After kicking her out, I went back to my turbulent dreams laced with a throbbing headache. I proceeded to get up at least three times in the night to pee like I hadn't peed in years. Since I'm going to the gym tonight and breakfast was already made, I slept until all most 7. The good news is that I feel a little less like death now and I currently don't have to pee. Detoxing is fun! But hey, at least this time the food is tasty.

There comes a point in the battle against chronic pain where you are willing to try just about anything to make it stop. This last week, I wasn't able to exercise as much as I wanted to because of fatigue and feeling like I'd lost a fight with a Sasquatch. Through sheer force of will, I managed to go to yoga on Thursday and personal training on Friday. It did't stop the pain as I'd hoped, but it did take my mind off of it.
In the midst of all the life changes I've been making, I've heard a lot of talk about The Whole30. It's a detox food plan which asks you to eat only meat (organic and ethically raised), vegetables, fruits, nuts, and healthy fats (such as avocado oil) for 30 days. This means no sugar (outside of fruit), no legumes, no grains, and no alcohol. They're asking that all foods that commonly cause inflammatory responses be temporarily cut from your diet. Also, no making foods like ice cream or pan cakes using approved ingredients. Why? Because they want to break psychological dependence on junk food. After 30 days, you begin to reincorporate foods back into your diet to determine what affects you negatively and what doesn't.
I read all sorts of interesting things from people who have done it, but what interested me most is those who claim to have had near or complete remission of symptoms from conditions like fibromyalgia. If there is even the slightest chance that changing my food could lessen my pain, I'm taking it. My husband and I are going to start on Monday. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm definitely in the fighting spirit. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted.

My time hasn't  been this occupied since I was teaching. I've got a job to take up a chunk of my day (but it's not full time and I am ecstatic to report that, unlike teaching, work stays at work). So why am I so busy? I realize that it is because I have so much more energy. Take yesterday for example, the ever dreaded Monday. I made breakfast, packed lunches, worked from 9-3, got off work and went to Hobby Lobby, came home and attempted to make curtains (I was thwarted by an empty bobbin), and then hung a shelf, decorated, and cleaned. 
I've spent so much time thinking, I don't know why I'm STILL so tired, but I've been looking at it all wrong. Before, I worked, came home and ordered nachos, and then watched TV until it was time for bed. Rinse, lather, repeat. Now, I work, exercise, clean, pack lunches, tackle craft projects, and write a blog before work! I still have days that aren't so easy, or that I just want to go back to bed, but even those days are twice as productive as so many of my days in the past.
The best part is that Ian has been my partner in all of this. He has tackled healthy eating with me, and although he's not much for cooking, he does help me clean the kitchen and pack the lunches. He makes the bed every morning, and while I'm monstering one project, he's wrestling another. Turns out we make a great team. Most of our house still looks like a tornado hit it, but our bedroom is finally starting to look like the cabin we stayed at in Colorado. Our dining room table has been clutter free for over three weeks, and our bathroom sink is clean enough to eat out of. Look at me! I'm the little manatee who could. Maybe that should be a book. Another project? We'll see.

There is a fine line between when to push and when to quit, and I have a history of trampling it. Going on three weeks now, I have gotten up every weekday morning and gotten on the treadmill or went to the gym. Today I just wasn't feeling it. In the past, I would have pushed anyway despite the fact that I have to work today. I would have pushed until it was time to pay the piper (at which point I probably would have collapsed on the treadmill and been ejected into a wall). Today though, I went back to bed.
I realized that it's not about never missing a day. It's about listening to my body and doing what I can to make it healthy. Sometimes you just have to let yourself sleep long enough that you have the energy to carpe that diem. Look at me being all balanced. Now I'm off to work with my lunch already packed. #killing it

There are some movies that, despite being terrible, you just can't stop watching. It defies logic, but we all have our guilty pleasures. For me, that movie is Good Burger. It came out in 1997 and was based on a skit from the Nickelodeon sketch show All That. I honestly never had any desire to watch it, but several years after it's release my friend bought a copy for my birthday. I remember that the VHS tape was orange. Since that time, I have watched it over and over again with countless people. You can tell a lot about a person by their taste in film. Those of you weirdos who actually love this movie, you are my people. 

I haven't written a post for a while and now it seems that I've got writers block. I always told my students just to start writing even if it meant they had to ramble on for three pages. Eventually, your brain will settle on what it wants to talk about. I suppose I could start with telling you about my pants. Not the impossible pants, just my regular pants. I put on my slacks this morning and realized they are too big. These pants have an elastic waist band and, for the better part of two years, I put that elastic to the test. Today, they drooped. At least an inch of my super attractive pink granny panties were hanging out the top, but luckily, my shirt was long enough to cover everything up. I had no choice but to wear the pants as all my slacks seem to have developed this condition (thank god I now work at a desk job and can sit for most of the day).
I know I should be happy about this, maybe even ecstatic, but for some reason, I just can't seem to muster the appropriate "Woohoo!" I think it's because I'm still between sizes and, despite the fact that these slacks are very loose, I can't officially buy the next size down with any confidence. Also, I broke the 240 plateau only to get stuck at 237. Ok, the voice of Carol Kane is now bitch slapping me like Ebeneezer Scrooge. 
I've lost 17 pounds, 5 inches off my waist, and 4 inches off my hips. This is a freaking accomplishment. I have packed a lunch everyday for the last two weeks. This is a freaking accomplishment. I've gotten on the treadmill everyday, kept my sinks clean, cooked dinner, stayed in my calorie budget most days (excluding Easter), and gotten a job. These are all accomplishments that I am proud of. I may not be like all the other manatees, but that's ok. I'm a manadee, and that's even better.