The Killers and other fun!

The Giving Tree reference?  I think so.

I’m reading a delightful book.  That adjective will likely give you pause when you consider that the title is The End of Your Life Book Club, a memoir by Will Schwalbe. It documents the books read and conversations had with his mother while she received palliative treatment for terminal pancreatic cancer.  Mrs. Schwalbe is (present tense b/c of the book although she has since died) a vivacious, insightful, dynamic, intelligent woman who seems to have an unwavering commitment to beauty and transformation in her world, which ranges from her immediate family to international refugee issues.  I love reading all the anecdotes that reveal truth and resonate deeply, whether it’s from conversations or selected passages in the books.  It’s a marvelous book and I deeply recommend it.  

The Killers- they started with the lights up.
"Mr. Brightside"

So awesome!

 Last night, I went to Wrex the Halls, sponsored by 91X (local radio station).  It was awesome!  I went with Sean, Tawnne and Jenny.  We had great seats!  The headliners were The Killers who are so awesome!  I definitely have a mini-crush on Brandon Flowers.  I love his solo work and the band is also amazing.  Most of the songs were from Hot Fuss, but I really enjoyed the three new songs they played: “Here With Me,” “Miss Atomic Bomb” and “Runaways.”  I love the forlorn hope in his songs.  They tend to center on love and changes that happen to it over time or commitments/statements that things won’t change.  The songs are really beautiful while being totally rocking.  I also saw Tegan and Sara, whom I really liked.  My favorite songs  “Messed Up” and “I’m Not Your Hero” are from the upcoming album.  I’ve re-listened to them today on YouTube.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of Passion Pit.  Finally, I saw a French Band M83 who were mostly electronic.  New discovery (to me) that I liked but I won’t be downloading every song.

This week was pretty fun.  On Monday, I went to a sewing class and made the cutest bag!  I’ll see how I like the second class but maybe a sewing machine is in my future!  On Wednesday, I decided to have a spa night since I’m on call this weekend.  I went back to Va Va Varnish for a mani/pedi.  My pedicure is super cute although my mani is already chipped-chipped but it’s my fault.  I am rough on my hands.

My new bag- I made it myself!

I also got Dr. Laughlin back after he wired my office door shut and taped it up (separate incidents).  I stole his chair that he LOVES.  He, apparently, flipped out, dropped a bunch of F-bombs and tore apart his entire clinic trying to find the chair.  It wasn't there though...

Ha, ha, jerkface!

Apparently now, there's a truce.  Yeah, I believe that.  But his chair is back in his office.

Whole30 continues.  I’ve stuck with it even though I was tempted to throw it in when I bought some Winter Ales that are delicious from Telegraph Rd.  But I’m saving them for after even though I’m not planning on drinking a lot of beer after this.  Winter Ales are my favorite though.  I’ve also wanted a glass of wine twice.  There were also some delicious-looking sweet treats at work that were tempting (Oh, magic bars, I heart you!) but I stayed away.  What this diet is teaching me is that I need steady, maintained commitment to a diet if I want results.  Sometimes the days seem so long that 3-4 day stretches seem like enough and then I treat myself which is more appropriate for a maintenance mode, not weight-loss mode.  I’ve already lost approximately 5 pounds.  I was seriously obsessing about wanting to see scale results so that’s the one deviation from the plan.  I’d definitely say some of that is water weight but I do feel better in my clothes already.  And my hands look great!  I’ve started wearing gloves when I wash dishes but my knuckles are no longer chapped!  Yay!

Our speaker system in Thursday's OR

I’m planning on continuing eating Whole30-lite after the month, apart from my HI vacation.  I haven’t decided if that means one treat a day (alcohol, sweet or bread), 2 drink events/week, a splurge day or some other variation.  I really plan to avoid wheat and baked goods though.  Oh well, plenty of time to decide!  Day 14 today!