... does not make for a happy O! I left work this morning and headed to my audition. Only had a couple of lines to learn, so they took me early and I was in and out of there by 10 am. I really liked them, and they seemed to really like me, so we'll see how it goes! I had lots of time to kill before picking Mike up at the airport, but not enough time to head home and nap a little while and head back over the hill to LAX. So I stayed in Beverly Hills, and decided to go for tea at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Beautiful location, lovely restaurant, and I spent two hours sitting there sipping tea and ice water, watching people, reading the paper, and enjoying the environment. The waiters were very attentive, and yet unobtrusive. It was a great way to spend a couple hours without spending a lot of money.

Then I headed to the airport to pick Mike up. His flight was on time, and we headed home without a hitch. It was good to see him! I was getting pretty hungry by this time, and was ready to eat my steering wheel and he suggested Quizno's. I wasn't going to argue, because I knew I needed food ASAP. Big mistake. I had a delicious Tuscan Chicken Sandwich, and then we headed home and I went to bed to catch some ZZZZs before coming into work. I tossed and turned with bloating and gas and just an uncomfortable feeling. Never did sleep well, and woke up at 10 feeling completely dragged out. It had been a while since I'd had any wheat, let alone any avoids, and I thought I could get away with it. Nope! So tonight I am wiped out, bloated, and have heartburn. Had a smoothie meal before coming to work and put pineapple juice in it. Brought cherry juice and Gerolsteiner (sparkling mineral water) to work tonight and will be drinking PLENTY of water to flush this crud out of my system. I was a full TWO pounds heavier tonight than I was this morning. TWO pounds! Assuming that is all the bloating that I feel, two pounds of water is 32 ounces! A whole QUART of water. That's a lot of water!

Anyway, the pain of the indulgence just isn't worth it, and I'm going to do my best not to give in to the siren call again anytime soon! Blah!

The last time I had wheat was when Mike ordered a pizza for the Golden Globes. That was 30 days ago. THIRTY DAYS! If I did that once, I can do that again, and then some. I think I'll see if I can make it to my birthday without any wheat whatsoever. That is a little over two months from now. I can do this!

Did make myself do a 20 minute Pilates video tonight before work, so at least I did SOMETHING today, exercise-wise. Tomorrow I should be able to get to the gym and do a 'full' workout.

Yesterday ended up being a very lazy day, and today looks to be similar. I got lots done yesterday morning, and then crashed around noon for a couple of hours. The phone rang around 2pm, and it was the guy from the chiropractor's office! We chatted for nearly an hour, and finally he asked me out for sometime this week. He seems to be a VERY nice man. He's a chef, and since he'll be working in my chiropractor's office, it was easy to ask him what his blood type is - he's a B+! Just like Mike! Aack! Too funny.

After we got off the phone, I tried to sleep some more - it rained most of the day, and was a great day for napping. But I couldn't really sleep anymore, so I got up, dressed, and headed for Starbucks and the bookstore. Got myself a steamed soymilk and went to browse the books. Spent about 3 hours reading and looking at some wonderful books, and enjoying my drink.

I did do a manicure and pedicure yesterday, so I did pamper my hands and feet - didn't watch a single movie or anything, though. The bookstore was a better option for me last night anyway. I needed to get out of the apartment and do something.

Never did work out yesterday, even though I got a few errands done. I got home shortly after 8, and watched 'Trading Spaces' and 'Clean Sweep' on TV, and made myself stay up until nearly midnight so that I wouldn't wake up too early this morning. About 11 pm I was hungry, so had some oatmeal with a dash of vanilla and some cinnamon and honey. I don't often eat oatmeal, but it was perfect for the weather and my mood last night. Finally went to bed, and slept solidly until 6:30 this morning. Woke up roasting, so took a blanket off the bed and went back to sleep until 10:30. It poured outside until about 11, and was great sleeping weather. It's starting to break up out there now, and I can even see a patch of blue sky.

I've been fighting the tiniest bit of a sore throat for the last couple of days, so I am avoiding doing much that doesn't have to be done. I basically feel fine, just a little sore throat and I'm almost always tired. I'm sure that some of this is due to working nights.

In terms of my diet, I've been doing really well. I'm eating no avoids, and have found it easy to turn down tempting foods lately. I even made it through PMS without eating any wheat, and that is always THE most difficult time for me to avoid wheat and other avoids. I'm still about 9 pounds above my pre-broken leg weight, but I'll get there. I'm working on cutting out all sugars now, so we'll see what effect that has on my weight.

Had scrambled eggs and wheat-free cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast this morning - yum! For dinner I've got shrimp fried rice that I made the other night, and I've got some salmon in the freezer. Have to get to the grocery store in the next couple of days.

Mike comes home tomorrow, and I'll be glad to see him. Anne asked me the other day if I miss him, and I had to admit that yeah, I do miss him! I also told her I was trying NOT to miss him. She said he was probably trying not to miss me, too. Tomorrow will be busy - I'll get off work at 8:30 am, head to an audition location by 9:30, learn my lines and audition at 10:50, then head to the airport to pick Mike up at 1:30 pm. There isn't time to run home and nap between any of this, so I'll have to go to sleep once I get home, probably around 3pm or later.

I don't think I'll work out today, either - my energy level isn't very high, and a nap is in order for this evening. I do have to vacuum and clean the bathroom, but that won't take long. Then it's naptime!

... is way too early to be up by my standards. The only problem, really, is that I can't sleep anymore. I slept six hours yesterday in the afternoon - longer than I wanted to sleep to switch back to sleeping at night for the weekend, but not as long as my body would have liked to have slept. Then I spent last night cleaning my apartment a little bit and watching TV with Anne and then by myself. I did an hour of Pilates, too, and I can already tell that my abs are stronger from doing it. Movements that would have been painful a month ago and would have hurt my back are easier or effortless now. This working out thing is powerful stuff!

The last time I looked at the clock was at 3:16 this morning, and was awake again just after six. It was clear that I wouldn't be able to sleep any more, either, so I got up and got dressed. As soon as it is late enough, I'll head to the Post Office and run a couple other errands. Then I've GOT to get back here and finish cleaning my apartment. Mike will be back on Monday, and this place is still a disaster! I've also got to make some phone calls today and take care of a few administrative details that I need to wrap up.

Anne is working all day today - has a shift at both of her jobs, so I won't get to see her at all. And my other plans for today fell through because my friend's aunt came to town suddenly, and Mike is out of town, so I am going to have a little 'retreat' day once I'm done with my to-do list. I'll go workout, then come home and do some spa treatments. Seems like a good day to relax and pamper myself a little! I've also got several movies I want to watch, VCR tapes to catch up on, and I'd love to clean OFF my entire desk. So spa stuff and puttering sound like a great plan.

I may also have coffee (chai tea for me!) with a friend of mine. We'll see if that happens or not - he had a cold the other day and may not be up for it.

Slept 8 hours today, which was great. I'm glad I seem to be adjusting to the night shift. Got up around 6:30, and Anne called me a few minutes after I woke up asking me if I had anything sweet in the apartment. A couple of weeks ago I bought some Soy Delicious Chocolate Obsession ice cream, which has sat untouched in the freezer. I told her that I had it, and she said, "I'll be right up." So we had a little ice cream (I had a very little bit of it) and talked about our days. She didn't stay long, and I got changed to go to the gym and work out. Watched a little TV, did a few things on my home computer, ate a buffalo burger and some boiled sweet potato, gathered all the clothes, makeup, shower stuff, etc. that I would need, and headed out. Haven't been there in about 10 days, so I felt a bit out of sync.

Got to the gym about 10pm, and spent over 40 minutes on the elliptical machine at a fairly easy pace. I just wasn't up for a really hard workout, but I still felt pretty wiped out by the time I was done. I knew I didn't have time to do a full weight routine, too, so I got on the rowing machine for about 6 minutes and rowed like crazy to work my arms and abs some. My arms were pleasantly sore afterwards. Then I did a few minutes of yoga poses, tried to do the splits (getting closer!), and spent a few minutes in downward facing dog and cobra pose. Felt really good when I was done. Took a quick shower, dressed, did my makeup, and headed in to work.

I've got an audition to prepare for over the next couple of days, so I have my work cut out for me over the weekend. It will be busy! I've got plans with various friends, I need to vacuum and otherwise clean my apartment, and need a few hours throughout the weekend to feel completely prepared for my audition. I think it will go well.

I left work at 7am yesterday, and took Mike to the airport. Hour down to LAX, and an hour back. Blah. And it started raining about 20 minutes after I dropped him off, which made traffic especially nasty since Southern California drivers seem to like to drive just as fast when there is rain and no visibility as when it is 70 and sunny. Aarrgh.

Had about 30 minutes at home before I had to dash out the door again for my first chiropractic visit in three months. Had a couple kinks that yoga just wasn't getting rid of. So headed over to the chiropractor's office (30 miles away, and in the rain) and then waited about 45 minutes while they tended to a guy whose back was spasming. He and I were in the waiting room and chatted for about 15 minutes before they were ready for him - we had a lot to talk about - yoga, meditation, skiing, cooking, etc. He's a chef! And he's going to be working in the chiropractor's new offices once they move next month! And she's a BTD practitioner! This is way cool news! They adjusted him, and then he couldn't get out the door without spasming again, so he was still there when I left. I've been there, and don't want to go back! And when the massage therapist came in to me, she told me that he was asking questions about me and seemed very interested! He seems cute, intelligent, and nice enough, so we'll see. I don't want to discount the budding relationship I have with Mike, but I also don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, either! So I'll probably meet him for coffee some morning and we'll see how things go. He was complaining about not being able to go skiing this weekend because of his back, and said he'd be doing a lot of meditation to get past the suffering of not being able to go. I told him that suffering is optional, and that apparently a quiet weekend relaxing at home and taking care of his back was exactly what he needed, even if it wasn't what he *wanted*. He grumbled in agreement, and we both laughed.

When Dr. D came to SoCal last April or so during his "Eat RIght 4 Your Baby" book promotion tour, I told my chiropractor about his visit, and she showed up, along with her mother (also a chiropractor) and several other patients of hers. So she and Dr. D got to meet, which was very cool for me!

Anyway, she and the massage therapist were both very impressed with the results I've had from working out so much and eating this way, and could not believe that I hadn't even been in the office for three months, which is a record for me! I've been going to chiropractors regularly (and I mean a couple times a month to a couple times a week!) for years now. So for me to come in and not be in major pain after three months is incredible. YOGA, YOGA, YOGA!

I got home from the chiropractor's in the pouring rain, and it was great weather for sleeping. I was in bed by 1pm, and slept until 9:30, the 5pm knock on the door from Anne notwithstanding. She only stayed a couple minutes because I was largely incoherent, and she felt bad that she'd awakened me. I was asleep again within seconds, so it wasn't a big deal.

When I woke up, I had to cook dinner, shower, and get ready to go to work. I spent nearly two hours in the kitchen preparing buffalo burgers, boiling a sweet potato, sautéeing an onion, and making my fruit, nut, yogurt mixture as well as a smoothie for breakfast, whenever that might be. I ate some sweet potato, onion, and a buffalo burger, and a couple of bites of fruit for dinner. Put most of it in a bag and schlepped it all to work for lunch and snacks.

I have very little money the next couple of weeks - I've only had one paycheck so far, and the expenses for the next few weeks are fairly fixed. And considering that I took a nearly 50% pay cut from my last job, I will have to be very careful about how I eat and what I eat so that I can make sure I stay fairly nutritionally balanced for the next few weeks until my budget gets more routine. I know I'll be fine - babysitting jobs are sure to come up, and I can probably postpone one expense until mid-March if I have to, but I'd rather not unless absolutely necessary. So no Starbucks iced venti soy chai tea lattes for a while, and nothing but the essentials in general. I may be making lots of soups!