Day the 39th [Not Posting This Weekend]

O M G ! D'NOVO has incredible food.

If you live in "my town," and you care about food and about not eating gross amounts of junk with the concommitant calories, get yourself to 61st and Yale to D'Novo. A totally sleek and elegant and minimalist design to the restaurant, really quiet surroundings, the serve-yourself-drink machine is hidden behind a panel, lots of calm off-white, and no entree above 500 calories.

That's right...you read it here. AND...desserts not above 500 calories, including a flourless 2-chocolate thing that I must have as a reward when I break 200 (all right...that's gonna be a while. At least 17 weeks, and that's ONLY if I continue to lose 2 lbs a week which is--as Doctor X and I told you--the outside of the weight loss envelope...Let's say it's going to be 18 weeks, and that translates into...April 21st. Plenty of time to anticipate it...)

Anyhoodle, if you live here, go there. The food is wonderful--I had a chicken salad sandwich on a wonderful granola bread...real chicken, lightly spiced, delicate binder holding it all together, with lettuce and a slice of tomato...and a cup of Asian slaw that tasted as though the binder was...tahini? or did I taste a hint of peanut? with a little kick to it. And my gift from Granny Jean was a gift card to go there, so I am going to take one of the BFFs there...

Let me say this...who wants to eat junk? Not me. I don't want to eat food that tastes lousy or food that is nothing but chemicals and is horrible for me. Good healthy--and I really mean healthy--food can taste great and still not be high in calories. I am totally impressed with this place. Spread the WORD!!! Go there, support it--and I am happy to say that I saw Scott the Lector (not to be confused with Scott the Bagelman) from St. Jerome's there...way to support good stuff! Oh, this is a guy who makes his own hummus for when it's his turn to supply the treats for after church in the undercroft (as Bishop Rick says, that's Anglican for basement...) Oh yes, he knows good food.

I won't be posting Saturday, December 18 (Day the 40th) or Sunday, December 19 (Day the 41st) until Monday at lunch. The reason is that the fair Anglicans at St. Jerome's have an Advent calendar that advises not emailing, etc. over the weekend with no cheating. So...Sister Weltha-the-Anglican is going to stay away from the 'puter--no emailing, no Mafia Wars, no posting on the blog. Ba doomp boomp...

Also...a little advertisement: if you live here in my town, please consider yourself invited to St. Jerome's Feast of the Nativity (also known as Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve). There is a wine and nibbles reception starting at 10 pm on December 24th, and then the service--complete with incense, black-and-white robes (cassocks and surplices) on the choir, Bishop Rick in his Big Bishop Hat, and lots of singing, not to mention placing the Baby Jesus in the manger. We love this service--particularly because it was snowed out for the first time in the history of our charming church last year and it was a major bummer and let-down. We get all sorts of excited that we are celebrating that Jesus was born, a real baby in a real small town. And there will be all the lovely features of a high mass--the Scripture readings (fun fact: Anglicans read four portions of Scripture in every service: OT, NT, Psalms, and Gospels. We read loads of Scripture, for you that like that sort of thing. We like it), the Lord's prayer, confessing our sins, the Peace ("Anglican Meet-and-Greet"), one of the creeds (the Nicene...my personal favorite in my personal favorite version: Rite I--woo hoo!) and of course, the highlight of any Anglican service--the Eucharist. As Bishop Rick says, this is the greatest gift we have to offer--the Body and Blood of our Lord. So come if you can--even if you're not Christian or religious or spiritual or whatever, come join us. It's a great evening. You are welcome and will be loved and embraced!

Sermon over...I am going to meet Keith the English Prof at Nordaggio's tonight and get me some EGGNOG! It's been a day--I ate a bagel and later Pei Wei yesterday, and now...some EGGNOG. So yes, I am indeed celebrating. No, I didn't have my grapefruits yesterday, an omission I am remedying tomorrow, and no, I did not exercise--an omission I also plan to remedy tomorrow, too.

I'll see you on Monday and there will be 3 posts that day--Saturday's and Sunday's by 1 pm, and then Monday's after 5, I think. Don't worry, they will all show up on the same page: you won't have to carry out a search-and-destroy mission to find them.

Also, I will post my new pics on Monday. Believe me, they make me realize WHY I am doing this. I'm fat, and I don't like it.

On the postive side: FAT is something you can do something about and without superhuman effort. Just do the right thing, and do it over and over and over and over and over...and I'm doing it...over and over and over and over and over...

Independently,

Weltha

Day the 38th WEIGH-IN THURSDAY

Gentle Readers All--and the moment you have been "weighting" for [did you see what I did there? I figure I can use this same lame joke about 2.7 more times before one of you hollers "Enough, woman!"]

My weight today is.....234, and I am delighted.

My former doctor, Doctor X, once told me that when a person is eating correctly, 2 lbs/wk is the outside of the envelope in terms of weight loss. 2 weeks ago, I weighed 238, and today, I weigh 234. I am right on target. I love it.

Yes, I did reward myself--I went to Scott the Bagelman's Bagel-O-Rama (all right...the real name is Old School Bagel Cafe), and yes, I purchased one (1) pumpkin bagel, toasted, with pumpkin cream cheese, and--decadence of decadence--sugar-roasted pecans. If you go there to get the pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese, ask for the sugar-roasted pecans...it was lovely, lovely, lovely. I know, I know...it was a food reward, but I have learned that I am indeed loathe to eat "treats." So...unless I write that I am really struggling with wanting to faceplant in a box of chocolate-covered cherries (my favorites are Cella's...they don't have great chocolate, but the inside is cherry and liquid with no nasty fondant. Well...it's nasty to me...), let's all assume that I am not sneaking spoonfuls of pre-made chocolate fudge frosting or up-ending a bag of Almond M&Ms into my mouth.

And no, those are not random examples either...

In other news, there is fun (and probably food) ahead...

Tomorrow (Friday) lunch, I am meeting with BFF Granny Jean to go to this wonderful place called D'Novo that has low-calorie entrees. Great food, not a bunch o' junk...hangin' with my friend...what's not to love? I will defo report back for those who live here in town...

Friday at 7 pm, I am meeting with another BFF Keith the English Prof at a coffee shop (Nordaggio's) to hang and catch up. Yes, I will probably get some eggnog...I don't want a latte or something like that, just the straight-up 'nog. I love it.

Saturday pm, I'm going to a "do" with Poodle and a friend, where I get to corner some people and discuss their take on some causes dear to my heart. Way fun.

Woodstock and I have had to indefinitely postpone Harry Potter because of his time constraints with grading for the class he taught and the ongoing slave labor of his diss. But we are in dialogue about going to see The King's Speech sometime soon at the wonderful Circle Cinema here in town.

All of these are fraught with food peril. But I have found that the more I eat correctly, the less I want to eat a bunch of junk. And "always go full" is my motto. Eat a bunch o' good stuff first; that way, you don't fall on the food-type items like you've come off a 2 week water fast.

OH, and Alyce (aka Pearl) and I are probably going to do our little Christmas thing on Saturday--it may involve going out and shopping (and due to her recent health hoo-hah, which is nicely clearing up, it may not. Yet.)

Methinks lunch may be a couple of grapefruits...I love those Texas Ruby Reds...and maybe a little coleslaw because I loves it so much, I does...it's precious to me...my precioussssssss...The Coleslaw of Power...

Oh, I'm trying Bach Flower Remedies. Will defo report on these because they are my newest romance...

BIG MAJOR WELCOME TO NEW FOLLOWERS--and BIG LOVE to all my regulars who show up whenever they can.

Love you all!

Independently,

Weltha