The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[DogMa]

You, too, Lauren. Do you have plans for the holiday? I'm going to services with a friend on Thursday, but have to work Friday (after using up so much vacation to take care of my uncle earlier in the year; I figure God will understand). I doubt I'll make it Wednesday night, either, because of work. Sigh. I normally take all three days off, but between my uncle and the bat mitzvah (and the trip to see my uncle on Passover instead of having it at home), I just don't have the time off.

And then I'm going to a break-the-fast next week at the same friend's house.

[Lauren]

Thanks, Robin! I totally understand about not being able to take the time off you want for the holidays - I never take my sick days and I tend to be pretty strict about my vacation days - I seem to think I am saving up for some grand world traveling, but really, I'm just a goody-good workaholic! :-)

I am taking a half day tomorrow to do dinner at a cousins house, then took off Thursday for services and then dinner at my mom's house. Then I am heading back up to NYC late Thursday night, and will be working Friday too. Fun stuff.

Yom Kippur falls on a weekend, so I didn't have to stress about time off. Although, ugh, services are going to be soooo long with Yom Kippur and Shabbat combined. Ick. My family does Passover and Rosh Hashana with relatives, but we do Yom Kippur break the fast with family friends, so it's a different vibe - fun, but different.

And I can't believe I am about to say this, since one of the major issues I've had with going to services all these years is the "fashion-show" that takes place, it's so damn obnoxious, but I actually bought two new outfits for synagogue this year that I am mad in love with and now I am just a wee bit excited to show them off! God, I've become the one I've hated. Shoot me now! :-)

I know you don't have a lot of Jewish friends in the area, so it's good you have one there to celebrate with during the holidays, it's good not to be isolated on the high holidays!

Lauren

[DogMa]

Yeah, it's definitely weird to be away from the family on the holidays. In some ways, it'll be nice, though, to not have to deal with the big meals. Next week, I'm just going to leave work a little early Friday, go home and pound down some dinner and take care of the dogs, then change and head for services.

I've always hated the dressing up, too, although my temple here is VERY casual. But I'm going to wear the dresses I wore to the bat mitzvah - and I'm planning to ROCK them (albeit with a sweater over the sundresses). Ha.

I take ALL my vacation every year - I have to, just to see my family (and this year, to care for my uncle when he got out of the hospital). It's been a few years since I've gone for a REAL vacation, unfortunately. Thanksgiving weekend with my brother is as close as I get. And it's no cruise to the Bahamas.

[Lauren]

Oh, it's excellent your bat mitzvah outfits can do double duty! That does rock, since I know you really liked them and were shopping for them for ages! :-) We don't have a casual synagogue, it's conservative and it's a bit, well, uppity - if ya know what I mean. And for years and year, being the obese girl in a see of "beautiful people" meant feeling ugly and resenting the whole experience. Who knows, maybe I would've actually *enjoyed* going to services if I wasn't so self conscious. Ha. One will never know...

I am fortunate to not live so far from my family, they're just about 2 hours away, so it's usually just a rental car, bus ride, or train ride away. I don't require taking the vacation time that you do to see the family. But on the other hand, you have the benefit of seeing your family as an "event!" People get excited and look forward to it, that's really nice!

Yeah, I am lucky on the vacation thing since my family goes away every year over Christmas, the last few years being Aruba, but we've done other sunny destinations as well. Again, I often got stressed before all these due to my, um, profound fatness (hehaha), but now I just get stressed about what cover up will most efficiently hide the skin! :-)

Where does your brother live?

Lauren

[DogMa]

He's in San Jose, in the Bay Area. It's nice to visit him and I can usually strong-arm him into going into the City with me, but it's not exactly a real vacation. I miss the days when my parents were alive and I lived an hour away, so my vacations were spent on actual trips to fun places. Sigh. I'm not sure I always look forward to the event of seeing my family. Ha.

As for the synagogue, that's why I picked the one in Arlington instead of going to Fort Worth or Dallas. Ours is a little more Reform than I'm used to, but it's very small and not nearly so "uppity." It'll be nice to go in something I feel good about wearing, though. (Last year was great, too, though, since I had JUST hit maintenance a few weeks before. Even the year before, when I had to run out to buy something to wear because everything was too BIG on me.) But I can't say I really ENJOY spending all that time in services. Too much sitting, for one thing. And before this, it was hard to get up so early when I was working nights. This year I actually get EXTRA time in the morning.

[bikipatra]

I am sure you will look sensational...perhaps there will be a nice single Jewish doctor there and he can spot you across the room...oh there I go again!

[DogMa]

Ha. Maybe a nice single Jewish lawyer, who can help me send a threatening letter to the LAST guy!!

Sadly, one of the drawbacks to being in such a small congregation is it's not exactly overflowing with single guys in my age bracket. There IS a local theater group starting a singles group of some sort, though, that I'm interested in. Of course, their first event is the one Sunday I have to work (for the Emmys). Sigh. Otherwise it'd be perfect. It's a Sunday matinee at a theater about 10 or 15 minutes from my house.

[bikipatra]

Oh, I'm so excited! Can't you just go to their next gathering?

[DogMa]

I'm going to try. I figure I'll call the guy and get on their mailing list, at least. If they do another Sunday afternoon thing, I'm there.

And I got busy on a story and missed the darn tape this afternoon. My evening treadmill walks never seem to happen, but I'm going to try tonight for at least a little stroll on it. Problem is by the time I get home and take care of the dogs, I'm stuck with either walking first and eating too late, or eating first and walking too close to bedtime. But if I do a nice, easy walk, maybe I'll still be able to sleep.

[DogMa]

Well, yay. It wasn't a lot, but I did manage to get in a little 20-minute walk when I got home. But I was dumb, and SHOULD have put my dinner in the oven to cook first, so it would have been done when I got off. Instead, I put it in AFTER I got off, and ended up downing a few walnuts, Craisins and grapes while the fish was cooking (and while I was making a salad for tomorrow, which included a few walnuts and Craisins). Oh, well. It's not like I was scarfing down chocolate and peanut butter or anything.

[DogMa]

131.8 again. Today I'm going to run for 28 minutes straight (hear that confidence?).

[bikipatra]

Well, yay. It wasn't a lot, but I did manage to get in a little 20-minute walk when I got home. But I was dumb...

NO negative self-talk!

[DogMa]

Sorry. But it WAS a mistake. I thought about putting the fish in first, but I didn't realize it was supposed to cook for 30 minutes. I should have checked the package first.

Anyway, I did my full 28 minutes today, plus the 5-minute walk before and 12 after (to get to 45 minutes total). Yay, me!

[bikipatra]

A mistake doesn't mean you are dumb. We all make mistakes. It's human.
Congrats on the exercise. I haven't done anything today. Woke up at 6, which is about an hour and a half late for me!

[DogMa]

OK, you're right. I'm not dumb; I just did a dumb thing.

And everyone gets to have some time off, Biki, whether it's taking a whole day or just a morning off to relax.