Just sitting here waiting for Tom to wake up so we can head into the city and to Walmart before the crowds gather but after they’ve had time to stock the shelves and get all the damn boxes out of the way.

Last night we traveled somewhere in my dreams. Were we moving? Was it just a vacation? Something else? It seems at one point Tom and I were in a restaurant and I said something about my being multilingual and the United Nations, which might’ve been connected somehow.

Then we were swimming. It wasn’t a pool, but I don’t think it was an ocean either. More like a lake of some kind. The water was very murky and you couldn’t see an inch below the surface.

Lastly, we were in a hotel room. The room was long and large and I got the impression it was pretty high up. Like on the upper floor of a tall building. I didn’t seem distressed or anything and thought to myself how I’d “gotten good” at that sort of thing (traveling and being in hotels). I must not have had a laptop with me, though, because I started to update my journal by hand in a small notebook while Tom went to shower before dinner.

Later…

Today has been a very busy but fun and productive day. Wore my new boots to the store and while the right one felt fine, the left one felt like it was pinching my big toe, which happens to have an ingrown toenail. I am so ready to smash it right off my foot!

Life is great otherwise. We’re healthy, we’re happy, we have money in savings… can’t ask for much more than that other than for things to keep going as well as they have been. It’s hard to believe those miserable people who didn’t seem to have much hope last fall were really us. I just hope to hell we never are those people again!

We spent about $130 in the store because we got a few pricy items. It was $7 just for my bowl of mixed fruits. I rarely get stuff like this and so I like to splurge every so often. It is so, so good! Pineapple, strawberries, grapes, honeydew melon, cantaloupe; the only thing it’s missing is watermelon.

Dieting or not I naturally eat less than most people and healthier, too. So I didn’t load up on a lot of junk. Just a bag of shrimp chips and some honey-oat granola bars. My cappuccino-flavored protein shakes satisfy my sweet tooth enough on their own. I may not be counting calories anymore, but I still like to have my protein. It’s healthier, gives me energy, and prevents random cravings. I hate to suddenly want KFC in the middle of the night or something. We might go for burgers and fries tomorrow, though.

For a while, after I quit smoking I really made a pig of myself big time. I didn’t know or understand as much about fitness and nutrition as I do now. I still expect to become immensely overweight within the next year because I’m tired of the hunger the constant dieting brought, and one doesn’t have to eat like a pig to gain weight at my age.

I’m surprised I could still fit in the size 12 petite jeans my mom sent. Don’t get me wrong, 12 is still pretty big, especially after spending most of my youth running around in sizes 3-5. I just thought I was a size 14 or 16. Well, I will be sooner or later. I really, really like not having to sweat every single goddamn calorie I eat just to stay 40 pounds overweight.

I wonder just how much that scale would suddenly drop if I suddenly had an average amount of muscle mass for my size.

I did a few loads of laundry and cooked us some spaghetti with garlic breadsticks and it came out awesome. Then I worked out for an hour and started off running at 6 MPH, then briskly walked off the rest of the time at 3 MPH. That was one looong hour even with the Kindle reader and my iPod to keep me company. At least I didn’t have to stop midway to empty my bladder.

Had a scratchy throat most of yesterday but woke up just fine, fortunately.

It’s been a mostly cloudy day. The cherry and apple trees are blooming now and looking gorgeous. They don’t last long, though. They don’t usually bloom till early March, but because of the mild winter we’ve been having, they’re getting an early start. We’re on for 71° in a few days.

I just can’t wait to get away from Jesse and all his vehicles and dogs! He and the fucking mutts drove me crazy on and off all day yesterday, coming and going, etc. I saw a white pickup with a white shell go up there and then turn around and leave just seconds later and asked Tom if ever seen such a vehicle up there before. He thinks it’s one of his brothers. I think I’m just sick of all the traffic. I told Tom that I wondered Tom if he could be dealing. Nothing hardcore, but maybe he’s a bit desperate these days and is selling weed. Tom doesn’t think so, though, attributing all his coming and going to a personality thing and not a sign of something shady going on.

“He’s never mentioned sports, he doesn’t seem to be into TV, he doesn’t have a computer, so what else has he got to do?” he said.

Yeah, maybe we’ll have a normal neighbor someday. You know, couch potatoes, computer addicts, loners, etc.