The S Diet and a Medical Condition

I'm sure most, if not all, of you have been very concerned for me.  I told you I was on a lose-seven-pounds-in-two-weeks diet many weeks ago, and then never told you how it went.  I'm sure you had images of me in your mind having lost the 73 pounds (because you calculated how much it would be by now) the passing weeks would have dropped off me instead of the 7-10 lb. MAX that I wanted to lose.  Cadaverous Lisa, wasting away in her living room.  Mummy-obsessed David watching it all in wonder.  

But, no.  

I found that the S Diet works differently under different circumstances.  While home alone for two weeks with only a nursing 4 month old, The Amazing Race and Survivor marathons running all day and no one to cook for, it's easy.  In a busy home with three kids and a husband, when things like taco salad and lasagne are on the menu it's not so easy to eat very little.  

Another thing that makes the S Diet difficult to follow is when you find, two days in, that you have a Medical Condition that makes it impossible NOT to gain weight.  

So I tried following the diet for a few days and then stopped.  I haven't gained any of the anticipated weight yet, but I know it's unavoidable.  My mom even fattened up my size 4 bridesmaid's dress for me.

At least I can surely expect to drop most of the weight right around December 10th or so.  

(and don't you love the label I'm putting this post under?)

Spontaneity

Last night while listening to a classical music station Greg heard something that changed our plans for the weekend.  Well, our plans only included being home until going to church on Sunday in Krakow, but also finishing off the other half of a cake in the fridge and --  and this is important -- having vegetarian borscht tonight with the rest of the crescent rolls from last night (yesterday I neeeeeeded chinese chicken salad with crescent rolls and tonight I neeeeded borscht with them).  Oh well.  Plans change.  Apparently.

Instead we'll be taking the other half of the cake and the crescent rolls with us to Łódż (pronounced Wooch, sort of) This is where Greg's parent's live.  This is where we try to put a little culture in our lives when possible (we went to a concert last time, opera, and it's also where we almost went to the nude version of The Magic Flute) And this is where the concert will be tonight that Greg heard about last night.

Łódż is the third largest city in Poland.  It's not the prettiest of cities, as it was a manufacturing city.  Textiles.  The ooooold factories have been standing in their glory (really) unused with broken windows for decades until someone had an idea.  They turned it into this:

Isn't it pretty?  Like a really nice factory from the oooooold days that's been revamped? (they only sandblasted the brick, it was always this pretty, just sorta blackish)  Okay, so you can't really tell what it is, but they turned it into a mall.  It's cleverly named "Manufaktura" and apparently it's in the running for "Best Mall in the World" or something.  It's amazing, though none of the pictures I found really do it justice.  It's huge and there are buildings on all sides.  We go there almost every time we're in Łódż.  There are these fountains the kids can run through: 

and in the evening they dance and light up different colors to the loud music that plays in the courtyard.

In the summer they set up "beach" volleyball in the courtyard, and in the winter there's an ice skating rink.

Well, so back to the point.  In this very courtyard:

it was announced last night on the radio, there will be a concert tonight.  Not just any concert, though.  The Łódż Philharmonic will be playing the soundtrack LIVE to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which will be playing on a huge screen.  There will be 2001 seats and the show starts at 8:01 pm.  (I translated that for you, since you guys don't use army time like we do over here.  In Polish it starts at 20:01)

So Greg said "Drop everything!  Forget about your Borscht tomorrow!  We're going to Łódż!"  Then he called his mother and said something like, "Sorry it's such late notice, but some veeeeery important business has come up for us in Łódż and we'll be there in 20 hours or so. . ."  

So we'll go get the kids from school, eat some lunch (school ends at 12:15 today, 1:10 most days) and head off to Babcia and Dziadek's house (4-5 hour drive).  

I'm really excited except that I've never seen it and we recently watched 2010 (the sequel-ish)and I thought it was the most boring movie I've ever seen.  But being outside with the live music it will be awesome.  Without kids.  With Greg.  

A word about that cake.  If, of a Wednesday afternoon, you realize you reeeally want to make some special dessert, like a cake, since you've been craving a big layered one since you saw Pollyanna a few weeks ago (remember those HUGE pieces of cake they get at the fair?), and one with cream cheese in it, you might be extremely happy to stumble upon this cake.  Then you might make it, only double instead of triple layers because you have not three 8" rounds, not two, but zero.  Only a 10" springform pan.  So you bake half of it, wash, butter, repeat = two layers.  And you find that it is a veeeeery good cake.  And your son requests it for his birthday.  And your husband proclaims it delicious.  And you think it's a little sweet but exceedingly good.  So, anyway, those are some things that might happen if you are thinking about dessert on a Wednesday afternoon.  And then you might end up taking half of the cake to your in-laws with you.  Because your husband might be pontaneous.  (my S diet update is coming in a week or two. . . bet this post made you wonder how that's going)

What Aaron Coined

Today I was feeling all domestic as I raced to wash dishes, start laundry and scrub bathrooms before I started in on my a-g-o-n-i-z-i-n-g articles (about orthopedics, this time.  Joy!).  I had just filled bags with the recycling that was building up under the sink, one for paper, one for glass and one for plastic, and set them by the door down to the garage where the recycling goes.  

As I was scrubbing away in the bathroom I heard Aaron fiddling with something at the foot of the stairs.  He is a MAJOR singer, so it was no surprise when he started belting out a new tune, but this time it was different.  He still mostly babbles in his singing, but after a few rounds I realized he was singing, "Daddy juice!  Daaaaaddyyyyy juuuuuuice!"  over and over.  I went to see what was going on and what did I find?  He was waving an empty Coke bottle in the air while singing about "Daddy's juice."  

I believe a new, and probably everlasting name for Coke has been born in the P. family.

Also, I'm still reading posts, I just don't feel like/have time to comment as much lately.  Sorry!  But I'm still keeping up with everyone.  And don't worry, tomorrow's articles are about porch swings.  That will be a bajillion times easier and more creative than those I've been killing myself over the last few days.