Bleh Sunday

I'm not sure what, but something triggered off my allergies last night. I walked through the living room, and a moment later I was sneezing, eyes watering, etc. An hour later I could already feel the sinus pressure. :( I went into control mode, had a hot shower with lots of steam, took one of the last tabs of Tylenol Sinus I have (best stuff ever, even for just plain allergies without sinus pressure), etc. When I woke up this morning, sinus pressure was better, but my throat and nose felt like someone went over them with a flamethrower. Not fun. Apparently I'll be spending today holed up away from other triggers (perfume, cologne, cleaning product residue, etc).

I have suffered from spring allergies terribly ever since I hit puberty; several doctors have told me that since it started when I hit puberty, there was a good change I would grow out of it, but I never dared hope until this year, when I had a completely allergy-free spring! However, now that fall is upon us, I'm starting to feel some allergy symptoms again. I can't even imagine what is at play that I'm now spring-seasonal-allergy free but apparently allergic to fall. Whatever. It's nowhere near as bad as my spring allergies were, so for now I'm going to just ride it out with my Tylenol Sinus Severe. :)

I had my weigh-in this week and, despite that I followed the plan with lots of wiggle room, I only lost 0.3 pounds. I was kind of prepared for this, because I'm pretty sure this is hormone-related, and some folks on the messageboards have said that they usually gain or at least maintain during certain times of the month, and I can expect a bigger-than-normal loss next week. I hope so! It's kind of discouraging to not be "rewarded" each week, but then I think about the fact that I'm still ten pounds lighter now than I was three weeks ago, so even if this is a "bump" I'm still on track. Plus... I am happier being on this journey, even with it's bumps, than I was before! So, I'm carrying on and even more inspired to do well this week. :)

I ordered myself a book this week as my 5 pound challenge reward - The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook. A few years ago when I was vegetarian for six months (yes, someone dared me to be a vegetarian and I did it for six months, and loved it!), this was my "bible" and I realized today that with my new emphasis on healthier eating, having something around that I could turn to for inspiration would be a big help. Plus, the recipes in here and just plain yummy! And the book really is more than a cookbook, it's like a guide to healthier eating. What a great reward! I ordered my used copy via Amazon for less than $4, shopping included. There is also a Teen's Guide To Going Vegetarian by the same author, but it's much less inspirational and just not as helpful or fun. Also, my goal is not to become a vegetarian, but to work these healthy low-point dishes/meals into my life. And to have something yummy to eat. :)

I finished Julius Caesar this week and started working on a lesson plan today. My goal is to put together a curriculum for next year, should I decide to go out on my own and offer lit classes out of my home for the homeschoolers in our area. This is something I've been thinking about, and it's been raised by several others, but I knew I just wasn't ready to do it on short notice, so working towards next year seems like the perfect option.

The weather here has shifted back to "Bleh." It's drizzling again! According to the weather page, it's supposed to rain for the next three days. Eeh! Not sure I can take it. I may need to go run in to Wal-Mart and get that raincoat I was looking at last week. I've been leery of doing any/much fall/winter shopping, but a raincoat can work even if it's baggy, so I might go ahead!