I’m also giving away a classic Christmas movie to get you ready for December.  A Christmas Story!

I saw this movie as part of a double feature with Cannery Row back in 1983.  Such a cute movie!

To enter, write about the most memorable gift you received for Christmas or a holiday you celebrate that meant the most to you.

I’ll pick a random winner on December 1, 2009.

As you know, I’m not much of a cold-weather person.  Fall can be very pretty.  Winter . . . ugh . . . help!  Idaho has four distinct seasons so I really can’t complain after heading out of lovely summer weather temperatures that held between 80 and 100 degrees for the past few months.

In honor of fall’s arrival, I’m offering a signed copy of ALL THAT MATTERS.  The cover says it all.  The warm colors and inviting bakery with pastries in the window.

To enter, simply post what you like the most about fall.  I’ll be picking a random winner on November 1, 2009 November 7, 2009.  An EXTRA week due to technical difficulties.

NOTE:  I accidentally erased the contest on October 7.  If you posted between Oct 1-7, I’ve re-entered SOME of  the entries and you’re still in the contest.  That’s why it will say my name as the poster.  Sorry about that!  HOWEVER, I didn’t have an accounting of EVERYONE.  My apologies!  If you check back at my site–please RE-ENTER if I have not done so for you already.

October 1, 2009 – Helen L. has won the contest!  (By a scientific process . . . I asked my husband to pick a random number!)  Congratulations Helen!

So for the next 14 weeks, this is my plan.  Watch 2 episodes of Sex and the City on the treadmill.  Doing this at a 1.0 incline and a fair pace of 3.2 to 3.4, I burn 230ish calories and walk 2.5 miles.  Each episode is approximately 28 minutes.  That’s just under 50 minutes of walking, 5 days a week, which works out to 1,150 calories a week.  I like that number better than the 230 per day which barely burns off a yogurt and a half making the exercise and semi-sweat not worth the effort.  At 1,150 calories a week, that’s like one entire day of eating that I can burn off.  If I eat like a rabbit.

But then there’s a small problem–I’ve seen every episode of this series several times.  I could be asking for trouble and boredom.  However, when watched from the beginning, one is lured back into the lives of four women who I would never want to be.  Yes, I love the glitz and glamor of the show and the women, but I’m glad I’m me in Idaho, happily married.  There are 98 episodes in 6 seasons.  I’ve watched 7 episodes so far (I started walking over the weekend to help my arm–I have to swing it as I walk to losen it up.)  That means I have 91 episodes left.  I am in week 1 of the challenge.  If I watch 2 episodes a day, that’s 10 episodes a week.  I’m going to run out of episodes to watch in week 10.  I think?

In any case, I’ll figure that out when I get to The End.  In fact, I think the last disk of Season 6 is 1 hour so that would count as 2 episodes.  Given that, burning 230ish calories a day, watching what I eat, should net me 10-15 pounds in 14 weeks.  At least that’s my plan.  If I can do that, I can fit into the carrot dangling in front of me.  It’s not orange, rather gold, and it’s a fabulous Kay Unger dress I bought a size too small.  Yes, I am a masochist.  I knew it wouldn’t fit, but I refused to buy the size I’d need now.

I can get this dress on, but uh . . . I can’t really zip it up . . . too well.  I’m half tempted to hang the dress up in front of me in our exercise room to give me motivation.  In fact, I should paste a picture of it on the fridge, in my bathroom by the scale, and keep one in my purse for those times we eat out and I feel like ordering everying on the menu.

Wish me luck!

In our house, my daughters first pick was always Barbies.  They played them through junior high and would have continued if we’d kept a toy room in our new home at the time.  I have bins upon bins of Barbies, cars, clothes, accessories, McDonald’s shop, airplane, etc. that I have kept for posterity.