Holding at 164.0

I’m delinquent in my reports. I am happy with my progress on the 6WBM. I’m at 164 pounds today. I’ve been losing about 2 pounds per week and I’ve been having plenty of extras. I can definitely do this for life. Not being completely on program my results are slower, but they are steady, easy and satisfactory. My clothes are beginning to fall off of me. One of my co-workers, Anita, asked me last week if I was losing weight and what was I doing. I gave her the scoop. We talked about how we had both tried everything under the sun and had similar experiences. I told her I’d be her “sponsor”. I’m anxious to see how she does. P.S. I think it should be called 6 Weeks without a BM.

My boss Carol held a retirement party for me last Thursday. It was really lovely. She had enough food there to feed twice the people. So yummy. And, yes, I ate everything I wanted to eat. I think she expected more people to show up. None of the retirees came. Usually some retirees come in. It makes me think again nobody is going to come to our party Saturday.

Anyway, Carol made a little presentation of my official retirement keepsakes from the Government: Gallatin, my retirement certificate, and a pin. Many of my co-workers contributed food or money. I was presented a check for $400.00 which I think is very amazing. My boss said she wanted me to spend it in Venice when Jon and I go in the fall. But I want to spend part of it on my art copier that I’ve wanted for so long. I think not as many people showed up as she expected – or that I expected for that matter. Nevertheless, my mom enjoyed herself and got to see several people she had worked with during her career. I told the story that way back in the 80’s when the whole downstate IRS held annual CPE’s in Springfield at Sangamon University, I was sitting there by my mom and I was pregnant. I was thinking – “this tradition ends here – I will not encourage any of my children to work at the IRS.” And just this year, when my daughter Regan was having trouble landing her first job, I said to her, “You know, hon, the IRS is hiring.” Got some laughs. My husband enjoyed it, too, I think. He got to meet a lot of the people he hears me talk about. Some of them he knows anyway from his days as the coffee shop owner where I met him. My boss commented today she thought he was nice looking, easy going and he seemed to really like me. I concur. He really likes me.


I got my haircut in Chicago on the 17th. Regan went with me to the salon and then we went to Whole Foods for lunch and browsing. We like to make a day of it. We were talking about lots of things, including kicking around thoughts Jon and I have had about moving next summer to Portland or somewhere. Regan said she thinks we should go to Ireland first, then Portland, then New York and then Chicago so we’ll be back when her babies are born. Then she said she thought it would be good for me to move because I’d become very judgmental lately. What?! Yes, she said she felt like I criticized their apartment and the new house. If I did it was only because I want them to be happy. She said, our house they grew up in wasn’t that great. True. I thanked her for telling me she felt that way. I’ll watch that in the future. I got to see the house they'll be living in. It's cute. I think it will be better for them than the apartment.


I talked to my son Ryan yesterday. This was one of the few times I caught him in a talkative mood. Or maybe I just craftily brought up some subjects he was interested in. I told him a kid from Richwoods High School was picked up by Houston Texans this week. He was interested in that. I told him while flipping channels I caught some panel discussion from University of Texas Law School at Austin on C-Span. He was quite interested in that. Said he’d like to get on one of those reviews. I told him if he did let me know and I’d watch C-Span for him. He laughed. He’s hoping to still find a job for the summer, if not he’ll be taking summer school courses.


Enough for now, I guess. Later.

Catch up....I'm at 168.5

I’m down over 10 pounds from March 17 start date. That in spite of the fact this last week I haven’t been strictly following the plan. I’m still pumped and my husband is still very enthusiastically supporting my progress. I’ve lost a few inches overall, and last night when Jon came home from work and hugged me he said he noticed I felt thinner. He used the word skinny, but, come on……I wore pants to work this week that I haven't been able to get on since Christmas!


I’m 3 weeks away from my retirement date! Here’s what is happening on that front. My boss sent out the flyers for the office retirement party she has planned for me. My co-worker Cheryl is helping me with my house party planned for May 1, and she’s also in contact with my boss, Carol, and her party. Cheryl said Carol told her the office party will be “big”. Lots of retirees and current employees from all around the state will be there, including Carol’s boss from Chicago. She’s got flowers, punch, food, and all. I am looking forward to it and Jon and my mother (also an IRS retiree) will be coming to that with me.


My house party – or Jon’s and my house party – is for neighbors and friends and family. But I’m also inviting all of the Peoria post of duty. Many of them won’t travel to Springfield for Carol’s party.


Let me tell you, I’ve been stressing about our party. For weeks I’ve been whining to Jon, what if nobody comes to our party? And he assures me lots of people will come. He reminds me how many people came to our wedding reception we had here and I didn’t even invite as many co-workers to that. I repeated my worry so many times that finally Jon said, “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response anymore!”


Well, Thursday one of the managers from the office came to me and asked if I wanted them to bring anything to my party. And I said, no, I think we have it covered. And she said, “Are you sure? There’s going to be a lot of people.” I went home to Jon and said, “what if 100 people show up at our party?!” I’d be thrilled, but logistically it presents a problem of where to put people and food and drinks!


New subject: my baby girl and her husband HAVE PASSED THE BAR EXAM!!!! I could not be more proud of my children (I guess I am including son-in-law in “children”). They have worked very hard for this. I’m looking forward to a trip to Chicago in a few weeks to see them get sworn in.


Finally, 6WBM: On Easter Sunday, Jon went to his folks for their family Easter dinner. Jon and I had talked about what that would mean for me being on this program. I told Jon I really did not want to sit and watch everyone devour lots of delicious looking food while I ate none of it. Not only that, but I’ve had a, uh, situation since being on this program. As of Easter Sunday it had been about 8 days since I’d had a bm. I was taking some fiber pills to try to resolve that, and wasn’t sure what was going to happen and when, and just had no intention of leaving my home. We agreed he’d go on his own and I’d stay home and invite my mom over to lunch. I fixed an “on program” lunch that was very tasty! But I did buy dinner rolls when my sister Cindy said she and my other sister Kathy were coming, too. And Cindy brought a small Easter egg shaped chocolate cake from our favorite local bakery. Kathy did not come after all, but my mom, Cindy and I enjoyed a lovely lunch. I had set the table with my china and crystal and put daffodils from the yard in a vase on the table. But, those dinner rolls looked so soft and smelled so yummy I had to have one. And another, and one more after that.


And everyday since Easter I’ve had maybe one cheat item a day. I haven’t completely gone off plan, but I’ve been less strict. And, yes, the weight loss slowed. I am resolving to renew the strict application of the plan till the end of the month, though, beginning today.


Regan and I talked on the phone yesterday. We talked about a wide variety of subjects, but one thing was that we both will consume an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting. If the bag gets opened, we demolish it! I also do that with oreos. My son Ryan and I have both taken a sleeve of crackers and slathered each cracker with butter and eaten the whole sleeve of crackers. And, I guess I’m like that with alcohol, too. I don’t like to have “one glass” because I know it always makes me want more. One bottle, or however many bottles are in the house. Well, before I lived with Jon, I only kept one bottle at a time in the house for that reason. We have a LOT of bottles, now.


Oh, yes, my Ireland dreams. I’ve had a series of them since – March 17, of course – but they have a theme. I fly over there, only spend a few hours, and fly back home. What does that mean? I think it has to do with the fact that on our upcoming cruise we are only in each port a day, and only have a few hours to explore each city. And I miss Ireland.


Talk to you later.