Jottings

• sleep is shifting thanks to the Chinese herbal sleep aid.  (not surprised) it hasn't slipped right into smooth sailing.  one night an epic cinematic suspenseful dream.  one night hot flash mid-sleep awakening followed by a too cold/have-to-pee mid-sleep awakening the next night.  (same climate control both nights.)  Olympic fever has made it hard to go to bed earlier, but I am definitely sleeping later and getting closer to eight hours a night.  also falling asleep quicker with much less mental thought spiraling.  I can literally feel the sleep deprivation-crazy ebbing from my system.  (a crazy I tend not to feel until it's way too late, or, I am in recovery/repair mode.)

• eating some non-Paleo and/or junky food: brown rice wraps, cheese, potato chips, ice cream, dark chocolate, yogurt, corn tortillas, coconut cream pie, Thai iced coffee...  it has been mostly very enjoyable.  the potato chips went into minus balance zone almost right away (yet I went for a second go around a couple of days later...cycle related salt/fat craving, methinks).  noticed quite distinctly that last night's Rita's "twist" of vanilla and chocolate frozen custard did not fill me substantially in any way.  I needed to eat shortly afterward to get some protein.  meal planned yesterday to eat Paleo this week.  we have a weekend away coming up and next weekend we go on holiday for a week in VA.

• experienced a definite mood drop this morning (after days dotted with bright energy).  spurred me to fill in smiley-neutral-sad faces in my calendar.  (Donna's idea...thank you to all my friends and supporters who have tossed ideas my way in the wake of this "d-word" crisis.)  I think this is a post-ovulation drop.  it helped to do something concrete, outside of my head, to deal with feeling emotionally down.  it also occurred to me to call someone and make a date today.  it definitely helps to be in the company of friends when feeling this way.

• but first, because I had meal planned a light breakfast for myself (Dragon's Way style nuts and fruit), once I unloaded the dishwasher and washed up/loaded the stuff in the sink and made breakfast for the kids (and rejoiced that Cap had organized a messy corner of the kitchen and ignored the bordering-on-filthy kitchen floor), I grabbed my homemade iced coffee and bowl of cantaloupe and practiced Qigong in the front room.  the shifts in sleep, food and routine triangulated, finally, so I could practice in the morning as I am wont to do.  (eventually I am hoping to practice first thing in the morning, early enough so the kids are still asleep.)

• beginning to plan for MA and VA.  want to make more headway in figuring out the exercise thing before we go away.

• am loving the inspiration of watching the Olympics: archery, volleyball, dressage, weightlifting...so many sports I know little to nothing about that I want to try now!