MILESTONE: I’ve lost 18 pounds since Christmas. I tried on three pairs of pants this morning before I found a pair that fit, and that only with a belt to hold them up. Time to go shopping in my storage closet. There’s got to be SOMETHING in there that will fit.

What’s my secret? I gave up wheat, high-fructose corn syrup, butter, cream, and deep-fat-fried. That eliminates all junk foods, most fast foods, bread, pasta, regular sodas, and beer. What’s left? Fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean protein, rice, potatoes, olive oil. Baked, grilled, steamed, or saute’d, not fried. You know — the stuff they always say you SHOULD eat.

I went back to work full time this week, but I’m merely mono-tasking instead of engaging in my usual multi-tasking frenzy. I took the afternoon off for my Remicade infusion, so I should be limber and perky by the weekend (love that monoclonal antibody!). It’s a good thing too — my dominant hand and my spine are stiff and grumpy. We’ve scheduled an MRI in two weeks to see what’s causing the increasing pain levels in my neck. And I am under strict doctor’s orders to behave myself. (Yeah. Sure. Of course I will. Conestoga is when, exactly?)

This weekend is the Campbell Conference at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. I’ll be tearing up the highway between KC and Lawrence for three consecutive days… tho sometimes I wonder if it would be cheaper and less stressful to get a hotel room.