Saturday 9

Ok, I have done this once or twice but can't remember to do it so I missed doing it yesterday.  So I am doing it today.  Don't judge me -- I seem to be permanently off schedule.  If you want to jump in just go to the site and follow the instructions.  So, here I go.

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Sarah McLachlan wrote this song about someone she barely knew. She read the obit of Jonathan Melvoin, keyboard player for the Smashing Pumpkins, who died of a heroin overdose. What's the most recent news story that touched you deeply? I try very hard not to watch the news because it ALL touches me.

2) Ms. McLachlan performed this in tribute to Linda McCartney at the 1999 Concert for Linda. She was expressing her hope that, in death, Linda found relief and peace after a long and painful battle with cancer. What do you think happens to us when we die? I believe only our physical body dies and our soul goes to meet our maker and come to terms with our earthly lives.

3) Daytime dramas General Hospital and As the World Turns used this song on-air after a major character died. Do you follow any "soap operas?" I watch Days of Our Lives and have done so since 1975
 

4) In 2007, Sarah donated her recording of this song to the ASPCA. Do you have a pet? If yes, how did you get it (shelter, pet store, etc.)? I don't currently have a pet but I did have, for 14 years, the privilege of being furmommy to Tessie, a wheaten Cairn terrier -- the best dog on the planet and I got her from a family that owned her mommy and daddy -- they weren't breeders, just a family with a couple of dogs that had puppies.

5) She admits she can't watch those ASPCA commercials, where her recording of "Angel" plays over sad photos of animals. Is there a TV commercial that really gets to you (in either a good or a bad way)?  I feel the same way about those animal commercials that she speaks of.  Can't watch.  Or the commercials for St.Judes although that is one of my charities of choice.

6) In 1994, Sarah was stalked by an obsessed fan. Tell us about a time you were really frightened. In retrospect, was your fear commensurate with the threat? I have never been threatened and never really felt fearful.  I am lucky.

7) Sarah was adopted by Jack and Dorice McLachlan. Though she has a friendly relationship with her birth mother, she always considered Dorice her mother and sees herself behaving with her son the way Dorice did with her. Is there anyone in your family that you feel you resemble, either physically or by behavior? Haha!  ALL of them -- I am multi-faceted!  I see aspects of many of my relatives in me.  I am not turning into JUST my mother.

8) McLachlan is one of the founders of Lilith Fair, a summer concert series designed to showcase talented female performers. Do/did your summer plans include an outdoor concert? No, no concerts.  It is too hot and mosquito ridden to go outside here.

9) Random question: Which of these men would you most like to be seated with at dinner -- Clint Eastwood, Prince William or Jimmy Fallon?  The Prince, thank you very much!

Pillows,Pillows Everywhere

Let me start by saying that Hubby doesn't care for home decor that serves no purpose.  What comes immediately to mind is throw/toss pillows.  He also thinks that every flat surface is a work surface.  It could be an Ikea table or an antique dining room suite -- no difference.  Work Surface. Annoying. However, in spite of his opinions, we have never really had a lot of problem seeing eye to eye when furnishing a house.

Until now.

Going back in history -- when we were married in 1972  I inherited my bedroom suite that was lovely hard rock maple in the Early American design.  I had a dresser, chest of drawers, night stand and beautiful four poster canopy bed sans canopy.  This was our beginning.

When we went to purchase furniture for our first apartment we carried the theme through and bought a BUNCH of Tell City Early American furniture.  It is well built furniture and we still have it and we use most of it. 

However, something happened along the way.  Oh, I know what it was == they quit making Early American furniture as it fell from favor.  I was grossly out of style but hey, this furniture wasn't going to fall apart anytime soon.  So, we tried to incorporate different styles over the years  but we either found new homes for those items or went back to buying pieces that, while not technically Early America, did blend well.  Maple was a thing of the past but cherry was quite popular so we have a good deal of that.

Fast forward to the move to our current home.  The space here is different than our old house.  Fewer rooms but larger spaces which meant that our little drop leaf maple table was dwarfed in our breakfast/dining area.  So, off we go to the Amish furniture store to choose a new table.  It is large, it is cherry, it is lovely but it is dark.  We bought a sideboard to complement - black -- black tends to be a good transitional finish between older and newer furniture and styles. 

We also bought some new furniture from the Amish store -- a sofa and two chairs -- don't ever buy anything you sit on without being able to sit on it.  The chairs are fine, the sofa not so much.  It is cherry furniture with dark brown leather cushions.  Operative word -- brown-- dark brown.


We also have two chairs that are brown Coach leather.  They are really pretty and lovely to sit in if  you want to watch tv on the ceiling or have no intention of speaking to the people on the other side of the coffee table because they recline very far back.  But, I am keeping them because  -- well, because. 

So, I have it all arranged in a "pit" sort of arrangement with a large coffee table in the middle with chairs and sofa surrounding it.  And what do you see?

A sea of brown.

Dark brown.

So, my design sense is stuck somewhere in the 70's along with avocado green and harvest gold so I resorted to pinterest to see what to do about an all brown room.  I tried to get my husband to replace the uncomfortable couch but I got "the look" and just moved right along. 

So, after all of that explanation, here are some photos of what I did.

unadorned chairs -- yes that is a crayon box on the table -- don't judge me -- I have grandchildren

I added two white throws as per Pinterest -- they are really nice, very reasoable, from Target

enter two stripey down pillows from Pier 1 -- they were having a nice sale -- still have to cut the tags off

sofa with old ticking striped pillows -- I made them -- they are comfy to sleep on

bringing in two brightly colored embroidered pillows from Pier 1 along with light beige throw from my cousin JLSHall

added two delightfully fun fuzzy pillows also from the Pier -- throw in a couple of pieces of mail that needs to be thrown out 

 

So, tell me -- have I successfully diluted the brown?  My husband had to compromise-- throw pillows (on sale) or a new sofa (not on sale but doesn't matter -- way overpriced either way).  He was ok with the pillows as long as I don't put them on his chair.  After I do a bit of picking up and re-arranging I will take another photo from another angle and see what you think

I Am So Confused .... But It Will Be OK

You know how sometimes there is a holiday or a vacation day or something that throws your routine out of kilter and things don't feel quite right?  That is where I am today.

For all intents and purposes yesterday, for me, was Sunday.  It wasn't, it was Monday, but all day long I felt like it was Sunday.  So, needless to say I got up this morning thinking it was Monday....I really have to get this resolved or I am going to end up losing half a weekend and that can't happen.

However, as summer is drawing to an end -- yes, I know, doesn't seem possible, does it -- I am looking forward to things getting back to normal (whatever that is).  My traveling children and grandchildren have all returned from their journeys.  My calendar is filling up with appointments to be made, syncing with my daughter's work schedule and juggling babysitting schedules.  Officially school starts for my daughter and granddaughter August 14 and my daughter will actually be at work a week earlier for professional development which then puts us back in babysitting mode.  All of this is too early.  It is too hot for these back to school shenanigans -- when I was a kid, we went back to school the first Monday after Labor Day and, in my opinion, that was still too early.

I think my children had lovely times on their vacations.  My son and his family went up the Eastern seaboard to visit such places as Maryland, Boston, Cape Cod, and NYC.  I haven't heard much about it but I am sure it was lovely.  At least it was cooler!

My daughter and her family went back to her husbands home in Tadley, England to visit family.  They went to Center Parcs -- a resort type area not unlike Great Wolf Lodge or The Gaylord.  They went to the seaside, to Highclere, Corfe and to Basildon.  The photos were lovely and the weather was a good deal better than here.

We went home to San Antonio for a week and took care of some business and did some sightseeing and some shopping and way too  much eating.  Usually when I go "home" I either get homesick and don't want to leave or I hate it and do want to leave.  This time was different -- I enjoyed it.  I think this change of attitude was primarily due to the fact that we spent more time there this go around -- we weren't rushing and were taking our time.  It was actually quite good.  And I have to say I do miss the gulf breezes.  We don't have those here in the oven known as North Texas.

So, I am thankful that everybody had fun, did what they wanted to do and did it all safely.  I am looking forward to seeing photos and hearing stories and am getting a little anxious for the first nip of autumn in the air -- but I have quite a wait for that.

In the meantime ----

If The Instructions Say "Buy Advanced Tickets" Then I Would Advise You To Do So

Indeed.  Following instructions, if provided, is usually the way to do things.  However, we didn't.  We had made plans to go to Davis, Oklahoma to a place called Turner Falls.  It is a park that is the home of a rather impressive waterfall.  It is a popular place, apparently, and the website suggests that you buy advanced purchase tickets (yes there is an entry fee) because when the park is full they close it.

We didn't believe them.  We drove the hour and a half and what do you know, the park was closed.  So, we went to eat lunch instead.  We went to Smokin' Joe's Rib Ranch. It was a very popular place as well.  It was ok but I think it could have been better. It was an interesting site though as there was also an RV park attached.

Anyway, it was a lovely drive up Hwy.77, through the small towns from here to there, and I did take some photos so I thought I would share.

Welcome to our Saturday!

Wind turbines were everywhere and they were scary! Very futuristic looking and not in a good way

Taken from the car -- lots of people enjoying the water -- I wouldn't have gotten in it

more swimmers with a very tall slide -- must have been scary because everybody who went down it screamed

hills in the area

This is a two meat plate for one person -- it could have fed four

This was on the ceiling.  Even the dog.  Click on it and you will see the dog.  I thought it rather odd

Water feature in the garden of the restaurant

isn't this the most perfect Christmas tree -- I am sure they decorate it for Christmas

cute little gift shop

this little fella guards the door of the gift shop -- isn't he cute?

rock where the road is cut through, with a forest on top

Even if we didn't get into the park it was a lovely morning drive.  The only two problems were -- no phone service and no Starbucks! We will go back.

The Charm Bracelet

Still reading this lovely little book.  It has grabbed my attention and what isn't to love-- NYC, vintage clothes, jewelry and I think I am just about getting to the romance part. 

There are some nice flashbacks to Holly's former life -- as a child, losing her father, as a college student (that is where I am now)  and they aren't so long and drawn out so as you forget what is going on.  Don't you  just hate that?

Anyway, doing a bit of sewing right now but this afternoon will afford me some time to get back to NYC and the Secret Closet -- it is almost Christmas and that is such a magical time!  More to come.

Thinking, thinking, thinking......And A New Novel

My title makes it sound as if I am writing a new novel!  Oh, heavens no! One of my goals in life WAS to write but somehow that never happened so now I read.  And this is what I am reading now.  A change from my last read and this one starts out in The City, in the winter, during the first snow of the season.  A picturesque walk up apartment -- think "You've Got Mail" only smaller.  The perfect setting for this incredibly hot, Texas day.  I am only on chapter two so I don't know much yet except there is a woman, a boy child and no husband so I see romance in the future.  Maybe.  I will let you know.

Now, thinking.  I am thinking about something so out of character for me.  I am thinking about doing something that is going to test every part of my very being.  I am thinking about sewing a blouse.  I don't like to sew.  I gave up garment sewing eons ago and now I only sew quilts and I am learning to hate that as well.  But......

I have been looking at clothes.  I like the looks of things like JJill, Chico, and Coldwater Creek.  I don't like the price tags however.  So, I am thinking.

What crept into my mind during my nap and woke me up is a t-shirt type top made from woven (non-stretchy) fabric.  There are some lovely examples on pinterest.  They are modeled by some tall, willowy, nymph-like creatures about age 12.  I am not any of those things.

Surely I am setting my self up for a huge disappointment, waste of time and money and a slap to my self esteem.

There are some gorgeous examples of this very top in silk, challis, solids, prints.  So easy, so elegant, so.......

I don't know.  Maybe I will give it a go.  I am sure if it doesn't go will you will hear about it.

The Other Child by Joanne Fluke

One day, at Half Price Books, I was searching for some of the Joanne Fluke cozy mystery titles and ran across this.  I like ghost stories sometimes so I thought I would check it out.  It definitely isn't a cozy mystery.

This story contains all the usual elements of a ghost story -- an old house, a child or two, a semi-cra cra woman -- it was all there.  It is about a family that moves from the city to a small, rather unwelcoming, town to live in and renovate an old mansion.  The mansion is full of the original family's things -- furniture, silver, papers, letters, etc.  And there is a root cellar which is the root of the problems that crop up. 

And there is Christopher.

And Leslie.

And the accidents.

I am a bit sorry I read this in the summer.  It is definitely an October sort of read.  And I recommend it to anybody who likes rather predictable ghost stories.

The Pilgrimage

Definition of pilgrimage

1. 1 :  a journey of a pilgrim; especially :  one to a shrine or a sacred place
2. 2 :  the course of life on earth
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Ok, so maybe my recent "pilgrimage" wasn't as grand as this definition would have it but it is a trip we take every year around our anniversary.
   
   
   I speak of our annual trip "home" --to the city our births, the place where our youthful adventures were spent, the place we said we would never leave (until we did) -- San Antonio, Texas.
   
   
   When you say "San Antonio" the image that pops into most people's heads is the Alamo.  Rightfully so.  It is historic and there have been several movies made about it.  My favorite is the John Wayne version of my youth.  There is so much more to San Antonio, however, that most people don't really see or know of.
   
   
   San Antonio is old.  It began in 1718 by Fr. Antonio Olivares when he established Mission San Antonio de Valero which would later become the Alamo.  The Spanish explorers gave the San Antonio river its name because it was discovered on the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, Italy.  At the time there was an Indian settlement in what is now called La Villita - the little village.  There was also a significant German influence in the building of the city but that goes largely unmentioned.  Some of the most influential families were of German descent and they began some of the biggest and longest running businesses -- Joske's Department Store and Pioneer Flour Mills (Guenther Family) come immediately to mind.
   
   
   Time has passed, the city has grown, city planners have decided to change things up and modernize, many of my childhood haunts have met their untimely demise under the wrecking ball in the name of progress -- many are now just vacant lots.  Makes perfect sense to me.  They have "modernized" our historic schools (tore them down) in the name of progress, they have taken downtown historic buildings and incorporated them into "The Mall" and stuccoed over ornate German built buildings again, to make it more modern.  Bleech. 
   
   
   So, each and every year we make the trip home and peruse what has changed, what hasn't, what we remember, what we don't.  We are tourists in our own hometown.  This time was a bit different.  It was a longer trip and we weren't in a rush.  After two days, it seemed as if we had never moved.  It was a strange feeling.  In the past, when I have left to come home, my feelings have been mixed -- one time I will be homesick, other times I can't wait to leave.  This time was different -- my heart was waving and not saying goodbye but rather -- see you next year! I am truly living in two places and it feels ok. 

In the past we have visited the places of our childhood, our former homes and schools and this time was no different except that we included some different places that had meaning to us.  Or me, mostly.   So, I will share some of these photos with you to show you some of the beauty of this old city.

San Antonio is a Catholic city.  It was founded as such and as such it remains.  Here are photos of two prominent Catholic churches in town.  The first is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower.  My great-grandmother attended church here and was buried from here.

The gentleman in the photo, I assume a caretaker, asked if he could comb his hair before I took the photo! He was very nice.  

The next photos show St. Joseph's Catholic Church in the heart of downtown.  St. Joseph's was surrounded by a huge department store, Joske's of Texas, and at one point Joske's asked to buy the church for the property.  The offer was declined so they just built around the church and now the church is jokingly referred to as "St. Joske's".

Magnificent, aren't they?

 

Next are some photos of La Villita. La Villita was the actually beginning of the city, it was originally a small Indian community that the Spanish priests had come to convert.  In my youth, it was a pretty dicey place to roam around, it wasn't "fixed up", it was kind of scary actually.  However, over the years, probably around the time of the World's Fair in 1968, attention was paid to the salvation and preservation of this historic area and it now hosts a good number of high end restaurants and art galleries.  It is quiet and shady and just a magical place to visit.  Of course, it comes to life during Fiesta in April but on a daily basis it is just a pleasant place to visit.

The Little Church of La Villita

The next photos are just some random places downtown that have meaning to me.

The Menger Hotel of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Rider's fame.  However, I remember it being the place we would lunch with my Aunt Linnie who worked at Joske's and the place I got my leg stuck in the table leg, cried, got hauled to the bathroom to get my face washed and when I returned they had removed my ice cream.  Not a great memory.  We almost went there for dinner one night but I was afraid of the tables.

I don't really know the name of this building but I believe it is the home of the Sol Wolfson store that my grandmother worked at when she was about 11.

Schilo's -- the best deli in the world.  It has a very ornate bar.  We used to come here when I was a child and I would have recurring dreams about that bar -- I couldn't remember where it was until I walked in as an adult and there it was -- the location of my recurring dream.  Great food.  Really, really great food.

The Tower of the Americas -- Hemisfair '68 -- I worked in the shadow of this very tall building at the San Antonio Independent School District

The Transit Tower, or the Tower Life Building, where my father spent a good deal of his early radio career.

The next photos are of the famed San Antonio Riverwalk.  When I was a child the Riverwalk was nowhere you wanted to be.  It wasn't a "walk" actually but a dirty creek than ran through town where all sorts of unsavory things could surface on a Sunday morning after a wild and woolly Saturday night.  However, again with the city planners, a decision was made to do something with the area which was a good thing -- it has been developed beautifully, is home to lots of restaurants and music venues, and it is a gorgeous, landscaped walk through downtown and they keep expanding it so it goes even farther now.  It isn't scary anymore.

Looking out over Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant

Swim little duckies -- we aren't sure about the yellow one in the flock of brown ones -- a swan maybe?

Waterfall

When I was a child growing up San Antonio had some really nice shopping downtown.  We didn't have malls and we didn't have cars so we had to take the bus downtown to shop.  We would walk up and down Commerce Street and Houston Street looking in all the little dress shops, shoe stores and dime stores.  I remember the way the Woolworth's smelled!  Ultimately we would end up at Joske's -- the biggest store in the biggest state (until we acquired Alaska!). Joske's was the Harrod's of the Southwest.  You could buy anything at Joske's.  There were two places to eat there -- The Chuckwagon which was where we went as children and The Camilla Room which we never went to because we were children.  There was a beauty salon and a bridal salon.  You could buy clothing, and fabric and shoes and saddles -- yes, indeed, you could get anything at Joske's.

See -- you can see the church spire of St. Joseph's in it's little niche created by this giant department store.

Well, Joske's survived well into my adulthood but then it went the way of so many stores being gobbled up by big conglomerates and it couldn't compete with the malls in the suburbs so it changed hands many times and finally just stood vacant for a number of years.  Another mall had been build downtown adjacent to Joske's and finally, in the last three years or so, Joske's was incorporated into that mall.  How you ask?  Well,they retained the complete facade and gutted the inside and subdivided it.  I wanted to see how that was done and if any remnants of the old building were there and I was pleasantly surprised.  Clearly the facade remains and it was cleaned up and refurbished.  It was a lovely building and they have done it justice.  The inside, of course, was different except that there were visual signs of the old store -- the windows were uncovered (I had never seen an open window in that store in all the years we went there) and looked out over the city.  The old, heavy brass doors remained with the hardware still in tact and there are huge wall sized photos of how the store was back in the day.  They look to be permanent and pay great homage to the store that was the biggest store in the biggest state.  

I was afraid it was going to be a horror story but it wasn't and I would rather see it be part of the mall and saved than go under the wrecking ball like so many other things and places have.  It is good.

Another place we visited was Woodlawn Lake.  Woodlawn Lake is situated in an area of town close to Jefferson High School -- a very historic, gorgeous high school -- and it is in the neighborhood that my mother spent her younger years in.  It is close to Little Flower and my mother's entire family lived in this area at one time or another.  We visited this area a while back and I have to say it was pretty sad.  It needed some work desperately and I would have to say that somebody took note of it and much progress has been made.  It is a lovely park now, Woodlawn Lake Park, and it is actually used.  I saw many people walking the walking paths, couples with ear buds walking to the music, moms with strollers, kids playing basketball and Egyptian geese all over the place -- google it -- odd birds with pink legs.  Anyway, this is one area that progress made sense and it looks good.

If you click on this photo and make it bigger you can see lots of history here -- Little Flower, The Transit tower, the Tower of the America's and this little lighthouse smack in the middle of the lake that has been there all my life.

 

So, that was just a brief overview of our 2017 Pilgrimage to San Antonio.  We did other things, of course, like eat at our favorite anniversary restaurant, Fujiya's, and barbecue at Bill Miller's and Mexican food at Jacala's and Teka Molino.  We drove around our old houses and schools and libraries.  My elementary school has been torn down and rebuilt.  I realize it was necessary for the education of the kiddies but the new school just doesn't have the same historic, vintage look to it and I don't think it ever will.  Standard issue modern architecture.  Nothing to write home about.  

It was a good trip -- I am already starting the sightseeing list for next year!  See you then, SA!

By Jove, I Think She's Got It!

Ok, peeps, the word on the street is that Moi is weight challenged and not in a good way.  I need to take 75 pounds of me and put it someplace else.  "Just stop eating" they say.  "Move around more"  they chide.  Not. That. Easy.

I have been on a diet since I was about 14 years old.  Ever since my Bobbi Brooks skirts went from an 8 to a 10.  I was officially fat at that point and not fond of the concept.  Plus, I had long hair and split ends.  I was a hot mess.

Solution?  The hair got cut into a cute little "bubble" style which I wish would come back INTO style because it really worked for me.  Now it is considered an "old lady's" haircut.  Blah.  I digress.  I bought a small little calorie counter at the grocery store and set about making things better.  I was crazy.  I wasn't fat.  At 20 I weighed 129 pounds.  I wasn't fat.  But my brain was -- Hahah! Crazy body image disorder.

Fast forward through life, two kids, great stress, personal loss, illness, medications, etc. and here I am needing to do something with this 75 pounds. In my mind I can see this cute little blob of fat, on a skateboard, chained to me and I have to drag it everywhere I go.  It has eyes and a sneaky little grin.  It follows me everywhere, especially the fitting room.  It is so annoying.

I am a champion calorie counter.  I don't even have to measure anymore, I can eyeball a half cup of anything.  I am not great at math but 3500 calories = 1 pound is ingrained in my brain.  Calories in/calories out was my mantra FOREVER.

For whatever reason, it isn't working right now.

I read a book called "The Obesity Epidemic" by Zoe Harcombe.  Well, I tried to read it, very technical and statistic laden, but the gist of it is that the calories in/calories out concept doesn't work.  Not all calories are the same.  3500 calories out does not necessarily mean one pound lost.  She talked about a low carb eating plan.

I am a carboholic.  I never met a cookie I didn't like.  I broke my cookie addiction a few months ago and didn't understand why I didn't just melt away like the Wicked Witch of the West.  Hmmm......could it be because I just replaced the cookies with things like crackers and pretzels?  I wonder.  Sometimes I am so dense.

So, because I can't do anything in moderation, I decided to go very low carb -- as is no carb.  The first day I ate no carbohydrate.  Felt great.  Second day, not feeling so great but did virtually the same.  I had lost three pounds (all water, I am sure, who am I kidding!) Day three I woke up and thought surely I was bound for glory.  I was shaking like I had the DT's.  I could barely hold my head up.  I was close to tears.  I had Carbo Flu.

I have enough health "issues" that I don't need to complicate my life with that.  So, after I ate some cereal and sugar laden yogurt I headed off to church to pray my way out of it.  During coffee hour I had a conversation about it with a friend of mine who is pretty nutrition savvy because of her own health issues.  As we talked a lightbulb started to slowly flicker. Calories aren't equal.  You can't live without carbohydrate.  Balance.  All words bouncing around in my head.

My friend suggested two things -- a look at the American Medical Associations suggestions on macronutrients in our diet and to look back at the dietary requirements when we were children in the 1950's and follow that.  I did both.  Note: I won't be going back to jello salads of my youth, however.

The AMA has a list of how what percentage of each macronutrient is considered acceptable and balanced -- carbs (45-65), protein (10-35) and fat (29-35).  I decided that instead of counting calories I would keep track of my macronutrients and keep it within their guidelines.  I think I have figured out that 150 calories of cookies is not going to be the same as 150 calories of brocolli or 150 calories of steak.  It just isn't.  There is this thing called food value or nutrition going on and that is more important than calories.

I know I sound incredibly stupid but blame it on my generation.  Growing up the idea was to eat less and move more if you want to lose weight.  It is called The General Principal. You have to cut down 3500 calories to lose one pound.  If you cut 500 calories a day at the end of the week you will be one pound lighter. There are a couple of reasons why it might not work -- if you cut down on food you also cut down on energy which makes moving around a little less probable and again, calories aren't equal.  You can cut out 3500 calories in cookies or you can cut out that much in real, whole food and depending on which you choose, you possibly could be cutting out necessary nutrients leaving you with just the fast sugar rush of the cookies and the eventual sugar crash which is oh so amusing.

So, I fired up MyFitnessPal on my phone and started logging in my food paying attention to the percentage of macronutrients and keeping it within the AMA suggested amounts.  I am pleased to tell you that it hasn't been difficult at all to do this, makes more sense to me actually and I haven't gained back the initial 3 pound loss but have gone on to lose 1.5 pounds more.    And I haven't been shaky or feel like my blood sugar has tanked.  All of this since last Friday.  And a side note, my step count has doubled.  Does that mean I have more energy or just more laundry requiring me to walk back and forth to the washer?  It is something to think about.

So, have I finally discovered the Holy Grail of weight loss for me?  Have I finally come upon an eating plan that will let me lose weight and keep it off.  Have I figured out a way to eat that is healthy that I can actually stay on?  I don't know.  I will let you know.  But, for now, I am celebrating my 4.5 weight loss like I have won the lottery!