward to the exercise.

I wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and healthy and sweet New Year.  May you all find peace and sweetness in your lives today, tomorrow, and always.  Love to each and every one of you.