I sat down to write this about forty-five minutes ago and am only getting started now. I blame Anna Kendrick videos on YouTube. I’m giving myself until I finish writing to decide what I’m going to do about those littered-about chopped-off limbs of the Monster, since early tomorrow morning is my hard, weekly deadline.
The best thing about Monday was the surprise release of a new single from the Barden Bellas, a cover of Beyonce’s “Love on Top.” It’s a fundraiser for UNICEF.
It’s so cute I can’t stand it. Disappointed Esther Dean isn’t included, but it’s nice to see the others, especially Kelley Jakle who’s great in this. I’m also disappointed Hailee Steinfeld doesn’t get a solo. I’ve already seen this thing around fifteen times and purchased the single.
I couldn’t find my writing flow at work today. Spent too much time putting some edits on finished drafts and responding to emails and this story I meant to have done Friday is still not even first-drafted.
I didn’t get to bed early enough Sunday night to get up for the beach. When the alarm went off, I knew it just wasn’t going to happen. Sunday night was a milder repeat of Saturday night: I woke up a couple of hours into my sleep with my knee crying out. I had those weird shivers again, but not as severe. And, um, I turned my fan down and felt okay. The fan shouldn’t be a factor because it’s fricking warm in the evenings lately, so even with it on at full blast it shouldn’t cause my shivering.
Walking to the bathroom was as difficult as on Saturday night. Then I went right to sleep and did fine. Woke up again not feeling a lot of pain until I got out of bed. Its sorer after I’ve been stationary for a while, I’ve discovered. But there’s no swelling. I know I need to see a doctor but it’s just not safe, so the best thing I think I can do is wait until things calm down and do my best not to injure it further.
I made bread. And it’s wonderful. When I was between jobs, I made bread a lot. You get a long of mileage out of a few bucks when you make your own bread, especially when flour is on sale. Bread flour, however, doesn’t go on sale much, and it’s a few bucks more per sack than all-purpose flour, especially when all-purpose flour is on sale. We’re talking a $6 for one and $3 for the other difference. So I got into the habit of using all-purpose, which doesn’t give as good a rise but does the job.
I’m now gainfully employed, though, so the price difference is negligible, yet I’ve not gone back to bread flour. Frugal habits die hard sometimes. But I made this loaf with bread flour, and finally gave my dad’s favorite recipe a try, which uses milk and an egg. And yum. It’s fluffier but still has good integrity, and the texture is smoother somehow. I got a much nicer crust than usual, too.
I tried to watch the Democratic National Convention live but I just couldn’t. I’m here for the speeches, but the boosting the party stuff isn’t for me — literally, it’s not for me since it’s not my party. All the video montages and stuff made it feel, as S. E. Cupp tweeted, like a telethon. I had to bail before the speeches even began. When I put the TV on to watch the news, I caught the last half of Michelle Obama’s speech and it was quite good. I heard the thing in its entirely via the Rachel Maddow podcast. Rachel didn’t do a regular show this evening.
It embarrasses me to report this, but I had Taco Bell for breakfast again. The same order as a few mornings ago. I had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for lunch, and then a few slices of fresh bread with some extra-sharp cheddar for dinner. I didn’t do any snacking.
I also couldn’t go for a walk, dang it.
A funny photo came down my IG stream first thing this morning, so I shared it with several people via text. Mostly got laughs back. Crush Girl and I texted a little about the new Barden Bellas video. Jennifer sent me a story about the baby otter she’s been watching on live webcam lately. Very cute.
I’m skipping the Monster for the second week in a row. I did a few chores today and I have one more to deal with, but while I was typing this I caught a rat in my live trap. I’ll have to get up early tomorrow — not beach early, but early — to let it go, and I just don’t have it in me to do both. Still trying to make a good night’s sleep my priority. I’m disappointed in myself but I’m going to cut me some slack.
I feel like Monday was all kinds of good opportunity not seized. I’m okay with it, but I can’t have two days in a row like this or I’ll start to wilt.
Whatever you’re doing to get through the lameness of the season, I hope you’re getting enough connection with people who care about you, even if it’s silly photos and otter articles. If you aren’t, leave me a comment and I’ll send you my contact info.