Success! No, not on the computer-battery front, not yet. We couldn't get an appointment during times when we were free. But I have traction on my conference paper--at last!

My work the past few days has mostly consisted of tweaking my outline, jotting (and deleting) a few lines of text, and doing way more research than is called for. This is a normal loss of nerve that I get when the deadline starts to loom, and I plan my schedule accordingly. Yesterday, I took a pad of paper to a cafe--just a pad of paper and a pen, no outline, no computer, and no access to endless research materials. And there, with nothing else to distract me, I blazed through about a third of the paper. Huzzah!

Today there are plans afoot to go shopping, as my wardrobe is woefully lacking in clothes that are both conference-worthy and which fit me. I continue to lose pregnancy weight at a, well, snail's pace, requiring me to buy all new clothes every few months. It is annoying. I even tried to eat lots of really rich things this month, in the hopes of bumping my weight back up into my previous set of dressy clothes, but no luck. Fats signal the body to feel full, and I would uit eating after smaller portions, so it didn't help raise my total calorie intake enough (the only thing that really matters in weight loss or gain, contrary to all the crap dieting products on the market--seriously, want to lose weight? don't eat any pasta, white rice, potatoes, white bread, or other things made with white flour; these are the most common calorie-dense foods--not to mention, they have very little nutritional value, unlike their unrefined counterparts.) (Fun at parties? Oh, ho, this Snail is just a blast!) I think all I did was slow my weight loss enough to stick me between sizes, which isn't the most convenient outcome.

However, none of that might matter anyway, since the weather is today of the Wrath of the Gods variety. Maybe I can quickly craft something fashion-forward out of, let's see, some sheets, towels, and my son's outgrown baby clothes? Yeah, I'll let you know how that turns out.