Just, you know, a regular Monday... :)

It's Monday! And I didn't have a bad day! Even though I slept in! And I had a shit ton to do! And I made it to the gym! And ran all of my errands! And I'm making dinner for Dylan and me! It's Monday and everything is OK! I can't take these things for granted because just a couple of months ago, this was unheard of. Or at least rate. But I am eternally grateful for my psychiatrist and his tip that I should try taking Topomax. It has saved my life on Mondays, even though it may not sound like much.

On this particular Monday, I am making stuffed peppers for dinner. I had an idea in my mind of what stuffed peppers were, or should be, and I kind of just went with it from there. I knew I had rice, so I bought peppers and beef and an onion for flavor. At home, I added some fresh garlic and garlic powder, salt and pepper, seasoned diced tomatoes and even some spinach. And man, do my stuffed peppers look way better than the ones on the internet. I think I might post my recipe on the google share page!

So I don't know if it's the Topomax or what, but I am having a very hard time waking up at or before 6 in the morning lately. In fact, I have had a hard time getting out of bed anytime before 7! I am not sure what the reason quite is, but I'm not terribly concerned. My goal is going to be to take a pre-7 am train at least 2 times per week, whether it be the 6:12 or the 6:45. And hopefully, from there, I can build back up again. We'll see!

I'm also not 100% convinced that I should be continuing with this gluten-free business for as long as I was going to (she says as she drinks a Dos Equis Amber). I think I have to change something drastic if I want to lose the 10 or 15 pounds that I wanted to by my birthday, but I don't think going gluten free is the way to do it. Though, it does make me feel good, and it has been good for maintaining my weight over the course of 3 weeks and that's not something to look down upon, when those 3 weeks have included decadent Italian dinners, binge drinking, nights full of cheese and lots and lots of sweets!

On my list of things to do today, and something I didn't get to, was to call my insurance company and find out what my roadside assistance happens to be, since I don't know much about it. I received an offer in the mail to become a AAA member for just $52 a year and I have to be honest, it sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd consider doing it, but I just don't want to double up since I specifically remember that I get roadside assistance with Progressive. I'll find out tomorrow, hopefully!

I also have to drag my butt down to the doctor's office tomorrow to drop off a bloodwork prescription from my psychiastrist for my primary care doctor who has got to write the master prescription. It's that time of year again! I have been a healthy beast over the past year, but one thing I was specifically told to do that I did NOT do was take Vitamin D supplements. That might be on my "next year's" list of things to do. Not 2014, per se, but my "before 30" bucket list. BEFORE 30. Damn, I am getting old.

I talked to Jo and Nancy about doing a brunch at Mad Mex for my birthday again this year, making it kind of like a tradition, but I was thinking that it might be good to have kind of a low key birthday this year. It seems like each year keeps outdoing the last and I don't want one of these birthdays to end up a colossal disappointment. So maybe this year, I can have a little brunch with my coworkers, a night out with Bob and Justin in NYC, and maybe a night out in Ardmore with Callan and Sean. Hopefully, we can catch up with Anya and Jeff in NYC too, since they seem to be my birthday buds lately! Since I have 2 whole months to figure this birthday business out, I think I'll be safe. For now, I have to plan this night out to see Stephen Lynch w/ Jo and the gang, the Carpe Diem party on Friday and the next Philadelphia FTI event!

Birthday Ramblins Part Deux

I'm on a streak! And it's Saturday! And I'm writing! And it's 7:33 in the morning, and I can't sleep anymore, because I'm excited for this day! And Dylan's sleeping next to me, and I think my typing, no matter how quiet I try to make it, is always too loud! People at work mock me by doing this crazy typing gesture- hands coming down on the keyboard from 2 feet in the air, very exaggerated and cartoon-esque. I love it, but it's also kind of embarrassing.

I had a dream last night that I met Clare Danes and we hung out and talked a bunch, she told me she's from Philly and that she actually LIVES here, and we had so much in common, and she was beautiful and cool, and she was trying to hint that she was dating my boss Rob. Weird twist, but I'll take it.

We had a really fun night last night at Distrito. Jess and David arrived on time, the Cubans were 25 and 45 minutes late (Marie and Janire/Liza, respectively). I drank tasty margaritas, and sampled some of Liza's tequila flight, Dylan got Coronas, Jess got some kind of fancy drink with a cherry in it- with a cherry stem she TIED IN HER MOUTH. I've "done that" before...but it was all a lie! I'd slip it out of my mouth and tie it under the table. I'm such a party trick cheater! I shouldn't be allowed to play party tricks. No more fake tricks for me. ANYHOW, last night was a lot of fun. I actually got PRESENTS from my friends (NEW DEVELOPMENT IN MY GROWN UP LIFE), and I got a candle in my Frios (flan, dulce de leche, coconut cake & mango - SO AMAZING).

The food was incredible. We ordered ceviche and chips w/ guacamole to start, and then Dylan ordered us a bunch of food: out of this world kobe beef tacos with the most delicate shoestring potatoes and truffle oil, a chicken tortilla soup, some kind of flatbread pizza with shortribs and radish on it, and this amazing fried plantain with cheese on it. Nothing I ate was short of awesome. I'm not holding out such high hopes for the Mexican today, but we certainly will have a smaller bill this afternoon. At least we better! And the $10 margaritas are going to be 22 oz. this time, so maybe I will only need 2 to get me feeling feisty.

I don't know what I'm going to do for the next hour and a half. I'm also wondering if I'm going to get hungry, and maybe I should eat a little something, something. Maybe a banana. I don't want to eat a true meal, though it would be tempting to cook up some onion and spinach omelets with that yummy cheese I have.

I can't believe so many people are meeting us for brunch today. I know not everyone's coming because it's my birthday, but this is all part of my birthday season and that makes it exciting. I hope we get to sit next to Alex and Michael, because they're really my bestestes of the group. A seat next to Larry Latore might be nothing to sneer at as well.

Something that bothered me at work the other day was in our status meeting, I brought up wanting to clear out the vendor list, which everyone was on board for, but I mentioned wanting to reach out to the contact whose address we had for the email order notifications. Nancy was like, "NO WAY," and proceeded to go into why doing that was opening a can of worms and not our responsibility. I think all aspects of site maintenance are our responsibility, and making sure that we have the right contact information for our vendors is important! I couldn't believe she was fighting me so much on this issue, and I even got a "we can talk about it later." Luckily, we ended up out for a drink that night, so I think all was saved.

Dylan's snoring. It's now 7:50 (not going to break my record typing time today!) I don't know if I want to spoon him, or get up and go to the kitchen to weigh myself and decide if I want breakfast. Is it weird that I base whether or not I eat on my weight on that faulty ass scale? I maybe need to take my scale out of the damn kitchen. I just want to be rocking for my weigh in next week!

Give me strength!

What Do I Love?

That was my question for today. Yesterday, I touched upon a couple of the things in this world that I like, but love goes much deeper than that. Do I love clouds? Do I love cooking? Probably! But when I think of things I love, my mind immediately goes to people. But is that answering the question? Wouldn't talking about all of the people I love be more of an answer to the question, "Who do I love?" I guess if I were to think in terms of "what" and not "who," I'd be able to come up with just a couple.

I love my body. I love making healthy decisions for my body. I love that I made the decision to start taking care of myself a few years back, and have dedicated myself to that as much as I can. I know I'm not perfect, and I know I sometimes eat dessert, and some days I don't feel like working out...and I just about NEVER work out on the weekends, but what's important is that I'm making good choices most of the time. I love my body for all it does. I know it has lots of quirks. My toe hurts in half the shoes I wear, I always seem to have a pimple on my chin, I can't seem to get my arms toned, but my body has come a long way from where it was. I love that I can run 3 miles now. I love that I can lift weights without quitting after 10 reps. I love that I use music to motivate myself when I run or circuit train. I love the feeling of getting my heart rate up, working hard, and really breaking a sweat. I love making good decisions when it comes to what I eat. I love choosing vegetables and proteins. I love that I can still eat carbs. I love that I DO still let myself eat dessert some times. I love that I can still eat French fries. I love that I've been on this journey for three years, and I am fitter now than I've been since I was 21. I love that I know so much more now about how to treat my body. I love that taking care of myself means making myself a priority. I love that I work somewhere that supports this. I love that the people in my life support me in this.

I love stars. The other night, I took a friend's daughter (1 1/2 years old) outside in the evening, and we looked up at the stars. There were a couple blinking lights from planes in the sky as well, and the whole vastness of it all really sank in. I love that looking at the stars can make me feel so small. At the same time, I love that stars show you that no matter how far away you are from something, you can still shine through and make an impact on it. I mostly love to gaze at stars. I love laying on the ground in the summer at night, and trying to find the constellations.

I love food. I love trying different kinds of food. This is so close to cooking, and kind of close to loving my body, and taking care of it. But I don't care. It must be said. I love food, and I love to eat. I love that in the past 10 years, I have added so many new cuisines to my repertoire. I love Indian food, Thai food, Japanese food, Ethiopian food, Middle Eastern food...and of course, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Southern, and good old American standards. I love trying fresh foods. I love my organic produce delivery that keeps me eating fruit almost every day, and trying new veggies. I love everything about food, and damn is this making me hungry.

One more. I love Philadelphia. I have had such an incredible time building a life here, and find my decision to move here one of the best things I've ever done. I've never felt lacking in art or music. I've met amazing people. I've been able to branch out in terms of restaurants and plays and bars and stores. I love working in Philadelphia. I love being able to go the gym on my lunch break. I love being able to walk to dozens of restaurants from work. I love my local pub, and my daily free pint I won. I love the skyline. I love the commute into the city. I love it all.

I could go on...for ages. Maybe a "What do I love: Part II" post is in order for the future!