Travelling is never unaccompanied by chaos, it seems. Or at the very least, procrastination. I've been in Travel Mode the past few days, only being able to think of things relating to the trip. Mostly, I've been doing lots of last minute errands. And mostly, I did them all yesterday! After teaching, which is when I'm most exhausted. I am smart. ... ?

So I went shopping for my beautiful kitties. Man are they going to be in heaven! Catnip scratching post, a ball that blinks when you touch it, a sparkle ball, some other kind of ball that I can no longer remember, and two fuzzy mice with feathers. I think mice with feathers is one of the weirdest ideas ever. My cats seem to think it's brilliant. I also bought them a "crazy circle," which is a plastic ring with a ball inside that cats will spend forever chasing, because they think they can get the ball out. But they can't. It's sort of sad, but cats seem to find it entertaining, so I hear.

Just watch, when I get back home, they'll be like, "Please take away this torture device!" As of yet, I haven't doled out the new toys. In fact, I must admit, I'm a little afraid to find out how my cats will react to catnip. I've never exposed them to it before. Maybe they'll just be high while I'm on vacation?

So yes. 30 degrees in Chicago. That's the high. Fahrenheit, in case you wondered. I have never been to Chicago. I'm a little freaked out.

I'm also damn sleepy. Joe and I have been up all night doing laundry and packing. Because that's just how we do things, apparently. We did this before our wedding, too, except on the trip to Vegas, we got no sleep at all. We each slept about an hour and a half so far today. We're exhausted.

Also yesterday, I got some items I've needed for quite some time from Victoria's Secret, one of the coolest stores ever. Sometimes I feel bizarre doing things so girly as trying on many kinds of bras, just to find a style I like. It took a while. I did find a style I liked, and I got one in sky blue. But let me just confess something here, strange as it may be: I've never had an underwire bra before. Nope, never. Mom and I are allergic to most kinds of metal, and these things used to be made with actual metal wire in them. Since she was allergic, she advised me not to buy underwire bras. So I never did. But I've put on a few pounds in recent months, and many parts of me grew a little. It turns out, they don't make larger sizes available in anything but underwire. Well, at least not at this store, and I was not going to go through a whole day of bra shopping. So I tried on a few, and one felt comfy but sort of strange. Kind of like that feeling when I was an adolescent, wearing a bra for the very first time. (That sounds like a Madonna song!) So in the same way that I had to get used to the feeling of wearing a bra when I was younger, I will now have to get used to the feeling of an underwire bra.

But I have a plan, you see. My plan is that when I come home from Thanksgiving, I would like to get my health insurance squared away (it's a weird situation right now...) Then, I want to get a physical. Then, I want to start Atkins. I've been reading the book, and I find it fascinating. I think eating high protein/low carb will be great for me, because I believe myself to be hypoglycemic. And there are many benefits to eating that way, regulating my blood sugar, not being hungry always, having more energy, and the really neat one: my body will learn to burn its own fat for energy. So, I'll lose weight. Which is good, because I have a lot of weight to lose. I never thought I'd be saying this, really, but I want to lose 50 lbs. I may even make a separate health blog, because I'm sure I'll yack about this endlessly once I start it. I'm yacking endlessly about it now, aren't I?

Moving on...

I'm completely in love with my new boot cut jeans from The Gap. They are fabulous, wonderful jeans, and they feel good, and they make me look super cool.

I think it's interesting how much it can boost my spirits when I wear clothes that I feel and look good in.

That is all.

Maybe more news from Chicago. For now, I've got other stuff to finish. Will it ever end? Tune in next time for.. Adventures in Travel!

~Meg