Order and routines

203.8

I derive such comfort and pleasure from routines and order that I don't know why I sometimes seem to rebel against them. I arrived at work this morning focused and ready to work: I knew I had a lot to accomplish, and I knew I had to leave the office for an hour in the afternoon to pick up Mom from the airport.

I worked steadily from the time I arrived, then spent 20 minutes clearing off my desk and getting re-organized in the mid-morning, after which I was even more focused. All in all, I had a very productive day at work. Lots more tasks still left on the to-do list, but the list has been whittled down somewhat, and I billed a solid amount of hours today despite having to take a break and drive to the airport.

This evening--after a 2-week hiatus due to his illness and mine--MM and I got back into our Tuesday-Thursday routine and went to the gym. After the gym, we went to a favorite pizza place in the same plaza: they have the coolest combinations, and you can also "design your own." Plus they have chunks of tofu in their salads, which I love. MM always gets either sausage or pepperoni on your standard white crust with red sauce; I usually get a salad and the pizza called "The Volcano," which has pepperjack cheese, Red Hot sauce, sausage, and jalapenos--great for clearing my sinuses. LOL

It felt really good to get a good workout in! I lifted weights (upper body only) and did 27 minutes on the elliptical trainer (covered 2 miles). I'd loaded a few new songs onto my iPod's workout playlist, too, and it was fun to have some new music playing while I exercised.

I thoroughly enjoyed just spending an ordinary evening with MM. Sometimes I think that I enjoy our Tuesdays & Thursdays as much (or more than?) our weekend dates.

Now I'm home, blogging and (obsessively) checking my work email. (I have several balls in the air at the moment on a few different cases, and some co-defendants' attorneys email in the evenings.) I plan to throw in another load of laundry shortly and put away the laundry I did yesterday. . . . I'm proud to say that I've done a load of laundry each of the last two nights and put the clothes away. ;-)

It's weird how just having a cleared-off desk at work, a managable to-do list, having a (relatively) clean apartment, and getting in some exercise has had a positive effect on my mood. Hmmmmm. . . . .

Mom is back and feeling like crap: she now has the cold that I suffered with through last week. She is achy, coughing, congested, and exhausted. Poor thing. I've just put her to bed with a cool cloth on her head (after dosing her with some of my codeine cough medicine).

Off to do laundry and spend some "quality time" with Sebastian.

P.S. By popular demand, the picture above is one of me and KC from Saturday night's birthday dinner that sort-of shows my new hairstyle and color. MM has banned me from posting his photos, but KC has not given me the same directive. ;-)