I have a lot of disjointed thoughts today, so you get random paragraphs.

I finished the The Hunger Games series yesterday. I started out with not being terrible into the first book.

Honestly? I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I bought it because we had a coupon and a lot of my friends had raved about it. I started reading it during my 10-15min bike warmups at the gym, and for the first while I was just not drawn in. Up until the last chapter or so, I only read it for that ten minute stretch every day and not at all on the weekends because I just felt like I could easily take it or leave it. Once I got to the last chapter or two, I was definitely more into it. I did like it, I just wasn’t as captivated by it as I’d hoped to be. It must not have been too bad though, since one of the first things I did this morning was get on Amazon and buy the next two books in the series.

Catching Fire was better, faster paced and easier for me to get into.

I finished Catching Fire today, less than two days after I started it. It started off much better than Hunger Games for me, and I was intrigued throughout. As predicted by friends, I was frustrated with the ending, but I’m picking up Mockingjay this afternoon and reading it this week.

I was relatively excited about starting Mockingjay, in no small part because I love reading and often go through dry spells where I just don’t read for a while, and when I get back to a reading habit I remember how much I like it. I did enjoy the final book, but it still wasn’t world changing. Honestly, it left me feeling sort of sad. I mean, I know it’s a post-apocalyptic book, so how happy could it really end up? I guess there’s just something to those sorts of books. What constitutes a happy ending is that everyone goes back to living “normally” but there’s always a creepy sense for me that it’s just the beginning of the same cycle that led them to whatever horrific thing happened the first time around… which then leads to a consideration of the pitfalls of human nature and, frequently, feeling sort of bad about humanity.

So yeah, there’s that… Now I’ve picked up The Adrian Mole Diaries from one of those $1 bag-of-books sales at the local library. I chose it in the hopes of finding something lighter. I’ve also got Uglies on my to-be-read bookshelf, and one of the House of Night novels too, though I haven’t figured out where the one I have fits into the whole series. Any recommendations on books to read next? I think I’m going to start checking them out from the library instead of buying them.

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I also read Zoot’s post this morning, which got me thinking about the power of negativity. We all do it. We make fun of people, comment on their outfits or hair or speech. We gripe about our coworkers, kvetch about our spouses, and complain about our friends. I honestly believe that, to some degree, complaining is a necessary form of stress relief. If I didn’t spend some time venting about work frustrations to Aaron at night, I’d be a lot more unsettled after bad days. That being said, there are still some things I need to work on when it comes to negative thinking.

I can definitely see a difference in how I think of myself when I stop the negative talk about others, which is always the most powerful thing for me. When I stop talking about her hair or his pants or that woman’s shoes, I stop viewing myself as harshly. I want Evi to grow up in the most positive light she can, so I’m trying to call it quits when it comes to pointless judgements and poking fun. It’s just not worth it and it effects me in negative ways.

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Gluten Free (source: http://gfiowa.us)

My belly issues aren’t really getting better. The probiotics are helping, definitely, and I’ll continue taking them until the pills are gone, but I’m still having more issues than I’m comfortable with. My plan all along was to finish out the probiotic supplements, and then consider elimination diets once they were gone if I was still having issues.

After talking to several people about it, I’m seriously considering getting a Celiac panel done at the doctor’s office, and the results may be that I go gluten free at least for a while. I’m super skeptical about it, honestly, as I’m a big believer in the idea of everything in moderation and I’ve never been much for the idea of cutting out a whole category of foods. That being said… I’m exercising, trying to eat well, counting my calories, and I’m not seeing changes. I’m not losing weight. My belly issues aren’t improving enough that I’d classify myself as comfortable. Something has to give.

Other elimination options: caffeine (pls kill me), high fiber foods, high fat foods, dairy.