Is This Fog I See Before Me?

Well, as I feared, sometimes I am not going to have so much time to update what is going on out here in Sunny California.

However, I have a few minutes here and there today to devote to updating you, My Loyal Readers, and so I shall begin.

First, fog.

Good Golly, Miss Molly, I have discovered what the opposite of sunshine out here is and it is fog. LOTS AND LOTS OF FOG.

And the infamous Bay Area, where one would expect such a weather phenomena, is over two hours away by car, so I cannot blame it. More's the pity.

Accompanying the fog and, really, the last two weeks or so, are increasingly colder temperatures, such that turning on my electric blanket is now a nightly occurrence and I have also altered my showering schedule so that I take them in the evening just before bed. This allows me to get into a warm bed directly afterward instead of into a cold car, making my morning commute much more pleasant, I must say.

One interesting consequence of turning on the electric blanket nightly is a phenomena (today's episode is apparently brought to us by the word 'phenomena') known as "catacles." You have, of course, heard of barnacles, which is not a skin disease you contract while mucking stalls but rather a sea creature of some strength that makes its home on the hulls of ships and the outer cartilage of large sea mammals, for example. The barnacle "gloms" onto whatever surface will support it with such strength that one would have to scrape it off using some sort of metal implement if one wished for it to go away.

The "catacle" works in the same way except the surface is generally me (under the electric blanket) and the "catacles" are The Furry Babies (i.e. our cats). While I don't generally need something to scrape them off, getting out of the bed in order to make a visit to the bathroom is often a contortionally complex feat worthy of Houdini himself. Getting back into bed is no easier and, quite frankly, I think I deserve extra points for doing both while more than half asleep.

This morning, after extracting myself and getting ready for work, I returned to the bedroom to find The Furry Babies curled up together on my side of the bed, their sweet little feet tucked under themselves to keep warm. The were both giving me baleful looks and, when I checked the controls, I saw why: the electric blanket had turned itself off. Since they do not understand safety features and since Amazing GF was still asleep on her side of the bed, I turned my side back on. Sometimes, it's better to keep the peace. (And generally, I don't schedule extra time in the mornings to tend to multiple lacerations....)

I have begun my walking program again. Transitions and health matters kept me from making this a new habit but I believe I have all of this worked out now and, weather permitting, I will be walking 1.75 miles every day at lunch. I mapped my route on WalkJogRun.net, which I highly recommend as a way both to map a suitable walking route and to monitor/record your progress. I also recommend Sparkpeople.com for those of you wanting to record both caloric intake and fitness issues. Since I am not encouraged to count calories at the moment (dietary restrictions make counting calories a somewhat depressing chore as I am not really able to keep up with my nutritional needs so much right now) I am only recording fitness goals at the moment.

I am under the impression, currently, that I simply need to be more active and my weight will improve--just like it did the last time. It really was that simple the last time. I simply parked a mile away from my office and walked to and from the building every (clement) day. Weight simply vanished. I changed some of my eating habits (before they were changed for me by a persnickety gut) but nothing too dramatic. Yet still, I went from a size 22/24 to a 16/18. It's time to get to my goal of a size 12.

Now I would like to wax perplexed about my morning breakfast habits.

I eat two meals a day at work during the work week: breakfast and lunch. Lately, as I am walking in from the parking lot, I have thought to myself, "Oh, good. I'm almost inside and I can toast my bagel and have my tea." Tea, coffee's older, more demure cousin, has been my recent obsession since I can no longer have coffee. I have six boxes of tea on my desk right now. I love having something hot to drink in the morning that will help take the chill away.

Except.

Except invariably, I will pour the hot water over the tea bag...aaaaaaaaaaaand completely forget about it! I cannot figure this out at all. I crave a hot drink in the morning, look forward to it practically my entire commute, go through all the trouble to have myriad choices of tea for my imbibing pleasure--then completely bollocks it all up by forgetting it's there until it is, at best, lukewarm.

Oi to the frakkin' vey.

Anyway, this has been another incredibly varied and confused episode of My Life in the Sunshine for your reading pleasure.

I hope all of you are well and happy and enjoying Fall.

Love to you all!