The week begins on Tuesday

Just couldn't make the week start yesterday. Just couldn't do it. I spent the day reading on the couch with a blanket and a very warm cat on my legs. On the bright side, it was a low-calorie day, since I didn't do anything. On the downside, I didn't do anything of value toward getting out of the funk and onto the job search or at least job preparedness.

Even Mother Nature seemed a little out of sorts. The cold and sunny morning turned into a snow storm (didn't stick) and then into a cold and cloudy evening. Just to make matters a little stranger, a tree fell and took out power for ~4000 people, of whom I was one. Just as I was going to hop in the car and head to over to Kirkland to see my DH, my car wouldn't start. I need a new battery - I know that - but I thought I could wait a bit for it. I don't know what I did to drain the battery so badly, but it's gone, gone, gone.

So, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?

Today is a new day, and I am still on track with my eating plan. I can't control my job (or lack thereof) situation, but at least I can control my eating. I just need to up the exercise a bit. 2 pounds per week doesn't sound like a lot, and it's not, but now that I'm into the program and am only 4+ pounds away from my next milestone, it feels pretty good. We had dinner at friends' the other night, and the main course was chicken-fried steak. I'm sure it was good, but I just brought my own dinner -- two large ravioli over a bed of spinach -- and shared the green beans that they had prepared and a large salad. I didn't miss the entree (and the rich sauce). Staying on track is more satisfying now than eating anything I please. It's an interesting change of attitude, and I hope contributes to some needed self-confidence when I get out there interviewing.

BTW, I added a weight-loss gadget at the bottom of the page that shows my progress. I only weigh myself once per week, so it will just creep along as I get closer to my goal. I'm anticipating the losses being smaller as the weeks go by, since I'm halfway to my goal now, but I'll update the ticker every Friday, even if I don't add a post that day.

Friday morning I have an appointment with my doctor. It will be interesting to see how (and if) my diet has changed my glucose levels (if at all) and what my doctor has in her bag of tricks for menopause symptoms. I'm finding that I'm generally happier (with some down times, obviously) so I'm thinking that the chances are good that my blood work will be less problematic than it was when I was last in her office. She did say that one of the options for dealing with night sweats and hot flashes was an anti-depressant. If we go that route, it couldn't come at a better time with job searching on the horizon. Having a little happy-pill backup sounds good to me right about now.

Holidaze

We had a successful "gingerbread decorating" party last Saturday. What a treat! My DH went above-and-beyond baking and assembling 11 houses so the kids could get right to the fun part of decorating them and making them their own. He also made cookies for smaller "landscapes" and it was all good -- too good! Oy, the eating! Still, it was so good to have time with friends. That, after all, is the heart of the holiday - but food is a close second!

We celebrate both Xmas and Hanukkah, so we have twice the eating opportunities. This weekend is brisket and latkes, and Xmas Eve is shrimp creole by the fire. Xmas morning, Santa brings bagels and lox (with lots of capers and onions) as well as presents. Then NYE means braised lamb and a midnight dessert buffet at the Seattle Rep, where we're going to see You Can't Take It With You, and then dance and munch until the fireworks there at the Seattle Center. Then it's back to "real life" and sensible eating as we start the new year...

One thing that's been tough this holiday season is that we usually give a lot to charity at this time of year. The Seattle Center has a giving tree, and we used to select a couple of the elderly and a couple of kids and buy presents for them. We just couldn't do it this year. No extravagant gifts for ourselves, of course, but no big donations to our favorite charities, either. Here's hoping that next year puts us in a better position to give to the organizations who are doing such good work.

One organization in particular is FareStart. They train homeless people to work in the food industry so that they can get jobs and change their lives. They are a great group doing important grass-roots work to change lives in a positive way - good for people/good for Seattle. I love these guys. YouTube has a number of videos of FareStart success stories. This one came in this month's newsletter, and I think it's worth sharing.

If I don't get back to blogging before the new year, happy holidays to one and all!

FareStart: