You have no idea how demanding a rat can be till you own one, LOL. Sugar really loves to pester me for attention even when I’m busy, but I make sure to take a minute out to hug and kiss him here and there. Romeo’s still more aloof but he sure is ready and available to play our little game we play every time he sees me dusting. He’s obsessed with chasing the duster. 

Lost the pound I ate on the day before yesterday. I wasn’t as hungry so I was able to eat less. I don’t understand why some days dieting is doable and other days I’m so damn famished I feel like I haven’t eaten in years. 

The doctor responded to my message, and sure enough, she wants to see me. Anything to make a buck, I guess. She said she did have things she could recommend but they weren’t without side effects. Probably that Alli crap I took a couple of years ago. She did recommend drinking a large glass of water a half hour before meals to help keep me fuller. 

I swear, though, I could run into her on the streets and tell her I sneezed the other day and she’ll suggest I see her for that, too. 

And if I fart? 

Later… 

The beautiful azaleas are now blooming on the bushes in front and trees in general are beginning to sprout their leaves. I can’t wait for the summer heat and going swimming. 

The new dishwasher should be delivered today and installed Friday or Saturday. Perfect timing too, cuz this old one is really starting to leak badly. 

It’s fun working for little treats, though we still have some of our tax refund left that’s in our Amazon account. I have an incense variety pack on its way that includes rose, musk, sandalwood, jasmine and lavender. 

I also grabbed a black and white hornless Holstein cow for my animal figure collection. 

Got a silver toe ring that’s adjustable. I thought it might be more comfortable than my elastic one. 

The best thing I got is another lifelike baby doll like my baby Grace doll, only this one’s a boy. He’s also anatomically correct and the most amazing thing is that he’s only $23. He looks just as realistic and similar in size to Grace yet she was $150. Could be cheaper cuz he’s bald. Grace has hand-applied hair and nails. Nane cracked me up earlier, saying she looked “schrecklich” and dead, haha. 

My metal figure skater silhouettes should be here today. I know right where I’m going to put them too, and they oughta look awesome. 

Yesterday was quieter. Just a service truck doing something across the street for a half-hour or so, then some house started landscaping when I was turning in around 3pm. I swear we cannot go one day here without hearing landscaping sounds. It’s just a matter of how many times/minutes it will be per day. Tomorrow, the house diagonally gets serviced and I’m sure the park workers will out buzzing away in the streets and common areas. Still better than hours of barking, welfare bums and their wild kids, college animals partying, and loud car stereos with the base from hell. 

Tom and I were talking earlier and I want to make more of an effort to avoid pre-packaged foods without getting too involved in cooking since I don’t like it and aren’t very good at it. Not because all pre-packaged food is unhealthy – some of it is actually good for you – but to make eating less convenient. Convenience means it’s easier to get carried away. So I’m working on that and scheduling. I find it easier if I space out my eating in something like 3-hour intervals, beginning 2 hours after I get up. This means eating 5 times. 

They’re also not kidding about meat making you less hungry due to it being high in protein. So when I do the grocery list for Saturday I’ll try to focus on fresh chicken, pork, potatoes to bake up, and tilapia. The in-between things I’ll have will be things like yogurt. 

Another thing I need to do is cook up a SINGLE serving’s worth. It’s always easier to cook in batches that can serve 3-8, but I need to stop that. It isn’t what I eat so much as how much of it. 

As for weekends… I decided to compromise with myself. “I’m big,” Tom said, “not because I don’t know what to do about it but because I don’t want to. I like to make a day of eating whatever I want on my days off.” 

But rather than make a day of 3 or 4 different goodies, I will try to pick just one that doesn’t take me 5 sittings to eat like a pint of ice cream does. ONE candy bar is enough. 

Personally, I think I’ll always be big because it’s just in my nature, like most middle-aged adults, to be this way. But I do take solace in knowing I shouldn’t have to worry about gaining if I eat better and keep working out. 

Ok, I gotta drop the subject now or else I will feel hungry as part of it is psychological, like it or not. The less I focus on food, the faster my next meal or snack will come, and the less hungry I’ll feel.