Food for thought

It is not in my nature to eat a lot of red meat, and heaven help me, never bacon; however, this week I have embarked on phase one of the "Cheat to Lose" diet. Week 1 is low carb, so hello steak! Since I'm probably addicted to carbs, the first two days were a little rough, but day 3 has been much better. During the first couple of days, I found myself staring longingly at a can of toddler veggie "puffs." How desperate was I! My great treat has been my chocolate calcium chewable which is twice daily. Things begin to look up after the first week as some new foods can be added. After 3 weeks we get into a routine of a "cheater" day on Saturday when anything goes. I guess the prospect of that will sustain me for now.

Ok. Week 2, 5 pounds of ugly fat GONE! It's become increasingly easier as I adjust to the portions & the protein since I get to add in a few more foods. I can now actually eat a restaurant meal & not feel deprived. I have discovered a delicious sugar free ice cream & have to keep reminding myself that a serving is 1/2 cup. Suddenly I realize that if I had been more vigilant about portion size, I probably wouldn't have any weight to lose. I am an adult still wanting to eat like the teenager I once was . . . the one who could literally stuff herself without ever reaching a three digit weight. Ah, if only I could bring back the days of a quick metabolism!!

Surprise

Last Sunday night a group of my close friends surprised me with a dinner get-together in honor of my birthday. The food, wine, & laughter certainly took the edge off my feeling of impending gloom regarding my upcoming birthday. Known for being rather obtuse & unobservant, I was there for at least a half hour (several of us were engrossed in watching Roger Federer play his championship match in the US Open) before I realized that this gathering was for me! Several glasses of wine later, this birthday thing didn't seem quite so bad. It has been said that friends are the family you choose, & indeed I have chosen well!

Drew

What could be better than watching WVU play football on a Saturday afternoon? Spending the day with Drew! While others were lamenting the sluggish first half of WVU vs. Marshall, Drew & I were playing. The simple joys for a 16 month old . . . petting a cat, laughing along as I sang silly songs, pouring a bucket of water over his head in the pool . . . are life affirming. Occasionally I would receive a surprise kiss or hug. . . a true bonus! Drew quite considerately napped during most of the second half, & as it turned out, the only part of the game worth watching. But I would gladly have skipped the whole thing for a day with this precious little boy!

Minnie Mouse

As a sophomore in high school we had our yearbook photos taken in one shot. No time to pose or smile or get ready in any way, just a quick flash. The selection of poses was reserved for upperclassmen. Needless to say, I had an unforgetable yearbook photo my sophomore year. In fact one of my close friends (a really cute guy) told me that I looked like Minnie Mouse in my picture . . . which was unfortunately quite true! He proceeded to call me "Minnie" for the rest of the school year.

Well, I always remember this when getting a new picture taken for my driver's license. Through the years I have always taken time to prepare for this photo since I will have to live with the results for five years. I like to go before work with shining clean hair & make-up intact. I have even gone so far as to practice a sort of half-smile in the mirror. So far, however, this has not worked well for me, & the results have been an increasingly older version of Minnie Mouse. No matter how much preparation & preening I would do, my license photo was always a disaster!

One afternoon last week when I was at work, I suddenly realized that I had not renewed my driver's license, & it would expire the following day. I leapt from my desk, raced home to get the form, & raced to the DMV to get there before it closed at 4:30. I ran in rather breathless at 4:20 & realized I had not completed the form. I did some speed reading & whipped through the questions in record time. At 4:25 I needed only to be fingerprinted & photographed. It dawned on me that I probably couldn't look much worse after a full day of work plus racing to the DMV, but I knew I had no time to do anything about it. Five minutes later I walked to my car & braced myself for what I feared might be a photo even worse than my prior ones. Amazingly, this photo was completely normal . . . not that I would care to enter it in a photo contest, but I looked just like a regular person. Goodbye, Minnie Mouse, at least for the next five years!