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Aurora on the Home Front

Northern Lights seen here in Sequim! May 10th and the Northern Lights popped by for a visit. I am happy to see them, but honestly, how DARE ...

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Brownie Bite

I for lunch I chose a ubiquitous cup of Campbell’s Chicken & Dumplings soup; no big deal. On the way back to my desk with my microwaved soup I passed the remnants of the first of many of my office’s holiday season buffets. I nicked an eensie little brownie 'bite'. ‘Bites’ are those scaled down tidbits that are popular now. I like them; I can sample something which in full size has more calories in it than the Carlsbad Caverns have bats.
So back at my desk, the soup went down easily enough. Then I tried the brownie bite, which to be honest here, was a half dried out leftover that had probably sat on the counter since yesterday, was most likely no fresher than last Wednesday’s last minute Thanksgiving bakery sale at the local market.
To my delight – and to my horror - that one stupid, sucky, old, counter-stale brownie bite resulting in explosions of chocolate goodness in my mouth. I’m talking oral-gasms of rich chewy chocolate goodness - a sybaritic sensation of fudgey joy dancing a tarantella as it journeyed down my throat.
It is ungodly cruel what a couple of week's reduced sugar intake can do one’s perception of flavor.
Note to self: have taste buds scrapped from tongue; cost of surgery will be offset by the aggravation saved in the long run.


Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Tah Dah!

Most people have a ‘ta dah’ point when something tips them over the edge. I had one a few weeks ago. A new vest I ordered off the Internet fit far more snugly than it ought, especially considering that I ordered it in a size roughly equivalent to the girth of Jupiter.

I was horrified; felt myself tipped over a dreadful precipice of admission - I have become… uh... increasingly ample. You know what I mean.

In the past decade my weight remained static, or at least seemed so to me. I gradually built up a wardrobe of comfy clothing that I like. Then I had the BIG ACCIDENT, which resulted in my having snapped my ACL ligament in my right knee. Post-accident I stopped whatever exercising I had been doing - walking and using my treadmill - but my eating habits remained the same. No surprises there.

That brings me back to the vest; a marvelous, cream colored, faux sheepskin lined, pocketed & hooded vest which is so cute I squeal every time I look at it. I ordered it in 'my' size but to zip it up I had to suck in my gut and turn blue. The aggravation! That was the 'ta dah' moment that pushed me over the edge - decided I must do something.

My concession to girth challenges are two:

1. I may eat anything I like, as long as I write it down.

That may not sound like much of a concession but happily, doing so pretty much halved the amount of calories entering my vast untamed maw. I'm apparently too vain to eat some things some things if I must record it on paper. The spiral bound journal I log my chow in is adorable; has lovely feathers all over the covers and pretty lined paper. I'm into esthetics.

2. I
exercise a minimum of 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

That's the full extent of my new routine – write it down, work it off. No big changes there, but the pounds ounces are just pouring trickling from my ample arse.

Progress report: my adorable vest can be zipped up & within its admitedly still snug grip I do not feel quite as much like a ten-pound sausage in a 2-pound skin.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Turkey Day

Had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends. At one time I gave consideration to flying to Atlanta for a family reunion over the Thanksgiving weekend. My Uncle Calvin and Aunt Cynthia and some cousins live in Atlanta, and I've never been. However, I am a tightwad. I thought I could fly free using my American Airline miles but soon discovered the milage dissolved back in March, so I gave up the idea of a long distance Thanksgiving. I am sick with fretting over my long hoarded fifteen thousand miles. Had I realized they were soon to elapse, I would used them up or at the very least I could have donated them to charity. Damn, damn, double damn.

Still, Thanksgiving in Sacramento was loverly. It was also our smallest ever - just Rick, Mommy Nancy, their boys Diego and Adan, friends Mark and Fran from Grass Valley and myself. Oh, and Tippy, the dog. There was enough food to feed two or three times the number of our gathering - how blessed are we, eh?