Weight Watchers Thirteenth Week

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I can’t believe I lost 1.6 pounds Christmas week! Cindy, our leader, was saying today that we can do everything right but our bodies just chug along, doing what they need to do. Sometimes the body will hold water to fight infections we never even know we have and other odd things we’re unaware of. Then, when the body considers it’s time to let all that go, BAM, you lose the weight you thought should have come off weeks ago!

Also, I was good as I could be this week, starting with Panda, which I told you about last post. We both had only bowls--The Husband didn’t even have spring rolls. Then we walked off the Hot Chocolate/Vanilla’s from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf as we walked around, looking at lights (see my other blog: http://bearchick.blogspot.com/2009/12/bright-lights-big-neighborhood.html )

For the first time in 20+ years, all my co-workers except one (he gave us lotto scratchers) gave food gifts! Chocolate and cookies! Most of it is in my fridge to be eaten a piece at a time as the year goes on and some may even go to work with The Husband. Depends on how good I am… And the Jo-Jo’s (peppermint oreo’s from Trader Joe’s) haven’t even been opened yet! I think The Husband is under the Weight Watcher’s influence now. Also, I threatened to start weighing him once a week after the first of the year…

Hmmm… Christmas Day didn’t go quite as planned… The Husband looked at me at 10AM and said wistfully, I wish McDonald’s was open. And I had to admit that, yes, they actually were. So we got dressed in record time and zipped over to McD’s, heaven help us. I had pancakes without sausage but The Husband went wild with not just the deluxe breakfast but the BIG deluxe breakfast! I don’t know where he put it. Suffice to say, we didn’t eat dinner till after six, the Scottish meatloaves and maple roasted sweet potatoes, as planned, which was lovely and I managed to make The Husbands’ meatloaf bigger than mine, which made me feel less guilty for the evil Christmas Pancakes…

So, 11.2 altogether so far. My flirty skirt is getting closer!!

Do what makes you happy!!

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Twelfth Week

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I can’t believe I’m down another pound! That’s 9.6 altogether. Wow!

I really wanted to be back at Weight Watchers for the holidays so I could get through them without the ridiculous weight gains of years past. As I mentioned in my last post, work has been somewhat depressing with recent layoffs, etc., and there hasn’t been a whole lot of holiday-centric food around. Ahem, that was made up for this Friday. Kreighton, from Credit, brought in his annual French Toast and maple bacon breakfast. I was late coming in (had to get a fasting blood test) so I missed that but the smells were luscious. Then some vendor brought in bagels and donuts (the kind with frosting and sprinkles, dammit). AND we had a birthday breakfast for one of our co-workers. It was wall to wall food! I had a little bit of the eggs and turkey sausage my boss made (uber-protein, gotta be good, right??) and a lot of fruit. Oh, and about a fifth of one of those evil donuts. Yea, WW kept me on track.

Tomorrow, I have to eat light because in the evening, we’re going to Panda Express for chicken bowls, then we’re picking up hot chocolate (hot vanilla for The Husband) and going to our favorite outrageously lighted neighborhood. I figure walking around a mile or so there will work off the hot chocolate but I want to make sure I don’t over do with the rice…

Christmas was giving me fits about what to have for breakfast. This is awful~what we usually have for breakfast is a whole tube of the Dough Boy’s citrus rolls… That’s gotta be about a million calories. Walking through the grocery store today, I decided on a Weight Watcher loaded breakfast sandwich.

That should please The Husband, since they look full of eggs and other proteins, and I can be somewhat happy that I’ll be eating something less than a million calories… I’m already planning to eat only half my dinner (Scottish meatloaves-meatloaf mix formed around a peeled boiled egg-The Husband likes them on Christmas because he says it’s like opening another present). Not sure what I’ll do for dessert. Maybe something WW or maybe one of the little English mince pies we’ve got here at home. Suppose it will depend on how much exercise I get in that day, watching DVD’s on the tube…

So, Happy Holidays to all!! Do what makes you happy!!

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Eleventh Week

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Ta da! Down .6. I caught up with last week’s loss on my scale. Hooray! And lost a bit in the measurement department as well.

I’ve worn my new red top twice and felt quite lovely, thank you…

I experienced an unintentional lapse yesterday. After my Bead Society meeting, I went out with my beady friends, Barbara and Marilu, to The Olde Ship in Santa Ana. It’s a British pub style restaurant with the best mashed potatoes in the galaxy. Anyway, I ordered a crab sandwich without asking how it was prepared. I was thinking it would be like a lobster roll, with big chunks of crab. Instead, it was crab salad. Oops! So I ate half, plus the cole slaw, and brought the other half home to an appreciative Husband. I didn’t eat a whole lot the rest of the day--besides being filled with evil salad dressing, the half I ate was huge and filling--and I tried to do a little more exercising than usual. Guess it worked.

It’s funny that the topic at WW’s today was lapses. Talking about how you can use a lapse as an excuse to continue out-of-control eating or you can bounce back and get right back to program. Happy to see I chose the latter.

Work is so depressing right now, after the recent layoffs, no one’s mentioned a Christmas potluck. But I have my strategy in place if there is one--in the past, I’ve brought my own sandwich or eaten a frozen meal before going in, so I won’t be tempted to go through the line and fill a plate. We’ll see if anyone has enough holiday spirit to organize one…

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Tenth Week

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Can you say Plateau? So disappointed this morning with no loss. But then again, no gain. BUT, my scale said another pound lost and a bit of loss in the inches… So, I guess it’s all good and I shouldn’t kvetch.

I went to a sale at Kohl’s yesterday. Are there any days when there aren’t sales at Kohls?? Anyway, I found a beautiful red knit long sleeved baby doll top that actually fit me and I really loved it, so I got it. It will be great for the holidays. I have to tell ya, though, I was getting discouraged as I roamed around Kohl’s. The really cute things in the fashionable departments aren’t fitting yet and the stuff that did fit was shapeless and made me feel like a freakin’ old lady. So when I found this top and it fit and was on sale to boot, I was pretty happy.

I know I’ve come a long way (9 pounds on mi casa scale…) but I have so much farther to go. *sigh* Think I’ll make me some WW ala Mare pizza to salve my no-loss-this-week wounds.

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Ninth Week

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Even with Thanksgiving in the not-so-distant past, I lost .6 of a pound. I tell ya, as long as I’m goin’ down, I’m happy. To be honest, the scale at home and measurements didn’t budge this week, so I’m happy WW is showing a loss.

The Husband always works on T-Day (God bless overtime), so we never eat before 7pm. Who wants a big ole meal that late?! In the past, we’ve usually had a boneless turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls and stuffing, then some billion calorie dessert. This year, as I told Cindy when we were celebrating my 5% total loss at the WW meeting this morning, we had just the turkey and the Maple roasted sweet potatoes from Trader Joe’s. She joked that that was kinda sad but it actually wasn’t. For once, we went to bed not feeling like barfing and look, I had a .6 loss. Who needs stuffing and rolls, anyway??!!

Now, Christmas, that’s gonna be another matter entirely…

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Eighth Week

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Ok, my scale said I’d lost a pound… Stupid Weight Watcher scale said I only lost .2... Ah, that’s ok. Maybe next week I’ll have a bigger loss, combining this week and next. A big RAZZZZZBERRY to the WW scale :-) My measurements were also down a bit, so there!

Stayed on program even though it was a tough week at work--another big fat layoff and I’m the one who writes the majority of the final checks. So not fun. But The Husband worked late hours all week and came over to work at lunch so we could walk around the neighborhood and have some face time this week. So that was nice, and healthy.

Today we went to see 2012, which was fun and somewhat scary. On the way into the theatre, we encountered an irresistible photo op:

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Seventh Week

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Being on vacation must be good for dieting--lost 1.4 pounds this week! I guess not sitting on my big butt at a desk all day helped.

Stayed on program as much as I could. Ate salads the few times we hit restaurants and another lettuce wrapped chicken sandwich at Carl’s Jr. Making good choices is the key. So happy I’m in a Place of Good Decisions right now.

We didn’t get as much accomplished as we wanted on our stay-cation but we relaxed, did a lot of reading and just hung out, which we haven’t done much of recently. The Husband was very busy during October/Halloween and will be just as busy from now till Christmas with his job at Knott’s Berry Farm. We usually take this time, around the first part of November, to have some time to ourselves between the busi-ness at the end of the year.

What’s on Mare’s Phone

Here’s The Husband with the traditional Thanksgiving Rubber Ducky.

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Sixth Week

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Miracle of miracles, I lost another pound! All week, I was on program and my scale showed a little loss but I took a day trip to LA yesterday on a bead buying expedition. My girlfriends and I walked a million blocks (no, really.) and I tend to retain water in those situations. So I was really happy when the uber-sensitive WW scale registered a loss.

This week, I’m on staycation and my plan is to eat as much at home as I can, since I have total control over what I’m eating. But I’m sure there’ll be a restaurant meal or two thrown in there--salads and grilled chicken will be the order of the day. In all honesty, I had a teriyaki chicken bowl at Panda Express this week--still lost that ole pound, though!

Here I am with my friend, Charlie, in LA yesterday in the lobby of the Bradbury Building.


C’est la vie!

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Dinner at Carl’s Jr.

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The Husband and I had some errands to run tonight, so I thought I’d look at the Carl’s Jr. nutrition guide to see if there were any low points alternatives besides salad. Low and behold, the website had an Alternative Options link and showed several things besides the fallback salad, one of which was the lettuce wrapped BBQ chicken sandwich. Hmmm… That sounded pretty good. In & Out has been doing the wraps like that for years with their burgers.

Here’s what it looks like:

And here’s a shot of my lovely, low points dins w/diet lemonade, with The Husband’s billion point chicken taco salad in the background. I couldn’t believe he ate the bowl, which is like the worst thing ever. I mean, the salad and chicken are about 300 calories and the bowl is the rest of the billion! I told him I don’t want him moaning to me about how big his tummy is!

And for dessert, as soon as I post this, a Weight Watchers 3 point ice cream. Not sure whether I’ll have peanut butter cup or cookie dough. Decisions, decisions…

C’est la vie!



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Weight Watchers Fifth Week

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Didn’t I tell you that if I kept doing the right things, my weight loss would catch up to me? Lost 1.6 pounds this week! I think weight is a funny thing with a life of it’s own. You do all the right things, you lose it but it doesn’t want to go. It clings to you as water weight or something some weeks… Anyway, Buh Bye 1.6 pounds! Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out!

Cindy, my WW leader, is already talking about The Season, which technically starts with Halloween and continues on till New Years. We had an all day pot luck at work (thankfully, the food wasn’t right in my path so I wasn’t constantly tempted) and all I had were two teeny tiny thin miniscule slices of pumpkin pie, my absolutely favorite thing during the holidays. When I went home, I had a 3 point dinner and no dessert (usually yogurt and fruit). Pumpkin’s a fruit, right? Or a veggie… Either way, pie made from fruits or veggies is good food. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

I didn’t use Halloween as an excuse to buy bags of bite sized candy. We haven’t had trick or treater’s since the 90’s, so I know they’ll just be in the house, calling to me. Better someone else buys them and deals with their siren song!



Here’s my favorite crackers of the moment. They are outrageously high in fiber and, unfortunately, cost. I try to catch them on sale but sometimes… The purse suffers… Anyway, they’re very tasty, both the original and Garlic, and one serving (18 crackers) is two points. Sometimes I just do one serving, which is satisfying. And, yes, I stand at my kitchen counter and count out 9 or 18 crackers to take to work. Ahem… Don’t look at me like that--1.6 pounds, remember?!

C’est la vie!

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Happy Halloween!

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Just wanted to share some cell phone pix of Halloween at the office yesterday.


Teresa is on the left and no, I didn’t do anything to her hair color. That wig is BRIGHT BLUE! She’s an 80’s cartoon character that usually has a guitar… I’m a generic pink Skull Princess. The tiara isn’t really clear in this picture and my earrings have pink skulls.


And here’s my pink skull shoes. They’re actually kids shoes, so I have to clip my nails really short to wear them comfortably! I bought them for a cruise I took with my BFF, Zan, 3 years ago that sailed during Halloween. Ain’t they cute??

WW tomorrow. Hoping for good news, even though I had two ultra-thin slices of punkin pie yesterday. No dessert last night, though… We shall see.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Fourth Week

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Big sigh… Stayed the same weight this week… At least I didn’t gain…

Definitely going to go to 16 points instead of 17 or 18 and The Husband wants to start walking again. Somehow we let that fall by the wayside. I’ve been doing 25-30 minutes a day of walking in the living room and weights and side to sides but maybe it’s not enough… So, walking we’ll go.

Here’s my weekend lunch~Golden Spoon Pumpkin Pie frozen yogurt. NOM! I love to go get my yo, sit outside and read. It’s my special time on the weekend. The weather has been so lovely and I get so little time to just concentrate on a book. Luv~er~ly.

C’est la vie!

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How I’m Eating Pizza

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I’m not usually one for taking pictures of my dinner but I thought I’d post about the pizza I’ve been eating most of this week.

I’m calling it four points but this is not based on science… What I’m doing is taking one whole Sandwich Thin by Orowheat for one point, a third cup of Weight Watchers shredded cheese for two points and I figure the small amount of marinara sauce and two slices of ham (6 slices is one point…) as one.

These are totally NOM, IMHO. I hope the pictures look appetizing. I really am edit-challenged…

I feel like I’m doing good this week. My lame-o scale (I have to readjust it every morning) shows a loss and pants I wore today were not putting a strangle hold on my waist. Fingers crossed for a loss this week. And if not, I’ll know I stayed on program and the weight will eventually go the hell away!

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Third Week

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So, today I had a loss of .6 pounds, for a total of 3.2. Loss is good, no matter how small!

I’m trying to decide if I should change my eating a little, maybe a point or two less a day, or if I should amp up my exercise with maybe a walk at lunch time. I’m also seeing my gynocologist this week and I’ll ask if weight loss, in her experience with menopausal women, gets harder as we age. But I’m happy with my loss this week and I’ve also been losing inches, so double happy.

Yippee! Golden Spoon has their Pumpkin Pie frozen yogurt!! Love it! Because it’s fat free, it’s low in points but I do miss getting chocolate chip cookie dough chunks to sprinkle on it. SO, I’ve been bringing along a WW Chocolate Chip cookie, at one point, and smooshing that over the delightfully spicy Pumpkin Pie froyo. NOM NOM!

I buy these at Wal-Mart, where they’re way cheaper than the grocery store.

C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers Second Week

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Grrrrrrr…

What does that tell you about this week’s weigh in? Gained 4/10 of a pound. WTH??? I kept to my points, exercised at least 30 minutes a day and, insult to injury, passed up Italian food and cake this week at work. So is menopause responsible for these bodily hi jinks? *sigh*

One good thing is that I’m not upset enough to pacify myself with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Truth be told, my weight has been up and down all week, so it wasn’t surprising that the scale showed less than stellar results, even though I’ve been following the program. So, I’ll continue this week doing what lost me the initial 3 pounds and if I have bad results next week, I’ll talk to our leader, Cindy, to see what I can try~less points (although I’m at the least points the program recommends), even more exercise, whatever…

I know if I keep on program, the weight will eventually come off. I was hoping to be able to feel the loss in how my clothes fit by now but maybe next week…
C’est la vie!

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Weight Watchers First Week

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So, I weighed in today for a loss of 3 pounds! I know the first week is usually pretty high, then it levels off to a pound or two a week. That’s ok, as long as it keeps going down.


My home on Sunday mornings.


One new thing I tried this week was the WW breakfast quesadilla’s--4 points each, filled with egg whites, cheese, turkey bacon and veggies. Very nom and easy to microwave.

C’est la vie!

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WW So Far

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So, I walked home from the Day Job today. The Husband’s van is in the shop and he’s working late, so I took the opportunity for a 45 minute walk home. The weather was cool and perfect for a long walk~that uphill part is a challenge, fer sure. But I enjoyed it.

I’m totally in newbie mode, so I’m being really good. I think, too, that I’m really ready to ignore the cake on the counter at work (Lori is taking a cake decorating class on the weekend, so brings the results to work on Monday) and pass up the Egg McMuffin The Husband had this morning. In fact, it’s almost 8pm and I haven’t had all my points for the day.

Off to nom some yogurt!

C’est la vie!

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No Tittering Please!

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Tomorrow morning, I’m getting in my car and driving to my first Weight Watchers meeting in far too long. I signed up for the monthly pass (which is on a one month free promotion) tonight. I’m desperate to not be this weight anymore. My bulging tummy and butt are pleading for a bigger size and I refuse to buy bigger clothes. I’ve already broken down and bought some cheap, “until I lose the weight” clothes at Walmart. Do you know what it’s like running around in clothes that are supposed to be temporary? They’re never stylish because, after all, they’re meant to be hiding the bulk. So, if I don’t want to go to work nekked, I gotta get my big butt in gear and start losing.

Losing weight is so wonderful. It’s such a relief to feel your clothes getting loose. I want that feeling again and I think I’m really ready to forgo cake and burgers and anything else with too much fat or sugar. I want to make eating right a way of life. I know, I know, I’ve been this route before but not at this age. I’m reading Second Spring by Dr. Mao and realizing the changes in my body and metabolism is really eye opening.

With this monthly pass, besides going to all the meetings you want to, you also get to use the etools on the Weight Watchers site. I’ve put a lot of my info in and I also signed up for the 30 Minute a Day exercise challenge, which I really need.

So, wish me luck and if you’re on the Weight Watchers forums, I’m Bearchick25.

C’est la vie!

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Mare’s Book Report #2

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Well, it's about time for another book report. Lord knows, I read constantly~well, when I'm not making jewelry, working full time, playing with The Husband and The Kitties, sleeping, etc, etc, not necessarily in that order... So, here it is:

Love Mercy by Earlene Fowler

I've been reading Earlene's Benni Harper series for as long as she's been writing it (the 90's?). She has a light style but usually deals with serious issues. Her characters are people you want to meet and know. Last year, outside of Benni's series, she gave us The Saddlemaker's Wife, which I loved. Again, characters you wish would welcome you into their circle.

So, this year we've got Love Mercy, which is a proper name, not some commandment derivative. The action centers around three women and the men they've loved and lost. Sounds like a romance? Well, in the sense that these women loved these men, yes. But, while there is sentiment to this story, it ain't no romance.

13 months after the death of her beloved Cy, Love Mercy's 18 year old granddaughter, whom she hasn't seen since she was 4, shows up on her doorstep with a broken heart and a stolen banjo. Mel, a recent transplant to Morro Bay from Las Vegas, has a secret she's hiding from her friends that will either make or break their friendship. And Love Mercy's father-in-law, August, is falling victim to dementia. Still sounding romantic to ya?

The book is written from three perspectives, Love Mercy's, Mel's and Rett, the granddaughter's. She captures all three personalities and tells a damn good yarn in the process. The story is fraught with dangers and sadness but it's not melodramatic. The characters are so down to earth that their problems are always relatable.

I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Why? I don't usually read "women's books" like this, that don't center around some cozy mystery. But, since I'll follow Earlene anywhere, I went into this book with a positive attitude. I really liked the relationships between all the main characters and there's so much potential for revisiting them. And Benni and her clan make appearances in this book, too, even though her current storylines are set in the 90's and this book is set in 2008, so that was a treat.

If you like a good story centered around strong women, you'll like both this book and last year's Saddlemaker's Wife. And when you're finished with these, run don't walk to find Benni Harpers' quilting mysteries.

Mare’s Scale of Literary Wickedness

Wicked Boring Yawn-don’t bother
Wicked Good Don’t run any red lights getting to the library but worth reading
Wicked Cool Good enough to spend 50 cents for a library hold so you can be the next to read it
Wicked Awesome So damn good, if your library doesn’t have it, get it from Amazon

C’est la vie!

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Mare’s Book Report

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My BFF’s daughter, who shall remain ageless, has been doing Friday Book Club on her blog. I can’t possibly be that organized and stick to a schedule but I can jot a line or two (technically, can jotting be done online??) when I’ve finished a book. So, Ta Da! The first Book Review on Mare’s Journey:


The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato






Now, don’t think for a minute that my desire to see Venice and worship glass at the island of Murano has had any influence on my opinion of this book… I enjoyed it immensely despite all that.

It’s a very quick, light read, about a female artist born in Italy and raised in England by her English mother. To heal from a hurtful divorce, Leonora sells her house and moves impulsively to Venice, with hopes of being hired by a factory on Murano to fulfill her career hopes to create glassworks, like her famous ancestor, Corradino Manin.

Part soap opera, part historical drama, it never plays as soapy or boring. The writing rises above romance novel fodder and the historical elements are fascinating and dangerous. Told as two intertwining stories, Leonora in the present and Corradino several centuries in the past, the action unfolds in many of the same places and Corradino’s work haunts Leonora’s world.

I’m pretty unfocused these days, making jewelry one minute, trying to exercise, clean and work at The Dreaded Day Job, so sometimes I only get to read for a half hour at lunch and in bed for as long as my eyes will stay open. But this book I deliberately made time for. So much is going on in both centuries, I wanted to know what would happen next.

This is Marina Fiorato’s debut novel and I can’t wait for her next one.


Mare’s Scale of Literary Wickedness


Wicked Boring Yawn-don’t bother
Wicked Good Don’t run any red lights getting to the library but worth reading
Wicked Cool Good enough to spend 50 cents for a library hold so you can be the next to read it
Wicked Awesome So damn good, if your library doesn’t have it, get it from Amazon


C’est la vie!

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Checking In--Birthday Oopsy

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So, my birthday weekend totally killed my weight loss. I really didn't think I'd eaten that much but The Husband pointed out that a whole pint of Mission to Marzipan will kill any diet... He's so much smarter than me.

I've been as good as possible the last two weeks and I'm slowly getting back to where I was. Now it's time to get more serious about exercise. I got a Target gift card for my birthday, which I used for a yoga mat and Denise Austin DVD. I tried the DVD Sunday--holy crap, I couldn't get past the first 10 minutes.

In my defense, this DVD has a fat burning theme, so it's not your normal hold-the-pose kind of yoga. She moves fast and I just need to get used to the moves and the speed. I'm familiar with yoga so it's not completely foreign to me ~ I just need to practice. I didn't even look at the leg and abs portions of this thing... I gotta build up to that!

Did you ever see Backdraft? I think it's DeNiro who asks Donald Sutherland what he wants to do with the world and Sutherland replies, Burn it. Well, I just want to eat it. I don't know what it is that makes me want to eat constantly. I've learned to keep only fruit in the house and I'm sure I overindulge in that but it's better than crackers and other carbs and sweets... *struggle struggle*

Still waiting to hit that golden weight I haven't seen in months.

*sigh* Fighting the Good Fight!

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K-Earth Breakfast

Just a quicky with a couple of really bad pix.

In LA, K-Earth 101 is the premier oldies station, with DJ Charlie Tuna, a California staple for as long as I’ve been here (70’s). One of my co-workers at The Day Job won breakfast from the radio station, plus Antonio, who serenaded us with his guitar and some oldies but goodies.

First, Lori, the breakfast winner, called the station to record a conversation with Charlie Tuna. 12 or 15 of us stood around her desk. She had a handwritten sign on a file folder that said CLAP. When she held it up, we’d clap and cheer. Charlie asked her if she was in the middle of a coliseum! Pretty funny!

Around 11:45, Antonio and another friendly gentleman arrived with boxes of bagels, muffins and danish. I, the Slim Fast Diva, did not partake. Aren’t I self-satisfied… Did you notice I didn’t blog about weight loss this week? Groan… That’s for another day…

Anyway, Antonio started singing and he does have a lovely voice. People poured into the downstairs lunch room and scarfed all the foodie.

The president of the company happened to be out on the patio and when he came through the lunch room, had his picture taken with Antonio and Lori and declared it really good promotion for the company.


The highlight was a drawing for several free meal vouchers at El Torito restaurant. Here are some of the winners, among them (in the blue) my roommate, Trish.

It’s so much fun to have a break in the workday, especially when morale is so far in the toilet… So thanks to Lori and K-Earth 101 for some laughter, fun and goodies!

C’est la vie!

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Checking In~One More Down

Hey!

I kept to the plan this week and managed to lose another pound. I thought I was going to plateau but luckily, I actually lost. That’s the thing about weighing yourself every day. It makes you kind of crazy. Even though I make allowance for retaining water on hot days and my body just perversely holding onto weight for days at a time, it can be discouraging. But now that I’m really doing the weight loss thing, not just “trying”, I like to check in every morning. When I want to kick the scale across the room, I just take a deep breath, remind myself that I’m doing what I should be doing and the weight will eventually come off. Patience!!

I thought it was time this week to start tracking my measurements, so I pulled out the notebook from earlier this year. I was shocked to find that between January and June, I'd gained TEN pounds! Holy crap!!!!

Weight to lose: 42

Losses: Can’t think of anything I really messed up on this week except the half muffin I ate slice by little slice on Friday. Co-Workers brought in muffins, bagels, breakfast burritos and fruit for a birthday celebration for me and another person. I started out with only fruit but those dang muffins were tempting me all day. That’s ok, though, since I had a two mile walk home from work.

Wins: See above. Didn’t have a breakfast burrito, or TWO, like the last birthday celebration. Didn’t even have a bagel--they were as big as my face. I was happy with fruit.

Next weekend is my birthday. I’ve been planning some controlled cheating. Friday, I’m going to have pancakes for breakfast and probably something sweet and cold at the Orange County Fair. Then Saturday, the actual birth day, Panda Express, which is really fairly healthy eating and Cold Stone ice cream. Then Sunday I’ll be back to Slim Fast Divahood.

C’est la vie!

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Just Had to Share This!

Hey!

Don't ask me why but this just totally tickled me. You know how you click a link and then another and so on and so on. Well, I clicked a link to a Neil DeGrasse Tyson article on DNA in the Universe from Twitter. (I read his book on Pluto, he's really cool~no, I wasn't on Pluto, should have said about Pluto). Anyhow, this ad was on that website:



There's something about two hearts with eyeglasses that's kept me smiling all day!

C’est la vie!

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A Place to Bark

Hey!

Yes, this is a repeat from my other blog. For all you folks with amazingly great taste who read both my blogs, sorry but this really bears repeating.

Just a quicky to promote a very worthy cause and an amazing artist whose blog inspired this post.

Here’s The Blog of Manon Doyle. She’s a Canadian import to Ohio and her artwork is simply bold, beautiful and brilliant. I’m sure her work is copyrighted so you’ll have to click to see it ;-) http://manondoyle.blogspot.com/

Party Animals, a book contributed to by many mixed media artists and the proceeds go to A Place to Bark. What could be better~a great book with wicked cool artwork that helps dogs in need. You can buy it at Lulu, a books on demand kinda place, where they print to order. http://stores.lulu.com/aplacetobark

A Place to Bark, Bernie Berlin’s animal sanctuary in Tennessee, rescues animals (cats, too) from high kill shelters, nurses them to health and facilitates adoptions. Read her success stories, dry your eyes and do what you can to help! http://aplacetobark.com/index.html

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Checking In~Baby Steps

Hey!

I felt good about my weight loss plan this week. I think my attitude has changed drastically and I can say no again to things that will put me off track. I hope this lasts a good long while. Maybe, like, forever…

I lost a pound. It sounds like nothing but I have to stay positive and remind myself it was better than zero. And really, a pound a week is a healthy loss. I see these commercials and ads expounding 20 pounds a week, ridiculous stuff like that. It’s so unhealthy! Even if you do lose a lot initially, bam! You gain it right back. So, better slow and steady. Just call me Tortuga!

Weight to lose: 43

Losses: Didn’t keep enough fruit in the house this week and I resorted to opening a box of Cheez-it’s last night The Husband brought into the house so he could send for the Star Trek shirt they’re offering on the back of the box…

Wins: Walked a lot this week. It got wicked hot this weekend but we walked Friday night. The Husband ended up working last night (he’s supposed to be on vacation--don’t get me started...) so I didn’t walk but we will tonight.

The George Foreman grill arrived yesterday. We were supposed to christen it last night… So tonight, we’ll have turkey cutlets. I really missed the old indoor grill we had and I found this one on a really good deal at Amazon. I think we can eat a lot better with a grill in the house. I worship my microwave but mostly use it for pre-packaged foods. I’d like to have more fresh stuff. Oh, I love this new way I’m thinking’!

C’est la vie!

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Checking In~Progress

Hey!

I’m sitting at my computer, drinking a vanilla diet shake. Later today, maybe around 11:30, I’ll have a Slim Fast diet bar. Then, as I’m hungry, I’ll have something meal-ish, like a Lean Cuisine or a ham on bagel sandwich, a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich and some other little things to round out around 1000 calories. So far, it’s been easy to maintain. I must truly be ready to do this thing called dieting.

Weight to lose: 44

Losses: I need to do more exercising. It got hot this weekend and, boy howdy, wasn’t that a good excuse to not do my walking DVD. The Husband worked late Friday and Saturday~did I go out to walk around the neighborhood once the day cooled off? Uh, no…

Wins: The Husband loves him some breakfast. It’s his favorite meal and he likes to go out. Me, I had my shake at home and got a Diet Coke at the evil FFR (Fast Food Restaurant).

Notes: I need to be patient. I was hoping for a bigger loss this first week but, honestly, two pounds is great. Hell of a lot better than 0 pounds. More exercise.

My flirty skirt awaits!

C’est la vie!

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Checking In~Lackluster

Hey!

So, I'm thinking, since my weight loss is non-existent, that I should start a Slim Fast plan. I'm thinking a drink for breakfast, a bar for lunch, a banana in the afternoon, then a reasonable dinner. I’ve already signed up on their website, filled out my little bio and joined a discussion group.

Both The Husband and I are in this weird place lately where eating is what we do. We had donuts at 9PM one night last week! That is disgustingly ridiculous. But we can't figure out what's wrong. General malaise based on the economy? Spousally shared depression? Racing to see who can fit into the biggest underwear??

My whole life seems lackluster lately. Maybe it's menopause. That's it, I'll blame menopause! But really, enthusiasm for anything but jewelry making and eating is at an all time low. *SIGH*

I’ve revised my goal weight from previous postings, so now I need to lose 46 pounds to get into that flirty skirt from Back in the Day. Wish me luck!

Look out, World! Get ready for my size 2 wardrobe!

C’est la vie!

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Two Great Pix of The Prez

Hey!

This is a great example of why I love Obama. He’s not afraid to show his humanness. Most presidents want to project a political image~Obama wants to highlight his fun, “one of the guys” side. Yeah, yeah, I know he’s a lawyer and politician, but I like him despite that!

Here he is, chillin’ on the White House steps with his equally chill staff (note the sandals, sneakers and untucked shirt).

Indiana Obama!

If you want to keep up with President Obama and more pix and info about the White House and First Family, log onto Flickr HERE

C’est la vie!

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Check In ~ Revelation

Hey!

Weight to lose: 42

Calories Consumed: Maybe not as many as I thought

Minutes of Exercise: 30 walking (I've had sinus issues lately, so hadn't been doing anything, which is unusual for me. I mean, I wasn't even sitting at the computer! Now, when I don't even want to spend time sitting upright at the computer, you know I'm sick!)

Notes: I got on the scale this morning just to torture myself and found my weight much less than I thought it would be. I know I'm not keeping much in the house to nosh mindlessly on and that's helping considerably. Even though I'm not making the best eating choices, I'm aware that if I eat something high calorie, I try to balance it with something low calorie later, instead of just giving up and eating whatever. Baby steps, folks!

Losses: Not really counting calories but aware of my eating patterns

Wins: Trying not to keep any junk in the house. Not eating continuously at night is making a difference!

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Still Dreaming of Paris

Hey!

I started this blog talking about my desire to go to Paris. The dream is still alive. Someday, someday…

Anyway, here are two great blogs with Paris in the title that I read every day. I think you’ll like them.

Shelagh Duffett is an artist in Nova Scotia. I love her work--very colorful and cheerful! She writes about all kinds of things, with lots of photos and interesting narrative. Sometimes she even writes about French stuff.


Please remember that this is Shelagh’s copywritten artwork--please be respectful and don’t do anything illegal with it.

http://www.aliceinparislovesartandtea.blogspot.com/

This second blog is so cool--everything Paris, right at your keyboard. Carol Gillott posts almost every day and it’s always something to do with Paris. It truly delights me to read her observations and study the pictures of Parisians, patisserie shops and the streets of Paris.


Again, copywritten! Don’t be tempted to do something bad with Carol’s pic!

http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/


C’est la vie!

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Check In ~ All Shook Up

Hey!

Damnation, I hate earthquakes! We just had a 5.0, centered in Inglewood, near LA. The house creaks and the chandelier sways and the cats get very big eyes. My heart beats double and I do a controlled freak out. Well, I guess it's better than blizzards...

Weight to lose: Until 20 minutes ago, I was going to title this post "Just Shoot Me". Enough said?

Calories consumed: Too many

Minutes of Exercise: Does walking around Ikea and a craft fair count? It must, I've got a blister on my foot...

Notes: Not for public consumption. I'll get kicked off the internet if I express my dieting mood right now.

Losses: None of your beeswax

Wins: I didn't buy a candy bar at Ikea and I didn't eat the second Funny Bone in the package...

C’est la vie!

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Check In~Patiently Waiting

Weight to lose: 42

Calories consumed: 1010

Minutes of Exercise: 35, Leslie Sansone Walking DVD

Notes: Last night, in planning what I'd do today, I said I would do the 3 mile DVD walk and today, I did. Yea me!

Losses: Probably had too many calories in the salad I had tonight--didn't really count the chicken and corn...

Wins: REALLY WANTED popcorn while watching Frost/Nixon. Considered sharing with The Husband, but that was still too many calories.

C’est la vie!

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Check In~Ho Hum

Weight to lose: 42

Calories consumed: 1050

Minutes of Exercise: 30, walking. Will probably do some weights/stretching

Notes: I actually felt good walking tonight. Since we had let the walking slide for a good part of the winter, when we first started walking again, it was laborious. Now it's getting easier.

Losses: None I can think of...

Wins: Got what I call "gut hungry" (actual hunger as compared to just wanting to fill my face) at work today and ate some Orange Essense Prunes. They're really flavorful and moist. No, really. Weeks ago I would have searched frantically for enough change at the bottom of my purse to buy a candy bar.

C’est la vie!

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Check In ~ Encouraging

Weight to lose: 42 ~ Whew!

Calories consumed: 1000

Minutes of Exercise: Does breathing count? I'll do some weights before I go to bed

Notes: I'm happy to report that I'm not thinking about eating 24/7. I don't crave chocolate at all hours. English muffins are not calling to me at midnight. *big sigh* Yea!

Losses: Didn't get a chance to exercise. Why can't there be 8 more hours in the day? Hell, I'd take 8 more hours in the week!

Wins: Weighed the lunchmeat I had in my dinner sandwich. It's so easy to say, yeah, that looks like two ounces, when it's actually double that...

C’est la vie!

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Check In ~ Frustrated

Weight to lose: 40 friggin' 4

Calories consumed: 1100

Minutes of Exercise: 25, walking outside

Notes: Ate well today. Still staying at that damn 44, though. So frustrating. Wish I had a job that allowed me more movement. Sitting at a desk blows.

Losses: Crisis of faith. This morning I was really down because the pants I was wearing, some of the biggest I own, felt tight.

Wins: Here's a Mare Factoid: I drink a lot of diet soda, although I have managed to stop buying it to have at home. It's more expensive than gas, for crissake! In the morning, I buy a bottle from a vending machine at work and some days, I buy a second one later in the day. This afternoon, I got a bottle of water and mixed it with citrus Crystal Light (highly recommended, especially if you're not a water drinker, like me. The real deal is good but the Wal-Mart and Target brands are just as good and cheaper). I know water is better than diet soda but the caffeine is a hard habit to break...

C’est la vie!

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Check In ~ Stay the Course

Hey!

I know, I've been skipping days. Guess that's just gonna happen. So I'll title my check in's instead of numbering them. I couldn't ever remember what number I was up to anyway...

Weight to lose: 44

Calories consumed: 1100

Minutes of Exercise: 25, stair stepper, stretching

Notes: Sometimes you do everything right, or at least right enough not to gain, and you gain anyway... It's been warm here lately so I'm thinking maybe I'm retaining water again. I should take my measurements because sometimes your measurements stay the same but you gain temporarily but I'm just not at that point yet where I want to see the numbers... So, I'll stay the course and I'm sure the weight will go down again soon. I must be ready to lose because a setback of two pounds when I really have not been cheating would have led me to Cold Stone a few weeks ago. Flirty skirt, flirty skirt, flirty skirt!

Losses: Not doing as much exercise as I intend to do. The Husband was having back problems again but that's no excuse for me to sit on my butt...

Wins: Haven't brought anything bad into the house~bad is defined as anything I can eat continuously without thought, such as chips, trail mix or anything sweet.

C’est la vie!

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Inspiration While Saling

I was out yard saling with The Husband this morning and found this T-shirt. No, it doesn’t actually fit me yet, but it will. I bought it because it’s inspiring. I want to be strong and fit. And I am a girl, so, hey, I’m a third of the way there!

There so many reasons I love yard saling. Here’s a couple:

We got a lot of exercise walking from yard to yard

You meet nice people

We wandered through a really cool community we wouldn’t have known existed had they not advertised in the Pennysaver (yeah, Pennysaver, where I’ve worked for 20+ years).

We met a cat and his person who were pretty fascinating since the cat came when called and apparently wanders around the neighborhood with his person like a dog.

Here’s a pic of the entire yard sale haul (not including the rubber swords and shield The Husband bought for props...). You can find out more about all this stuff at my other blog, bearchick.blogspot.com

C’est la vie!

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Daily Check In #5

Weight to lose: 42

Calories consumed: ??

Minutes of Exercise: Uh...

I ate well during the day, knowing I was going out tonight. The Husbands' Dad passed away last year and today would have been his 84th birthday. He and The Husband (known as The Son in those days) would go to Sizzler every week and those are fond memories. So, to Sizzler in memory of The Dad.

Losses: (I've decided to put losses first so I can end my posts on a positive note) Hardly any exercise today but I'll try to get some in before beddies. The Husband threatened to eat three slices of cheesy bread out of 4 if I only ate one, so I had to eat two (to save him from himself). I could have had veggies with my lemon chicken but I had a baked potato.

Wins: Had grilled chicken~no pasta with alfredo sauce or breaded fish, which would have called to me a week ago. Also, when I was starting to feel full, I asked for a box for one of the grilled chicken breasts, which will make a nice topping for a salad tomorrow.

C’est la vie!

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Daily Check in #4

Hey!

Weight to lose: 44

Calories consumed: 1100

Minutes of Exercise: 35, repeat... 20 walking, 15 weights & stretching

Wins: Only ate 4 Thin Mints in my despair of being put back to part time at work.

Losses: Oh crap!! I opened the Thin Mints...

C’est la vie!

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Daily Check In #3

Hey!

Had a pretty good day. Still need some stretching...

Weight to lose: 44

Calories consumed: 1050

Minutes of Exercise: 35~20 minute walk around the neighborhood, 15 weights and stretching

Wins: Good salad for dinner. We tried one of those Sargento salad kits, Bistro Chicken. Low calorie and really flavorful.

Losses: Had a few homemade and somewhat greasy tortilla chips that another department at work had for Cinco de Mayo. But ya gotta have a little grease in your diet or you can't poo...

Happened to catch myself in the mirror naked. Oh lord, I hope that doesn't happen again for a while!

C’est la vie!

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Daily Check in #2

Hey!

Had a pretty good day. Let's see where I'm at now:


Weight to lose: 45

Must have lost a lot of water. That's never a bad thing, unless you're lost in the desert.

Calories consumed: 1100

Minutes of Exercise: 35

Walked around the block at work, 20 minutes. Too hot, though, so I may switch to evening around where I live. Weights and yoga, 15 minutes

Wins: Oi! I got into work and there was a special birthday breakfast for a co-worker. Honest to God, it looked like a convenience store! Bagels, cream cheese, mini cream cheese pastries, packaged pastry, cupcakes, fruit scones, Del Taco egg burritos. Holy Diet Nightmare, Batman! So what did I have? A plate full of fruit! Yeah, I'm that good.

Losses: Ok, a mini cream cheese pastry accosted me in a weak moment when I was coming in from my walk. And half a fruit scone jumped into my mouth on the way to the restroom.


C’est la vie!

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Daily Check In #1

Hey!

Weight to lose: 46 lbs

Calories consumed: 1500?

Minutes of Exercise: 50: 35 walking DVD (Leslie Sansone) and 15 weights and yoga

Wins: Using the walking DVD again. The Husbands' back is better, so we'll start walking again tomorrow night and I might walk at work as well.

Losses: Too much junk food still at home calling to me. Didn't really plan out dinner tonight so probably ate too much

Went grocery shopping tonight and got lots of salad fixings and yogurt and waters.

The process continues...


C’est la vie!

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