"Get Out of Dodge"

You've heard that expression often, I'm sure, and maybe even heard Marshall Dillon say it. I've muttered, "Time to get out of Dodge" a lot in the last month, only Dodge for me is not Dodge City, Kansas. Dodge is my kitchen, and there are times I have to get out of it and away from the refrigerator immediately. When I posted that I had been focusing on trying to improve my health [here], so many readers were supportive and followed up with encouraging emails. So I thought I would give you an update and tell you that I was indeed serious abou it and have stuck to this for one month now, not eating any desserts, white flour products, or pasta, and even doing what one of my sisters has been urging me to for years--stop drinking diet sodas. There have been days when I would have paid $10 for a Fresca, but thank you, Jenn.

I have lost 11 pounds this past month.

Do I feel better? Yes. No. Yes. No, depending on what time of day it is, how much sleep I had the night before, whether the fridge is stocked with healthy stuff and a good meal prepared, whether I've had my Quiet Time to pray and read and journal--so many variables. I try not to think about that and just have faith that a year from now I could be feeling much better.

Do I sound a little down about this? If I do, maybe it's because I hit the FaceTime icon accidentally instead of the internet icon when I got ready to write this post. Maybe you, dear reader, like looking at your "live" image on FaceTime or Skype, but I find it a little scary. Who is that woman?

"Sometimes she looked at herself in the mirror and was amazed and troubled

at the placid, wide face, the big body reflected there,

knowing it was not herself,

puzzled that the self could be so at variance with its shell."

Nelia Gardner White in The Doctor's Wife

This post needs some pictures, and I'm not anywhere near ready to show you any of me, so I'll show you what my first reward was. When I had stuck to the new eating plan for two weeks--I refuse to call it a "diet" as I know these are changes I need to stay on the rest of my life or at least until a doctor gives me thirty days to live, in which case just take me to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts, please--R.H. surprised me with my first reward. 

One of my earliest posts on this blog [here] was about wanting to have the red molding between the kitchen and family room, and the French doors, painted white. Instead of the retro red and white kitchen I had originally, I have been changing the colors to go with the pink German contemporary sofa, and pink accessories in the kitchen. One morning recently, R.H. told me he asked Zack to pick up paint for this job and Gurn to do the painting. I couldn't have been happier if he'd given me a diamond ring, seriously. 

Here are before and after pictures that I took hurriedly before the painting began and after it was finished. Not much styling went on at this point but please see if you don't think it looks better now. Honestly, the yellow walls aren't quite as bright as it looks here, but Benjamin Moore didn't name it Yellow Raincoat for nothing. And it's great on dreary days.

[before]

[after]

[before]

[after, with Katie Belle outside the door]

Losing the red molding and red French doors for Benjamin Moore's Decorator White was the best reward R.H. could have given me. Thank you, R.H., and thank you, Gurn!

What is my next reward going to be? When I've lost 15 pounds I am going to treat myself to a lampshade for this sweet lamp base I bought on eBay to go with the old gray and pink majolica Italian fish.

See the darling little pink fish on it? I'd love to have some hints about what kind of lampshade to buy for it. It will need to be a rather conical shape to fit the space, and it won't need to give bright light as I have plenty of that from other sources. So black would work, but is that too much with the black granite countertops?

Well, my goodness, I think I may have cheered myself up a little just from talking about new lampshades. And from talking to you.