every inch counts (lyn)

This summer I bought a pair of black pants when I was on the Cape.  The tag read size 8, but I think it was either mis-marked, or a ploy by the manufacturer to make a size 10 or 12 person think they were a size 8.  In any case, I liked the way these pants fit.

In already thinking about what to pack for Thanksgiving, a friend suggests I should dress all in black, as that is always the most slimming.  I’m not sure if I want to do that, but I definitely want to be in skinny black pants.

So today I take my new black pants out of the closet.  The tags are still on them. I try them on, and to my absolute delight, the waist is too big.   I could now wear them if I were five months pregnant.  I’m not, so I take them to the neighborhood tailor.

I’m sure he cannot see how proud I am.  I try and act as though this were an everyday occurrence.  I put the pants on, and show him the gap between my stomach and the pants.  He’s all business.  He pinches the waistband of the pants and pins them and says, “Okay?”  I control my excitement and casually ask, "How much?"  Chinese being his first language, he doesn’t speak English very well, but does understand how much.  “Fifteen dollah,” he says.  “No, no,” I respond, and do a poor pantomime of my pants going from being too big to smaller.  He understands, and says, “One inch and half.” 

Now that may not seem like a lot, but under the right circumstances, even one and a half inches can make a world of difference!

the wait is over (lyn)

On November 12^th, a Costco opened in Manhattan.  Today, Zelia and I decide to make a visit.

The first thing we notice that’s different is that there is no open parking area.  Instead, there is one of those wind-around 10-story parking garages that charge $25/hr. for the first hour.  But this one is only $4.70 for the first two hours which makes it okay.  Free parking in Manhattan just doesn't exist.

We find a perfect space right next to the elevator but it is barely large enough to fit her car.  Zelia squeezes into the space that is practically on top of the car next to me.  I manage to slide out the passenger side and Zelia says, “A month ago you wouldn’t have fit.”

Everything has that squeaky-clean-brand-new look.  We go get our carts, outside the store, and we are astonished to find all the wheels going in the right direction.  First try.  We don’t have to sample a few carts before finding one that works.

Outside the store is a large poster that lists items unique to this store.  And right there on the list I see: Ugg coquette slippers for $64.99.   Last night, I ordered the very same slippers from Zappos for $100 (which I can now return).  When I prepared my list for Costco last night, you can be sure that Ugg slippers were not on it.

As soon as we walk in, we see a table set up for breakfast- juice and muffins are being offered.  Even though I do not partake, I appreciate the welcome.

Aside from the Ugg’s and the store’s cleanliness, what distinguishes this Costco from the others is the abundance of Costco employees available to help.  When I’m looking for broccoli florets, the employee I ask doesn’t just point me in the right direction, he actually goes to the back vegetable room and comes back carrying the bag of florets.  And when Zelia and I can't find the fat-free microwavable popcorn (100 calories per bag), it is easy to find someone who gives us directions.  But the directions turn out to be wrong.  No problem.  Before we have time to ask someone else, we see the employee looking for us with the popcorn in-hand.

I spend about $100 on Soft Scrub, Ghirardelli candy (not for me) and healthy foods:  raspberries, blueberries, broccoli florets, shrimp cocktail, lite turkey, clementines and Persian cucumbers. 

I go to check out.  Always the worst part of a Costco trip. The lines are usually long.  And, you have to hunt down boxes to put your groceries in.  But here, at this new Costco, I get a nice surprise.   First, the empty boxes are their at the cashiers.  There are no lines at all (hope that lasts, but I'm doubtful).  And best of all,  a Costco employer gives me the equivalent of valet-check-out.  She hand-packs my items, and asks about my experience.  A pleasure I tell her. 

When I arrive home a box from Zappos awaits me.  In it are the same Ugg slippers I just bought for $35 less.  I'm glad that Zappos makes it so easy to return.

further from your goal is harder (m)

Lyn,

What are you talking about?  While you are slipping into size 8 jeans now, I'm praying I don't need a seat belt extender for my flight today.

While you on track to reach your goal (which is skinny) , I'm hoping to not be the fattest mother in the crowd when both my sons graduate from high school and college, respectively....in 2012.

While you are almost back into your Pradas and Jill Sanders, I'm hoping to get out of the plus size section in Land's End and J.Jill.

Not to belittle your journey, but I really believe this is harder.

sometimes it's easier to be further from your goal (lyn)

Preparing for the SAT is nothing like it was when I was taking them.  I grew up in Brockton Massachusetts, and went to a high school that was on double session. Translated that means I went to a bad school. School hours, my junior year, were from 12:30 to 5pm, and I usually missed a day each week.  A state-of-the art new school was being built, but unfortunately that would not benefit me.  There were 1,000 kids in my graduating class, and I’d guess that only half (if that) went to a four-year college.

I took the SAT’s once.  I remember sitting at our kitchen table until late at night doing problems from a practice SAT book.  I liked doing the math problems, so I pretty much just did those.  It didn’t matter that I needed to focus more on the reading.  I had no guidance, either from the school or my parents.  And no one I knew got tutored. 

At my son’s school, everyone goes to a four-year college and takes the SAT (and maybe the ACT) twice or more.  In addition, most students take two to three SAT Subject tests, and, the SAT now has three sections (Math, Critical Reading and Writing) versus just two sections until a couple of years ago.

I don’t know anyone who isn’t getting tutored, and the cost is astronomical.  Private tutoring runs (at a minimum) $240/session.  My son attends a highly demanding high school (one of the best in the country) and we live in a highly competitive city, but even so.  Getting a good SAT score should not involve so much money, time, pressure, or anxiety.  I would have thought that going to a good school and doing well would be enough.  It isn’t.

Many juniors take a practice SAT test given by a number of different companies, and use that as a basis for determining how much, or how little, tutoring is needed.  A perfect score would be an 800, and at my son’s school, the aim seems to be to achieve a score somewhere in the 700’s.  Not an easy feat.

A friend of mine recently interviewed a prospective tutor who told her that with tutoring, scores can be raised.  But he cautioned her that going from mid 600’s to 700’s is a whole lot easier than going from low 700’s to mid 700’s. Not unlike Weight Watchers, I thought.

For me, losing the first 15 pounds has been relatively easy.  But now it’s getting harder, and I’m getting lazier.  Because I look reasonably okay, and appear to be “back to normal” (even though the scale says otherwise), I have less incentive to under eat.

I still stay within my points.  I still count everything that goes in my mouth.  I still give my WW scale a good workout.  But this week I’ve borrowed more than usual from the 35 extra points I’m allowed.  I have exercised less.  And, I don’t feel lighter.

It's time to get re-motivated.  I'll take another look at the unworn Prada coat I bought three years ago and still haven't worn because it was too tight and is now just too snug.   I need it do be just right.

wedding highlights (m)

Forgot to mention some highlights from yesterday's wedding:

-my dress was loose.  I may not be able to wear it again if I continue to lose more weight (which I plan to do)
-my Spanx were loose.  This was unsettling.  Like going commando, but not.  On the other hand, this is better than when they used to roll down on me as they did at an aunt's funeral.
-when I changed into my black pants, silver blouse and black jacket for the evening party, some people commented that I looked even thinner
-I had to raise the seat in my car because my butt has deflated and I couldn't see that well above the steering wheel.
-we found Sam's good dress shoes in my husband's closet when he went to get dressed for the wedding.  The shoes have been missing for six months, since his cousin's wedding.  My mother accused us of leaving them at the hotel after the wedding and then she accused my husband of throwing them away at the town dump.  Now that she knows they were in the house after all, she accused all of us of being idiots for misplacing them in the first place.

one final word on cable (lyn)

Yesterday Karen told me that Donna (another neighbor on our floor) just happened to lose her cable TV and internet connection on Friday, suspiciously around the same time that Wayne and Tommy were here repairing mine.  It turns out that Donna's cable and port got messed up when mine was being repaired.  New technicians were sent (this makes 4 visits to our floor by Time Warner Cable in 3 days) to fix Donna's problem.  I think it's all working okay now and everyone is happily connected.  Gee, I wonder if this in any way relates to increases on our cable bill?!

lynda's wedding (m)

Today, my cousin Lynda got married.  She had a destination wedding at a beautiful country restaurant in Maine, followed by an after-party at a lovely inn.

I had visions of driving up to Maine on a crisp fall day with views of the last remaining foliage.  Instead, a storm blew up from the south and we drove in blinding rain.  Even with the wipers on full speed and the defrost on full blast, there were moments when I couldn't make out the lines in the highway.

My mother was in the back seat, complaining the entire time.  My irrepressibly happy sister-in-law tried to cheer her up which only made her sulk more (my husband was in another car with my brother). We stopped for coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.  My mother refused to get any because she said then she'd have to go the bathroom and didn't know where she would go.  I told her Maine has bathrooms, too, but she just scowled and sulked some more because she missed her morning coffee.  My sister-in-law tried to placate her by being extra cheerful.  It didn't work.  Picture a 2-hour car ride in bad weather with Tigger and Eeyore together in the back seat.

Because the ceremony began at noon,  I had to get up at 7, get in full dress and make-up, drive 30 minutes to pick up my mother, do her make-up and allow for a two-hour drive to be in Maine by 11:30.  I skipped breakfast so I wouldn't be late.  It didn't bother me, but I knew it wasn't "on plan".

After the ceremony, there were lots of appetizers.  I had a stuffed mushroom, asparagus in phyllo dough and a few cubes of cheese and four crackers.  No alcohol.

Lunch was spinach salad with pistachios and craisins, hot rolls, chicken and pork with green beans and boiled potatos.  I ate everything but the potatoes.  Dessert was chocolate cake and homemade cookies (five varieties).  I had coffee with milk.

I have no clue how many points I had, but I was full after eating all that and decided that I probably hit my limit for the day and went into my 35 extra points as well.  If I had a sheet of paper and the book with me, I would have had a better estimate, but I didn't care. What's done is done, I thought. I just shut off eating after that.

The after-party was a blast.  Everyone changed into casual clothes (the bride's mother wore a sweatshirt and jeans...my mother told her she thought she was the cleaning woman from the inn).  There was food everywhere...sandwiches, hot hors d'oeuvres, open bar, homemade desserts.  It was only 6:30 p.m. and people were ready to eat again but I was done for the day.

I had to come up with a plan quickly or I'd cave in and blow it.  I did something I never do...I got up and joined my cousins who were singing and dancing by the D. J..  Remember, this is the clan who wears customized t-shirts to special occasions, but tonight we wore pins with the bride and groom's images on them.  I looked ridiculous up there, singing and swaying my hands like a teenage girl at a Miley Cyrus concert.    About halfway through "American Pie", I realized that I was having more fun than I usually do at these things.  We did songs from the 60's and 70's and I didn't care how foolish I looked.  I was not eating AND I was having a great time.

We left around 9 p.m.  Someone had given us a plate of cookies for the ride home (God forbid we go without food for a period of time).  I put them in the back seat with my mother and sister-in-law and turned on the radio.

I sang all the way home.