There is nothing worse than estrogen withdrawal. I'm ready to drive to south-central and see if I can score some happy hormones. In another eight days life will be good, but I'm in the middle of the two-week dearth.

The night before last I ate six Krispy Kreme doughnuts before bed. Okay: I ate three, and then an hour later I ate another three. So I've stopped buying them, until I start again.

Whaddya think: good time to make life-changing decisions? Or shall I wait a bit?

Posted by: Attila at 02:59 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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. . . for the next several days. I'm scrambling around trying to get some healthy revenue streams going (for, let's face it: blogging is unlikely to turn into one anytime soon) and this weekend is the UCLA/L.A. Times Festival of Books. In the past, I've always gone for only one day, but it looks like Attila the Hub and I will be there both days this year.

And I'm running three businesses other than this blog, so it's a bit hectic right now.

Just know that I dearly love you, O My Readers, and that I'll be back.

Posted by: Attila at 10:32 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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. . . no matter how strictly I stay on my diet.

My diet: 45% peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; 45% breakfast cereal. And 10% pepperoncini.

My husband asks me whether I'm getting any cardiovascular {mumble mumble; I stopped listening}. What a soulless way to look at things.

Posted by: Attila at 03:10 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Well, I used to know a woman who most famous & successful crash diet, one she returned to over & over, was spirulina & Tab.

Posted by: jeff at April 15, 2005 08:59 PM (781hc)

2 Alternatively, one can simply rotate naked in front of a mirror, reminding oneself over and over that there are a few angles from which a waistline is still visible.

Posted by: Attila Girl at April 15, 2005 09:49 PM (mwhMN)

3 Testimonial time: Pilates gave me a waistline like I haven't had since before the kids were born. And your soulless husband is right about the cardiovascular: It's not just the calories it burns, but it changes your metabolism. I lost 40 pounds just by walking.

Posted by: gail at April 17, 2005 06:34 PM (47cun)

4 Um. PBJ's. Crockpot and/or pressure cooker? I approve of PBJ's myself. Breakfast cereal too. Oh! Are the appliances for the pepperoncini? k

Posted by: k at April 17, 2005 08:42 PM (ywZa8)

5 Oddly enough, I did see a recipe for beef in the Crock-Pot that called for salad peppers. Nope; the small appliances are for weekends, when I actually cook. It's chaos during the week.

Posted by: Attila Girl at April 17, 2005 10:24 PM (mwhMN)

6 Might I recommend the book "French Women Don't Get Fat"? Forgot the author, but she gives practical, timeless advice on how to lose weight (eat less, walk more), but she does it in a way that leaves you guilt-free. Fact: only 30% of French women are overweight, as opposed to 60% American women.

Posted by: Plaid Pajamas at April 21, 2005 05:18 PM (uabyl)

7 That's either because they don't have Wheaties there, or because French women drink wine as if it were water.

Posted by: Attila Girl at April 21, 2005 09:53 PM (mwhMN)

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I'm sort of on the run, due to the fact that I joined a cult yesterday. (It's a housework-doing cult, which is probably better than the kind that asks you to strap on explosives and blow yourself up with the promise of copius—but lousy—sex in the afterlife. Probably.)

The church elders insist upon a shiny kitchen sink. I can do that. They also recommend that one get dressed in the morning, even when there are no appointments therein, and wear shoes around the house.

Stay tuned; I may want to be kidnapped and de-programmed.

Posted by: Attila at 02:30 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Do go gentle into that good night, if that's your plan.

The husband and I talked about living wills tonight, of course. He wants me to err on the side of life, and I want him to err on the side of dignity. But as I told him, I suspect our sensibilities are within a few city blocks of each others'. He just wants a full battery of tests before we give up on him. He tells me he plans to put a beloved object next to me, and if I react to it, he'll know someone's home.

I just don't want anyone publicizing video of me in any kind of mentally damaged state, and I expect my husband to take care of anyone who releases anything like that to the media. (Am I being clear, here? Good: we're all on the same page.)

It's so nice to be married. It's so nice to be with this guy; I can't even express it. Despite our slightly different attitudes toward life, we each trust the other to make a decision that conforms to our own sensibilities. How great is that?

Posted by: Attila at 02:46 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 "I just don't want anyone publicizing video of me in any kind of mentally damaged state" - (*cough*) barn door (*cough*) horse (*cough*) ogre...

Posted by: Little Mr Mahatma at April 01, 2005 08:35 AM (BZ0tI)

2 Do I know you? Believe me--the Ogre movie is the least of it; how about some of that party footage from the late 70s/early 80s? And, BTW, how about the Little Black Sambo sequence from high school? Has you wife seen *that*?

Posted by: Attila Girl at April 01, 2005 11:42 AM (R4CXG)

3 So you'd put your guy on the same level as Michael Schiavo? I wouldn't. One of the reasons a lot of people had a problem with Terri's situation was their uncomfortableness (for lack of a better word) with Michael.

Posted by: Don at April 01, 2005 02:31 PM (FsGoB)

4 Just to be very clear...your guy, just judging by your description is far above Michael Schiavo. Didn't know if that was perfectly clear after reading my comment.

Posted by: Don at April 01, 2005 02:32 PM (FsGoB)

5 I realize that a lot of people don't trust Michael Schiavo. But I'm talking about my own marriage now.

Posted by: Attila Girl at April 01, 2005 05:44 PM (R4CXG)

6 Mrs. Atilla, For the love of your fans, please give yourself a decent time frame to recover before making a decision. Example: http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch96/0896/arc0829134205.shtml http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch96/1096/arc1001140395.shtml http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch97/0197/arc0115145849.shtml Six weeks is a decent starting point for recovery potential. Personally, I would go with six months of standard treatment. If no significant changes occur, try a few weeks of some more extreme therapies. If no changes occur, let me rest in peace.

Posted by: Steven at April 01, 2005 05:45 PM (+6rc2)

7 I fear the consequences of any attempts of politicians to "Improve" the situation.

Posted by: Walter E. Wallis at April 01, 2005 06:52 PM (MBCZx)

8 Living wills are essential today more than ever!

Posted by: Collin Baber at April 01, 2005 08:36 PM (fufbw)

9 Right. No longer is it safe to assume that you will get the care you expect. The assumption doesn't appear to be in favor of life anymore, and getting less so all the time. My real question though, is how soon will it be easy for doctors or estranged family members to ignore advance directives in favor of life extending treatment if it is not "expedient"? Or have we already passed that point? My parents, quite shaken by this whole episode, are revising their living wills to clarify that starvation/dehydration is NOT what they meant by "no heroic measures". In fact they are modifying it all the way back to where it will be simply a DNR directive. All other reasonable therapies to treat their condition and provide for their comfort are back on the table.

Posted by: Desert Cat at April 01, 2005 09:43 PM (xdX36)

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