She's very nervous about the plane trip; not the flying part, but the checking-in part. She hasn't been on a plane in 22 years, since my family went to Orlando the last time together. She's deathly afraid that she'll go to the wrong gate, or not have the proper identification, or that she won't know where to check in her bags. I tried telling her it's pretty much foolproof, but I don't think she'll relax until she's safely on the ground at her destination airport.

I think she's checked on her boarding pass at least ten times tonight. I know she'll have fun, but I don't know if she'll manage to get there without having a heart attack due to stress.

After a crappy week, health-wise, I'm back on track in terms of diet and exercise. I spent a lot of last week with my face buried in a packet of French fries and chocolate ice cream, which was kind of fun, but also kind of disgusting. I gained about 4 pounds in the past 10 days, which I needed, but not really that way.

I logged all my calories on fitday, and got to the gym twice. My weightlifting went really well; I managed to increase the weights on just about every exercise. I also went running for the first time since the Friday before last. I got in 3.5 miles at a steady pace and didn't feel like dying, so I don't think I did too much harm to myself with the extra fat and sloth-like behavior.

In a way, I think I might have done myself a bit of a favor with the missing workouts and extra food. I feel much stronger than I have for awhile. My waistline hasn't increased too much, but my t-shirts are fitting a little tighter, which I'd like to believe is a sign of muscle growth.

One of Sean's favorite expressions is "You don't need bigger muscles, you just need tighter t-shirts!" (said in an Ah-nuld voice). I have bought a number of medium-sized shirts, as opposed to the large or extra-large I usually wear, so I could be setting myself up to feel muscular when I haven't really earned it.

I'll take my gains where I can, though.

One step closer to the house purchase! I got my insurance paperwork in the mail today. I have to fill it out and pay for my first year of insurance before I close.

I keep feeling like there's something I've overlooked which will come back to bite me on the ass sometime just before papers are passed. I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief when my mortgage is done. I'll feel even better when I have a bank check for the down payment. However, I don't think I'm going to be entirely comfortable until I have the keys in my hand and have spent the first night in my new digs.

Less than a month now. I have my fingers crossed, which makes it kind of hard to type.