The Highs and Woes of Weight Watching

Okay, I recognize that you might eventually get a wee bit tired of hearing about my weight loss efforts, but you know what?

I get a wee bit tired of my weight loss efforts.

When last we visited this topic, I was most unhappy because I had gained four tenths of a pound. In the week following that tragedy, I worked pretty hard, even foregoing ice cream when Little and I went to see Cirque du Soleil (which was FABULOUS, by the way). Because I had been so worried about missing a meeting on the upcoming vacation, I went all the way across town to go to a DIFFERENT meeting the day before we left.

And a wonderful meeting it was, because I lost 3.5 pounds. Cool. Sunshine and rainbows, and all that.

So I go off on my vacation, in which I not only figured out where the hotel gym was, but actually went INTO it and WORKED OUT. ON VACATION. Never have I done such a thing. Then, when Todd went on his Eagle Scouts-only backpacking trip, I walked SIX miles of the South Rim Trail. I have to admit, though, I ate a lot of what I wanted to eat, and by Friday, had given up counting points altogether.

When we got back? I lost ANOTHER 3.5 pounds. Boy howdy, we were talking SERIOUS sunshine and rainbows at that point.

So, for those of you still reading along . . . last week was hard. It was the final week of Lewis Birthday Stretch-Out, and it involved one drinks with friends, one doughnuts with coworkers, one dinner with hubby, one dinner with dad, one cookies with coworkers, a second dinner with hubby, a dinner with niece, and a dinner with brother and sister-in-law. I tried, I really tried, but apparently I did not try hard enough, because . . .

Is the suspense killing you? Hello? Is anyone still there?

Anyway. I gained four pounds. No, not four tenths, FOUR POUNDS. One, two, three FOUR pounds. Huh. Didn't see that one coming.

There are no sunshine and no rainbows around here this week. No, sir, just rain and clouds and carrot sticks and water. Birthday Stretch-Out is officially over.

Books!

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things about vacation (and then I promise I won't talk about vacation anymore) is vacation reading. I always use it as an excuse to go on a book-buying spree, and I try never to go on a trip of any significant length without at least four books, and truthfully, five or six is better. (Whoa, long sentence there.)

So with my vacation reading, and one post-vacation splurge read, I feel like I have lots to report.

The book I was most excited to read, and the one I devoured almost as soon as we got off the plane, was Replay, by Ken Grimwood. I have something of an obsession with time-travel novels and short stories; it all started with that damn Christopher Reeve movie, and just keeps going. This book was tons of fun and led to some great vacation conversations. It's about a man who is repeatedly sent back to himself at age 18 to live his life over again; he has full memory each time, so his experience build and build on one another. I spent an inordinate amount of time figuring out what I would do in such a situation. Think about it, it's a tough one.

My other reading selections were total vacation fluff. At least they were supposed to be. I made the mistake of picking what looked like a silly little fantasy tale, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story. Sounds harmless enough, doesn't it? A story about Cinderella's fairy godmother and her life after Cinderella? Well, it was TOTALLY not HARMLESS at all. Turns out, it wasn't about a fairy godmother at all, and instead was about an elderly woman who has so much guilt over an incident in her youth that she goes crazy, lives a lonely life, and kills herself in the end! Yeah, that was NOT what I wanted out of vacation reading. Sheesh. I know I just spoiled it for you if you were planning on reading it, but I consider it a Public Service Announcement.

The other book I just finished, well, I'm not going to spoil it for you because it's part of a series by a pretty popular writer, and I don't want to put you off the whole series on the off chance that you plan to read it. Let's just say that I picked up what was supposed to be a lighthearted mystery, only to have the main character's husband DIE AT THE END. There's no other way to say it, that just sucked ass. I swear, I think I'm going to write the auther a letter, just to say, "Dude, what the fuck?"

Anyway, since my Spring fluff reading is getting kind of depressing, I think I'll just go ahead and finish that new Joyce Carol Oates novel that I got. You know, the one based on the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder? It should be a real laugh a minute.

Did You Miss Me?

Well, the sad fact is, all good vacations must come to an end, and this was definitely a good one.

Las Vegas was, well, Vegas. Unrelentingly tacky, ridiculously nouveau riche and an all-around assault on the senses. The best thing about Vegas is that it is on the way to the Grand Canyon.



Because the Grand Canyon is as beautiful and serene as Vegas is ugly and obnoxious. Really, you can't take a bad picture at that place. If there's a complaint to be had, it's that you run out of ways to say, "Wow."



Todd being Todd, he did an overnight backpacking trip to the bottom of the canyon. Myself, I figure you can see the bottom from the top and there's nothing down there except more dirt and a muddy river. I stayed on the Rim and walked and shopped and got horribly sun-burnt . . . and was exceptionally glad that my husband came back alive.



Yes indeedy, I like vacation.

Please Stand By

When I was a kid, we had whatever the regular ol' TV was, before cable and satellite and such nonsense. Pretty frequently, there would be a message that popped up on a blank screen like so: "We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by." The part of me that was destined to be an English major used to think the wording was a little odd, like it was telling me to stand next to the TV in order to fix the problem. (I also am never comfortable with the sign that says "Bridges Freeze Before Roadway," because it sounds like the "before" is a spatial issue, not a temporal one, but that's another post entirely.)

Anyway, the point is, we are experiencing technical difficulties here at Around the Subject, which just means that all our computers are broke-ass. That's one reason posting has been a bit infrequent, lately. Hopefully the situation will be resolved soon.

In the meantime, we are drowning our electronic device woes by GOING ON VACATION! Woo-hoo! We'll be in Vegas for two nights, then the Grand Canyon for three, then a stop at Boulder City for one night before home. I somehow doubt that the Grand Canyon is a wireless internet mecca, so I'm not expecting to do much posting while I'm gone.

Try to carry on without me.

Can a Girl Get a Break Around Here?

I tell you what, it is definitely Monday around here, at least it was between 5:30 and 7:00. First, I had a terrible violin lesson -- I swear, sometimes I think my teacher thinks I am playing badly just to annoy her. That is NOT the case; I would, in fact, love to be able to play double stops AND vibrato EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME, but it does not yet seem to be in the cards for me.

Second, I experienced the ultimate Weight Watcher tragedy -- I GAINED .4 pounds this week. Combined with my stunning loss last week of .4 pounds, it seems that in the past two weeks I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Okay, I'm taking deep breaths now.

On a happier note, on this day just 39 years ago, a teeny little baby was born, and wouldn't you know? He was just destined to "come live with me and be my love."

Happy Birthday, Todd! (Even if it IS Monday.)