Day 15

0814h. Slept in. So did husband. However, hear no screaming from either of children's rooms.

0830h. Meander out of bed. Husband said he would let me sleep in this morning.

0832h. Join the bedlam outside in kitchen. Husband and son are preparing the ingredients to make an omelette. Hmmm...that sounds tasty.

0901h. Eating omelette and preparing to Skype with sister in Ireland.

0907h. Z knocks down glass of water. Receives firm recriminations from husband and starts to sulk.

0908h. Z still sulking with eyes starting to well with tears. We ignore.

0909h. Sister points out popsicle she is eating--which includes some chocolate on the top. Wow, she is suffering from severe nausea and even she can eat chocolate? That doesn't seem fair...

0915h. Z still sulking. Happen to come by her chair and she gestures for a hug. Give her same and all is forgiven--starts to chatter to Auntie in Ireland.

0946h. Discussing backsplash/tile color ideas with sister's significant other. Suggest oxblood since they want a red tone. Drat, must get ready for work.

1015h. Arrive late to work. No foil wrappers in mailbox today. "Tom" emailed a vehement denial last night. Actually believe him. Wonder who the culprit is.

1104h. Playing pirate ship at home. Son is arguing with husband over who is the captain.

1116h. Z wants to read story. Read several. N comes by with glass of water and pours over my leg (accidentally). Change out of jeans into dry clothing. Flip sofa cushion over.

1118h. Resume reading story.

1211h. Kids eating lunch; I steal a few moments to read novel. Realize I didn't even pay close attention to book cover (with lemon cake and chocolate icing) this time.

1224h. Decide to put some frozen cookie dough into oven.

12267h. Take cookies out. Gee, those chocolate chip cookies look so darn good. All ooey-gooey goodness.  Be strong! (Isn't that some of kind of slogan for some ex-boyfriend of a rocker, ex-cyclist, testicular cancer survivor? Bet he hasn't survived 30 days without chocolate! Or was it "Live Strong?")

1334h. Going for run with much younger comrade. Shins aching a bit. Remind myself to resume physiotherapy exercises.

1414h. Joking about going for computerized running analysis. Reminded about cocky, strange, braggart fellow comrade and I met a few months ago and his flamboyant story of undergoing muscle biopsy testing to find out what type of exercise his body is suited for. Wonder if my good fortune (ie/very comfortable salary) makes me come across similarly?

1416h.  Contemplate how I spend money. Years ago (as a poor student reliant on student loans, etc), paid close attention to how much everything cost. Remember hearing of a teacher who went to The Sony Store to buy her son's birthday gift because it was much more convenient that way even if it cost more. At the time, I thought to myself that going to a discount store would have made much more sense. Now I realize sometimes one's time is actually more precious than the money that might be saved in getting the best deal. Yet find it difficult to spend excess money on everyday things but enjoy being able to treat myself to special meals, superb coffee, functional (and cute) workout wear on occasion (which inevitably seems to always lead to lululemon--damn you lulu!), gifts for close friends and family...but I guess saving on my toilet paper allows me more resources to spend money on the fun stuff.

1545h. Finished 15.55km. Wowee. Admit to myself that I actually buy into this whole 10' run/1' walking method. It does work!! Run at much faster pace than would otherwise. Even survived steep, long hill at the end of run. Although--I think I might feel a heart palpitation kicking in...

1617h. Enjoying fantastic date smoothie. Forced to share some with 3 mooches named T, N and Z.

1619h. Son whining re: playing downstairs with his sisters. Explain that this is not a possibility (ie/ditching them upstairs)--also point out that there is beautifully decorated playroom downstairs that no one is utilizing!

1701h. All of us are hanging out in playroom and no blood has been shed (yet.) Reading stories with Z while N throws memory game cards all over the place.

1730h. Loud stomping from upstairs. Realize husband is signalling us to come upstairs for dinner. Really? Floor stomping?

1731h. T has minor melt-down due to the interruption of his floor puzzle. Ignore and haul him upstairs.

1734h. Dinner time. Not hungry: feeling nauseated and the beginnings of a headache. After downing a few acetaminophen, realize that this is a migraine. Hmm, but why?

1805h. T and N are running around like wild animals. T swiped N's bag (she is the quintessential bag lady and shoe lady...boy is she going to cost me a lot of money in the future) and N is trying to re-claim it. Z is providing a play-by-play (in a dialect of English that only she understands) because she is still munching on her pineapple. The girl loves pineapple! She inhales it like I would inhale chocolate almonds after an all-day fast (AKA Ramadan). Yesterday, her and T managed to eat an entire pineapple between themselves.

1808h. Z has joined the sprinting in the hallway. Now they are screaming like banshees. Really, they are. What are banshees anyway?

1809h. Husband and I are smiling at each other and covering our ears with our hands. I truly think this pitch of screaming must be within a dog's hearing range.

1907h. Cleaning kitchen table while son enjoys coconut-butterscotch cookie and milk. Wonder how people with migraines who discover that chocolate is a trigger live a healthy, fulfilling life? I mean--severe head pain or chocolate? What an awful choice to make...almost like deciding which of your children to save from a rabid dog or something...of course, I would choose chocolate (and the child with the greatest future earning potential--just kidding). One can always take analgesics for the migraine. That is why God invented them.

1927h. Thinking of analgesics, remember funny plot element from "Death At a Funeral." Fellow has a bottle of pills marked "valium" when in actuality they contain an acid-like/hallucinogenic substance. As you can imagine at a funeral, the "valium" is taken by various characters and frivolity ensues. Very funny movie.

1939h. Wow, past the half-way mark of this chocolate-free experiment. Feeling pretty good; enjoying a light dinner of greek-style yogurt (a whopping 18g of protein per 3/4 cup serving) with some vanilla yogurt (a measly 5g of protein per 1/2 cup serving), frozen raspberries and shelled hemp seeds. I know, sounds a bit odd but a light meal is what I need to soothe my tipsy-topsy, migraine tummy.

2020h. Drat, missing first part of "60 Minutes." Must turn on TV. Must eat chocolate. Must clean laundry room. OK, just the 1st and 3rd parts.