NYC, Junior's Cheesecake and I'm up 8.8 lbs. Also a Parenting Question.

Vacation was FUN FUN FUN. We traipsed all over Manhattan, across the Brooklyn Bridge, rode the subway to places far and wide, and took full advantage of the wonderful public transportation available in that area. Why can't California get their public transportation together like NY and the surrounding states have?

Thanks to a gentleman in our complex here at work, I learned about a lovely diner in Brooklyn called Junior's . We never found the one in Brooklyn...but 'lo and behold, our hotel was right around the corner from the Times Square location! Sooooo, over the course of vacation, I had 3 pieces of cheesecake. I know...overkill, shame, and sweet ecstasy!
I went completely off my plan, drank too much, ate too much and came home to enjoy food poisoning from the wee hours of June 9th til the later hours of the same day.

What did I learn? With my laptop dead in the water, (sending it back again for repair) and not having an electronic way to track my food while away from a pc...I am useless on this plan. I think I could set up an excel spreadsheet to do what I need to do, but the convenience of looking up the calories for the foods I'm ingesting is GONE and that makes it challenging for me. I'm all about ease of the plan. :D

So, I purchased another book last night, this one is basically an oversized pocket size booklet that has most of the information found on the website I use. I'm going manual with paper and pen until I set up an excel spreadsheet that I can use on my smartphone. I gotta get used to tracking even when I have no electronic aid. So I have my tracker, my book for foods, my book for dining out foods and a few others, and I'm taking them with me as we head off for Lake Tahoe tonight for "Fusion 2008" a masterminding session with some very bright people.

I will not let a little thing like the loss of computing power stop my progress...though it did slow it down, I learned why, and I'll make the necessary adjustment and move on. :D

For all you parents out there, I need some input/advice/thoughts on the matter:
I had made arrangements with my son to watch our doggy while we were in NYC. The few days before, he got a little flaky doing something we talked about and I warned him not to do...so I fired him...then he wouldn't return my call, so I made other arrangements for the doggy.
He was upset with me for doing that, but whatever...next time, return my darned phone calls.
So, while we were away, our doggy broke free from her caretaker at the local "Big Dog" Parade...apparently, she'd seen something to freak her out and off she went, wriggled free of her collar and ran like a bat out of hell. I called my son to ask him to help find our doggy, and he never responded to phone calls or text messages.
When I spoke with him after our return, to tell him to go ahead and use the job I fired him from as a reference, I won't slam him, nor will anyone else...then I asked him...and his reason for not calling or responding was because he figured, after I changed the plan on him last minute, he could only laugh and go back to sleep. What a great kid, huh? I reminded him to keep this whole thing in mind when he needed a favor from me...

So yesterday, he calls me to get something from me...help with living arrangements at the college he wants to attend in the fall. My question is: Why should I help this selfish person make his dreams come true when he does selfish things like that and for all he knows, our doggy could be dead. I realize, as a parent, there are things I need to do to help him, but I think, right now...he needs to learn to apologize for being a jerk, really figure it out...and until then, I am not going to help him. Why should I go into debt for his college? Why should I put a deposit on his housing? He's been working since June of last year here with me and not saved a dime. Yet I'm supposed to foot the entire deposit. He's not found another job either.

I think the most important help I can give him right now is to let him see/feel/experience a bit of humility. Crack the hard shell around him and learn that it's ok to admit mistakes and to take responsibility for one's choices and the consequences (good or bad) that go along with them.

Of course I want to help him get to college, but I absolutely refuse under the current circumstances. What are your thoughts Parents??