I only wish my bad things would come in threes...

Today has be an Alexandrian Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Allow me to explain:

As all bad days start, Aunt Flo came to visit today. At least she didn't ruin my entire vacation.

I woke up early to load up the rest of my bags before I got on the road for Oxford (after visiting my family and fiance in Augusta for two weeks). The 'rest of my bags' includes two 1-year old tabbies, Blondie and Brownie. Now, I've travelled with B&B several times, and have never had a problem with them. But today, they decided to be finicky. On the way to Dustin's job to say goodbye one last time, Blondie barfs. Twice. Apparently, cats have gallon sized stomachs. Dustin cleaned out their kennel for me (bless his saintly heart), and I tearfully said goodbye. 

This is bad thing #3. It might be December before I get to see Dustin again, and after some bad news from his professor (they changed the time for the last class he needs), we may have to wait until May (instead of December) for him to graduate. And even if all this hadn't been running through my mind, saying goodbye sucks on its own merit. 

Bad Thing #4: I'm crying, on the way to meet my mom at our exit (we caravanned today) when, lo and behold, Blondie exhibits another gastrointestinal display and poops in his kennel. (Seriously, how in the world could he have anything left in his system?) This damn cat interrupted my few cathartic minutes of crying with the stink of cat poo. 

Going through Alabama, Mom and I stop for lunch at a Wendy's. After our meal, I decide take care of Aunt Flo before getting on the road again. There was no toilet paper in the restroom. Normally, in a case like this, I'd be uncouth and just dash into the men's restroom (I can't tell you how many men I've surprised exiting their restrooms--can I get arrested for this?), but a Wendy's employee caught me exiting the women's room, and asked if it was out of tissue. He said he was going to go get some, and would be back soon. So I wait. And wait. I would've just grabbed a handful of napkins, but 1) that might have clogged their toilet, and 2) there's no way in hell I'm letting this Wendy's employee think I went to the restroom with no toilet paper. Ah, vanity.  10 minutes later, the Wendy's bringer of toilet paper still hasn't shown, so I decide to walk over to the Captain D's and pee there. 

I HATE Captain D's. I've never seen a particularly clean one, and they (of course) ALWAYS smell of old fish. But Captain D's is the closest thing to a toilet I see, so I go. And wouldn't you know it? Their restroom is actually pretty clean. Except. Except someone was apparently out of toilet paper, and used napkins to wipe. Which of course clogged the toilet. (Wasn't this the very situation I was trying to avoid back at Wendy's??) At this point, Aunt Flo is getting ready to bust the dams, as it were, and I'm desperate. So I do the only thing I can do. I grab the closest thing to a plunger I see (a scary looking toilet brush), and plunge away. Mission accomplished (and one of the few occasions in which I wash my hand before AND after I pee). 

The rest of the drive home went well, unless you count it being a 9 hour drive. Across Alabama and Mississippi. Yeah. Not even the cows are interested in their surroundings. I make it to Oxford, and with a huge sigh of relief, pull into my complex. The SECOND I pull in, my other cat, Brownie, starts the tell-tale heaving. Sure enough, she barfs. After being fine ALL DAY LONG. And so as not to be shown up, Blondie barfs, too, just for good measure. But of course it was just bile this time, as there's no way he could have had ANYTHING in his stomach after the morning's pyrotechnics....

I unload everything, and run to the restroom for myself, where I discover that, guess what? I'm completely out of toilet paper. My plant-sitters have been wiping their asses with Kleenex. 

Upon Which I Am Offered Romantic Advice...by a Video Game

Dustin and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary on Thursday, and as a present to ourselves, we bought a Wii. I know, pretty sweet present. And even better, my birthday is 2 1/2 weeks later. Dustin got me a Wii Fit. And while that game is no substitute for an intensive workout (Jillian, I'm coming back to you, I swear), it's pretty damn good at getting me off my ass when I'd otherwise sit around and blog all day. It's fun, it's interactive, and it even offers insight to our relationship:Apparently, I don't care about Dustin's fitness very much. I'm sorry, Dubby, I really do love you. I'm just spending so much time playing with our Wii.

It's a New Day!

Just under an hour ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as our President. I've been listening to Will.i.am's "It's a New Day" since he released it just after Obama swept the polls, and it's become not only a really great song to mark this historic moment in our lives, but a really great song to wake up to. I play it when I need motivation to get moving, and it reminds me that I'm not just this insular creature, but involved in the world's motion.

Isn't It Amazing?

It really should be simple by now: eating healthy foods makes me feel good! I mean, that's not a hard lesson, but it seems I forget it every time I let myself eat tons of junk before eating a good, fresh cooked meal.

Also, check out these beauties:

These are dinner plates. Obvious, no? But get this: see that big flower? That's where your veggies go. The medium? You put your starch there. And that scrumptious cutie of a small dandy? Your meat. They're made by SlimWare, and although they are far too rich for my blood ($39.99 for 4 plastic plates!!!), it would be pretty easy to paint some simple white (or yellow or red or cerulean) plates you pick up at Goodwill or Target. I'm thinking this is an amazing idea, because I think we all know by now what we should be eating, it's the how much part that always gets me. (I'd want to fill the big flower with potatoes...).

Also, have you heard of this book?
It's Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, I'm reading it now, and it's blowing my mind in a big way. I'm right at the halfway mark, and when I finish it, I'll definitely be reviewing it (read: gushing my food obsessed little heart out about it).

Hope everyone is having a great week so far! (P.S. Thanks for reading. Seriously. I mean it.)

Um, It's Still January.

I went into Target tonight, and mine eyes were assailed with racks of these:

Target? It's still freaking January. I know I live in Mississippi/Georgia, where winter isn't so much of a season as a cold, passing breeze, but seriously? I'm still trying to quit nomming Christmas peanut brittle and New Year's amaretto.



P.S. Does it freak anyone else out that you can see this girl's ribs above her boobs????

Wishlist

I might need new socks for Christmas.

Paper Progress: 7.5 9.75 / 15-20 pages done, Due Thursday at 4

Yes, We Can (and Did!)

I can't even express how happy I am right now. I've never cared so much, nor have I had a reason to care. I feel like I can breathe easily. Yes, we can! Yes, we did!

I didn't get as involved in Obama's campaign as I would have liked, but I want to thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON who contributed to Obama's plight, be it through financial donations, driving people to the polls, knocking on doors, making phone calls, making sure people knew Obama's ideas and not just rumors. Thank you.

And thank you Obama Family, for believing in us and giving us something to believe in.

Vote!

Once every 4 years, we get the chance to participate in something huge (unless the electoral college screws it up for us...can someone explain to me why we still have an electoral college?).

So today, go vote. It might take a while, it will be a hassle to stand in line with your kid, with your to-do list glaring at you, it will mean you've got to muddle through the three-thousand political signs stuck in the ground 27 3/7ths from the polling doors. But it's worth it, is it not?

You probably already know who I've voted for (woo-hoo absentee ballot!!!) and if you don't know, but want to, you can scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on each of the pictures to take you to informative links.

If you want to know an extended explanation of why I'm voting for whom I'm voting you can read a post on my other blog. But mostly, I'm voting for women. I'm voting for my body, which I'm finally learning to love and respect, and for other women's bodies, which should be just as loved and respected. I'm voting for the women in my family (and those men, too) that weren't allowed to vote. I'm voting for my future, for children's, for the future of marginalized and stereotyped and insulted people. I'm voting so that 50 years down the road, I don't have to look back and know I made the wrong decision, that I used my vote to further establish injustice in a world that's already far too unfair.

So regardless of whether you agree with me, or even fully with the candidates, go vote. Vote with your informed conscience. Vote because you have the right to vote.

I was born in the wrong decade...

Yesterday, a bunch of my classmates went to dinner at a really popular restaurant on the outskirts of town. I wanted to go too, so I did. But I got lost on the way there (Oxford has waaaaay too many "County Roads." Anyway, I was 15-20 minutes late, but no biggs, right? My party's already there, I'll just grab a seat with them. No. Yes, biggs. "You can sit, but you can't eat" the hostess told me. Apparently, they are so inflexible that a late order would throw them into chaos and confusion and bring upon the apocalypse. But dammit, I sat, because it took me 45 minutes to get there. Someone ordered a water for me (I wasn't going to even worry with that) and when the waitress brought it out, she gave it to the girl that asked for it, not even to me. But whatevs. I saved the $15 for my meal AND the fried catfish calories. I'm also never going there again. Those crazy people are NEVER getting my money. 

Last night was also the Halloween party, which I hadn't planned on going to. Over dinner, a few people harassed me about not going, and Dustin harassed me about going ("You're going to make friends how?") so at 9:15, I decided I should probably get a costume together. I was going to go as Rosie the Riveter, but once at Wal-Mart, I decided it would be cheaper to go with what I had in the closet, and besides, they didn't carry red

 bandanas, only blue, and blue will not do (I originally looked in the fabric section for red polka-dotted material, but alas, no go). So I bought some hair roller spong

es, and back home I go. 

This is how it turned out (and my apologies, the photos are really low-light, and the first one was taken with my cell phone). 

I'm wearing a vintage 1940's day dress (you can't see it, but there are teensy-tiny horizontal brown pinstripes across the whole dress), cheap nude hose, and brown patent heels (Mudd) with lace detailing that I've had for about a year now. Not pictured, a vintage cotton slip. Note: Although it's still a bit snug, I couldn't button this dress about a month ago.

I put my hair in Victory Rolls (tops only, I didn't have a sponge big enough for the back) using this fabulous tutorial. 

Yes, they're uneven a bit, and I should have angled them a bit more, but it was my first go, and I got lots of compliments and even more "you should wear your hair like that all of the time!"s. 

Monday Miscellany

Right now, in this moment, I am utterly and profoundly happy. It's 45* outside, my book review is finished a full 4 hours sooner than it's due (I push it close, around here), and my kitties are acting deliciously giddy. Also, Pandora.com has a plethora of Holiday music stations (including a Motown Holiday station which is just rocking my socks off!!!) to listen to so I don't have to keep searching for artists and giving a thumbs down to not-Christmas songs. And yes, I'm still listening to Christmas music. I can't make it stop! Speaking of, I got a Bath and Body Works email this morning advertising their Christmas scents. I don't like their lotions, but I loooooooove the "smells" of Christmas.

Yesterday, I won a sports bra from Gracie's Gear and Roni. I'm so excited!!! I'll let everyone know when I get it and how I like it. It has a zippered pocket! How cool is that? Seriously, I don't know what took people so long to realize that women's clothes aren't nearly practical enough.

I've only got 24 days left until I get to go home FOR A FULL WEEK!!! for Thanksgiving. So while I've got 3 papers and a lecture to work on before then, it's Thanksgiving! I get to go home soon!

I weighed in this morning at 193.4, 187.0, and 190.4. Yeah, I don't know what's going on with that, but I'm going with 190.4, as that isn't a crazy number for me.

All this randomness demands a picture: