Sweat, Shop, and Soup

I guess you could say today felt like one of those last chance workouts from "The Biggest Loser".  I couldn't even wait for my husband to leave for work before I was downstairs hitting the treadmill.  I just felt like pushing myself.  I steadily increased the incline and still kept the pace at a speed walk.  In the end, I was completely drenched.  I used to say I glowed after a workout.  Let's just say, there's no more glowing.  Lady or no, I am definitely working up a sweat when I exercise now.  And you know what?  It's not pretty.  But I guess working out isn't supposed to be (pretty, that is).  My knees and my big toe have been painfully cramping quite a bit with the cold but, walking always makes them feel better.  But this morning, I was watching "The Today Show" and I felt so good, I wasn't paying attention.  I walked right past the five mile mark before I realized what I was doing.  When I got off the treadmill, I did my usual work out, then added some extra weight repetitions.  
When we were showered and ready to face the world, my Stepdaughter and I went Christmas shopping adding another five miles to my tally for the day.  When it was time to head home, we stopped off at "Applebee's" for a quick bite.  http://applebees.com/menu/neighborhood-favorites/pick-n-pair  The menu had some healthy options but, the exact calories were not listed.  I asked the waitress for a nutritional guide.  She quickly came back with several sheets of typing paper with nutritional information on several Applebee's menu selections.  The only problem was the nutritional guide she showed me was only good until May 2011 and most of the items on their current menu were not listed.  I found maybe two items that matched.  It was already getting late and we were both hungry.  It wasn't worth the effort.  I considered the limited "Weight Watchers" menu options and the few "under 550 calorie" options, but ended up just getting the tomato bisque soup and a side salad with no dressing.  I also skipped the bread.  In hindsight, I probably should have just gotten the soup.  Both the soup and salad came with croutons, which I quickly removed, and I soon discovered that the salad contained bacon bits.  Not good when you are having a no pork no beef year.  I ate the two cherry tomatoes, picked at the lettuce, and left the rest.  Still hungry, I was grateful that this was an "all you can eat" lunch meal.  I ordered another soup which the waitress brought sans croutons (She'd watched me pick them off the first time).  All in all, I'd probably say it was worth the $6.99 price.  No regrets though.  The soup was pretty yummy by itself and hey, tomorrow I hit another milestone.  : )