I need chocolate. Now.

Is it the beginnings of PMS or the rainy day that's making me want to eat everything in sight? Oooh or is it a deadly combination of BOTH? Kiss my normal body image goodbye; for the next couple of weeks I will be in HELL.

So far, August has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster (oh good, add emotional eating in to the mix, too) with the loss of my grandmother August 6th, the illness of an aunt in Iowa, the month-long break from classes, and our upcoming vacation which we are very much looking forward to. Desert roses, hiking boots, giant hairy scorpions (yes, I'm serious. And they're nocturnal, which is great because I won't run into one during the day, but it makes me worried that at night they're roaming freely? God help me) have been all that's our minds since we started saving in January and now it's almost here! I've been acting like a scatterbrain lately, too, so I'm looking forward to the breath of fresh (hot) air.

My grandma's passing has been hard; she lived a long life, had four children and lots of grandchildren, and was a tough, but loving, woman. It seems like she really held our family together. Now, as my cousin said regarding her death 'It's the end of an era'. My childhood is marked with her presence, and with my mom's passing in 1993, having her own mom around somehow was comforting. She died a week short of her 97th birthday, which was yesterday. I sort of imagined she'd live forever :) She will never be forgotten, of course, and I will always hold her dear. I thought a lot about how she and my mom are together now, and when I die (hopefully when I"m in my 90's, too) I'll have the two of them waiting for me. Makes it a lot more welcoming of a passage.

Fall will bring a new car for Bob, (he's currently strategizing), a big fat research paper for me, and more vacation anticipation as we prepare for the holidays and our annual trip to Vermont. We've had our eye on a little house about an hour away and will check in when we return from our vacation. We've agreed that if it is still on the market in another month, we will take the next step and see what happens.

For now it's me, the lazy cat, and the rain - happy Sunday!