Caffeine Infusion

I will officially be 35 years old in less than a week now. Yes, it's true. I might look like I'm in my twenties, but next Monday, I will officially be half-way to 70, and worse yet, I'll be less than 5 years to 40. [GASP!]

OK, seeing that in black and white, just scares me. I'm shivering now just thinking about it. I know a lot of people have survived to 40 and beyond. I'm glad for them, and I understand that there can be life after 40, but the concept frightens me deeply. [Take a deep breath, Mel. There you go...] NAH! I'm really just fine. I might have a slight panic attack at 39 and 3/4. I'll keep you posted on any developments should they occur, but I think it's a bit too soon to start on medication for those episodes now, don't you? HA!

Well in anticipation of my 35th birthday, my co-worker Michele brought me a special treat yesterday at lunchtime. She ordered some chocolate ice cream cupcakes from Maggie Moo's and brought them to me early since she will be out on vacation during my birthday. I thanked her, admired the decadent treats for a moment or two and then stuck them in the freezer. I'll save them for later, I told myself.

Unfortunately, yesterday was a headache day. So I was popping migraine pills and drinking Diet Mountain Dew (for the first time in a long while) as I attempted to fight off the pulsating twinge. [And when I say popping, I only took 2 pills here, you all. Don't panic and dial 911 to get my stomach pumped. I used the term "popping" loosely for it's dramatic effect only. AHEM!] Well, by 4 PM, I was feeling a lot better, and I kept picturing those poor little chocolate cupcakes sitting alone in the freezer abandoned to the cold. So, I thought I'd go ahead and indulge in one of the chocolate treats just to spread out the calories, you know. WOW! It was delicious. There was a thin layer of chocolate cake, followed by 3 inches of rich chocolate ice cream all drizzled in a fudgy chocolate frosting. Amazing! I tried to determine the amount of Weight Watcher points I had gulped down as I savored each mouth-watering morsel. Ahhh...now that was good! Yes, I went about the rest of my day with a smile on my face. [sigh!]

I worked until 6 PM last night, headed home for dinner, watched a DVR program, blogged a wee bit, facebooked, talked to my oldest niece on the phone (she turned 19 yesterday) and then headed to bed. Well, 30 minutes later I was still wide awake. So I got up and did some reading? But after 30 more minutes, I still wasn't feeling sleepy at all. What was the matter with me? Why couldn't I sleep? What was going on? And then my blonde moment came to a screeching halt, and suddenly I could see everything pretty clearly.

1. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday afternoon. I love Diet Dew, but I tend to restrict my access to it for this very reason. I'm a former caffeine-junkie, but I just don't live in that world any more, and I certainly don't enjoy copious amounts of caffeinated drinks after 2 PM usually.

2. That cupcake was wonderful with all it's rich, velvety chocolate cake along with the creamy, chocolate ice cream topped with that fudgy, devils food icing...Hmmmm? Do you supposed there might have been a wee bit of caffeine in there, too? Maybe just maybe? HELLO!

3. I had totally done this to myself. I could blame it on my attempts to self-medicate using my herbal methods of Diet Dew and cacao, but come on, I should have known better. Ever since I took myself off regular doses of caffeine several years ago, I just can't have large amounts of it without it affecting me. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm old, and I had wired myself. HA!

So I did some more reading into the wee hours of the morning and worked on my Bible study workbook. Finally around 2 AM, I headed back to bed for a few hours of sleep before returning to work again this morning. WHEW! I don't think we'll be doing that again any time soon; although, that ice cream cupcake was pretty incredible. Hmmmm...maybe I should consider having one for breakfast tomorrow? That could work in my favor. YUM!

One more thing I feel the need to point out. I still lost 1.6 pounds this morning when I weighed in. I love that. This brings Diet Girl's total weight loss to...WAIT FOR IT...(Can I get a drumroll please? Thanks!)...75.8 pounds. YES! I broke 75 pounds today. WOOHOO!! I'm a bit giddy about that, can you tell? Or maybe it's just the residual effects from my caffeine infusion of yesterday's mishap? Hee hee!