Keto and Company......

 Our Hawaiian friends are coming over for a cookout, and we're serving several local favorites, including macaroni salad and baked beans, both absolutely not keto. However, I'm also serving slaw, veggie quiche, and grilled steak. These items are very satisfying, and I won't be tempted. In fact, I'll do fine, especially since I don't really like the sweet in baked beans and can always do without the macaroni salad that's a favorite of the Hawaiians. It is such a pleasure living here and enjoying our friends and family. We often entertain friends in our front yard, chatting away as Steve cooks our meats on the grill. Our son and his husband visit regularly, so we're usually hanging out with one group or another. What's more, our daughter plans to visit at the end of the month. We're excited to show her all the exciting things available on Oahu. We plan to take her to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see the show there. That's always an exciting thing to do, and we enjoy it every time we go. Of course, we'll go to the Dole Plantation, Diamond Head, the Bydo-In Temple, Manoa Falls, the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse, the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, and lots more. We intend to take a day trip to Kauai and visit Waimea, including the Canyon State Park and end our trip with Ahukini Recreational Pier if time permits. This, in our opinion, is the best part of the island. However, Lodging is terribly expensive, so we'll avoid that part. We've spent time in Princeville and, although beautiful, found the area somewhat contrived. It is filled with empty timeshare properties and hotels blocking ocean views. Even the roadways are privatized, so we will avoid that area and devote ourselves to Waimea. We might stop by Warehouse 3540 if we have time. It houses little shops where local dealers sell their items. We'll definitely stop at Ginas Anykine Grines Cafe for brunch on the way to the Canyon. Through it all, I'm managing my keto diet just fine. However, I had a radical lapse last night. I began obsessing about a box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts that our neighbor gave us several weeks ago. Instead of tossing them at the time, we kept them on top of our shelf, and last night, overcome with desire, I opened them, and Steve and I ate them all! Wow! This is my first significant lapse since I began keto. I already forgave myself, and I'm right back on my regimen, which is never oppressive. My meals are delicious, and I do not feel at all deprived by this diet. I find new recipes and discoveries making keto more enticing every day. For example, I've invented a cream gravy that perfectly mimics my mother's southern cream gravy, and it's delicious! I continue to lose in increments, and I'm happily moving toward my goal weight daily, though very slowly. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying every part of every day and will continue to do so.