I had pretty much given up this past year on weight loss, though I continued to go to the WIO Gym 5 times a week and exercise for at least an hour, if not two.
Still, the side effects of the Humira I take (in a weekly shot) have been similar to steroids, in that I've been gaining weight by leaps and bounds, until I'm now back at the weight that I was prior to joining the gym in 2006.
But now my gastroenterologist has decreed that I am to lower my dosage of Humira from once a week to twice a month, and therefore, I gather he's hoping the side effects will lessen considerably, and that my Crohn's Disease won't kick up a fit as a result.
Meanwhile, this past year I've been taking a Zumba/Dance Fusion class from a delightful young woman named Melain Blue. I was recently guided to her blog,http://www.nurturingnarcissism.com/2008/03/abcs-of-melain.html and I found it tremendously inspiring, so I decided to borrow one of her posts and post my own responses. Seriously, who wouldn't be inspired by someone so gorgeous who is also smart, talented and loads of fun?
A - ADVOCATE FOR: I am an advocate for women's rights and the right to choose, as well as the right of larger women to not be bullied, blamed and passed over for work because of their size/weight. Prejudice sucks, in any form.
B - BEST FEATURE: Most people do not notice that my eyes are actually two different colors of golden brown. One is light gold with flecks of green and gray, and the other is darker brown with flecks of gold. I think they're pretty nice, but I have been told that my cupid's bow lips and big mammary glands are the real attraction for guys...at least that is what the guys I've dated tell me. I also had an 80 year old guy outside of La Fogata restaurant tell me once that I had a nice rump, but since I have never actually looked at it, I suppose I will have to take his word for it.
C - COULD DO WITHOUT: I could seriously do without my husbands drinking (especially since he's a diabetic and has high blood pressure, and doesn't take his medication for these ailments) and my ferocious roseacia coupled with a rash on my face that will not go away! Drives me crazy with itching! Hemorroids are also no fun, and having no insurance is just plain awful. Could we get some national health care this year, PLEASE?
D - DREAMS & DESIRES: Oh, there are so many! I want to travel to the UK, and stop in Wales to visit the set of Dr Who and Torchwood. I want to stop in Scotland to oogle the handsome Scottish men with their delicious accents, and I want to shop all the bookstores in London and nearby towns, as well as visit all their castles. I want to travel to Australia, again to see all the hot Aussie guys, I want to visit New Zealand, and Japan, where I could shop for all kinds of great pens and teas (I love tea). I have, since I was about 5 and started watching Star Trek, always wanted to go into outer space, and "touch the face of God." I love flying, and would adore a trip (or three) in a fighter jet, or a Harrier jet, or a Blackbird, or one of those bombers that look like a flying wing, or the space shuttle.And I want a 2010 Volkswagen Beetle in Moonlight Beige, hard top (you can't really use a convertible in this area because it rains too much) with automatic transmission and heated seats and low mileage. Oh, and I have always wanted to own my own bookstore with a tea shop inside, and I'd build a theater next door that had space for a World Wrapps, because I love them and I can only get them in Bellevue.
E - ESSENTIAL ITEMS: I collect books, purses and pens (the kind you write with) so I always find it necessary to have a new purse every 3 months, and I need to have dozens of pens with me to choose from in case of a writing emergency, along with a pad of paper for notes, and a paperback in case I am caught somewhere boring waiting for someone or if I am waiting for a flight at the airport. I also find that chewing ice is essential to my mental health, and eating something sweet at least once a day is important, too, whether its Bisco's Sugar Wafers (they are too expensive, though) or Mighty O Doughnut's delicious vegan (dairy and egg-free!) maple bars and regular doughnuts. Dark red lipstick and portable rump wipes are the other two things I carry with me all the time.
F - FAVORITE PASTIME: Reading books, writing in my journal (I've been keeping a journal since I was 12 years old), Facebook, keeping up with 2 of my 4 blogs, watching Glee, NCIS, Castle, Camelot, Merlin, Dr Who, Bones,Drop Dead Diva, Blue Bloods, Hawaii 5-O,White Collar, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice,Terra Nova, Body of Proof,Person of Interest, Parenthood and House. Exercising at Work It Out and chatting with my friends there, and yakking on the phone are my social pastimes, and I LOVE bargain hunting/shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, used bookstores and clearance racks at places like Fred Meyer or Kohls.
G - GOOD AT: I am a great and fast reader, I am a good writer/average reporter and I am really good at making friends, because I find most people fascinating...everyone has a story, and I would like to be the one to tell it. I am also pretty good at directing, acting and various other theater skills, and I enjoy historical legends and myths so I am fairly good at research. I am a good mom, a good wife and a good daughter. I discovered in 1994 that I am a fairly good stand up comediene, and there are things that I am good at that cannot be mentioned on a G-rated blog.
H - HAVE NEVER TRIED: rafting, bungee-jumping, para-sailing, hot air ballooning, martial arts, running a marathon, eating snails, shooting a crossbow, mud wrestling.
I - IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I would first need about 12 million dollars, but if I had that, I'd build a bookstore-tea shop/movie theater/World Wrapps shop in Maple Valley, I renovate my home (we really need new carpet, new windows, bathroom renovation and kitchen remodel...and I would like built-in bookshelves all over the house, plus a window seat to read in), I'd take my friends on a trip to the UK and Japan, I'd pay off all my bills, I'd buy a Volkswagen Beetle (see dreams and desires, above), I buy health insurance for myself and my family, and I'd go on a Seaborne Legend cruise to Legoland and Disneyland in California with my family, because my son has never been to either place and would love it.
J - JUNKIE FOR: Sweets, especially fruity sweets, such as danishes, or gummy cherries, and I LOVE Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn jelly beans! Mighty O Doughnuts, cookies, etc. are also not safe within my reach.
K - KINDRED SPIRIT: My best friend Muff Larson, who died several years ago, was a kindred spirit, and my neighbor and friend Janine Ferrell, who is a genius artist is also a kindred artist, and the more I learn about Melain, the more kindred spirit she seems, as we like much of the same stuff. Also, my friend Jeff Morris, who owns a bookstore in St Pete Florida, my friends Roger and Nancy Page who own Island Books on Mercer Island, Bob Charles of Baker St Books in Black Diamond, and my friends and Librarians Ann and Sharon at the Maple Valley branch of KCLS.
L - LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I have a dual degree, which counts as two bachelor's degrees in Drama/Speech and in History and an MA in Writing. I also have certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant (120 hours) from Des Moines Area Community College, which I got when I was 16 and still in high school and bored out of my mind. I worked as a CNA to get myself through college, which was not easy. I hate Boston to this day because of my experiences in grad school. I also hate driving, and I refuse to drive outside of the Maple Valley/Covington area.
M - MEMORABLE MOMENT: There have been so many! When my son stuck his foot out of me while I was going to the bathroom 12 years ago after Thanksgiving (he was ready to be born, whether or not I was!), when I had to leave him in the NICU for two months, and they wouldn't allow me to see or hold him for the first 12 hours of his life (I nearly went crazy with this feeling that someone was cutting off a piece of my soul and telling me to leave it in the hands of strangers...I didn't think I could bear it for an hour, let alone 2 months) the moment when Jim said "You bet I do!" at our wedding and I realized I was doing something irrevocable in front of God and my parents, when I watched all the fighter jets take off for the "turkey shoot" with the Miramar, California fighter pilots in 1987, and I could feel the tarmac vibrate throughout my body during a glorious sunrise, when I won "Woman of the Year" from Women at Large, an exercise salon run by larger women instructors for big gals, and I'd lost 100 pounds in one year, when I won a first place award from the Society of Professional Journalists for my article on a Mercer Island psychiatrist who raises rats with her daughters in her spare time, and a first place award from the WNPA for a column I wrote about what I'd ask Paul Allen if he'd let me interview him (and I got a mysterious email after it ran saying "Very funny, DeAnn. signed, P").
N - NEVER AGAIN WILL I: attempt to live in a big city on the East Coast. I am just not a city person, I work better in a small community like the ones I grew up with in Iowa.I will also never attend another event at the Moore Theater (the seats are awful and too expensive) and I will never attend an event with Neil Gaiman and his new wife, Amanda Palmer. It was, as my husband pointed out, like "An overly long church service from HELL"
O - OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Every now and then, I treat myself to an afternoon at the thrift store or the book store, alone. At least once a year, I like to take a box of books to Powells City of Books in Portland, Oregon, and while my husband and son go swimming in the hotel pool, I get some credit for my books and allow myself to leisurely browse the stacks in room after room, finding gems and good conversation with fellow book lovers in nearly every aisle. Then I stop at Whole Foods next door for a soy ice cream treat...it's heavenly. Oh, and once a year, I insist on going to a cheap hair salon (I can't afford the nice ones) for a professional hair cut.
P - PROFESSION: I am a freelance writer/reporter/editor who has been writing for websites, newspapers, magazines and newsletters for the past 26 years. I've also worked as a lifestyle magazine editor, a proofreader in a type house (something that no longer exists), a front desk/desktop publishing person for a local non profit and a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice. I also worked once, briefly, as a clerk in a Queen Sized Clothing Boutique in downtown Seattle. I discovered that I am good with people but bad with a cash register. I also portrayed Rosie the Riveter at the Museum of Flight for a year in the Personal Courage Wing on the World War II floor.
Q - QUOTE: "An emerald is as green as grass, a ruby red as blood. A sapphire shines as blue as heaven. A flint lies in the mud. A diamond is a brilliant stone, to catch the world's desire. An opal holds a fiery spark, but a flint holds fire." Christina Georgina Rossetti making sure the world knows to not judge a book by it's cover.
R - REASON TO SMILE: Dr Who, who speaks "baby" said that the baby who told him his name was "Stormageddon, Lord of Everything" wanted his flustered daddy to wear a papoose to hold him because "You don't come fast enough when he summons you." He also complained to the Doctor that "not-mom" has no mammary glands, and that he calls all males "not-mom" and "peasants." LOL! I love babies...they're so wonderful to hold, and sniff and cuddle.
S - SORRY ABOUT: my Crohns flares that can just derail my entire day or week, depending on severity, and the fact that journalism is becoming a dying art...there are just fewer and fewer jobs for regular reporters and more people seeking them. And now that I am an old, fat woman, my prospects for employment seem to decrease every month. So I can't bring home the bacon and still raise my son and keep house anymore. Sorry I've had to hang up my superwoman cape.
T - TELL A SECRET: I have/had a crush on Steve Jobs, Sting, Alex O'Laughlin, Gerard Butler, and when I was a kid, I had a crush on David Cassidy, Captain Kirk, Donny Osmond and the Professor from Gilligans Island.
U - UNINTERESTED IN: politics, math, ignorant, prejudiced people, radio/TV talk shows, reality TV shows, tanning, opera
V - VERY SCARED OF: death, the obliteration of self. I am also not a fan of pain.
W - WORST HABIT: I chew my nails, I chew ice (and break my teeth) and I twist my hair.
X - X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: I would imagine the coast of Ireland or Scotland or England...or the coast of Oregon...someplace not too hot, but still near the ocean, with handsome men and good bookstores.
Y - YUMMIEST DESSERT: I once had a creme brulee tapioca pudding that was heavenly...I also once had a tofu cheesecake that made me weep with longing for more.
Z - ZODIAC SIGN: My sun sign is Sagittarius, my rising sign is Leo and my moon sign is Libra. I am a happy go lucky gal who loves the stage and beauty.
