I know, I know - it's always sad when something ends, isn't it?
When "Gone With the Wind" ended, you cried, right? Admit it.
When Dorothy said, "There's no place like home!", you bawled like a baby, didn't you? Didn't you? (Hey, don't lie to me - I can see you, y'know!)
So anyway, for those of you who've faithfully followed this blog, "The Curvy Catholic", all the way from its beginning (all, erm, two? of you), I'm sorry to tell you that this is THE END of this blog.
Waaahhh!!
OK, here's the reason: and I'm being brutally honest and frank right now: I'm BORED with it.
(Whew!) There - I said it!
Yes, the enthusiasm for losing weight via Curves for Women and Weight Watchers has waned, somewhat. Plus I'm not really that enthusiastic on the Catholic front anymore either.
Oh, I still attend church with my hubby, and I do my best not to ruffle anyone's feathers with my semi-heretical viewpoints.
And I do love the people at our church, who are the MAIN reason I continue going, and trying.
And I definitely am NOT giving up on being fit, and exercising. I continue to love and enjoy my two-year non-refundable membership at 24 Hour Fitness, which I bought for myself last year shortly before losing my job ... a gift from my employed self to my unemployed self.
That was probably the smartest move I've ever made in all my bumbling efforts to lose weight and find inner peace.
Because guess what? I LOVE to lift weights, do resistance training, etc.! It's fun and I love the way my muscles feel after I've really gone to town on those dumbbells (and not just the ones at the front desk - nyuk nyuk!).
And in between workout days at the gym, I'm going on walks. Long walks, out in the "cheap showiness of nature". There are a lot of really nice parks and malls and gardens and nature trails out here in Southern Cal, and I'm (re)discovering quite a few of them.
In addition to all that moving around, I'm going back to school - having enrolled in several classes at Grand Canyon University (online). Not the best college in the world (my long-suffering hubby has heard me griping about them more than once), but hey, it's a start.
And - beats workin'! (Nyuk nyuk!) Yeah ... there's that, too. I'm now officially unemployed - downsized from my lofty post as Word Processing Operator at PricewaterhouseCoopers in downtown L.A. since December 11, 2009. I was sure that I'd have a whole lot of free time after that, and be able to spend more time online, writing The Blog to End All Blogs.
However, what's really happened is I've been AVOIDING this blog. My life has changed dramatically, and I'm just not really sure that "losing weight" is my primary goal anymore.
So to make a long post even longer, this is probably IT for my incarnation as "The Curvy Catholic". And again ... waahhhh ...
Yet it may not be my last incarnation. (After all - THIS one wasn't.) I do still have dreams, vague at the moment but ready to take shape in some amorphous future still waiting to happen, of writing The Blog to End All Blogs.
The Blog to make all other bloggers fall down in shame before me.
The Blog that will change the world!!!
Ummm ... yeah, right. Actually, I'd just be happy with a blog more than two people read on a regular basis!
So I'll be thinking about that. And I'll be thinking of you, Faithful Reader(s). And thank you for your support. And if you've read this far, my deepest sympathies!!
And by the way - just one more thing - for anyone who cares - my last weigh-in at Weight Watchers was 195.0.
And I think I'm happy with that. I think I can go on with that.
Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday, September 26, 2008
We interrupt these reviews of major weight loss programs to announce …
that the Curvy Catholic has decided to remain Catholic!
I know, only about 3 people read this blog so who cares, right? But just in case any of those 3 people were in suspense, here’s the deal:
For several months now I have been reading and absorbing everything I could find about Eastern Orthodoxy. There is much of substance and beauty there.
Unfortunately, there’s also a whole heck of a lot of confusion, in this humble Westerner’s opinion. The more I read, the harder it is for me to figure out just who separated from who in the Great Schism.
The Romans say the East left; the East says Rome left. But to me, and I suspect to a lot of other people who aren’t 100% committed to either side – it looks like they left each other.
Frankly, I think the Great Schism was nothing more or less than an unusually nasty and messy divorce. There was fault on both sides.
I know, I know … the Crusades, the Filioque, etc. … Believe me, I sympathize with the passionate feelings of the Orthodox who, even today, still carry the bitterness of their ancestors towards Rome. And I agree with them – the Popes and Bishops of that time were not exactly John Paul the Great.
But there’s nothing I can find anywhere in the Bible that says you automatically stop sinning once you start following Christ. Just because members of the Catholic Church acted like total stinkers from time to time doesn’t mean the Catholic Church has no claim to be the True Church of Christ.
(Oh, and to the Catholics who fling charges of “caesaropapism” at the Orthodox, that works both ways.)
John Paul II, a great Pope who I admired very much (and who died on the exact same day that my wonderful little cat “Princess” was born … but I digress), loved the Orthodox Church and believed it was our “Sister Church”. I know most of the Orthodox (at least the ones who regularly post at online forums) chafe at that description, but I think it’s true. So the idea of leaving Catholicism for Orthodoxy was an attractive idea.
For one thing, I’ve been attending the Byzantine Catholic church for several years now (it’s where I met and married my wonderful husband). It’s where I learned to love and appreciate the way of Eastern Christianity. So that’s why I was attracted to the idea of “going all the way” to Eastern Orthodoxy.
But you know what? Last Sunday I took a little holiday from my beloved B.C. parish and revisited St. Casimir’s, a Lithuanian Catholic church in Silverlake, California. I used to go there regularly on Saturday mornings and always loved it, not only because it’s beautiful but because the priests who run it refused to let Cardinal Roger Mahoney (God grant him many years) bully them into discarding their Communion rail. Yes – you can still kneel to receive the Eucharist there! As far as I know there are only a handful – if that many – of churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese where that’s the case.
So anyway, last Sunday I went there for 8:00 A.M. Mass. And was struck anew by the beauty, reverence and, above all, SILENCE in that Mass. Not a forced silence, as is sometimes the case in churches attempting to be “modern”, where they just stop talking right after the Homily, as though the priest’s words are so brilliant that the unwashed masses must sit quietly in order to take it in. But a real, genuine, peaceful and completely natural silence.
That silence was there all the way through the Mass, behind the quiet murmurs of the priest and the people. I could hear birds chirping outside; cars going busily to and fro in the distance (what I called, as a child, the “Traffic River”); and all the sounds of civilization, just far enough away to remind us that the “real world was out there, but not close enough to hinder us from recognizing Reality itself, there on the altar.
And after this Mass was over, I returned to St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks, California, where I helped my husband cantor at the 10:15 Divine Liturgy. And it was a beautiful Liturgy, and I felt completely at home there.
I am so blessed to have more than one church where I can feel “at home” – and both those churches are, as the expression goes, “in communion with Rome”. So it occurred to me that my summer-long research and speculation about “doxing” had come to an end. Because, like Dorothy at the end of “The Wizard of Oz”, I realized that I already had everything I wanted, right here in my own backyard. I didn’t need to go “over the rainbow” to find it – or rather, to find Him. Because He’s already here, on the altar of the churches I already know.
So, long story short, the Curvy Catholic is still curvy – and still Catholic!
Back to weight-loss issues (and my promised review and update of Weight Watchers) after the weekend!
I know, only about 3 people read this blog so who cares, right? But just in case any of those 3 people were in suspense, here’s the deal:
For several months now I have been reading and absorbing everything I could find about Eastern Orthodoxy. There is much of substance and beauty there.
Unfortunately, there’s also a whole heck of a lot of confusion, in this humble Westerner’s opinion. The more I read, the harder it is for me to figure out just who separated from who in the Great Schism.
The Romans say the East left; the East says Rome left. But to me, and I suspect to a lot of other people who aren’t 100% committed to either side – it looks like they left each other.
Frankly, I think the Great Schism was nothing more or less than an unusually nasty and messy divorce. There was fault on both sides.
I know, I know … the Crusades, the Filioque, etc. … Believe me, I sympathize with the passionate feelings of the Orthodox who, even today, still carry the bitterness of their ancestors towards Rome. And I agree with them – the Popes and Bishops of that time were not exactly John Paul the Great.
But there’s nothing I can find anywhere in the Bible that says you automatically stop sinning once you start following Christ. Just because members of the Catholic Church acted like total stinkers from time to time doesn’t mean the Catholic Church has no claim to be the True Church of Christ.
(Oh, and to the Catholics who fling charges of “caesaropapism” at the Orthodox, that works both ways.)
John Paul II, a great Pope who I admired very much (and who died on the exact same day that my wonderful little cat “Princess” was born … but I digress), loved the Orthodox Church and believed it was our “Sister Church”. I know most of the Orthodox (at least the ones who regularly post at online forums) chafe at that description, but I think it’s true. So the idea of leaving Catholicism for Orthodoxy was an attractive idea.
For one thing, I’ve been attending the Byzantine Catholic church for several years now (it’s where I met and married my wonderful husband). It’s where I learned to love and appreciate the way of Eastern Christianity. So that’s why I was attracted to the idea of “going all the way” to Eastern Orthodoxy.
But you know what? Last Sunday I took a little holiday from my beloved B.C. parish and revisited St. Casimir’s, a Lithuanian Catholic church in Silverlake, California. I used to go there regularly on Saturday mornings and always loved it, not only because it’s beautiful but because the priests who run it refused to let Cardinal Roger Mahoney (God grant him many years) bully them into discarding their Communion rail. Yes – you can still kneel to receive the Eucharist there! As far as I know there are only a handful – if that many – of churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese where that’s the case.
So anyway, last Sunday I went there for 8:00 A.M. Mass. And was struck anew by the beauty, reverence and, above all, SILENCE in that Mass. Not a forced silence, as is sometimes the case in churches attempting to be “modern”, where they just stop talking right after the Homily, as though the priest’s words are so brilliant that the unwashed masses must sit quietly in order to take it in. But a real, genuine, peaceful and completely natural silence.
That silence was there all the way through the Mass, behind the quiet murmurs of the priest and the people. I could hear birds chirping outside; cars going busily to and fro in the distance (what I called, as a child, the “Traffic River”); and all the sounds of civilization, just far enough away to remind us that the “real world was out there, but not close enough to hinder us from recognizing Reality itself, there on the altar.
And after this Mass was over, I returned to St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks, California, where I helped my husband cantor at the 10:15 Divine Liturgy. And it was a beautiful Liturgy, and I felt completely at home there.
I am so blessed to have more than one church where I can feel “at home” – and both those churches are, as the expression goes, “in communion with Rome”. So it occurred to me that my summer-long research and speculation about “doxing” had come to an end. Because, like Dorothy at the end of “The Wizard of Oz”, I realized that I already had everything I wanted, right here in my own backyard. I didn’t need to go “over the rainbow” to find it – or rather, to find Him. Because He’s already here, on the altar of the churches I already know.
So, long story short, the Curvy Catholic is still curvy – and still Catholic!
Back to weight-loss issues (and my promised review and update of Weight Watchers) after the weekend!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Is this your FINAL ANSWER?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Just got Your message this morning! Thanks for letting me know -- in no uncertain terms -- that I am absolutely, positively, NOT PREGNANT! (At least, not yet!)
So -- not meaning to pry -- but does this also mean that I am absolutely, positively, starting menopause and therefore will NEVER become pregnant? I'd kinda like to know for sure, because as I understand it, I'm not actually considered fully "menopaused" (if that's even a word) till I go 12 months without a period.
This time it was just two and a half months, which I realize might not seem all that long to You (what with a thousand years being like a day and all that good stuff), but was plenty long enough for me to start getting my hopes up, just a teeny bit!
So are there going to be more "uncertainties" like this for the next few years? Should I use my new Costco membership to stock up on home pregnancy tests? Just wondering!
Anyway, like I said, thanks for letting me know for sure so I can relax -- till next month, that is!
Lots of love from Your humble servant,
The Curvy Catholic :-)
(Oh yeah, and also, even though I'm a little disappointed not to be preggers, thanks VERY much for letting me weigh in at 207 pounds this morning -- a loss of 2 whole pounds since last week! That made me feel a lot better!)
Just got Your message this morning! Thanks for letting me know -- in no uncertain terms -- that I am absolutely, positively, NOT PREGNANT! (At least, not yet!)
So -- not meaning to pry -- but does this also mean that I am absolutely, positively, starting menopause and therefore will NEVER become pregnant? I'd kinda like to know for sure, because as I understand it, I'm not actually considered fully "menopaused" (if that's even a word) till I go 12 months without a period.
This time it was just two and a half months, which I realize might not seem all that long to You (what with a thousand years being like a day and all that good stuff), but was plenty long enough for me to start getting my hopes up, just a teeny bit!
So are there going to be more "uncertainties" like this for the next few years? Should I use my new Costco membership to stock up on home pregnancy tests? Just wondering!
Anyway, like I said, thanks for letting me know for sure so I can relax -- till next month, that is!
Lots of love from Your humble servant,
The Curvy Catholic :-)
(Oh yeah, and also, even though I'm a little disappointed not to be preggers, thanks VERY much for letting me weigh in at 207 pounds this morning -- a loss of 2 whole pounds since last week! That made me feel a lot better!)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Ups & downs, as usual!
Back up again on Saturday, but only by 0.8 pound - so I'm at 209.
Not too unexpected, given that I consumed almost an ENTIRE BOX of the Breyer's Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, which we'd bought for the 4th of July! (Sigh!)
Oh well, "ups" in my weight and "downs" at church - had a big dustup in the choir loft Sunday morning. I won't go into detail - let me just say this: "Musicians! Ptooey!" (And since I'm a musician too, I definitely include myself in that "ptooey"!)
And as for the other issue - no, still no visit from "Aunt Flo"! Curiouser and curiouser ...
Well, since I've already brought up "church stuff" I may as well bring up some more. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I've become interested in Eastern Orthodoxy. Saturday evening my husband took me to a local Antiochian Orthodox church for Vespers. To be honest, I didn't really care much for their style - almost everything was either spoken (rather than chanted) or chanted in a kind of Arabic "ululating" way that I couldn't follow.
I don't count that against the Orthodox, though; it's more of a personal opinion than a criticism. I've been to another Orthodox Church in the area which uses a more Russian style of chant - much closer to our Byzantine (Catholic) style - and I am very comfortable there. So I won't be making any decisions for/against Orthodoxy based on my aesthetic preferences.
But - I have been reading a LOT of books lately about Orthodoxy - mostly "pro" (apologetics). I agree with a lot of what they say: I definitely think the Roman Catholic church bears AT LEAST 50% responsibility for the "Great Schism". I definitely think the office of the papacy has been expanded far beyond what it was originally envisaged to be. I understand and agree with the problems with the "filioque" ("and the Son") in the Creed.
The only thing I'm not 100% in agreement with is the rejection of the doctrines of "Immaculate Conception" and "original sin"; and the idea that there can't ever be "development of doctrine" - I've read too much Newman (and Knox, and Chesterton, and Belloc!) to fall comfortably into line on that one.
So for the foreseeable future, I'll have to remain perched on that fence called "Eastern Catholicism", ready to jump to either side if necessary but willing to keep sittin' as long as I can.
P.S. - found this really good blog posting listing 10 Reasons to Become Byzantine Catholic - definitely worth reading!
Not too unexpected, given that I consumed almost an ENTIRE BOX of the Breyer's Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, which we'd bought for the 4th of July! (Sigh!)
Oh well, "ups" in my weight and "downs" at church - had a big dustup in the choir loft Sunday morning. I won't go into detail - let me just say this: "Musicians! Ptooey!" (And since I'm a musician too, I definitely include myself in that "ptooey"!)
And as for the other issue - no, still no visit from "Aunt Flo"! Curiouser and curiouser ...
Well, since I've already brought up "church stuff" I may as well bring up some more. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I've become interested in Eastern Orthodoxy. Saturday evening my husband took me to a local Antiochian Orthodox church for Vespers. To be honest, I didn't really care much for their style - almost everything was either spoken (rather than chanted) or chanted in a kind of Arabic "ululating" way that I couldn't follow.
I don't count that against the Orthodox, though; it's more of a personal opinion than a criticism. I've been to another Orthodox Church in the area which uses a more Russian style of chant - much closer to our Byzantine (Catholic) style - and I am very comfortable there. So I won't be making any decisions for/against Orthodoxy based on my aesthetic preferences.
But - I have been reading a LOT of books lately about Orthodoxy - mostly "pro" (apologetics). I agree with a lot of what they say: I definitely think the Roman Catholic church bears AT LEAST 50% responsibility for the "Great Schism". I definitely think the office of the papacy has been expanded far beyond what it was originally envisaged to be. I understand and agree with the problems with the "filioque" ("and the Son") in the Creed.
The only thing I'm not 100% in agreement with is the rejection of the doctrines of "Immaculate Conception" and "original sin"; and the idea that there can't ever be "development of doctrine" - I've read too much Newman (and Knox, and Chesterton, and Belloc!) to fall comfortably into line on that one.
So for the foreseeable future, I'll have to remain perched on that fence called "Eastern Catholicism", ready to jump to either side if necessary but willing to keep sittin' as long as I can.
P.S. - found this really good blog posting listing 10 Reasons to Become Byzantine Catholic - definitely worth reading!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Uh oh ... up again???
Oh noes (as they say on Cute Overload)- up another 0.8 pounds!
Not to worry, I think I have it figured out. Either:
1. I'm not drinking enough water, or
2. I'm pregnant.
..... whaaaaa????? .....
Re: #2 - don't panic! But it's possible in theory as I'm over a month late. However, that's happened before, and I'm at "that age" (49) where it could be the Big M. So I'm not too concerned - yet. Will keep you posted!
Just to get some Catholic stuff in my supposedly Catholic blog, my husband and I have been having an interesting discussion about the Roman Catholic church vs. the Eastern Orthodox. I've been reading some polemical discussions about E.O. on the Net and have become interested in the way Orthodoxy governs itself vs. the Papacy.
Steve, being in the Byzantine Catholic Church (aka Ruthenian Catholic, aka Greek Catholic, aka ... ) for most of his life, knows a lot more about the history and has been filling me in. I do love the Orthodox liturgical traditions and find their theology more compatible with my own personal beliefs.
Of course, I know that doesn't necessarily mean they're right - I have to do some more research and figure these things out for myself!
And I'm nowhere near being ready to convert to Orthodoxy ... for one thing, I'm a "cradle Catholic" and there's still a lot of good stuff in the Roman Catholic church. Also, in the Byzantine (Ruthenian/Greek/...) Catholic church we attend, I am learning to appreciate the Eastern traditions without having to make the gut-wrenching leap to the other side of the 1054 Divide.
So - lots of interesting things going on in my life this week, which is why an 0.8 pound weight gain is kinda low on my list of things to worry about!
Hmm ... think I'll get another glass of water ... ;-)
Not to worry, I think I have it figured out. Either:
1. I'm not drinking enough water, or
2. I'm pregnant.
..... whaaaaa????? .....
Re: #2 - don't panic! But it's possible in theory as I'm over a month late. However, that's happened before, and I'm at "that age" (49) where it could be the Big M. So I'm not too concerned - yet. Will keep you posted!
Just to get some Catholic stuff in my supposedly Catholic blog, my husband and I have been having an interesting discussion about the Roman Catholic church vs. the Eastern Orthodox. I've been reading some polemical discussions about E.O. on the Net and have become interested in the way Orthodoxy governs itself vs. the Papacy.
Steve, being in the Byzantine Catholic Church (aka Ruthenian Catholic, aka Greek Catholic, aka ... ) for most of his life, knows a lot more about the history and has been filling me in. I do love the Orthodox liturgical traditions and find their theology more compatible with my own personal beliefs.
Of course, I know that doesn't necessarily mean they're right - I have to do some more research and figure these things out for myself!
And I'm nowhere near being ready to convert to Orthodoxy ... for one thing, I'm a "cradle Catholic" and there's still a lot of good stuff in the Roman Catholic church. Also, in the Byzantine (Ruthenian/Greek/...) Catholic church we attend, I am learning to appreciate the Eastern traditions without having to make the gut-wrenching leap to the other side of the 1054 Divide.
So - lots of interesting things going on in my life this week, which is why an 0.8 pound weight gain is kinda low on my list of things to worry about!
Hmm ... think I'll get another glass of water ... ;-)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
SEVEN POUNDS, baby!
Hey, I'm doing GREAT! (At least in my humble (and undoubtedly biased) opinion!
Today's weigh-in shows me down a total of 7.2 pounds from my starting weight! Weigh to go, eh?
Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the WW meeting I wanted to go to this morning. My hubby is out of town, so I was in charge of cantoring for this morning's liturgy. It's what's called the 5th All Souls Saturday in the Byzantine Catholic Church - basically a liturgy for the departed. The priest reads the names of deceased members of all the families in the parish. It's actually kind of cool.
So this morning I just decided to get up super-early and went to the 7 a.m. meeting at the location I kinda sorta don't like that much. Fortunately the weird Aussie woman who insulted me wasn't the leader this morning, so it wasn't too bad.
Also, I knew our fellow cantor Kitt would want to go out to breakfast after liturgy. He hasn't been there on Saturday morning for a while, and enjoys going out to breakfast with us. I enjoy it too, so I didn't mind changing my plans a little. Next week maybe I can make it to the "good" location again.
It's been a good week, nutritionally, fitness-wise and personally! Nutritionally, I've kept well within my Points balances every day. Fitness-wise, I've continued exercising at CURVES three days a week (MWF). And personally - well, let's just say my husband is happy and so am I! ;-)
Today's weigh-in shows me down a total of 7.2 pounds from my starting weight! Weigh to go, eh?
Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the WW meeting I wanted to go to this morning. My hubby is out of town, so I was in charge of cantoring for this morning's liturgy. It's what's called the 5th All Souls Saturday in the Byzantine Catholic Church - basically a liturgy for the departed. The priest reads the names of deceased members of all the families in the parish. It's actually kind of cool.
So this morning I just decided to get up super-early and went to the 7 a.m. meeting at the location I kinda sorta don't like that much. Fortunately the weird Aussie woman who insulted me wasn't the leader this morning, so it wasn't too bad.
Also, I knew our fellow cantor Kitt would want to go out to breakfast after liturgy. He hasn't been there on Saturday morning for a while, and enjoys going out to breakfast with us. I enjoy it too, so I didn't mind changing my plans a little. Next week maybe I can make it to the "good" location again.
It's been a good week, nutritionally, fitness-wise and personally! Nutritionally, I've kept well within my Points balances every day. Fitness-wise, I've continued exercising at CURVES three days a week (MWF). And personally - well, let's just say my husband is happy and so am I! ;-)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
