Last night was the second night in a row that I slept great and got a sleep score in the 90s. The last couple of nights I took 2 milligrams of melatonin instead of 1 and I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I know that the cold weather helps and not having to crank the sound machine up. The hot flashes have been barely existent. If only I liked the cold! We could live in the Midwest. That would certainly thin the crowds too. I bet it would be even cheaper than Florida.

Fitbit says I usually wake up six or more times but I only woke up twice, and I don’t even remember it. I just remember waking up in the end and assuming it was only around 2 in the morning since I crashed at 10 and was surprised to find it was after 6. I woke up feeling the most refreshed I felt in ages.

Getting a 4-tier lipstick holder with 24 compartments to hold my first set of paint tubes. I don’t expect to paint again until I’m back on nights. I prefer to do certain tasks when there are fewer distractions. Even though it’s quiet overall, just a couple of car doors and I’m thrown off course. So when I’m working on things like stories and things that take concentration, I don’t like to have my train of thought disrupted.

In reading back through journals, I found that my dad had gallbladder surgery. He told me this in a letter he wrote me in 2008 but I had forgotten. Yesterday I had no problem but today I’m a little crampy. I’m definitely going to be pissed if I can’t get anyone to remove it even though research shows that’s likely what they’ll want to do.

Yesterday was a prime example of why I could never lose weight no matter how my metabolism was. Early in the day, I became hungry. And then I was lightheaded and weak feeling. I had to eat four times instead of three so I’m up a pound. I lose and regain the same few pounds. It used to be that I could ignore the hunger and it would eventually go away. But now it just persists all day long, and I get lightheaded and feel kind of crappy. I don’t know what makes me so hungry these days, but I have way too many hungry days in order to lose the weight. I just undo what I lose on the days that I’m not so hungry. That’s OK, though. The weight hasn’t killed me yet and this is what I’m used to.

Began this week’s challenge yesterday. Last week, we went to Finland, Indonesia, and California. This week, it’s Ukraine, Scotland, Tasmania, and Rome.