Everything tastes like ashes and other observations

I've been home sick for 2 days and have decided to make an effort to join the land of the living this morning. I thought my sore throat was just a reaction to the anxiety attack I had Sunday/Monday.  I threw myself into a tizzy worrying about a "fancy" dinner party for my work's 20th anniversary.  Of course, it ended up being nothing at all to worry about b/c I had a good time & I fit in better than I expected.  Tuesday afternoon the sore throat was a more pronounced & I started coughing a little.  By Wednesday morning I felt like I had some freakish zombie virus & anticipated that at any moment I'd begin craving human flesh.  So I went home from work early.  Thursday morning was no better so I took the whole day off work, but by early evening I came to the realization that rabid cannibalism was not in my future.  I almost wish I had turned zombie b/c when I ate my usual breakfast of grape nuts, blueberries, & almond milk, all I could taste was ash.  My coffee was the same, although to be fair, the coffee around here always tastes bad.

I've kept up w/ my food tracking & it has paid off.  I've lost 8 lbs, which puts me just 4 lbs heavier than I was a couple years ago when I lost a whole bunch of weight.  Before I got sick, I starting dancing like a maniac on Just Dance 4 for Wii every day as a way to get in a little cardio.  My kiddo got that game for Christmas & we hadn't even opened it until last Saturday.  My sister was in town & wanted to boogie down, so we played a couple songs or so before she had to leave.  After that, my friend Chrissie & I played for probably close to 2 hours.  Since then, I've been addicted.  My favorite song to dance to is Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Getting sick put a damper on any cardio, obviously, but I'll be back at it in a couple days.

I set myself 3 small weight-loss goals to reach b/c setting bigger, long-term goals makes me crazy & I find ways to sabotage myself.  My first goal is to lose 10 lbs by March.  That will put me at 157 lbs.  (I have 2 lbs to go & it's not even February.)  My 2nd goal is to lose 10 more lbs, putting me at 147 by May.  My final goal is to lose another 17 lbs by September, putting me at 130 lbs (my ideal weight) in time for my 33rd birthday.  Writing it down makes it seem so attainable, but I know myself & I'm sure between now & then I will find some way to fall off the wagon.  I'll probably fall off multiple times.  So instead of focusing on the final product, I'm just trying to push through each day and focus on the short-term marks.  We'll see how it goes.

In other non-body related news, I've managed to keep up with the 365 photo challenge I started on New Year's Day.  The night of the company dinner party, my phone died & I didn't get it on the charger until I got home, which was right before I went to bed.  I tried to let it charge enough to snap a quick picture, but it wasn't happening, so I took a picture on my hubby's phone & sent it to my phone so I could upload it to instagram.  It worked; crisis was averted.  There have been quite a few days where I've taken pictures of inanimate objects, but I've put a little more effort into snapping photos earlier in the day & choosing something a little more relevant to the day's events.  This is one of my favorites from the last couple weeks:

This was from 1/17.  I was driving Justin to work & asked him to snap this picture for me b/c it was so beautiful outside.  Granted, driving on the slick roads wasn't fun, but the nasty weather only lasted 2 days.  That's the beauty of Southern Oregon; our weather is so mild & even the extreme temperatures (hot or cold) don't last too long.

I took this picture yesterday when I was stuck on the couch feeling sub-human.  Right before my kiddo left for school, she put her sock monkey hat on my head.  In my sick state, the monkey reminded me of the movie Outbreak.  Coincidence? I think not!