Oh, the Exhaustion!

December is a very, very, very hectic and overcrowded month this year. And to further muddle things, I'm now on three preventative daily drugs for migraines (all of which have "fun" side effects) and I have given up dairy products. No egg nog, no delicious holiday creamers, no ice cream, no cheese. It's a miserable experiment, but I have got to find out whether or not foods are influencing my migraines. So, December is "non-dairy month" and January will be (shudder) "wheatless month". In February, I'll try giving up caffeine and chocolate. Hopefully, by then I'll be able to discern if anything makes a difference. With a thesis looming in my future, I have to do whatever it takes to get the migraines under control.

On the bright side, I discovered that Silk makes their own version of egg nog without any dairy, so I've been consoling myself with that. I also found, after considerable searching, an ice cream that is made from coconut milk. It actually tastes better than most ice cream, but the price is enough to bring on a migraine! I've reserved it for a very special treat.

My final days of graduate classes are upon me; after the 13th of this month, all I'll have left is my thesis. The workload for these last ten days is staggering: two research papers, two required books to read (on top of what I read for research), two presentations, an arduous quiz, and two book reviews. And, of course, I still have my two jobs. And I have a puppy to housebreak. And I am on the church hospitality committee. And I'm sending out applications for further education upon graduation.

Pardon me for a moment while I go whimper.

Okay, that feels better. In happier news, Sidhe Eyes is still progressing at an acceptable rate, though I'm not quite certain how I've been managing it. I'm now on chapter 5 of Book Two, which means Book Two is about a fourth of the way done. I'm going to go back and add to Book One in order to balance things better, since I believe that Book Two will probably require twenty chapters, and Book One only has thirteen. I'm hoping to get a lot done over Christmas break.

I have narrowed down my list of programs to apply to. I'm going to apply to three PhD programs and two post-graduate certificate programs, all of which excite me. I'm also applying for adjunct positions at several universities and sending in applications to a few other possibilities. As I've said before, I am really keeping my options open. Overall, I'd prefer to stay here, but I'm open to alternatives.