Up a little, but that's OK - just stay away from JC Penney's mirrors!

Oy vay! Well, I'm up a pound (204) from last week. But that's OK - it seems to be a pattern with me. I'll be down one week and then up a little the next. So next week should be pretty good. Mark my words!

I had a rather traumatic experience in the fitting room at JC Penney's the other day. Not sure what they do differently with their mirrors, but I'd like to believe they're buying them secondhand from carnivals. Because that's the only explanation for the appalling appearance of my upper thighs that would make me feel better.

See, I've read about the phenomenon of "loose skin" on people who've lost a lot of weight - but I wasn't prepared to actually see it - on myself! Not too good for one's self-esteem!

I won't go into too much detail as I don't want to make anyone lose their lunch. Let me just point out, in my defense, that I didn't get this same CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE FAT at either Sears or Macy's - only at JCP. So if their mirror-buyer is reading this, here's a message for you:

PBPBHBHBHBHHHHH!!! Nerts to you!

Another Monday morning ... but not too bad

I know, it's the biggest cliche in the world, right? "I hate Mondays!"

I really don't hate them all that much, though, especially today, since I'm taking the afternoon off work ALL WEEK LONG! Hurray!

So what am I going to do with all that free time, you ask? Well - not really that much. It takes me about an hour of commuting time to actually get home and by that time there's really not that many places I can go shopping, etc. without hitting the afternoon rush hour traffic which I took the time off to avoid.

Still - it's nice to know I'll only have to be here for a short time. Sort of like taking a realllyyy long lunch hour!

And since I am indulging myself during these last 3 weeks of August by taking a lot of short days, I've decided not to go to Curves on Monday-Wednesday-Friday as usual. Instead, I'm going to go on Tuesday & Thursday, then do something different on weekends. Like walking. Or perhaps half an hour on my "stationary bike" in the back yard.

I put the "quotes" around it because it's actually a real bike -- I bought it last year but was afraid to ride it because it was too high for me to stay balanced on. So there it sat in the garage, gathering dust and spiderwebs. When I went out one morning and saw the words "Some Pig" in one of the webs, I figured I'd better do something!

I found a neat device called a "bike trainer". It's basically a stand which attaches to the back wheel, holding it firmly in place. So you can ride it to your heart's content without actually moving an inch!

I set it up out back next to our Tuff Shed, where there's an electric outlet. I can put my ancient 13" TV/VCR combo with separate attached DVD player on a table in front of it, pop in a "Green Acres" or "Father Ted" DVD (or even "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", as I did yesterday), and pedal away! It's really a fun way to get in my every-other-day exercise.

Nothing against Curves, but as anyone who goes there regularly knows, once you get into the exercise habit, there does come a point where you want to do something different. So this is my "something different" - for now. In the fall, like the kids returning, grumbling, to school, I'll return, grumbling, to Curves 3 times a week.

(Oh, the weight loss thing? Down two more pounds, to 203!)

From "Women" to "Misses" in four months!

Wow, everyone! Not only did I lose two pounds this week (weighed in at 205 today, yay for me!), but I also made what I consider a much more important breakthrough:

I found clothes that fit me in the MISSES section at Sears!

WOO HOO! No longer am I relegated to the [fill in your favorite euphemism for FAT] WOMEN's section of major department stores! I can actually fit into size 18 (skirts) and size "Large" (t-shirts), respectively!

I had a ball trying on all sorts of clothes the other day and thrilling to the fact that most of them actually fit - and walked out with two nice new skirts & tops.

And not ONE of them had an "X" anywhere on the size label!

Now, the cynic in me says, "Hey, it's Sears - their sizing is probably way more, shall we say, 'generous', than other stores." And I know that's true, and size is just a number, and it doesn't really matter what size you wear as long as it fits, looks good, and you're healthy.

But come on - SIZE 18! Woot woot! I've gotta crow about it a little bit! I've been shopping in the "plus sizes" for at least 20 years, y'all - so this is a major deal for me.

Yes, I'm definitely still a "BBW" (Big Beautiful Woman) - and that's fine, for now. But I'm actually beginning to believe it's possible that someday, maybe I can remove that first "B"!

Staying the same, in spite of cheesy delight!

Weighed in Saturday morning at 207 - same as last week. Which was actually a relief, given that I reverted to a pre-Weight Watchers snack - I'll give you the recipe in case you want to try it yourself:

SINFUL MICROWAVE CHEESY DELIGHT

1. Take a slice of your favorite cheddar cheese (in my case, Canadian Cheddar from Trader Joe's).

2. Cut it up into a few easily meltable pieces and put it in a microwavable bowl.

3. Add a couple of shakes of Parmesan cheese (a tablespoon or two works nicely).

4. Microwave on high for about 2 minutes (depending on your microwave).

5. Leave in the microwave for another couple of minutes to let it cool down.

6. Remove from microwave and enjoy!

I got the idea when I used to make casseroles and would have extra bits of burned cheese along the sides of the glass dish. I think you'll agree there's nothing better than the taste of really, really burned cheese on a glass dish!

Actually, this is not really a bad (i.e., high fat/caloric) snack. Parmesan cheese is @ 25 calories per tablespoon (1.5 grams fat) and you use more of that than the cheddar.

The main thing against it is it looks kind of gross to passing strangers; so it's really the kind of thing you eat when you know no one is looking.

ENJOY!

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?

...