My body just annoys the crap out of me lately. I’m 36 but sometimes I just feel old. I have had some killer headaches over the last five days, two migraines and a regular bad guy, and it just really saps me of the will to do anything. (On the plus side it meads I don’t spend any money.) I plan top start Weight Watchers on Wednesday; a friend of mine is having good luck with it, and clearly I can’t make progress on my own. I know that being somewhat overweight doesn’t cause migraines; it’s just that I feel overall not healthy; I get sick at the drop of a hat and always feel like like I’m getting something over getting over something. I see my doctor regularly, I don’t think I have any wild and crazy undiagnosed illnesses, I just believe that if I can be overall healthy: eat right, sleep well, be physically active, don’t do harmful stuff, that my body will have to be at least somewhat better.

I quit smoking and quit drinking in the month of February, so I suppose having my first Weight Watchers meeting in February matches a pattern. In fact tomorrow will be my eight year sobriety date. I don’t know the exact date I quit smoking, but it was mid-February six years ago.

I know enough about dieting and exercise to know that a person doesn’t need to follow Plan X or Plan Y; I know enough about myself to know that my way isn’t working and that Weight Watchers is definitely not harmful. I know exercise is important, but I also know that I overeat. Maybe it will cost me $40 a month more than I need to pay, but if it instills in me some sense of structure and accountability it will be worth it.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone twelve days without posting before. I think the desire to post varies for me, not in how I’m doing, or how frugal I am, it just varies. It’s funny that I start to feel guilty when not posting, as it’s not a requirement or chore.

I feel good about growing older in general. I was very glad to leave my twenties. The way I look at it, the older one is the less they freak out.

That’s what made me bummed that this was not my favorite Birthday. Now, I almost didn’t want to mention it because it seemed like a pretty cheap way to get people to give me birthday greetings. Hence the lack of posts.

Most folks probably have a general idea of what they are doing in their lives that works for them, and a general idea of what’s not working for them. If they don’t, well, I think these things are worth articulating for ourselves. One of my biggest pet peeves is people complaining about the same thing year after year without doing something to change it. It is just a sad thing…if someone keeps complaining about the same job every time you see them, it’s just funky. They either need to change their head or work environment so that work is better, or leave the job. It may not be a quick thing to fix, but after realizing they feel the way they do, they should start taking concrete steps to change. If the job is fine and they need to just stop complaining so much, that’s a step taken as well.

I have three things that I have been complaining about for a couple years now, and I haven’t managed to change my life in these areas. The particular topics aren’t important, especially in that they are not money or Challenge related. I’m just really disappointed in myself that in these areas I haven’t either made peace or changed things or a combination.

Birthdays are a time of taking stock and right now I’m not so thrilled with what I see. Some things I do in my life I’m proud of. But most of these things are things that have been around a while, such as frugality or sobriety. I’d like to have something newer to be proud of myself for and I’d like to not be having the same baggage I had before; I want new baggage.

(A plain banana split at an ice cream place in town was $8.75. Isn’t that crazy? No, I didn’t have it.)

Habits are very hard for me to change. I have a lot of good habits. I have some habits that I’m not so fond of. Changing habits is almost more difficult that what the new task is….and that’s frustrating. Persistence is the key…but if persistence was freakin’ easy, I’d have new habits already. So is it patience that’s the key?

I leave the house at 5 in the morning to go to the airport and get back at 10 at night. It’s a darned long day, and travel seems to be a migraine trigger for me. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that eating lunch at a restaurant somehow compensates for a super long day.

Time to go to bed.

I'm in bed. At 6 pm. I slept okay last night but yawned like crazy today. Early night for me. Just exhausted.

Couldn't find you another way, so......

(Sorry everyone else....)

I did a reverse auction on the KINS Blue Money, and got a set of certificates, a couple of which I wont use. Could you use:

McClellan Mountain Spring Water, One month delivery of water (4) and dispenser, new customers only, value $35.75, ph# 268-0254 if you have questions

Aracata Auto, QMI Bottle engine oil treatment, value $22, ph# 822-2911. (I don't know if this is a bottle only, or an oil change-if your interested you could call and find out. I have a regular shop myself.)

I don't care if you use them personally or you give them as gifts; I just want them to be used.

I'm happy to mail one or both to you. I'm in Eureka, if you prefer you could pick up.