Somebody's cell phone is probably dying.

Or a copier needs toner.

Nora, right now I'm doing a six-week plan that's through my gym. This is the kick-start-your-metabolism week, so lots of protein and fresh fruits and veggies, and very little grains and sugars. The program expands as you go, so in later weeks I'm sure I'll be doing better.

I'm actually not doing too bad with the cravings. Today's issues are mostly that I feel like I have no energy, and I got a polite chewing-out this morning about "why aren't we spending money on this federal program?!?" To which the answer is, no one returns my damn phone calls and I'm not all-powerful to make invoices suddenly appear.

Oh, and also Christmas prep is going to eat me starting with my bottom. Which is kinda alright by me, as it would mean less dieting.

t /whine, bitch, complain

Good luck Allieann! Hopefully soon you'll be able to work in foods that make it more livable (therefore more doable in the long run).

I'm freezing, so I made a whole vat of tea. I have a collection of teapots, some of which don't get used, and thus should be tossed, but--pretty! Then there are ones that are pretty and get used, and some I use but The Menfolk wouldn't be caught dead using. All I do is make the tea in the pot anyway, and then decant it into the pump pot. Yesterday I used the white English Pristine pot, today I used a gorgeous potbellied fucshia-colored perfect pot--except for the fact that the spout is ferschimmlt, and the first third of the pot wound up on the counter and not in the pump pot. Or my mug.

So I surrendered to destiny and climbed up to the top shelf and got down the Brown Bettys. One isn't really a Betty, it's a Japan-made spiffied-up version, with dark brown glaze that lightens in stria toward a pale buff color at the bottom. Still, brown. Manly. And utilitarian. The other is a real Betty, plain, brown, self-effacing, homely, with "ENG" and a lighthouse scratched in the glaze on the bottom. It has a makeshift lid, since the inch-deep one was lost before I got the pot, but the makeshift works well enough, as long as you remember to keep a finger on it while you pour. The best thing about it, though? The spout points down, so there's none of this ooOOps! Splash! Gotcha! mess. Homely, utilitarian, completely civilized.

Too bad about the pretty pots.

It's great that Suzi's headache and Deena's pain have eased up. I vote for more of that. Sumi's knee and Hil's joints, I'm looking at you.

Thanks, Nora. It's just rough, and I think I may be PMSing too, and it's all very "let's crawl in a hole and die, ta ever so."

But I come and read the Buffistas, and you all make me happy, and I had a pretty poinsettia on my desk this morning, so not all is lost!

Heavens, Ailleann, however did you wind up starting a diet mere weeks before Christmas? Brave woman! Best luck with it, stick to your guns.

Several ounces of rootbeer later and I still cannot locate the beeping. It seems to have stopped completely. Must have been my onboard, "caffeine levels dangerously low" alarm.

however did you wind up starting a diet mere weeks before Christmas?

Because I have no brain in my head. At my last weigh-in, which was depressing, the gym manager was all "Let's do the diet!" and I was all "Whee!" And then after we started I thought, "six weeks?! but that's Christmas... damn!"

I have to read more about the plan (we need a new law to put six more hours in every day), but I think by Christmas time I won't be so restricted. I always eat too much at Christmas anyway, so maybe this will be a good way to keep from packing on more weight.

Aillean, good luck with the diet. I have been trying to eat healthier the last couple of days in the hopes of losing a little weight and getting some energy, and it is hard.

Maybe the coffee maker is trying to summon you.