It’s the first year I’ve lost weight that didn’t involve a breakup.

The whole article is worth a read–it’s how to avoid and handle burning out as a volunteer. That in itself is worth an Ask the Matriarch column!!!

But it also ties back to a column I wrote for the Episcopal Cafe last year–worth revisiting in light of the fact that Good Housekeeping felt my career evolution worth a spotlight. So any of you who google me based on my appearance in the magazine, have a look at it here:

From Transparency to Enlightenment: On taking the step of putting my volunteer “church” work on my resume.

Weight Tracking Summary

This was a slacker week for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being that we traveled down to Central Virginia last weekend to visit my folks for Easter. It was a nice trip, and we stopped off at Williamsburg along the way. I packed us a picnic lunch, and we walked almost the entire day. So I ate rather “large” over the weekend, and decided I’d take the week off. Wound up in a pattern of sunflower seeds for breakfast, a fairly hearty lunch, and a minimal dinner for the rest of the week, and that seems to have worked even without tracking points. But the scale has been fickle and stubborn, and while the sunny side of that 200 seemed easily attainable last week, this week I think it’s just random chance that had the pointer on the scale just short of the mark.

But I’m not complaining.

At any rate; it’s also time for the monthly measure-in–last Friday of each month. Since I have a lot of new readers coming in from my recent twitter activity, I should point you to this page as to why I natter on about my weight loss quest every Friday, especially since I got several compliments on my latest user icon today. Measure-ins also tie in with pictures, which when there’s some demonstrable progress to show I’ll share.

Measure-in under this link:

Bust: No change since last month; 1″ total.
Chest (rib cage): 1″ since last month; 2″ total.
Waist: 1″ since last month; 4″ total
Belly: 3.5″ since last month (!!!!!); 5″ total
Hips: 1″ since last month; 5″ total
Thigh: No change since last month; 1″ total
Upper arm: .5″ since last month; 1″ total.

When all else fails, have tea. I think it’s just been that kind of week. But finding this mug at a grocery store yesterday for $2 really just made things much better.

Even Hooter was impressed.

But I would just like to mention that I have been appointed acting managing editor of the publication I do social media work for, effective later this month. It’s a temporary step back into print media editing that should be interesting. I’m a little nervous, though, because I still have to do my regular job.

I’m weighing how this will affect my volunteer gigs.

I’ve asked DFH to take some before-pictures for me.

I discovered this when I had this random notion to Google an amazing student I interviewed back in the early days of my writing career. I wasn’t surprised to find that she indeed went on to Harvard Law School, and I believe we’ll be seeing more of her in years to come. I hit her up on LinkedIn, and hope she writes back, because I’d love to hear what track she’s on now that she’s out of school.

I should note that there was a story I wrote in 2001 that has been tickling around the back of my mind as being an influence on my faith journey, but I didn’t have a copy of it — I found it here. I was pretty much a nontheistic, nonpracticing Buddhist at the time.

So I say to A: “If at first you don’t succeed, chai and chai again.”

I am *thrilled.* This is the bank that I have used for the past six years, since moving to PA–and despite moving to DC, where I’ve tried both Chevy Chase and Wachovia and been less than happy, largely because PNC has the best customer service I have ever experienced at a bank, in spite of the fact that I am on the lowest tier of banking with them. I had already decided that when I am ready to move to a higher level of banking — CDs, etc., I would do it through PNC.

There aren’t very many of them out where I am, but it’s close enough for me to retain them for my primary banking services.

Now all I need is a Wawa within 10 miles.