The Art of Reading and Losing Weight

So I went to sleep with a smile on my face last night. (Get your mind out of the gutter and off Colfax Avenue…) For one thing I’m excited about having an outlet for my thoughts again. I’m even more encouraged because as opposed to the last time I blogged, at least now I know some fellow bloggers and someone might actually occasionally maybe read my stuff. I mean when is the last time I was up at 6 am by choice? I must have some new momentum going.

Second, I finished a book last night. When’s the last time I finished a book? I love books. I love reading. And how many writers have I heard state that it’s so important for writers to be readers as well? (I can’t tell you how many because I can’t remember. But I know it’s important.) Something my Mom said last summer tied the whole question of why I don’t read more up with a bow for me. We were in a Borders while visiting her back in Iowa. Charlie and I were loading up on books for the trip back home and I said, “Mom, my treat. Pick something out .” She responded with, “Oh, no, but thanks. I don’t read as much as I did there for awhile [I knew she was referring to the first few months after my Dad passed]. I’d rather have something to show for my time.” And there it was. My answer. Mom is always doing something with her hands ~ baking, sewing, embroidery, quilting, crafts. I don’t remember ever really seeing her sit without something in her lap keeping her busy. She grew up during the Depression ~ when nothing was wasted, even your time.

So, I, too, grew up thinking that sitting down to read a book was a luxury; I really should be doing something “productive.” Old habits die hard… So to look at reading as a necessity is a hard one to wrap my head around.

The book I finished was “I Feel Bad About My Neck ~ And Other Thoughts About Being A Woman” by Nora Ephron. It’s a short book, a quick read. But I also breezed thru it because it’s my genre. Just thoughts on real life ~ written with a great deal of humour with a final punch of real poignancy. My kinda’ girl. I’ve always said of my writing that if I can make you laugh and make you cry, I have succeeded. We’ll see if I’ve still got it…

And on a totally unrelated note, ok two totally unrelated notes:

Today was the big weigh-in I’ve been avoiding since returning from the cruise. Not that I think I gained any weight on the cruise; I was disappointed in the food this time. (When your favorite place for dinner turns out to be Johnny Rockets for a cheeseburger, you know the food isn’t all that.) And we walked for hours whenever in port. So I think that balanced out. The holidays were a little more dangerous. Lots of sugar around and you know given half a chance, I’ll OD on that. Another quality I can thank Mom for... *wink*

But fortunately the news wasn’t as bad as I had expected… I’ve got 10 lbs. to lose to get back to where I was a couple of years ago ~ the time I lost 20 lbs. on Meridia ~ that magic little weight loss pill which I think also gave me heart palpitations. Or it could have been peri-menopause; guess I’ll never know. At any rate, I’ll be happy to lose 10; ecstatic to lose 15. Mr. Man and I are both committing to Weight Watchers again. Online, of course. I’m not going public in the flesh (so to speak) with this whole numbers thing. We’ll see how long I last this time. It’s amazing how many points chocolate and wine can eat up… (no pun intended, but it turned out that way.) I try to balance it with exercise ~ the more you exercise the more “bonus points” you get each day. I see a lot of walking in my future...

My other note… we’re getting closer to adding to our family. It could happen in a couple of days. I’ll leave you hangin’ on that one. :)