I barely slept yesterday - there was construction going on outside, and my cats were tearing around, and the phone kept ringing, and I tossed and turned all day, even though I spent 5 hours in bed during the day and l went back to bed about 9:30 tonight for about 2 1/2 hours. I'm struggling tonight, and do not wish to resort to the caffeine tempting me from the vending machines.

I was very productive during work last night, and I'm fighting to be productive tonight. Last night I submitted for a ton of auditions, and I already have a couple of them lined up over the next several days. Yay! I also replied to tons of emails that had been languishing in my inbox for too long.

I also had an appointment yesterday evening regarding an acting organization - terrific resource for networking as well as LOTS of industry information. I signed up for training later this month. Very impressive place.

Diet and exercise are both still very much on track. In spite of my lack of sleep, I did a few minutes of Pilates tonight, but had to stop because Mike came over for a little while, and then I had to get to work.

Until the phone rang and woke me up, I got another five hours of sleep yesterday after work. Was wide awake, so got up and worked out a while. Did a mile on the treadmill and then did about 30 minutes of power yoga. Took a two hour nap in the evening, too, but tossed and turned for a while.

Got up again at 10 pm, dressed, and went to SBUX for a soy chai tea latte – there’s one that closes at midnight down the street from me, which will come in handy when I have to be at work at midnight. I don’t want to get in the habit of going there before work, but it’s nice to know it is available if I feel like I need an extra boost to get through the day.

Food-wise, other than tonight’s chai, I’ve been doing REALLY well. Lamb, salads, sausages, asparagus, and basically no sugar for days. I’m really pushing the protein and veggies and fruit because I think I need the extra nutritional support since I’m working nights. Been taking lots of B vitamins, too.

Went for a 5-7 minute walk around the parking lot at lunch (at 5am) and it helped me stay more alert this morning. I've been kind of hungry all night, too, in spite of having eaten something every two hours and drinking tons of water. I'll make some eggs when I get home.

When I got home yesterday, I took a bath and climbed in bed within 40 minutes of arriving home. Slept really well for five hours, and woke up because of the noise of the construction taking place on my street. I think I'll buy some earplugs so that doesn't happen on a regular basis.

Once I woke up I was wide awake. Watched a little TV, put on my workout clothes, and worked out really hard. Did 2 miles on the treadmill, and jogged about a mile of that, which felt great! Then I did weights, and was still wired. So then I did an hour of Pilates. Then I showered and climbed back in bed. Didn't sleep well, but I did get a couple more hours in, and I have felt much more normal tonight/this morning than I did last night! Just about 2 more hours to go now, and then I head home for sleep. I'm still not very hungry, so I'm eating when I get hungry and not eating when I don't, except to make sure that I am eating SOMETHING, even if it something small and protein packed to keep my blood sugar steady. Right before I went to sleep yesterday I was suddenly ravenous, so I ate a chicken/turkey pesto sausage link and went to bed.

I did about 20 minutes of yoga when I got up at midnight to get ready for work, and I am feeling pleasantly sore from yesterday's workout. I'll be working out again later today, though probably not with the intensity of yesterday - perhaps just a yoga DVD. It will all depend on how well I sleep and how I feel when I get up.

I had a nice nap yesterday afternoon - about two and a half hours, but I didn't sleep straight through. I've been at work since 1:30 this morning, and it's now 6:30. So far so good. I'm being as careful as I can be about my diet and exercising: lamb, spinach, and rice for dinner last night, and healthy snacks and food here at work (trail mix and blueberries). I'm drinking tea, so no cokes or anything else from the vending machines.

I can tell that I'm tired, though. I've been a little cold for the last couple hours, I'm not hungry at all, but if I were to eat anything my choice would be sugar, and my vocabulary has decreased in English and especially in French. The one call I took in French I barely understood much of what he said - he spoke in such technical terms that I wouldn't have understood it in English, let alone in French. I'm still sitting with someone else until I get my logons, so I'm learning quickly how to say things, how to ask things, and I'm learning and remembering lots of vocabulary.

We'll see how this night shift goes and how quickly I can get up to speed with the French technical terms.

Mike and I walked to the grocery store yesterday and he said that he'd buy a boneless leg of lamb if I would cook it. I don't turn down lamb, especially the good quality cuts! When we got back to the apartment building, I marinated it in black cherry juice, fresh garlic, and herbes de provence for about three hours. Popped it in the oven for about an hour, made some rice and spinach, and we had a wonderful meal. This is the second meal I've made for Mike, and he has raved both times. I hadn't ever tried to marinate lamb with this combination, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I even impressed myself. There are leftovers, too, which I'm very much looking forward to eating tonight!

Mike asked me if I would be his Valentine! We're definitely not 'just friends' or 'just neighbors'!

Three more hours until I can go home and go to sleep.

I start the night shift tonight, and I went to bed at 5:15 this morning. I'd hoped to stay awake until dawn, but didn't quite make it. I plan to take a nap this evening, say around 9pm, and then get up at midnight and get ready for work.

Stayed up last night by watching a DVD ("Marvin's Room - wonderful!) with Mike. Kicked him out, cleaned the kitchen, watched TV, and then did Pilates for an hour. Finally gave up when I was falling asleep in my La-Z Boy.

I woke up starving today! Made some scrambled eggs with salmon, and I'm heading to the grocery store shortly to get some ground lamb, spinach, and maybe some feta cheese to throw into eggs on the weekends. I made some quinoa and rice (a Seeds of Change package - yummy stuff!) the other night, and I've got a salad and also a shrimp and asparagus dish. That ought to hold me tonight during work. I need to take some kind of snacky stuff like dried fruit or blueberries. When I get tired I want sugar, so to avoid the vending machines I'll need something better.

I had another close call yesterday, and I think it was related to blood sugar levels. I don't get paid until next Friday, so I don't have a lot of money right now, and have been holding off on going to the grocery store. I had rice cereal and soy milk for breakfast, and then went to an appointment. Five hours later, I headed home, and ran a red light at a busy intersection nearly hitting two cars. I thank God that we didn't collide! As I was driving home and feeling VERY lucky, I realized that I had not even SEEN the light, and that I'd been hungry for a couple hours during my appointment. Normally when I get hungry I don't have serious blood sugar issues, but since I'd had very little protein in my breakfast, I think my blood sugar peaked and crashed instead of being its usual steady level. I'm buying some chicken sausage today so that I will have some easy protein at the ready at all times.

Heading off to the store now, and trying to stay safe!