Things that are good about today:
1. Mark cleaned up the bathroom mold.
2. All of the household chores I wanted to get done are done.
3. I watched most of "A League of Their Own" on cable.
4. I made vanilla cake with strawberries and Cool Whip icing. Yum.
5. We took Chancey to three more new places, which means we CONQUERED the 12-new-places-in-14-days task.
6. Had an appt. with Lee that went well.
7. Got a ton of excercise.
8. Did laundry, so I now have clean socks AND clean sports bras.
All in all, it's been a very good and very productive Saturday. I'm quite tired and my calves are really sore (I walked for a total of about 2 hours yesterday and nearly that today, and yesterday it was in dress shoes), but I feel pretty good. Satiated. It's a good way to end a day.
I realized something odd about myself today. Or maybe it's not odd, it's just not something I've thought much about. I am really attracted to competence. People who are good at whatever it is they choose to do and are confident that they are good at it are a real turn-on to me. How did I realize this? When I caught myself being attracted to our dog trainer, who is at least 15 years older than me and probably 100 lbs or more overweight. He's got a really funny personality and stuff, too, but what it was that struck me was his competence and confidence. It's just so nice to see in people, and so rare. Most of us just go around with our heads down and hope nobody notices how we're muddling along.
Actually, my attraction to competence and confidence came up earlier in the week, too, now that I think about it. Mark getting his NSF grant was a huge turn-on. Which is odd. It makes sense that I'd be happy about it, as it is a huge honor for him and more money for us, blah blah blah. But I wasn't just happy--I found it oddly erotic that he won.
Interesting. I'll have to think about that. I'm not sure I want to be someone who likes winners simply because they won. I don't think that's really the case with Mark, though--I've seen firsthand how hard he's worked and how many times he's been disappointed. This isn't just about his being a winner, it's about overcoming.
And then there's me. I feel pretty confident right now, too. My presentation yesterday seemed to go fairly well, and it apparently had an impact on at least one member of the tiny audience, because she emailed me and wants to talk more about it. My interview went well. Basically, I feel good.
I still have hives, however. The Claritin is keeping them just-barely in check. I take it when I get up in the morning (it's 24-hour, supposedly) and by the next early morning they're back. And they never go totally away--I can still see them, especially on my stomach, they just don't itch. My other allergy symptoms are in high-gear as well--the Claritin doesn't seem to do a goddamn thing for them. It's frustrating.
I shouldn't complain, though. In a month or two it will be a million degrees here and nothing will be alive enough to be allergic to. At least right now everything is green and blooming and changing every day. If I could breathe, I'd actually really like being outside.