Shop Til Ya Drop...Pounds And Inches, That Is!

Disclaimer: If you are a shopaholic or have a compulsive shopping disorder or are prone to impulse shopping then feel free to skip this story or be sure that you freeze your credit cards and bury all available cash in the backyard before continuing on.

This weekend with my sister Val was an experience I will never forget and treasure forever. What's better than two ladies hitting one of the biggest shopping malls in the whole world? For FOUR days?! Indulgent doesn't even start to describe how it feels to bid hubbies and children farewell for a crazy adventure that's guaranteed to build relationship and create memories. West Edmonton Mall is the ideal spot to do some serious shopping and outrageous play. Between pictures at an antique photo center and the 50 foot Space Shot at Galaxyland to nearly endless stores of all kinds and multiple food courts we are convinced that we put in at least 4 and a half miles of walking in every day. When our niece met up with us for lunch she drove us to one of Edmonton's over 460 parks where we climbed long wooden stairs twice, hiked through well kept trails, met up with cyclists, runners, a couple posing for engagement photos, and plenty of adorable pooches. But over the course of the weekend my sister and I found our exercise to be the hours upon hours of shopping we did, in spite of only going into a miniscule fraction of the over 800 stores in the mall itself. Our checkbooks can attest to this as well! Mallercise is a good and fun exercise in it's own right, after all, right?!

In all, a fabulous weekend has come to a bittersweet end. So, as is my habit, I stepped on the scale fully expecting to have gained at least a couple of pounds. So imagine my surprise and excitement when I discovered that I had LOST weight! *HAPPY DANCING* Not only that but the pants I was wearing comfortably prior to my departure can't even be held onto my waist with a belt. So I may be headed out for another shopping trip in the near future. Well, after my sweet hard-working hubby pays down the AmEx, of course!

Glory