First day back and I have planned my traditional three days of Monopoly. Each day has different rules: Free Market; Robber Baron: and Socialism. I'm hoping it is an easy wasy back into the classroom for me. I didn't sleep well last night the black dog was growling. I am determined to finish the year, if possible.
Food was better. Today is a staff meeting so I will have two Kale salads. That has worked in the past. I will continue my no sweets at work.
Love the energy you gals are putting into organizing. I did a bunch of laundry from the trip.
BBE: I have the same low tire signal. I have saved a receipt from my gas station. I show him that i use the station and get the air for free.
A good session at the gymn which did take into account yesterday’s strimming exploits. I could feel it almost immediately afterwards, though, so I’ve been careful for the rest of the day and fell asleep at one point. No developments on the cleaning and selling the house front which is fine with me. I need a day off!
gardenerjoy, I’m an old hand with ‘they’ as a singular pronoun. It was a good way, I thought as a teenager, of deflecting my mum’s interest in any boys I might have met. I’m fairly certain now that she knew what was happening, of course. Thanks for introducing me to the red-tailed hawk.
onebyone, consolidating like with like is one of my favourite things. I did that with brushes the other day which helped me realise pretty quickly that the brush that looked surprisingly like a hearth brush actually was the hearth brush from the sitting room. That must have saved me a few brain cells and some aggravation looking around and walking from room to room. Having a revamped workplace will be brilliant.
Bill, credit for pumping up the tyres with your own inflator but bad luck that warm weather didn’t come along to help out. I spend more time than I’d like kneeling on a folded up blanket in the murk and mire checking tyre pressures and topping them up with my inflator. Realistically, it doesn’t take very much time and it’s very much better than queueing at a petrol station and working in a confined area against the clock.
curlyjax, credit for powering ahead! You’re getting such a lot done.
maryann, credit for planning two kale salads and the three days of Monopoly!
I just exiled myself from the bedroom. I.am reluctantly on the loveseat once again. My coughing fits have returned. I thought they were okay, but since 3am, I've had to sit up on the edge of the bed 4 or 5x, coughing and waiting for the coughing spell to complete itself. Its just too disruptive to DH's sleep I decided so I came out here. He's going into the office today and then staying late for the office poker tournament. He won his way into the game last night so he really wants to play. My only request is for him not to bring back another cold! This one is enough.
Thats where I am at. Im.going to try to sleep now.
Goodnight.
Wedndesday - World’s first steam locomotive (1804, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Had another meeting with our new financial advisor; this time we signed real papers that shuffle our retirements monies into one place making life easier. My younger mind was like a Blue-jay sticking acorns into little places here and there. Felt like I was diversifying or protecting against any place going bankrupt. From our first meeting, I had noted that they had DW's birthday wrong by one year. "We'll need her driver's license to change that," our financial wizard said. Since I was driving, DW hadn't brought her wallet with her license. Had to go home and scan her license then email it. Learned that the current driver's license has protective coating that makes the scan look funny - an odd effect that I'd never thought about. Looked funny, but showed her birth date.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Lunch was rushed to get from my morning class to our financial appointment. Eating rapidly doesn't fit my notion of slow eating with each bite savored. However, it fits my notion of getting from here to there on time.
onebyone - Ouch for an unwelcome cold along with its noise and misery. Sending sleepy wishes so you'll get some sound sleep.
Silverbirch - I was so happy the day that I discovered that I could pump up a low automobile tire with my humble bicycle tire pump. Took a while, but probably less time than a drive to a gas station. Good news that you can feel the result of your visit to the gym.
maryann – I do love your high school monopoly games. I suspect that more economics is taught through monopoly than through text books. Neat that a gas receipt allows FREE air. I'm so old that I think it should also provide windows washed.
curlyjax - Getting your bedroom ready just keeps happening. We also don't put plastic containers in the dishwasher - possibly because we read that its extreme environment releases the bad stuff in plastic. Or possibly because they don't easily fit. Or because they fly about when hit by the high pressure water. Plastic isn't the perfect solution to all life's problems.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 9Where to Go from Here
Using your skills and choosing healthful foods will continue to get easier over time.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 203.
Work was very busy which had me in a good mood when I got home. I felt energetic enough to want to be productive at home, and made my pork tenderloin, baked potatoes and broccoli again. Then I crashed. I got into not only the banana bread with chocolate chips but also some chocolate covered pretzels I forgot about, ugh. Watched an old episode of Vera, then went down the rabbit hole of reading about other people's hip surgery experiences. Then I googled my surgeon and found a photo of his wife and where he lives. Technology is so amazing. Clearly I need to get some library books to read and turn off the computer much earlier!
I did not sleep well, probably due to the evening snacking, so I'll have to be extra vigilant about food today, as being tired can poorly affect my food choices.
Bill-I had that same conversation with my financial advisor a few years ago. I have yet to do it and am probably losing money, but its more than I can deal with right now.
Maryann-I hope you feel better and can finish out the year.
Silverbirch-so funny how you used they to try and throw off your mom! I still think of it as more than one person and get confused.
Onebyone-good idea to move sleeping arrangements. A cold can be just beastly.
Yep - yesterday was a beautiful mess. beautiful because the kids seem to be glad to have me back - a mess because I was all over the board emotionally when I got off school. I went to an AA meeting, was picked to share and blubbered from the podium. Severe neck and shoulder pain woke me me early. I feel a little crazy like when I had m breakdown at 52. So I got up, dressed, sung in the shower, took pain relievers for my neck, dressed in my.fav sweater. Cringing last night's meeting.
Today will be like a ski today when I only take the easiest ways down the mountain. Slow and steady.
I woke to a panicky email from Dear Niece in Northern Ireland worried that someone used her social security number in an international drug trafficking scheme and the Attorney General of Texas had shut down her account as a result. Sheesh. It was such an obvious phishing scheme that I'm surprised she fell for it. Fortunately, she asked before she did anything.
Today's excitement is an author event. This will be my first time in a crowd since I saw Wicked in early 2020. I have anxiety that has little to do with communicable diseases, but I know that I'll have friends there. I can wear a mask, and no one will say anything. In fact, most of my friends know that this is my first crowd, so I think they'll watch out for me.
Exercise: 70, 1210/1700 minutes for February
curlyjax and BBE: I currently have a tire light on, too. Maybe it's contagious. The tires are fine -- DH has an air compressor in the garage to handle them. So, it's a tire sensor. The tire place has been sending me texts ever since my last visit asking how I'm doing. So, I sent a return text asking that they call me to set up an appointment. That was a week-and-a-half ago. Apparently, it's not a two-way system. Which makes me mad. Probably not mad enough to quit going there, but definitely mad enough that when I finally make an appointment by phone, I'll ask them to take me off their text system.
Just a.short hello/goodnight as I.sit on the.side of my bed. My coughs today were smaller and appeared less frequently than yesterday. I just took my temperature (37C), which is normal.
I had a very very quiet day
The hours passed.easily.
Crumbs. Just had a.coughing fit. Im just sitting on the edge of the bathtub now. I took some Buckley's cough syrup. Is that a Canadian product I wonder? The tagline for Buckley's was 'tastes awful, but it works'. I just had a syrup for cough.and congestion. It does.taste bad.but the reg stuff.really.does.taste.awful. It has strong overtones of pine in it. The new stuff doesn’t have that.
Once again, looks as though this didn't post yesterday evening (or I didn't manage it somehow).More of the same but with the end perhaps almost in sight. A bit of cleaning, a bit of staging and a bit of hoovering plus a quick foray into the garden when the rain stopped and the sun came out. Food has been all right but not stellar. That’s all right too.
onebyone, I do hope you managed a bit more sleep last night. That’s a very nasty cold you’ve got.
Bill, credit for continuing to move ahead with your new financial adviser. Laughing about your rushed lunch to get from here to there.
curlyjax, nice you had a busy day at work and took some energy home. Sorry you crashed - that’s horrible when it happens.
maryann, credit for putting on your fave sweater! You’re right: slow and steady. Hope things went OK today.
gardenerjoy, glad that DN in NI (all these codes!) checked with you about the phishing email first. Hope things are going all right for her. Also that your author event goes well!
Thursday - Russia and Britain establish the Alaska-Canada boundary (1825)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Due to school vacation week, we stepped up to spend all day with the (8 yo) DGD. Just terrific. The best was when she read a stack of books out loud to us. DW had collected a handful of her favorites that we read to her just a few years ago. She dove right in. Read with powerful exaggerated tone, particularly the complaints, whines, and bad behavior. I was driving and LMAO since I knew all the words. Our concerns about her reading skills were resolved.
Exercise, CREDIT moi, was chasing her around the Boston Museum of Science. We hadn't been in a year. She did everything. Participated in each exhibit as if to mark her spot that this was her territory. Happily sat through the presentation of their ferret with a crowd of younger kids, raising her hands for Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down answers to the docent's questions. The new exhibits on Artificial Intelligence are so good that I'll go back when I can get a turn to push the buttons. Am in awe of the full sized Mars rover, Perseverance and its helicopter Ingenuity. Perseverance is HUGE - much bigger than I'd been carrying in my mind these past three years. My act as an adult was first to bemoan that we'd forgotten to bring a role of pennies to watch spin down the donation vortex funnel. Then realize that we make a yearly donation and buy FAT subscriptions because we support the place. Ran back to the car for the roll of quarters. Had our usual fun watching Kepler's laws eat our coins as we always do.
Eating was off plan as I had chicken fingers and French fries at the Museum cafeteria. Told myself that I'd share, but wasn't able to peddle it off on the other two. Didn't have to eat it all, but my muscle to leave food that's going into the trash is weak. Ouch.
onebyone - Yay for a normal temperature. And good to hear that the coughing is reduced. Can't believe that you've got me wishing to buy a bottle of Buckley's cough syrup. Their ads are hilarious.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for protecting your DN from a SCAM; I'm always a bit surprised at how many folks don't yet know that email threats are always SCAMs. Good luck with your tire pressure sensor issue. I've always assumed that the price of replacing one is too high to be worth it unless the tire is being replaced. If that's right, I'd be inclined to let my car revert to manual checking of tire pressures with the added feature of a decoration of a permanent yellow warning light.
Silverbirch - Good to hear that the end is almost in sight. Your S house garden awaits you to set it up for Spring.
maryann – Such a useful analogy, "I only take the easiest ways down the mountain. Slow and steady." Great feedback that the kids are glad to have you back.
curlyjax - It's a sign of a good job match when being busy makes you happy. I do recognize the rabbit hole of chasing down a topic on the computer. It needs a warning: "You've done enough."
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 9Where to Go from Here
Realistically, though, you will always have to remain vigilant. You will periodically have to tolerate at least a little hunger, as everyone without a weight problem does.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 203.
The author event was fun. I got my book personally signed. Brendan Slocumb was as entertaining in person as he is in his books. Our book group loved The Violin Conspiracy. We all got free copies of his second book Symphony of Secrets last night -- everyone I know who read it said that it was even better than the first.
It was all a bit discouraging on the writing front, though. He wrote The Violin Conspiracy in two months, in the summer of 2020. That was about the time that I conceived of the novel that I'm currently still working on. I don't even have a first draft that's worth editing. He's written two full books since then. Sigh.
Fortunately, I'm in an online writing forum where it's quite clear that he is the exception, not the rule. So, I'm not giving up, yet. Also, here's my reminder that excess food won't help me figure out how to write a novel (because the thought crossed my mind...)
No crying and I was able to have a brief chat with the other teachers who had the boy we lost and still have his sister. It felt much better than the conspiracy of silence I felt before. I still at 1000 calories worth of UPF chocolate. Maybe I don't have to do that today. I'm glad I went back. The kids seem happy.
BBE: Great to hear about the Museum trip. It seems like old times. Chickens fingers= 6 BBE = 0 and the world didn't stop revolving.
Joy: My friend actually sent me the first three chapters of her new book. I know it is quite an emotional process. I put Brendan in my GoodReads list.
Silverbirch: Yeah the finish line.
I met an acquaintance by chance after gymn which caused me to eat more than planned. Oh well. I’ve worked on cupboards today which are surprisingly dirty but it’s been a good opportunity to weed out some more things such as cutlery which I’ve always disliked. Had a nice chat with the DD on the phone. Now off to bed.
Bill, great to be back at the Boston Museum of Science with the DGD. Ouch for the cafeteria food.
gardenerjoy, glad the author event was fun. I don’t understand how some people just seem to churn out books and others of us take a bit of time!
maryann, good to hear that the seeming conspiracy of silence has been broken. I’m glad you’re glad you went back.
onebyone, thanks for the introduction to Buckley’s cough syrup. It doesn’t seem to have made it over here so I’ll have to get someone to bring some over!
Friday - First mass inoculation against Polio (1954, Pittsburgh, PA)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner included Udon noodles with a touch of grated Parmesan cheese. Hard to believe that a noodle can taste so good. Don't know why they're fairly new in our life; according to Wiki they're not just served in Japan but all over the world by different names and shapes.
In my course on literature after Stonewall, we read a short story by Dean Scarborough about two trans people. Opened my mind how different life is experienced when the expectations of the world are so harsh. The world can be judgmental that a trans female doesn't look feminine enough. DW reminded me that the world can be judgmental about any woman who doesn't look feminine enough. Eight billion people on the planet; reminds me that there are a lot of stories that I don't know and haven't imagined.
A friend convinced me that the toner cartridge for my laser printer doesn't have to be brand labeled "brother"; he's had good success with the off label brands. So, I ordered one that will arrive today. He also emphasized that it's important to replace the cartridge before it fully runs out - back when the printer first starts to whine that toner is low. Don't know why, but I'll take his word for it. Life was more simple when I watched as the ribbon on my dot matrix printer slowly produced fainter and fainter copies.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - From what I've heard, authors who pop out a book are the rare exception. If you really want to feel bad, compare yourself to Winston Churchill who, reputedly, dictated to five secretaries simultaneously.
Silverbirch - LOL that moving allows you to deal with "cutlery which I’ve always disliked." I shudder sometimes at the things in my house that I don't like, have no use for, never intend to use again, but don't make go away.
maryann – Continue to send supportive thoughts to all of you at the school who are left to suffer after a suicide. Thanks for reminding me about overeating chicken fingers, "and the world didn't stop revolving."
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 9Where to Go from Here
Desire and cravings will never completely go away, either. As a long-time successful maintainer, I still experience them.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 203.
I woke up late yesterday and needed to hustle to get to work. Another busy day but not quite as exhausting as the day before. I've been wearing a mask most places now because I really don't want to get sick and have to put off my surgery. It's a bit challenging at work to wear one, especially with hearing loss folks. I've definitely been eating too much junk at work and home as my anxiety about this climbs. I'm worrying about ridiculous things like having my phone stolen in the hospital, as I haven't been overnight in a hospital since my kids were born. I should probably start reading silly books at night instead of watching dark murder mysteries.
Today will be a shorter work day and easier. I have tons of leftovers to get thru, and DD is working so i'll have the house to myself for a bit.
Personals tomorrow!
Wedndesday - World’s first steam locomotive (1804, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales)
