So, last Wednesday was my five-month surgiversary, and as of this morning I've lost 111 pounds. I've also started tracking my measurements, and between January and February, I managed to shave off 7.5" - a full 1" of that from my boobs alone. I don't mind the shrinking boob thing, because I was one of those girls who went from a training bra to a C-cup overnight (at the ripe old age of 12, too) but what I do mind is how expensive good bras are. I've been hanging on to my old ones, trying to pretend like everything fit in there the way it's supposed to, but then on Saturday night Joe and I were at the grocery store and the left "girl" popped out three times. There's nothing quite so humbling as having to adjust yourself in the cereal aisle, is there? I broke down and bought a new bra later that night. Now I have a sum total of two that are the correct size. It would be nice to have more, but things are shrinking at a fast clip and it just seems like a waste of money when I'll have to start all over again in another month or two.

The truth is, it's not just my bras - nothing fits anymore. Nothing. My workout pants dip so low that I'm now tripping over the hem on a regular basis. My winter coat has enough room in it to fit Joe and Skitty in there with me. And my jeans ... don't even get me started on my jeans! Even my panties won't stay up on their own anymore, and when I try to wear this one pair of too-baggy jeans, my undies fall down INSIDE OF THEM. And then I'm digging in denim, trying to get those bad boys back up around my waist. It's uncomfortable and embarassing, but hey - I know there are way worse problems to have. Like diabetes. And hypertension. I'd gladly suffer some panty slippage rather than battle the host of medical ailments I had pre-surgery.

Something else: my body's thermostat is all out of whack. I've always run hot, as did my mother until menopause screwed up her internal temp sensors. Last winter, I would keep the house at 60 degrees, and every once in while, when Joe complained enough, I'd kick it up to 63-64. This winter? We have it automatically set to 62, but the minute we wake up or one of us gets home from work, we pump it up to 66 or higher. The other night I was so frozen, I actually set the thermostat for 68. This is the case even when I'm wearing multiple layers of clothes. We're eating through oil like crazy and I had to order another 150 gallons this morning. My only hope is that I stay cold this summer, and we get away without having to blast the A.C. constantly.

I should find out how heat-sensitive I still am fairly soon, as my friend Wendy and I are taking a girly mini-break to Tampa in a few weeks. Her friend Amir is getting married to the most adorable girl, Pepper, and since Wendy's husband is deathly afraid of flying, I get to be her plus-one. I haven't taken a vacation, even a mini-break, in so long ... in fact, I think the last time I took a non-working vacay of any kind was December 2002. Can that be right? That's just ... wrong. I'm so looking forward to getting away, and catching some sun on one of the resort's private beaches, reading books and being lazy and decadent. Plus, it'll be nice just to have some one-on-one girl time with Wendy. We rarely get to hang out without Joe or her kids. Not that I don't love Joe or Wendy's children, because I do. But, you know. Girls getting to be girls without boys or kids around is a totally different experience.

Still have a handful of research papers to finish grading and then winter session is officially over. Of course, spring semester starts tomorrow, so it's not like I'm getting much of a break. However, I'm excited! I'm teaching creative writing at UD for the first time ever. It's been almost 13 years since I took that same class at UD with Cruce Stark, my mentor for more than half of my life. Fun fact: STELLA is dedicated to Cruce, who's been more of a father figure to me than a mentor. And I'm not the only one who adores him - any time I speak about UD and mention Cruce's name, there's always some student who had him for an English class or took creative writing with him, and they all feel the exact same way.

Off to yoga!