...that I haven't felt like my workload was a sledgehammer driving me into the ground. I am still going to come in and work this weekend, which should give me some peace of mind, since I live in fear of missing a deadline. I cannot continue to work on a desk that is piled high with files. It makes me jumpy, and I start misplacing documents and deadlines, which is deadly in the practice of law. Plus, I have a union meeting at the building on Saturday, so I'll kill two birds with one stone.

In other good news, the last day of schools all over the state occurred this week, so I should get a little bit of a break on case generation in the coming weeks.

In yet more good news, I went to the doctor today to give blood, so that Baby Doc can check my enzyme levels and cholestrol, and my blood pressure was normal. That really surprised me, because, with all the stress I've been having lately, I figured it would have shot through the roof, in spite of all the BP meds I'm taking.

I have now begun the elimination of wheat from my diet. No miracles yet, but my feet are not as creaky today as they have been over the past two weeks.

I was on the road for 8 hours on Tuesday, I had a helluva day yesterday that lasted from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and a helluva day today, doing an EEOC mediation with a very distraught client in the morning and union representation (we're having lay-offs and dismissals) all afternoon, and both of my secretaries have been really solicitous and worried-looking for the last couple of days.

Jeanette even sent me an email today saying:

What can I do to help you? I want you to give that question some serious consideration. If we need to sit down next week and work out some kind of plan to get things on track, then that’s what we’ll do.

So, toward the end of the day, I stopped by her cubicle and asked, "Am I looking frazzled?" And she hemmed and hawed and finally said, "Yes. Well, you look a little frazzled, which, for you, is a lot."

And I'm really tired, too. Which you would know, if you could just see my eyes. I'm going to try to eliminate wheat from my diet, because I read some of Dr. Davis' book, "Wheat Belly", at my parents house this weekend, and eliminating wheat is supposed to increase your energy levels.

I know, I know. It's complete and utter trash with no redeeming historic or educational value. But seriously...it was just like watching the wreck of a circus train.

I simply could not tear my gaze away.

How the hell did that happen?

So I walk out of the office building yesterday at 8 p.m., and my first thought is, "why isn't it dark?" It was still as light out, as if it was summer solstice. Then I noticed the moon, which was not full, but was still incredibly bright. I learned later that tonight will be the brightest moon of the year, because it's a full moon during the moon's closest orbit of the earth. I can't wait to see it.

ETA: I was wrong. The moon wasn't quite full last night. It will be full tonight, so this will be the brightest night of the year.

Four of them, one of which may end up being my Steeplechase dress. And all except one in shades of blue and green, my favorite color combination.

The other is a sleeveless ankle-length sheath in a black/cream print that I bought to go with a fabulous Italian wide-brimmmed hat that I have, which is black and natural straw and simply enormous!

My friend Robert, from church, was hosting the event at Valentino's, so he asked me to join him for Dining Out for Life. I have wanted to go to Valentino's for years, so I said "sure". Mike and I put together a party of us and our friend Paula and Mike's friend Margie. It was lovely. I treated everyone (20% of the table goes to DOfL fundraising), and we had a bottle of pinot grigio and a bottle of my favorite chianti, Ruffino. Mike and Paula started with the spinach salad, and I had the pasta y fagioli. For entrees, Paula and I had veal picatta with grilled vegetables (yum!), Mike had roasted chicken with pasta and vegetables, and Margie had the special, filet minion with oven roasted vegetables. For dessert, Mike and Paula shared a bananas Foster, which was prepared tableside (flambe`!), I had the panna cotta, and Margie had the tiramisu. Our waiter, Andre, was charming and attentive. His wife works at the oncology unit at a local hospital, and he was so sweet when he learned that Paula and I are cancer survivors.

All in all, we made a very nice contribution to AIDS/HIV research by having a very nice evening out.

Now, after a glass of pinot grigio and two generous glasses of chianti, I am mellow beyond belief. So I'm going to bed. Ciao, bellas!

I had my annual check-up with my endocrinologist, and he had me undergo a bone scan while I was there. My bone density is 10% above normal. Which is really amazing, because I'm 51, going through menopause, have had thyroid cancer, and have a history of osteoporosis in my family, all of which are factors that could negatively impact my bone density.

The secret to my success? Milk and Vitamin D, ba-bee. I've been drinking milk like water since I was a kid, and I take a truck load of vitamin D every day.

I've made a pot of tomato florentine soup and an Italian picnic salad to take as my contribution to the festivities. Since Virginia is hosting, we can pretty much count on the double feature being British WWII movies.