JEANS!

Like finding hidden treasure.


So, my one-year anniversary for losing weight will be next Sunday, December 5. It is Walt Disney's birthday. Each year my sister and I go to Disneyland and lay a flower at the flagpole to honor Walt's birthday. There is a giant Christmas tree right behind the flagpole at the end of Main Street. Last year we had our picture taken in front of that tree with the promise that - one year from that day - there would be less of us in front of that tree. I've had my ups and downs but am proud to announce that when I have my picture taken there this year, there will be somewhere between 37 and 50 pounds less of me in front of the tree.

The amount isn't quite clear. On the Weight Watchers' scale the total lost is around 37 pounds. However, I've been working out for months now including about an hour of resistance training with machines at each workout. I'm down five clothing sizes. Figuring about 10 pounds per clothing size I'm guessing my total fat loss is between 45 and 50 pounds.

Whatever.

I feel terrific. Have tons more energy. And I know I look better.

So I'll keep plugging along. This is my life from now on so whether it takes one or two more years to get to my "goal" weight (and even that is up for debate) it doesn't matter. This is how I eat, this is how I exercise, this is how I live. There will be times (like this Thanksgiving weekend) when I eat a whole bunch of stuff I don't usually eat but it all evens out in the end. Literally.

So what does this have to do with the ball-o-jeans picture? (Yes, I've used that image before). This morning was pretty chilly here in sunny SoCA and I went hunting a sweatshirt. I knew I had some stashed somewhere and finally tracked them down in my husband's bedroom. I was happily surprised to find a half-dozen pair of jeans (4 brand new, some still with tags) stashed in there, too. And, I can wear them now! I think they've been in there twenty years.


I was even more delighted to find my Hiawatha sweatshirt.

My mother's sister married a farmer from Hiawatha, Kansas, and about every two or three years we would drive to Hiawatha to spend two or three weeks on the farm. I loved it there! Still do, for that matter. Anyway, my cousin (only 3 weeks older than I, we've always been spiritually close) has worked for many years at the WalMart in Hiawatha, and several years ago they sponsored a contest. Employees submitted design ideas for a Hiawatha sweatshirt and the winning idea would be produced and sold as souvenir sweatshirts. My cousin won the contest with her idea, and I have one of the sweatshirts! Hiawatha is The City of Beautiful Maples, and the shirt is dark green with orange maple leaves on the front. Green is not a great color on me (and orange is worse), but wearing the shirt is like being hugged. I was really worried that I had mistakenly thrown it out or donated it in one of my pitching frenzies. I was thrilled to find it!

My last class - the reading party - of my writing class was Tuesday. As usual I made a bad route decision and ended up on Santa Monica Blvd during "rush" hour traffic. Trust me. Santa Monica Bull-eh-vard isn't nearly as hip as Sheryl Crowe makes it out to be, especially when you're late. I left my house at 3:00 and got to the party at almost 7:30. If I'd made a better decision (like the 101 to the 405 to Sunset to Beverly Hills) I would have made it there early. Instead I sat in the same place for twenty minutes at a time watching miles of intersection lights flash red and green for the holidays. I was a mess when I got to the party.

But, oh, the writing these people have done. I enjoyed the class immensely. I will probably move to the next level next fall. That will give me time to save some $$$. I'm just hoping to have as good an experience, maybe even connect with some of the same group again.

Thanksgiving was yesterday and my brother and sister-in-law hosted it again. Delicious, with great company. I had a good time. Today I've been sorting and cleaning. Usually I start decorating for Christmas this weekend, but the house is just too dirty to begin.

I've been sorting stacks of genealogy paperwork. My uncle had a genealogy DNA test done and we learned that the line the family has been claiming as our ancestral line on my mother's father's side is not. I'm having to go through and dis-attach these people from the family on that line. It's tricky because the same family is also found on a second line of my mother's and a line of my father's. This means I can't just dump the group completely. And it means I can't just throw all the paperwork out since they are family back there somewhere.

I started this project 28.5 years ago thinking I would just document all lines to the immigrant ancestor. Surely that wouldn't take more than a couple of years, right? What I've learned is that my family goes back a long way, and the further back I go the more ancestors there are. I'm planning to type up all that I've learned into some kind of publication, but I'm running out of lifespan.

I'd better get started, huh?