Low Iodine Drudgery (LID)

Well y'all, I'm on the LID again for my whole-body scan next week and this time it feels harrrrd. I really want some eggs and bacon or a bit of yogurt or some butter on my broccoli or a nice piece of salmon. I don't remember it being this hard last year or the first time. Of course, the first time I was out of my mind hypo and didn't know what the heck was going on much less what foods I was missing. I had the metabolism of a small dead snail... getting off the couch was a monumental task - I could hardly even poop, hypothetically speaking. I am thankful at least that I don't have to "go hypo" again ... as long as my scans are clean. Today I go get bloodwork done to confirm I'm not pregnant (even though it would be the immaculate conception since A's been deployed a whole month now). Then on Monday I get a Thyrogen shot, Tuesday another Thyrogen shot, Wednesday I get the radioactive iodine, Thursday I marinate and Friday is the scan.

In other news, I was up at 3:45 this morning to get to work by 4:30 for a VTC. There is definitely a nap in my future. Right after I go get this blood drawn. Good thing is I get to leave here at 12:30. And I got a stellar parking spot. Parking at Camp Smith where I work is a nightmare. Camp Smith is basically the top of a big hill, so all the parking is on the street along the hillside ... and it's STEEP! You have to hike up that every day in the sweltering afternoon humidity to get to your car. Not today though! I got to park in the tiny lot right next to the building. I was shocked that all of the spots across the street from the front door (the Rock Star parking) were already taken when I got here at 4:30. Egads.

And the best part is you can wear your bikini to the grocery store and nobody bats an eye.

Sometimes I really love living in Hawaii. I mean, ok, the roads are shit and full of potholes, spam is considered a delicacy and on the weekends I often have to go sit in the car just to feel cool air on my skin because WE DON'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING. But! I live less than a five minute drive from this:

Kailua Beach

Yes it really is that pretty...

And yes the water really is that blue.

I know it looks fake, but this is me and Adam standing there at Kailua beach,

for reals, look at the water!

I've been going there pretty frequently the last couple of weeks. Last week we were in our big military exercise and I was working on the mid-shift from noon to 8:30. I was actually really enjoying the schedule. I got to wake up naturally, no alarm, usually around 6:30 and head straight over to the beach where I walked for about an hour along the shore. Then come home, have a nice breakfast, get ready for work, take care of the plants, run a couple of errands and whatever else before going to work at noon.

Man, it was a long week though... a long couple of weeks. I was basically working from the previous Sunday all the way through to last Friday cause I traveled to Miami that Sunday... I hate traveling for work! And the evil bastards are going to make me go on a trip right when A gets back from his deployment it looks like. If only I could quit this job and open a gym or a spa.

I spent the holiday weekend at the beach and watching marathon sessions of the Tudors second season. So good! And now it's back to the grind.

I want to poke my eyes out with a spork.

Ugh. I'm at wooorrrrkkk. On SUNDAY. It's depressing. And wrong. I hate this job! I want to quit so bad, but what would I do? I still have 4.5 more hours here. I'm in a terrible mood today on top of it. Just ugh.

I could be dreaming this too...

Still in Miami. Still jetlagged. Ugh! When my alarm went off this morning I thought I'll just lay here for 5 more minutes. Of course I fell asleep again, but I was having a very vivid dream that I got up and was getting ready! So I kept on sleeping. Cause my brain thought I was up. We're on a short break right now and I'm debating whether I should go get something real for breakfast instead of the pastries the conference is serving. I'm not super hungry but lunch is not till 1... Ok, food it is.

Life Path 11

My mom sent me this today. My life path number is 11 (add up all the digits in your birthday). I think a lot of this sounds true! I highlighted some of the parts that resonated most. I thought the part at the end about career path was very interesting - counseling, acupuncture, physical therapy. In college I thought I was going to become a counselor but I changed my mind because I think I would internalize too many of the emotions of the people I counseled. Even just interviewing to work with mentally challenged people I felt a sense of extreme guilt and despair and fear. Now lately I've been talking a lot about going into physical therapy or acupuncture. Hmm...... (ps i have no idea why the font is like this).

Your Life Path is 11

Your Life Path (sometimes called Destiny) is derived from your birth date. Your Life path is the road you are traveling. It reveals the opportunities and challenges you will face in life. Your Life Path number is the single most important information available in your Personality Chart!

You have the potential to be a source of inspiration and illumination for people. You possess an inordinate amount of energy and intuition. There is so much going on in your psyche that you are often misunderstood early in life, making you shy and withdrawn. You have far more potential than you know. You galvanize every situation you enter. You inspire people, but without your conscious effort. Energy seems to flow through you without your controlling it. This gives you both power and sometimes emotional turmoil. You are a channel for information between the higher and the lower, between the realm of the archetype and the relative world. Ideas, thoughts, understanding, and insight - all of these can come to you without your having to go through a rational thought process. There seems to be a bridge, or connection, between your conscious and unconscious realms, attuning you to a high level of intuition through which even psychic information can flow. All of this amounts to a great capacity for invention. Many inventors, artists, religious leaders, prophets, and leading figures in history have had the 11 prominent in their chart.

Because you are so highly charged, you experience the consequences of a two-edged sword. You possess great abilities, but indulge in much self-reflection and self- criticism. You often feel highly self-conscious. You are aware on some level that you stand out. Even when you try to blend with your environment, you often feel conspicuous, alien, and out-of-place. You are blessed with a message, or a specific role to play in life.** But you must develop yourself sufficiently to take full advantage of that opportunity. Until that time, your inner development takes precedence over your ability to materialize the great undertaking you were chosen to perform. Consequently, 11s seem to develop slowly, but they simply have more to accomplish in their evolution than the average person. Thus, your real success does not usually begin until maturity, between the ages of 35 and 45, when you have progressed further along your path.

You may often be frustrated, largely because you have extremely high expectations of yourself. But these expectations can be unrealistic, and can prevent you from accomplishing anything. You can be very impractical, envisioning a skyscraper when all that was necessary was a two-story house. You may also suffer from bouts of confusion and lack of direction. This gives rise to loss of confidence and the onset of deep depression. The cause of these emotional problems is your lack of understanding of your own sensitivity and potential. Your desire to achieve some great ambition is enormous. However, a lack of confidence in your own ability to realize this dream may cause you much frustration. You sense the enormous potential you possess, which requires equally enormous confidence in your ability to materialize your dream. Confidence is the key that unlocks your potential. On a strictly physical level, you must protect your nervous system, which is inordinately vulnerable to stress because of your acute sensitivity. Depression is often the result of long periods of stress that have gone unrelieved. Seek out peaceful and harmonious environments, relaxing music, and follow a healthful diet in order to restore balance and peace. As an 11 Life Path, you are a highly charged version of the 2 and possess many of the characteristics and talents of that number.

You can be extremely diplomatic and tactful. You are also patient and cooperative. You work well with groups and somehow find a way of creating harmony among diverse opinions. You enjoy music and poetry and require a harmonious environment. You have an eye for beauty and a fine sense of balance and rhythm. You have healing capabilities, especially in such fields as massage, acupuncture, physical therapy, and counseling. You are a sensitive and passionate lover; your perceptiveness makes you aware of your partner's needs and desires, which you are able to fulfill with almost magical delicacy. However, when you feel you have been mistreated or jilted, you can react with devastating power, sometimes using personal criticisms vindictively.

You are a fine companion and possess a good sense of humor. When you have found your niche in life and begun to realize your true potential, your rewards will more than compensate for your trials earlier in life.

I sure hope that last sentence is right!

** Maybe this will sound funny but I've always felt I was supposed to do something important in this life. In my mid-twenties, when I got out of college and realized I was just a little fish in a big pond, I sort of changed my mind about that, thinking that EVERYONE probably feels that way, and decided not to take it (or myself) TOO seriously. Even now though, one of the threads that keeps me tied in my current line of work even though it's not what I really want to be doing is that I need to feel like I'm making an impact on the world beyond my little bubble. And you affect history when you work on international politics. My name might not be in history books, but when people look at nuclear/WMD/proliferation in this time, I will have played a role in it.

Of course the other thing that keeps me tied to my job is that I don't know what else I would do?! I know that soon I'm going to be a full time mommy. But I also know that's not a forever thing. I will have to find something else to do with myself. Both physical therapy and acupuncture would require a LOT more schooling! More for the PT, as it is a doctorate. I would have to go back to UNDERGRAD! And take hard classes too like chemistry, biology, and labwork.

Anyway. Thought that was interesting to share!

At least the hotel is nice....

Y'all should see this hotel I'm staying in. I feel like it's the Ritz, but it's just the Marriott. Still, there is a huge wall-mounted flat screen tv in here AND a computer, AND wifi. And the bathroom is really nice. Marble. And I have a view out my window of the pool & jacuzzi. It's a beautiful day here. I was so relieved they let me check in to my room when I got here at 7 am. I thought I might have to wait around all day even though I called and requested an early check-in. But I got up here right away and it is lovely and comfortable and quiet and air conditioned and my first act was to flop down on the fluffy bed and take a snooze. I had to FORCE myself with sheer willpower to get out of bed again at 10:30. I could have slept all freaking day. That would be dumb though because then I would be awake all night and still I have to go to my conference tomorrow. Actually I have one meeting this afternoon. It's 5:27 am in Hawaii right now. No wonder I want to sleep more. Maybe I'll catch another snoozer later this afternoon. I did only get a few hours sleep last night. I can't sleep on planes. I tried to sleep on my flight from LA to Miami, but of course I had to sit next to the only guy on the plane who wanted to read and his bright light was glaring off his magazine right into my eyes! The flight was only 4.5 hours anyway. On the 6 hour flight to LA from Honolulu I had the misfortune of sitting next to this punk-ish guy and his girlfriend. He was a sprawler. You know, like hunching down in his seat with his legs splayed as far apart as possible, taking up like half my leg room and the entire arm rest. He kept flopping around and putting his feet up on the arm rests in front of us or wedging his knee into the seat in front of him. He seemed really childish and annoying to me. When I'm on a plane I try not to disturb the people around me... doesn't everyone?! He had all this designer clothing on, and a pair of Nike sweatpants. His watch was ridiculous too. I'm only telling you because it was inlaid all over the face with little blue, pink and silver crystals. Ridiculous. I have to say, the airline industry must really be hurting. This is the second cross-ocean flight I've been on recently on a 737. In the past I always remember flying over the ocean in a big 747 - the kind with four seats in the middle and two on either side. The past two times it's been the smaller plane with three seats on each side. And packed flights - every seat taken. My plan is to put on workout clothes and go outside and get some vit D and take a walk around the neighborhood. The waterfront is one block over. I'm not sure if it's the beach or just the waterfront. I considered ordering room service but then I noticed there is a 19% room service charge, plus a 3.00 delivery fee and then they tack on 15% gratuity plus tax, that nearly doubles whatever your meal costs! Instead I rallied and went to the restaurant for a seafood omlette. Yum. Yawn. I could go back into that bed, it's beckoning.... zzzzzzzzz

Letter from Adam

I got up early this morning to go to the gym when it opened so I could get my workout done before leaving today. I need to shower and pack and then head to the airport for my 1 pm flight to Miami. I got a long email from A today describing some of the things he's experienced and I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

*********
Fam,

Well, I'm over a week into this deployment ... and it has definitely been different than anything else I've done. I've taken a few unclassified notes to share.

Living Quarters:
No living in tents and walking 200 yards in the cold to the shower trailer on this deployment. I live in an old, but nice 3-bedroom apartment on the third floor terrace of a building leased to the U. S. Embassy. It is very safe: 10-foot perimeter fence, 2 checkpoints gates, and 24/7 roving guards. Despite the fortress precautions, it's feels very residential here. Lots of tropical trees, bushes, flowers ... there are even creeks and small ponds in the large courtyard. I share the apartment with another guy from work.

Work:
I do all my work in a windowless room at the U. S. Embassy, a building that looks like a prison and has more security than most buildings in Washington, D. C. I work every day, but the hours vary. It's a good job, and I've gotten to meet some very interesting people.

The City:
I live and work in a large, over-crowded city in a third-world country. There is obvious poverty in the streets; however, there are also many well-to-do neighborhoods. I have two local drivers (Robert & Junior) who take me wherever I want to go. They are on call 24/7. It's a good thing I have them ... because driving around in this city can be a nightmare. The roads are very rough; traffic laws are not enforced; there are no road markings; there's bad traffic; and it's very easy to get lost and find yourself in a bad neighborhood. Robert & Junior know all the best driving routes and places to stop along the way. Even though this is a third-world country, the city is very international and you can eat at whatever kind of restaurant you want, although I usually go to the grocery store to save money. Robert & Junior are native to the city, so they make sure no one is trying to take advantage of me, the "white guy with a lot of money" (this is what most locals think of Americans).

Taxi Service:
If I didn't have my own transportation, I'd be forced to use the local taxi system. It's more like a fleet of 18-seat minibuses. Even though there are only 18 seats, the minibuses are usually transporting no less than 25 people at a time. People sit on top of each other or hang out the sliding door. Every minibus is different. You know you've got a good one if it's painted multiple colors, has huge tires on the back and small ones on the front, and is blaring heavy bass music over the stereo. Here's how the service works: You stand at a designated stop (or close by) – the money collector will stick his hand out as the minibus quickly approaches, and you stick your hand out to let him know you want to get on. The minibus slows down JUST ENOUGH so you can get a running start and hop on. There is an aisle, but its only wide enough to fit a small child, so you sit in the money collector's seat while he hangs outside the minibus, and then once you’ve settled, you have to find an empty seat, and squeeze your way through ... if you have a bag with you, you will be a nuisance. When you’re ready to get off the minibus, if the money collector likes you, you can get off anywhere, but if he’s not so crazy about you, you have to wait till the next stop. When its time to stop, money collector hits the roof with a coin, signaling the driver to pull over. The minibus slows down JUST ENOUGH so you can jump off.

Weather:
It is very pleasant here. The city is over 5000 feet above sea level, so it stays relatively cool, despite the constant sun. Temperatures never go outside the 60-90 range. The locals put on heavy overcoats when the temp hits 65 ... then they'll complain it's much too hot when the temp goes above 85. Needless to say, there is no heating or air-conditioning anywhere outside the U. S. Embassy.

Wildlife:
Let's just say a zebra ran in front of the car as we were driving home from the airport on my very first day in this country. Junior was driving at the time. He was disappointed we didn't hit it, as zebra meat is apparently very good ... and it's illegal to deliberately kill them. On the same car ride, I saw huge flying objects which resembled pterodactyls, but Junior told me they were giant birds. Another day, Robert was driving me outside the city and we saw a local beating a donkey with a stick because it stubbornly refused to keep walking. One of the passengers in the car said, "I know that donkey couldn't have done anything bad enough to deserve that kind of a beating!" Robert stoically replied, "If you don't beat the donkey, it will die." We had to ask him what that meant. Apparently, if you don't beat the donkey and give it a reason to move, it stops working and eventually loses the will to live. Similarly, Robert said, "If you put a donkey in the back of a truck, it will die." Apparently, when the locals buy a donkey, they have to pick it up and bring it home ... so they drive to the donkey's location to pay for it, but one person has to stay behind and walk the donkey all the way to its new home. You see, if you put the donkey in the back of the truck, it will realize it doesn't have to walk everywhere and, again, will stop working and lose the will to live. My co-workers and I laughed for hours.

Church:
There is a large Catholic church next to my apartment. The church bells ring about 8 times every day (which makes it hard to sleep when I'm on a night schedule ... but it's still nice to hear a Christian sound on deployment when, during most of my previous deployments, I was listening to the Muslim call-to-prayer five times a day). The Church itself is very nice--stone walls and stained glass. It is run by Italian missionaries and is co-located with an orphanage and school for disadvantaged children. Going to Mass there is much like going to Mass in the U. S. ... although the locals really get into the service and they sing *very* local songs. Everyone is extremely polite and nice. Even if they don't have much of anything in the way of possessions, they still wear their "Sunday best," sing loudly, and shake hands with the priest after Mass.

That's all I've got for now. Hope everyone is doing well back home.

Adam

I guess it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

Man. Man oh man. I seriously did not sleep for one everloving minute last night. Tossed and turned the whole damn time. Even after getting up at 4:30, and staying up till almost midnight. Could. Not. Sleep. I just laid there and worry-worry-worried. About what, you ask? Well I don't even want to say because it's stupid and you will all think it's shallow and irrational and obsessed. Fine. I'll tell you. I was worrying about my weight. What if I can't lose weight. What if I screw up my diet on this stupid trip to Miami. And then of course, why can't I sleep. Why am I not falling asleep?! Morning will come soon and I will not have slept at all. And I have so much to do tomorrow, and then I'm leaving on Sunday, and what do I need to bring, and what am I going to eat, and what if I can't find good food to eat. And I want to quit my job. And on and on... etc, ETC, ETCETERA. So on and so forth, with the whys and wherefores, around and around. Yes, I know, it's stupid and shallow. DON'T JUDGE ME. Sigh. Surprisingly I do not feel too badly right now. I don't really feel like I tossed and turned all night. Still I am motivated to do precisely nothing. Regardless I am going to get up right now and go get some exercise. That will definitely give me a mood boost. And then I am going to go get my haircut, and run an errand or two. And then I will come home and do whatever cleaning I can bear to do, and pack. And try to stop worrying.

UGH

Ugh. It's only 11 and I've been here nearly 6 hours already! And I have to stay probably till 4! UGH! One of the shitty things about being out here is that if there are big meetings happening in Washington we either have to travel two days to get there, or often come in super early to beam in for a video teleconference. On account of the time difference, what is a perfectly reasonable hour on the east coast of the U.S. happens to be IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT here in Hawaii. Grumble. As soon as my boss gets back from his PT, I'm going to the gym to get my workout done.

Tomorrow will be busy preparing for my trip on Sunday to Miami. Dread. Oh and also the suckage continues through the next two weeks because we start our big war game on Saturday next week! Which means I will step off the airplane Thursday night and have to come in and work 12 hour shifts starting Saturday through the rest of the following week! I'll be working 8 am to 8 pm. UGH!!! At least it won't be 6-6... that would suck cause then I'd have to be waking up at 4:30 to get here.

Everyone else is doing it! It would be totally trendy.

Yesterday at work my colleague told me I better be careful going to Miami next week or I might get the swine flu, and that I better get a mask to wear on the airplane because that's where I would most likely get infected. At first I was like, I'm not wearing a mask, that is stupid. But then I started thinking about being trapped in the airplane with all those... people. Coughing and sneezing and breathing. And then I thought about being trapped in the conference room with more people for 10 hours a day two days in a row - people from all over the world carrying their various infections, including possibly the swine flu, and I remembered the last time I got the flu - the only time in my adult life - was when I went to a similar conference and 75% of the people there got sick and I started to get worried. So I casually confronted my boss to tell him I was getting to be a little bitter about the fact that he is SENDING ME OFF TO MY DEATH IN MIAMI WHERE I WILL PROBABLY CONTRACT THE SWINE FLU AND DOES HE REALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT?? Well, ok, maybe it didn't quite come out like that. So he agreed to speak to the Command Surgeon and ask him about it. Apparently the Command Surgeon - off the record - recomended that everyone go ahead and get infected!! With the swine flu!!! You know, like chicken pox! To inoculate ourselves! Because if this thing mutates and becomes more virulent or deadly, all the people who have the swine flue NOW will have some level of immunity built up to it! Personally I think he's out of his mind but I didn't get the chance to tell him so. All the same he gave my boss a surgical mask to give to me to wear around if I feel the need. So now I'm thinking well I don't really want to wear this thing like one of those strange Asian people and have everyone thinking that I'm infected but I think I'm going to bring it with me just in case I get stuck sitting next to someone who's coughing and sneezing. What would YOU do? Would you wear this thing?

Mostly more whining about my knee.

Went to the gym this morning, more to wear my new workout gear than because I actually wanted to work out. I had to work around my knee which meant not doing some of the exercises since I can't do anything that involves bending my right knee, so no squats, Bulgarian split squats or stability ball leg curls. (Note: I still have no idea if that is really how Bulgarians do their split squats, but those things really work your butt - you put one foot up on a bench behind you and basically do a lunge, but with your back foot elevated on the bench. Yeowch.) Anyway, I subbed out Romanian deadlifts (the Eastern Europeans are noted for their cruel twists on normal exercises) and calf presses. Also did not do any burpees, but I did do some jumping jacks. I love getting my workout done first thing in the morning! I only wish it was not so hard to wake up. Plus at the gym there are less shenanigans since everyone has to focus and get to work. I still saw this guy pull into the parking lot, get out of his car in his gym clothes and light up a cigarette. Ahh, nothing like black smoke in your lungs right before you exercise!

The trade winds are dead right now, which explains why it's been hotter than the hell and also very voggy. Vog is volcanic ash and fog mixed together and when there are no trade winds, it drifts over to Oahu from the big island and just sort of hangs around, insulating everything like a greenhouse.

I have not read Midnight Sun yet - the author of the Twilight series wrote another version of Twilight from the vampire Edward's perspective, but the manuscript got leaked so there is an unfinished version of it on the webz. I am reading World Without End now. I sometimes wish I had lived in Medeival times so I could live in a castle and wear pretty dresses and ride horses around everywhere and have my own Elf or at least a knight in shining armor, but A likes to remind me that the odds are I would be poor and probably die of the plague or bloodletting. Did you all know that George Washington died as a result of bloodletting?

Knee status: still hurting. I iced all day yesterday. Runner's knee must not be solely an overuse injury because it happened to me and I definitely was NOT overusing. I've had ITB syndrome before, THAT sucked. But that was overuse and also under-stretching. Luckily it was while I was at A&M so I got physical therapy for 6 weeks at only $10 per week! They used this sonogram machine that relaxes the tendon and breaks up any calcification. That took forever to heal - like months! God I hope it doesn't take that long for my knee to stop hurting.

A says we are going to do the webcams tonight! Yay!

This is probably why I got fat... but I still don't know why my knee hurts, and other cruel universe-jokes.

So I just spent the last few hours scouring the internets for information about knee pain and according to the webz, I have Chondromalacia Patellae, which sounds scary but is apparently only runner's knee. I have no idea how I could have gotten runner's knee, seeing as how I have done no running in weeks, literally, in fact I hardly even do WALKING these days anymore, what with sitting still so long at this job and driving to work and the fact that A gets the mail, takes out the trash, does the laundry, gasses up the cars, and really I don't do much of anything except sit there and try to look cute and say, "don't you want to rub my feet?" to which he always says of course. But runner's knee is the only thing that fits my symptoms and this one guy on the webz says the cure is to strengthen my thigh muscles, but I already HAVE strong thigh muscles, probably stronger than like 75% of the girls out there so now I'm wondering if I go home and lay in bed and turn my foot out and do leg lifts for 10 minutes each day like he says will it help????

Knee problems

I am seriously pissed about my knee - mainly because I have absolutely ZERO idea what I did to myself. Did I fall and not remember? Did I sleep on it funny? I DON'T KNOW. It would be one thing if I was running 30 miles a week or if I had a heavy leg workout or if I was doing bike sprints or SOMETHING other than sitting on my butt when I noticed it started hurting. It's driving me crazy - it hurts to bend my leg, so sitting, walking up and down stairs, etc - pain. Walking doesn't really hurt too bad, but I think I'm going to stay off it today and try to speed the healing process. Hopefully it feels better tomorrow.

I finished Breaking Dawn last night. I couldn't stop reading! So good. I mean, it's total fantasy stuff not like this book will change your life or anything, but it's good a good escape. Now I'm sad that it's over! I already started reading World Without End, the sequal to Pillars of the Earth. I loved Pillars so I'm pretty sure World is going to be another page-turner. I started reading that last week after A and I had a Lord of the Rings marathon. It took us all week to get through all 3 movies. I forgot how long those are! And I forgot how HOT Orlando Bloom is as Legolas! Sigh. Orlando! If you're reading, I love you! * Anyway, after that I got in the mood for some more adventure stories involving castles and princesses and knights in shining armor so I pulled out World.

A called me today and he sounded like a zombie. I wonder what time it is wherever he is. He said he was finishing his workday. Yesterday he called me at the end of a 20 hr workday -yikes. He said they went out for Indian food and it was pretty good. No he's not in India. I know where he is but I can't say and I don't even think I can say after he gets back! Counting down the days. Less than 60 now.

Day 2 of 84 of whittling my butt back down to it's normal size. That seems like a long time but it's not so I need to just put my head down and get it done. And I can't even work out. But it's more about what you put in your piehole than what you burn anyway. Ain't that the truth.

* Just kidding, honey, you know I only have eyes for you! MUAH!

Curses

Dammit if I didn't somehow tweak my knee yesterday. Not at the gym either. It just started hurting not long after I woke up. Feels like tendinitis or something? Weird because I haven't been doing a lot of cardio?

Last night it was SO HOT. I had to turn the window a/c on in our bedroom just to get comfortable, I was laying there sweating. But that thing is so loud I can't sleep with it on. Couldn't sleep with it, couldn't sleep without it. Finally the temperature dropped and the room got cool enough that I was able to turn it off and then eventually fall asleep. Needless to say I didn't bound out of bed this morning. Alarm went off at 5 and I laid there for almost 40 minutes dozing. Finally got up and went for a 30 minute walk with the 10# weight vest. That thing feels so heavy! It feels like way more than 10#. It really gets my heart rate up.

I spent the whole afternoon and evening yesterday reading that damn book! I'm getting close to done with it. About 1/4 of it left. Seriously I can't put these books down once I get to reading them they are addicting! Wish I was home reading it right now....

Chores

Adam hasn't even been gone for a whole week yet but I miss him so much! It is weird sleeping without him. I have to admit I sleep much better when he doesn't wake me in the middle of the night with his snuffling or the flopping of his ginormous limbs. Also, I already had to take the trash out AND the recycling and water all the plants and do my own laundry and fill up the water pitcher -- these are all things he normally does. I do most of the cleaning - and complain bitterly about it. Someday I will be rich and hire people to do everything for me.

I went to Costco and barely had to buy any food - it was weird. Instead I bought some clothes and the last book in the Twilight series - Breaking Dawn. I have it on my computer but it's just not the same as getting absorbed in a book. I am about 25% through it right now. I thought it was going to be boring from the beginning but there was already a major plot twist that I totally didn't see coming. I won't spoil it for you - go get the books!! Seriously they are really good and you will not be able to put them down.

I went to the MCX to get some new gym clothes since some of my t-shirts are falling apart and man was THAT depressing. I am definitely putting myself on a diet. Nothing like the sight of your pasty cellulite in a three way mirror to spark a fire under your butt. I hate battling my weight, it is so tiresome. But I am not going to give up and just get fat. Believe me that is what happens when I get lazy and let my good habits slide. I just have too strong an affinity for, well, food. Good thing this TT contest starts tomorrow. It is very motivating, it keeps me focused. Speaking of which, I am headed to the gym.

xoxo

A.M. workouts

I actually got up and went to the gym this morning before work. It felt great! Getting up? Not so much. Why is it so much harder to wake up at 5 than at 6? Maybe it's because the sun is not up yet. I've been waking up naturally without an alarm clock for weeks now at 6 on the nose. This morning was painful. And I was a little late for work because I had to spend some time looking up my workout since the print out was in my gym bag at work. I've streamlined my morning routine so much that I don't even dry my hair anymore or wear any makeup other than under-eye concealer and mascara, so I don't know how I could save any more time. Half the time I don't even shower anymore. I'm down to a quick rinse with a regular shower every three days or so. I don't need to wash my hair every day here for some reason it seems to stay cleaner and even looks better a day or two after washing. I used to wash and blow dry every day!

My boss is driving me bananas. Did I mention I want to quit my job? Not today?

I'm gonna keep getting up for am workouts from now on.