And so this is Christmas (the first day of December, anyway!)

Happy day-after, everyone! Did we all survive the long Thanksgiving weekend? We did - just barely! Holidays are always a mixture of fun and frustration, aren't they? Perhaps I don't need to say any more.

Thanks go out to the California Cat Center (http://www.californiacatcenter.com/) which not only took great care of our little Princess but even made a YouTube video about here! Check it out here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSnMQLzMeDY&feature=email)!

As for my weight - well, for the first time since April, I didn't go to a Weight Watchers meeting OR to Curves, all week! Yet, strangely enough, I managed to stick to a reasonable program of eating and exercise, and according to my official Weight Watchers scale at home, my weight this morning was 196.

Since the home scale tends to be about one pound higher than the one at the meeting, I'm going to say that's 195, which means I gained a little over half a pound. However, when you consider that it was THANKSGIVING - and that I pretty much dug in and ate all I wanted that day - it's pretty amazing that I ONLY gained half a pound, eh?

Plus, the hotel where my husband and I stayed (the La Quinta Inn, in Phoenix http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/propertyProfile.do?ident=LQ704&propId=704) had a fitness center (actually, a little room with two treadmills, an elliptical and a stationary bike), and we actually used the treadmills every day we were there. Apparently we were the only ones who did! Which was fine with me - we had it pretty much all to ourselves.

I haven't used a treadmill for a long time but I think my walking almost every day is starting to pay off - I was able to go 30 minutes at 3.0 miles per hour without gasping for breath - even ran a little. I liked that!

This morning I was going to go back to Curves but it was cold and I wimped out and decided to have a nice hot breakfast instead. Might go on my lunch hour. But to be honest, I'm kind of at a crossroads about Curves. I really like being able to exercise in a way that doesn't require me to change clothes (i.e., walking)! Well, we'll see - maybe by the time 12:55 rolls around I'll be ready.

My husband and I are traveling to Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. And since I just lost 1.4 pounds (down to 194.6), I thought I’d take a break from the weight-loss stuff to talk a little bit about my religious beliefs.

Actually, there’s a connection between the two. I don’t remember who said it – perhaps Lewis or Chesterton – but the ideal behind having a Christian society is to “make it easy to be good”. In other words, because we’re all prone to sin as the sparks fly upward (and I know who said THAT!), we should do the best we can to remove “occasions of sin” from our lives.

For example, if you have a serious problem with Internet porn addiction, it might be a good idea to remove your computer from your life altogether – or at the very least, install some porn-blocking software and give the password to someone else. If you have a drug problem, throw out all the pills from your medicine cabinet and insist that others lock theirs up when they come to visit.

And if you have an overeating problem – well, you’ve probably already figured that one out, right? But it’s not enough just to remove all the bad stuff from your life – you have to replace them with GOOD stuff. So if you’re addicted to the sensuality of porn, get re-addicted to the sensuality of the Mass or the Divine Liturgy. If you’re addicted to pills or food, get addicted to the Eucharist – daily, if at all possible. Etc.

Well, that’s also what I’ve been learning from Weight Watchers: not only should you remove all, or as much as you can, of the high-fat, high-calorie junk foods from your house, from your office, from your life – but you should then surround yourself with GOOD things to eat. So when you get the urge for a double mocha java, you have all the ingredients to make a healthier version of the same thing.

Another thing: some people insist they can be good (i.e., sinless) without all the “rules and regs” of an organized religion. Some people also insist they can lose weight without an organized weight-loss program like Weight Watchers. Well, let me know how that all works out for you. I know my weaknesses and my limitations. I need to be surrounded by rules and regulations, like that proverbial fence that G.K. Chesterton wrote about at the end of his little book, “Orthodoxy”. Only when I’m inside the safety of that fence do I feel truly free to spin around and enjoy my freedom.

Just a minor setback - don't panic!

This is kind of ironic, but you know how last week I lost 3 pounds? Well, when I posted it to the Weight Tracker on Weight Watchers’ online site, I got a prissy little message: "Danger, Will Robinson! You're losing too much, too fast! Slow down or suffer dire consequences!"

Because, see, Weight Watchers doesn't want you to lose more than 2 pounds a week. Which is fine, and actually very safe 'n sane, since most reputable weight loss scientist types say the same thing. However, WW's online tracking computer doesn't seem to grasp the concept of "average" (as in, don't lose more than an average of 2 pounds a week). They also don't 'splain to you how to program your body's computer to stick to that exact schedule. So if are lucky enough to lose, say, 2.1 pounds in a week, the alarms go off and the authorities are notified.

Fear not, little Weight Tracker! Calm down - all is well! You'll be happy to hear that this week I regained 2.4 pounds of that humungous loss. So chill out! Have a beer!

Or perhaps a hamburger. Since it was probably the hamburger – and the hot dog – and the red and green M&M's – and the cotton candy – and the potato salad, all served with love by my company’s HR department to honor those of us in Office Services – which were responsible for this teensy little gain. In my defense, it was a lunch meeting and there were no low-fat alternatives at all! Well, except the cotton candy, which didn’t have any fat – just lots 'n lots of sugar. (Mmm ... sugar!)

However, I’m not too upset. This is going to happen from time to time, but since I’ve established some good, healthy habits – for example, walking every day for at least half an hour; going to Curves at least two times a week (didn’t go on Friday as I had the day off, and after my adventure with Curves Van Nuys, if I can’t go to Bunker Hill I’ll just do something else); bring my own food – meals and snacks – to work with me so I won’t be tempted beyond my endurance*; etc.

And I just bought some fun exercise equipment for use at home, which means I can work out any time of day or night – even when I’m barefoot ... or naked! Howdy, neighbors! (nyuk nyuk!)

One thing I bought is the Urban Rebounder – a mini-trampoline with a stabilizer bar so I don’t fall off onto the concrete. I love it! I can just get on and bounce any ol’ time and it actually provides more of a workout than you’d think while you’re on it – you definitely feel it a few minutes after you stop. I was actually out of breath after only about 10 minutes! (And no, I was not naked at the time, Mr. Snoopypants!)

Also got a Tony Little Gazelle (similar to an Air Walker). Haven’t put it together yet so I can’t review it; however, will try to do that by next time.

Another thing I’ll try to do next time is put in something about church and Catholic stuff – seems only right, as I am, after all, the Curvy Catholic and not the Curvy Rastafarian!

(*well, except for last week. But I’m hoping that was the proverbial exception-proving-the-rule!)

Nancy Drew Finds The Mysterious Staircase!

Wow, loyal followers! Not only did I lose THREE POUNDS this week (weigh-in 193.4), but I FINALLY got that photo of the Mysterious Staircase of Bunker Hill developed.

And seriously - I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but for some reason this fascinates me. I'm really into the history of Bunker Hill (the one in Los Angeles, in case you're just joining us), and can't help wondering - first of all, is this indeed the same staircase I found in the LA Public Library's database?



(cropped version here shows the staircase to the left of the "PARKING" sign)

The best evidence for it being the same staircase is: it's in approximately the same position (perpendicular to the newer Bunker Hill Steps, same distance from the Central Library).

If it is the same staircase, it's only the top half, as the original goes all the way to the ground and this one is cut off by the ground floor of the parking garage.

The best evidence against it being the same staircase? Just a gut feeling - if they went to all the trouble of ripping up all those buildings and digging huge holes for the new skyscrapers, why would they leave just this one staircase? So it may have been built later, then abandoned when the Bunker Hill Steps were completed.

But then ... why cover it up with dirt? Why not just keep it as an alternate route to the Hill?

No - I really think it's the same one. And if I'm right (which I almost always am, except when I'm wrong - nyuk nyuk!), then all I can say is an awed, Bart-Simpson-in-3D-style, "Coooooolllll, mannnnnnn" ...

Procrastination, thy name is Curvy Catholic!

Weighed in pretty much the same as last week - 196.2.

Haven't yet got those great photos of the Mystery Staircase developed yet. I intended to do that over the weekend but other things kept intruding - for example, our annual Parish Luncheon at St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks, California.

Annual - and probably LAST! Not because it doesn't make a respectable amount of money, but because it's a whole lotta work - and those of us who do the work don't really want to have to do it again if we can avoid it! (I'm sure my husband, the Designated Dishwasher, heartily agrees!)

Plus, being in a somewhat depressed state on Saturday morning anyway (due to a really annoying conference with my supervisor and our two HR people on Wednesday, which, as I predicted to the HR person who's friendly to me, turned out to be a referendum on MY job performance, not HER rudeness to me which CAUSES me to sometimes have problems doing my job), I really didn't have the patience I needed to deal with the unusually rude babushkas who showed up at my "religious goods" table to criticize everything I was selling, gripe that MY prices were way too high, and scream that the prices I was charging for THEIR "heirlooms" were too low!

Augh! If I ever get to be that crabby, I hope someone will shoot me. Of course, I AM sometimes that crabby and no one has yet, so maybe I'm safe (nyuk nyuk!).

Curvy Catholic and the Mysterious Staircase!

Weigh-in first - down 0.6 pounds to 196.4.

Though I don't have a digital camera (yet - Christmas is coming!), I snagged one of those disposable Fujis at Ralphs the other day, and yesterday walked over and took several photos of the Mystery Staircase.

Actually, I think I have figured out what it is. According to this photo (from the L.A. Public Library's WAY cool photo database!), there used to be a parking lot at 5th and Flower. Look towards the bottom left, then up to the left of the sign that says "Parking" - see it? That staircase going uphill from the back of the parking lot?

Well, I think that's the one I found - at least, part of it! It's in a sort of alleyway between two buildings - the 444 S Flower Building and the parking lot underneath the Stuart Ketchum Downtown YMCA. It's almost completely covered with dirt and unused.

Actually, that's not quite true. I noticed a lot of beer cans and cigarettes scattered around, so it obviously IS being used - by people I probably wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley! So if I need to take any more photos, I'll make sure I'm not alone!

Oh, as for my depression? It seems to have lifted, at least somewhat. The exercise helped. Last Tuesday, it was so bad I spontaneously decided to take the rest of the week off. And you know what? That was the best decision I could have made! I stayed home, but I didn't just sit around on the couch eating bon-bons and watching soaps. No way, Jose - I WORKED!

Yes - I worked in our back yard, went to the Green Thumb Nursery, got some plants, chopped down a pesky bush and an annoying little tree, puttered around the house and just generally had a fine "housewifey" time. And yes, it was a little depressing coming back here to work yesterday, but not nearly as much as I'd feared it would be.

Now tomorrow may be another story. I've finally got my long-awaited meeting with my former boss, my current boss, and the HR person. Not something I'm looking forward to but I'll just have to wade through the muck as best I can.

Up two; down ... just a little

Regained a couple of pounds from that spectacular loss last week - but still weighed in at 197.0 which is great, considering where I started. I'm very upbeat about the fact that I seem to have broken through that 201/202 plateau at last!

I'm also pretty sure the huge weight loss last week had to do with the fact that I've been moping around with a bad cold (bronchitis?) for about three weeks now. It's getting better, but what with that, and my tendency towards SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), not to mention my ongoing dislike for a certain person in my office who I'm bound to work with till one of us quits or wins the lottery - well, truth be told, I'm feeling kind of down these days.

Mondays are the worst. I know, the Garfield cliche. But really, this morning I just felt so awful. I went for a walk at lunchtime and perked up a bit when I discovered what appears to be a HUGE abandoned staircase, just a few steps from the relatively new Bunker Hill Steps. I stumbled across it (figuratively!) while looking for a shortcut back up to Hope Street.

It amazed me - it's covered with dirt and my speculation is that it was abandoned once the Bunker Hill Steps were opened. Yet it's still there, and makes me wonder what else is still around us of the old infrastructure, just a few feet under the dirt. (If I get a chance to go there again with a camera, or find anything about it on the Net, I'll post it next week.)

So that cheered me up a bit. But then I had to come back to work. Ugh.

I guess what really depresses me is that we're playing all these games, trying really hard not to talk to each other. If you've got someone like that in your office you know what I mean. It gets to a point where you wonder which one of you is going to fold first. And I'm not that good at cards.

Sighhhh!!