You Might Say It's Self Destructive

I've been having a lot of health problems recently.

I've been rundown, tired, and sick a lot. Every cold I came near, I contracted. I couldn't sleep. I slept too much. I could barely keep my eyes open in the afternoon. I had no motivation. I was bruising easily. My hair and skin were dry. The former was falling out, the latter was flaky.

Along with a few other issues I'm having, Dr. Google told me I had a thyroid problem.

Okay, I can handle that. So I went to a real doctor (because, really, have we even seen Dr. Google's credentials?) and got lots and lots of blood drawn to test.

I don't have a thyroid problem. Suck it, Google.

What I do have? Malnourishment. I'm anemic, vitamin D deficient, calcium deficient, and a bunch of other types of deficient.

Which is nothing, really. I mean, when it comes down to it, I just need to start eating.

I guess I probably don't eat enough pretty often. I forget to eat a lot. If I'm alone, it seems like too much hassle to make food. Plus, if you drink enough coffee, you hardly get hungry at all.

I have a dodgy history with food. I was bulimic as a teenager. I had issues with malnourishment even earlier, in middle school. I was anemic and had to take supplements and get blood drawn regularly, due to my crazy dieting at such a vulnerable age.

I can't eat a lot of food. Dairy and gluten make my stomach hurt. Meat grosses me out. I eat it, certainly. But I can't think about it or look at it too closely.

But I need to start eating.

To borrow from a cliche, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hate getting my blood drawn, which I apparently am supposed to start doing again.

I have a bunch of prescription strength supplements I have to take. Crazy doses, like 50,000IU caplets of Vitamin D, where the normal supplement amount is 100IU.

I'm struggling with this. I made a hamburger for lunch today, which is not my favorite, but I need protein. I used beef and veggies in dinner, too. More protein. Even with all that, I didn't even clear 1,000 calories. More than 300 of those were from my coffee and whiskey (not at the same time).

I'm also going to see a therapist. I've never had counseling before, but my first appointment is on Thursday.

I've started tracking my food again, which I had stopped doing. I'm using MyFitnessPal this time, mostly because I'm a follower.

I need to break my bad habits. I've been failing at this for more than a decade, and it needs to stop.

You're The Kind Of Girl I like

I can't resist these things, I don't know why. Thanks, Avitable!

Q: How does the world see me?
A: Ridin' Solo- Jason DeRulo

Q: Will I have a happy life?
A: Shape of My Heart- Backstreet Boys

Q: What do my friends really think of me?
A: Gorgeous- Kanye West

(I swear I'm not making this up)



Q: Do people secretly lust after me?
A: Love Is An Action- The Hours

Q: How can I make myself happy?
A: Call Me What You Like- Keane

Q: What should I do with my life?
A: Pantomime- Incubus

Q: Will I ever have children?
A: Blood- Editors

Q: What is some good advice for me?
A: She Says- Howie Day

Q: How will I be remembered?
A: All In All- Lifehouse

Q: What do I think my current theme song is?
A: Steady As She Goes- The Raconteurs

Q: What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
A: Gold Soundz- Pavement

Q: What song will play at my funeral?
A: I Wanna Get You Alone- Joseph Arthur

Q: What type of men/women do I like?
A: Rocket Man- My Morning Jacket

Even As I Left Florida

On Sunday, we headed out of Orlando to partake in a Florida EcoSafari. I'd always wanted to try zip-lining, and figured my birthday would be a great time to try something scary. They were booked up on my actual birthday, but Sunday seemed like a great day to try. Mike was nervous and thinking I had lost my mind wanting to do this. Until we got there, when things between us switched drastically. After climbing the first set of stairs to the first platform, Mike declared his love of heights. I, however, felt like I was going to throw up. I'm not usually scared of heights, but this was a whole new animal.


I was getting queasier and queasier.

Totally terrified. The zips themselves weren't so bad. It was the climbing the rickety looking (but I'm sure totally safe) stairs and standing on the swaying platforms that got to me.
The worst of all, though, was the horrifying "skybridges." You may notice from my death grip below, I was not liking those AT ALL. I don't like that they moved when you walked on them. I didn't like that the next person started walking on it before you were done, which made the whole thing bounce like a trampoline.
I also didn't like that pretty much every time I zipped I got turned backwards, somehow, so in this lovely video you'll see what I was doing to try to right myself (which is the completely wrong way to do it). And if you look really carefully, you'll notice where the rope knot hits me in the face when I land. Not on video is where I ran into a tree. Well, my arm anyway.

How Not To Zipline from Amanda Hall on Vimeo.


I survived it. And I didn't throw up until after I was safely in their lobby bathroom. It's my new deal: You scare me, I puke in your bathroom. It wasn't a horrible experience, because at least I can say I did it. I didn't do it gracefully, but I finished, without crying. Mike had a fantastic time, at least, and that counts as a lot for me.

After I spent the rest of the day recuperating, we met up with Avitable for dinner at the Hard Rock, where he took my meeting a blogger virginity. I've never had the opportunity to meet up with a blogger before (because for some reason, people don't vacation here often. I just can't see why not.)

Then on Monday, it was time for the reason we went to Orlando: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There's not a lot I can say beyond that it was fantastic. If you're a fan of Harry Potter, you must go experience this. We arrived well before opening time, and the lines weren't ridiculous. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.
The food at the Three Broomsticks was so good, we ate there for lunch and dinner. I will say, I found Butterbeer to be horrible. I guess if you like cream soda it's good, but I couldn't choke it down. I didn't like the pumpkin juice, either. I did enjoy the beer they have specially brewed for them, though.
The attention to detail was amazing. It legitimately felt like you were walking through Hogwarts. It helped that we were early enough to avoid super long lines, and could walk through the building at our own pace. The paintings talked to you (of course) but it really looked like oil paintings were speaking.
I was particularly taken with the charm of the buildings in the Hogsmeade portion. It was bustling just like a city, too, so the only decent shots I have are just of the rooflines.
I think the Ollivander's part was not worth waiting in line for an hour for a 5 minute performance where a kid you don't know gets chosen for a wand, but we did purchase a few wands at the end. One was for Mike's sister in law, the other was for "me," but it's the wand Mike thought looked the coolest (Sirius Black's). Now I just need to figure out what the hell to do with it. I assume it will stay in it's box in a closet.

After we had thoroughly toured the area, we did the rest of Islands of Adventure, then went to the regular Universal Studios part (per the recommendation of Avitable) and had a great time with all that as well. We went back to the Harry Potter part when the sun went down, and it was just as pretty at night. Our camera didn't have a great night mode, so the pictures don't capture it very well.

And that was it! The next day we flew home. None of our flights were canceled, so I'll consider that a win.

Florida

We just got home from a quick long weekend in Florida. It was my birthday on Saturday so we decided to get away for a little bit to celebrate. We chose Orlando because I've been dying to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We flew in on Friday and didn't have anything to do specifically, so while driving around slightly aimlessly, we found an Ikea. I've never been to one before since we don't have one here, but I've always wanted to see it. And man, did I love it.

The next day was my birthday, so we decide to drive to the beach and have lunch at Crabby Joe's (the yellow building on the pier)

Then we went for a long walk on the beach. It was cold and windy, but beautiful (especially since the beach was deserted) (please pretend I don't look pregnant in this picture. I'm not. I just arch my back in pictures for no reason)

Since we were in the area, we decided to check out the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. Which, while beautiful...
was a horrible thing to do. Who want to climb all these stairs on their birthday? My legs were screaming at me by the time we reached the top.
We took it easy that night and had a pleasant dinner and many dirty martinis. We walked by Wonderworks after dinner and decided to give it a shot even though I had read horrible reviews for it.
And you know what? It wasn't bad. It was definitely overpriced (and it takes a LOT for me to think something is overpriced) but it was fun. (That could maybe be the dirty martinis talking). Or at least, it was fun, until we reached the ropes course portion. I climbed to the first platform and immediately turned around and came back down. My boyfriend, however, enjoyed playing around.
Then I tried to switch memory cards in my camera because mine was full, and stuck the wrong card in it. It's wedged in there now and I have no idea how to get it out. Mike will be doing exploratory surgery on it tomorrow. So I don't have the pictures from the rest of the trip because they were taken on his camera which I assume is in his luggage somewhere, which is no with me. So hopefully I'll get them soon and be able to recap the rest of the trip (it gets way more interesting from here).