progress

(can you tell I love peas?)

I'm currently being knocked flat by a sudden allergy to all of DC, it seems.  After acclimating to the extreme pollen situation in North Carolina, I considered myself evolutionarily superior when I didn't experience any related symptoms thus far this spring in DC.  


And then I started walking to and from work every day.  And then I went to Gold Cup on Saturday and spent all day outside.  

(No, really, I did.  I even actually watched the races)

So now I feel like I drank a giant cup of pollen with my breakfast of dust.  And I guess my body isn't used to experiencing allergies, because I feel like I'm actually coming down with something (headache, exhaustion, loss of appetite).  But don't worry, I popped some motrin, claratin, and took my temperature with the handy thermometer my mom put in my stocking the Christmas after I came down with a vicious case of bronchitis and refused to see a doctor initially. (No fever, score). 

The very very last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner.  But my incredibly guilty conscience was nagging me. If you aren't going to sit here and actually, seriously focus on your GRE book, you could at LEAST cook real food for dinner. And that chicken you defrosted isn't going to stay good forever.  And you already paid for it.  And some protein some time within a week is generally a wise idea. And..

Fine, fine, FINE, conscience.  You win.  

So I shuddered through slicing up the chicken (seriously, touching raw meat is an issue), and threw some of Trader Joe's garlic naan in the oven.  Just so the garlic wouldn't feel bad about being the only overwhelming scent in the meal, I generously coated my chicken with the spice mix I first used for Moroccan spiced shrimp.  Just to make things really...fragrant...I tossed the peas in olive oil and curry powder.  Hey, you have to take advantage of living alone and being single while you can, right? 


I've always been guilty of giving in to laziness or exhaustion and skipping over legit dinner-prep in favor of something easy but empty (i.e. a box of Kraft mac n cheese or take out), and while I was better during Lent, I fell back in to my old habits after Easter.  So I'm happy that even as I was half-asleep on the couch daydreaming of ordering in, I managed to get up and cook something well-rounded and not repulsive (unless you consider garlic, Moroccan spices, and curry powder repulsive, and then we just can't be friends). Progress!


Now, I haven't exactly progressed to eating at my dinner table just yet (the ottoman works just fine, thanks.  and eating at my table alone seems sad), but at least we're past the days of eating mac n cheese directly out of a saucepan (yeah, that happened...it was called college...don't judge).