That Hobbit Lady

Here are a couple more signs I found interesting:

This is a pure case of Grammar Nazi on the loose. To my way of thinking, this should read:
Let Us Do Your Catering

Or

Let Us Fill Your Catering Needs

You don’t DO needs.

And now this one just speaks for itself

Do we even need to bother SAYING that??

And now here’s something just for fun. I turned from May to June on my calendar and found this picture.

Awww! Isn’t he cute! Cats have this wonderful way of always looking so at peace. It lowers my blood pressure just looking at a picture of a relaxin’ cat.

What I especially love about this picture is that I once had a couch that looks pretty much like this. Here’s a great picture of Boogins on that couch:

What a sweetie pie!

This is not fair.

I know that this is a holiday weekend, for Memorial Day. But I do not get off work on Memorial Day. So…is it a holiday, or not? In some ways, it feels like a holiday. The flags are in the medians up and down the main street in town, and the store sale papers are featuring watermelon, hot dogs and corn on the cob. But when you come right down to it, tomorrow morning I have to wake up and go to work.

That kind of blows the holiday sensation to smithereens.

Maybe next year I’ll take a day off for Memorial Day, so I can really appreaciate the feeling of having a holiday.

Earlier today, I felt like recording a few random thoughts, and they all came out as “ing” words. So here goes:

BUYING
Today at lunch I went to the pet store to get some cat kibble. We will be trying a new brand, as Boogins continues to have digestive problems. This new cat food is Nature’s Valley Instinct Grain-Free Duck Meal and Turkey Meal. It’s high in protein, and supposedly is good for cats who have “food allergies.” Could it be that Boogins has a food allergy? Will this new food be the “magic pill”? Personally, I think he must have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, though the vet has never called it that. He has good days and bad days. I want my little buddy to feel better.

EATING
Now, on the way back from the pet store, I passed a little shopping area that has a new restaurant! Well, not really so new, because when I looked it up online, apparently it’s been around since last August. But I just discovered it, so that makes it “new.” It’s a TURKISH restaurant called Yakamoz. I think it is probably the only Turkish restaurant in the city. I’ve never eaten at a Turkish restaurant, but the menu looks good. I’m wondering about the spices. Earlier this year Russ said he was making a resolution to try new foods…so I guess we’ve got to give this place a whirl!

READING
Right now I am reading two books. I’m finishing up a Star Trek/Here Come the Brides mash-up called Ishmael, by Barbara Hambly. Spock gets sent back in time to the Here Come the Brides storyline, but he doesn’t remember who he is. Since I happen to enjoy both these shows, I’m finding this book unique and interesting.

I’ve also started reading Cat Daddy, by Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist. This book has a few tips about cats, but mostly it’s about his life, how messed up he was, and how cats helped him find his purpose. His writing style is a
bit unorganized for me, but he’s gut-wrenchingly sincere and passionate in everything he talks about. We meet on the issue of loving cats, but other than that, I would have to say that Mr. Galaxy (and yes, I think that is his real name) is probably one of the writers most unlike me that I’ve ever read. This book is serving as a reminder to me that “it takes all kinds.” I’m just glad Jackson Galaxy is the kind who loves cats.

WATCHING
Russ and I continue our re-watching of both the Buffy and Angel series. These shows are so good, you really never get tired of them. We recently tried a couple of other shows at Mary’s suggestion, but after several episodes said, “Well….nah…never mind.” I think if a show doesn’t hook you in the first episode or two, don’t waste your time. Time is too valuable to waste it watching something you’re not REALLY enjoying.

Case in point: on a whim, Russ recently purchased the first season of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil. (He made the decision based on the fact that reviewers were pegging it as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Jay & Silent Bob.” We like both of those, so he thought we should try it.) WELL! About two minutes into the first episode, I knew we had a winner! We’ve gone through the first season, and now are eagerly waiting for the second season to come out on DVD for the United States. (Todd is a Canadian show, so here in the states we have a wait a bit for the next installment.)

WORKING ON
Evenings I continue to stay busy with work on the podcast, as well as my Marvel blog. I’m really enjoying doing both of these, I just wish I had more time to devote to these activities. Russ has encouraged me by saying that he thinks perhaps someday we might be able to gather all my Marvel posts together in a self-published book, Adventures in the Marvelous Zone. I think that would be cool! But I have a lot more work to do on the blog before we are anywhere near that!

We also have an idea for another Dark Shadows project, but that one is still in the works, and for the moment I’m going to keep it hush-hush. If we do this, it will be a long time coming. And it will be a lot of work! But this is how we like to keep ourselves busy, doing our “projects” in the evening, rather than wasting away in front of the TV. Yes, we watch our one show each evening while watching dinner, but after that, the tube goes off, and we get to work! No more Nancy Grace for me! No more Dr. Phil! It feels good to shut off the boob tube and actively create something. Keeps the mind young.

PLANNING
Looking forward to my trip to Florida in a few weeks. To economize, I’ll be confining myself to the Fort Lauderdale area for this trip. (Next year, Russ and I are hoping to make another “road trip” that can include more stops.) I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, and getting to see Mary’s new apartment, which is really a townhouse/condo. Also hoping to visit a few of the really excellent thrift stores in the South Florida area. I always come back with some nice things.

John and Karin and the twins are coming down for the weekend, and we’re planning a big family Thanksgiving type dinner! It will be just before James’ birthday, so in addition to being “Thanksgiving,” it will also be a birthday celebration! That should be fun. I won’t be eating any stuffing, but I’m planning to make sweet potatoes. (And I think I might treat myself to a slice of birthday cake!)

Well, that’s a quick wrap-up of what’s been going on. But before I go, enjoy this:

I know a lot of dieting philosophy discourages the use of the scale. It’s true that muscle weighs more than fat, so the scale should not be considered the ultimate indicator of success. I understand all that, but at the same time, I’m convinced that use of the scale has its merits.

There is that instant gratification when you step on the scale and see a number that is lower than it was 24 hours earlier. That number can give you such a boost, such a feeling of success, that propels you into another day of eating right and exercising.

When trying to lose weight, it’s all those little successes that add up, and if those little successes come one half pound at a time (or even one-tenth of a pound at a time, as my scale is calibrated) then I’m all for whatever it takes to give you that feeling of success. As my mom always says, “Nothing succeeds like success!”

When I started this effort, early in April, the scale said 195.0. This morning, the scale says 181.4. Now, you can’t tell me that a drop of over 13 pounds is not significant! Yeah, some of that is “water weight,” but not all of it! Yes, my clothes are fitting better, but that’s something that happens gradually. But watching this number go down from 195 to almost 181 has been a joyful ride of “Yes! Yes! I am succeeding! I can do this! I can keep doing this!”

Also in defense of the scale: I have now been able to reset my weight “threshold.” At first, it was 195. Then it went down to 190. Now 185, and soon, it should be 180. If I continue to step on the scale every day, if at any point I should see a number above the threshold, that is a red light indicator to me that there is a problem which I need to address NOW. When you are just saying “You know, these pants feel a little tight today,” over time more and more weight can slip back on before you feel compelled to do anything about it. But you can’t argue with numbers. The numbers do not lie. When you get close to or over your threshold, there’s no more kidding yourself.

But hopefully I will not be going backwards like that, at least not any time soon. And hopefully I can continue to drop that threshold until I get back to where I was in 2005, when I lost all that weight just before Hurricane Wilma. My threshold then was 175. I am only ten pounds away from that now! Woo hoo! I can get back there, little by little, and after I do, it’s time to look at going even further.

I will say that I do not feel that I am “carrying” this weight loss the same way I did seven years ago. The body ages and changes. Oh well…but it’s still a good thing. Of course, at this point Russ and I have been using the gym a LITTLE BIT, but not as much as I would like. (Doing more exercise would probably help better define the way I am “carrying” this weight loss.) I got sidelined with this stubbed toe two weeks ago, and only felt comfortable about getting back into sneakers a few days ago.

Every day is so busy, sometimes it’s hard to find time to go to the gym. In comparison, eating right is easy, because it doesn’t really take any TIME to eat right. (Well, preparing a salad takes more time than making a sandwich, but that time difference is negligible.) The problem with going to the gym is that it takes up time that right now is devoted to other other activities. So that is my next challenge: making the gym a priority, making time for it during the day.

But this is just one challenge after another challenge, and meeting the challenges gives a sense of success that tastes better than any candy bar! I feel good!

For quite a while now we’ve been hearing that the world is coming to an end in December 2012, because the ancient Mayans predicted it. Mostly, I think, we hear this from authors featured in Doomsday documentaries on the History Channel (which we also call “The Disaster Channel”). Russ has been saying all along, “Just watch. As the time gets closer, they’ll come up with something else, something new, some way of explaining why their original prediction has now been replaced with a more accurate prediction.”

Well, we knew this was going to happen. I just didn’t imagine it was going to happen a full seven months before the supposed “end of the world.” But there it is, today, on my MSN homepage:

Archaeologists have found a stunning array of 1,200-year-old Maya paintings in a room that appears to have been a workshop for calendar scribes and priests, with numerical markings on the wall that denote intervals of time well beyond the controversial cycle that runs out this December.

The article goes on with details, but just this sentence alone was enough for me to say, “Yep! Russ called it.”

As he always does.

And as he now says: “I’m just waiting to hear about the comet that’s going to destroy the world in 2030.”

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about something like that. And then, as the time approaches, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear yet another doomsday prediction. In the end, what it all comes down to, the only thing we can really count on, is this: Jesus said,

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Therefore the only surprise regarding the end of the world will not be that it doesn’t happen when predicted, but that it does happen at a moment when it was never predicted.

Does that make sense? Don’t worry about it. The only important thng to know about the end of the world is that you are right with God and READY FOR IT, whenever it might come.

It’s been a month since I stopped eating flour and sugar and I’ve lost ten pounds. TEN POUNDS. In one month!! And I don’t feel like I’m dieting at all. This is wonderful! I am so inspired to continue.

We’re trying to get back to the gym to exercise, and have actually gone a few days, but very often something happens that prevents it. The latest: I stubbed my toe yesterday morning and can barely walk now. I’ve got a giant bruise on my right foot. I had to wear flip flops to work the last two days, and sat at my desk with an icepack on my foot. I think it’s starting to get better, but the gym is out of the question, even if it’s just going on the exercise bike. I doubt I could get my foot inside a closed shoe right now. I hope by Monday it’s significantly better.