Weekly Roundup

PAINTING - I'm not the painter. Last time I painted, I messed up my wrists and had walls that I was not happy with. So, Jason is painting several rooms in the house, adding color to both bedrooms and two of the 3 bathrooms. It looks great! I'm pretty excited about getting this done. The house has been a mess for a couple of weeks. GO FLY A KITE - We flew kites in Devou park, overlooking the city. WEIGHT - Having gone to the gym 4 times this week and having stuck to the program, I managed to lose 2.6 lbs this week. Yay! As an extra bonus, I managed to fit into my favorite "Lucky" jeans--they fit perfectly!

Tattoo Design?

I'm 10 points from my next weight loss goal and I have already thought of my reward. As of now, I have no tattoos on my body. I took this design from a 50s German bier poster. The original didn't have consistent weight and detail and the fleur-de-lis was not so prominent. This is my altered design that I brushed up and altered in pencil, then rescanned and retouched: What do you think? I'm thinking about this as a meager tattoo on my upper arm. I think the "V" is too much. There are 10 wings, after all... Say, is this impossible for a tattoo artiste?

Weekly Roundup

SUNDAY NIGHT MEAL - I've been wanting to make shepherd's pie for a while, especially in my new clay pot. Glenn and Paul came over and were guinea pigs for a new dish made in the clay pot. I served the shepherd's pie with a small chopped salad with roasted almonds. Dessert was strawberries soaked in Cointreau. Safe bet we also killed a couple of bottles of wine while watching the final episode of Six Feet Under, (Paul's request as he hadn't seen it) Saturday's SNL and the latest Desperate Housewives. Good times. R.I.P. PEDRO - Making a short story long, Jason and I went to IKEA again over the weekend to get a quick bite and to buy some Swedish food. We ended up walking the store and we passed by a large cardboard case filled with $19.99 sheepskin rugs. I felt them up, liking the softness. Before checking out, I mentioned to Jason how soft they were, pondering purchasing one. I took the "shortcut" back, through bathroom supplies--back to the sheepskin rugs. I'm not sure why I was drawn to these! But I pulled several out. Some were larger than others. Some were softer than others. I rummaged a bit before I found Pedro. (I later named him Pedro as the label said that he was from Argentina.) Pedro was ULTRA-soft, white and cat-sized. I expected that Mr. Patterson and Chase would take to the "rug," but instead they were hesitant to go near the carcass of a dead sheep. Mr. Patterson, with some persuasion, did finally dig his paws into Pedro's luscious fur, kneading it like dough. Again and again... I think Mr. P and Pedro will be friends. THE SCALE CAN SOMETIMES BE UNFAIR, OTHER TIMES GRACIOUS - In Weight Watchers, we are told the scales can sometimes be mean. A well intentioned dieter, eating strictly "by the book" can sometimes gain 2 lbs. Interestingly, I had just the opposite happen this week, as you can see. Although I ate poorly and drank wine a couple of nights, I managed to lose 1.2 lbs this week. OK, this is below my target goal of 1.5 lbs/week, but I'm more than content. WEIGHT MILESTONE - I did meet the first milestone in my journey to get slim, & trim. Except, it wasn't my goal, but Kelly Stern's goal of 200 lbs! You can see a picture of my weight progress here.

The Box

So, I rushed home from the office shortly after lunch on Monday of this week. I knew I would be getting a delivery from Amazon.com and I wanted to get to the box before the neighborhood kids did. (They have been taking things lately.) I was to receive a shipment of men's intimate apparel for myself. A kind of reward for my dieting. Who'd have known this would turn into a photoshoot? (Of the box, not me in the underwear--although I would not be against that once I've got my physique back.) Both cats loved the silly box and spent the next two days taking turns hanging out in it: Mr. Patterson is all lard and is too big to lay within the box iself:

Weekly Roundup

A TALE OF THREE CITIES - Jason and I made a weekend getaway, visiting both of the other major Ohio cities--Columbus and Cleveland. Friday night, we stayed with, Jason's sister, Christie. We worked out and bummed around in Columbus, before heading to the suburbs of Cleveland to visit Jason's mom and stepdad. After a formal European breakfast on Sunday, we said goodbye and attended a photography seminar on Sunday afternoon. More pictures to come soon. SI, HABLO ESPAÑOL - And I'm using every bit for work this week. We're rolling out the Software Package to Mexico and I'm attending the conference calls via conference call in case there are any questions. It's actually pretty exciting and I'm very happy with the work of my coworkers. PORTRAIT - Jason took this portrait of me in Columbus. He chose and applied filters in Lightroom. I like the picture, despite me squinting. WEIGHT - No excuses. I didn't lose as much as I would have liked this week. I need to focus more in the next 3 weeks. Summer is coming and I want to be able to fit into my "cute" summer clothing.