I’m having to learn all kinds of new habits right now. This is a choice, for the most part.

I have now been over three weeks of drinking “less coffee.” It’s hard to describe how difficult this is (at least some of the time). It’s like trying to smoke fewer cigs. Coffee, to me, is like oxygen is to most people – it’s always there, you take it for granted, and you don’t do well without it.

Why have I cut back? Blood pressure. Volatile temper. Trouble sleeping. Just a couple of the things I noticed. My doctor didn’t make me do it (but I blame her if anyone asks, she can handle it). Now I sleep a bit better, I haven’t had my blood pressure taken yet (but need to donate again, they do it for free), and I don’t yell at the kids quite so much.

What else? Oh yeah, the poor dog.

I think I wrote about it, but a few weeks ago the dog was acting sick. I was worried that perhaps she had eaten something that had gotten lodged inside, or something. Took her to the vet, and the verdict? She probably strained a muscle. Why? Because she’s fat. So? Now, I measure her food. Gone is the all-you-can-eat buffet. No more table scraps (well, almost no more). The first day, she just rolled her eyes (because she’s too big to roll over herself) and looked at me like, “dude, you forgot my food, but I have faith in you and you will give me cheese.” A couple days later she would sit and stare at her empty food dish, as if willing it to fill up. Now, she has become my constant companion, glaring at me like “Okay, human, WTF?” But that’s okay, she doesn’t act sick anymore =O

I’m cutting way back on sweets and fried things. They have forgotten my name at the donut shop. Something else I must do is cut back on the blog. Yeah, I waste spend too much time here, so I need to focus my energy on a couple other projects. It’s not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere, I just need to learn to step away from the keyboard and do other stuff. Hell, I don’t think anybody will notice, I’m writing this as much to remind myself as anything else.

Finally, I ran three miles in the rain this morning, then took the dogs for a walk, and it felt pretty good.