This, That and the Other

I give up. Since I can't seem to put together a real post, here's a list of what's been happening in Rebel Land.

1. I'm spending a lot of time in Villa Rica (aka VR), the home town I left thirtysomething years ago. The plan at that time was to leave and never, ever, not in a million years, go back. Not to live, anyway.
2. I now have an 'office' upstairs in Lola Salon (friend us on Facebook) in said home town and so far have two official paying patients. Thanks, guys! If you're looking for a new chiropractor on the west side of Atlanta, I'm your gal.
3. I pet-sat for my sister-in-law this weekend. Carolyn, if you're reading, I love you and, oh my god, HOW do you manage all those critters every day? They wore me out. Please don't go anywhere again. Ever.
4. Bugsy has officially boycotted the house in Dahlonega while I'm in VR. He refuses to come in for my roommate. At all. Which means he is sleeping outside. At night. (Later I'll share a picture of him in a box in my back seat as I tried to leave for VR the other day.)
5. This distresses me BIG TIME. So I came back to Dahlonega two days early. He now sleeps peacefully curled up against me, under my arm on the chair.
6. Tomorrow I will plead his case once more with my aunt, who has graciously given me a home in Villa Rica until I make enough bucks to rent a place of my own.
7. Yes, I'm starting over again. But you know this about me already.
8. The depression is gone. Totally. Completely. Vanished. Thank God for prozac.
9. I've re-discovered a book I ordered two years ago and wasn't ready for. Till now. The title? Potatoes Not Prozac (PNP). I'm doing the first step (eating a balanced breakfast within the first hour of rising in the a.m.) and have cheated a bit by experimenting with the third step.
10. I will tell you that for two mornings in a row while doing this I was flooded with serotonin and beta-endorphins (what the eating plan is designed to do and why you won't want sugar anymore) and literally SINGING in happiness. Seriously. Keep this up and bye-bye prozac!
11. I found Healthy Choice Steamers, courtesy of my roommate. The first was so-so. The second (Steak Merlot) was yummy. Sold me. For only $2 on sale and several minutes later I've got a tasty, less than 300-calorie meal with plenty of complex carbs (the good kind) and protein.
12. My favorite, however, is Kashi. The Lemongrass Coconut Chicken and the Southwestern Chicken are both SUPERB. The Sweet and Sour Chicken was a little too sweet for me.
13. And don't ask me about the Health Valley F-Factor Skinnys. Laudy mercy get out of the way in the morning!
14. I now fit in to my fat jeans (woohoo) and will have my first monthly weigh-in on the 1st (in two days). I'm on target for Minus 35 by 6/30. Remember, that was only 1 1/2 pounds a week.
15. I slid backwards in a love relationship last week. Call me weak. Go ahead. I believed again for a moment. Dang.
16. The pesky sugar cravings are gone. That is, by the way, only one point of the Potatoes Not Prozac program.
17. Confession. I felt crummy yesterday afternoon (that whole love thing and the Bugsy thing) and ran screaming to a movie where I, with little guilt, ate popcorn and (I'm happy to report) only HALF of the very-sweet Cherry Coke. But yes, I ate all the popcorn. No extra butter.
18. After the movie I wandered in to Marshall's, somewhat mollified by Jack Gulliver Black and Jason Segal, but still feeling the edge of the blade. Wandering the aisles I came across a $2 water bottle, stainless steel. I eyed and coveted a hand mirror, but resisted. Then an idea hatched. I would treat myself to something. The relief was palpable and immediate.



Almost like this, but way cuter.

19. That gold leather (and out-of-my-budget) purse I spied last weekend was gone, a bargain snatched up by another lucky Marshalls' shopper. But there, on the last rack, behind the other red purses, a ruby (think bright cherry) red Billion Bucks Kathy Van Zeeland. On sale for $15. No f'g way. Yes I bought it. I had to.
20. Retail therapy complete, I played eScrabble (my latest addiction), jiggered with my nephew's blog template, watched How the Earth Was Made on History Channel and had an otherwise unnoteworthy Saturday evening. But that red purse sat by me the whole time and I petted it now and again.
21. This morning it was time to switch purses. I removed the requisite wad of paper stuffing, unzipped the back compartment and stuck my hand in to remove a piece of paper.
22. It was a $2 bill, folded in two. No lie. A real one. I got chills. Why was there a $2 bill in the zippered compartment of my Kathy Van Zeeland bag? I have two other Kathy bags and THOSE didn't have $2 bills inside.
23. I googled all manner of combinations to find some promotion I imagined MUST be going on, in which the person who ends up with THAT particular Kathy bag wins some incredible prize. But no such google results. If you hear or read of this super contest, let me know will ya? I'll split the spoils.
24. What about the hand mirror, you asked? Yeah. That ole' hand mirror. I couldn't seem to get it out of my head. I swung by Marshall's on the way to Dahlonega and I'm now looking at it. I will feel rich and beautiful every time I gaze within and that indeed is worth one or two sheckels.

25. Another old book belonging to the 'purchased and neglected' category found its way to my attention last week. The simplicity of The Richest Man in Babylon eluded me the first time around and I lost everything. Think I'll heed George's wisdom this time.
26. "A part of all I earn is mine to keep."
27. Can it just be that? He says so. Time to try it his way. It worked for plenty of others. Why not me? Or you, for that matter?
28. Thank you for sticking it out for this very long post. You just witnessed me getting unstuck.
29. Tomorrow is the first day of many to come in which I spend AT LEAST two hours of butt-in-chair recording William's story. It is leaking out of my every pore. Time to pour it on to the pages.
30. THAT is my commitment. To William. And to me. A commitment I intend to keep.
31. But first, I needed to dump this stuff to get the clutter out of my head. There is more, believe me. But I'll spare you. For now.
32. Sorry for the list. It seemed to be the only way to get it out.
33. So thank you. Thank you very much. (Why do I hear Elvis?)

If you stuck with my dish session all the way to the end, make sure to leave a comment so I can give you some well-deserved link love.

Rebel Yell! Olivia J. Herrell
P.S. It's time for my evening complex carb, Ezekiel's Cinnamon Raisin Bread, toasted with unsalted butter. Mmmm. Night ya'll!