Losing Again

When I went to my WW meeting yesterday morning, I got the glad news that I managed (even with Indian food & Cheryl & Co cookies & hot wings) to lose 3.2 pounds. I hope I can maintain the downward trend! I went on a bike ride up to the library right after the meeting...read the Washington Post food section, checked out a bunch of foodie magazines, and picked up my "on hold" copy of the new Ruth Reichl book. It was a chilly ride both ways & the sky was forbidding on the way home, but I made it without getting wet.

Lunch was leftover Indian food...fabulous, of course. I thought again that I could possibly eat that every single day. I spent too much time copying down recipes from the Lady & Sons cookbook & the Gourmet cookbook. Not enough time cleaning, although I did make some progress.

The boys had friends visit for the afternoon. I ran them home & did some more cleaning before Committee Night. B is proposing having discussion-type movies rather than family movies for movie night. I think it's a capital idea, but the other committee members seemed to have doubts. K's daughter, though, agreed that discussion movies would be great. One of the ones B mentioned was Romero. It would be great to do that one! Wow, can you imagine? I think Biko or A Dry, White Season would be excellent, as well. I wonder if B has seen Dogma & what he thinks of it. I was listening to Elaine Pagels' Beyond Belief in the car. She was talking about "logos" & "In the beginning was the Word & the Word was God". I kept thinking of the part where Alanis Morissette as God opens her mouth & no one can stand to hear the voice of God. I was thinking about the possibility that God spoke or sang the universe into being. Some great imagery there.

Anyway, when I got home from church, the boys were just finishing their dessert. J was mad at me about housework & all that sort of thing & we argued until our dinner was ready. We were able to eat our eggs in peace, but I still feel the smart of her judgement. I wish I were perfect, but I am not. I try & that's what matters most. She went through the whole litany of things I haven't gotten done: painting around the hall switchplates (when I first painted the hall & spent all that time & effort working on it, the only comment she had was that it was messed up in places), organizing the basement, washing all the handwashable dishes, organizing the study, getting the porch all dressed & ready for summer use, fixing the cover for the smoke detector (which she said SHE would take on after I tried several times & had no luck), & on & on it went. UGH!!! If I could have any servant, it would be a maid. That sounds so decadent & gross of me to say, but that would be heaven. If it were a combo maid & handyman, that would be perfect. Personally, I don't think the house looks bad at all, nor do folks who come over. But, she has this weird idea of what's acceptable from her childhood. Her mom & all her aunts & all her friends' (middle American, anti-intellectual) parents apparently maintained immaculate houses & that's what she expects. Our house is a very nice house, it's well-decorated & fairly well kept up. But, it will never measure up to her impossible standards unless we have a full-time maid or unless SHE does it herself. It simply won't.

When she was ready to go to bed, I joined her & read Garlic & Sapphires until my eyes started crossing, then went to sleep.