Of Diets and such

Over the past few years those 10 pounds I took off in my forties has made its way back and settled on my belly. For some time I have planned on taking that nasty 10 back off. D'Ann and I decided that we would devote this past week to dieting. I was excited, as the diet we chose promised a 10-17 pound weight loss in a week. It also promoted a tomato based soup that is very low in calories. Eagerly we began. It only took two days for me to lean away from enjoying the process. I can only stand so much tomato soup! But I told myself that it would be worth it to be rid of the extra poundage for good. However, it is slow in coming. I can report that, 6 days later, I am only down 2-3 pounds, depending upon the weighing time. Hum. All that effort for 2-3 pounds is not worth it to me. Here you see a picture of we two dieters, D'Ann Downey and myself. Today we celebrate the birthdays of Layne and daughter-in-law Dorothy. I am officially calling off the diet! Perhaps I should return to my original idea of just cutting back on what I eat in general. That is always a good idea, just hard to do consistently. Or perhaps I should just settle for that extra 10 pounds and accept it as a friend.

I have spent much of my time this past week sewing. When I come home after being away from home for extended periods I can more easily see the decorative flaws of our home. One of those is the lack of curtains. There is much to be said for nicely done curtains in a home. They warm the space and give a finished look. So this week I have done some, in the kitchen and bedroom. It is so rewarding to see the results of effort hanging before my eyes. There are so many other efforts that don't expose their results so readily.

Layne and I have committed ourselves to being in a performance of Nutcracker, to be performed on Temple Hill, in Oakland, this coming Christmas season. Rachel Tan (a friend from our old ward) has volunteered to organize her dance students into a Nutcracker performance as a service to the Church and community this coming December. Can you guess the part she wants us to play? Yep, the grandparents. To do that job right, we are committed to rehearsals every Saturday from now until performance time. It seemed like a small commitment when we made it at the beginning of this year. But, as it turns out, Layne and I are in two dances and he has a short solo part. Remember, this is my non-dancing husband! So here we are, dancing! If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE to dance. So I am a bit excited to be doing this. Layne is simply resigned. He has the dance steps carefully written down so that we can practice daily. He is such a structured, organized kind of guy. But I actually have come to love that about him. So another new experience is about to come our way. We are now performers in Nutcracker!