all over the place

It’s that kind of day for me today. Say a prayer for me today!

First off, OIAJ!

Been waiting to make OIAJ in this one for awhile, and then I went and scraped out the bottom for yesterday’s sandwich before I realized I should have kept a little in there! Darn it. It was still yummy anyway. Oats, half a banana, flax, milk, coconut and maple syrup.

Disclaimer: If you are reading this and you are MALE, proceed with caution. MUCH caution.

1. I’m not sure anyone blogs about their periods, or even if it’s kosher, but by gosh I’m going to do it anyway. I have been so stressed out this past month that my cycle started TWO WEEKS late. TWO WEEKS. That has never happened to this “regular-to-the-day-and-almost-hour” girl. That is some kind of stress, not to mention the additional stress brought on by not getting your period when you think you’re supposed to. Two negative pregnancy tests later…

2. It started. FINALLY. Guess that explains my ice cream binge in the kitchenette yesterday, as well as the violent mood swings I’m experiencing. And the “I-can’t-get-off-the-couch” depression this morning. And the 30-minute “I can’t find anything to wear” fit I had before going out to dinner the other night. But these are all (relatively) normal for me… Between the hormonal roller coaster and Midol’s pain- and mood-enhancing chemicals, I can’t tell which way is up.

3. Not to mention the fact that Andrew and I are both stressed beyond belief about our housing situation. Yet another thing I can’t even think straight about anymore. Yes, we’ve probably been too picky. But what else are we supposed to do? It’s a HOUSE.

4. Didn’t someone say you should never make big financial decisions during times of grief (usually in the case of a death in the family/inheritance, etc…)? It should probably include women’s menstrual cycles, too.

5. I’ve failed miserably at making good eating decisions. Basically, for the month since meeting my weight-loss goal, I’ve been hovering a good 3-5 pounds above it… Most of that, I think, is because my body has been trying to have a cycle for that long, too, so I’ve been experiencing all the period side-effects with no period. However, I’m not happy with my lack of self-control. I mean, why in the world would anyone keep eating after they are full? Like UNCOMFORTABLY full…? I blame the period.

6. I have my first two tests in school Monday. One in Biology and one in Anatomy and Physiology. I’m not stressed by them at all, really. Maybe I just have so much else going on that they seem like small potatoes. Or maybe it’s because it’s only Thursday.

7. I had intended to go to the gym today to lift and swim. I couldn’t drag myself there if I tried. Again, the period. I did, however, take Hadrian on an hour-long walk. It was nice, except for him wanting to chase squirrels. It’s also freezing here, by the way. Well, not freezing, but cold for September. Made for a nice walk. But I’m started to stress (great, more stress!) about us not getting any of our winter stuff from storage for at least another two months…

8. Speaking of Hadrian. We need a house, with a fence, and FAST. My grades in school depend on in. My sanity depends on it. The sanity of those in the rooms around us depend on it. Seriously, he’s either sleeping (which is a lot, I’ll admit) or pacing at the door. Or shoving his face in my face. Or barking whenever he hears people outside the door. And don’t even get me started on housekeeping. Every afternoon is a bark-fest when he can hear “housekeeping!” from down the hall…

9. We’re seeing a house Saturday. It’s new to the market and in the village and has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’m trying desperately not to get my hopes up, but it’s hard.

10. All these things, and more, have been swirling around in my head ALL MORNING. I HAD to get them out before I could focus on anything else…like chemistry.

all boxed up

The packers showed up this morning at 8:30. Thankfully (or not), I’d been up since 5:15, so at least I’d had a chance to get some things done around the house.

HOWEVER, I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how organized, how much time one has or how many lists one makes…there is no way to be (or feel) completely “cool” with the moving process. My lack of peace this morning was partly my fault; I wasn’t as productive this week as I’d hoped I’d be. I could have worked harder. Could have organized more. Could have, could have, could have…

Well, the house is pretty much packed up. We got through it as well as we could today. Our movers were nice, although I will say I’m always a little anxious about the whole process. There is just something about being at the mercy of someone else that scares me. Not that they’ll break my stuff; that they’ll be less than truthful with me. Cross your fingers and say a prayer for us!

The bathrooms are cleaned and I left cleaning supplies out for tomorrow. I don’t think the movers will take very long to load the truck…we don’t have that much stuff! A good portion of it will be coming with us; our Pilot is going to be jammed! All our food, all our cleaning stuff, almost all our clothes and shoes…

We’re settled into Jen and Dave’s for the last couple days before we leave 🙂

First Watch for the last (sniff) time?

I HAD to see Emily once more before we leave, and since she’ll be out of town this weekend, we met for brunch this morning at First Watch near the Dayton Mall.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE First Watch. I have no idea why. There isn’t anything super unique about it. Maybe because it’s always really light and bright in there, they have International Delight coffee creamer (sweet!) and their staple meal is breakfast. LOVE breakfast.

We did the whole hold-the-camera-out-as-far-as-you-can-and-hope-for-the-best thing. It worked the second time; the first time I forgot that I was still on zoom. Picture of Holly’s left eye and pores? Check.

I’ve never been very good at that, especially with Andrew’s unwieldy camera. I should ask his sisters…they have got it down to a science! About 75% of their photos are self-portraits, taken at arms’ length. I love them.

Anyway, back to brunch. I was running late, so no makeup. Oh well…I was in yoga clothes and Chacos. Emily was on her way to work, so she was beautiful and had awesome lipgloss on.

Susy and I did our last (sniff, tear) long run this morning–we met at the gym at 6:30 to get 10 miles and some lifting in–whoo hoo! So, I splurged and got the Floridian French Toast:

I usually try to get something off the “healthy” part of the menu or do enough substitutions on a regular item to lighten it up, but I figured that today, of all days, I could go carb-heavy. I love the addition of fruit (they have regular french toast, too) so I can use less syrup.

Emily was a good girl and got the Healthy Turkey, another of my faves after she discovered it when we went to First Watch in Columbus on a couples’ weekend trip.

It’s a yummy egg-white, turkey omelette with feta, spinach and tomatoes (she left them out) for about 190 calories–it does not get better than that! I feel so empowered to make healthy decisions at the grocery store and restaurants because of all I’ve learned about food. I get sad when I see people make decisions THINKING they are healthy ones, when in reality, they aren’t. And don’t get me wrong; I’ve made my share of bad decisions thinking I was making good ones. I just chalk it up to a learning experience and try to do better the next time.

I was SO TIRED on the drive home from brunch! Seriously, I could have fallen asleep at the wheel! Perhaps I was slipping into a sugar coma after all the caramels yesterday, a major depletion of energy this morning, then a sugary meal? I tried to nap on the couch when I got home (despite all the things on my to-do list today) but I don’t know if I fell asleep or not. (Story of my life!) At least I got some rest–I’m going on SEVERE sleep deprivation here! I haven’t slept past 6 a.m. in months…(this morning it was 4:40 a.m.) Seriously, I am not exaggerating.

Made an iced coffee and now it’s back to work for me!