Immediately after my last post, cedar fever hit..and it hit hard. I’ve spent most of this past week in an oxygen-deprived haze. Decongestants were laughable, tissues were finite, and I didn’t get more than a couple hours of sleep each night from Saturday through until Thursday, when the levels of cedar pollen dropped low enough for my allergy meds to finally catch up.

It’s been a week.

The sun did finally return, but the warmer weather brought the cedar back in full force, so I’ve been “enjoying” it from the safety of my air purifier-ed apartment. This too shall pass, of course. Cedar fever is hardly the worst thing that anyone could be suffering through, but it certainly knocked me down for the count this week and put a hold on a lot of my creative intentions. One loses motivation for ‘honest’ self-portraits when it ‘honestly’ looks like Nature punched you in the face.

Basically, like this.

It feels like I’ve fallen behind on a lot this week. When I haven’t been at work, I’ve been finishing up wedding photos (and huzzah – they are DONE as of tonight.) The past two Sundays at church have been especially long, even though it’s been for good reason, and that’s really cut into my weekend introverting/cooking/cleaning groove..but this, too, shall pass.

All that to say: it’s 8:30pm on a Sunday and this is what my kitchen looks like:

I’d be more than happy to put off the making of more dirty dishes, if not for the minor detail that if I don’t finish cooking I won’t have anything to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner (or snack) tomorrow.

Also, my mom is going to be here in three days.

I do enjoy cooking, and I enjoy bringing order to my space, and there is something particularly satisfying about wrapping up the weekend with sink free from dishes and a fridge full of food. It’ll all be worth it in, oh, another couple hours.

Until then…there is only one time-honored way to make all that time in the kitchen worth it.

Current soundtrack: Shut Up and Dance