Why I Can't Lose Weight

This week I discovered another reason why I can't lose weight, that is besides the fact that I'm very self-indulgent and eat whatever and whenever I want.

I was thrilled when I returned from France that I hadn't gained any weight in spite of the delicious pastries, wines, cheeses and meals I had. About two weeks after I returned, I got on the scale and saw that I had lost a pound. And I hadn't even been trying.

I'm not a hypochondriac. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I once walked and worked out for a week and a half with a broken bone in my foot. But this time, I panicked. I decided there must be something terribly wrong with me for me to lose a whole pound. So I decided that I should see a doctor, but first to soothe my nerves I had some cookies. Then I had some bread and butter. Then I had a good dinner.

The next day I got back on the scale and saw that I had gained back the pound I lost and an extra for good measure.

Based on my reaction to the lost pound, I've decided that I'm my own worst enemy. I've actually been sabotaging my weight loss program.

Now, how do I stop sabotaging myself. Any suggestions?

Burnie's Side

Burnie here. Mom is busy watching something on the TV called a debate. It doesn't look like too much to me, just two people talking. There are no animals like birds or dogs or fish. Boring.

Anyway, I'm here to set the record straight. Yesterday Mom said that I was stressful just because I like to climb ladders. What else are they for? She has forgotten all the good things I do for her. She doesn't mention how I wake her up nice and early every morning by tapping her face, or combing her hair with my paw. She forgets how I take her to my breakfast every morning by leading the way by nudging her leg forward. Or, how about the times I alert her to a sound outside that she doesn't hear? Let's not forget the times I sleep close to her legs so she doesn't fall out of bed.

Really I'm very relaxing to be around. Sometimes I'm so relaxing that I make myself fall asleep. Speaking of sleep, it's time for my next nap.

Feline Stress Relief?

While going through some old magazines today I came across an article that claimed a 20 year study done by researchers from the University of Minnesota found that cat owners were 40 percent less likely to die of a heart attack than people who lived in feline-free households. Researchers think that it's possible that the cats offer stress relief.

Don't you believe it!

Today I had an appointment to have my windows washed (aren't I lazy), so I opened the door from the house to the garage to give Crash and Burn the confidence to go into the garage. A short time later I heard a strange sound coming from the garage. It seemed that Burnie had climbed the closed ladder that was just leaning against the wall. He was walking along the top step. I was afraid he would dump the ladder and it would hit the refrigerator and who knows what it would do to him. I then put the ladder into the bathroom and closed the door.

As soon as the windows and curtains were clean, I took the ladder out of the bathroom and leaned it against a closet door. As I was threading the curtains onto the rod, I looked up and there was Burnie again on the closed ladder. I dropped the curtain, stepped on the other half of the rod and ran the length of the house to either stabilize the ladder or grab Burnie.

I guess I'll have to lock him up again when I hang the curtains.

That's just one day living with Burnie. That's enough stress to last a year.

Commercials

I think I watch too much television. Tonight I'm going to again critique a commercial.

This time the Brita water treatment is the subject of my complaint. The commercial usually opens with a shot of a bottle of water and subtitles such as "30 minutes on a treadmill", or "45 minutes in a meeting" and ends with "forever in a landfill".

As someone who has always recycled, even before it was mandatory, I find this very offensive. I may drink bottled water, but my bottles never find their way to a landfill, unless of course, the recycler dumps them. I save all my bottles and recycle all of them.

I still haven't found a better series of commercials than those of Liberty Mutual. This series shows people witnessing someone helping a stranger and then the witness helps someone else and so on and so on. The theme is responsibility. This series is my all time favorite.

Yes, I probably do watch way too much TV.

Uncharitable Charity

Yesterday I attended a fundraiser for cancer research. It was a good day and I'm sure they raised a lot of money, but they created no goodwill among those at my table.

The main attraction of the day was a silent auction. For those who don't know what that is, let me explain. There are many items on a table and each one has a sheet of paper on which to write your bid. If someone else wants that same item, they raise your bid and sign their name.

Initially, they announced that if you submitted the winning bid, you should come up to the front, pick up your sheet and pay for your item, then come back with your sheet to pick up your item. They also said that if you had bids on many items, you could pay with one check. The instructions sounded good on paper.

A friend of mine had the best bid on one item and one of the workers brought her prize to her even though she hadn't paid. They also brought one to another friend at the table. A short time later, my friend had another winning bid, but was told she had to pay before she could get her prize, then they took the first one away until she paid. All the while, they paid no attention to the other item on the table. In fact, they kept bringing gifts to anyone who submitted the winning bid.

This angered my friend so much, she was ready to go home without paying for anything and leaving everything there. When I left she was telling one of the organizers what had happened and how she felt. I later heard that they apologized to her, but I think they were very unfair to someone they know well and can be trusted not to run out with her prizes without paying.

Even though this was a charitable event, the organizers were very uncharitable to the donors. If the same people are in charge next year, I doubt if I will go.

Busy, busy, busy

This has been a very busy week for me. I don't usually like to be busy every day, but for some reason, I had signed up for so many things last week.

It started on Sunday when I did the walk for cancer research, then Monday I made my contribution to the economy of Atlantic City. Tuesday is my usual busy day - scrabble in the morning, the desk in the afternoon and our meeting in the evening. Wednesday, fortunately, was free except for cleaning and laundry. Thursday was the bus ride to Pennsylvania and then the photography meeting. Friday we had a luncheon and then canasta in the evening. Yesterday we had the Arts & Crafts Show. And today we had a brunch and silent auction for cancer research.

I'm exhausted. Hopefully this week will be more quiet except for food shopping and my usual Tuesday activities. Maybe if I don't look at my calendar, I won't have anything to do. I could use a week with nothing to do except make some phone calls and plan more activities.

Arts & Crafts Show

Tonight our community had its 2nd Annual Arts & Crafts Show. There were exhibitions of stained glass, models, oil painting, water colors and photography. I decided to exhibit a "few" of my favorite photos. I printed them, then matted them. I thought they looked quite good. Here are two of the evening's favorites.

The first was taken on a to the Canadian Rockies two years ago. This is a picture of Lake Louise. The lake was so still I was able to get a good reflection.


This second picture was shot from my front door during an ice storm we had back in 2007. Everyone was quite impressed.
Now that it's over, I keep thinking about other pictures I should have brought. I'm sure they'll have another show next year. I may even do a special exhibit of the cats, they'd like that.

One of the women was so impressed that she wanted to paint one of my pictures. I offered it to her tonight, but she asked me to e-mail it to her. The only condition I'll give it to her is that I get to see the finished product.