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It has been a while. Life over takes the contemplation of life sometimes. I think that is a good thing.

Here are a few updates since I was last active here …

a) New job: I'm taking a leave of absence from my teaching gig to help out one of my clients with bringing their company more fully to market. Lots to do … very interesting work … nice people with integrity, spirit, drive and smarts. A good move for me. In a few weeks, I'll be full-time there and I couldn't be more pleased.

b) New diet: I started a commercial diet plan that I don't want to plug here, but herbs are involved and the initials of the plan are HM, and it is pricey! I have to keep a food diary and watch portions. I'm allowed three protein portions a day, three fruits, four veggies, two starches (!), one dairy (!), two fats and a "freebie". I started on June 29, unofficially, and have dropped just under 14 lbs to date. It is easy to follow and I can even cheat a bit. Popcorn is allowed – thank GOODNESS. 🙂 The starches are the toughest problem so far, but I'm managing ok. I've stopped eating toast in the a.m. since that uses up almost all my starch allotment for the day. They want me to go big on proteins, fruits and veggies first thing in the a.m. This works out really well, actually, as I love eggs anyway. I'm developing a taste for turkey bacon and a tolerance for Splenda. I was concerned about the Splenda chlorine problem but was assured that if I'm only using a couple of packets a day, it won't hurt me.

I really want to do this and I've been thinking about it seriously for about six months. I love playing hockey but I hate feeling winded after each shift. I don't like feeling like I can't do stairs. So my immediate concern is fitness and general energy levels. However, to be honest, I haven't like how I've looked in photographs over the past, oh, 10 years as the weight has slowly crept up. Those photos just don't look like me – at all. Finally, my brother being diagnosed as diabetic was a real motivator. He is 12 years older than me and, if I'm honest, there is not much standing between me and diabetes if I'm carrying 90 lbs that I shouldn't be (well … 76 now …). If it is going to happen, it needs to be now.

I bought two of the available cookbooks from HM and have made several recipes in them, esp. the soups and stews. It helps that I can either eat at home regularly, or pack a lunch for the office. Eating out – which I still do too much of – is a challenge. I feel surrounded by starches (breads, rices, potatos) everywhere!

In a few weeks, once I've got this diet routine down more firmly, I'll add a couple of trips to the gym per week to see if I can keep things moving in the right direction. Although 3.5 lbs per week is exactly the right pace for me, I expect I'll plateau at some point.

Reporting about all this is a motivator for me … so stay tuned!

c) New toy: Yes, yes – I've joined the Blackberry revolution and am a total convert. Everyone said that I'd become even more tied to e-mail than I already was but I find the opposite is true. It is liberating to not feel like I have to hit a computer at regular intervals and see what is going on in the world. It just arrives, presto, to my cute little machine. It has a trackball, a full keyboard and Texas Hold'em poker. I'm a happy gal!

d) Congrats to B & A on the safe, if lengthy, arrival of Arden Michael – may he bring you much joy!

e) Guitar: I took my guitar up to a cottage a few weeks ago – not an unusual thing. Also not unusual is that I broke out the classical guitar pieces from 18 years ago, as I do once or twice a year, and gave them a go. I remembered how much I enjoy playing in a classical style. I may consider keeping this up beyond an occasional "go" at it.

OK – I hope I can get back into a contemplative navel-gazing style shortly … i.e. regular programming … and my apologies for not keeping up with everyone.

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