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!)

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!

Finally! and No, Not This Time!

First of all - FINALLY after 3 weeks I have started losing weight again!

I weighed in at 208.4 on Saturday morning, so I'm now officially (at Weight Watchers, anyway) down a total of 16 pounds.

Curves has me at approximately the same weight, though I'm happier about the fact that they're finally (again, finally!) showing that I've lost some inches too - approximately 1 inch of blubber removed from my frame overall! So watch where you step (nyuk nyuk!).

Also visited my doctor on Thursday and had a couple of tests done. And the answer to "am I pregnant?" is --

No, Not This Time!

That's based on the urinalysis, pretty much the same test you can buy at the drugstore. Interestingly, she also did a blood test for my FSG or something like that, and according to her email to me this morning, the answer to "So am I in menopause?" is --

No, Not Yet!

Hmmm! So what's going on here? No "visit from Aunt Flo" since the first week of May - yet I'm neither preggers nor permanently off the rag? What's the answer?

...

Anyone?

...

Bueller?

...

Holding at a steady pace

Last Friday's weigh-in was exactly the same - 210.8. Neither up nor down. So I guess I'm at one of those much-talked-about plateaus.

So I decided to just enjoy the weekend and go "off plan" - not drastically, just in the sense that I ate what I wanted and didn't keep track of the points.

Steve and I went to Carlsbad Saturday morning and stayed overnight. We visited with my parents, who were in from Phoenix hoping to see the beach (and cruelly disappointed by our hotel's promise of an "ocean view room" - yeah, great view if you had a periscope!).

But it was a nice weekend, marred only by our severly overindulgent worries about our cat, the aptly named "Princess", who we'd left all by herself for the WHOLE NIGHT!!! something she's never before experienced in her short but eventful life.

She seemed fine when we got home Sunday afternoon - a little annoyed but graciously allowing us to kneel at her paws and beg forgiveness. All hail the Princess!

Oh, as for last week's post - still no period! I haven't made a doctor's appointment yet, but I suppose I should. I kind of don't want to, though - a superstitious feeling that I'll "jinx it" somehow if I actually schedule a test. I'd like to enjoy that feeling of "maybe ... possibly ... perhaps!" a few days longer.

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 ... ;-)

What goes down must (occasionally) go up ...

Oopsie ... went UP by 0.8 pounds this week. Oh well, I think it's probably just a blip in the overall scheme of things. At least I hope so!

But given that I've established a fairly regular exercise program and streamlined my daily menu so it's no problem to stay within my POINTS range, I'm not too worried. (Of course, if it goes up NEXT week, and the NEXT week ... but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!)

Speaking of exercise, I've been kinda sorta getting into biking. What I mean is that I'm charmed by the *idea* of biking, but haven't actually gotten too good at the actual *pedaling* and *balancing on two wheels* thingies that go with the idea!

I did buy a folding bike from Amazon - and managed to pinch off a chunk of the flesh on my thumb while closing the kickstand - YEOWWW!!

Then yesterday, I was testing an Electra Townie 3-speed with 26" wheels in the parking lot of a bike shop; and was doing great till I noticed I was heading right for a parked car. So instead of just hitting the car and taking my chances, I hit the brakes and tried to jump off the bike - landing directly on my left ankle, which really, really, REALLY hurt! Sniff!

Fortunately my husband was there with me, so he was able to drive me home. And it didn't deter me from wanting to get a bike. But (a) I think I'm going to hold out for 24" wheels and (b) I'm going to avoid any test drives - and perhaps walking in general! - for a few days, till I'm sure my ankle is OK.

Sigh. Could it be that the Bicycle Gods are trying to tell me something??

Still goin'!

Down 0.6 pounds yesterday, so total loss since the beginning of April is 15.2 pounds - yay!

Now that summer is here and the weather is getting warmer, we've been spending more time outdoors. That means I'm less tempted by hot, cheesy foods and more tempted by cold, ice-cream-like foods! Fortunately I've discovered Weight Watchers makes these really good ice cream bars - I have two boxes in the fridge right now - one is latte flavored and the other chocolate fudge. Mmmm!! They're very good and only 2 points per bar.

I also like their little cups of ice cream. My absolute favorite is the chocolate chip cookie dough -- mmm! (Remember last week, when I told you about some of the "bad foods" I used to eat regularly? Well ... did I mention ready-made chocolate chip cookie dough? No? Well, consider it mentioned then.)

Another really good hot weather snack is Kozy Shack no-sugar-added puddings. My favorite is the tapioca. I tried the chocolate, but it had kind of a funny aftertaste - the only word I can think to describe it is "dental"!

Sorry, Kozy Shack, but that's what it reminds me of - the taste of the nitrous oxide that our dentists used to conk us out with back in the good old days. So no chocolate pudding for me - I don't need the nightmares!

I was rereading some of my old posts and realized it's more "Curvy" than "Catholic". Now I do have some Catholic-related opinions I'd like to share; but I need to think over just how much I want to reveal to my vast reading audience.

Let me meditate on this a little, till next week.