National Potato Day!

Mood:

I love potatoes!I could eat them all day and not get sick of them. There are so many different ways you can eat them. Mashed, baked, French fries, scalloped, shredded, etc. 

Went shopping again last weekend. Got 2 big fluffy and 'firm' pillows. My old ones were ripping apart, and the stuffing was coming out.They were also huge, but didn't have any support, so they were pretty flat. These new ones are really nice.They're so fluffy that I'm down to one for my bed. I usually like 2 pillows stacked up on top of each other, but one seems to be the right amount with these. I think I got the old ones about 8 or 9 years ago. The ones I had before that lasted much longer. The only reason I stopped using those was because the lining was starting to flake off and turn into a powder.I thought I might be breathing in something horrible every time I slept with those pillows towards the end. 

I seriously looked through the mall for things like shirts, skirts, pants, etc. But, had to stop at some point because I started to get very dizzy. My muscle relaxer was finally hitting me.Saw some interesting stuff though. 

Later, we went to Hale's Ales for dinner. I was super thirsty.Again, probably due to the muscle relaxer. Managed to down 2 large glasses of iced tea, and I think a little more. Mouth still felt a bit dry, though. I got their cod sandwich thinking that since I liked Red Robin's so much I might as well try their's. It was grilled instead of fried. Which normally would be a plus for me.I asked for it without onions. It came with onions, and the person who came out with it was very rude.She wasn't our main waitress. I told her that I had asked for it without onions, and she asked if I was allergic to them. She said if I wasn't, to take the onions off myself and hand them to her. As if me not liking them is less important to her compared to someone who's allergic to them.And, yes I know that's a bigger deal in reality, but you should be able to get what you asked for without having to say anything about it. To them it should be the same. I asked for it without, I should be treated with respect and get it without them.If they make a mistake they should just apologize, then go back and have them do it over. No questions asked. Our main waitress was very nice. Her only downside, I think, was the bill being late. But, it suddenly got busy at one point, so I can understand. Anyways, the sandwich had way too much tartar sauce in it, and so much fish that it didn't fit in the sandwich.The tater tots were good. And, overall things were pretty good. I don't know what happened to Hale's Ales, but for some reason they don't seem as great as they used to be. 

I decided to stop taking my muscle relaxer yesterday. I haven't had a dose of it since Sunday night. I think it was starting to make me sick.I was very thirsty, dizzy, nauseous, etc. I'm feeling much better since I've been off them. And, I'm not really feeling muscle pain in my left shoulder. I was worried that it would immediately spasm again. They gave me enough for about 2 weeks, and I had a week's worth of the stuff. I think it also felt like it was liquefying the rest of my muscles.My legs were burning every time I moved them. I have very strong and muscular legs, so it wasn't a good feeling. I think my arms were starting to hurt, too. 

Getting back to sticking more strictly to the way I want to eat. Things are looking even bigger than before, and my stomach fills up much quicker. So, I don't think I could eat the way I used to even if I wanted to. This makes a lot of leftovers, and I have to remember that I can eat them during my 'snack' meals as well. I try to eat 5 small meals a day, and divide the calories roughly evenly. So, there isn't really a 'snack' time anymore. I have breakfast, lunch, afternoon 'snack', dinner, and a night 'snack'. I try to range between 1200-1600 calories for the day, and usually the low end of that. I have to remember to factor in how many calories my dessert is. I try to have one a day. If I end up having half of it, that just means I can enjoy it for a longer period of time. 

I stopped doing my sit-ups at one point while I was taking the muscle relaxer, so I'm starting over this week. It's 10 of them twice a day this time. Haven't started up my walking again yet, but hope to soon. These shoes have been taking a while for me to really get used to them. But, I guess most new shoes are that way.Found out they might be slightly too big for me. There's a bit of empty space above where my toes are. And, if I don't have the laces tight and double knot them, they feel like they're going to fly off. Makes it kind of comical to walk in when they're that loose.Maybe I should have tried the 7 instead? But, I'm weary of that. (I haven't fit into a 7 in years, makes me wonder though. I'm usually a 7 1/2.) It might just mold to my foot after making it tight for a while. We'll see...

Finished the 2nd and last season of Tsubasa Chronicle. That left it hanging with barely any questions answered. Almost like they were expecting to make another season out of it, but this season originally aired in 2006. (The first season started in 2005.) That's a long hiatus if it were to come back.Certainly left it wide open. 

I read that the manga was published from 2003 to 2009, so it seems that there's more to the manga version at least. I feel like I'm going through CLAMP shows backwards. CLAMP is the all women manga-ka (manga authors/creators) group. I watched all of xxxHolic first, even the live-action drama. I read a good chunk of that series, too. Loved it, and still do. Tsubasa Chronicle's first volume of the manga came out 3 months after xxxHolic's. They're connected and there is quite a bit of crossover. 

I feel like I'm going backwards, because the anime versions were switched. Tsubasa is older than xxxHolic that way by about a year. Yuko the 'interdimensional witch' is in both. Watanuki had one or two appearances in Tsubasa, as well. Also, there are 2 Mokona (they describe them as rabbit-like creatures. They're kind of like mascots), the white one travels with Shaoran and his group in Tsubasa, and the black one stays with Yuko at her shop in xxxHolic. Also, there are apparently many references to Cardcaptor Sakura. One of the main characters from Tsubasa, Sakura, is based off of the main in Cardcaptor. Shaoran's in that one too. Even Sakura's kingdom of Clow is in Cardcaptor (I think it's used as a last name in that one). They had several other characters from that series too. I think I saw Chii from Chobits at one point. 

I'm thinking of watching Cardcaptor Sakura to replace that slot. It's quite a bit older than Tsubasa and xxxHolic, but looks somewhat interesting. (Plus, with all the references to it, I think I should watch it to get the full picture.) And, if it's by the same people, it might be good. It started airing in 1998, a couple of years after Rurouni Kenshin started. So, I'll be watching 2 shows from that 'era' if I like Cardcaptor enough. 

I'm thinking of watching an OVA or basically special of Tsubasa that might explain some more things. It seems a lot darker, but one of the things it might answer is the truth behind him and his 'doppelganger'. They just barely touched that subject, and the organization who's watching them travel didn't do much. They kept saying they were planning something big, but nothing specifically came up.They interfered a few times, but didn't actually change anything. We just know that they don't want Sakura to get all her feathers (they hold her memories), they have Shaoran's doppelganger in a weird tank, and they despise Yuko. 

Oh, and apparently CLAMP's going to continue both xxxHolic and Tsubasa manga versions. The original xxxHolic manga had stopped in 2011. xxxHolic was picked up again about a year ago under the title 'xxxHolic: Rei (Return)'. For Tsubasa, they stopped the original run of the manga in 2009. Tsubasa's manga version comes back this month under the title 'Tsubasa: World Chronicle'. (That's an even longer hiatus...) Maybe I should look into Tsubasa's manga version. It might finally answer things, too. Plus, I know there's more to it if they picked it up again. Probably should go back to reading xxxHolic, too...

Finished the 10th short story to my nightmare anthology. Started the 11th one yesterday. The original recurring nightmare that this one is based on is pretty short, so it should be interesting to see how it turns out. This was the last recurring nightmare I wrote down from my list. So, I'm not sure if it'll be the last one, or I'll add another...(I've had many more recurring nightmares. It was the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.) I was thinking of trying to do 13 when I started, but that also sounds cliche.11 might be good. I guess I'll see how I feel about it when I'm through with this one...

I've been coloring in my drawings of my characters from Alliance's outfits/extras. I really wanted to do something with my colored pencils. I've had them for a while, and don't use them that often, so this was fun.Most of it is turning out better than I expected. Also, moved onto editing the 2nd part of the 'angry' section of the exaggerated emotions meme in Photoshop. Junko (who's also in my story, Alliance), looks hilarious as being angry. No matter how I drew this section, she looked very funny.She's the type of character that hides her emotions well, but looks like she's happy most of the time. She can be blunt and a glutton, though. 

Finished studying the kanji 愛, and its compounds. It's a very popular one for names, too. The next one I haven't come across much (there aren't any common compounds listed for it), but the one after that seems like it's everywhere. That means there might be a lot of compounds for that one...Did pretty well on JapaneseClass' site. I've ranked pretty highly for the last couple of days on the top 20. Overall, my rank is soaring. Yay! 

I'm getting back into Pinterest. It's helping me get more in touch with my 'style' in the fashion sense. I used to be in tune with it for a while, then I guess I became numb to it.Now I'm starting to really get it again. I guess it might be called warm, classic, and rich feeling. Not rich as in wealth, but in colors and feel. (I don't like when something looks like it's just for the super wealthy. That's not practical for me, and makes me feel weird.) Not sure what all of that together would be called.My friends used to tell me that I had my own style. I don't know. I do know that fall colors always look good on me. That might influence it a bit. Sometimes I'll go for a couple days without anything peaking my interest, and sometimes it feels like suddenly there's a bunch of things I like on Pinterest. I look at those and try to find similar things, or even just similar colors, when I go out to the mall. At least, that's what I plan to do more often. It'll help me figure out what interests me so I could focus on that instead. I'm also looking at jewelry on there. It'll also give me ideas.

I might drop Juui-san, Jiken Desu yo. The subs' timing has been very off.Plus, the actual show feels kind of flat for some reason. It's funny, but something's missing from it. The stories behind the pet owners are kind of lukewarm. If I do drop it, I'll start another anime to replace its spot. That would mean I'm only watching 2 dramas at the moment. Sad.I like both of them, and they seem pretty engaging. So, at least I'll stick with them.