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As the time for the meeting drew closer tonight, I started mentally preparing myself for my first week of weight gain. I mean, it was a given. I haven’t been exercising; I haven’t been tracking my Points; and I’ve been eating my face off. (For the record, the deep-fried camembert at Una’s is the BOMB.) So anyway, there I was groaning: “You guys, seriously. I’ve gained, like, two kilos this week.” “What?” my boss Albert said. “No you haven’t. You’ve lost half a kilo.” You wanna bet? So we wagered twenty bucks on it. I headed off to the meeting feeling like it was a win-win situation.

Well, guess what? The bastard won! I lost another half kilo exactly! I was in total shock. This goes down in the books as officially the Best Sickness Ever. That brought my total loss to date up to 8.2 kilograms. That’s just over eighteen pounds in two months! How insane is that? I don’t feel that different. I mean, my pants are looser and my new pink jacket buttons nicely in the front, but I feel like eighteen pounds should be more obvious, you know?

At any rate, I’m back on track with the program now. I managed to talk the Snook into doing the City to Surf with me this year, and it’s only ten weeks away. Hopefully I’ll be closing in on my goal around then!

Oh my God. Miftik found a pattern for a knitted cat sweater… with STEEKS! Insanity.

Who are the world’s sexiest vegetarians? I voted for Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. Man, there are a lot of weird names on there though. Come on, who’s gonna vote for Casey Kasem or Ed Begley, Jr? (Link courtesy of Brigita, who questions Bale’s vegetarian credentials but I don’t care, because he’s smokin’ hot and he has been ever since Little Women.)

I haven’t been following the Michael Jackson trial that closely, but how can the defense team make the argument that the boy’s family are out for money when this went to a criminal trial? If they wanted to cash out, wouldn’t they have just threatened him and taken the multi-million dollar payout like the last couple of kids?

What I wouldn’t give to see Obi-Wan singing “Luck Be a Lady”… *sigh*

I could not agree more with Graham about the stupidity of the “Corby Martyrs’ Bridgade” (TM Graham), and I take back some of the good things I said about Australians’ attitudes towards Indonesians last January. One drug-smuggling conviction and the yobbos are back to hating them again. We didn’t even get anyone from the Red Shield Appeal at our door this year, but I’ve half a mind to call up the Red Cross and donate $100 with the express wish that it go directly to Indonesian causes. Harrumph.

I know it’s probably all hot and SUMMERY where you are, but Down Under it’s the first day of winter and it’s damn chilly out. Tonight felt like the perfect night for some CHOWDA. We tried out this Corn and Cheddar Chowder recipe and it was excellent. As per some of the recommendations, we added a couple cloves of garlic, a few shakes of cayenne, and some extra potato and bacon. Not low-fat or low-cal at all, but who’s counting? (Says the sick girl who hasn’t done any exercise or Points-tracking yet has nevertheless managed to lose another pound because, YAY BEING SICK!)

And just like that, a fading star in the blogosphere has suddenly winked back into existence. Welcome back, Tara D! Now, make with the funny! I love Tara D’s funny.

I did it! I totally steeked that bad boy. Check it out:

Okay, since most of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, steeking is a Norwegian technique for constructing sweaters. Basically you knit the whole body as a tube with no armholes, then you physically cut the tube to put the sleeves in. Sounds traumatic, right? Exactly. (Incidentally, that article I linked has pictures of this exact sweater I’m knitting. Do any other knitters think that Wendy‘s floats are too long there? She doesn’t look like she’s tacked the long ones down at ALL. All of my books say that you should definitely twist if carrying a float of more than five stitches. I’m just annoyed because her wrong side looks a lot neater than mine, and the dark green floats don’t show through the white nearly as much.)

Anyway, yeah, so the first picture is me using the sewing machine to secure the steeks, which I’d outlined in bright yellow yarn so my lines would stay straight. I went around twice as the pattern suggests… and then chickened out and went around a third time. Then I was satisfied that those ends wouldn’t be going anywhere. Next is me preparing to make the first cut. TRAUMA! I had to go have a beer afterwards. Third is the cut and completed arm hole. And in the last shot, I’ve sewn the shoulder seams and now I’m ready to insert the sleeves and finish up the collar. Shouldn’t take me too much longer, which is a good thing… because the baby it’s intended for (Ruth Lauren Cunningham, daughter of my dear college friend Nat) was born last week!