148.2 Gold Wedding Band

Until I got called in to sub yesterday, I was wearing this Calvin Klein shirt we got Scott five years ago at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. It almost fits like a dress on me now!

I received another TJ Maxx gift card yesterday, from my sister. Thank you so much, Sis! I am going to get down to 145 before I shop, and these last few pounds are lingering because I keep reveling in my new found freedom to eat out when we are out running errands.

No, we can't afford to pay to eat out, but we still have 20 free entrees each at Qdoba, and there are Qdoba restaurants all over town. The only problem is they cram so much salt into their food that I bloat up at least half a pound with water after eating there.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and vanilla soy milk
Leftover half naked Qdoba BBQ steak burrito (Naked means no tortilla.)
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots

The biggest news I have is that I sold some old gold jewelry that I didn't wear anymore so I could buy a new gold wedding band that fits me! Yay!

I am finally wearing a real wedding band again. It had been at least 5 years since my old one got too tight and I took it off and then lost it. My new wedding ring is a size 6 1/4 ! My right ring finger is an 8. I guess my right hand is swollen from using the computer mouse.

For six years or so I have just been wearing whichever ring I had that would fit on my wedding ring finger. Students actually asked me how long I have been married, when they saw this new ring. I think they assumed I just got married. They looked confused when I told them I have been married 17 years.

The wedding ring does not make the marriage, but it sure is a powerful symbol of marriage. People who have never been fat and had to remove rings don't even think this might have happened to someone who is wearing a normal ring on their wedding ring finger. I am very relieved to be wearing a real gold wedding band again.

148.8 Rings and Weight Gain, Loss

Rings distress me almost as much as pants, around weight gain and weight loss. Bless you, Mom, for giving me this heart-shaped opal ring a few years ago. It is one of only two rings that won't fall off my wedding ring finger now! You gave me the other ring, too. It is large, flat and silver with a small amethyst. They were both pinkie rings on me at the time.

I remember the day I took off my plain gold wedding band because it was too tight. I was at work as an adjuster at Farmers Insurance. My supervisor remarked that my wedding ring was going to get stuck on my hand if I didn't take it off, so I did. I could only have put it in my purse or in my brief case. I have searched through all my purses, so I must have left it in my company brief case when I left the company; I can't find it.

Scott and I bought our plain gold wedding bands at the Navy Exchange on Submarine Base Bangor in Silverdale, WA in 1994. They cost $85 each. Scott still wears his. We recently priced plain gold wedding bands at Costco and they are $300! I might check some local pawn shops. Scott still hopes we will find my old wedding ring.

So, ever since I took off my plain gold wedding band, I have been wearing whatever ring I have that will fit on my wedding ring finger. You can read about the silver Celtic knot ring I wore for a long time. I do feel blessed. As I lost the weight I would mysteriously unearth a ring I had forgotten about, and it would fit perfectly.

I am making an effort to get all my rings, bracelets, necklaces and pins into one box for easier finding and less losing. I tend to stash them in little pretty boxes all over the house. That might have worked OK if we hadn't moved 8 times since 1994.

We walked the dogs two miles in the thawed out park last night. I maintained my weight under 150! I enjoyed coffee hour at church. Everyone was surprised when I went ahead and had a cookie. I ate some of the carrots they brought just for me, but I explained, "I am done!" My pastor joked that it was good I wasn't going anorexic.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

2 Small bowls of Special K and vanilla soy milk (4:30 am and 9:30 am)
1 Homemade chocolate dipped shortbread cookie
Handful of raw carrot sticks
1 Microwaved frozen bean and cheese burrito with 3 tablespoons salsa
3 Homemade powdered sugar cookies
3 Mozzarella ravioli samples at Costco: spinach, mushroom and chicken
8 Lobster ravioli with 1 tablespoon homemade pesto sauce and raw carrot sticks

Net weight gain: .2 pounds
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