Sadly, this has been a slow week on the project 52 front. Now that the holidays are done, Kate's and my medical appointments are ramping back up again, leaving little time for anything else. Having said that, here are some areas where I've chipped away a bit:
2. Buy and learn how to play guitar with my daughter, the Bean - learn to play, wait for it, Stairway to Heaven (remember the scene in Wayne's World?): The Bean and I had our first lesson this past Saturday with Jessie. We learned how to play some scales and played around with the E-minor chord, playing rhythm for Jessie while she played harmony. I'm already channelling Jimmy Page.
8. Learn how to sew and sew a couple of projects: I've bought the pattern and material for a pair of loungie-pants.
20. Read 10 of the unread books on my bookshelves: I am currently reading two books. One book I am reading is With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars, by psychologist, author and guitar aficionado Jonathan Kellerman. I will write a little more about this book in a future blog post. It is sumptuously illustrated and written. Another book I am making my way through is The Library: An Illustrated History, by Stuart A. P. Murray. This is an okay book, but not as good as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I will continue reading it until done, because that's just what I do. Finally, I am attempting to get through Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw. On the whole a disappointing read. I really enjoyed Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, but this latest instalment is like week-old cold leftovers that the dog even turns its nose up at. Bourdain has nothing new to say. He offers an apology for selling out, and I'm afraid this book is just another example of him doing it. It feels contrived and insincere. I am a few chapters in and will reserve final judgement to the end, but not off to a great start, I'm afraid.
Well, that's it for this week. I look forward to trolling other bloggers who are taking part in this challenge. See everyone next week.
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Monday, 16 January 2012
Monday, 12 December 2011
...Losing Weight
I'm fat, plain and simple. Nine years ago when my wife got pregnant with our beautiful little girl, I weighed 170 lbs. Two months ago when Kate was diagnosed with her breast cancer, I was 204 lbs. This morning when I stepped on the scale I was 226.5 lbs. I look about seven months pregnant. I need to sit to put on my pants and my shoes. When I walk, my spare tire seems to defy the laws of physics by jiggling in multiple directions at the same time.
When I get stressed, I stuff food down my gullet with wild abandon. My wife's cancer is very stressful, for her, and if you'll excuse the self-idulgence, for me. Our calendar is filled with medical appointments, so I have little time to fit in a workout. On top of that, I am suffering from a rather serious and protracted bout of soul-crushing, energy-sucking depression and everything takes a Herculean effort to get done (including blogging, which gets done sentence by sentence over the course of hours and days). One of the antidepressants I am on (Myrtazapine) is apparently notorious for increasing appetite and I'm afraid broccolli does not have the same appeal as, say, chocolate. In between appointments I like to sleep eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen hours a day, leaving little time for even modest exercise. Depression sucks, but that's another blog topic for another day.
Bottom line is that I need to lose weight. Some vanity is at work here. I don't like the way I look. More important, I worry about the impact the extra weight could have on my health. I gnash my teeth at the thought of getting diabetes, or heart disease, or whatever else carrying an extra 40 pounds could mean. I'm hoping that by blogging about losing weight I will actually force myself to do something to change by being accountable to my admittedly modest - make that very modest - readership. So off I go to have nap - upstairs in my bedroom. At least I'll get the extra twenty steps in.
Stay tuned. In the coming weeks I hope to write about some work projects: Sewing a pair of lounging pants (and breaking down some gender stereotypes in the process, I hope), making a tool chest for underneath my workbench, making a wood cane and maybe some carving projects.
When I get stressed, I stuff food down my gullet with wild abandon. My wife's cancer is very stressful, for her, and if you'll excuse the self-idulgence, for me. Our calendar is filled with medical appointments, so I have little time to fit in a workout. On top of that, I am suffering from a rather serious and protracted bout of soul-crushing, energy-sucking depression and everything takes a Herculean effort to get done (including blogging, which gets done sentence by sentence over the course of hours and days). One of the antidepressants I am on (Myrtazapine) is apparently notorious for increasing appetite and I'm afraid broccolli does not have the same appeal as, say, chocolate. In between appointments I like to sleep eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen hours a day, leaving little time for even modest exercise. Depression sucks, but that's another blog topic for another day.
Bottom line is that I need to lose weight. Some vanity is at work here. I don't like the way I look. More important, I worry about the impact the extra weight could have on my health. I gnash my teeth at the thought of getting diabetes, or heart disease, or whatever else carrying an extra 40 pounds could mean. I'm hoping that by blogging about losing weight I will actually force myself to do something to change by being accountable to my admittedly modest - make that very modest - readership. So off I go to have nap - upstairs in my bedroom. At least I'll get the extra twenty steps in.
Stay tuned. In the coming weeks I hope to write about some work projects: Sewing a pair of lounging pants (and breaking down some gender stereotypes in the process, I hope), making a tool chest for underneath my workbench, making a wood cane and maybe some carving projects.
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