Day Two Hundred and Twenty Four.

    Today felt like a really long day. I was able to get a good night of sleep last night so at least that was helpful. I was honestly nervous about going into work today due to how extremely busy it was yesterday. Within the first 30 minutes I realized that the day was going to be a lot more manageable. I was able to get a lot of busy work done and out of the way early on. I also grabbed my coffee a little bit after 8am just in case I wouldn't get another chance. Things were going so smoothly that I was actually able to eat my lunch snacks around 11:45pm, so that turned out nicely! All day I was reminding myself that I had to get out right on time because I had an appointment with a different doctor about the lump on my head. Due to the fact I had to get out early I skipped the Wednesday meeting so I could finish up my work before leaving.
    I got to my doctors appointment in time, much to my relief! Unfortunately, the cause of my head lump is still uncertain and the doctor is going to mull it over for a few days. It's an anomaly:) That whole ordeal seemed to take forever but I will say that I really liked the doctor so I didn't mind the fact he was running behind. I then decided to stop at Panera to pick up a salad for dinner so it was after 6pm when I finally got home. I swear that Panera is trying to lose me as a customer because I found out that they have taken my second favorite salad off of the menu. If you remember or read this blog often I was complaining about them taking my favorite salad off of the menu a few months ago. Now they've taken the BBQ chicken salad away....isn't that a staple? The girl who took my order today said that a lot of people have been upset about that decision. I'd say. I ended up getting a grilled chicken Caesar which I didn't love because the dressing was very anchovy-like. When I got home my dog was super excited to see me! I decided to wait until after my shower to eat dinner so I put a load of laundry in and got right to it. I didn't do much else tonight besides do some more studying for my CE which is tomorrow.
    I hope that I'm ready for the next few days because I HATE being unprepared for things. I have to say it's been a really difficult week balancing work and studying. I work with a lot of people who work full time and go to school and I have no idea how they manage that. I feel like I've fallen behind on everything around the house as well as not giving my boyfriend or dog nearly enough attention. The scheduling this week worked out pretty well between my boyfriend and I because I knew I'd be busy studying tonight and he had to go to the city to give a presentation anyway. I had to use a public restroom after my doctors appointment today which made me pretty anxious but since I was going home to get in the shower I handled it fine. I guess that's all I have for now.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Three.

    I overslept a little bit this morning because I pressed snooze when I should have gotten out of bed. I'm not sure what I was thinking....maybe I was just tired! It was 10 minutes later than usual so I was about 10 minutes late getting into work:( I don't think anyone really noticed and I ended up being at work until 4pm, so I didn't feel that bad. From the start of my workday to the end I was so busy. I had tons of problems that I didn't think I would ever get caught up on before the end of the day. I was lucky that my co-worker did me a huge favor by grabbing my coffee around 10am or I wouldn't have even had time to get one. I had my lunch on my drive home:( I headed right home after work because I wanted to get done with my "chores" early so I would have time to do some studying before my boyfriend arrived.
    When I got home I wasted no time getting in the shower and then folding the laundry from the day before. I was done with everything a little bit after 6pm and I started studying right away. My boyfriend got to my house a little bit before 7pm which gave me a good hour to study. We were going to make pizza for dinner but our attempt at home made dough on Sunday didn't come out all that great. I am still insisting that it was the yeast we used, which I have had in my cabinet for a long time. Luckily, I had hoagie rolls and Steak-Umms so I made cheesesteak subs for us. My boyfriend cut up a salad as well so it turned out to be a nice dinner.
    After I got the kitchen cleaned up I went back to studying. I felt bad because I would have liked to enjoy the evening with my boyfriend but I'm really getting anxious about how much I've forgotten on this particular topic. I completed a similar course about a year ago and thought I wouldn't need that much time to catch up on the material. Unfortunately, I'm realizing that I definitely wished I had started reviewing earlier:( I didn't have time at work today to obsessively wash my hands which I guess is a good thing. I also didn't do any cleaning at all when I got home....I have a feeling that next week I'm going to have to do a lot of catching up! I'm going to have a busy day tomorrow so I'm going to get some sleep!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Two.

    I guess because my boyfriend and I slept in so long yesterday we went to bed much later than usual. I didn't have a hard time getting to sleep but I certainly didn't get as much as I should have. I was pretty tired when I got up and once I got to work things got busy fast. I still managed to get a break around 10am but didn't take any other ones. I also had a student with me so that was another reason I felt so busy throughout the day. I always think the students must be so bored so when I have one I try my best to get them involved. Instead of going right home I stopped at the food store to get some peppermint tea. My co-worker recommended it to me since this weekend I started having a strange recurrence of gallbladder pains, which I first started noticing last summer. When I got them checked out last summer everything was fine so now I'm almost certain it's just triggered by a bad diet. I ate a lot of heavy foods this weekend and it's probably exacerbating things.
    It was later than I would have liked when I got home but the first thing I did was take my dog for a walk. It was such a nice day and she enjoys her walks so much! We went the opposite way around the block than normal and when we got home I cleaned some of her backyard messes up. I talked myself out of working out today because I wanted to get done most of my "to do" list early so I would have time to study for my CE. I put a load of laundry in, took a shower and folded the laundry from yesterday when we were done with our walk. I wasn't feeling that motivated to make anything special for dinner so I just had a bland Lean Cuisine. I ran the dishwasher before bed yesterday so I emptied that after I ate. My second to oldest sister called me right when I was finishing up with the dishwasher, which was perfect timing. We had a nice conversation....it was great to catch up!
    I tried very hard to study for my CE tonight and man there's a lot of material. I'm still not sure what exactly I should be studying so I'm just reviewing everything. I'm actually getting really stressed about it because I don't want to walk in feeling behind everyone else:( I ended up doing a lot of washing today between work, the laundry and cleaning up the backyard so my hands are more dry than I would like. I think the anxiety about the CE is also making me long for the comforts of soap and water:) Alright I better get to bed!
   

Day Two Hundred and Twenty One.

    I'm embarrassed to say just how late my boyfriend and I slept in today so I'll just leave it at that. I'm going to keep saying to myself that I must have really needed the sleep or else I'll feel guilty. Unfortunately it made the day go by way too fast. When we got up my boyfriend made us breakfast which was an omelet with the left over BBQ chicken from Friday night, onions and cheese. We also had English muffins on the side. It was a pretty big breakfast but really delicious. My new coffee maker has been working out really well for us on these weekends. It's easier to just make a pot instead of individual cups.
    I insisted that we get a few things done today so we started out by vacuuming the basement and spraying it for bugs. This was a good time to do it I guess because I didn't see that many living creatures down there yet. In the last years I've usually seen more living bugs around but I guess it's because I don't do it so early. After that was done I put a load of laundry in, took a shower and then folded the clothes from yesterday. While I was doing all of that my boyfriend went to the food store to pick up what we needed for dinner, which was very nice of him!
    I did some studying for my CE later this week before dinner. My boyfriend was very sweet because he made dinner while I was studying. We had hot dogs, salad and left over macaroni and cheese. It was a perfect Sunday night dinner. Even though I did a good amount of cleaning today my hands still look decent. That's a good thing! I can't believe how fast this weekend went, sighs. Alright I guess that's all I have to write about tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty.

    We all woke up around 10am yesterday morning and I was feeling pretty refreshed. We had decided the night before that we would go out to our favorite local breakfast place in the morning. I was very excited so once we got up we all got ready and headed out. I've mentioned this place on this blog before and because it's so good there's always a wait. When we got there they told us the wait would be 30-45 minutes but we lucked out and got our table in probably about 20 minutes. I think a lot of people had put there names in but didn't actually want to wait, so they left. I had a delicious omelet and one of the things I like the best about the place is the bread. I got home made walnut wheat toast!
    I guess we all ate too much for breakfast because when we got back home we all crashed on the couch. My boyfriend fell asleep while my twin sister and I watched some YouTube videos. Before I knew it half of the day was over and we decided to take the dogs for a walk around the block. My boyfriend stayed back to take the Christmas lights down....finally! We were almost done our walk when my dog got either stung by something or cut by a tree branch on her front left paw. She never gets injured so she wasn't sure how to act. She stared up at me with her paw in the air so I picked her up and walked her home. Half an hour later she was perfectly fine:) My twin sister and I dropped the dogs off and then took a five minute walk to McDonalds to get iced coffees.
    When my sister left we didn't have a lot of time before we had to get ready for our evening plans. We had a triple date with a co-worker of mine as well as her friends to see a comedy show. The show was pretty good....it was a comedy hypnotist and even if I had wanted to volunteer I don't think I would have gotten a seat. I find it so hard to believe that these people were really under the "trance" but they certainly were believable. My boyfriend is a big believer of hypnotism so he found it much more true to life and seemed to really have a good time. I guess one of the signs that did make me believe more was that when they were under the "trance" they weren't laughing at any of the comedians jokes. There's no way that through the course of the entire show they could have had that kind of resistance to laughing if they were really awake. Actually the one women on the stage who I thought was really faking it was laughing the entire time. I felt bad for her because after the first trick when the volunteers who didn't get put under could get off of the stage she tried too, but the comedian made her stay. I think he thought he could get her under. There was one girl who everyone was wondering was planted there because she was so much under the spell.
     Afterwards it was weird because everyone went there separate ways; I thought maybe we would do something as a group afterwards. Especially since it was a hypnotist so we couldn't talk at all during the show....I felt like I got to say three words to my friend:( My boyfriend and I ended up going out for some drinks. We went to a place which has a lot of great beers on tap but last night it seemed like everything we wanted to try tapped out! We still had a good time and managed to get home before 4am:) I didn't have a lot of time at home yesterday to do any major hand washing. I had to use the public restroom several times throughout the night, which made me pretty anxious, but I got through it. Alright, until later!

Day Two Hundred and Nineteen.

    I didn't have that hard of a time getting up yesterday because I managed to get a good nights rest. It turned out to be a good thing because the day at work yesterday was horrifically busy. I managed to get a cup of coffee and grab my lunch snacks around 10:30am but I didn't get any other break. The day went by super fast even though I didn't leave work until a little bit after 4pm. I had to stop at the bank, then the food store to get everything I needed for dinner and was officially home at 5pm. My twin sister said she would be here around 6:30-7pm so I had just enough time to get everything done prior to her arrival.
    When I got home I put the groceries away, put a load of laundry in, and then took a shower. My boyfriend arrived shortly afterwards then about twenty minutes later my twin sister showed up! We spent a good portion of the evening making dinner which was BBQ chicken with macaroni and cheese on the side. It was delicious:) It took a while to clean everything up and then we watched a movie.
    My boyfriend and I fell asleep on the couch then didn't make it up to bed officially until around 4am. It felt like such an exhausting week even though I only worked four days....I think because I wasn't feeling very well in the beginning. It was such a nice evening with my twin sister but like always it went by way too fast. I tried not to be too obsessive about cleaning the kitchen up so we could relax a bit but I hate leaving dishes for the next day. No one seemed to mind my cleaning and they all entertained me until I was finished. Alright, I'll write more later!

Day Two Hundred and Eighteen.

    My boyfriend and I both had a really hard time getting out of bed this morning but we finally did. I thought I was going to be several minutes late for work but ended up arriving only about five minutes after 7am. The day was going really well until it got really busy around 1:45pm. I always have a hard time when it gets that busy at the end of the day because I'm already exhausted at that point. When I got out of work I just headed right home which was nice. I am feeling pretty guilty because once I got home I decided not to work out. Honestly I still feel very congested and had a lot of other things I had to get done which I thought were more important.
    The first thing I did was have my after work snack which happened to be yogurt today because I didn't have a chance to eat it at work. I thought it would be nice to take my dog for a walk since the weather was nice so we did that. Afterwards I gathered all of the trash up and put the can on the curb since tomorrow is trash day again! I also spent some time cleaning the kitchen area up since I still had all of my Birthday cards out on display. Then I took my shower and folded the laundry from the day before. The next thing on my to do list was to pay some bills and balance my checkbook. By the time I was finished with that I had a Lean Cuisine for dinner and called my Mother, since I had missed her call the other night.
    I was trying to study for a big CE, which is next week, on a topic I really need some refreshing on but I was getting pretty distracted. My boyfriend called me right when I sat on the couch. I'm hoping I can find some time this weekend to look at the material. I'm going to have to force myself but my boyfriend has some yard work he needs to do so maybe I can study then. I'm excited that my twin sister is coming to visit tomorrow for dinner, however I haven't gone food shopping yet! I'll have to stop on my way home from work.
    My hands look worse tonight than they have all week and I'm not surprised because I did more cleaning today than any other night. I'm actually pretty proud of myself because there are certain little things I've been working on in regards to decreasing the frequency of hand washing. For example, today when I took the laundry out of the wash I didn't re-wash my hands before I started folding the laundry. I usually wash my hands before and after gathering the clothes. It may seem silly but even avoiding a couple of hand washes a day is a big help. Alright, I better get to bed!

Day Two Hundred and Seventeen.

    Again I didn't sleep very well last night, mainly because I was so over heated. I guess it's getting a little too warm to have the down comfortable on the bed and sleep with a long sleeve shirt on. Plus I am battling this cold so maybe my body temperature is just higher than usual. Anyway, even with not much sleep I was still able to get to work on time and go to the early Wednesday meeting. It was a staff meeting but it went a few minutes later than usual so when I got to my actual position it was pushing 8am. Shortly after I managed to spill pretty much my entire Airborne drink all over myself and the work place. It was a sticky mess but I think I managed to do it and get it cleaned up with very few witnesses. I had to leave work right on time because of my doctors appointment at 4:30pm and that stressed me out all day. Of course it had to be another busy day!
    I did manage to leave work and get to my appointment on time which I was relieved about. Unfortunately the appointment was a little bit lack luster. I still have no idea what the lump is on my head and I guess in order to find out I have to make another appointment. When I got home around 5:30pm I decided to clean the bathrooms before getting some laundry in the wash and taking a shower. My boyfriend arrived shortly after and neither one of us wanted to cook so he picked up some subs for dinner.
    We tried to find a movie to watch after dinner but really just spent the time searching for one to watch and talking. I'm extremely tired tonight and am hoping that I can get a good nights sleep. I have a lot to do when I get out of work tomorrow so I want to be fresh. My boyfriend still has quite a cough but I haven't developed that yet. I still have a very stuffy nose but for the most part I was actually feeling a lot better today. I'm a little bit nervous that my boyfriend is still so under the weather....I fear that I have a lot more of this cold left in me. My hands looks very good and I'm going to try to keep them that way. Honestly I think it's because I haven't really had time at work to wash my hands a ton so far this week and also I'm not doing many after work house chores. Alright that's all I've got for tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Sixteen.

    I didn't feel as terrible as I thought I would when I woke up today even after not having a very good nights sleep. As the day progressed at work my nose got more stuffy and I started feeling the symptoms of the cold I acquired from my boyfriend more. It ended up being an extremely busy day which actually for the most part kept my mind off of how I was feeling. It was the last hour or so that I couldn't wait to get out. Unfortunately I didn't finish everything up until almost 4pm. I went straight home, took a shower and the proceeded to rest in bed until my boyfriend arrived. I was trying to nap but I just couldn't get to sleep. I was so busy at work today that I was using the Purell more than actually washing my hands with soap and water. I think that is why they don't look that bad....you wouldn't believe how strong that soap is at work.
    When my boyfriend showed up it was after 7pm and he made us grilled cheese sandwiches with chicken noodle soup. It was very sweet of him because he made everything which gave me time to fold the laundry from yesterday. I was feeling much better after dinner so I emptied the dish washer and cleaned up the dishes from dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching "House of Cards" and talking about our day.
    I'm very anxious tonight because I finally made a doctors appointment I've been avoiding for months. I have a small lump on the back of my head which I have had for a while but lately it's been hurting me more. When I went to my annual physical in September I told my doctor about it and she had it x-rayed. Nothing showed up so she said to just see if it would just go away on it's own. Unfortunately the last month or so it's been bothering me again so I reluctantly made an appointment. Due to the fact that I obviously suffer from OCD you can only imagine the horrible things I think it could be. At this point I really just need an answer to what it is because I don't know if the pain is more psychological than anything else.
    My actual doctor didn't have an opening so I'm going to see someone else which is frustrating because I have to start with the whole story from scratch. The appointment is at 4:30pm and it's at least a half an hour drive from work. I'm really going to have to race out of work right on time in order to make the appointment and this is one I just want to get over. I only hope that everything is okay and I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Until tomorrow!

Day Two Hundred and Fifteen.

    It felt really nice waking up on a Monday morning and not having to get to work at 7am. My boyfriend still didn't feel well but he got up anyway and I was a little bit worried because I thought he should stay at home. He's really not one to call in so I wasn't going to push my opinion onto him about staying home but I was pleasantly surprised when he crawled back into bed to tell me he wasn't going to go to work. He had to make some phone calls early on but then we were able to sleep for a few more hours. Unfortunately as soon as I woke up I realized I had a sore throat:( I still didn't feel bad anywhere else so I wasn't that worried but my boyfriends cold started with a sore throat.
    My boyfriend made us some breakfast and coffee then we did something so rare for us....we watched a little bit of daytime TV. There really wasn't much on so we decided to go for a walk because it was such a beautiful day. We ended up going on a nice leisurely 5 mile walk and I was so proud of how my dog kept up. The only thing I wish I had done was to bring a water bottle but I didn't really think we'd be going that far. My dog was so thirsty by the time we got back. At that point I was thinking about staying at my boyfriends house for the night but then I thought since I wasn't feel well that I should just make the drive back home today. It was an easy ride home and I ended up grabbing a slice of pizza for dinner so I wouldn't have to worry about it.
    I had time to unpack, throw a load of laundry in and take a shower before doing some relaxing this evening. I'm pretty frustrated that it seems almost definite that I've picked up my boyfriends cold. During the day I got more symptoms including a very runny nose and that head cold feeling. My hands did seem to clear up this weekend even though I was still washing a lot on Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to try to get to bed at a decent time tonight so I can get some sleep. I have no idea how I'm going to feel in the morning so hopefully not too terrible.
    I should add that today was such a wonderful day. Even though my boyfriend was still sick and I was feeling a little under the weather, it was really nice having a day together. My boyfriend is very glad that he stayed home because he thinks he'll be pretty much back to normal tomorrow. Tonight is such a good example of how much I can't wait for he and I to move in together. After spending such a great day together it was so hard having to leave him. I also tend to get very depressed when I'm not feeling well so I wasn't looking forward to coming home to an empty house. Thank God I have my wonderful dog to keep me company on nights like tonight. Alright, that's it for now.

Day Two Hundred and Fourteen.

    My boyfriend and I ended up driving back to his house last night instead of staying with his parents. It really had been too long since I had been to his house and I love it. We had told his Mom we would be back at the camp around 10am but that didn't happen:( We ended up getting to the camp a little after 11:30am. We arrived to his Mother having breakfast completely ready. I forgot to mention earlier in my blog that we made breakfast casserole last night for this morning. My boyfriends Mother just had to put it in the oven and she also cut up fruit. It was a lovely breakfast and afterwards his Brother and girlfriend left. I was able to speak with my Mother today on the phone which was nice....it's hard not being with her on Holidays. I didn't directly speak with any of my sisters but I heard from them all via text. I did have a nice conversation with my second to oldest sister yesterday which was great. I miss my sisters so much during the holidays.
    My boyfriend and I spent most of the day with his Mother talking about the summer and the renovation. It was a very low key day which felt wonderful. I get along with my boyfriends Mother so well because she is such a sweet woman. She is probably the most accepting person I've ever met. We were there until 5pm then went back to my boyfriends house so he could get some things done. We decided to go to Walmart to grab a few things he needed for his house so we did that too. My boyfriend isn't home much so I think he definitely appreciated being able to stock up while he could. When we got back I cleaned his refrigerator out. Something smelled funny in it and it turns out there were a lot of moldy items in there.
    While he got started on dinner I also swept his kitchen and bathroom floor as well as tidied up some of the counter spaces. I wish I had more time here to do some more cleaning but I'm not here that often. We had cheese ravioli and sausage for dinner which was delicious! Afterwards I cleaned the dishes then we watched some episodes of "House of Cards". During that time I had some peanut M&M's since Lent is over:) I did pretty well this year with only a few slip ups! Ugh, so my hands are way more sore then I would have liked them to be. I guess I've just been stressed this weekend because my boyfriend is so sick and I don't want to catch it. I have been loading up on immune boosters so I hope that even if I catch it I won't be as bad as he has been. I'm very glad that I took tomorrow off of work but I'm going to bed earlier than usual to try and ease the transition to day shift. Until next time!

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen.

    When we woke up yesterday my boyfriend was feeling terrible and I felt so bad for him. I made him one of these Special K breakfast sandwiches that I've been eating a lot and then he took my dog with him to drive to his house. I hung behind because I had to shower and pack for the long weekend. I picked up around the house a little bit, took a shower and then got ready to go. I also had some last minute errands to run before I could finally get headed toward to his place. I decided since he was sick I would do the errands if he agreed to take my dog. I drove right to my boyfriends parents house and the tone was slightly off. Apparently his Mother had thought I was driving with him so she had planned dinner for two hours earlier. She kept mentioning how she was hoping everything wasn't too over cooked. I felt really bad but then again no one told me when I was supposed to arrive. I guess I'm just used to my family where we always eat later in the day.
    She made ham, chicken and broccoli, pierogies, salad, rolls and mixed vegetables. Everything was very good but I didn't even try the pierogies because they are not my favorite thing. I had an extra roll:)  Honestly the tone got much better after we ate....I think everyone was just hungry. I had a glass of wine with dinner but then switched to beer afterwards. We had some dessert then played some parlor games. My boyfriends brothers girlfriend made mini cheesecake and I brought the Cadbury Mini Egg blondies for dessert. The cheesecake was tasty and I don't usually even like it. My blondies were good but were definitely better the day before. They really aren't the best dessert for keeping more than a few days. I just think they tasted pretty dry.
    I did a lot of hand washing this weekend which I'm upset about. I'll talk about it a little bit more later since I'll have to blog again!

Day Two Hundred and Twelve.

    I was non stop yesterday morning before work getting everything done. Once I got out of bed I drank my coffee quickly because I was scared I would come up with an excuse not to do my workout if I delayed. I gathered all of the laundry up in the bathroom then proceeded to my workout. I was pretty proud of my efforts because yesterday was the first day I started using some weights with the routine. It certainly made things more difficult but I think that it was a good thing. There are some of the movements which I have definitely not mastered but others which I think I'm getting pretty good at. After my workout I put the clothes in the wash and then took a shower.
    The next thing on my to do list was to start making the dessert I had planned on bringing to my boyfriends parents Easter celebration this weekend. I already mentioned this but I ended up making Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies. Now, because there are candy pieces in them I wasn't sure if I would let myself try one. However I felt it was necessary since it was a new recipe and what if they were horrible?! Three blondies later I decided they were great....haha. I also had a lot of them so I ended up taking some into work with me and everyone seemed to enjoy them! After I got all of the dishes cleaned up it was already time to finish getting ready for work.
    The evening shift started pretty busy and then calmed down to a very manageable speed. I was able to get my coffee around 6:30pm and also eat my snacks as well. When I got home I was upset to see that my boyfriend was pretty under the weather. Apparently one of the guys he was traveling with had a cold and he caught it. We still went out to our favorite local watering hole for late night dinner but didn't stay out nearly as late as usual. I tried to be better about my hand washing yesterday at work but it was hard because I had a lot of interactions which instigated my washing. Alright I'll blog more later!

Day Two Hundred and Eleven.

    I had a bad nights sleep last night which made it very hard to get up when my alarm rang this morning. I got out of bed around 20 minutes later than I should have and I still had to get a shower in before I went to my dentist appointment. My dentist appointment was at 11:15am and it's about a 20 minute drive. Luckily I got everything done and managed to get there only a few minutes late. Apparently my dentist is away on vacation so I just got the hygienist. It was great because I didn't have to wait or anything! I stopped at the food store on my way home to get some things I need to make an Easter dessert for this weekend and then headed home. I wish I hadn't of scheduled the appointment for 11:15am because it pretty much messed up my entire day. I didn't get up early enough to workout before my appointment and then afterwards I had already showered so I didn't want to have to do it again. I'm going to have to make sure to get a workout in tomorrow.
    I had lunch when I got home and then took my dog for a walk. I also gathered all of the trash from around the house and put the trash can on the curb. I ended up reading some news for the little time I had left before getting ready for work. The evening started out incredibly slow and it was making me very frustrated. I hate it when I feel like I can't get involved in anything because I feel like I'm wasting time and money. As the night went on it got more steady though and I ended up not leaving until around 11:15pm. I was excited when I got home to see my boyfriend:)
    My hands had a very bad day and they now look like they did last week:( I think it's because I did a lot of hand washing before work today and I forgot to mention that I cleaned some messes up in the backyard. I also used a lot of Purell at work tonight which is always so hard on them. I'm going to have to be better tomorrow if I have any hope of getting them back to where they were. I have a busy morning ahead of me tomorrow so I'm going to try to go to bed early. I want to get the dessert I'm going to make done so I don't have to worry about that Saturday. I've decided I'm going to make Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies. My twin sister sent me the recipe and it looks like something most people would enjoy! Alright, that's it for tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Ten.

    I had breakfast plans with my coworker today so I got up earlier than usual for it being an evening work week. I woke up a little bit before 9am which gave me plenty of time to get ready and to the restaurant by 10am. I will honestly say that I didn't really feel that hungry since I had a big meal last night but as soon as I looked at the menu I wanted pretty much everything on it. This breakfast place we went to is so fantastic, my boyfriend and I have been several times. I got a breakfast frittata which had sausage and mozzarella cheese in it. It also came with home fries and home made walnut bread. I had a really nice time with my co-worker and I'm glad I decided to initiate the plan. I just felt like it would be nice to not spend quite so much time alone this week. It was almost 11:30am when I got home and I couldn't believe it but I had to shovel snow off of the back porch!
    I spent the next hour or so paying some bills and balancing my check book. I finally got the first bill in the mail for my new internet/TV service and was glad to see that it was just what they had quoted me. Before I went to work I folded the laundry from the day before and also had time to do a little bit of studying for a big CE I have coming up in May. I was able to talk to my boyfriend for a few minutes on the phone today before I had to go to work, which was nice.
    I had a much better night at work this evening than I had on Monday night. I just felt like I couldn't get involved in anything Monday and it put me in a terrible mood. It was very busy tonight so I wasn't even able to have dinner, but it went by really fast. Even though it was busy I was still able to get out right on time. When I got home I was able to eat a Lean Cuisine quickly before my boyfriend called me and we chatted for a while. He's due to be back home tomorrow so I'm really looking forward to see him. My hands held up pretty decently during the day today. I hope I can be strong and keep them looking well for the coming weekend. There's a lot of things I want to get done tomorrow but one of the biggest is to not forget to put the trash out! Alright, that's it for now!

Day Two Hundred and Nine.

    Today was my day off and it sure was busy. It started by dropping my dog off at her groomers then going to Target. The trip to Target took me a long time because I had so much I had to get. I'm excited because they lowered the price of the Soft Soap refill bottles to $3.99 a piece, which is a steal if you ask me! I also got a lot of other stuff that I needed including paper towels and toilet paper. Pretty much everything I got was on sale so I was happy. The total was still huge but at least I won't have to go back for a while. I promised my boyfriend that while I was on that side of town I would stop at the Asian food market and pick him up a few items. He asked for seaweed and Kimchi. I feel bad because I didn't have enough cash to get both so I just ended up getting the seaweed. I think he's going to be disappointed.
    When I got home it took me a long time to get everything put away and then I had lunch. I had a little nap afterwards then got my energy up for a workout. It had been since last Wednesday since I did my Jillian Michael's workout so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. This was also the first time doing it that I was going to be wearing sneakers. It actually made a lot of the planking movements easier although it made the crunches harder because there was more weight on my legs. I didn't have time to take a shower after it was over because I had to go pick my dog up. Luckily I don't think I smelled that bad.
    The groomer really cut her hair short and it figures that it's snowing now! When I got back home I put a load of laundry in then took a shower. I also took the sheets out of the dryer and put my bed back together. I ended up sleeping on the couch yesterday because I didn't have time to get the sheets back on the bed last night. I didn't do much for the rest of the evening until it was time for dinner. I had dinner plans with an old friend of mine at 8pm. I managed to somehow cut my pointer finger on my right hand today and I'm not sure how I did it. At any rate it's a really annoying spot because it stings when I use Purell. That's going to make work difficult tomorrow. I felt like it was a very productive day and I'm going to try to get to sleep early. I actually have breakfast plans with a co-worker tomorrow morning that I don't want to be too tired for as well. Alright, until next time.

Day Two Hundred and Eight.

    I overslept this morning and it felt great. I think my dog was really tired from the night before because she slept through the entire night. It was so hard to get out of bed but I did:) When I got up, before I got out of bed, I had it all planned out that I would have my coffee, exercise then get ready for work. Unfortunately when I got up certain things didn't align properly so I had to formulate a different plan. I decided it would make the most sense to wash the sheets on my bed since I didn't have enough of the regular clothes to wash. Then I called my twin sister and had a nice, needed phone conversation with her. We made tentative plans to meet up next week, which I'm already excited about:)
    After our conversation I ate lunch, took a shower, then put the laundry in the dyer. I got ready to work as quick as possible, because I was running behind, then headed out. Work tonight started out so fast it was unbelievable but then it died right out. In fact it got so slow I was trying to find work to do which always irritates me about the position I'm in all week. I just feel sometimes that I'm needed in other areas but am confined to this one specific area:( I was very happy when work was over and I could finally relax.
    I had time tonight at work to eat dinner so when I got home I didn't have to do that. I had a conversation with my boyfriend, which was nice, thanks to his business trip he's two hours behind our time. He sent me pictures form his hotel room and it looks amazing. He's actually only there until Thursday so hopefully it goes by fast. I thought I was doing a good job of suppressing my hand washing tonight at work until, of course, there was an issue with those bugs I don't speak about! Now I was a pretty far distance from where I could pick them up, but it still made me weary when I got home. I washed the bottom of my shoes and made sure to take my pants right off when I got home. I hope that is enough. I guess that's all I've got for tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Seven.

    I had a terrible night of sleep last night and I hate to say that the reason was my dog. Due to the fact that the weather is nicer and there's a lot going on outside she had a very hard time settling down. It was also especially windy so she was hearing a lot of strange noises which kept waking her up. When we finally got to sleep we both woke up very early in the morning to a big, loud, burst of thunder! It was so strange and very scary. When my alarm rang a couple hours later I checked my phone and was relieved to see that my boyfriend was running a little bit late. I was glad that I was able to sleep in a little bit more. He showed up around 11:30am and honestly I had only been up for a few minutes at that point.
    I made us a pot of coffee then I also got him some lunch together which was the leftovers from Thursday nights spaghetti and meatballs. I made myself a little salad with the few pieces of buffalo chicken I still had left. After my boyfriend left I took a shower and then folded the laundry from the day before. It was so hard going to work today because it was about 72 degrees outside when I left, with the sun shinning. I didn't even need to bring a jacket to work....which was awesome. The night was busier than last night and it went by really fast. My co-workers ended up ordering out again tonight but I said no and had a Lean Cuisine.
    I was excited when I left work because my boyfriend called me. He's not usually up so late so it was nice having the unexpected phone conversation. I also called my Mother and spoke with her for a while when I got home. I guess I've done a good amount of hand washing the last few days because they are a little dry. I'm working in an area this week which requires a lot of hand washing so I was hoping to go into this week on top. I was thinking about running errands tomorrow morning to make my day off on Tuesday a little bit easier, but I think I'd rather try to get a workout in. I have to take my dog to the groomers on Tuesday so I'll be out anyway. This entry seems a little bit boring to me but I'm a little tired tonight so I'm going to end it here:)

Day Two Hundred and Six.

    I woke up a little after 10am this morning which gave my boyfriend and I a few hours together before he left. We decided to go out to breakfast because I didn't have anything to make here. I felt pretty guilty about eating out again because we had went out to dinner last night but I also knew that I wouldn't be going out to eat much in the next week. We ate at a local breakfast place and we got there just in time to still get breakfast. When we got back home my boyfriend did a little bit of outside work before he had to get going. He had plans to help his parents move all of there things back into the camp they had renovated throughout the winter. It was such a nice day I was slightly jealous that I couldn't go with him because I had to go to work.
    It was a very steady night at work which was good because it made the time fly right by. We had a few transplants on the shift that weren't my usual weekend partners so the flow was slightly off, but we managed alright. I hate to admit it but people ordered Panera for dinner so I joined in with everyone else. I swear I thought I had a Lean Cuisine left in the freezer, but I guess my last evening shift I hate eaten it:( I am just hoping I can force myself to exercise tomorrow morning!
    When I got home from work I spoke with my boyfriend on the phone for a while and then watched some Hallmark movies. I was pretty excited to find out that my boyfriend is going to be stopping by in the morning because he has to start using the car he has in my driveway. His Mother is staying for the next week at the camp and needs to borrow his other car. Lucky for me I get to see him. Before I went to work today I was able to get a load of laundry in and do some minor organizing in my bathroom. I didn't go crazy with any other cleaning though....the house still looks pretty good from the vacuuming last Monday. Alright, until next time.

Day Two Hundred and Five.

    Today was a really nice day. When I woke up I remembered that I had forgotten to take the trash out for garbage day last night. It wasn't the worst of mistakes since the garbage container wasn't even half way full but the recycling really needed to go. Luckily, the recycling truck comes a few hours later so I was able to get up and put it on the curb before they came. I got myself together then started making my Father and I a pot of coffee. He woke up right before I started it and it was a good thing because he stopped me from making very strong coffee. It's been a long time since I've made coffee and I guess I was going to use way too many grounds. The coffee was delicious and we drank it while talking the morning away.
    Around 2pm I decided it would be nice to take my dog for a walk with my Dad, so we did that. We managed to get home right before it started raining! I didn't do much of anything today because I wanted to keep my Father entertained. I offered to take him to breakfast but he said he didn't need it and he just ate a piece of leftover cake I had frozen him from my Birthday. I had my last NYC bagel that has been in the freezer for a really long time. I usually wouldn't waste calories on a bagel for breakfast, especially since I've been trying to watch my weight, but I decided to splurge. My Father ended up leaving my house around 5pm to go visit my other sisters.
    I had plans to go to the mall tonight with my boyfriend, but we hadn't decided on dinner. I knew our anniversary of dating was coming up so I looked in my journal to see what the exact date was and discovered that it was today! When my boyfriend got to my house he brought me flowers:) It was really sweet. We went to the mall to find him some new pants and me "in house use only" sneakers. I got a really great deal on a pair of Nike sneakers so I was able to get them with the gift card my oldest sister got me for my Birthday. My boyfriend also got about six new pairs of pants from Old Navy so he was happy as well!
    After we were done with the mall we went to one of our new favorite restaurants for our anniversary dinner. We were going to go to the place where we had our first date, which we went to last year as well, but they weren't serving that late. Honestly, when we went last year it wasn't that great. I'm still thinking we should go at some point this month just for the nostalgia. I wasn't able to workout today and I'm feeling slightly guilty about it. I'm reminding myself that today was a special day which doesn't happen that often. I mean, I can't remember the last time I spent that much quality time with my Father. I'm going to have all of next week alone while I'm on evening shift to exercise whenever I want to. Also, my boyfriend is going away on business next week as well. Alright, that's all for now.

Day Two Hundred and Four.

    The blog is a little bit late because I fell asleep last night:( When I woke up yesterday I was so relieved that it was Thursday and I had the next day off! It seemed like such a busy week between working and everything I had to do at home. I was training the same co-worker from Tuesday again which was great because it helped the morning flow. We were able to get to our position early and I think I got her ready for her first day alone. I liked training her because she is very knowledgeable about a lot of different areas and I felt like I was learning a lot too. I was able to leave work right on time which was nice, because I knew my Father would arrive right on time. When I got home I was able to get the meatballs in the crockpot right before he showed up.
    I took a shower while he took my dog for a walk. My boyfriend happened to get out of work earlier than usual so he was here shortly after my shower. We ended up eating dinner right around 7pm. Besides the spaghetti and meatballs we had a salad as well as garlic bread. My Father had brought the bread which worked out perfectly. A lot of food got consumed and I certainly ate my share. After I got the kitchen cleaned up we went to the living room and watched "The Manchurian Candidate". The movie wasn't anything like what I was expecting but it was fantastic. It is a very suspenseful film with a lot of great acting. It also helps that Frank Sinatra is in it and he is one of my favorites.
    My boyfriend went to bed first, then my Dad, then I fell asleep on the couch. I made it up to bed officially around 4am. It was a really nice evening spending time with my boyfriend and Father. They seem to get along great, which was good because when I was cleaning they could entertain each other. With my Dad being there I was trying to suppress my hand washing a little bit because I think it probably freaks him out. I think I did a decent job. I'm a little upset about my over eating especially when you factor in the fact that I had ice cream for dessert:( I'm also worried that it might be a few days before I can workout again. Oh well, until later!

Day Two Hundred and Three.

    I feel like everyday this week I've been running around non-stop and today was no exception. It was meeting Wednesday at work but I wasn't scheduled to go to the early morning one. I was pretty proud of myself knowing that I wasn't going to go to the early one but still managed to get there on time:) The day wasn't the busiest but it still went by pretty fast. The meeting today was a staff meeting and it was making me nervous because there are a lot of changes on the horizon. The profession I'm in is all about things evolving so I'm used to it, but it still makes me anxious when I feel too much is happening at once. I was able to go right home after work today which was good because I had a lot to get done.
    The first thing I did when I got home was get my workout out of the way. I did pretty well, but there was still one move I had to cheat a little bit on. I'm going to be honest here and say I may never be able to do it entirely. I did feel good afterwards, which is the important thing! I gathered all of the remaining laundry and put it in the washing machine. I also took some time today to collect all of the overflowing garbage cans as well as clean up the downstairs bathroom. My Father is coming tomorrow so I wanted to make sure everything looked nice. I had turned the dishwasher on right when I got home from work so I had to wait a while to take my shower. I used the down time after my workout to balance my checkbook. Then I took a shower and folded the laundry from the day before, which really only consisted of making the bed in the spare room.
    After that was finished I made myself a low calorie buffalo chicken wrap and proceeded to make the meatballs for tomorrow nights dinner I'm making my Father. I figured it would be nice to get the meatballs out of the way so when I get home from work tomorrow I can just throw them in the crockpot. My boyfriend is in charge of picking up the bread so I can go right home after work. I am simply exhausted. I didn't sit down until approaching 8:30pm tonight and my hands felt terrible. I was pretty much washing my hands for 4 hours after I got home doing all of those things. I did try to lump them together so that I could spare a couple of the washes, but they still had a hard night. With that being said, I'm going to try to get some rest early!
 

Day Two Hundred and Two.

    Today was another busy day. When I got to work I remembered that I was training another co-worker in the same area I was scheduled in. It actually made for a nice day because all of the work was being shared. For a change it was a nice break:) Even with the help I still wasn't able to break for lunch because it got too hectic. Also, the co-worker I'm training only has a few days in that position before she's alone so I wanted to make sure she got the most out of her training. I didn't get home until pushing 5pm because I had to stop at the food store and pick up everything I needed for dinner. I also got what I needed to make dinner on Thursday when my Father is visiting.
    Once I got home I put the groceries away and finally got to unpacking all the wine I had bought over the weekend. It was very exciting seeing what I had bought and made me really want a glass! I wasn't going to do laundry today but then I remembered I needed to wash the sheets in the spare room for my Father's visit. I put them in the washing machine, then proceeded to my shower. I was just finishing up folding the laundry from the day before when my boyfriend arrived. For dinner we made buffalo chicken salads which turned out wonderfully. I was glad that we ate a healthier dinner because I tend to splurge when my boyfriend comes over. Unfortunately after dinner, with my tea, I had a few girl scout cookies:( I actually ate a whole serving size which I certainly didn't need to eat but did anyway.
    I think I feel so guilty about having the cookies because I didn't workout at all today. I'm just hoping I can come right home after work tomorrow and do my Jillian Michael's workout. I keep thinking one of these days I'm going to lose interest and that is why I have to keep focused! I handled not over hand washing at work today pretty well. I think it's because someone was with me and that always makes me more conscious of my hand washing. I've been putting a lot more cream on my hands this week so they don't look like they did last week. With the weather getting warmer it's also making it easier to keep them moist. Alright, that's all I have for now!

Day Two Hundred and One.

    I was very proud of myself, when I woke up this morning, that I went to bed early last night because it sure made a difference in my day. It was one of the first Monday mornings in a while where I didn't feel like I was in desperate need of more sleep. It's a good thing I got as much rest as I did because the day was pretty wild until around 11am. The position I was working in requires you to move to different spots during the morning, where you are needed. It's really important to feel fresh because you never know what your going to have to do. I left work a little bit late, but not more than 15 minutes. It was only because I was chatting with my good friend before we went home in the parking lot.
    When I got home I was pretty nervous that I would weasel out of my workout so that was the first thing I did. I was a little bit upset because I wasn't able to do quite as many of the movements as I did the last time I did it. I think it was just the long break this weekend and probably over eating. I still felt pretty good when it was over and then I had another workout in the form of vacuuming the first floor of the house. I vacuumed under the living room couch as well, which was something I had really wanted to do for a while now. Once I was done with that I put clothes in the wash, took a shower, then folded the laundry from yesterday.
    I had a hodge-podge for dinner which consisted of baby carrots soaked in hot sauce, Progressio low fat bacon and potato soap and Lean Cuisine snack bites. Calorie wise it wasn't a bad dinner at all, but the salt content is a different story! I just didn't feel like the usual Lean Cuisine dinner and I didn't have salad stuff, so I wanted to mix it up a little bit. After I ate I spoke with my Mother on the phone for a while, then my boyfriend. This evening went by really fast and I'm exhausted!
    I actually ended up doing better than I had expected to do today with my hand washing. I finally read this article my second to oldest sister had emailed me about antibacterial hand soap today. She sent it to me last week and I kept forgetting to read it. It was pretty interesting, talking about how antibacterial hand soap doesn't really work because people misuse it. Apparently you have to wash your hands for at least 20-30 second in order for it to work....I don't think I'd have a problem with that! The other problem is that it can cause resistance. I actually quit antibacterial hand soap about a year and a half ago when I was doing research about how dangerous it may be. The only kind I still use is the bar soap. I don't regularly use the bar soap, only when I'm visiting other people and it's not convenient to bring liquid soap, therefore I don't think it's a major deal. Alright, that's it for now!

Day Two Hundred.

    I like it when I hit milestones and today is certainly one:) Since I went to bed earlier than usual last night for a Saturday night I ended up getting out of bed around 8:30am and I'm glad I did. I knew my twin sister and her husband had to leave early, so by getting up, I was able to spend some time with them before they had to go. My second to oldest sister made homemade mini blueberry muffins and we also had fruit for breakfast. My twin sister and her husband left a little bit after 11am, then we watched a very interesting documentary called "Alone in the Wilderness". It was about a man who spent 30 years alone in Alaska! I wasn't really watching it at first, but then it got very interesting so I continued. It's amazing what this man was capable of accomplishing all by himself.
    We all went to lunch afterwards then we said goodbye and headed home. We gave my oldest sister a ride back because she left her car at my house Friday night and then she drove home from there. Even though I didn't want to leave my sisters so early I'm glad we did because we got home at a decent time. I was able to put a load of laundry in and take a shower before we had some dinner. We didn't do much else besides watch a few episodes of "House of Cards" for the rest of the night.
    I'm already a little bit stressed about the upcoming week at work. I'm working in a position where I've worked a lot, but haven't in a while. It's a spot which brings out my hand washing OCD and I hope I can stay in control, so that my hands stay relatively decent throughout the week. I also feel like I have a lot I want to get done at home this week, which is making me anxious. I just need to take it one day at a time and try not to put too much stress on myself. I always feel like I have to get everything done in one day or I'm a failure. The biggest thing I want to do tomorrow is exercise, especially after the over eating I did this weekend. I also want to make sure to take my dog on a nice walk. It sure would be nice to read a bit of my book as well! Alright, that's it for now.

Day One Hundred and Ninety Nine.

    Yesterday turned out to be a really fun day which didn't surprise me because I was with my family. We wanted to get a head start so we woke up a little before 9am. I took a shower and got ready to go. Everyone else was just about ready to leave and my second to oldest sister had already rented the van. She decided that she would do the driving for us, which was very appreciated by all. We were at the first winery before noon and managed to stop at four different wineries before we took a break for lunch.
    The place we ate lunch at was an awesome small town pub with a great beer selection. After all that wine a glass of beer was a nice break! My boyfriend and I shared French onion soup and a chicken sandwich. We went to one more winery before we ended out the day at a small brewery. This brewery was so awesome we just loved it! The ride home was about an hour and a half then I went with my second to oldest sister to return the van. I had some leftover pizza when we got back to the house then started to watch Frozen with my sisters but had to go to bed.
    During the day I managed to stock up on a lot of wine which is exciting! They were all a decent price so I definitely saved money on some great bottles. I should mention the delicious car snacks we had yesterday. My second to oldest sister made guacamole and cut up cheeses, also my twin sister made a big fruit salad. For dessert there were baked almonds and almond cookie bars, both of which were made by my second to oldest sister. I did alright suppressing my hand washing during the day. I had to use a lot of public restrooms but handled it decently. I've tried really hard to give my hands a break this weekend but they are still not where I wasn't them to be. Well until later!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Eight.

    I was very happy when I woke up today and remembered it was Friday:) This week seemed to be such a busy and frustrating work week that I was so glad it was almost over. I got to work right on time today which was good and I was glad that there weren't any call-ins. Today was probably the slowest day of the week but it still had its moments. I had a huge issue right around three o'clock but still managed to get out at 3:30pm.
    The only thing I had to do before I went home was drop my check off at the bank,  which didn't take much time at all. When I got home I wasted no time getting in the the shower then packing for the weekend. You see this weekend is the sister wine tasting weekend which has been in the works for a while! While I was packing I was also folding the laundry from the day before. I was proud of the fact that I was all ready to go when my boyfriend showed up at my house. He had to get some things together but it didn't take long and we were on our way earlier than I had thought.
    We had to get gas and I wanted to get coffee so we stopped on our way out but still managed to get to my sister's house before 9pm. She had wings and pizza waiting for us which was great, because we were so hungry. My car snack of Smart Pop wasn't enough I guess:( After about an hour my twin sister with her husband and my older sister showed up. My oldest sister's husband is still away on business so sadly he couldn't come. We chatted for a while then everyone decided to try to get some sleep before our day tomorrow.
    I tried very hard at work today to not over wash my hands and I think I did a decent job. Well at least I wasn't bleeding all over paper work! I still can't help but think that one of the things which is making it worse are these new paper towels at work. They are so abrasive that it hurts just to use them once, let alone several times a shift. Today I used a different kind and my hands already feel better. To answer a question from last nights entry....yes, being around non-OCD people helps a lot. I try to mimic the way the people around me handle germs to ease my anxiety. I rationalize that if they are not worrying then I shouldn't be. Maybe that's why I hate being alone for long periods of time:( Alright, until next time!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Seven.

    I felt pretty refreshed after last nights sleep but was still fairly annoyed when I got to work to find out there had been another call in, therefore it would be another long day. It was even harder than yesterday because none of the supervisors helped out with break coverage in the morning, so me and the other girl I was working with just didn't get one. I was hoping that I could leave early but that didn't happen:( Once again having to double up on the work definitely made the day go by really fast but I sure hope I'm not making any mistakes. When I finally left work it was about 3:30pm and I decided to run some errands. I needed to pick up some dog treats but hate to buy them at the food store because they are always super expensive. I went to the Pet Smart and got a few of the things she needed there, all of which were a great deal, then stopped at the food store on the way home to grab paper towels:)
    Today was a non-exercise day but I was so busy when I got home that I felt like I was burning something. I decided I didn't have time to vacuum my entire house so I thought I would just use the dust buster on the couch but someone had taken the plug out of the wall, so it had no power:( I decided instead to take my dog for a walk and see if that would give it enough time to charge. After the walk I decided since it was such a nice day out to go through the backyard and pick up any messes leftover from Saturday's hunt. Then when I got inside I realized my dogs backside was a little dirty so I had to give her a bath. She's needed a bath for several days now so it was really no big deal. The dust buster still didn't have power when I was done with all of that, so I decided to just clean the downstairs bathroom instead. I felt I needed to clean it because the internet/tv installation guy had used the downstairs bathroom the other day and it has been grossing me out since. Then I collected all of the trash because tomorrow is trash day, put a load of laundry in and finally it was shower time.
    I was just about to fold the clothes from yesterday when my boyfriend arrived home and we chatted while I did that. He made most of dinner which was linguine and with a side of sausage, while I made the salad. It was about 8:30pm when we finally were finished and sat on the couch for a few minutes. We both proceeded to fall asleep very soon after that. It's been such a busy week for me and it's not only showing on my face, but my hands as well. Today it was really embarrassing because while I was having a conversation with someone I realized I was bleeding all over this paper work I had to hand in. I ended up putting clear tape over the blood stains then making copies of it to hide the evidence. It's frustrating that my hands look worse now then they did in January. I'm really hoping that going away this weekend will help them heal a little bit. When I'm not at my house and I don't have access to unlimited soap it can make it a lot easier to avoid hand washing. Alright, I'm exhausted!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Six.

    My boyfriend and I were both exhausted this morning when we woke up. We were up a little bit later than usual watching a new TV show, which my Brother-In-Law is actually consulting on, last night. The show was great! Anyway, I was a bit frantic because it was meeting day and wanted to make sure that I went. I managed to get to work right on time and was able to attend the early morning meeting. Everything seemed to be going fine until I reported to my station only to find out that two people had called in so we would be short. It was such a stressful morning and I was almost 100% prepared for not taking a break until noon, but one of the supervisors covered my position so that I could step away for a few minutes. The day didn't slow down until after lunch time but it sure went fast. I came right home after work and I was so excited that it was a nice, warm, spring day.
    I ended up letting the dogs play outside for a while so I could collect the garbage and go through my mail. Today was the first day that the dogs seemed to be enjoying each others company! They chased each other around the backyard for quite a while. I ended up doing my Jillian Michaels workout after I let them in and I was very proud of how many of the moves I was able to do today. In fact, when I was finished, I was more tired than I had been the previous times I had done it. I hope this means that I'm on the right track to success. My oldest sister sent me a text message saying she would be at my house around 7:30pm which gave me enough time after my workout to put a load of laundry in and take my shower. I also managed to balance my checkbook before she showed up.
    I felt bad because I didn't do anything spectacular for her when it came to dinner. I let her eat the two leftover pieces of pizza, with a side salad, while I made my token buffalo chicken salad. I also remembered I still had the ice cream flavor she loves in my freezer from my Birthday celebration a few weeks ago so she had a bowl of that too. Her dog was so excited to see her and was the most calm he's been the entire time he's been here. We had a nice evening catching up together and she told me about her trip, which sounded great.
    I'm even more upset with myself today about how terrible my hands look. I'm not sure what is going on exactly but I've been doing a lot of obsessive cleaning around the house and then post cleaning hand washing. That sounds silly because I do that all the time, but even more so:( I was hoping to vacuum the house tomorrow after I get home from work, to get it out of the way, but that's really going to bother my hands. Maybe I should put hand cream on them while I'm doing it so at least it won't make them worse. I also promised my dog a walk so that is definitely going to be the first thing I do. Alright that's it for now!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Five.

    I felt pretty good this morning because I got a decent nights sleep last night. I tried to get out of bed earlier than usual because it was the first morning I had to get two dogs ready before I left. I ended up getting to work right on time! Once again I thought it would be a good idea to grab coffee before I started working but there was a big line at the Dunkin Donuts so I had to wait. I still got it earlier than usual....around 8:30am. Then I even managed to take a bit of a morning break as well as a little bit of a lunch break. It wasn't a busy day until around 2pm when the pace started picking up which was annoying because I had to leave things for the next crew. I ended up stopping at the food store on my way home from work to pick up some things for dinner so I didn't get home until a little before 5pm.
    When I got home I was pleasantly surprised to see that my internet was working, see I switched providers today. My boyfriend actually came to my house for me today to be here when the guy installed it. He said it all went very smoothly and so far everything appears to be working great. The switch is saving me $50 a month which will be a big help. I'm so grateful that my boyfriend did me the favor of coming over because I would not have been able to leave work.
    After I made the phone call to cancel my existing TV and internet I took a shower, then folded laundry from the day before. My boyfriend ended up arriving earlier than I had originally expected which I was very glad about. We made pizza and had salad for dinner then watched some TV afterwards. I'm disappointed in myself because my hands look terrible. They probably look worse than they have in several weeks. I can't really come up with an explanation but maybe because I've been watching two dogs which is double the work! I'm pretty sure that my oldest sister is going to be picking her dog up tomorrow night and I know already that I will miss the little guy. He's such a sweetie pie! Alright, that's it for now!