Summer has finally come--for real. I mean, I've been wearing sandals several times a week since the second week of March, but today, today it's 92 degrees and humid. Ugghhhh... I better get used to this, as it will probably stay like this until late September. See, this is when we pay for the mild weather we get the rest of the year. One plus: the magnolias are starting to bloom, with buds the size of your fist. I picked one (well, "broke one off the branch" would better describe it) that hasn't quite opened yet this afternoon as I left work. It smells lovely and is just so beautiful, and promises to bloom even more humongous than it is already. I am a flower junkie.

You know what else I'm developing a yen for? Coffee. And we've got a French press, so it's wicked strong. Right now we've got this shade-grown stuff grown by parishioners of our cathedral's sister church in Nicaragua. (So it goes to a good cause!) I'm drinking two cups of that shit every morning four times a week. And I've entirely weaned myself off sweeteners in my coffee--just skim milk. I drink a lot of water in the afternoon to rehydrate a bit, but I've seen no ill effects in the singing. Problem is, the reason I started drinking it at all is that I've had SOOO much trouble getting my brain in gear in the morning. I mean, I somehow manage to roll out of bed, drive to work with very rare incident (more on that in a minute), and start my computer up okay, but as soon as I need start remembering which guy at Freescale Semiconductor called me yesterday things get fuzzy. And I pretty much need something to keep me going, and it's either caffeine or a Snickers bar (and I really shouldn't eat those at all). I try to eat small portions of low-sugar, higher-protein things periodically while I'm at work (string cheese, pumpkin seeds, the occasional sugar-free pudding cup!), but maybe I just need to eat a bigger breakfast than a 100-calorie fat-free sugar-free yogurt. A McGriddle would keep me going all morning, but those are like, heart attacks waiting to happen. Ah, well, I haven't figured out the whole diet thing yet...

So the "rare incident": there was a lot of congestion during my Wednesday commute, and I was rearended by a big BMW SUV. The driver (a girl in her mid-20s, I think) just wasn't paying attention, and wasn't going very fast when she hit me (I was stopped). There's very minor damage to the rear bumper (though it'll probably have to be replaced--that's the way bumpers usually are), and she had no damage at all. I'm having an appraisal on Tuesday, and hopefully it can be taken care of with relatively little inconvenience. It wasn't quite a positive way to start my morning, but the adrenaline actually helped me coast right over the morning blahs...

The doctor's appointment yesterday was helpful, I think. It was to follow up on the Lexapro, so I got to tell the doctor that it was NOT working. I've just been feeling yucky (see above), plus I haven't been doing so well with food (and I had been doing pretty excellent for a while--for me anyway). Now we're going to try Cymbalta, which is newer but I guess it affects more neurotransmitters. Plus it's supposed to help with muscle tension, which I have a lot of. I hope it goes better. It's a rare person who finds the right mood med on the first shot, so I'm not too worried about it. I start tomorrow, and look forward to better results.

Oh, last weekend! We had a great time in the mountains. My audition went really well--I got really positive and pretty useful feedback, and the guy might cast me in something at some point--and we visited with Mark's mother's cousin and his wife. They have a house on three acres of beautiful gardens and a mini-farm with all sorts of produce--six kinds of apples, plums, pears, blueberries, strawberries, asparagus, peas, beans, potatoes, even some corn. Plus there's a great view. It was very relaxing, and we each ate our weight in fruits and vegetables. And on Sunday we went to Spirits on the River for lunch (it was featured on one of Rachael Ray's travel shows). I had a delicious Gator Burrito, and Mark and I shared the incredible Fry Bread Sundae--ice cream and strawberries on a huge crispy doughnut-thing. Ohhhhhh, fry bread, I am your new bitch. (((salivates))) Is this why you've been driving all that way to Newfoundland, Helen? It's almost worth three days on a bus. Yeah, so basically we spent the whole time chasing chow. That and a yarn outlet (!!!) that I saw a billboard for on the way west, which for some reason no longer exists. Sad... :(


And before I sign off, the obligatory YouTube tidbit. This is one hard-working man. I especially appreciated his early '90s dance abilities...