The past few days have been full of all kinds of “excitement” that has prevented properly documenting my Whole 30 progress.

To make a long story short, the horribly cold temperatures caused a malfunction in one of our sprinkler system pipes. Fortunately, when that happens, it alerts the nearby fire departments who responded & were able to shut off the water before it became too unholy of a mess. At it is, it’s quite an involved clean-up process.

My office seems to be ground zero for the various crews’ efforts to fix the situation. All those boxes contain books for four sections of the course I teach–they were spared, even though they were stacked behind my office door. Those silver vent dohicks are just 2 of the myriad of cords that are all over the place–I’ve only tripped once. It is an amazing process to watch–but it also means I’m in a different office until at least the end of this week–and then I’ll need a day to put my office back together so I can find everything.

I will admit to being a little discombobulated by the changes. I actually delivered a presentation to prospective students on Friday and my mind went COMPLETELY blank when I was asked a routine question. I haven’t had a blank like that since 7th grade cheerleading try-outs. Sheesh.

Day 7 [Jan. 8]: Classes at my school were canceled again today, although the building was open for business. I should have worn jeans to work–it was quite the mess. The class cancelation meant I didn’t have to cover for another professor, so it was mostly cleaning up and trying to figure out how best to help students pick up their textbooks in those boxes. Nothing too earth shattering in the way of food today, but I did score some gorgeous blackberries at my local market. I used some of them to brighten up the fizzy water I made with my SodaStream. No, it isn’t the glass of red wine I’ve been craving for the past couple stressful days, but it was lovely–especially because the temperatures remain ridiculously low. Something about the fresh burst of a blackberry in your mouth to make you think of summer–it will be here…right?!

Day 8 [Jan. 9]: This was the bad day. The day began with a vivid dream. I was standing before a mirror eating a chocolate chip brownie. And, after shoving it in my face and swallowing half of it, I thought, “Oh, no! I’ll have to start the Whole 30 over again!!!” I guess my brain was trying to remind me to “Look at yourself!!” and not give in to temptations. Kind of a premonition maybe?

They day moved on from there. Being in my office was like sitting on the wing of an airplane. I usually appreciate white noise, but this was something different altogether. My girls had dentist appointments in the afternoon. No cavities, but my youngest [10] is ready for her orthodontic consult. I’m not really ready to be the mother of such big kids. After a day like today, it would, in the olden days, have been pizza night. And, for the other three members of my household, it was.

I just couldn’t bring myself to cook, even though I know I needed to eat. If I looked at another piece of raw chicken, I might implode. In desperation, I decided to roast a head of cauliflower and make cauliflower hummus [so good!]. Unfortunately, something zigged when it should have zagged [I’m going to blame it on wayward tahini] and it was horrible. Not even the right color. Straight down the garbage disposal it went. By then, it was pushing 9 and I was mad. Being around all that cheesy pizza from our favorite place made me nauseated. And, I had a VERY early morning planned for the next day, so I put myself to bed. My husband must have felt sorry for me. He cleaned the kitchen after I’d gone to bed.

Day 9 [Jan. 10]: I dragged my sorry butt from bed at 4:45 a.m. and talked myself into [and out of and into and out of and into again] going to my first boot camp fitness class. A friend had attended, loved it & shared when a Groupon became available over the holidays. My husband gave me the three-day-a-week camp for 4 weeks option as part of my Christmas gifts [as requested by me!] and I needed to get moving. It was great. All different fitness levels. No pressure. Go at your own pace. No judgment. Just the way I need something to be for me to return.

Then, the marathon day began. A follow-up for my oldest with her orthopedist. Her MRI revealed unexpected news–not something as debilitating as arthritis, but not as simple as fluid on her knee either. We’re going to follow-up with specialists in a nearby city. After the appointment and the obligatory stop at Starbucks, it was on to work. A presentation to prospective students, a conference call & teaching my first class of the semester in a four hour span of time–Phew!

My husband took the youngest out to eat & I opted to skip because who needs the drama of trying to figure out what they are putting in your food!? Plus, I was wiped. He came home and made me an awesome steak he had picked up on the way home.

Day 10 [Jan 11th]: No remarkable food moments–the usual egg scramble in the morning between sporting events and such. My youngest’s sports day was great! She made the only goal her indoor soccer team scored against a tough team. Her basketball team went into triple overtime. She was on the foul line and made TWO baskets to have the go ahead point in the second overtime. Then, the opponent scored and we were in triple overtime. She was put on the foul line AGAIN with 8 seconds on the clock. She scored one of two and the other team couldn’t recover. Talk about a cardio workout–for ME, not her!

Once we were home, I decided to try and make my normal, slow cooker marinara recipe in our digital pressure cooker. 45 minutes compared to 6 hours seemed like a plus. I used the ingredients I usually like to use, but followed the instructions I found in this recipe for stovetop pressure cookers. It turned out well, but without a base of flavor I usually find in the slower cooked sauce–I’m going to work on it, though! We used it over Paleo meatballs and it was delish–even the husband ate it.

Day 11 [Jan. 12]: Felt pretty wiped out today–typical of Sunday for me for some reason. I did dishes and laundry and then made a huge batch of zucchini fries. They were tasty & turned out pretty well for the first time I’ve made them. For dinner, I just kept it old school. My husband made hamburgers and bacon. I put mustard on mine and wolfed it down–didn’t even miss the bun. Much.

The Whole 30 blog posted that days 10 and 11 are typically where people wash out and I can see why. The initial enthusiasm has waned; it can be a bit more work to keep yourself stocked & cooking [especially if your go-to is to go out when the going is tough]; and even with the positive changes, you might just put something in your mouth you shouldn’t.

I’m not jumping ship. Just need to refocus, re-motivate and GO TO THE MARKET. Crazy. They are going to know me so well there by the end of this. I’m sure the bakery girls miss my face…and all my chins.