The Daily Commute

Another Rainy Day in MN

But that's not a bad thing. I saw some green shooting up in the woods today. 

Still no word on the job front. But we've moved out of the freak-out phase and into the just-see-what-happens phase. The rain is helping. 

Busy Weekend

Well somehow one of my coworkers convince Joe and me to finally leave our apartment. Last night we went downtown for a concert.

 

 

And tonight we are getting out again. ARCC is having a faculty reading, and I'm making the cookies. Then it's back to grading!  

Bad Phone Pic Update

I got this in the mail yesterday. 

For the last year or so my migraines have become an issue. Before then, I would have one every four months so, but something happened last spring. Suddenly they were coming three or four times a week, starting with the aura (blurred vision) and numb body parts, and then moving on to a throbbing headache. The pain isn't as bad as some people describe (except for one terrible night last summer), but the blurred vision is a bit of an issue--English instructors sort of need to be able to read.The next day leaves my head sore, feeling like a bruise and throbbing when I move or bend over. 

Sometimes I wake up in the morning, like today, and feel like I must have had one in my sleep. The bumpy bike path on the way to school make for a painful ride. 

And the rain, made for a wet one. But I love a rainy day--so calming and gray. Another effect of the migraine: trouble thinking. So if you see any typos here, or if it gets off track, let's blame it one the migraine. 

Anyway, I started tracking my diet a few months ago to try and detect some migraine triggers, and one morning, I finally found something. Before leaving for school, I ate one thing: a prune. Later on into my 35-minute walk to school, the aura started. When I got home later, I read the packaging. The only other ingredient, other than the actual prune, was potassium sorbate. I went back to my food journal and realized that a lot of what I ate before past migraines included this preservative: a maraschino cherry, an olive, bread, a pickle, a granola bar, etc. 

I wondered if it were a coincidence, but since I cut it out of my diet, there have been a few times where I got a migraine, and double checked what I had eaten, and there it was. 

There are obviously other triggers that I'm avoiding too, but this one seems to be a big one. I just wonder why it all of a sudden became such an issue. It makes things like eating out or at other people's places risky. I hate to be difficult. 

Excuse me, is there potassium sorbate in this? Chances are, if it came out of a package, there is. 

Last Few Weeks

There's three more weeks of classes! I actually have a few spare moments this weekend (or at least I'm taking some whether I have them or not). 

Today I met a friend downtown for coffee. Even though we live 20-25 minutes away from each other, we hadn't seen each other in three months. We both agreed to be better friends once the semester ends.

Joe's been working hard too--driving to St. Cloud four days a week and applying for all the teaching jobs in world. He also shaved his beard. It's shocking every time he does. But eventually he looks like himself again. 

We haven't had much time or energy for cooking, but every once in a while we stop working long enough to eat. Here's a coffee cake I made one morning. 

We also made corned beef brisket one night. The next night we used the leftovers, and a homemade pizza dough to make Rueben pizza. We agreed it was good but needed more of everything on it. 

A chickadee finally moved in to my birdhouse, but now a robin has been terrorizing the balcony, so I think it moved out. 

It's been snowing. I know, shocking. 

But there were a couple days (including today) that allowed for bike rides.

A doughnut shop opened up down the road from us. Good thing the line wraps all the way around the place, otherwise we would be there way too often.