Healthy fall eating with (finally!) pleasing results

Before I launch into my topic of the day, I wanted to mention that my gigantic class went pretty well today. It seemed to go even better than last spring. The students were very attentive, especially at the outset, and many of them emailed me afterward to ask if I could send them the little cheat sheet to finding materials that I had displayed during the class. I finished up early (which was my goal) and it was only in the last 10 minutes that I could sense the natives getting restless. Some stirring and shifting of positions, trips to the bathroom, etc. Everybody seemed to be following along and smiling at my jokes. Only 1 person fell asleep; for 230 students, I say that's a score!

Anyway, I thought I'd write about healthy eating and weight loss today, since I've been focusing on that for the past couple of months. Since the start of the year, I've managed to lose 11 pounds, including the final 5 from my pre-pregnancy weight (yes, 5 YEARS LATER, but still, it counts!). I haven't really done anything too revolutionary, but I figured I'd share what I did do, since this is the happiest I've been with my weight since I got married.

Like all women, I often fixate on my weight, even though I'm not overweight. Even 11 lbs. heavier, I was still within the normal range for my height. But I just felt a tad out of shape, and I knew that with a little motivation and hard work, I could do better. I think it's important to note that I had a realistic goal. No size 0 fantasies for this Catholic girl. I'm 5'6" tall, and my goal was 135 lbs. Nothing short of total starvation is ever going to bring me below 130. And that's fine with me. I have no illusions of seeing 110 lbs. or some such notion. I think my bones alone weight more than that.

So, with that in mind, this is what I did:

(1) Walked every day. I'm a gym denier. I just don't like gyms. There's nothing wrong with them of course, if you like them, but I know that I would never get my moneys worth out of a membership. I'm a homebody, and after work I want to slip into comfy pants and knit. There's no way I'm heading back out for a 5 mile treadmill run. So, no matter what was going on in my day, I use half of my lunch break for a brisk walk around campus. I've done this in the past too, but I had fallen out of the habit.

(2) Stopped snacking between meals. This one is so tough, but it's a must for weight loss.

(3) Watched my portions. This one was the key for me. I often eat just because something is there. I'm a hearty eater - no delicate picking at of a side salad for me. I enjoy food, and I like to eat. So, I eat what I want, I just make sure to be aware of how much I'm eating of it. And I don't need to go up for seconds, really I don't. I got better at realizing "oh, I'm full" and then putting my plate in the dishwasher.

(4) Made healthier choices. Stock more fresh fruit and vegetables in the house, and whole grains. I've actually really enjoyed this process. And the autumn is great for this - healthy slow cooker recipes and casseroles. I can pre-prepare meals the night before, which guarantees we don't throw together something quick and regrettable in our tiredness after a workday. We don't really ever eat fast food, so that's good, but too many times I'd ad hoc something out of the cupboards/refrigerator that just wasn't the more caloric-happy choice for me.

(5) Do strength training with 5-8 lb hand weights 1-2 times per week. We're talking very family-friendly here. 15 minutes, tops, with Hank interrupting me regularly as he "helps me" and works with his little 3 pounders.

So...that's it :) Whenever I manage to lose weight, it's always because I found a solution that still allows me to eat the things I love. I don't ever want to live on salad greens and gross-looking shakes. No sir. Life is too short for that.

I was just very motivated lately. With the heart disease that runs in my family, and of course, increased age, I knew it was a good idea for me to be at my fighting weight for these reasons too. It's just healthier, and it sets a good example for Hank.

So, here's hoping I don't fall off the wagon :)

Fall shape-up, and New England Knits...

I mentioned yesterday that I've been cooking a lot more again (the summers always take some of the sizzle out of my dinner preparation; we need a grill badly, but haven't wanted to spend the money). Relatedly, I've renewed my efforts to drop the last 7 lbs. I've held on to since I delivered Hank. Well, I lost most of them, but somehow, very insidiously, they crept back on. And actually, it's been going very well. I'm now within 3.75 lbs of my goal. That's big.

Women, you're all with me here. You can lose 50 lbs., or what have you, but the last 10 are absolutely excruciating. They're very, very hard to lose. What I've been doing is taking a brisk walk every day, running once on the weekend, eating healthier, and reducing my portion sizes. Nothing too dramatic, but a huge lift to my health overall. And I do still eat things that I enjoy (Oreo cookies, I'm lookin' at you) I just eat one instead of five. And if I want a small glass of wine later, I skip the cookie. Things like that.

This is all also related to a visit to my cardiologist a few weeks back. I have a mitral valve prolapse, so I get an echocardiocram (sp?) once a year and a followup visit. Everything looks good, but because I have heart disease on both sides of my family, she wants me to lower my cholesterol a bit. So, I'm trying. This is not easy for your cheese-loving Catholic Librarian, but I'm really trying. Even simply adding moderate exercise into your routine can lower your cholesterol. So, we'll see. But I've lost over 6 lbs since the start of the year, and I'm pleased. I can always tell the difference in my thighs when I'm doing better with my fitness. They're much happier. I'll keep you posted as I finally approach my goal.

In knitting news, I'm nearly done with Hank's hat. I'm working on the crown decreases now, and should finish it tonight. I'll take a picture. Next, I'm going to work on a sweater from a new pattern book I picked up called New England Knits.

I want to make the sweater that is on the cover, and I'm quite excited about it. That's one of the things I'll be working on next, along with all of the socks for Christmas gifts. Very excited.

I won't be around to blog tomorrow, as I'm taking a day off so that Mike and I can go hiking together. I will provide a full report promptly on Friday :)

New readers, a beautiful spring day, and childbirth of yore...

An odd mix of topics in the title, no? Despite the continuing mountain of work, I'm in a really good mood today. It's a beautiful spring day in Western New York, and...*drum roll*...I've lost 2.5 lbs! This is a big yay. Working nicely toward a goal number that will remain unnamed...

At any rate, I also wanted to mention how thrilled I am that I now have 18 followers!! I love you, my followers! I really, really have grown to treasure this blog. I always enjoyed writing, but never fully found the right outlet for it. I never could keep up a traditional journal, and although I loved creative writing as a young adult, I never pursued that more formally as an adult. This blog is truly ideal for me. I allows me to write and be creative without taking up a lot of time, and I have the opportunity to explore topics that are meaningful to me. It's like my own personal little space in the world :) I'm a happy girl. Just please - never remove yourself as a follower even if you decide never to read my blog ever again - this would devastate me :) Once a follower, a follower FOR LIFE.

One last housekeeping item, and then I'll move on to the topic of the day. My new rosary from Cam at A Woman's Place... is in the mail, so I refrained from entering this week's giveaway lest I become too greedy :) But Cam has a beautiful rosary bracelet with St. Gerard medal up for giveaway this week! Head on over to enter for a chance to win it. St. Gerard is the patron of expectant mothers, so this would be a great gift for yourself or a loved one who is expecting a baby. There are more for purchase at Cam's etsy store, Full of Grace Creations.

Ok. This is going to be one of those Tiffany stories, so settle in with your tea cup. I'm a woman, right? So, all my male readers, I'm certain that you knew this would happen one day. I'm going to talk about CHILDBIRTH. And I'm going to volley around some words that normally do not come up in polite conversation. Anyone who wishes to abstain from such musings, feel free to stop reading now :)

Lately, Mike and I have been watching Season 3 of Mad Men on DVD. What on earth does this have to do with childbirth, Tiffany? Stay with me. Anybody else watch Mad Men? Great show on AMC. It's set around a New York ad agency in the early 1960's. It's a fascinating, nostalgic look back into the culture of that time period. The ad men knock back whiskey during business meetings and pat the secretaries asses at will. And everybody smokes. And drinks. Even the pregnant women. I didn't say it was good nostalgia. It's just a very evocative period piece.

Mike and I watched an episode over the weekend that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. And ***SPOILER ALERT*** If you're catching up with Mad Men, and have not yet gotten to the end of Season 2, don't read any further. You will be spoiled for a major plot development. If you don't care about spoilers, read on...

***SPOILERS BEGIN***

At the end of Season 2, we find out that Don, the main character, and his wife, Betty, are expecting their third baby. At the beginning of Season 3, we see Betty at the end of her pregnancy. The episode that so captured my attention is appropriately entitled "The Fog." The episode opens, and we find that Betty has gone into labor. She and Don hurry to the hospital.

The setting is Summer of 1963. And this is how Betty's labor experience went. Don pushes her in a wheelchair to the main reception desk at the hospital. A nurse greets them.

"Ok, Mr. Draper. Your part here is done. You go to the waiting room and we'll take it from here."

So while Don goes to drink whiskey and read the newspaper in the hospital waiting room, Betty is wheeled to labor and delivery. First, we see her having to fill out a sheaf of paperwork while still in the wheelchair and in terrible pain. Next, we see her in the requisite awful hospital gown (some things never change) in still more pain, as the nurse tells her,

"Ok, Mrs. Draper, we're going to prepare you for delivery now. You will be shaved and given an enema."

This is where those "not so polite" words come into play. The degrading nature of both of these totally unnecessary procedures got my eyes narrowed right away. But the worst was yet to come.

Pretty soon Betty is understandably writhing in terrific pain, and the nurse keeps poking her arms to give her unspecified pain medications despite her protests. She's told that the medication will put her into a "twilight sleep." Soon thereafter, Betty begins to hallucinate. She wanders in and out of consciousness. When conscious, she's still in so much pain that she thrashes and calls out for her husband. The nurses restrain her, tying her limbs to the bed, and telling her that her husband is not permitted to come back.

Next thing we know, Betty is waking up. In her arms is a precariously perched adorable newborn complete with blue cap on little cone head. Don is now in the room. Betty groggily looks at the baby and murmurs,

"Oh, she's beautiful."

Don answers,

"Betts...the baby is a boy."

"Oh. A boy. Yes, a boy."

That's right, her husband, who was in *another wing of the hospital at the time* knew the gender of their baby before she did. In the case of an emergency cesarean section, I could understand this, but not when an uncomplicated vaginal delivery is involved.

This brought back a memory of my own mom telling me about the birth of my older sister, Rhonda, who was born in 1970 and the only one of us for which she had a vaginal delivery.

"oh yes, I remember pushing for a little bit, and then the doctor told me that they'd take it from there, and they put a mask over my face to put me out."

*Catholic Librarian's eyebrows raise to ceiling* "But, but...why would they do that? How could you deliver the baby if you were unconscious?"

"I don't know, I was just grateful."

I was always so shocked by that story I never really knew what to think. Now, after some Googling yesterday, I know that this "twilight sleep" thing was very prevalent into the early 1970's. And, there was a whole lot of buzz about it in the context of this particular episode of Mad Men.

Apparently, the way I felt after watching the episode was the exact reaction the writers were angling to portray. Betty's frantic, pain-filled emotions, the helplessness of her situation, the utter lack of choices or control she had over her birth experience, her isolation from her husband, were so palpable that I'm still thinking about them 2 days later. Granted, there are certain things that can occur during labor that can impact our birth experiences in a way that we did not plan for. This happens all the time. Most women do not plan to have a c-section. But they happen, and you do what is recommended by your doctor for your own health and the safety of your baby.

This was something else entirely. There was a "this is just the way things are done" aura going on, and women did not feel free to question it back then. Having a vaginal delivery, but yet being denied the opportunity to even witness your baby's birth and experience it with your partner just blows my mind. I was speechless after the episode ended, it was just so horrible.

Oh, and this is how it ended. Poor Betty, marooned in the hospital for weeks afterward, is in front of her hospital room window holding the baby, waving to her other 2 children down on the sidewalk below. Because, of course, they were not allowed into the hospital to see their mother or their new brother. Even now, 2 days later, the whole thing still makes me angry.

It all got me to thinking about how glad I am that things are different now. Our births may not always go according to our carefully drawn up birth plans, but we have choices. And thankfully, the culture of 'men in the waiting room' has changed (baring emergency circumstances, of course). I'll never forget the moment that Hank was born. My doctor announced "It's a Henry!" and held him up for us to see. The look on Hank's face, complete with arched eyebrow, clearly seemed to say:

"wtf?"

She put him on my belly and he kicked around and did that adorable little "wah, wah" newborn cry. Mike and I were able to touch him right away and tell him that we loved him. And I'm so grateful that Mike was by my side and not doing shots in the waiting room :)

It was an excellent, excellent episode, and it really made me think hard. We women are called to sacrifice of ourselves in many ways. For some women, one of these ways is through childbirth. And I'm glad that nowadays we have some say in how we experience and offer up that suffering, if that makes any sense.

Ok. Childbirth talk done. At least until I'm about to go through it again myself. Then you'll hear about it again, and in oh so much detail :)

Trying to tone up, both physically and spiritually...

So, with the arrival of spring, I've been thinking more about getting into better shape. I still have the perpetual 8-10 lbs I'd like to lose to get to my ideal weight. But more importantly, I do want to just generally improve my physical fitness. I eat pretty well, and I'm fairly active, but I've slacked off really exercising in depth. I walk and dance weekly, but runs have been pretty sparse in recent months, and strength training downright unheard of. I feel a bit out of shape, and I'd like to remedy that, and drop a few unwanted pounds in the process.

So, now what? Sigh. I work full-time outside the home plus I have a small child, so time is at a premium. I'm not a gym person (don't have the money, or the inclination). I've been trying to renew my power walking at work during my lunch hour, which is when it's easiest for me to exercise. I also dragged my hand weights back out in the hopes of getting that in 2-3 times per week at home. I'm going to try that tonight, with Hank. We'll see how that goes. I hope we don't break anything.

I'm going to try and report in weekly on my progress, perhaps this will motivate me. I won't be saying what I actually weigh, not that it's atrocious or anything, I'm just way too vain for that. I can admit that openly :) All I'll say is that I have an average build and I've never been a size 0, nor will I ever see two 1's put together in my weight ever in my life. And I never will. I think my *bones* weigh more than that. We'll use my secret weight from yesterday as my starting point. *makes mental note* As of this morning, I've lost 2 ounces. Ugh. We'll get there. By the end of the summer I'd like to be at my ideal weight. I think that's reasonable. It's about 8 lbs. away.

In terms of spirituality, I've been trying to pray more. God is always in my thoughts, but I wasn't actively praying as much as I should. I've renewed my efforts in my morning offering, my daily rosary (at least 2 decades), spontaneous prayer throughout the day, and evening devotional time with my Bible.

I've been wanting a small purse-sized New Testament so that I could have that for anytime I wanted or needed the scriptures. Yesterday, on my way home from work I stopped off at the local Christian bookstore to peruse. They had lots of small New Testaments, but only 1 of the Catholic variety, the St. Joseph New American Bible, Vest Pocket Edition. It was exactly what I wanted, though a few dollars more than I'd planned on spending. It has a leather cover, instead of the paperback I was expecting. I ended up getting it, figuring the sturdier cover was better for getting stuffed in my purse anyway, and it's working out well. I already used it this morning when I arrived at work.

In other devotional news, my fellow (and favorite!) Catholic blogger Cam is having a rosary giveaway in honor of her new etsy store over at her blog. Enter A Woman's Place... rosary giveaway by leaving a comment, and/or check out her etsy store, Full of Grace Creations! She has some beautiful rosaries and rosary bracelets for sale.

An evening with Henry, and that pesky last 5 pounds...

Since the holidays, I've been trying to lose a few pounds. The thing is - what woman isn't? It seems to me that men are never trying to lose 5 pounds. Some may be trying to generally lose weight and get in shape, but for the most part they don't obsess about the number on the scale the way we women do. It's just one of those male/female mysteries. At any rate, like every other woman alive, I've been trying to lose various amounts of weight at various different times in my life.

I've never been overweight, although I do weigh more now than I did when I was in high school. However, I wear a smaller size, I eat better, and I exercise more, so overall I think that I look and feel healthier. At one point when I was in college, I gained 10 pounds. I got on the scale one day (it's always a bad sign when you realize that not only haven't you weighed yourself in quite some time, but you are now actively avoiding doing so), was horrified, and rectified the problem within a month by cutting back on fattening foods. Ah, those were the days. Those days when I was like 20 years old and merely no longer looking at the Oreos in the cupboard meant that a pound dropped right off my hips.

After that, my weight stayed consistent until I graduated from law school and was studying for the bar exam. Scale - wherefore art thou? Certainly not a part of my morning routine, no sir. I remember consuming a LOT of Cheez Its during this interim. Think: industrial sized portions. During that exact period of time, I had a doctor appointment, and I actually refused to be weighed. This was unprecedented territory for your introverted Catholic Librarian. I wasn't obnoxious about it, but I remember the interaction quite clearly.

"Could you step on the scale for me?"

"Actually, no, I'd rather not."

*nurse raises eyebrows* "Why not?"

"Well, I'm studying for the bar exam right now and I'm under a lot of stress. I know that I've gained some weight, but if I find out right now exactly how much that is, I know it's going to upset me. And if I'm upset, this will disrupt my studying and I'll fail the exam. So, you can see how crucial it is that I not be weighed right now."

The logic seemed perfectly clear to me, no? The nurse wasn't happy about it, but she did let me slip away unweighed. And I tell you, after I took the exam and did weigh myself WHOA BABY.

*devils cackle*

In my whole adult life, I'd never weighed this much (and I never have again, aside from when I was 9 months pregnant with Hank.) I wouldn't classify myself as tall, but I'm still slightly above average height for a female, I believe, at nearly 5'7". I carried the weight decently (meaning I hid it well) and so I wasn't really prepared for the number that appeared. I swear it, I saw stars. I walked around in a stupor for the remainder of the day. I had gained 28 pounds over the course of the previous year.

And the worst part was, I didn't take it off right away. When I went back to work, I knew I had to do something because we had formal business attire requirements, and my suits were cutting off my circulation. And the panty hose - well, let's just not talk about those. It was *bad*. I put forth a bit of effort and lost about 7 pounds, but after that I became complacent. My suits stopped threatening my life, and in my clothes (that is, those that I bought in a new larger size - the only time in my life I've ever done that, and I'll never do it again) I didn't look any differant than I did before, so it just didn't seem all that dire.

After I met Mike and we started dating, I decided to renew my efforts. Over the course of the 10 months that we dated, I lost an additional 7-8 pounds. After we became engaged and began planning our wedding, I lost 10 more pounds. I never got back down to my original high school/college weight, but overall I lost 24 pounds and without a doubt I was (and am) smaller overall because I have more muscle mass and wear a smaller dress size.

Soon after Mike and I married, we were expecting Henry, and I gained the doctor recommended 30 pounds. After I had him, I really lost the weight right away, aside from 3 pounds or so. (the whole issue of the way your body looks and redistributes weight after a pregnancy is a topic for a whole 'nother post - not that it's bad! it's just...different). I was pretty pleased with that, all things considered. Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing for so many reasons, and one of them is that it burns fat like a house on fire. We are truly wonderfully and beautifully made by our God :)

Anyway, I digress. Since then, I have gained just a few pounds. I'm 5 (ok, 6) pounds more than when I was married and I'd like to lose that. I have lost a few and I'd like to keep going. The tough part for me now is motivation. I'm actually pretty happy with the way I look; when I had put on that significant amount of weight before I wasn't happy and I felt sluggish, so therefore I had that as motivation. Now, I feel good about the way I look, particularly since I have had a full term pregnancy in the mix, so it's harder to get motivated to lose this pesky 5 pounds.

But I'm trying. If I do have another pregnancy, I'd love to be back where I was when I conceived Hank. And it's just a small amount of weight, so it's doable; right? Sigh. This whole female metabolism thing is monumentally unfair.

So today, my lunch was so super awesome that I just had to share. I brought in some fresh strawberries, some low-fat cheese (Cabot 50% light - I swear, it's actually decent. But whatever you do don't get the 75% light. Apparently that extra 25% is crucial to assuring that the cheese doesn't taste like tire rubber), Triscuits, and...*drum roll* The most awesome lunch snack EVER. A 100 calorie pack of Wholly Guacamole. This stuff is *awesome*. Totally, totally wonderful. I dipped my Triscuits in and nearly swooned. I *must* procure more.

I'm also trying to bump up my physical activity. Work has been so busy that I've gotten away from daily walks, and I'm getting back into those. As well, I like to run, but I often don't find the time to do it on the weekends. I made time last weekend, and I'm going to continue to do so. I also need to watch my cholesterol a bit, and exercise is ever so important for that reason too.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll report in :)

Ok, Henry. Adorable anecdote. Last night, he received one of his Easter gifts early as a reward for sleeping in his big boy bed the entire night 3 nights in a row. As you know, we've struggled for nearly 2 years to get him to stay in his own bed the whole night and not come out to sleep either on our bedroom floor or the hallway. He's really into his Fisher Price Planet Heroes lately, and I found their Solar Quarters (on clearance!) at my Toys R Us, so I grabbed one. I gave it to him last night and he was beside himself with excitement.

We put batteries in it, and when you press a button, some sort of Planet Heroes commanding officer spouts out instructions. Hank quickly absorbed these.

As I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner, Hank comes running in:

"Mommy! Professo Darkness's powerful neutrino ray is shrinking the sun! The entire solo system hangs in the bawance!"

Well. That sounds pretty serious.

"We must launch the turbo shuttle!"

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Oh my aching head...

I had a wonderful weekend, but here I am again, it's Monday, and I'm feeling stuffy and miserable. I'll hit the highlights, and then blog more extensively tomorrow (Fat Tuesday!) when I can think a coherent thought.

On Friday evening, I *finally* managed to take pictures of my recent knitting and crochet projects. This is Christina's lap afghan:

And *drum roll*, Mike's famous hat:

I'm now working on a pair of socks for my mother-in-law. Good stuff.

Saturday, I did manage to sign up for the baby hat class at Jo Ann's, so I have that to look forward to.

And Sunday, sigh. Well, good things first. I got the following from my sweetie :)

I *adore* cookie cakes, they're my absolute favorite dessert in the world. That's right, I eschew decadent turtle cheesecake for a cookie with frosting plunked on top. Mike and I were also able to spend some nice time together, since my mom volunteered to watch Henry for us. And speaking of Henry...

Sunday morning, I was feeling tremendously tired and run down, and I knew that Henry has the same cold as I do. He was fine all morning, and then as we went to head out to Mass:

"ok honey, get your coat on for church."

"NO!"

Oh fabulous. He whined the whole way. When we got there, in full pout mode, and the kids were called up front for the children's liturgy of the word, he proclaimed that he didn't want to go. *double sigh*

"Are you sure, Honey? Now's your chance."

"NO!"

"There's still time, Hank. But once the kids go back, honey, it's too late. Do you want to go now?"

"NO!"

Ok, fine. Naturally, the instant the children disappeared into the sacristy and the lector got up to read the first scripture, Hank insisted that he wanted to go back.

"I'm sorry Honey, it's too late now."

"Oh, Oh Mommy. Oh! *bursts into sobbing tears*"

He cried, *hard*, for at least 20 straight minutes. Not cause a scene/tantrum cry, but genuine, real tears, sobbing like his heart was breaking crying. Eventually, I had to bring him to the back, where he whined that he wanted to go home. I managed to make him stay for communion and to pray afterwards, but at that point, I knew that my humiliation-free pass was coming to an end. Wisely, I chose to not tempt fate and we packed up and left. Not one of Hank's better Sundays.

And I'm still awaiting my beloved head coverings. And no mail today, blast!! I'll keep hoping. In the mean time, in addition to being sick, I went for a jog on Saturday (really, *really* trying to drop a few of these pounds that I've been wanting to get rid of) and although it went really well, I could barely walk on Sunday. Oh right, and today, I'm still in unbelievable pain. But I did feel great immediately afterwards, so I'll be sacrificing myself once again next weekend.

And today, as if to make everything better, I had 2 classes to teach in the morning. With a scratchy voice and walking as though I've been shot. But hey, I made it. Another class tomorrow, and then, please, please God, let this week get better...

Pre-Thanksgiving Business...

Yesterday evening, I was invited to be a guest speaker at a library school course here on campus. Much sweating ensued. But it went well. Very well, I think. It's so nice to speak with graduate students, as they seem much more interested in what I have to tell them than undergraduates. Nobody fell asleep - that's always a good sign. They all seemed to be following along and engaged. Good stuff.

Today is pay day, so I seized the opportunity to stalk a few places online wherein I have my eye on some gifts for Hank. The big thing that I want to get him from Santa is the Fisher Price Imaginext Space Shuttle. Target has exclusive rights to sell it, and for the life of me I couldn't find a single shuttle at any Target that I obsessively traveled to. Online, they were listed as being out of stock. Well. Imagine my excitement when I stalked this morning and found them back in stock and ready to ship. I snagged one immediately. Very excited :)

In not so great news, I stepped on the scale a few days ago and realized that I've once again gotten back to that high end of the spectrum of what my weight has been since I gave birth to Henry. I really can't use that as a guidepost anymore seeing as Hank is 4 years old, but hey, what the heck. It's a 10 pound range, and for the most part I've managed to stay right in the middle. Well, I'm now at the *top* and the Catholic Librarian is decidedly unhappy about this. So, 3 days ago I cut out snacking and have already lost 3 pounds. Life is so unfair. It's not like I snacked all that much or eat badly at all. We're pretty conscientious in my house of eating healthy food and staying in shape. I've never been a gym-goer, but I walk and run when I can, which is regularly, and we buy whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. I should be able to eat a cookie at 3 pm every day and not have any repurcussions, but alas.

The snacking thing is particularly nefarious. Right around 10 am and 3 pm each day at work, I get hungry. And it's sssssooooo easy to justify to yourself why your chosen snack is really not that bad for you:

"Fritos. They have corn in them, right? That's a *grain*; how can that possibly be bad? I'll just have this one tiny bag..."

250 calories later, you're still hungry, and so then I tend to eat more at dinner, and maybe even dessert. Doing this for mutiple weeks is how 5 lbs "magically" appears on the scale.

So anyway, it's not that bad, but I can't help how I am. I'm happy with the way I look, but I don't want to get complacent. Those 5 lbs are toast.

Given that Thanksgiving is tomorrow, this will pose a bit of a challenge, but I'm up for it. I plan to eat less so that I can drink more wine. I'll need it, with the extended family drama that will inevitably accompany each holiday...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I won't be posting for the rest of the week; I'll report in Monday on the First Sunday of Advent :)

Morning stuff and weight update...

I will try to make time later to comment on Bridezillas from this past Sunday. It was a doozy :) Otherwise, I'm just having a busy morning. I just got back from a meeting with a faculty member about an information literacy assessment plan we're conducting with his class. Not exactly light stuff for 9 am :) The farmers market is today, so I'm plotting my pasta purchases. I've lost another couple pounds. *halo* I'm very pleased. I feel a lot better, both mentally and physically. It's a combination of eating more nutritiously, and being more physically active. I've started running again twice a week, and I try to get a walk in once a day. I've actually been enjoying cooking more, a first for me. So if you have recipes, let's share :)

Weight loss update...

So, things have improved slightly since that fateful morning this past Saturday. In retrospect, I suppose it would have looked pretty funny to an outside observer. I reached for my old faithful pair of jeans (that I fit into at 12 weeks of pregnancy; they sit nice and low on the hips) and attempted to pull them up. The vicious obscenities that came from my mouth are normally not things you would hear come from the Catholic Librarian. But your Catholic Librarian is not a girl to be dissuaded easily. Oh no. Those babies were comin' on. I *refused* to accept that they may not fit. I yanked them up, and by nearly asphixiating myself, got them buttoned. However, the muffin top that resulted made me tear up. NOT a good look.

So, since then, I've eaten with a halo perched firmly atop my head, and have run or walked every day. To date, I've lost 2.8 pounds. *Angels Sing* I still have a ways to go to get to my goal, but I'm making steady progress, and I'm pleased. I'm headed for the farmers market at 11, healthy foods at the forefront of my mind. Goodness, do I miss wine...

Susannah's Garden...

Feeling fairly uninspired at work right now. Just printed out some pasta recipes in preparation for the Farmers Market tomorrow. A specialty pasta place has a table that sells dynamite, home-made pasta. I've been trying to cook more lately (instead of relying on chicken salad and Campbell's soup to be the main course, three nights a week) and to generally eat healthier. The Catholic Librarian needs to lose a few pounds...I got on the scale Saturday morning, and nearly felt my heart stop. I swear it, I saw stars. It was the most I've weighed since I gave birth to Hank nearly three years ago. In fact, I recall (oh so clearly and painfully) that at *5 months* pregnant, I weighed two pounds less than I weighed Saturday morning. Life with a toddler can be difficult (while also working full-time, taking care of a house...you get the picture) and it seems I lost track of my eating and exercising, and generally taking good care of myself. So, this week I'm trying to get back into a healthy rhythm.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with Susannah's Garden, the book by Debbie Macomber that I just finished reading. The book was a very simple, sweet romance, but it made me reflect on things in my own life a bit in a way that means the book was quite good. One thing I liked about the book is that the female lead was a fifty year old woman, rather than a young, "just discovering herself" twenty year old that is often the heroine. Something different, something that appeals to the "definitely older than twenty" Catholic Librarian :) Susannah returns to her childhood home to nurse her elderly and ailing mother after the death of her father. She experiences a powerful resurfacing of painful memories regarding her father from her early life, and as the story progresses, begins to see them in a new light as her rocky relationship with her own daughter takes some unexpected turns. Susannah left home thinking that her marriage was stale, and that her father keeping her from her first love, Jake, was the biggest injustice of her life. She embarks on a risky and deceitful search for her old flame and uncovers some things she didn't realize thirty years prior. She comes to realize that a teenagers' view of things cannot be held onto through adulthood unexamined. Her memory of her father, her relationship with her mother and daughter, and her marriage all come out more positive and refreshed after her realization.

Overall, an uplifting read that turned out to have a thoughtprovoking and deep message.