I posted a plea for help on the Atkins board yesterday about my wildly expanding girth. I received many helpful suggestions, including: possible Candida overgrowth, possible birth control pill hormone problems, need for more water, and need for less food.

I had already purchased my "Yeast Fighters" supplements at the health food store because I typically treat Candida whenever I have to take antibiotics. And I'll be eliminating the birth control pill option in five days. Count 'em: 5. Scary!

As for the additional water and less food, I'll have to try that out. Problem is... I don't feel as though I gorge on food. I know I eat a lot of food but hell, I'm hungry! And it's always the good stuff: protein and veggies. How can you eat too much of those?!

I'm going to increase my water intake and attempt to decrease my food intake. We'll see how it goes.

I myself have been racking my mind, trying to come up with the culprit to my rapid weight gain. I've since eliminated caffeine and artificial sweetener from my diet... and wine. No more morning Ceylon tea or evening red wine for me! *insert many, many tears here*

As for exercise, last night was the first day in six days that I didn't do my pilates. So far, so good. I can already tell that my belly isn't protruding as much and that's always a good thing.

The surprising thing is how sore I am. Pilates works your core but, surprisingly enough, my shoulders and forearms are sore, too. What the...?!

The 1 hour program is a killer. I am always pleasantly surprised by how sore my abs get after that one. I mostly do the 20 minute program because who has the time for a 1 hour workout on a daily basis? Surely not me. I don't get as sore with the 20 minute workout, though.

I finally broke down and bought one of those new-fangled alarm clocks with attached light bulb. What a waste of money! For $90, you'd think it would be Sharper Image quality and encased in stainless steel, but no. It's seriously a piece of junk. The plastic casing doesn't display good craftsmanship and I can't even get my favorite local radio station to come in without excessive static!

Another thing I noticed: The light bulb doesn't help at all. Why? Because I can sleep until well past sunrise on a sunny day without problem. Why did I think a light bulb would be enough to wake me up? What was I thinking?

Humph. Well, maybe it will come in handy during the dreary dark winter months....

I can only hope. In the meantime, I'm tempted to plug in my regular ol' $20 "Dream Machine" alarm clock again.

Memorial Day itself was good even though the weekend wasn't because the weather rained on our parade. Frankly, I can't even remember what I did Saturday and Sunday.

On Memorial Day, the sun was shining bright. I wore shorts (!). M and I took my bouncy red ball down to the park and played hand ball. Then we sauntered over to the band stand and watched some live Blues and felt the earthquake. It was funny watching people's reactions. Some people got up and looked at the ground. Most people, however, looked around confusedly. The band played on.

Our house seriously looks like a meth lab minus the needles. M got a wild hair to restore his jukebox and has totally torn it apart inside our house. He can't easily take it down to the garage because it's too unwieldly and heavy to maneuver down two flights of narrow stairs.

So there's old foam dust strewn on the floor, scrunched up dirty paper towels laying around, and metal parts and screws everywhere. I'm fairly disgruntled. M promises it will be finished within the next couple days. It'd better!

I tried making our living quarters a little more livable by cleaning the bathroom on Monday night and placing a single white rose from the yard in a cut-crystal bud vase on the sink. That was quickly destroyed once M went to wash his hands, getting dirty water all over the countertop. Bickering ensued. Why do I even try? M would be perfectly happy living in squalor. Problem is... I wouldn't. I agree with Trader Joe: "cleanliness is next to godliness."

I've really got to find a housekeeper soon before I suffer a mental breakdown.

Time to work.