Here is my new darkened color! The red tones are hard to pick up except in the light, but trust me, they are there!

H1N1 may be overhyped by the media, but it was the most sick I've ever been.  Last Saturday morning I felt great, I cleaned the house, Shredded (level 3!) and we went to Traverse City for shopping and lunch. I was in
the middle of church Saturday night when I got freezing cold, I turned to Brent and asked if he was cold thinking that some how the AC must have been on. He was not. And as I got colder (visibly shaking), I got incredibly sore and achy. My hips and legs hurt much worse than after running the half-marathon. The tops of my feet hurt and so did my arms, back and neck. Even my gums and scalp hurt.

Saturday night I was in bed by 8:30 under a mountain of blankets unable to get warm. Even a hot shower didn't help, it hurt to be touched by the water and even though my skin got red from the heat, my core was still freezing. Until I got out, then I was sweating and panting I was so hot. Besides the extreme chills and aches and pains, I had a wicked cough and major congestion.  I'm still battling the cough, congestion and fatigue. I haven't been able to sleep through the night from all the coughing and I've lately developed nausea and light headedness. I worked one day last week (Friday) and then slept 12 hours Friday night and took a 3 hour nap on Saturday. A half hour walk yesterday was all it took before I was back on the couch resting most of the afternoon.

I'm thankful this week is broken up my the Veteran's Day holiday. I can work 2 days and get a little break and then work 2 more days. To say that I haven't been running or working out should be obviously. I think it will be a while before I come back from this illness. At least I'm giving the tear in my knee cartilage plenty of rest!

I've been working on contentment and for me that means recognizing the simple pleasures in my life. So here is a brief list of things that crossed my mind this morning:
- Coffee with skim milk
- Bananas with my cereal
- Fuzzy socks/slippers
- Making Brent laugh
- New mascara

Another simple pleasure added to the list is windows that seal! While I was at HeartQuest Brent had 3 new windows put in the house!! These windows were in desperate need of replacing. Once I had sprayed Windex on the window above the kitchen sink and it actually ran down the window and onto the outside of the lower pane, no seal at all! The other 2 windows didn't latch. So when I was at the Superchick/Barlow Girl concert, Brent had our friend, Benny, come measure them. Benny's dad custom made them (they are very oddly shaped) and then Benny installed them when I was gone. I was so surprised at that thoughtful gift and can report our house already feels more snug!

This might be my last post for a week or two. I leave Monday for 5 ½ days of leadership training through my church. I haven't started packing yet, but was excited to learn from those who have gone before the very casual dress code (per the instructions) can equal yoga/sweatpants and t-shirts. Pretty much whatever each attendee feels most comfortable in she can wear. It is just a group of 36 ladies and the female ministry team tucked away in a beautiful lodge on a lake.  We also have a formal night, which is exciting. I have a red strapless dress (the same one I wore to Sr. prom and as a bridesmaid in a wedding) which still fits (it didn't fit so well in April!) that I plan on jazzing up with a nice ribbon sash.

Work has been busy; the week I get back is the week of meetings (6 meetings in 5 days!) that I'm responsible for. My boss chairs and I prepare the agendas, packets, minutes, etc. So I've been soliciting documents and reports a week early so that everything can be sent out tomorrow

Today will be good though. I've brought some favorite CDs to work and am jamming along to Remedy Drive as I draft an agenda and pull reports together for a meeting.  Tonight I'll be baking Boss's Day treats. Tomorrow night Brent and I are going on a much needed date. Brent received his largest paycheck to date (yay for writing lots of hours!) yesterday and I'll get my biggest paycheck of the year tomorrow (cashing out 22 PTO days), so we are celebrating with a nice dinner in TC and a viewing of "Capitalism: A Love Story". Saturday I'm cleaning house and baking a cake for the 30th anniversary celebration we're having for my parents at night. My Grandparents from Florida are doing their fall tour and taking the family out to dinner to celebrate. Sunday is Community Group. And somewhere in there? Gotta pack!!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Thursday was the awesome Superchick + Barlow Girl concert, where I decided that I want to be a rock star. All I need is a dose of talent and a new haircut and I'm set!

Friday was our Costume Party. Brent did a fantastic job cleaning the house and getting things ready while I was gone Thursday night. We had a good turnout and a lot of fun. Fact * Cats do not like it when a chainsaw is started in the living room.

Saturday I ran some errands and we went to a wedding back in Brent's hometown. And that was when I felt like a rock star or some other celeb was I was hounded by a paparazzi wedding photography. One of the photographers is a good friend with Brent's crazy ex. And wedding photographer was on some sort of mission to take photos of us/me and do who knows what with them. Before the ceremony started, she asked to take our picture and Brent told her to please not take any pictures of us. She replied "If I don't take any pictures, I can't post them on facebook." Uh*good, no need for crazy ex to see pictures of us on facebook. Then at the reception, she was hovering around our table and kept trying to snap pics but we'd put our hands up or wipe our face with a napkin. Even from across the room she would spin and point the camera at us, when she should have been taking pictures of more important things like the cake cutting. When Brent got up to use the bathroom, I let my guard down and not one but two pictures were taken of me (confirmed by friends sitting by us). She then proceeded to take a number of pictures of Brent and I when he returned regardless of the fact we were trying our best to block our faces and keep our backs turned. Brent was fuming by this point, and went to speak with her and her co-photographer (boss?). It pretty much ruined the reception for us as we left early and didn't want her to sneak some pictures of us when we were dancing. Does anybody else find this weird? The guests we were sitting with couldn't believe her behavior!

Sunday was a good day where I got some kitchen work done (cooked and deboned 12 chicken breasts, made lunch, roasted beets, cooked squash) and relaxed. I also managed to run/walk for 30 minutes. I intended to just walk but couldn't resist running, so I'd run a couple blocks, than walk a couple blocks. I didn't have any knee pain, just mild stiffness towards the end. Once home, I stretched with 20 minutes of yoga and my knee feels great today!

That's my weekend in a nutshell, complete with a nutty stalker! This week, I'm getting ready as I'll be leaving Monday for 6 days. I'm catching up on laundry, packing, prepping meals for Brent and taking care of any other loose ends.