a little of this, a little of that

Very strange mood today. Probably PMS...although I'm not *supposed* to be PMSing anymore with my new hormonal treatment. 2nd month in on it, so we'll see.

So before I start on my HUGE to-do list for today (no wait, I already cleaned the Young Prince's lair and must start on the Second to the Throne's next...what do I mean start? I'm totally selling myself short) I need to get a few things off my chest.

1. One is this horrible pain in my chest. Left side. Totally stress. It is present when I come back home after having been out. I had to go to Whole Paycheck for some breakfast commodities this morning and, upon my return, with children screaming and running (good screaming, mind you) and The (fat) Court Jester miaowing for even more food, it hit me. Hard. Deep breaths. That got me through two natural births and more with no meds. I can do this.

2. Yesterday's "eeeeeewwwww-event" at the gym totally has thrown my comfort zone into loopy-loops. Here in the "Town" I feel fine about leaving my home. I joined a gym that offers 24/7 security and, in my horrible insomniac-laden Life in the early months of this year, I was visiting that gym at 2 or 3 in the morning easy, just to work myself to death so I could collapse from exhaustion. I joined a gym that is close so I would not have to drive there. I love to walk or even jog. But with the cold, yes, I am a Wuss. My teeth, to be honest, hurt soooo badly in the cold air that the pain is unbearable (and yes, I am a Sensodyne brusher).

So the event, you may ask? I was on my elliptical machine, having finished doing weights and following up with 30 minutes of cardio. Plugged into my gym jam on my iPod and feeling the beat, if you can get my drift. However, I always maintain awareness about who is around me. Who enters and leaves the gym. Who is on the machine next to me. This does not mean I am checking people out; this means that I have trained myself to always be cautious and observant. That alone has gotten me out of many a situation I probably should not have gotten myself into in the first place. But those are for other stories...

Back to the story. A guy comes in, probably about my age if not a little younger, when I'm 10 minutes into my elliptical routine. He is on the far right elliptical; I am on the far left. Two between us. I look up at the TV once in a while, but remain tuned in to my iPod. My eyes falter; he's watching me. Ugh. I look down and change my song on my iPod and keep the rhythm working. I was aware of him watching me. Baseball cap. Sandy hair. Caucasian. Always aware. Always defensive.

Dismounts the elliptical after about 10 minutes and then goes to do weights. I continue as I have 10 minutes more on my workout. However, noting that there were others waiting I cut my workout short by 5 minutes to be considerate, but not before noticing in the mirror that He was still watching me from the other end of the room. I just kind of wanted out by then.

So I go back to the lockers, grab my keys, put my sweatshirt on and back comes one man I have seen throughout the morning there, and then the one who was watching me came back there, too. I pretended to be fully engrossed in getting my iPod stored in my pockets, grabbing my glasses and my keys and making sure I had my water bottle and my towel, and left. I can be really good at appearing completely engrossed in something so that I would not apparently notice goings on occuring around me.

So I walked through the gym.

And he followed me.

And I left.

And the door opened after me and he followed me out.

With my naturally very quick step I walked up the sidewalk to my car, thanking God I had decided to actually drive that day instead of walk and for never parking in the garage but instead always on the street, let myself in and locked the doors in one fell swoop. Busying myself with getting my seat belt on, I took a quick look around.

There was nobody there.

I returned home trembling and continued to tremble for about an hour. The only time I've actually been followed was in Ecuador. It wasn't like I felt like I was going to be robbed or raped or anything; it was broad daylight in the Town on a Saturday morning and the Street was bustling. I guess I just did not understand the pursuit; if he had something to say, I do respond to "Excuse me..."

3. The Young Prince and I were cuddling on the LoveSac (that is what it's called...here's the link) watching Yo amo a Juan Querendón, my guilty pleasure telenovela that airs on Univisión at 7 weeknights. All nice and warm and cozy.

Then I look down and notice that the Young Prince has his...ahem, although we use accurate anatomical nomenclature in this house, shall we here call it... his "Mr. Little Prince" in his hand and he's whimpering.

-Young Prince, is something the matter?
-Yes, Mommy. Something is wrong with my 'Mr. Little Prince.'

Silence as I observe and realize that my 3 year old has just had his first comprehension of a hard-on. Full attention, shall I say, and I said, trying really hard not to laugh, "No, Young Prince, nothing is wrong. Just tuck it back into your pants (he was in sweats so I didn't feel bad with the suggestion) and it will feel better in a few moments."

So he did. Is this the birth of Oedipal complexes? I hope not. We were just comfy, warm and that is a natural physical reaction. I'm not the type to tease, but it's a cute story.

4. Freecycle has cleaned my house! I have been able to get rid of so much crap in the past week to others who could actually use it. I love the system...and none of it goes in the trash. At least not until it is used again, and perhaps even then Freecycled-out a few more times before going to the Great Trash Compactor in the Sky. If you are interested in learning more about this global effort to reduce our consumption, visit freecycle.org and there you can find a local chapter.

5. Chocolate. I was going to try to eliminate this more from my diet this year, but as it is what I do eat is really good quality...it's just really expensive and, with the quantity I eat (as that is the only way I'm obviously getting the Joys that Life Have to Offer at this point--but still limited to not more than one bar a day) that racks up quite a chocolate bill at the end of each month. So I need to do some soul-searching and prioritizing, I think.

We shall see. I am now done reflecting and, more obviously, procrastinating. Back to work.