i don't care how cute you are

Five a.m. is too early, Chita.
It is just too early.
And don't you bite me when I try to push you away. It's not cute.

Why oh why must you wait until 8:30 to curl up and lie there purring and sleepy? Do that at 5! I'd be happier if you did. We'd both be happier, I promise.

Love,

a rather tired and cranky
me

On the upside, I have some cute pictures I took of her with the iSight while holding her in such a way that she could not actually get into trouble. She did keep smacking me in the face though. But not very hard.

Z is sick, and somewhat useless as a result. Sinuses and sneezing and coughing. I tried to pamper him last night but there is just too much shit to do around the house, and Invisible Fish? His bucket, filterless mind you, had an algae bloom after I fed him, so it was urgent we got him out of there and into a proper filtered tank, which meant that I had to nail Z down about how the living room is going to go, as his "Well but I don't think we should do it your way" was not going to actually help me DO IT in any way. In this household now, if you don't propose an alternative, you don't get to voice an opinion-- I just don't have time to guess what you mean.
So we started putting the living room back together, and did get the fish tank set up, but I can't carry the glass-fronted cabinet either up or down stairs on my own, and so I'm going to have to wait Until Z Feels Better, and I have no idea how long that will be, and even less idea how long I have before I get whatever this shit is, and am then sick for, oh, hm. Given my track record, I won't be able to breathe for two months.
Yeah. Awesome. I'd just had the thought and then not allowed myself to complete it that I'd been not-sick for wow, a while now, and no! Don't jinx it!
Fuck.

nutrition

I want to eat better, to cook more for myself and to really pay attention to what goes into my mouth. I have been leaving things to Z a lot, which means I've been eating tasty food, but often cobbled-together from leftover ingredients.
I'm just generally in a place where I want my life to be more organized.

So I'm asking for recommendations on books to read. I want to learn more about nutrition. Following the USDA Food Pyramid That's Now No Longer Pyramidal is retarded or even impossible.

I don't want to go on a "diet"-- I could lose some weight, sure, but mostly, I need a better immune system and I think better nutrition would help. Meanwhile, the person I usually eat with needs to gain about 30 pounds. So I don't want to diet. I just want better food, coherent nutritional advice, and a better understanding of what I need to eat. My mother's guideline of 1 meat, 1 starch, 2 vegetables equals 1 meal has seen me through OK this far, but I want more ideas for whole-meal plans. I have tons of recipes but I never know what to serve with them. I want to figure out meal plans that include side dishes. That kind of thing.

Maybe I'm asking a lot?
But does anyone know of any good books on nutrition that would at least be an interesting read?