A Pattern

Over the past ten months I've seen a pattern develop with my weight and my cravings. I tend to lose weight in a bit of a two steps forward, one step back way. This is one reason why I do not record my weight every week but rather only when it goes to a new low. That doesn't mean I don't get on the scale often! Now, though, I don't react negatively or in a panic when I notice weight creeping back up a bit even though I am eating correctly, carefully accounting for my intake, and exercising religiously. My body just lies to drop, then hold, then creep up, then suddenly drop, drop, drop to a new low. At the same time, right before the drop, drop, drop occurs, I tend to be hungry rather continuously. I've worked hard to overcome the urge to say, "To hell with it!" and eat poorly, because although there is no logic to the creeping weight, I have learned that my body catches up with my behaviors given enough time. Fruits, veggies, and healthy carbs really help with snacks, and these periods of hunger are well-suited for my occasional red meat meals. Whatever my body is doing, it seems to do it in its own little way, and by tracking myself and paying attention to these patterns, I am learning to trust my hard-earned healthy habits.

Surprise Phone Call

I love caller ID. It can warn you if you're being bugged by  telemarketer. It can let you know if it's the call you've been waiting to receive. Today caller ID signaled that a childhood friend from Illinois was on the line, and so I was able to avoid awkwardness. I hadn't talked to my friend Pam for years and years. Strangely, the way the conversation progressed, you would have thought we were in the habit of calling each other on a regular basis. 

Pam had found a huge biography on Rudolf Nureyev, the incredible ballet dancer that we idolized as teenagers. We saw the Royal Ballet while we were in high school, and seeing Nureyev and Fonteyn dance "Giselle" truly ranks as a life highlight. Both of us even got ourrograms personally autographed by the two stars!  Reading the biography simply compelled Pam to call, and we chattered about all sorts of mundane things. 

Pam's poor phone connection cut our conversation off rather abruptly, but hopefully we can share a call a little more often now. :-)

Lefties Unite!

August 13th is LEFT-HANDERS' DAY, so please honor all of us by trying to remember some of the following tips:

1) NEVER use ladles with only one lip unless you want punch spilled everywhere.

2) DON'T try to "teach us" by attempting to do things leftie; we automatically mirror your examples (watch us knit). I always found it easier to help guide right-handed third graders with cursive writing one-on-one because of this!

3) DON'T EVER TRY TO FORCE A PERSON TO BECOME A RIGHTIE! We didn't "choose" to be special, we just are. :-) 

4) Don't worry about left-handed scissors; the vast majority of us cannot use them because we adapted to your scissors in pre-school & kindergarten. Trust me, I know. It's a scream to watch me try.

5) Don't bother trying to share sports equipment. We really cannot use "regular" golf clubs except for putters, so unless we're only doing putt-putt golf, we need left-handed clubs. This goes for baseball mitts, shotguns, and a whole slew of things YOU never realized were customized for right-handed users.

6) Always seat us at a corner of a table with no one on our left. It saves on us having to endlessly say, "Sorry as we attempt to eat, drink, and be merry. Shere's  all of us lefties. We may be only 10% of the population, but we are a mighty group!