I didn't post last week out of embarrassment because I had climbed back on that plateau and weighed in at my 25-pound loss again.
This week I'm down two pounds for a lowest-weight mark since beginning this program in January.
Yay! I get to add another paper clip to my chain.
My weight is now 211 for a total of 27 pounds lost.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
And I Didn't Think I Was an Investor!
I've never bought stocks but back in my halcyon days when I had an American Express card and used it prudently, I bought a set of china.
I was well beyond my newlywed days by then and the china I already had looked embarrassingly ingenue. Amex had enclosed a circular offering 12 place settings plus serving pieces of a Villeroy & Boch pattern for $550.
I didn't hate the pattern and it seemed a pretty good buy, so I ordered it. It's been my special occasion china ever since. It's seen me through many a birthday, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashana, and the occasional dinner party. Some of the pieces I've used even more often. (I remember one time at 3:00 a.m., working tête à tête with a court reporter on an expedited transcript, serving coffee with the full coffee service just to keep our spirits up and our bodies awake.)
I kept Small Island Trader bookmarked in my viewer and occasionally pondered whether to buy another serving piece or two. (The link goes to my pattern, Botanica.)
Today I checked the bookmark and learned that the link to my pattern had been changed and -- Holy cow! -- so had the cost of the replacement pieces!
I just finished adding up all the pieces I own at the prices they're asking and came up with $2,824.99. I'd say that wasn't too bad for my original $550 (including shipping) investment, but some guru will have to answer the question.*
Is five times the original purchase price in 16 years a good investment?
I was gloating over this discovery when I realized the reason for the price increase on the pattern is because it's probably discontinued.
Discontinued patterns: What dead ladies leave in their estates.
I so much preferred thinking of myself as a savvy investor.
Now I feel old.
*No spam, please.
I was well beyond my newlywed days by then and the china I already had looked embarrassingly ingenue. Amex had enclosed a circular offering 12 place settings plus serving pieces of a Villeroy & Boch pattern for $550.
I didn't hate the pattern and it seemed a pretty good buy, so I ordered it. It's been my special occasion china ever since. It's seen me through many a birthday, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashana, and the occasional dinner party. Some of the pieces I've used even more often. (I remember one time at 3:00 a.m., working tête à tête with a court reporter on an expedited transcript, serving coffee with the full coffee service just to keep our spirits up and our bodies awake.)
I kept Small Island Trader bookmarked in my viewer and occasionally pondered whether to buy another serving piece or two. (The link goes to my pattern, Botanica.)
Today I checked the bookmark and learned that the link to my pattern had been changed and -- Holy cow! -- so had the cost of the replacement pieces!
I just finished adding up all the pieces I own at the prices they're asking and came up with $2,824.99. I'd say that wasn't too bad for my original $550 (including shipping) investment, but some guru will have to answer the question.*
Is five times the original purchase price in 16 years a good investment?
I was gloating over this discovery when I realized the reason for the price increase on the pattern is because it's probably discontinued.
Discontinued patterns: What dead ladies leave in their estates.
I so much preferred thinking of myself as a savvy investor.
Now I feel old.
*No spam, please.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Back on the Road to Onederland
Well, I finally cracked that plateau I'd been on for two months.
Remember the red plaid dress that was supposed to revitalize my resolve to lose weight? (The Target Now In the Sights. See Previous Posts in this blog.)
Nope. Didn't do it.
Nor did the size-16 jeans my DD shrank out of. (Dang! I was going to get skinny first and show her how good she could look when she got old. But then she lost 6 pounds while she was in Italy and it motivated her to keep going. Unfortunately, I can't afford a trip to Italy at the moment.)
Nor the two pant suits that my office manager and fellow Weight-Watchers-at-Work meeting attendee shrank out of last week and gifted to me.
No. This is what did it.
Tower Market on Portola. More correctly, Mollie Stone's Tower Market on Portola.
I rarely shop there unless I happen to be passing by on my way home at a time when I'm tired and desperately need to pick up something and the thought of driving past home to go to my regular store is too much to bear.
That is why I had no idea that the solution to my problem plateau hung right inside the entrance.
You can't miss it. It's a huge, round, convex mirror. It's the kind that you put at the end of a driveway or garage or a blind curve in an alleyway to avoid collisions.
Ouch!
See the biggest mirror in my apartment is the one on the medicine chest in the bathroom.
When you walk into Mollie Stone's Tower Market you just can't help but stare up into that big, round, convex mirror because your own motion above your head draws you into it.
What did I see when I looked up there?
I'm still fat.
That's all it took. A loss of 25 pounds seems like a lot to most people. But when it's only about a quarter of what you need to lose, it takes something like the sight of yourself in a big, round, convex mirror to realize you're not finished losing weight yet, Darling!
Ahem.
So....
At weigh-in yesterday I'd lost 1.2 pounds for a total of 26.2 pounds down. I'm back on the road to Onederland!
When I hit 50, I think I'll do some grocery shopping on Portola.
If that doesn't work, I'll go look for a House of Mirrors at Pier 39.
Remember the red plaid dress that was supposed to revitalize my resolve to lose weight? (The Target Now In the Sights. See Previous Posts in this blog.)
Nope. Didn't do it.
Nor did the size-16 jeans my DD shrank out of. (Dang! I was going to get skinny first and show her how good she could look when she got old. But then she lost 6 pounds while she was in Italy and it motivated her to keep going. Unfortunately, I can't afford a trip to Italy at the moment.)
Nor the two pant suits that my office manager and fellow Weight-Watchers-at-Work meeting attendee shrank out of last week and gifted to me.
No. This is what did it.
Tower Market on Portola. More correctly, Mollie Stone's Tower Market on Portola.
I rarely shop there unless I happen to be passing by on my way home at a time when I'm tired and desperately need to pick up something and the thought of driving past home to go to my regular store is too much to bear.
That is why I had no idea that the solution to my problem plateau hung right inside the entrance.
You can't miss it. It's a huge, round, convex mirror. It's the kind that you put at the end of a driveway or garage or a blind curve in an alleyway to avoid collisions.
Ouch!
See the biggest mirror in my apartment is the one on the medicine chest in the bathroom.
When you walk into Mollie Stone's Tower Market you just can't help but stare up into that big, round, convex mirror because your own motion above your head draws you into it.
What did I see when I looked up there?
I'm still fat.
That's all it took. A loss of 25 pounds seems like a lot to most people. But when it's only about a quarter of what you need to lose, it takes something like the sight of yourself in a big, round, convex mirror to realize you're not finished losing weight yet, Darling!
Ahem.
So....
At weigh-in yesterday I'd lost 1.2 pounds for a total of 26.2 pounds down. I'm back on the road to Onederland!
When I hit 50, I think I'll do some grocery shopping on Portola.
If that doesn't work, I'll go look for a House of Mirrors at Pier 39.
Jungle Fever
Some time back in an effort to control our portion sizes, DH and I started to buy smaller sized dishes with fun patterns on them. Usually they're children's dishes with colorful cartoonish animals on them. Eating at our house is not very elegant, but it sure is fun!
As a result of this project, I now have a new and wonderful obsession. It started with this:
I happen to love animal prints anyway, especially leopard, so when I caught sight of these demitasse cups on eBay, I just had to have them.
Once I got them, I wanted a teapot to match or at least coordinate. I got outbid on one that the same seller had on sale, but she was kind enough to inform me when she got more jungle animal crockery to sell.
Which led to my buying this:
and then this:
Luckily, DH loves them. I've been justifying the purchase by exploring recipes that will present well on them when taken to potlucks. I'm going to have to rearrange the china cabinet to fit them in and I have very-little-to-no wiggle room for any more china in the apartment now.
The eBayer who sold me the above has become one of my favorite sellers. They don't have a lot of china to offer so I'm lucky in that respect, but they do have some great toys my adopted grandkids are going to love.
Although, my original standing search for a jungle animal teapot came up with this recently. I successfully resisted bidding on it:
Until yesterday.
Oh, well. Maybe I should start searching for curtains, rugs and pillows in animal prints to complete the theme. At least I have some room left for those in the apartment.
As a result of this project, I now have a new and wonderful obsession. It started with this:
I happen to love animal prints anyway, especially leopard, so when I caught sight of these demitasse cups on eBay, I just had to have them.
Once I got them, I wanted a teapot to match or at least coordinate. I got outbid on one that the same seller had on sale, but she was kind enough to inform me when she got more jungle animal crockery to sell.
Which led to my buying this:
and then this:
Luckily, DH loves them. I've been justifying the purchase by exploring recipes that will present well on them when taken to potlucks. I'm going to have to rearrange the china cabinet to fit them in and I have very-little-to-no wiggle room for any more china in the apartment now.
The eBayer who sold me the above has become one of my favorite sellers. They don't have a lot of china to offer so I'm lucky in that respect, but they do have some great toys my adopted grandkids are going to love.
Although, my original standing search for a jungle animal teapot came up with this recently. I successfully resisted bidding on it:
Until yesterday.
Oh, well. Maybe I should start searching for curtains, rugs and pillows in animal prints to complete the theme. At least I have some room left for those in the apartment.
In the Company of Geniuses
wrnglrjan is a genius! (see her comment on my last post)
You mean I can blog again?
"Overthinking a coincidence." I'm so good at that I should have it trademarked.
I'll be in touch, ya'll.
You mean I can blog again?
"Overthinking a coincidence." I'm so good at that I should have it trademarked.
I'll be in touch, ya'll.
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