It was just a little over a year ago when I asked you guys about Weight Watchers. Less than a week later I joined. Initially progress was rapid but by the end of the year I was really struggling. Fortunately 2006 brought renewed optimism and energy. Soon I accomplished one of my mini-goals: getting into a size fourteen. Then I sailed past twenty kilos lost on my way to officially not being overweight. The only two goals left were to achieve my Weight Watchers goal weight of 78 (thus qualifying me for free meetings) and then to get down to my own personal goal of 75. And tonight…

I would like to personally thank all of you guys who answered my original plea: Sara, Niffler, Jenny, Aunt Deb, Brigita, Tricia, Max, Andrew, Oolookitty, and Kristine. You guys have changed my life.

A new Knitty makes everything better…

For the record, Adidas, I’m offended. That looks like Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The only thing worse than knowing I’m going to be short a member of staff all day is the absolute certainty that just when I think everything is going to be okay, one of the other employees will call in sick. Happens every goddamn time. (And inevitably on the day I’ve worn my most uncomfortable shoes in the expectation that I’ll be working at my desk and not on my feet serving customers.) *sigh* Only three more days til vacation…

Later: I bit the hell out of the inside of my cheek.

Later: The lid came off my lunch and spilled sauce all down my pantleg.

Later: And I swear, it was like it was Facial Deformity Day here in the shop. I had customer after customer sporting unfortunate facial conditions and I COULD NOT LOOK AWAY. I’m going home.

I am officially horrified. Is this the situation the anti-choice crowd want to have in America? Where a woman suffering an ectopic pregnancy has no choice but to wait until her her fallopian tube ruptures?

The Treesweater. Awww, that really is sorta cute (in a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree kinda way).

I foresee a lot of whinging about the last episode of The Amazing Race, but I’m at peace with it, really.

Goodbye, Nerds. I’m really not sorry to see them go though. I never really warmed up to them. Yeah, it was great seeing nerds on TV, whatever, but they were just so stereotypical and non-threatening that I found their inclusion a little insulting. I wanted to see them kick ass. I wanted to see them use strategy and cleverness more than they did. (Which prompts me to comment that, in my opinion, Boston Rob was actually the nerdiest person to play the game. Whether or not you agreed with his strategy, he worked the mental side of the game more than any other player.) Which also reminds me, I don’t think that reading comic books and being good at puzzles makes you incapable of competing at something physically. (Says the girl who got up early this morning to go running with her very nerdy husband.) I resent the attitude that smart people can only excel at intellectual stuff and shouldn’t be expected to be able to kick a ball or win a footrace. That just annoyed me about them. We were just supposed to like them automatically because they wore glasses. Or maybe it’s because I’m a self-hating nerd. (Reminds me of when my parents finally got me a Cabbage Patch kid and she had glasses, which were presumably supposed to make me feel better about myself. Instead I just felt like a big nerd with a big nerd doll.)

I’m still liking the hippies, by the way. Yeah, the constant fake Italian accent is getting a little grating, but for the most part they’ve had fun the ENTIRE race. They don’t seem to get stressed and they’re not outwardly mean to anybody. They’re running the race I WISH Dave and Lori had run. And hey, Lake and Michelle are kind of amusing! I wouldn’t mind seeing them in the top three.

RACE!
All this training finally has a point… I’ve officially registered to run the Mother’s Day Classic in five weeks. I’ve opted for the 8K run, and what’s more – Snookums is going to run it with me! I have no idea what kind of time we’ll do together, but I’m just so stoked to be doing something like this with him. I know we can do it. The event is to raise money for breast cancer research, so if you’d like to help out you’re more than welcome to sponsor us. (We don’t have to raise any set amount so I’m not going to give you the hard sell. Just let me know if you’re interested.) The course is actually the same one I ran as a 5K a few years ago, down through the Domain and around Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. Anyone have any preparation tips for us?

We’ve had a very busy weekend.

Saturday…

• I went to the Inner City Knitter’s Guild meeting.
• Snookums got the final component for his kegerator and hooked it all up. He then dumped out about 90% of his bottled homebrew stock, reckoning that quality is better than quantity.
• I cleaned out our fridge, pantry, and cupboards, throwing out everything out-of-date and wiping them down.
• We did at least half a dozen loads of laundry.
• We finally organized our office, unearthing carpet for the first time in a year.
• We took two massive suitcases of clothing up to the Salvation Army store. All the fat clothes are gone now!
• We made about a dozen trips out to the recycling center, dropping off hundreds of beer bottles, cardboard boxes, and other assorted junk. As the Snook put it, “we could’ve filled a dumpster.”
• We went out to dinner at Mylos Greek restaurant in Glebe. Yum!

Sunday…

• I went for an hour-long jog. Felt pretty slow though. (Must’ve been the Greek food.)
• Amy came over to serve as Cat Taxi. Dr. Amy Jones got her annual injection and had her mystery bald spot inspected. Unfortunately the vet was stumped. It doesn’t seem serious though.
• All four of us went out to Rhodes to the big IKEA. The Snook and I had planned to get a cheap futon… but Amy talked us into this. (We actually got a denim cover. DENIM! It’s so wonderfully daggy.) We also got four shelving units and a shoe rack.
• While the boys took the furniture home, Amy and I went shopping. She got a new dress and I got two pairs of SIZE FOURTEEN jeans. *dance of joy* I also got some Easter supplies for my little brother’s visit.
• We came home and assembled all the furniture.
• I spent some time trying to finagle the angle of CouchCam so you can see both couches, but it’s just not happening with this crappy little camera.
• We made a lovely chicken pot pie for dinner.
• We registered for a RACE! (More on that in a minute.)

So I think we’re pretty much set for the Royal Visit. The Garbericks are getting here in… holy crap… like five days!

The Great Egg Debate
All right, let’s settle this. Poll’s down there on the right. You know what to do.