A carrot cake, a reunion and GWTW

When I was 14 I read Gone With the Wind.  I was so obsessed with it, that I didn’t even want to put it down during classes.  I would hide my tattered paperback copy under my desk and sneak it out when the teacher wasn’t looking.  I really couldn’t put the thing down!  When I decided to dig out my Scarlett O’Hara replica dress for Halloween (that’s a whole different post entirely) I started to get nostalgic for my love of GWTW.

I suppose it started this summer when Ran and I visited my cousin in Atlanta and went to the Margaret Mitchell House.  We went on a tour of the “dump” – a.k.a the apartment where Ms. Mitchell wrote GWTW in the 1920’s.  Then of course we had to exit the building through the gift shop (they are so clever!) where I delighted in all the memorabilia available to me!  I spent $100 on a Christmas ornament, a book mark for my mom, a framed portrait of a GWTW poster and a refrigerator magnet proclaiming, “In a weak moment I have written a book.” (Margaret Mitchell).

I promptly downloaded GWTW to my kindle and started devouring it with the excitement of a 14-year-old!  I couldn’t stop clicking “next page” over and over.  Every night I wanted to stay up late to read just ONE more chapter before bed.  I was surprised to see what a great book it still was, even though I’d already read it and basically have the film memorized.

Last week, I finished it.  And I went through that phase where you’re trying to read the last few chapters as slow as you can to make it last as long as possible.  It was marvelous.

Serendipity struck when I realized the Blu-Ray of GWTW was coming out on November 17th.  My old VHS copy is buried at my mother’s house, so I figured I was due for a new one.  It arrived in the mail on Saturday and Ran and I instantly plopped down on the couch for a GWTW-athon.  The technicolor was more rich than ever, Scarlett’s charm and green eyes dazzled, Rhett was handsome and cool.  Oh it was magnificent!

Now that’s only half the story.  I neglected to tell you about the spread of food Ran and I had to put out before we watched GWTW (Entenmann’s mini-donuts, Tim-Tams, Tostitos and Dip).   It was totally indulgent (and PMS fueled on my part) and completely unnecessary.

On Monday, when I vowed to count points (and I did!) we had our regular Monday meeting at work.  This time one of my co-workers brought his famous home-made carrot cake for Thanksgiving!  I ate very light on Monday mostly because I had no appetite from being sick.  But I definitely had an appetite for home-made carrot cake!  Oh, I had the smallest most “Hyman Roth” slice that there ever was.  I logged it in at 6 points.  I did not let it unravel my day though and that was the triumph.

Wednesday is my high school reunion.  It’s been a cause of some anxiety among my friends and for me too.  The last thing I want is to look fat.  Monday was really “do or die” for me.  I had to get back on track to have some confidence walking into my reunion and not to feel like a failure or just a plain old fatty.  Even if I didn’t lose an ounce between Monday and the party on Wednesday night, I didn’t care.  I just want to walk in knowing that I am in control of what I eat and what I weigh.

Tomorrow I get to rummage through my closet and find a dress to wear.  Let’s hope it’s not as bad as Reconstruction in Atlanta.

I’ll let you know how it turns out, because, in a weak moment, I have written a blog.