I will confess that I am feeling a little blue lately and in fact am finding it all too easy to snap at people, be generally rude, and spend the entire day sulking in bed and/or having Imagination Arguments with any and everyone. (Please tell me you do that, too, sometimes?) It’s not pleasant. There’s nothing specific going on to bother me or cause me to feel bad. Mainly I have just been having more pronounced hormonal ups and downs lately (nothing’s wrong, just adjusting to a med change) and this week is in fact A Very Special Time for Ladies, so it seems even worse at the moment.

I’ve been coping by: consuming alcohol, lying in bed all day reading, going on walks, runs, or bike rides in the sunshine every day, and trying to eat well. I’m not sure alcohol is traditionally recommended in such situations, but let’s pretend that it is. Hush.

As a further coping mechanism, I am going to steal an idea I originally got from Chrissy: plusses and minuses. I am going to create here two lists. One will be a therapeutically purging list of some little things that are annoying me or stressing me out (just the bloggable ones) and the other will be a list of things that are good, positive, happy, exciting, or just generally pleasant in my life:

First, please bear with me through THE MINUSES:

– I’m not working again until July and therefore am not getting paid again until July. No matter how carefully I plan ahead for summers and how much I save, this will never not be stressful. No, there is not an option to have our salaries paid out over 12 months.

– I have some kind of dark sun/aging spot appearing on my forehead where I part my hair and it’s making me feel old and/or like I have skin cancer and am probably dying. Right in the middle of this spot? A huge zit.

– My BF is super busy with work at the moment (and I am not) so I miss him, but I don’t want to act all needy about it.

– Physically, I feel kind of slow, awkward, chubby, and sluggish lately. I’m about 5-8 lbs over my usually happy weight, which is not enough to make a difference, really, so it seems more mental than anything else. See also: Special Ladies’ Time.

– I generally want to have my patio doors open at this time of year. but my dog thinks it’s his job to bark at every passing car, bike, dog, squirrel, or lawnmower unless I keep them closed.

– [Redacted]

Okay, let’s cancel those out with THE PLUSSES:

+ I am not working again until July, which means my days are my own right now. Of course, I’ll still be working (unofficially/unpaid) to prep for my summer class, but it’s a detective fiction class, so this means I get to read fun books. I also get to sleep in as late as I want, work out whenever I like, and not wear pants if I don’t want to.

.

+ I’ve been on a leisure reading kick lately and have been devouring new novels. This has also even fed into the class I’m planning a bit — I got obsessed with Gillian Flynn after reading Gone, Girl, read both her other novels, and then decided to put Sharp Objects on the syllabus for this summer. I’ll do a reading round-up post soon with details on the other things I’ve been reading and enjoying.

+ I have acquired a fitbit (fitness tracker/pedometer thing), which has been helping me see how active (or inactive) I am on a day-by-day basis, and is encouraging me to be more active, take more walks, and so on. The photo above is one of my favorite places to pass by in my neighborhood — who can argue with this scenery? The fitbit is also helping me more accurately match up my nutrition needs to my actual intake. And it’s fun. (If you’re on fitbit and want to be my friend, leave me your email address!)

+ I have been biking to campus every now and then and am loving it! Almost ten miles round trip and it feels great. My new bike is just fun to ride — so much more comfortable than my old one, and it feels faster, too.

+ I spent some good times with friends this weekend. My friend D. was visiting from out of town, and I also co-hosted a baby shower for my friend S (due very soon) with a couple of other friends. The above picture is me, D., and B. out having dinner and drinks.

+ I’m sitting on the patio right now, soaking up some sun and fresh air, and drinking a Magic Hat Pistil.

+ I’ve joined in the fashion challenge Mission: Put Together (run by RA) and have been posting my outfits to the flickr pool every day. Above is one of my recent favorites. It’s fun, and the other ladies are champs at leaving nice, supportive, encouraging comments. This might be one of the only things actually keeping me from working from home in my underpants every day since finals were over.

+ In two months, CW and I will be moving in together. We’ve rented a nice house in a cute neighborhood and I am thrilled about it. I only wish it were happening right NOW! Although this will mean the necessary quelling of my Secret Single Behaviors (such as leaving all the cabinets open, leaving all the lights on constantly, and setting the thermostat at a blamy 76°) the benefits are, of course, huge. Oh, I can’t WAIT!

Okay, I think I feel better now. Have any plusses or minuses of your own to share? Feel free to add them here.