40 days, huh? 40 is an important number, so I get the feeling that today will be special somehow, if only because I make it so.  If you’re of Judeo-Christian leanings, you’ll know that during the Great Flood, rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights.  Jesus also fasted for 40 days and nights in the desert.  Lent is 40 days.  According to Wikipedia (hey, I’m on a tight timeline here), 40 is the age the Qur’an says a person must be to be fully grown.  Also, apparently according to at least one Imam, the prayers of someone who drinks wine are not accepted for 40 days, which means that I’m totally screwed.

Also, in Russian folk culture, the soul is purported to remain earthbound for 40 days after death.  To some this means that the spirit becomes a ghost, capable of haunting the living.  In other pockets of folk culture, it is believed that the spirit can slip back into the body during this 40 days, creating an undead being that harasses or even feeds off of the living.

In Alaska the Eklutna religion, which combines Eskimo beliefs with Russian Orthodox Christian teachings, holds that after death the spirit walks the earth for 40 days and nights, looking for its belongings.  To help soothe the spirits and keep them in their proper place, the graves at Eklutna Historical Park feature tiny, brightly colored ‘spirit houses’ above each grave.  Some of the graves date back to the 17th century.

But we’re contemplating life here, not death.  I’ve got 40 days left to lose this weight, and I started my day out with a pint glass of juice (tomato/lettuce/carrot/bell pepper).  It was just about as gross as it sounds – needed an apple or maybe some ginger to even it out a bit, but that’s something I’ll know next time around.  Last night was a great night.  I went to dinner at an old acquaintance’s house, and she was just as sweet as I remember.  She has a 3-year old now, and that’s changed her dynamic a bit, but not too much.  He was a handful all evening, but cute as a button.  Another old acquaintance who might be a friend one day showed up, as well, and between these two ladies and my boyfriend, we rounded out a great evening of conversation, most of historic preservation-related (that’s what my last degree was in).  The boyfriend made a fantastic salad of tomatoes, cucumber, olives, peppers, and feta (probably some other ingredients, but I didn’t watch him make it), and there was also pizza and bean dip/chips and wine.

It was a lovely night, and we made it home around 11pm.  However, about two hours after I went to bed, I woke up with the worst stomach pains!  I was thinking perhaps I had just had too much to drink, but then realized it felt much more like a reaction to something I ate.  It was not a pleasant night, but my body probably needed that kind of cleansing, especially since my reduced diet as of late has not had everything working the way it should.  Bottom line is that even though I did eat more than I intended last night, I’m still only 1/5 of a lb. heavier today.  I’m going to go running this afternoon, as well, so hopefully tomorrow will have me back on track and somewhere in the 157 range.

I also been staying on task with my FatGirl products and Love Handler, so we’ll see what my measurements are looking like on Monday.  What I would give to make my flab-nasty arms lose an inch!

OK, back to work.  Got a conference call in a half hour or so.