At 10 pm last night, I was wide awake and full of energy, so I headed to the gym to try to wear myself out so I could get to sleep at a reasonable hour. I did my weight circuit, and then spent 45 minutes on the elliptical machine, and worked out as hard as I could for as long as I could. Higher and higher levels of incline and higher levels of resistance, all while maintaining more revolutions per minute. By the time I was done, I could barely push open the door to leave! It felt really good, though, and every time I push myself I learn more and more what my limits are. What barely makes me breathe hard now is far beyond what my maximum ability was a couple months ago, and I keep surprising myself with what I can do. Fabulous stuff, as long as I continue to pay attention to my body and back off if I am doing too much.

In spite of this challenging workout, I was still up until 3 am last night, and didn't even hear my alarm go off at 9am. And it went off for an hour without me ever waking up. I finally got up about noon today, when a friend of mine called to meet me for coffee. Since I don't drink coffee, I had chai tea latte with soy milk, and an incredibly decadent cake called "Molten Lava". Yes, it had wheat in it, and sugar, and whipped cream on top, and it was incredibly delicious, and I won't do it again for a LOOOONG time. Sometimes it is well worth the 'pain' of the allergic reaction. And my friend and I did share it, so I didn't eat the whole thing, and I've been eating so well otherwise that I don't think I'll have any cravings, and if I do, I won't be giving in to them.

I am really tired tonight, so I may actually get to sleep at a reasonable hour. And I will take melatonin tonight to help me get to sleep. I now start work on Monday, so I have a few days to shift my clock and get up early. I'm going to set a couple of alarms tonight and get up by 9am tomorrow, even if I don't get a lot of sleep tonight.

I worked out two days in a row, and I've still got sinus drainage and a scratchy throat (which my little cake today didn't help!) so I think I'll do yoga today and get to the gym in the morning before I go meet another friend for coffee (chai or green tea!) tomorrow in the early afternoon. Then I've got acting class tomorrow night and a self-written monologue to finish preparing for class. Lots to do!

Either that or there is some major detox going on here. I basically FEEL okay, but my nose is running like a faucet, my ears are a little plugged up, and I have a slightly sore throat and very little energy. As well as I've been eating, I hope I'm just clearing stuff out, but since my best friend (I'll call her Anne for the purpose of the blog!) has been sick and now has a sinus infection, I'm not sure what I'm dealing with.

I fell asleep after 5 this morning, and woke up at 11, and in general I'm taking it easy, and will only do what I feel up to doing. Anne called me about 11am and asked if I had eggs. Yes. Do you have bread? Yes (wheat-free, yeast-free rye.) Can I come up for breakfast? Come on. So I made eggs and toast and we ate. And now she's asleep in my La-Z Boy again, curled up under an afghan, and looks so cute!

Last night I tried to go to bed at 3:30, and by 4:15 I got up and dried and put away the dishes, ate a small bowl of cereal (rice puffs or something with soy milk and blueberries), and then I felt tired enough to go to bed.

I was supposed to meet with a personal trainer at the gym today, but I just called and cancelled since I'm supposed to be there in about 30 minutes and I'm not even out of my jammies yet. I'm enjoying these last few days of freedom before I start work (possibly Friday!). I think I'll take a walk today and go to Starbucks and maybe go to the gym for a LIGHT workout later. I need to do something to get myself tired enough to get to bed at a reasonable hour for this upcoming week of training - I need to be able to get up in the mornings! If a whole lot of walking and other exercise doesn't do it, I may have to resort to melatonin. At least I won't have much trouble staying up all night once that shift starts!

Monday has a whole new meaning knowing that I'll be getting back to work soon. I've been thoroughly lazy so far today, which I think I need to do since I still have a sore throat. Otherwise I feel fine, but I don't want to get sick, so I'm taking easy and eating as well as I can. I've been wanting fruit and fish, so I cooked some salmon last night with parsnips, carrots, and ginger in olive oil and water (with a dash of salt) and that was dinner. I also headed to the farmer's market near me and bought more cherries, blueberries, bananas, a mango, a pineapple, and two pomegranates. I ate the mango last night and breakfast today is pecans, cherries, blueberries, and soy yogurt all mixed together. Yummy.

Had weird dreams last night, including one about a friend of mine who moved down here last year from San Fransisco and wants to get into radio. She hasn't returned my last couple of calls, and I am wondering if she has returned to SF. I dreamt that she had moved back in with her mother and I was disappointed with her for not following her dreams. I need to try to call her again and see if she IS still around. I hope so.

Since I have a little more energy today, I'm going to get a few errands done and try to wrap up the things that I needed to get done on Saturday. The gym is even on the list of things to do - I'll see if I can burn this crud out of me. Maybe I'll actually get this place cleaned up, too.

My best friend is recovering from her crud, and showed up at my door at 10:30 this morning with a glass of freshly made pineapple juice. God bless her! We sat and talked for about a half an hour, and then we both napped, her curled up on my La-Z Boy, and me in my bed, and both cats in assorted places. We woke up when my phone rang at ONE pm. Must've both needed it, though, and the weather here is chilly (which here means 50s) and threatening rain, so it is a good day for napping. We both have sore throats now, too, and I've got a sinus headache today. She's also an O+, and sort of eats right for her type, but eats lots of wheat and dairy, even though she'd figured out a long time ago that it isn't good for her. When she's sick, she usually wants me to get her macaroni and cheese from Whole Foods (soy cheese, but still!).

She went back downstairs, and I puttered a little bit - took a bath, got dressed, and called her to ask if she'd eaten. She hadn't, so I took my wild rice down there, and she contributed roast turkey and a salad, so we had a nice lunch, and talked more, and hung out for a little while and then I came back up here to make myself some green tea with lemon and honey and to use my neti pot to try to get rid of this sinus crud and sore throat. I'd planned to walk today, but it's chilly, and I'm not exactly full of energy, so I'm hanging out here and doing as little as possible.

My new neighbor and I were going to catch a movie tonight, but I was really grateful when he called and asked if we could reschedule. I'm just not up for it tonight, even if it is only half a mile from here and I'd be sitting all evening. I won't have my tea or blankets, and I'll be much happier here watching DVDs from the comfort of my own couch.

I am really not surprised that I feel like this now - after all the wheat and dairy I ate over the holidays, some degree of detox was necessary, and the added stress of 6 months of unemployment and now starting a new job, I think it was almost inevitable that I would be feeling less than my best. I'm sure that in a couple of days I'll be 100% again, just in time to start my new job.

I'm just wiped out today. Went to the Post Office and was going to run some errands and go to the gym, and I just came home and plan to be flopped out on the couch and curled up with a cat shortly, reading something intriguing enough to keep me interested, but not so intriguing as to prevent me from napping.

This 'feels' as though it is related to my dietary clean-up this week, but it also feels like more than that. Things are shifting dramatically in my life, and I think my being emotional the other day (and I still am, actually) as well as my sleep issues this week and my total lack of energy today is all tied together, and doesn't just have physical causes.

So I'm going to give myself the day off, do whatever I feel up to doing, and relax.