Dear Friends,
2015 is finally here! I thought 2014 was never going to come to an end. I've eaten BADLY, let me repeat that ... BADLY this evening! I've had cinnamon bread, some pancetta and cheese roll, and crackers. So first goal of,the new year has been to tn go to the hospital! Since it's almost 3:00 am, I think that's a done deal.
I'm off to sleep and will resume the challenge of tackling life tomorrow. For now, I wish you the most wonderful year!
Cheers!
Lisa
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Day 176 - Tired Out
Dear Friend,
Well, I worked quite hard today, but still wasn't able to get everything ready for the cleaners tomorrow. I've got a good list ready to hit the floor with tomorrow, though. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow I'll have the house and laundry pretty much back under control, except for putting away Christmas things. That shouldn't be too bad, though, because we really didn't get a whole lot out this year. It will still be a pain bringing the boxes upstairs and re packing them and carrying them back down again. I need to decide where to keep them in the basement. Since they are only used once a year, there's a small, narrow area where I think I can put them. They are currently occupying some prime real estate in the basement.
I did get through a lot of laundry and got a lot of cleaning done. I got four large trash bags full of cardboard boxes stacked all inside of one another ready to be set out for recycling tomorrow night whether it's raining or not. I've got a WHOLE lot more boxes to get rid of still! Maybe I should call them to let them know how much I'm going to be setting out there! I'd hate for them to come and decide it was too many and just leave a bunch.
I started flylady again and got my first email today telling me what all to do today. I'm surprised to see how much I've actually held on through the years. She has videos now and I watched one that was so encouraging. I can't remember her motto exactlyk but it's something like "You are not behind! Don't try to catch up, just jump in where you are." Of course, I don't believe it. I AM BEHIND!!!! Will I ever actually be moved into this house? I really don't think so! I don't see how I can keep this huge house clean and do all the laundry, all the groceries, all the cooking, all the dishes, try to have some smidgeon of a personal life, AND finish moving in. AND write! And exercise! So, the only thing to do is to do the things that are IMPORTANT: exercise, yoga, writing, and hope the things that are URGENT get done quasi-adequately without slamming myself for not being able to do it all.
My big toe, and I know you're interested in my big toe!, seems to be healing. It no longer feels like the joint is shattered and I can lift it with just a little bit of pain. The skin on it does keep tearing, but not too bad. The circulation in it has improved and the capillary action seems to be about back to normal. I don't know what has been going on, but I'm glad it's getting better.
That's all I feel like talking about tonight.
Cheers!
Lisa
Well, I worked quite hard today, but still wasn't able to get everything ready for the cleaners tomorrow. I've got a good list ready to hit the floor with tomorrow, though. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow I'll have the house and laundry pretty much back under control, except for putting away Christmas things. That shouldn't be too bad, though, because we really didn't get a whole lot out this year. It will still be a pain bringing the boxes upstairs and re packing them and carrying them back down again. I need to decide where to keep them in the basement. Since they are only used once a year, there's a small, narrow area where I think I can put them. They are currently occupying some prime real estate in the basement.
I did get through a lot of laundry and got a lot of cleaning done. I got four large trash bags full of cardboard boxes stacked all inside of one another ready to be set out for recycling tomorrow night whether it's raining or not. I've got a WHOLE lot more boxes to get rid of still! Maybe I should call them to let them know how much I'm going to be setting out there! I'd hate for them to come and decide it was too many and just leave a bunch.
I started flylady again and got my first email today telling me what all to do today. I'm surprised to see how much I've actually held on through the years. She has videos now and I watched one that was so encouraging. I can't remember her motto exactlyk but it's something like "You are not behind! Don't try to catch up, just jump in where you are." Of course, I don't believe it. I AM BEHIND!!!! Will I ever actually be moved into this house? I really don't think so! I don't see how I can keep this huge house clean and do all the laundry, all the groceries, all the cooking, all the dishes, try to have some smidgeon of a personal life, AND finish moving in. AND write! And exercise! So, the only thing to do is to do the things that are IMPORTANT: exercise, yoga, writing, and hope the things that are URGENT get done quasi-adequately without slamming myself for not being able to do it all.
My big toe, and I know you're interested in my big toe!, seems to be healing. It no longer feels like the joint is shattered and I can lift it with just a little bit of pain. The skin on it does keep tearing, but not too bad. The circulation in it has improved and the capillary action seems to be about back to normal. I don't know what has been going on, but I'm glad it's getting better.
That's all I feel like talking about tonight.
Cheers!
Lisa
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Day 177 - Started Flylady Again
Dear Friend,
Hmmmm. It's shortly after midnight an I am REALLY tired. That's a good thing. I keep meaning to go to sleep earlier, but then I forget as soon as I get in bed and start making my to-do list for the next day.
But part of what I've been doing is something that I have some misgivings about. I told you abut the blog by the psychopath? I put in a question asking whether or not they feel empathy for their pets. This person won't reveal whether they are male or female, but did mention that they have pets and take very good care of them. Well, I got a nice long response back about my question. No, they don't feel empathy for their pet, but they take care of it for other reasons. So I wrote back some and asked a couple of more questions, but not necessarily comfortable with this. Only 1% of the population are psychopaths, but about 3% of corporate CEOs are and 15% of the prison population are. I'm pretty sure I probably know a psychopath or two, so why not try to understand them better by talking with someone who is willing to talk about it. I'm not using my name or my regular email, so I think it's ok. I'll know better after I get a response.
I rejoined flylady this morning. Are you familiar with her? She has an online coaching website to help you get yourself out of living in chaos and get your house and yen life organized. I used to live by her website and it was terribly helpful. I decided it was time to get back to it.
We went to church again today. A really lovely service. Beautiful worshipful music and a very good sermon. Did I mention that we are almost the only non-Koreans there? Koreans seem to be the most populous evangelicals in the area. It thrills me to hear someone from another country praying and talking about God and Jesus!
Tomorrow will be a busy day. The cleaners come on Tuesday so I have to have the entire house picked up so they can work. Plus I have about eight loads of clothes to wash and dry and fold and hang up. I've run out of hangers somehow. I think my daughter used up a bunch of them. Plus, instead of packing away my off-season clothes, I have them hanging in a large closet downstairs in the laundry room. That's probably where they all are.
Well, I have decided to go to Dunkin' Donuts for some donuts before I start the no sugar thing. I've been eating wheat occasionally with no bad effect. So I think I can get away with this as long as I don't get any of the cream-filled ones. But what about chocolate-filled ones?? I don't know, My favorite donut, anyway, is a plain glazed one.
I would love to have the hues and laundry back under control tomorrow. That's a real, real long shot, thugh! But I'm going to do my best. Which probably means I should wake up before 10:30 am! If I can talk my husband into an inexpensive dinner out ... it might all be possible!
Cheers!
Lisa
Hmmmm. It's shortly after midnight an I am REALLY tired. That's a good thing. I keep meaning to go to sleep earlier, but then I forget as soon as I get in bed and start making my to-do list for the next day.
But part of what I've been doing is something that I have some misgivings about. I told you abut the blog by the psychopath? I put in a question asking whether or not they feel empathy for their pets. This person won't reveal whether they are male or female, but did mention that they have pets and take very good care of them. Well, I got a nice long response back about my question. No, they don't feel empathy for their pet, but they take care of it for other reasons. So I wrote back some and asked a couple of more questions, but not necessarily comfortable with this. Only 1% of the population are psychopaths, but about 3% of corporate CEOs are and 15% of the prison population are. I'm pretty sure I probably know a psychopath or two, so why not try to understand them better by talking with someone who is willing to talk about it. I'm not using my name or my regular email, so I think it's ok. I'll know better after I get a response.
I rejoined flylady this morning. Are you familiar with her? She has an online coaching website to help you get yourself out of living in chaos and get your house and yen life organized. I used to live by her website and it was terribly helpful. I decided it was time to get back to it.
We went to church again today. A really lovely service. Beautiful worshipful music and a very good sermon. Did I mention that we are almost the only non-Koreans there? Koreans seem to be the most populous evangelicals in the area. It thrills me to hear someone from another country praying and talking about God and Jesus!
Tomorrow will be a busy day. The cleaners come on Tuesday so I have to have the entire house picked up so they can work. Plus I have about eight loads of clothes to wash and dry and fold and hang up. I've run out of hangers somehow. I think my daughter used up a bunch of them. Plus, instead of packing away my off-season clothes, I have them hanging in a large closet downstairs in the laundry room. That's probably where they all are.
Well, I have decided to go to Dunkin' Donuts for some donuts before I start the no sugar thing. I've been eating wheat occasionally with no bad effect. So I think I can get away with this as long as I don't get any of the cream-filled ones. But what about chocolate-filled ones?? I don't know, My favorite donut, anyway, is a plain glazed one.
I would love to have the hues and laundry back under control tomorrow. That's a real, real long shot, thugh! But I'm going to do my best. Which probably means I should wake up before 10:30 am! If I can talk my husband into an inexpensive dinner out ... it might all be possible!
Cheers!
Lisa
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Day 178 - The New Year Can't Come Soon Enough!
Dear Friend,
my cat snuck outside again this evening and won't come back. Last time she did this three nights ago, she came dashing in the house in the morning like a wild thing and she was missing her collar. She stayed hidden almost the whole day and was very skittish later that evening when I tried to coax her out of her hiding place.
At least it's not cold outside. I could really use these not-cold days to get my outdoor cushions scrubbed and cleaned up and dried and out away. But I've got to get the house and laundry back under control first.
I'm sure giving up sugar is going to be super hard, but I'm way overweight and sick and lethargic and nothing will change if nothing changes.
I'm in the process of picking out three rugs: one for the powder room, one for the small entry area, and two for our bedside rugs. I think I could make the decision now, but want to think about it some more before I do.
I bought this great flat mop that I think is going to be the answer to cleaning the floors after my dog pees on them. It has a built in sprayer that sprays down the cleaner and then a microfiber cloth that you can just wash off in the sink. I tried it tonight and it think it's going to work fine.
I'm going to have to pick up some inexpensive trash bags to put my paper recycling outside in. It's rained the last several weeks when they pick u the recycling so I have TONS of boxes in the house and garage. Rather than take a chance on it raining this Wednesday, I'm just going to get everything bagged u so they can go out the night before, whether it's raining or not.
Were going back to the 2:30 church service tomorrow. He it's better than last week.
So ... not much to report tonight. I'm having problems finding any cookbooks that I like.
Cheers!
Lisa
my cat snuck outside again this evening and won't come back. Last time she did this three nights ago, she came dashing in the house in the morning like a wild thing and she was missing her collar. She stayed hidden almost the whole day and was very skittish later that evening when I tried to coax her out of her hiding place.
At least it's not cold outside. I could really use these not-cold days to get my outdoor cushions scrubbed and cleaned up and dried and out away. But I've got to get the house and laundry back under control first.
I'm sure giving up sugar is going to be super hard, but I'm way overweight and sick and lethargic and nothing will change if nothing changes.
I'm in the process of picking out three rugs: one for the powder room, one for the small entry area, and two for our bedside rugs. I think I could make the decision now, but want to think about it some more before I do.
I bought this great flat mop that I think is going to be the answer to cleaning the floors after my dog pees on them. It has a built in sprayer that sprays down the cleaner and then a microfiber cloth that you can just wash off in the sink. I tried it tonight and it think it's going to work fine.
I'm going to have to pick up some inexpensive trash bags to put my paper recycling outside in. It's rained the last several weeks when they pick u the recycling so I have TONS of boxes in the house and garage. Rather than take a chance on it raining this Wednesday, I'm just going to get everything bagged u so they can go out the night before, whether it's raining or not.
Were going back to the 2:30 church service tomorrow. He it's better than last week.
So ... not much to report tonight. I'm having problems finding any cookbooks that I like.
Cheers!
Lisa
Friday, December 26, 2014
Day 179 -
Dear Friend,
We went into the city today with our son and daughter. Wondered around the shops that are still set up at Bryant Park and then walked to the Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree. But it was extremely crowded everywhere, so not much fun. There were twice the usual. Umber of people on the streets. We found a good deli with a nice food bar and had lunch and then went to H&M for our son to shop some. We went through the really nice food market in Grand Central, and then took the train home. I took my bath first and washed my hair, and then we watched two House, M.D. Programs. Now I've been reading in bed and feel sticky. This is always a problem if I bathe early instead of right before I go to bed! But I am NOT going to give in and take another bath!
Our son leaves to go back to Nashville tomorrow. It's been a good visit. He commented on the train that it was strange how "at home" everything felt. That's exactly what I've said, too. It was good to hear that he felt this way, too. He and his sister had a good time together today.
I've been giving a lot of thought as to how to actually put into practice my new lifestyle. I desperately need to get in control of my life and health and weight to quit feeling like such a massive LOSER! I jotted down thoughts all day long.
For starters, I leave messes behind me all the time because of being in a rush. And from being lazy and irresponsible! But, for this to all work, I have to become diligent at putting things back up where they belong after I use them. From hairbrushes to coffee cups to makeup to books to salt and pepper, etc.!
I also need to get some new cookbooks. I'm bored out of my mind witch mine, and I need to have interesting recipes to cook or I hate the entire process. Plus they have to be healthy recipes and involve new tastes, such as French and Thai and Indian.
I decided to add making my bed to the things I do before I go downstairs, and opening the blinds, also.
And, before I leave the house, I want to empty the dishwasher, load any breakfast dishes and wipe down the counters.
I also decided that trying to do all the laundry on Saturdays is probably not such a good idea. I used to do two loads a day, but I think I want to focus on just one load a day and get it started before I leave the house to go exercise.
Then, when I return, I can put the laundry on to dry and sweep and clean the family area floors. My incontinent dog makes the floors a mess every single day.
Then I can fold or hang u the clothes, carry them upstairs and carry down the dirty clothes and sort them so they are ready for the next day.
Since I have a hard time getting to my work as a writer, I may need to root myself in time instead of by task. That would be important at specific times of day.
8:00 am - get up
10:00 am - exercise
11:00 am - run errands, get lunch, doctor's appointments, special personal care such as manicures. This will be tricky and difficult to pull off.
2:30 pm - be home, change clothes, and start writing
5:00 pm- start dinner, feed dogs
6:15 pm - things are different here for my husband, and he says this is the time he'd like to make our dinner time.
7:00 pm -always do the dishes and clean up the counters, last minute touch up of the kitchen island clutter
My husband likes to head for bed around 8:30 or 9:00, so that's pretty easy.
I know I will need to do some shopping in bed after he's asleep. But try to minimize that and go to,sleep significantly earlier ... Like 11:00 pm.
I believe that I'm going to have to swear off sugar for six months. Things made with xylitol will be okay to eat. I'm eating WAY to many sweets!! I'm going to have to take firm steps to break this LUST for chocolate sweets and laying off for six months ought to do it. I've done this before, but it's been a long time.
There's something glaring missing here ... reading my Bible and praying. Plus phone calls and people coming to the house interrupt me a lot, but there's nothing much I can do about that.
Saturdays I'll plan the next week's menus and place my food delivery order, water plants, and finish up any laundry or ironing problems. Plus do special projects. AND FINISH UNPACKING!!! Oh, and work my way through that course I bought but was unable to do.
It occurs,to me that no one is going to rescue me. No one is going to wave a wand and bring my life back into a productive order. If I want to have a different life and be proud of myself and get healthy and ease the depression and anxiety ... no one is going to make it happen but me.
Well, I'm so tired I feel sick. I am reading a stupid science fiction/fantasy book by the guy who wrote Maze Runner. Its sooooo bad. I can hardly believe the same guy wrote it! I don't know why I'm reading it, but it is a page turner and, let me tell you ... this guy has a creative mind!
Does anyone believe I can pull this off? You've listened to me moan and wail for quite sometime now. I've pulled my life together before. The question is, do I have the strength and willpower to pull it off again? Please be rooting for me!
Well, I'm going to go slather my body with baby powder so I won't feel sticky and can go to sleep.
Sleep well!
Lisa
We went into the city today with our son and daughter. Wondered around the shops that are still set up at Bryant Park and then walked to the Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree. But it was extremely crowded everywhere, so not much fun. There were twice the usual. Umber of people on the streets. We found a good deli with a nice food bar and had lunch and then went to H&M for our son to shop some. We went through the really nice food market in Grand Central, and then took the train home. I took my bath first and washed my hair, and then we watched two House, M.D. Programs. Now I've been reading in bed and feel sticky. This is always a problem if I bathe early instead of right before I go to bed! But I am NOT going to give in and take another bath!
Our son leaves to go back to Nashville tomorrow. It's been a good visit. He commented on the train that it was strange how "at home" everything felt. That's exactly what I've said, too. It was good to hear that he felt this way, too. He and his sister had a good time together today.
I've been giving a lot of thought as to how to actually put into practice my new lifestyle. I desperately need to get in control of my life and health and weight to quit feeling like such a massive LOSER! I jotted down thoughts all day long.
For starters, I leave messes behind me all the time because of being in a rush. And from being lazy and irresponsible! But, for this to all work, I have to become diligent at putting things back up where they belong after I use them. From hairbrushes to coffee cups to makeup to books to salt and pepper, etc.!
I also need to get some new cookbooks. I'm bored out of my mind witch mine, and I need to have interesting recipes to cook or I hate the entire process. Plus they have to be healthy recipes and involve new tastes, such as French and Thai and Indian.
I decided to add making my bed to the things I do before I go downstairs, and opening the blinds, also.
And, before I leave the house, I want to empty the dishwasher, load any breakfast dishes and wipe down the counters.
I also decided that trying to do all the laundry on Saturdays is probably not such a good idea. I used to do two loads a day, but I think I want to focus on just one load a day and get it started before I leave the house to go exercise.
Then, when I return, I can put the laundry on to dry and sweep and clean the family area floors. My incontinent dog makes the floors a mess every single day.
Then I can fold or hang u the clothes, carry them upstairs and carry down the dirty clothes and sort them so they are ready for the next day.
Since I have a hard time getting to my work as a writer, I may need to root myself in time instead of by task. That would be important at specific times of day.
8:00 am - get up
10:00 am - exercise
11:00 am - run errands, get lunch, doctor's appointments, special personal care such as manicures. This will be tricky and difficult to pull off.
2:30 pm - be home, change clothes, and start writing
5:00 pm- start dinner, feed dogs
6:15 pm - things are different here for my husband, and he says this is the time he'd like to make our dinner time.
7:00 pm -always do the dishes and clean up the counters, last minute touch up of the kitchen island clutter
My husband likes to head for bed around 8:30 or 9:00, so that's pretty easy.
I know I will need to do some shopping in bed after he's asleep. But try to minimize that and go to,sleep significantly earlier ... Like 11:00 pm.
I believe that I'm going to have to swear off sugar for six months. Things made with xylitol will be okay to eat. I'm eating WAY to many sweets!! I'm going to have to take firm steps to break this LUST for chocolate sweets and laying off for six months ought to do it. I've done this before, but it's been a long time.
There's something glaring missing here ... reading my Bible and praying. Plus phone calls and people coming to the house interrupt me a lot, but there's nothing much I can do about that.
Saturdays I'll plan the next week's menus and place my food delivery order, water plants, and finish up any laundry or ironing problems. Plus do special projects. AND FINISH UNPACKING!!! Oh, and work my way through that course I bought but was unable to do.
It occurs,to me that no one is going to rescue me. No one is going to wave a wand and bring my life back into a productive order. If I want to have a different life and be proud of myself and get healthy and ease the depression and anxiety ... no one is going to make it happen but me.
Well, I'm so tired I feel sick. I am reading a stupid science fiction/fantasy book by the guy who wrote Maze Runner. Its sooooo bad. I can hardly believe the same guy wrote it! I don't know why I'm reading it, but it is a page turner and, let me tell you ... this guy has a creative mind!
Does anyone believe I can pull this off? You've listened to me moan and wail for quite sometime now. I've pulled my life together before. The question is, do I have the strength and willpower to pull it off again? Please be rooting for me!
Well, I'm going to go slather my body with baby powder so I won't feel sticky and can go to sleep.
Sleep well!
Lisa
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Day 180 - I Survived Christmas, How About You?
Dear Friend,
I love Jesus, but I hate December! It's finally over, at least ... Except for the cleaning up and making returns! We exchanged our gifts and then my husband and I cooked a nice breakfast of orange juice, blueberry pancakes, bacon, and a fresh fruit salad. Then I went back to bed!
The very best thing this year was not having to cook Christmas dinner... I wish we had started doing this years ago, it made the day so much better for me, not to mention keeping me from getting in a terrible mood from exhaustion! We went out to dinner at a nice hotel and it was excellent and very upscale. I had to look up several things on my iPhone they were so haute! Our kids were in rare form at dinner being so funny and laughing so much, it was wonderful! He can make her laugh harder than anyone else in the world! I loved just watching them! At one point my husband asked them what their favorite thing was that we had ever done as a family. The summer in Hawaii definitely won and we had fun reminiscing over a lot of our favorite stories.
Than we came home and watched Christmas Vacation and I did some cleaning up in the kitchen. I should have the whole living area back under control tomorrow ... whoops. Cancel that. Were going into the city tomorrow to take our son to Rockefeller Plaza and Bryant Park. If I got up early I could get the floors swept and mopped and that would help A LOT! But that's not likely to happen, now, is it?!
So, I've been figuring out how to organize life in the new year. I love New Year and new starts and resolutions! My resolutions vary from being one word (SURVIVE!) to pages and pages. But I had already decided, and I'm sticking to it, that I have to start living my real life in January and quit putting most of my time into getting moved in and unpacked and decorating. I MUST start focusing on my health, NOW! So, the other day mentioned making Saturdays my work day and working on myself the five week days and, actually, I think that's probably a workable idea. I get the grocery delivery system going and the weekly meal planning going. Then during the week, keep the house picked up and make dinners, etc. Then Saturdays do the laundry and keep working on the house. Sundays for church and relaxation. And I think that's a pretty good basic plan. College work will keep everything from ever being easy and predictable and stable ... but the basic scheme is a good one.
I'm trying to think how a weekday would look, though. Here's where my thinking has lead me so far.
1. Get up 8:00 ish, or as close to it as I can. Feed dogs, coffee, make up, hair, dressed, breakfast.
2. Three days a week go to yoga for a 10:00 class. Two days a week go to jazzercise. As I get healthier, flip that so I am doing aerobics three days a week and yoga twice.
3. Go to a coffee shop and read my Bible, have my prayer time, and read a serious book. The idea is to have some dedicated time to read something other than stress-relieving novels. And this isn't going to take place at home, for sure!
4. Run any quick errands (pharmacy, UPS, post office, etc.) then go home.
Now here's where I get into trouble. The complication is the jumble and difficulty I have in separating out the two priorities of cleaning the house and writing. Not to mention that I do have routine work I have to do regarding the upkeep of the house and handling entertaining and other college-related emails and things of that nature. Plus, I need to change out of my exercise clothes and it would help if I could get prep work on dinner taken care of. Not to mention the more involved work of planning menus, putting in grocery orders, and unpacking and putting away the groceries when they arrive. My natural course is to do everything before I write ... so I guess that should guide
my plans here. Okay, then.
5. Change clothes and work on writing for ... TWO HOURS!
6. Housework ... ONE HOUR! I'd like to take down dirty laundry each day and keep things sorted in the laundry room. I need to sweep or vacuum most every day, really and mop more often than I am because of our Jack Russell. And keeping the kitchen island clutter free is proving to be a lot of work. Plus dealing with incoming mail and packages, watering plants, keeping the refrigerator cleaned out, etc.
7. College work, especially emails, planning events, menus, etc. ... ONE HOUR!
8. Prepare dinner, eat, and clean kitchen ... ONE HOUR.
9. Get ready for bed, bathe, wash hair, etc. ... LESS THAN AN HOUR.
10. Watch TV with husband and ... GO TO BED!
PROBLEMS:
Doctor appointments? Chiropractor? Meetings? What about wanting to do one thing a week to take care of myself ... manicure, pedicure, facial, or massage? Vet visits? The things that I can't fudge on at all are exercising and writing. Those are the two most important things for me to be doing and I can't neglect them anymore.
A flyway, it's a nice plan. Utterly impossible, but if I try to shape my days around it it will help.
But nothing is going to change if I don't make some big and very difficult changes to my life. I will not get healthy. I will not lose weight. I will not become a writer. And I have to do those things.
I am old enough now, at least, to not fall into the trap of trying to make any one day an exact replica of my plan. Never going to happen.
1. Exercise each day.
2. Write each day.
3. Plan meals and order groceries weekly.
Those are the main things that everything else will rest on. The trifecta of priorities if you will!
Have you started thinking about any changes you want to make in your life this next year?
Cheers!
Lisa
I love Jesus, but I hate December! It's finally over, at least ... Except for the cleaning up and making returns! We exchanged our gifts and then my husband and I cooked a nice breakfast of orange juice, blueberry pancakes, bacon, and a fresh fruit salad. Then I went back to bed!
The very best thing this year was not having to cook Christmas dinner... I wish we had started doing this years ago, it made the day so much better for me, not to mention keeping me from getting in a terrible mood from exhaustion! We went out to dinner at a nice hotel and it was excellent and very upscale. I had to look up several things on my iPhone they were so haute! Our kids were in rare form at dinner being so funny and laughing so much, it was wonderful! He can make her laugh harder than anyone else in the world! I loved just watching them! At one point my husband asked them what their favorite thing was that we had ever done as a family. The summer in Hawaii definitely won and we had fun reminiscing over a lot of our favorite stories.
Than we came home and watched Christmas Vacation and I did some cleaning up in the kitchen. I should have the whole living area back under control tomorrow ... whoops. Cancel that. Were going into the city tomorrow to take our son to Rockefeller Plaza and Bryant Park. If I got up early I could get the floors swept and mopped and that would help A LOT! But that's not likely to happen, now, is it?!
So, I've been figuring out how to organize life in the new year. I love New Year and new starts and resolutions! My resolutions vary from being one word (SURVIVE!) to pages and pages. But I had already decided, and I'm sticking to it, that I have to start living my real life in January and quit putting most of my time into getting moved in and unpacked and decorating. I MUST start focusing on my health, NOW! So, the other day mentioned making Saturdays my work day and working on myself the five week days and, actually, I think that's probably a workable idea. I get the grocery delivery system going and the weekly meal planning going. Then during the week, keep the house picked up and make dinners, etc. Then Saturdays do the laundry and keep working on the house. Sundays for church and relaxation. And I think that's a pretty good basic plan. College work will keep everything from ever being easy and predictable and stable ... but the basic scheme is a good one.
I'm trying to think how a weekday would look, though. Here's where my thinking has lead me so far.
1. Get up 8:00 ish, or as close to it as I can. Feed dogs, coffee, make up, hair, dressed, breakfast.
2. Three days a week go to yoga for a 10:00 class. Two days a week go to jazzercise. As I get healthier, flip that so I am doing aerobics three days a week and yoga twice.
3. Go to a coffee shop and read my Bible, have my prayer time, and read a serious book. The idea is to have some dedicated time to read something other than stress-relieving novels. And this isn't going to take place at home, for sure!
4. Run any quick errands (pharmacy, UPS, post office, etc.) then go home.
Now here's where I get into trouble. The complication is the jumble and difficulty I have in separating out the two priorities of cleaning the house and writing. Not to mention that I do have routine work I have to do regarding the upkeep of the house and handling entertaining and other college-related emails and things of that nature. Plus, I need to change out of my exercise clothes and it would help if I could get prep work on dinner taken care of. Not to mention the more involved work of planning menus, putting in grocery orders, and unpacking and putting away the groceries when they arrive. My natural course is to do everything before I write ... so I guess that should guide
my plans here. Okay, then.
5. Change clothes and work on writing for ... TWO HOURS!
6. Housework ... ONE HOUR! I'd like to take down dirty laundry each day and keep things sorted in the laundry room. I need to sweep or vacuum most every day, really and mop more often than I am because of our Jack Russell. And keeping the kitchen island clutter free is proving to be a lot of work. Plus dealing with incoming mail and packages, watering plants, keeping the refrigerator cleaned out, etc.
7. College work, especially emails, planning events, menus, etc. ... ONE HOUR!
8. Prepare dinner, eat, and clean kitchen ... ONE HOUR.
9. Get ready for bed, bathe, wash hair, etc. ... LESS THAN AN HOUR.
10. Watch TV with husband and ... GO TO BED!
PROBLEMS:
Doctor appointments? Chiropractor? Meetings? What about wanting to do one thing a week to take care of myself ... manicure, pedicure, facial, or massage? Vet visits? The things that I can't fudge on at all are exercising and writing. Those are the two most important things for me to be doing and I can't neglect them anymore.
A flyway, it's a nice plan. Utterly impossible, but if I try to shape my days around it it will help.
But nothing is going to change if I don't make some big and very difficult changes to my life. I will not get healthy. I will not lose weight. I will not become a writer. And I have to do those things.
I am old enough now, at least, to not fall into the trap of trying to make any one day an exact replica of my plan. Never going to happen.
1. Exercise each day.
2. Write each day.
3. Plan meals and order groceries weekly.
Those are the main things that everything else will rest on. The trifecta of priorities if you will!
Have you started thinking about any changes you want to make in your life this next year?
Cheers!
Lisa
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Day 182 - Great Day After All!
Dear Friend,
Today had all the makings of being an awful day. Last night, right as I was about to fall asleep, my husband got hit with an allergy attack that went in and on. By the time things had settled down, I was wide awake and couldn't sleep song went into my study to read and hopefully, fall asleep, since I'd gone ahead and taken a Xanax. He woke up again, though, and called me, so I got back in bed with him. But he was very restless and I finally asked him to go to a reclining chair in the bedroom
By then it was 3:45 am, so I got to sleep around 4:00 am. Then I had to get up at 8:00 am to go pick up our son at the airport.
I was so happy to get him and he was in a good mood. We drove back home and went to a diner for lunch and my husband was able to join us which was nice.
... Thnk goodness. I thought I had lost all of,this. Somehow I went to check on a problem one of my dogs is having and from there saw something about fifteen sets of twins that had defied the odds. One was two yung women who each have a separate head but one conjoined body. Some of the internal organs are shared and some are separate. They are 22, live in Minnesota and have graduated from college. TLC is doing a series on them. From there I saw an article on Little Honey Boo Boo that said something about "what you shod know and why you should care." I've never seen it, but have heard of it so I decided to read it and some of the comments. My own comment? There doesn't seem to be anything bizarre about the people. There have always been uneducated and uncultured "white trash" people, but that doesn't mean they are "bad" or anything. I know people wh love the show and some of the comments said they liked it because they were a family that loved each other and were basically happy. Whatever. Then I realized I hadn't looked up my dog's condition so I did that. Sure hope it's not cancer.
Anyway, I came home and fiddled around until I finally made myself sit down and start wrapping presents. After a while we went out to eat and I hit sephora for our daughter and my husband hitnLord and Taylor's for me ... and hit it pretty hard I gather.
We made the brilliant decision to eat out for Christmas dinner, and I can't tell you what a relief this is!!
I dared to weigh last night and, yes, I have gained weight. It's only three pounds, but I swear it looks like fifteen.
Starting in January, exercising and my weight and health are going to become my main priority and writing my next. I'm thinking the only way it can work is if I make Saturdays laundry, cleaning, and ordering groceries days and Sundays rest and enjoy life days, and workout, write, etc. and just maintain the house the five work days. I need to give a lot of thought to that.
Well, I'm tired now and going to sleep. Have a great Christmas Eve day!
Lisa!
Today had all the makings of being an awful day. Last night, right as I was about to fall asleep, my husband got hit with an allergy attack that went in and on. By the time things had settled down, I was wide awake and couldn't sleep song went into my study to read and hopefully, fall asleep, since I'd gone ahead and taken a Xanax. He woke up again, though, and called me, so I got back in bed with him. But he was very restless and I finally asked him to go to a reclining chair in the bedroom
By then it was 3:45 am, so I got to sleep around 4:00 am. Then I had to get up at 8:00 am to go pick up our son at the airport.
I was so happy to get him and he was in a good mood. We drove back home and went to a diner for lunch and my husband was able to join us which was nice.
... Thnk goodness. I thought I had lost all of,this. Somehow I went to check on a problem one of my dogs is having and from there saw something about fifteen sets of twins that had defied the odds. One was two yung women who each have a separate head but one conjoined body. Some of the internal organs are shared and some are separate. They are 22, live in Minnesota and have graduated from college. TLC is doing a series on them. From there I saw an article on Little Honey Boo Boo that said something about "what you shod know and why you should care." I've never seen it, but have heard of it so I decided to read it and some of the comments. My own comment? There doesn't seem to be anything bizarre about the people. There have always been uneducated and uncultured "white trash" people, but that doesn't mean they are "bad" or anything. I know people wh love the show and some of the comments said they liked it because they were a family that loved each other and were basically happy. Whatever. Then I realized I hadn't looked up my dog's condition so I did that. Sure hope it's not cancer.
Anyway, I came home and fiddled around until I finally made myself sit down and start wrapping presents. After a while we went out to eat and I hit sephora for our daughter and my husband hitnLord and Taylor's for me ... and hit it pretty hard I gather.
We made the brilliant decision to eat out for Christmas dinner, and I can't tell you what a relief this is!!
I dared to weigh last night and, yes, I have gained weight. It's only three pounds, but I swear it looks like fifteen.
Starting in January, exercising and my weight and health are going to become my main priority and writing my next. I'm thinking the only way it can work is if I make Saturdays laundry, cleaning, and ordering groceries days and Sundays rest and enjoy life days, and workout, write, etc. and just maintain the house the five work days. I need to give a lot of thought to that.
Well, I'm tired now and going to sleep. Have a great Christmas Eve day!
Lisa!
Monday, December 22, 2014
Day 183 - You'll Never Guess Why I Didn't Post Last Night!
Dear Friend,
Go ahead, see if you can guess! No, never mind. You'll never get it in a million years. I didn't post last night because ...I WAS ASLEEP!! Now, that's a first! It was 10:10 and I was in bed when all of a sudden I realized I was so tired that I didn't think I could stay up to do a single thing. So, I turned off my light and was asleep within ten minutes. Isn't that amazing? Then I slept twelve hours so, I don't know what was up, but I apparently really needed some rest.
I am so frustrated with myself right now, I've worked and worked on placing a big grocery delivery order. But I've only done it once before so I didn't realize how important nabbing one of the delivery times was. You sign up for a time slot and, when I finally had my list right, I went to place the order and ALL of the time slots were filled up!it had crossed my mind to send in a partial order, those things that I knew I absolutely had to have. If I had done that I would have had a time slot and could have just added additional items to my order. I am especially bummed because I was ordering special sides from the company so I would only have to make the entree and not the sides or desserts. I really do not have the energy to put a big meal on the table. I was going to make a crown roast pork, too. Now I have no idea what to do! It's too late to get a honey-baked ham, if they even have those here, and I already know that their sides are awful! I called them right away and was in hold forever until they closed. So I sent in an email asking if there was anyway, please, please!, that they could deliver it anytime on Wednesday. If I have to do a big grocery shopping trip and bring it in the house and unload the groceries and put them away it will exhaust me.
On the other hand, maybe a very simple Christmas dinner would be nice. Pork chops baked in a dressing, maybe? Since I'm not allergic to pork now I was hoping to serve it to my family instead of the usual turkey.
Okay, I'm going to think with my fingers for a minute ... Do people bake pork chops in dressing? I could do that and have green beans and ... baked sweet potatoes and rolls. Have a mango chutney maybe to go with the pork chops? And for dessert I could do baked apples with vanilla ice cream. That doesn't sound too terrible. For breakfast I'll have those jarred citrus fruits, bacon, oj, and blueberry buckwheat pancakes. So, it won't be anything special, but hopefully it won't lay me out, either.
I got started on my article yesterday! I know that's a huge thing to ask you to believe, but it's true. I like the way I open it, and that's the hardest part. It's going to be about dealing with a sociopath in the church. Today I've been out a lot, but I did get some more research done. But I'm finding the psychopath really interesting. Because part of what I'm looking at is what does repentance look like for someone who has no internal moral code? Someone who has no empathy and deliberately manipulates people for their own advantage. Can they repent? Can they be forgiven by God? Can a believer forgive them when they have been wronged by someone who seriously couldn't care less.
I found an amazing blog by a person who is a psychopath who says there's not enough people who have been diagnosed or understand their diagnosis. So this person (they don't even reveal their gender) is writing about it from a first person perspective. See, just because someone is a psychopath doesn't mean that they do evil things. They are no more inherently evil than I am. They do tend to be more violent than non-psychopaths ... but they aren't crazy or psychotic.
So, if you have a run-in with a socio-path (screwed up moral compass, no empathy) or a psychopath (no moral compass, no empathy) and they wrong you ... how do you forgive them if there is no repentance on their part? And what goes on between God and the psychopath? Repentance is acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a turning away from it. This doesn't have to be emotional, but it does need to be resolute.
Turns out the both sociopaths and psychopaths are likely to be drawn to CEO positions and it is postulated that some of the unbelievable acts of greed that have taken place in American corporations may be because they have a high number of psychopaths running them who have no conscience. Corporations have started taking steps into finding ways to spot a socio/psychopath so that they don't hire them, because it only takes one or two to bring down a corporation... or a church!
One article I read was by a pastor who says that he has found that a socio/psychopath lies behind most church splits. He was saying that this is why the church really needs to follow the Biblical model for dealing with a person who will not repent of their sin. They are to out them out of the fellowship and have nothing to do with them. That sound so harsh until you think of it in this way. But when you recognize the damage that a sociopath can do, you can see the wisdom in not letting them hide in the church any longer acting like they are "good folks."
So, I guess that's it for me today. I saw my psychologist today, but other than that didn't do anything for my health at all. I am all kinds of swollen, and I realize I haven't been peeing much. So I guess I need to go ahead and make an appointment with that nephrologist I was told about
My son comes in tomorrow! I can't wait to see him! I'm really looking forward to him being home for a few days.
I haven't wrapped a single present. Aargh!! Is it ok to sat that you love Jesus, but you hate Christmas??
Lisa
Go ahead, see if you can guess! No, never mind. You'll never get it in a million years. I didn't post last night because ...I WAS ASLEEP!! Now, that's a first! It was 10:10 and I was in bed when all of a sudden I realized I was so tired that I didn't think I could stay up to do a single thing. So, I turned off my light and was asleep within ten minutes. Isn't that amazing? Then I slept twelve hours so, I don't know what was up, but I apparently really needed some rest.
I am so frustrated with myself right now, I've worked and worked on placing a big grocery delivery order. But I've only done it once before so I didn't realize how important nabbing one of the delivery times was. You sign up for a time slot and, when I finally had my list right, I went to place the order and ALL of the time slots were filled up!it had crossed my mind to send in a partial order, those things that I knew I absolutely had to have. If I had done that I would have had a time slot and could have just added additional items to my order. I am especially bummed because I was ordering special sides from the company so I would only have to make the entree and not the sides or desserts. I really do not have the energy to put a big meal on the table. I was going to make a crown roast pork, too. Now I have no idea what to do! It's too late to get a honey-baked ham, if they even have those here, and I already know that their sides are awful! I called them right away and was in hold forever until they closed. So I sent in an email asking if there was anyway, please, please!, that they could deliver it anytime on Wednesday. If I have to do a big grocery shopping trip and bring it in the house and unload the groceries and put them away it will exhaust me.
On the other hand, maybe a very simple Christmas dinner would be nice. Pork chops baked in a dressing, maybe? Since I'm not allergic to pork now I was hoping to serve it to my family instead of the usual turkey.
Okay, I'm going to think with my fingers for a minute ... Do people bake pork chops in dressing? I could do that and have green beans and ... baked sweet potatoes and rolls. Have a mango chutney maybe to go with the pork chops? And for dessert I could do baked apples with vanilla ice cream. That doesn't sound too terrible. For breakfast I'll have those jarred citrus fruits, bacon, oj, and blueberry buckwheat pancakes. So, it won't be anything special, but hopefully it won't lay me out, either.
I got started on my article yesterday! I know that's a huge thing to ask you to believe, but it's true. I like the way I open it, and that's the hardest part. It's going to be about dealing with a sociopath in the church. Today I've been out a lot, but I did get some more research done. But I'm finding the psychopath really interesting. Because part of what I'm looking at is what does repentance look like for someone who has no internal moral code? Someone who has no empathy and deliberately manipulates people for their own advantage. Can they repent? Can they be forgiven by God? Can a believer forgive them when they have been wronged by someone who seriously couldn't care less.
I found an amazing blog by a person who is a psychopath who says there's not enough people who have been diagnosed or understand their diagnosis. So this person (they don't even reveal their gender) is writing about it from a first person perspective. See, just because someone is a psychopath doesn't mean that they do evil things. They are no more inherently evil than I am. They do tend to be more violent than non-psychopaths ... but they aren't crazy or psychotic.
So, if you have a run-in with a socio-path (screwed up moral compass, no empathy) or a psychopath (no moral compass, no empathy) and they wrong you ... how do you forgive them if there is no repentance on their part? And what goes on between God and the psychopath? Repentance is acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a turning away from it. This doesn't have to be emotional, but it does need to be resolute.
Turns out the both sociopaths and psychopaths are likely to be drawn to CEO positions and it is postulated that some of the unbelievable acts of greed that have taken place in American corporations may be because they have a high number of psychopaths running them who have no conscience. Corporations have started taking steps into finding ways to spot a socio/psychopath so that they don't hire them, because it only takes one or two to bring down a corporation... or a church!
One article I read was by a pastor who says that he has found that a socio/psychopath lies behind most church splits. He was saying that this is why the church really needs to follow the Biblical model for dealing with a person who will not repent of their sin. They are to out them out of the fellowship and have nothing to do with them. That sound so harsh until you think of it in this way. But when you recognize the damage that a sociopath can do, you can see the wisdom in not letting them hide in the church any longer acting like they are "good folks."
So, I guess that's it for me today. I saw my psychologist today, but other than that didn't do anything for my health at all. I am all kinds of swollen, and I realize I haven't been peeing much. So I guess I need to go ahead and make an appointment with that nephrologist I was told about
My son comes in tomorrow! I can't wait to see him! I'm really looking forward to him being home for a few days.
I haven't wrapped a single present. Aargh!! Is it ok to sat that you love Jesus, but you hate Christmas??
Lisa
Friday, December 19, 2014
Day 186 - Housework. Bummer.
Dear Friend,
Well, those days are just clicking away, aren't they? I want to have my life rebooted in 186 days! That means being unpacked, the decorating of the house finished, working it regularly, seeing the dysautonomia specialist, exercising regularly, doing yoga at least two days a week, finding a church and getting involved with it, getting my sleeping needs more regulated, finding a prolotherapist and staying on top of torn tendons, etc., getting in top of having groceries delivered in a timely manner to the house, cooking and eating much more healthfully, and writing again. Piece of cake, huh?!
I spent today mostly doing housework, things had gotten out of control quickly. I'm finding having a large kitchen island to have its drawbacks, because it collects clutter like nobody's business. The little vacuum I bought is so great and lightweight. But the electric steam mop was a mistake. At least not a terribly expensive mistake. It is just so hard to push. Hurt my arm really badly using it in the kitchen and den today. Plus, it doesn't sterilize unless you leave it in one spot for 15 seconds. And y can't out a cleanser in the water container reservoir. You're supposed to just use clear water. I don't like that so I tried spraying the floor with 409 before steaming it in one area, and mixing water with some cleaner and pouring it out on the floor. I don't think it cleans very well either way. Bummer. I have to figure out some way to be able to keep the floor cleaned from all the urinating my Jack Russell does on the floor. She just doesn't even care now. I found some pee on the floor, so I thought to let her out for a bit while I cleaned it up. I saw her pee outside. But then she came in and peed in the same exact spot. What in the world's up with that??
I am definitely gong to work tomorrow on writing. I have a great article idea, and I'm not going to let this one slip away and never get written. I'm pretty excited about it and I think it will have a very strong hook.
I cooked a pretty healthy dinner this evening. I sautéed catfish with a lot of seasoning, steamed basmati rice and cooked english peas and broccoli and heated up some gluten-free ciabatta rolls. Sounds pretty good, right? Except for what I ate while I was cooking-- these little gluten-free, dairy-free lemon cookies! They are small and light and delicious, and I ate a bunch!
So, I'm about to turn in for the night. So much work to get done. It just doesn't seem to let up. Have to finish decorating for Christmas tomorrow and get. The last of the gifts ordered and finish the laundry. Sooooo much of my time is being taken up with laundry! And I still can't seem to stay on to of it.
Have a great day tomorrow!
Lisa
Well, those days are just clicking away, aren't they? I want to have my life rebooted in 186 days! That means being unpacked, the decorating of the house finished, working it regularly, seeing the dysautonomia specialist, exercising regularly, doing yoga at least two days a week, finding a church and getting involved with it, getting my sleeping needs more regulated, finding a prolotherapist and staying on top of torn tendons, etc., getting in top of having groceries delivered in a timely manner to the house, cooking and eating much more healthfully, and writing again. Piece of cake, huh?!
I spent today mostly doing housework, things had gotten out of control quickly. I'm finding having a large kitchen island to have its drawbacks, because it collects clutter like nobody's business. The little vacuum I bought is so great and lightweight. But the electric steam mop was a mistake. At least not a terribly expensive mistake. It is just so hard to push. Hurt my arm really badly using it in the kitchen and den today. Plus, it doesn't sterilize unless you leave it in one spot for 15 seconds. And y can't out a cleanser in the water container reservoir. You're supposed to just use clear water. I don't like that so I tried spraying the floor with 409 before steaming it in one area, and mixing water with some cleaner and pouring it out on the floor. I don't think it cleans very well either way. Bummer. I have to figure out some way to be able to keep the floor cleaned from all the urinating my Jack Russell does on the floor. She just doesn't even care now. I found some pee on the floor, so I thought to let her out for a bit while I cleaned it up. I saw her pee outside. But then she came in and peed in the same exact spot. What in the world's up with that??
I am definitely gong to work tomorrow on writing. I have a great article idea, and I'm not going to let this one slip away and never get written. I'm pretty excited about it and I think it will have a very strong hook.
I cooked a pretty healthy dinner this evening. I sautéed catfish with a lot of seasoning, steamed basmati rice and cooked english peas and broccoli and heated up some gluten-free ciabatta rolls. Sounds pretty good, right? Except for what I ate while I was cooking-- these little gluten-free, dairy-free lemon cookies! They are small and light and delicious, and I ate a bunch!
So, I'm about to turn in for the night. So much work to get done. It just doesn't seem to let up. Have to finish decorating for Christmas tomorrow and get. The last of the gifts ordered and finish the laundry. Sooooo much of my time is being taken up with laundry! And I still can't seem to stay on to of it.
Have a great day tomorrow!
Lisa
Day 187 - Radio City and the Rockettes!
Dear Friend,
Where to start? Well, the dinner on Tuesday went well. We had a very nice time with the couple who came. They loved the house and were very complimentary about it. The dinner did not exactly go off without a hitch because the catering company is not used to waiting on tables. Three of them waited on four of us! The younger man filled the water glasses with the wine, so they surreptitiously took them away and washed the goblets and brought them back. We had a crab-stuffed flounder that I thought was delicious, but my husband let me know that he didn't care for it. They also had two dessert options but, instead of askng which one everyone wanted, they served both of them! So, that was pretty funny.
The next day my daughter got in bed with me very worried about the results of some bloodwork and we needed to get out of the house. So we went to our doctors office in my favorite village and ate at a super cool old diner. I had a plate of grilled vegetables, bell pepper, mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini with a chopped salad. Try to find that in thenSouth! Then we went to the office and she got her vitamin D shot ( she's crazy low) and I had blood drawn for several tests. Then the doctor came out to see us because she likes us and she was able to reassure my daughter that things would be ok.
Then we went to the art store that my daughter describes as "HobbyLobby on crack!" And wow! It was really fantastic. They had gorgeous silk flowers so I spent $79 getting flowers for a large arrangement on my dining table.
After that we met my husband to see The Hobbit which was ok. Just lots of fighting.
I stayed up last night till 2:00 working on finding gifts, mostly for me for my husband to get for me and working on others. I found a great website for my daughter's gifts!
Then this evening we went into the city to see the Rockettes' Christmas program and it was wonderful. Eating out didn't work out, so we had kebabs from a street seller and ate in a store vestibule trying to stay out of the cold wind. After that we went to see The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and it was spectacular! Walking there a young woman tripped walking across the street and grabbed my arm as she fell ... right on the tumor and all of that mess and pulling down on the torn rotator cuff. So that was fun. But I think she was pregnant, so I'm glad she didn't fall all the way down. What's a little more pain in that arm?
It's 10:40 and we're still on the train riding home so it will be late before we get to bed. I'm sleeping late tomorrow!
Cheers!
Lisa
Sent from my iPhone
Where to start? Well, the dinner on Tuesday went well. We had a very nice time with the couple who came. They loved the house and were very complimentary about it. The dinner did not exactly go off without a hitch because the catering company is not used to waiting on tables. Three of them waited on four of us! The younger man filled the water glasses with the wine, so they surreptitiously took them away and washed the goblets and brought them back. We had a crab-stuffed flounder that I thought was delicious, but my husband let me know that he didn't care for it. They also had two dessert options but, instead of askng which one everyone wanted, they served both of them! So, that was pretty funny.
The next day my daughter got in bed with me very worried about the results of some bloodwork and we needed to get out of the house. So we went to our doctors office in my favorite village and ate at a super cool old diner. I had a plate of grilled vegetables, bell pepper, mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini with a chopped salad. Try to find that in thenSouth! Then we went to the office and she got her vitamin D shot ( she's crazy low) and I had blood drawn for several tests. Then the doctor came out to see us because she likes us and she was able to reassure my daughter that things would be ok.
Then we went to the art store that my daughter describes as "HobbyLobby on crack!" And wow! It was really fantastic. They had gorgeous silk flowers so I spent $79 getting flowers for a large arrangement on my dining table.
After that we met my husband to see The Hobbit which was ok. Just lots of fighting.
I stayed up last night till 2:00 working on finding gifts, mostly for me for my husband to get for me and working on others. I found a great website for my daughter's gifts!
Then this evening we went into the city to see the Rockettes' Christmas program and it was wonderful. Eating out didn't work out, so we had kebabs from a street seller and ate in a store vestibule trying to stay out of the cold wind. After that we went to see The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and it was spectacular! Walking there a young woman tripped walking across the street and grabbed my arm as she fell ... right on the tumor and all of that mess and pulling down on the torn rotator cuff. So that was fun. But I think she was pregnant, so I'm glad she didn't fall all the way down. What's a little more pain in that arm?
It's 10:40 and we're still on the train riding home so it will be late before we get to bed. I'm sleeping late tomorrow!
Cheers!
Lisa
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Day 191 - A Little Encouraged Today
Dear Friend,
Well ... I did not get much done on the house. I made myself stay in bed until I picked out the hardware accessories for the powder room downstairs. Oh! Soooooo frustrating! But, with "hard work and dedication" (Dolvett!), I did it! Even emailed it on in, so that is that. Except ... I realized I need two venetian bronze light switch plates. They didn't have any in the pattern I used for the other things, so I'll just have to find some very simple ones that will work with the rest. That was a big load off. Only problem is I found some that were GORGEOUS that I now want to get for MY bathroom!
I opened a box in my study and found that they were books belonging in our sons's rooms, so I moved it into there. I downloaded the second book of the Maze Runner books -- don't judge! -- and it is quite a page turner! I got ready and went to that 2:30 church service and, I have to say, it was probably one of the best services I have ever been to in my life. Simple. Beautiful music. No jazz! Very worshipful. Good sermon. This means a lot to me because I am really eager to get to know some people, plus I really need to be under some good preaching again. And fellowship. And corporate worship. So ... Pretty excited about it.
Then I came home and made bison chili and rice, which turned out great! We realized that the basement is flooding from a waterline, not rain. My husband called the university out and they found that it was plugged up at the street. So plumbers came out tonight around 9:40 ... What??? And now they have arranged for cleaners to come and sterilize and clean the basement in the morning and sterilize the first floor also.
We got our Christmas tree set up and hope to decorate it tomorrow. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy with our daughter, and I have to say, it was funnier second time around, with someone who found it hilarious!
I'm trying something new for tomorrow. NO TO-DO LIST!!! Except I still must call the bank about why they are declining my card sometimes and sending my son money.
Well ... have a great week. Get a lot of shopping done!
Cheers!
Lisa
Well ... I did not get much done on the house. I made myself stay in bed until I picked out the hardware accessories for the powder room downstairs. Oh! Soooooo frustrating! But, with "hard work and dedication" (Dolvett!), I did it! Even emailed it on in, so that is that. Except ... I realized I need two venetian bronze light switch plates. They didn't have any in the pattern I used for the other things, so I'll just have to find some very simple ones that will work with the rest. That was a big load off. Only problem is I found some that were GORGEOUS that I now want to get for MY bathroom!
I opened a box in my study and found that they were books belonging in our sons's rooms, so I moved it into there. I downloaded the second book of the Maze Runner books -- don't judge! -- and it is quite a page turner! I got ready and went to that 2:30 church service and, I have to say, it was probably one of the best services I have ever been to in my life. Simple. Beautiful music. No jazz! Very worshipful. Good sermon. This means a lot to me because I am really eager to get to know some people, plus I really need to be under some good preaching again. And fellowship. And corporate worship. So ... Pretty excited about it.
Then I came home and made bison chili and rice, which turned out great! We realized that the basement is flooding from a waterline, not rain. My husband called the university out and they found that it was plugged up at the street. So plumbers came out tonight around 9:40 ... What??? And now they have arranged for cleaners to come and sterilize and clean the basement in the morning and sterilize the first floor also.
We got our Christmas tree set up and hope to decorate it tomorrow. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy with our daughter, and I have to say, it was funnier second time around, with someone who found it hilarious!
I'm trying something new for tomorrow. NO TO-DO LIST!!! Except I still must call the bank about why they are declining my card sometimes and sending my son money.
Well ... have a great week. Get a lot of shopping done!
Cheers!
Lisa
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Day 192 - Marginally Better Day
Dear Friend,
My husband and I had a talk yesterday evening about my health issues and how he feels about them. He says he hasn't lost respect for me at all, he knows I have a chronic illness, and he agrees that he thinks my depression is worse and seeing the doctor to tweak my meds is a good idea. He doesn't mind that I'm not a "charger" who can just keep marching forward like he does, and he doesn't wish at all that he had a stronger or more competent wife! No way I believe any of that, but it was nice of him to try hard to convince me that this wasn't a problem for him.
Today started out bad. I completely slept through my doctor's appointment. I could hear the alarm go off, but I could not wake up for anything. I think it went off for an hour before it finally turned off. I called in and left a message apologizing, but I still couldn't fully wake up for a while.
I hurt my daughter's feelings telling her she couldn't eat in the formal living room. (!) she was eating toast on one of the white floral chairs and got impatient with me because people have eaten and will eat in there and then got upset and went upstairs. I went up after a little bit and she was crying. Said she didn't have any place where she could be, just her tiny little bedroom. I had strongly evicted her from my study one time. I apologized for that and said as long as she relinquished my chair when I wanted it, she could use my room, but eating needed to stay in the dining room or breakfast room or den. She has been sick and so she cried a fair amount. It's a hard transition from your own apartment to back in your parents' home.
My husband and she went to some fabulous art store and then we met at this huge, incredibly crowded and busy place to get a Christmas tree, which nearly made my husband crazy! Then we went out for dinner and came home. He and I dozed for a while and then they finished up "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and then we watched a House, M.D. And came up for bed. He has issues going on at the college that are being pretty stressful.
I had a tussle with my mother on Friday over something ugly she wrote on my daughter's Facebook page. She texted me about it and I defended the posts and tried to calm her down, but she was just off in her own crazy place and kept ranting about it, so I just didn't respond anymore and didn't contact her any more that day or the next. So I felt like I needed to call her today and did. I didn't bring up any of the Facebook stuff and neither did she. I was able to turn it into a cheerful conversation.. Sometimes I feel like my role in my family is just calming everyone down!
So, I didn't get a thing accomplished today except getting a good rest. But, I have managed to pretty much stay out of the doldrums, so that's good.
I read up on that church I find and it sounds like it is really good. And ... they meet at 2:30 in the afternoon! Brilliant!! My husband is staying home tomorrow to work a bunch on these issues at the college, so I'm going to go check them out myself. I have high hopes, despite having had my hopes dashed over and over! I need friends! I need fellowship! I need to be able to worship corporately and hear good sermons! I need to be able to teach again! At least they surely won't have jazz music! I hope!!
I have picked my bathroom sconces and have just this evening fund two really pretty mirrored medicine cabinets that I think will look great in there. But I'm doing the most boring thing ever right now! My powder room needs a soap dispenser, a toilet paper holder, a towel ring and a corner shelf. I found two sets after a lot of looking, but the designer shot them down. She didn't like either of them and made her suggestions. Well... It's just ridiculous! I can't find a set that has everything I need in the color I need it to be (dark bronze) except in styles that I know she won't like. There are very few wall-mounted soap dispensers, so I've started with them and then try to find the accompanying pieces that I need. Good heavens! You won't think that would be hard, would you?? Well ... guess again, because it is! It's driving me nuts!
I hope to get some work done tomorrow around the house. One full week of being amazingly productive would help me so much. I presume that we will decorate the tree tomorrow. That will be fun. I actually am looking forward to it, which is unusual for me.
Oh, darn! I just remembered I have to wire our son some money. He has talked to some temp agencies who say they can keep m busy until his adjunct professor job starts, but he needs some food and gas money in the meantime.
I have one event to give this week, which is a dinner for four. It's a couple I really like, at least. But it will be our trial run giving a dinner here.
Have a blessed day tomorrow.
Cheers!
Lisa
My husband and I had a talk yesterday evening about my health issues and how he feels about them. He says he hasn't lost respect for me at all, he knows I have a chronic illness, and he agrees that he thinks my depression is worse and seeing the doctor to tweak my meds is a good idea. He doesn't mind that I'm not a "charger" who can just keep marching forward like he does, and he doesn't wish at all that he had a stronger or more competent wife! No way I believe any of that, but it was nice of him to try hard to convince me that this wasn't a problem for him.
Today started out bad. I completely slept through my doctor's appointment. I could hear the alarm go off, but I could not wake up for anything. I think it went off for an hour before it finally turned off. I called in and left a message apologizing, but I still couldn't fully wake up for a while.
I hurt my daughter's feelings telling her she couldn't eat in the formal living room. (!) she was eating toast on one of the white floral chairs and got impatient with me because people have eaten and will eat in there and then got upset and went upstairs. I went up after a little bit and she was crying. Said she didn't have any place where she could be, just her tiny little bedroom. I had strongly evicted her from my study one time. I apologized for that and said as long as she relinquished my chair when I wanted it, she could use my room, but eating needed to stay in the dining room or breakfast room or den. She has been sick and so she cried a fair amount. It's a hard transition from your own apartment to back in your parents' home.
My husband and she went to some fabulous art store and then we met at this huge, incredibly crowded and busy place to get a Christmas tree, which nearly made my husband crazy! Then we went out for dinner and came home. He and I dozed for a while and then they finished up "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and then we watched a House, M.D. And came up for bed. He has issues going on at the college that are being pretty stressful.
I had a tussle with my mother on Friday over something ugly she wrote on my daughter's Facebook page. She texted me about it and I defended the posts and tried to calm her down, but she was just off in her own crazy place and kept ranting about it, so I just didn't respond anymore and didn't contact her any more that day or the next. So I felt like I needed to call her today and did. I didn't bring up any of the Facebook stuff and neither did she. I was able to turn it into a cheerful conversation.. Sometimes I feel like my role in my family is just calming everyone down!
So, I didn't get a thing accomplished today except getting a good rest. But, I have managed to pretty much stay out of the doldrums, so that's good.
I read up on that church I find and it sounds like it is really good. And ... they meet at 2:30 in the afternoon! Brilliant!! My husband is staying home tomorrow to work a bunch on these issues at the college, so I'm going to go check them out myself. I have high hopes, despite having had my hopes dashed over and over! I need friends! I need fellowship! I need to be able to worship corporately and hear good sermons! I need to be able to teach again! At least they surely won't have jazz music! I hope!!
I have picked my bathroom sconces and have just this evening fund two really pretty mirrored medicine cabinets that I think will look great in there. But I'm doing the most boring thing ever right now! My powder room needs a soap dispenser, a toilet paper holder, a towel ring and a corner shelf. I found two sets after a lot of looking, but the designer shot them down. She didn't like either of them and made her suggestions. Well... It's just ridiculous! I can't find a set that has everything I need in the color I need it to be (dark bronze) except in styles that I know she won't like. There are very few wall-mounted soap dispensers, so I've started with them and then try to find the accompanying pieces that I need. Good heavens! You won't think that would be hard, would you?? Well ... guess again, because it is! It's driving me nuts!
I hope to get some work done tomorrow around the house. One full week of being amazingly productive would help me so much. I presume that we will decorate the tree tomorrow. That will be fun. I actually am looking forward to it, which is unusual for me.
Oh, darn! I just remembered I have to wire our son some money. He has talked to some temp agencies who say they can keep m busy until his adjunct professor job starts, but he needs some food and gas money in the meantime.
I have one event to give this week, which is a dinner for four. It's a couple I really like, at least. But it will be our trial run giving a dinner here.
Have a blessed day tomorrow.
Cheers!
Lisa
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Day 194 - Feeling Lost and Ungrounded
Dear Friend,
Not a good day, today. I was exhausted from last night. The rain let up before our event and we had a very good attendance. The president of Clinique talked about how beautiful I was, so that's always a good thing! I wore my five-minute heels for more than two hours and was in major pain!
But then I slept about eleven hours and felt completely enervated, used up, washed out, worthless and hopeless, overwhelmed, and giving up. Too many things, too many problems, too many decisions, too many responsibilities. I need help decorating the rest of the house badly, but I'm having tondo it on my own. I agonized over a mirror for the powder room downstairs. It is the room that will be used by company and it needs to look right. The sink is in the corner, which starts it off difficult. The light fixture has bronze metal so it has to work with that. The she is from 1919 so it needs to be appropriate to that. The wallpaper is silver, so a gold framed mirror won't work.the way the sink is set, the mirror can't be any wider than 14 inches or it will be too close to a persons face as they wash their hands. It needs to be somewhat tall because of the layout. Mirrors can cost crazy amounts of money! I ultimately picked out two that I sent to the head of facilities. One is okay, one is perfect and reasonable at $170. But I've spent hours on this one decision! I also picked the sconces for my bathroom and find them $30 cheaper each on amazon that wayfair! So that saved me $120 there. I have some simple mirrors picked out that are cheaper on lampsplus than amazon,and I plan on buying them tomorrow. But their are some venetian mirrors out there that would not be that much more expensive, but I actually don't think they'd work with the elegant shabby chic look I'm going for.
I feel like such a failure. I didn't get my makeup on even today and asked my husband for us to go out to the diner for dinner,but he insisted on cooking himself, which made me feel awful. I wonder if he's lost respect for me since I've become such an ineffective slug?
I have another event tomorrow evening, and then a dinner next week. Maybe I can get my Christmas presents bought and start pulling things together. But a toilet paper holder in the powder room would be a good,thing!
I know I've been in a depression for a while, and maybe it's getting worse.
I guess that's enough complaining for now. There'll be more,to come later, I'm sure. Sorry to end on such a glum note, but maybe it will help you feel better about you!
I know what! I just had a great idea. In the morning I'll get up,right away and go to that diner with the good coffee and fruit salad and take my Bible and prayer journal and to-do list, etc. and get a grip on the day. Genius!
Cheers after all!
Lisa
Not a good day, today. I was exhausted from last night. The rain let up before our event and we had a very good attendance. The president of Clinique talked about how beautiful I was, so that's always a good thing! I wore my five-minute heels for more than two hours and was in major pain!
But then I slept about eleven hours and felt completely enervated, used up, washed out, worthless and hopeless, overwhelmed, and giving up. Too many things, too many problems, too many decisions, too many responsibilities. I need help decorating the rest of the house badly, but I'm having tondo it on my own. I agonized over a mirror for the powder room downstairs. It is the room that will be used by company and it needs to look right. The sink is in the corner, which starts it off difficult. The light fixture has bronze metal so it has to work with that. The she is from 1919 so it needs to be appropriate to that. The wallpaper is silver, so a gold framed mirror won't work.the way the sink is set, the mirror can't be any wider than 14 inches or it will be too close to a persons face as they wash their hands. It needs to be somewhat tall because of the layout. Mirrors can cost crazy amounts of money! I ultimately picked out two that I sent to the head of facilities. One is okay, one is perfect and reasonable at $170. But I've spent hours on this one decision! I also picked the sconces for my bathroom and find them $30 cheaper each on amazon that wayfair! So that saved me $120 there. I have some simple mirrors picked out that are cheaper on lampsplus than amazon,and I plan on buying them tomorrow. But their are some venetian mirrors out there that would not be that much more expensive, but I actually don't think they'd work with the elegant shabby chic look I'm going for.
I feel like such a failure. I didn't get my makeup on even today and asked my husband for us to go out to the diner for dinner,but he insisted on cooking himself, which made me feel awful. I wonder if he's lost respect for me since I've become such an ineffective slug?
I have another event tomorrow evening, and then a dinner next week. Maybe I can get my Christmas presents bought and start pulling things together. But a toilet paper holder in the powder room would be a good,thing!
I know I've been in a depression for a while, and maybe it's getting worse.
I guess that's enough complaining for now. There'll be more,to come later, I'm sure. Sorry to end on such a glum note, but maybe it will help you feel better about you!
I know what! I just had a great idea. In the morning I'll get up,right away and go to that diner with the good coffee and fruit salad and take my Bible and prayer journal and to-do list, etc. and get a grip on the day. Genius!
Cheers after all!
Lisa
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Day 197 - Back From Tennessee!
Dear Friend,
I am writing this on the plane as I return home from Tennessee. I have something very surprising to tell you. I actually had a marvelous visit with my mother! She was in a very companionable mood and was more relaxed than I think I've ever seen here.
My friend picked me up at the airport and we had a great visit, albeit too short. The first evening Mom and I were both really tired. We went out to eat and then she lay on one couch while I lay on the other, both generally airing our physical complaints.
I slept quite late the next morning. Did I tell you that she bought a foam mattress topper for her guest bed because it was far too hard for me? It helped a lot. My son and daughter came over, along with her boyfriend, and we went out to eat and then back to her house. Had a really nice visit with my son. His eyes looked a little troubled and I asked him what was up. He said he was just trying to figure out what to do with himself. Since he is 29, I'm glad to hear that this is beginning to be something that weighs on his mind!
His band is apparently doing really well, which is interesting. It's a big, "What if ...?" You know? What if it actually went big? He said they closed a place the night before and wiped the floor with everyone else who performed! His AA group has never pulled back together, but he has found another really good group that he likes a lot. The only problem is that they don't meet as often as he would like! They only meet here times a week.
Tomorrow starts an extremely busy week for me. Three events followed by a dinner the next week. I actually WANT to decorate the house this year, but the main thing right now is to get christmas gifts ordered ASAP!! I planned to use the counter in the garage as my gift wrapping center, maybe I'll hate wrapping presents less! As it is, I hate wrapping presents sooooo much! My daughter used to love to wrapped would wrap all my presents except hers! But those days are over.
Saturday night my mom and I sat around a table and she told me a lot if her stories. Without anger or bitterness. The night before she had gotten into stuff about my dad and started her usual spiel and I was wondering what I was going to do. Sneak a Xanax? Go to bed early? But she quit quickly which is a first. Saturday night she spoke compassionately about my father for the first time in my life. He had so many tragedies by the time he was ten years old, and she finally acknowledged them. She told me a lot of stories about her first husband who was killed in WW2 and I got a lot of that history figured out. We actually stayed up talking until after 11:00 which has never happened before.
We had taken a nap after taking the kids out to eat and I slept for two hours. I don't know if it was because of that that I couldn't go to sleep or because I got tense about being ready to leave in the morning. I make cortisol for the least reason! I resisted taking a Xanax until 4:00 am, which was foolish. So I finally got to sleep a little after 5 and slept till 11:00. Hope that's enough for me to drive home from the airport on!
I spent sometime this morning trying to put together a workable daily schedule ... again. I have to do SOOOOOOO much more housework than before! It's really taking a toll on me physically and stress wise. So I tried to put together a schedule which includes daily upkeep of everything, plus going to jazzercise. I even added in an hour for interruptions! The result? It's virtually hopeless that I will ever become a writer. Pretty discouraging.
Were about to land so I'll bring this to an end. I hope you had a good weekend as well and are adequately geared up to face the next week! My bathroom should be wallpapered when I get home and I cant WAIT to see it!
Oh, here's something interesting. My mother thinks my oldest brother is suffering from some dementia! That could explain a lot!
Later!
Lisa
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Day 201 - Great Mother/Daughter Day!
Dear Friend,
Well ... it's 2:30 in the morning. Maybe it's about time to go to sleep? My daughter and I leave for Tennessee in the morning and there have been SO MANY things to get taken care of before we leave. Especially since I have to dig in with events as soon as we get back. In fact, I just remembered that I have to go pick up a prescription before I leave on top of everything else. At least I can sleep, hopefully, on the plane! I hate traveling. There are always so many loose ends to be taken care of!
My husband is at a big conference in Washington, so my daughter and I spent the day together. I got my hair color done (my roots were almost two inches long!) and she got her first New York hair cut! Gorgeous!! Oh my gosh, she looks gorgeous. She's only recently gotten into makeup, and now with a really cute hairstyle -- wow!
Then we went to Macys for me to return a bunch of things I had ordered for the two of us that hadn't worked. I am out of almost all my makeup, so I got a Mac concealer, lip gloss, and ... something else I think. I got my Estée Lauder foundation. And a new lipstick, blush, and eye shadow from Clinique. I have actually used up both of my glosses which I didn't think was possible. We ate at Boston Market which was nice, and pretty cheap. We picked up all the dog and cat supplies that would be needed while we were gone. And then the college student who will take care of the pets came by. Then I started doing laundry and she and I gave ourselves mani/pedis while we watched several episodes of Chopped. So, we had a great time together.
I was outraged that the police officer who put an unarmed man on Staton Island in a chokehold and held him until he died was not indicted by the grand jury. I've had quite a lot to say on Facebook about that.
Well, I think I'm going to call it a night. 8:00 is going to be painful in the morning!!
Cheers!
Lisa
Well ... it's 2:30 in the morning. Maybe it's about time to go to sleep? My daughter and I leave for Tennessee in the morning and there have been SO MANY things to get taken care of before we leave. Especially since I have to dig in with events as soon as we get back. In fact, I just remembered that I have to go pick up a prescription before I leave on top of everything else. At least I can sleep, hopefully, on the plane! I hate traveling. There are always so many loose ends to be taken care of!
My husband is at a big conference in Washington, so my daughter and I spent the day together. I got my hair color done (my roots were almost two inches long!) and she got her first New York hair cut! Gorgeous!! Oh my gosh, she looks gorgeous. She's only recently gotten into makeup, and now with a really cute hairstyle -- wow!
Then we went to Macys for me to return a bunch of things I had ordered for the two of us that hadn't worked. I am out of almost all my makeup, so I got a Mac concealer, lip gloss, and ... something else I think. I got my Estée Lauder foundation. And a new lipstick, blush, and eye shadow from Clinique. I have actually used up both of my glosses which I didn't think was possible. We ate at Boston Market which was nice, and pretty cheap. We picked up all the dog and cat supplies that would be needed while we were gone. And then the college student who will take care of the pets came by. Then I started doing laundry and she and I gave ourselves mani/pedis while we watched several episodes of Chopped. So, we had a great time together.
I was outraged that the police officer who put an unarmed man on Staton Island in a chokehold and held him until he died was not indicted by the grand jury. I've had quite a lot to say on Facebook about that.
Well, I think I'm going to call it a night. 8:00 is going to be painful in the morning!!
Cheers!
Lisa
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Day 202 - Not a Bad Day!
Dear Friend,
The best part about today is that I didn't have a lot of fatigue. That felt great! But, I stayed in bed almost all day! Nt being lazy, though.mmsometimes,mayhem I just can't get something done, I work on it in bed and I won't let myself get up until it's done. And, it worked! I picked out and ordered the two mini-chandeliers for the halls and the ceiling medallions for them. Then I picked out the chandelier for the dressing room (gorgeous! I worked so hard trying to re-find it, and I finally did.) and the ceiling medallion for it, which is beautiful. Then I let my daughter make the decision for this little area at the top of the back stairs. I'm not exactly crazy about it, but it was $50 less than the one I liked best, so maybe it will work out. I've worked really hard tonight, as only I can in my own obsessive way, on finding a bronze toned ceiling medallion for it. But I can't find one for less than $90 that would look good with it! Now, the $90 one is exquisite! And maybe I can consider that I did save $50 on the fixture ... so $90 is really only $40, if you know what I mean. It's too bad, really, because I really did work hard and long on finding the perfect medallion only to finally have to give it up. But, that's still a LOT of decisions for me!
Then I got ready quickly and drove our daughter to the most adorable hardware store in our village to buy some pints of three different types of paints that she is trying out for her to-be studi downstairs. After that, I raced to get to my counseling appointment. That went well, and I asked her to help me to figure out how to fill in the form for the insurance company and she said she would take care of it for me and give it to me next week when I come back so I can go ahead and submit it, thank goodness! Shrinks are EXPENSIVE here!
Something was going on in the villages between where I was and where I live. There were all sorts of police blockades and traffic was almost at a standstill. Finally, at one place there was a police car blocking off an overpass (that I needed!) and five officers standing in front of it. I asked them what was going on and they said that they didn't know, they had just been told to close the road. So, I wonder what that was all about! It took me two hrs to get home! TWO HOURS!
My brother (not the crazy one) wrote an awful post abut an article I posted from Christianity Today by a black pastor trying to explain how things like Ferguson make black people feel, and to try to understand hw things like this impact them because events go through different filters for them. Wel .... My good ole boy brother wrote in something awful, starting with saying he found the article spurious at best!! Broke my heart. Husband and daughter advised me to just delete it and not respond. I also deleted the two awful messages by the other person.
I read two other articles this evening, in bed, from Christianity Today, by black pastors. I learned ant a yng guy, 22, in a Wal-Mart who is just wandering around the store talking on his cell phone. He picks up a pellet gun as he's walking around the store and he's just ambling along with the gun in his hand when some guy decides to call the police and tell them that there's a black man with a rifle pointing it at people. So, they come charging in, find him where he's been standing talking for a while in a corner of the store with no one else around, and they just gun him down!out of the blue. One minute he's talking on his hone, the next second he's on the ground and they kept firing until he was dead. And, did these officers get indicted by the grand jury?? NO, OF COURSE THEY DIDNT!! So I posted an article about it and the security video that shows the entire thing on Facebook and said, so .... anyone want to tell me that the grand jury did the right thing in NOT indicting these police officers??
It's 1:45 am and I don't really feel sleepy, but I guess it's time to give it a shot.
Oh, and guess what? I called my doctor's office today t remind them to call the specialist for an appointment for me. They called me back and said, "Oh, you can't get in to see him until February of next year!" And I was like, .... Yes? Grab it! And she was shocked and said, "Oh, you still want an appointment even though it will be February before you get in?? I said YES, This is THE GUY! S she said that I should call them to make the appointment since she won't know what my schedule is in February! She totally did not understand how you deal with specialists. So I had to explain to her that the call had to come from them and that they would probably just give her a time and date. Then she gave me the time and date and, if I needed to change it, I would call them. So she finally said she would call him. These gals are really sweet, but not professional at all.
That's it for now. I leave Thursday to go to Tennessee. Mountains of work to do tomorrow, hopefully,,,
Cheers!
Lisa
P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm gaining weight but won't get on the scale!
The best part about today is that I didn't have a lot of fatigue. That felt great! But, I stayed in bed almost all day! Nt being lazy, though.mmsometimes,mayhem I just can't get something done, I work on it in bed and I won't let myself get up until it's done. And, it worked! I picked out and ordered the two mini-chandeliers for the halls and the ceiling medallions for them. Then I picked out the chandelier for the dressing room (gorgeous! I worked so hard trying to re-find it, and I finally did.) and the ceiling medallion for it, which is beautiful. Then I let my daughter make the decision for this little area at the top of the back stairs. I'm not exactly crazy about it, but it was $50 less than the one I liked best, so maybe it will work out. I've worked really hard tonight, as only I can in my own obsessive way, on finding a bronze toned ceiling medallion for it. But I can't find one for less than $90 that would look good with it! Now, the $90 one is exquisite! And maybe I can consider that I did save $50 on the fixture ... so $90 is really only $40, if you know what I mean. It's too bad, really, because I really did work hard and long on finding the perfect medallion only to finally have to give it up. But, that's still a LOT of decisions for me!
Then I got ready quickly and drove our daughter to the most adorable hardware store in our village to buy some pints of three different types of paints that she is trying out for her to-be studi downstairs. After that, I raced to get to my counseling appointment. That went well, and I asked her to help me to figure out how to fill in the form for the insurance company and she said she would take care of it for me and give it to me next week when I come back so I can go ahead and submit it, thank goodness! Shrinks are EXPENSIVE here!
Something was going on in the villages between where I was and where I live. There were all sorts of police blockades and traffic was almost at a standstill. Finally, at one place there was a police car blocking off an overpass (that I needed!) and five officers standing in front of it. I asked them what was going on and they said that they didn't know, they had just been told to close the road. So, I wonder what that was all about! It took me two hrs to get home! TWO HOURS!
My brother (not the crazy one) wrote an awful post abut an article I posted from Christianity Today by a black pastor trying to explain how things like Ferguson make black people feel, and to try to understand hw things like this impact them because events go through different filters for them. Wel .... My good ole boy brother wrote in something awful, starting with saying he found the article spurious at best!! Broke my heart. Husband and daughter advised me to just delete it and not respond. I also deleted the two awful messages by the other person.
I read two other articles this evening, in bed, from Christianity Today, by black pastors. I learned ant a yng guy, 22, in a Wal-Mart who is just wandering around the store talking on his cell phone. He picks up a pellet gun as he's walking around the store and he's just ambling along with the gun in his hand when some guy decides to call the police and tell them that there's a black man with a rifle pointing it at people. So, they come charging in, find him where he's been standing talking for a while in a corner of the store with no one else around, and they just gun him down!out of the blue. One minute he's talking on his hone, the next second he's on the ground and they kept firing until he was dead. And, did these officers get indicted by the grand jury?? NO, OF COURSE THEY DIDNT!! So I posted an article about it and the security video that shows the entire thing on Facebook and said, so .... anyone want to tell me that the grand jury did the right thing in NOT indicting these police officers??
It's 1:45 am and I don't really feel sleepy, but I guess it's time to give it a shot.
Oh, and guess what? I called my doctor's office today t remind them to call the specialist for an appointment for me. They called me back and said, "Oh, you can't get in to see him until February of next year!" And I was like, .... Yes? Grab it! And she was shocked and said, "Oh, you still want an appointment even though it will be February before you get in?? I said YES, This is THE GUY! S she said that I should call them to make the appointment since she won't know what my schedule is in February! She totally did not understand how you deal with specialists. So I had to explain to her that the call had to come from them and that they would probably just give her a time and date. Then she gave me the time and date and, if I needed to change it, I would call them. So she finally said she would call him. These gals are really sweet, but not professional at all.
That's it for now. I leave Thursday to go to Tennessee. Mountains of work to do tomorrow, hopefully,,,
Cheers!
Lisa
P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm gaining weight but won't get on the scale!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Day 204 - May Have Found a Church!
Dear Friend,
We visited church in another village that meets in the gym of a private girls' school. I was so tired from waking up early (their service starts at 9:30!) that I had difficulty staying awake, but my husband says it was the best message he's heard in a long time. Only problem was ... jazz music again! It was even the same song leader as at the other church. The jazz was not as front-and-center as at the other church, possibly because it was only a piano and a drummer. But their music during the offertory was just some jazz piece ... not a jazz take on a Christian song or anything. I felt like I should be sitting in a fancy bar wearing a low-cut black dress withy my legs crossed seductively drinking a Cosmopolitan and whispering in my husband's ear. Ummm ... nice little mental image, but not really the one I'm looking for during a worship service. I told him I could handle it if he took me into the city once a month for a dose of loud, rock, Christian worship music! So, we'll see what happens. I like that this place has Sunday school classes, even if they are after the service. I came home encouraged that we may have finally found a place. The drive was an easy fifteen minutes, so that's do-able.
I went straight to bed when I got home and went to bed and to sleep for a couple of hours. Then I made some chili for dinner which I served on baked potatoes without even a salad. And I was still tired by the time the meal was made and really tired after cleaning up the kitchen. I got online and looked up fatigue and dysautonomia and it turns out that it is a huge topic of concern and confusion. Apparently part of it is that your brain is not getting enough oxygen and, in general, you are not getting the right amount of oxygen perfusion ... which I guess means all of your cells aren't getting enough oxygen. I also did some quick checking and found that the Ehlers-Danlos is what causes the dysautonomia.
We visited church in another village that meets in the gym of a private girls' school. I was so tired from waking up early (their service starts at 9:30!) that I had difficulty staying awake, but my husband says it was the best message he's heard in a long time. Only problem was ... jazz music again! It was even the same song leader as at the other church. The jazz was not as front-and-center as at the other church, possibly because it was only a piano and a drummer. But their music during the offertory was just some jazz piece ... not a jazz take on a Christian song or anything. I felt like I should be sitting in a fancy bar wearing a low-cut black dress withy my legs crossed seductively drinking a Cosmopolitan and whispering in my husband's ear. Ummm ... nice little mental image, but not really the one I'm looking for during a worship service. I told him I could handle it if he took me into the city once a month for a dose of loud, rock, Christian worship music! So, we'll see what happens. I like that this place has Sunday school classes, even if they are after the service. I came home encouraged that we may have finally found a place. The drive was an easy fifteen minutes, so that's do-able.
I went straight to bed when I got home and went to bed and to sleep for a couple of hours. Then I made some chili for dinner which I served on baked potatoes without even a salad. And I was still tired by the time the meal was made and really tired after cleaning up the kitchen. I got online and looked up fatigue and dysautonomia and it turns out that it is a huge topic of concern and confusion. Apparently part of it is that your brain is not getting enough oxygen and, in general, you are not getting the right amount of oxygen perfusion ... which I guess means all of your cells aren't getting enough oxygen. I also did some quick checking and found that the Ehlers-Danlos is what causes the dysautonomia.
- Hereditary connective tissue diseases, especially Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. In a study on orthostatic intolerance and EDS, it is suggested that the co-occurrence of these syndromes can be attributed to the abnormal connective tissue in dependent blood vessels of those with EDS, which permits veins to distend excessively in response to ordinary hydrostatic pressures. This in turn leads to increased venous pooling and its hemodynamic and symptomatic consequences.
Yeah ... I don't know what a lot of that means, either. But at least I know what came first, the chicken or the egg. Or rather, the connective tissue disorder or the neurological disorder.
But I can tell you one thing for sure. This exhaustion and fatigue SUCK big time! I have got to get healthier!
I think tomorrow will be warm, so I plan on finishing up my back yard. I don't know if I told you that I emptied out all of the things that people through into my shed and pulled out a lot of other stuff so I could get everything put back in, organized. It got dark, so I had to leave it for the morning. Except a snow storm came in during the night and we got about three inches of snow and several days of frigid weather! So, my shed is still sitting out there open with my tools and pots spread everywhere!
Last night I picked out the light fixtures for the halls, the breakfast room, and the dressing room. I found another chandelier that is so pretty and so well-priced, that I may have to find a room for it! But I made three decisions in one night .... A record. Except ... I've been trying to make these decisions for more than a month now.
Right now I'm trying to find an interior door to form an airlock between the front door and the foyer where the baby grand is. I, once again, have a huge to-do list for tomorrow. But at least we are eating in the cafeteria, so I won't have to cook or cleanup.
I decided to get a saline infusion this week before I leave to go to Tennessee.
Oh, and, by the way ... it's December, so let the panic begin!
Cheers!
Lisa
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Day 205 - Really Tired Today
Dear Friend,
It wasn't a great day, but it wasn't a bad one either. I stayed up much later than I meant to trying to finalize picking out light fixtures. I've been working on this for weeks! I think I'm very close to having it narrowed down now. I set my alarm for 10 but it didn't go off. I woke up about 10:15, though, so that's good. I didn't get a prayer time in, I'm sorry to say. I spent some real time figuring out my choices and organizing them for each room. Then I cleaned the kitchen which just wore me out. I actually had to go back to bed for a while. My husband told me this evening he's really worried about me, that I'm functioning at 1/4 of my usual capacity.
Stress makes dysautonomia worse. If I can ever get the house finished and unpacked, I think things will really get easier and I'll start to get better. I've got to lower my standards in the meals I serve. I always want everything fresh and green and colorful and extra little nice things. I'm going to have to back off on that at least until I'm unpacked and the house is finished. Now that I can eat bison, that makes simple things like spaghetti more palatable. But I can't have corn pasta anymore, so that's going to be a bit more of a challenge.
Anyway, inlaid back down for a while this afternoon. And then we went out to eat at a new taco place and forgot that I can't have corn tortillas anymore. Had 'me anyway with fish tacos and they were really good. If I can't have corn tortillas or flour tortillas, though ... my mainstay of Mexican food is kind of out of my life.
I looked up the jazzercise center and understand where it is now and how to get there. Maybe fifteen minutes away. And I spent some time looking through an allergy cookbook and getting some ideas.
We watched a movie tonight together, and then my daughter and I watched Into the Storm about the tornados, I did laundry and folded clothes and am now actually close to being caught up on the house!
My husband and I are visiting another church tomorrow about 25 minutes away. Please, Lord! We need a church really badly.
Cheers!
Lisa
It wasn't a great day, but it wasn't a bad one either. I stayed up much later than I meant to trying to finalize picking out light fixtures. I've been working on this for weeks! I think I'm very close to having it narrowed down now. I set my alarm for 10 but it didn't go off. I woke up about 10:15, though, so that's good. I didn't get a prayer time in, I'm sorry to say. I spent some real time figuring out my choices and organizing them for each room. Then I cleaned the kitchen which just wore me out. I actually had to go back to bed for a while. My husband told me this evening he's really worried about me, that I'm functioning at 1/4 of my usual capacity.
Stress makes dysautonomia worse. If I can ever get the house finished and unpacked, I think things will really get easier and I'll start to get better. I've got to lower my standards in the meals I serve. I always want everything fresh and green and colorful and extra little nice things. I'm going to have to back off on that at least until I'm unpacked and the house is finished. Now that I can eat bison, that makes simple things like spaghetti more palatable. But I can't have corn pasta anymore, so that's going to be a bit more of a challenge.
Anyway, inlaid back down for a while this afternoon. And then we went out to eat at a new taco place and forgot that I can't have corn tortillas anymore. Had 'me anyway with fish tacos and they were really good. If I can't have corn tortillas or flour tortillas, though ... my mainstay of Mexican food is kind of out of my life.
I looked up the jazzercise center and understand where it is now and how to get there. Maybe fifteen minutes away. And I spent some time looking through an allergy cookbook and getting some ideas.
We watched a movie tonight together, and then my daughter and I watched Into the Storm about the tornados, I did laundry and folded clothes and am now actually close to being caught up on the house!
My husband and I are visiting another church tomorrow about 25 minutes away. Please, Lord! We need a church really badly.
Cheers!
Lisa
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