We've finally got a warm(ish) sunny day, and for the first time there's no snow in the two week forecast on Accuweather.com. I'll take it!
Good Stuff:
- I have the synopsis for Weeping Willow done. Now to polish the first scene and send it off to the Frasier.
- Worked out 4 times again.
- Found long skirts at the right price when I wasn't looking. I'll wear them primarily for barding, but they'll be nice to have for other occassions, too. I got a blue one and a black one. Yes, Stephen, if I layer one over the other, I'll be black and blue.
- Our church did a seminar on life transitions yesterday that was very helpful. Three hours well spent.
- We saw Divergent again. It was Eric's idea--the first time he hadn't read the book, and he wanted to see it again after having read it. Yeah, he reads fast. He's read the whole series this week.
- Started getting things together for Tartan Day.
- Found a kitty sitter. She walks my neighbor's dogs when she's out of town and comes highly recommended. Her rates are a lot less than I thought they'd be--just a little bit more than I was paying my kids' friend.
- I think Vicky is going to help us with the clan tent all of next weekend. It's going to be nice to hang out with her for a while.
Not So Good Stuff:
- While I don't have bad days per se anymore, I still have bad moments. Mostly it's unexpected things that make me miss the kids. Still, it's an improvement.
- The barometer has been a roller coaster lately and it's triggered three migraines for Eric in the last two weeks. I hope the weather stays stable this week. He's traveling again for work. Instead of flying back into O'Hare Friday, I'll pick him up in St. Louis for Tartan Day and we'll drive home together.
- Yes, that means getting ready for Tartan Day is solely my responsibility. It will entail packing what we have here, and then going downstate to pack what we have there as well as the boxes I couldn't bring the last time. The list making is in full swing! The nice thing is I can pack things and take them right down to the van. Hopefully that will minimize what I forget.
This Week:
- Pack gear
- Practice stories
- Eat well. Since Eric will be gone I can experiment a little more. :-)
- Get to the gym 4 times again.
Have a great week, y'all! I'll try to post pictures from the Festival on Facebook next weekend.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Walking on Sunshine
I feel strangely upbeat at the moment. Don't worry. I'm sure it will pass. Grin.
I just vacuumed the parlor. Lady and Natasha slept through it (for the most part), but watching Tarzan creep back in is hysterically funny. Daphne came behind him, and while she wasn't quite as cautious as Tarzan (is still being), she's checking everything out as well. I changed the orientation on Lady's cage, and I think it is less intrusive for the room. Mr. L may have a different opinion when he gets home from the shop, but we'll see.
Our trip to San Antonio was reasonably fruitful, and it was the key to most of the week. We drove down together on Wednesday, bringing Lady and Natasha with us, leaving the rest of the horde to fend for themselves in Central TX. We met a friend for dinner at our favorite burger place. We watched the Spurs on a muddy non-HD satellite connection (HD does spoil you) and worked on the jigsaw puzzle. On Thursday, we went to breakfast, and Mr. L dropped me off at the Apple Store with the Mini while he ran errands. The Apple folks were great. I had my first Genius Bar appointment, and they got me right in. Unfortunately, it wasn't the simple upgrade to Lion I'd anticipated, because when I installed a new hard drive in the Mini, I didn't format it in the Journaled format, so it had to be reformatted. That ruled out the upgrade install and resulted in my disk being wiped. All my data is in Dropbox, I have a current Time Machine backup (but for some reason I can't get them to really work for me), and I've been using the Retina for anything serious since I got it and using the Mini for web browsing. Having to wipe the disk is a just a hassle and not crucial, but I was disappointed. On the bright side, I got the newest versions of iLife with this install. The rest of Thursday was mostly relaxing and reading. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant on Thursday, but it's our regular waiter's night off, so we got someone else, who mostly rushed us through the meal, so we left feeling a little dissatisfied with our experience. More puzzle time. Friday morning, we went to breakfast, and Mr. L dropped me back at the house to rake live oak leaves while he went to his doctor appointment (the whole reason for the trip). He got test results back from a test they ran last month, and the results were good. He discussed some concerns he had with one of his medications and got a plan to see if it's causing the problem he thinks it's causing. Then he ran a few errands, came back to the house to get me, and we went back to our favorite burger place for lunch before driving back to Central Texas.
I'm glad we took Lady and Natasha with us. They book seemed a lot less stressed than usual with fewer cats around.
Today, I'm trying to use Migration Assistant to restore apps to my Mini. It's been telling me there's "less than a minute remaining" since about 9 pm last night. According to Activity Monitor, the app IS doing something, so I'm going to continue to let it run. I imagine there are lot of ones and zeroes to flip, so I'm going to let it churn. I'm doing laundry and a little light cleaning around the house while I watched Holly's webinar with Hitch from booknook.biz, which I missed on Thursday, because I was out of internet service range. Stephen, you probably wouldn't have been surprised by anything in the webinar, but I found it eye-opening.
I emptied the water containers on the yard and refilled them with fresh tap water in preparation for returning them to the shop to be ready for next time we don't have water. I replaced the insulating foam on the water pipes above the back porch, put some insulation back in place, and put the cat carriers back in the closet. That translates to getting a lot of bulky items out of the kitchen and parlor.
I got the lawn mowed before we left town. I also got the ad submitted for the yard sale. I did some work on A-Z posts. I think I can get a few more scheduled. I'm going to try to get more writing done during the day. Mr. L likes to work on a puzzle in the evening, so I like to join him, but if I haven't done my writing, I find myself resenting him for not quitting the puzzle and going up to bed as it gets later in the evening, because I want to get started on my writing. The only logical solution I can come up with is to carve out writing time earlier in the day.
The Week Ahead:
I just vacuumed the parlor. Lady and Natasha slept through it (for the most part), but watching Tarzan creep back in is hysterically funny. Daphne came behind him, and while she wasn't quite as cautious as Tarzan (is still being), she's checking everything out as well. I changed the orientation on Lady's cage, and I think it is less intrusive for the room. Mr. L may have a different opinion when he gets home from the shop, but we'll see.
Our trip to San Antonio was reasonably fruitful, and it was the key to most of the week. We drove down together on Wednesday, bringing Lady and Natasha with us, leaving the rest of the horde to fend for themselves in Central TX. We met a friend for dinner at our favorite burger place. We watched the Spurs on a muddy non-HD satellite connection (HD does spoil you) and worked on the jigsaw puzzle. On Thursday, we went to breakfast, and Mr. L dropped me off at the Apple Store with the Mini while he ran errands. The Apple folks were great. I had my first Genius Bar appointment, and they got me right in. Unfortunately, it wasn't the simple upgrade to Lion I'd anticipated, because when I installed a new hard drive in the Mini, I didn't format it in the Journaled format, so it had to be reformatted. That ruled out the upgrade install and resulted in my disk being wiped. All my data is in Dropbox, I have a current Time Machine backup (but for some reason I can't get them to really work for me), and I've been using the Retina for anything serious since I got it and using the Mini for web browsing. Having to wipe the disk is a just a hassle and not crucial, but I was disappointed. On the bright side, I got the newest versions of iLife with this install. The rest of Thursday was mostly relaxing and reading. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant on Thursday, but it's our regular waiter's night off, so we got someone else, who mostly rushed us through the meal, so we left feeling a little dissatisfied with our experience. More puzzle time. Friday morning, we went to breakfast, and Mr. L dropped me back at the house to rake live oak leaves while he went to his doctor appointment (the whole reason for the trip). He got test results back from a test they ran last month, and the results were good. He discussed some concerns he had with one of his medications and got a plan to see if it's causing the problem he thinks it's causing. Then he ran a few errands, came back to the house to get me, and we went back to our favorite burger place for lunch before driving back to Central Texas.
I'm glad we took Lady and Natasha with us. They book seemed a lot less stressed than usual with fewer cats around.
Today, I'm trying to use Migration Assistant to restore apps to my Mini. It's been telling me there's "less than a minute remaining" since about 9 pm last night. According to Activity Monitor, the app IS doing something, so I'm going to continue to let it run. I imagine there are lot of ones and zeroes to flip, so I'm going to let it churn. I'm doing laundry and a little light cleaning around the house while I watched Holly's webinar with Hitch from booknook.biz, which I missed on Thursday, because I was out of internet service range. Stephen, you probably wouldn't have been surprised by anything in the webinar, but I found it eye-opening.
I emptied the water containers on the yard and refilled them with fresh tap water in preparation for returning them to the shop to be ready for next time we don't have water. I replaced the insulating foam on the water pipes above the back porch, put some insulation back in place, and put the cat carriers back in the closet. That translates to getting a lot of bulky items out of the kitchen and parlor.
I got the lawn mowed before we left town. I also got the ad submitted for the yard sale. I did some work on A-Z posts. I think I can get a few more scheduled. I'm going to try to get more writing done during the day. Mr. L likes to work on a puzzle in the evening, so I like to join him, but if I haven't done my writing, I find myself resenting him for not quitting the puzzle and going up to bed as it gets later in the evening, because I want to get started on my writing. The only logical solution I can come up with is to carve out writing time earlier in the day.
The Week Ahead:
- Get ready for the yard sale (Mr L is supposedly at the shop prepping to paint the showroom ceiling now, so I can't do anything for the yard sale until he tells me the coast is clear -- this ought to be a very interesting week).
- A-Z Challenge goes live on Wednesday, so I have to finish more posts and get them up. I'm good until "G." G is giving me some trouble right now. I'll get something.
- I can recommend "1-Minute Office Chair Yoga" on Lift if anyone was wondering. I need to do each of these exercises daily, but for now, once every 12 days is better than nothing. I'm pretty sure I'll begin putting together a more comprehensive application of these techniques fairly soon. I'm going to let it build.
- Continue with mindful eating.
- Probably a bunch of other things I'm forgetting.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Long Week
Funny how, when I was in the process of moving here, I was excited about the prospect of lake-effect snow but didn't really think we'd see much, being on the west side of the lake. Guess what I woke up to this morning? 23* and snow. :-/ Yeah, happy Spring.
Good Stuff:
- We spent yesterday at a local Celtic Festival. It was inside the Sears Center, the festival on the concourse and a soccer tournament in the arena. We had a good turn-out and lots of interest, although people kept asking how much my display items were. It's not the first time I've had to explain we weren't selling anything, but it was the first time I've had to do it so much. We got to reconnect with the Illinois Clan McDonald contingent, so that was fun. We'll see them in a couple weeks at Tartan Day, and they're going to work on getting me into a storytelling tent at the Springfield Games. I also talked with some folks from the local St. Andrew Society about storytelling at the Chicago Games, but of course the person I needed to talk to had just left. They have a smaller party for kids they may be in touch with me about.
- I made it to the gym 4 times, including the session with the trainer.
- My food choices were better.
- We went to see Divergent Friday night, not thinking that it's based on a YA book, and it was opening weekend. The audience was 3/4 tween, many of whom had ants in their pants while we waited for the movie to start. I got tired just watching them. They settled down when the previews started, though, so the movie itself was enjoyable. There are so few movies we both want to see.
- Connected with a small group of women for a weekly bible study. They're a fun group--teachers, mostly, but I'm told there's a journalist and a screenplay writer who come sometimes.
- Driving is getting easier. I don't tremble anymore when I get in the van to go out. I even parallel parked the other day! In traffic!
Not So Good Stuff:
- I got my first skirt made, and despite my careful measurement, it's tight in the hips. It's fixable, I think, but it will require taking it partially apart and putting in gussets, which I'll be able to take out later if/when I lose weight. It's a drawstring, so it's pretty forgiving, but the downside is it adds a little bulk to the waist. Over all, it wasn't a bad first attempt. When I do the next one, I'm going to use my hip measurement for the waist measurement to compensate for the "junk in the trunk." ;-) I probably need to kick in some extra, too, for seam allowance. Pinterest forgot to mention that part.
- I was supposed to go to counseling, but my counselor got sick and cancelled. We've rescheduled for this week.
- Despite my careful eating and exercise, I lost whopping half a pound. It's discouraging, but I guess a half pound a week is better than a sharp stick in the eye.
This week:
- Work on stories
- Sewing
- Exercise
- Keep logging food
- Start getting stuff together for Tartan Day
Good Stuff:
- We spent yesterday at a local Celtic Festival. It was inside the Sears Center, the festival on the concourse and a soccer tournament in the arena. We had a good turn-out and lots of interest, although people kept asking how much my display items were. It's not the first time I've had to explain we weren't selling anything, but it was the first time I've had to do it so much. We got to reconnect with the Illinois Clan McDonald contingent, so that was fun. We'll see them in a couple weeks at Tartan Day, and they're going to work on getting me into a storytelling tent at the Springfield Games. I also talked with some folks from the local St. Andrew Society about storytelling at the Chicago Games, but of course the person I needed to talk to had just left. They have a smaller party for kids they may be in touch with me about.
- I made it to the gym 4 times, including the session with the trainer.
- My food choices were better.
- We went to see Divergent Friday night, not thinking that it's based on a YA book, and it was opening weekend. The audience was 3/4 tween, many of whom had ants in their pants while we waited for the movie to start. I got tired just watching them. They settled down when the previews started, though, so the movie itself was enjoyable. There are so few movies we both want to see.
- Connected with a small group of women for a weekly bible study. They're a fun group--teachers, mostly, but I'm told there's a journalist and a screenplay writer who come sometimes.
- Driving is getting easier. I don't tremble anymore when I get in the van to go out. I even parallel parked the other day! In traffic!
Not So Good Stuff:
- I got my first skirt made, and despite my careful measurement, it's tight in the hips. It's fixable, I think, but it will require taking it partially apart and putting in gussets, which I'll be able to take out later if/when I lose weight. It's a drawstring, so it's pretty forgiving, but the downside is it adds a little bulk to the waist. Over all, it wasn't a bad first attempt. When I do the next one, I'm going to use my hip measurement for the waist measurement to compensate for the "junk in the trunk." ;-) I probably need to kick in some extra, too, for seam allowance. Pinterest forgot to mention that part.
- I was supposed to go to counseling, but my counselor got sick and cancelled. We've rescheduled for this week.
- Despite my careful eating and exercise, I lost whopping half a pound. It's discouraging, but I guess a half pound a week is better than a sharp stick in the eye.
This week:
- Work on stories
- Sewing
- Exercise
- Keep logging food
- Start getting stuff together for Tartan Day
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Loose ends
I've been at loose ends this week. I finished the upload, cover, and publishing of Creations 2014 on Monday night. So I have that empty feeling that accompanies the end of a project.
Still fighting a cold, but much, much better. A couple more days, and I think this snot-storm will be finally over.
Thursday night, I suffered the horror of having my 16-year-old Diamondtron monitor die. It was a great monitor. Weighed a ton, used power like an air conditioner, but had the resolution of a microscope. The manufacturer doesn't even make them anymore. I know because I tried to find another one.
I used an old LCD I've had for about 10 years until today when I went to Staples and found a new HP monitor. Better resolution than the old LCD, but not as good as the Diamondtron. It will have to do until I have a bit more money.
This week I'm going to see how I like this monitor. I have 14 days to decide. If it doesn't work out, I will take it back and try another one. This one was on sale.
Speaking of Creations 2014, the proof copies will arrive Wednesday next week. I'm looking forward to seeing how the cover printed. I think some of the graphics will need to be moved, but I'll know for sure when I have my hands on it and can use a pica pole to see.
I'm also working on plans for another anthology, this one edited by me. Tentative title: Blackbirds. I'm planning on including poems and stories with a darker tone. And I'm going to invite several writers I know to submit stories and poems that fit the theme. It's a project several months away from launch, but I find it clamoring for my time and attention.
Today we had a good writers group meeting. Lots of lively discussion about writing. Well worth my effort and time.
This coming week I'm going to:
- Keep up on my chores.
- Publish a family newsletter.
- Edit a friend's short story.
- Start editing on another friend's book.
- Update the blogs, including the one for the writers group.
- Start my heart walking rehabilitation program again.
Hope you have a great week!
Still fighting a cold, but much, much better. A couple more days, and I think this snot-storm will be finally over.
Thursday night, I suffered the horror of having my 16-year-old Diamondtron monitor die. It was a great monitor. Weighed a ton, used power like an air conditioner, but had the resolution of a microscope. The manufacturer doesn't even make them anymore. I know because I tried to find another one.
I used an old LCD I've had for about 10 years until today when I went to Staples and found a new HP monitor. Better resolution than the old LCD, but not as good as the Diamondtron. It will have to do until I have a bit more money.
This week I'm going to see how I like this monitor. I have 14 days to decide. If it doesn't work out, I will take it back and try another one. This one was on sale.
Speaking of Creations 2014, the proof copies will arrive Wednesday next week. I'm looking forward to seeing how the cover printed. I think some of the graphics will need to be moved, but I'll know for sure when I have my hands on it and can use a pica pole to see.
I'm also working on plans for another anthology, this one edited by me. Tentative title: Blackbirds. I'm planning on including poems and stories with a darker tone. And I'm going to invite several writers I know to submit stories and poems that fit the theme. It's a project several months away from launch, but I find it clamoring for my time and attention.
Today we had a good writers group meeting. Lots of lively discussion about writing. Well worth my effort and time.
This coming week I'm going to:
- Keep up on my chores.
- Publish a family newsletter.
- Edit a friend's short story.
- Start editing on another friend's book.
- Update the blogs, including the one for the writers group.
- Start my heart walking rehabilitation program again.
Hope you have a great week!
I need another nap
Things here are mostly all right. I'm still adjusting to our new Tempurpedic bed, and by adjusting I mean I'm sleeping soundly (with dreams and everything!) but spend my awake hours cranky because I'm achy in my bones. It's mostly my spine and joints, and I don't like it. Apparently it's part of adjusting to the bed and can take almost a month to get through, but I am so, so frustrated, and tired, which is weird because I seem to be sleeping well.
Crap, I dunno. I'm just not happy.
Writing is stalled - nothing new to report there - but I have, maybe, had some progress with the weight loss. Maybe. I'd been slipping off the program for quite a while and struggling to get back on it - this past week I focused on the Good Health Guidelines and didn't worry much about anything else, but I did add exercise back in, yay! - and I lost a pound. I don't think I earned the loss (oy! the sautee burgers and sweet potato fries at a local burger joint!), but there it was.
However.
I talk on the phone fairly often with my writer friend Shirley (she writes witch mysteries and women's suspense) and we're both struggling with getting the words as well as other things. Anyway, we've given each other a challenge of sorts. I gave her a writing assignment, and she gave me an eating assignment. My assignment is, just for today, I will follow the plan. Just for TODAY. Not all week, or month or forever, Just TODAY.
She gave me the assignment on Thursday afternoon, and I started it yesterday. I tracked everything, followed all the GHGs, exercised... and was down a pound at weigh in. I blame Shirley for this, not my eating for the whole week. I'm going to keep doing this every 'just for today' until it's a habit. At least that's my plan. I will get up in the morning and tell myself that just for TODAY I will follow the WW plan. Go me!
(I think next week I'll add that mantra to writing, but we'll see)
We got the computers moved into the new office area (it's actually our entryway, or at least the initial room when you walk in the front door) and it seems to be working well. Bill and I both decluttered our desks, we bought a new rug... It looks really nice, just kinda odd to have right past the front door. lol Our new couch should come in a couple of weeks, but our old couch is moved to the new location and the overall layout seems to be working, too. Yay.
I've been doing some other decluttering, simplifying, tossing stuff. It's coming slow, but it is coming, so that's good.
We had a glimpse of spring mid week, but it's cold again and snow's in the forecast for Monday. Whee.
I hope you all have a great week! {{hugs}}
Crap, I dunno. I'm just not happy.
Writing is stalled - nothing new to report there - but I have, maybe, had some progress with the weight loss. Maybe. I'd been slipping off the program for quite a while and struggling to get back on it - this past week I focused on the Good Health Guidelines and didn't worry much about anything else, but I did add exercise back in, yay! - and I lost a pound. I don't think I earned the loss (oy! the sautee burgers and sweet potato fries at a local burger joint!), but there it was.
However.
I talk on the phone fairly often with my writer friend Shirley (she writes witch mysteries and women's suspense) and we're both struggling with getting the words as well as other things. Anyway, we've given each other a challenge of sorts. I gave her a writing assignment, and she gave me an eating assignment. My assignment is, just for today, I will follow the plan. Just for TODAY. Not all week, or month or forever, Just TODAY.
She gave me the assignment on Thursday afternoon, and I started it yesterday. I tracked everything, followed all the GHGs, exercised... and was down a pound at weigh in. I blame Shirley for this, not my eating for the whole week. I'm going to keep doing this every 'just for today' until it's a habit. At least that's my plan. I will get up in the morning and tell myself that just for TODAY I will follow the WW plan. Go me!
(I think next week I'll add that mantra to writing, but we'll see)
We got the computers moved into the new office area (it's actually our entryway, or at least the initial room when you walk in the front door) and it seems to be working well. Bill and I both decluttered our desks, we bought a new rug... It looks really nice, just kinda odd to have right past the front door. lol Our new couch should come in a couple of weeks, but our old couch is moved to the new location and the overall layout seems to be working, too. Yay.
I've been doing some other decluttering, simplifying, tossing stuff. It's coming slow, but it is coming, so that's good.
We had a glimpse of spring mid week, but it's cold again and snow's in the forecast for Monday. Whee.
I hope you all have a great week! {{hugs}}
Land of Make Believe
I've always enjoyed the jazz of Chuck Mangione. Not a bad week. Here's what went down.
The Week Ahead:
- Lady has done well in the Halfway House mode. I give her her medicine in the morning, and she has the run of the house until after 8pm. When she comes downstairs or if she's already downstairs, she gets tucked into the cage for the night. She's spending about half her time downstairs and half her time upstairs. She's only had one incident with Rossie, and it was at "the watering hole" upstairs one evening as I was getting things ready for me to go to bed, but I hadn't brought her downstairs to tuck her in yet. She and Rossie have both been out in the open in the same room numerous times throughout the week, so the only problems seem to have been when their paths cross directly.
- Thankfully, we got the water pipes repaired and the water turned back on. It took a day longer than planned, but it's done -- with shut-off valves instead of just capping the lines, so the process should work better when we decide to finish that bathroom. Finishing that bathroom is a priority for me, because it just makes sense to have a bathroom with a hallway access. It isn't a priority for Mr. L, though, so it will be a long time happening.
- I did get a haircut.
- I spent one day running errands -- depositing checks into credit union accounts; making an appointment for my annual exam and to get my knee looked at with the VA; renewing vehicle registrations on Ft Hood, picking up prescriptions, and making a commissary run.
- I helped Mr. L set up scaffolding along the front of the house, and he began finishing work on the final coats of paint.
- We dug some weeds and I laid down a pre-emergent weed preventative that is supposed to keep the sandburs from emerging later this year.
- I mowed at the store.
- I set up a list for people to subscribe to RandR blog posts. I'm offering it in time for the A-Z Blog Challenge for people who want to read more but don't want to have to worry about finding their way back to the blog to do so -- the A-Z Challenge can be a hassle to find blogs you like as you're whizzing through. I also began scheduling posts. Which means I'm having to finalize those posts. Eek. I'm putting a blog subscription signup form in the footer of each post for the A-Z Challenge. I hope that's not too annoying for people.
- The queasiness seems to have subsided, which means my weight has stabilized, and I'm feeling hungrier. I have, however, chosen a smaller meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant in town, and it turned out to be even smaller than I thought. I also devised a few other techniques to help keep me mindful in my dietary ways.
- I didn't get any work done on PBOTL or evaluating my WIPs.
- Ag exemption not turned in -- Mr. L needs to summarize the terms of the verbal lease with the people who are making hay, and he's procrastinating about doing this. We'll get it turned in before April 30th, but good grief. Write the two or three sentences that will summarize it and turn the form in for Heaven's sake!
- Now he wants to begin work on the taxes when we get back from San Antonio oafter this trip. I never knew what a procrastinator he was before we got married. This has become more apparent than ever in recent years, and it bugs me.
- Then there's my procrastinating about the things mentioned above as well as working on the floors upstairs. To me, it's different, because my deadlines are internal, and the ones he's procrastinating on are external. An argument could be made that it's two sides of the same coin.
The Week Ahead:
- Accompany Mr. L to San Antonio on this week's quick trip. The Apple Store said if I'd bring in the Mini, they'd install Lion on it for me. That will bring the Mini to the newest version of OS X possible for it's hardware (I purchased this OS already, so I'm authorized at no charge, but they've pulled it from the App Store, so I can't install it myself). We'll take Lady and Natasha with us, so Lady can get her medicine each day, and they both can get some outside time in the back yard. The rest of the cats should be fine on towers.
- Finalize more A-Z posts and get them scheduled.
- Mow the lawn.
- Submit ad for yard sale to newspaper.
- Begin setting up for yard sale, planned for the weekend after next.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Still kicking
Things here are things. Some good, some meh, but nothing too bad. Been struggling with my diet, the blues, the book, hormones, and most everything else, but health seems all right overall, other than my regular season-change sinus issues, the family's fine, the pets are fine, most everything is fine, other than me inside of my head.
We bought some new furniture last Sunday, a bed and a sofa sectional. The bed arrived Wednesday and we're still adjusting to it. It's a rather firm tempurpedic w/ pillows and while the firm is great, maybe it's a little too firm? We've decided to give it a month. The sectional won't arrive until mid April. Our couch is just so, so sad and with 3 adults plus a very busy toddler, it's simply not big enough.
Anyway, that's pretty much it for excitement around here.
My agent accepted Morgan a week ago this past Friday and has started pitching it, no news as to where or what the reception's been. Also no SPORE news, other than the publishers all have it and are gonna read it, but they haven't yet. One would think that six months would be PLENTY of time, but alas it is apparently not.
{{hugs}} and have a great week, everyone.
We bought some new furniture last Sunday, a bed and a sofa sectional. The bed arrived Wednesday and we're still adjusting to it. It's a rather firm tempurpedic w/ pillows and while the firm is great, maybe it's a little too firm? We've decided to give it a month. The sectional won't arrive until mid April. Our couch is just so, so sad and with 3 adults plus a very busy toddler, it's simply not big enough.
Anyway, that's pretty much it for excitement around here.
My agent accepted Morgan a week ago this past Friday and has started pitching it, no news as to where or what the reception's been. Also no SPORE news, other than the publishers all have it and are gonna read it, but they haven't yet. One would think that six months would be PLENTY of time, but alas it is apparently not.
{{hugs}} and have a great week, everyone.
Aaaaannnnd, it's 20* again.
That's okay, though. It's sunny, and we're supposed to be warmer this week.
- Alex and Emma had safe travel here and back, and we had a good visit. They got here about noon Thursday, and of course Eric had to work Friday, so we found our way out to Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. Turns out, Emma has a cousin who lives here, so they got together for a little while at the bar next door. Emma was pretty overwhelmed by the city since she has lived her whole life on a farm in southern Illinois, but she seemed to have fun.
- Had my appointment with the trainer at the gym, and as expected, she kicked my butt. She made some suggestions to tweak my diet--all totally do-able things, like eating all my carbs during the day and none for dinner so while I'm sleeping, my body burns fat instead of carbs.
- It took some effort and thought, but I got more protein and less carbs last week, at least on the days I tracked. I didn't when the kids were here. Protein shakes are my new friend.
- I got new stories from Jeff. Some of them I'd seen in other places, but he hasn't performed any of them for a long time, so they'll be more or less new material for Tartan Day. That's good, and not so good because it means I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks. It's like studying for an exam you have to take over and over again. The saving grace is that they're photocopies, so I can highlight them. I'm a visual learner, so that will make it easier.
- We found a camcorder on sale at Best Buy yesterday, so Stephen, I'm a step closer to having videos for you. Only one step, mind you.
- I didn't get words every day, but the days I worked were good. Well, decent. I'll have rewriting to do. Some of the conversations I wrote were pretty inane, but I think I got the gist down.
- Believe it or not, I really have nothing to complain about this week. I guess I must be getting used to living here. I will say I'm SO looking forward to warmer weather. It hit 80* in St. Louis last week. All my friends were Facebooking about it. Today I want to get on Facebook and yell, "HA!!!!!" because the forecast was for nasty weather today--ice, snow, sleet. I won't, though. This time. It's nice to feel hopeful again.
This week:
- Work on new stories.
- Write.
- Figure out bard skirt pattern. I'm using instructions for a basic A-line from Pinterest. I have a feeling it's not going to be as easy as they make it out to be!
- Remind Eric to order his Campbell Ancient kilt.
- Gym: 4 times, including the next session with the trainer.
- Alex and Emma had safe travel here and back, and we had a good visit. They got here about noon Thursday, and of course Eric had to work Friday, so we found our way out to Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. Turns out, Emma has a cousin who lives here, so they got together for a little while at the bar next door. Emma was pretty overwhelmed by the city since she has lived her whole life on a farm in southern Illinois, but she seemed to have fun.
- Had my appointment with the trainer at the gym, and as expected, she kicked my butt. She made some suggestions to tweak my diet--all totally do-able things, like eating all my carbs during the day and none for dinner so while I'm sleeping, my body burns fat instead of carbs.
- It took some effort and thought, but I got more protein and less carbs last week, at least on the days I tracked. I didn't when the kids were here. Protein shakes are my new friend.
- I got new stories from Jeff. Some of them I'd seen in other places, but he hasn't performed any of them for a long time, so they'll be more or less new material for Tartan Day. That's good, and not so good because it means I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks. It's like studying for an exam you have to take over and over again. The saving grace is that they're photocopies, so I can highlight them. I'm a visual learner, so that will make it easier.
- We found a camcorder on sale at Best Buy yesterday, so Stephen, I'm a step closer to having videos for you. Only one step, mind you.
- I didn't get words every day, but the days I worked were good. Well, decent. I'll have rewriting to do. Some of the conversations I wrote were pretty inane, but I think I got the gist down.
- Believe it or not, I really have nothing to complain about this week. I guess I must be getting used to living here. I will say I'm SO looking forward to warmer weather. It hit 80* in St. Louis last week. All my friends were Facebooking about it. Today I want to get on Facebook and yell, "HA!!!!!" because the forecast was for nasty weather today--ice, snow, sleet. I won't, though. This time. It's nice to feel hopeful again.
This week:
- Work on new stories.
- Write.
- Figure out bard skirt pattern. I'm using instructions for a basic A-line from Pinterest. I have a feeling it's not going to be as easy as they make it out to be!
- Remind Eric to order his Campbell Ancient kilt.
- Gym: 4 times, including the next session with the trainer.
3 Steps to Increase Productivity?
Here's a suggestion I just saw to increase productivity in three steps. I jokingly replied on Twitter: Step 1: Turn off computer. Step 2: Walk away. Step 3: Do something. But, seriously, this guy's suggestion is as follows:
What are your thoughts?
- At the end the day I wrote down what I accomplished
- At the start the day I wrote down what I wanted to get accomplished for that day
- I wrote down the biggest frustrations I had during that day
What are your thoughts?
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Storm Front
Actually, I think the physical storm is going to miss us, but I'm feeling unsettled inside. Certainly as a result of a couple of weeks on the road, an unknown water pipe status, and a generalized feeling of falling further and further behind.
We are back in Central TX, and Mr. L intends, I think, to take a look at the water pipe situation tomorrow, but we won't have access to parts to fix it until Monday (because he didn't want to deal with it on Thursday afternoon). This is not a problem, because we store 30 gallons of water at the shop, and we brought 15 of them to the house when we got back to town on Thursday. We were in Houston Friday and most of today, and we have bottled water for drinking. We have enough water for, ahem, sanitary reasons.
Mr. L is finally getting a fire under him to tackle several projects he's been telling me he's going to do for some time, and it seems like he's going to try to do them all in the next week and a half? Something isn't going to work as he hopes. I will provide assistance as he'll let me, but, knowing how he works, I cannot see this happening. This should be an interesting week, and much of what I might hope to do for anything I want to do is likely to be pushed aside.
Last week with Cat from Germany went very well. I also met several How To Think Sideways classmates who reside in Texas (two in Dallas-area, one in Austin, and one in the Hill Country). This was a treat. They all came down to San Antonio to meet up with Cat.
Mr. L had planned to take his truck in for service on Wednesday, but he decided to do so on Monday instead. Good thing, because he didn't get it back until Thursday morning. It needed new tires, a new driver seat pan, and a new power steering pump (covered under warranty) as well as a few other sundry nitnoid items. $1200 cost to him for non-warranty work -- $800 for tires; not sure what the remainder was for.
Lady had a few incidents, both times while I wasn't home. Mr. L put her in the cage, and he didn't know who she was discussing things with. Now that we're back in Central TX, she gets a chance to try again. We decided not to board her for this weekend. We left early Friday morning and got back early this evening. I just gave her her medication before we left and as soon as we got home. I felt okay with leaving her in the cage for that period of time, and, thankfully, the other cats didn't mess with her food or water bowl.
This was a lousy writing week for me. Because I was pre-occupied with making sure Cat was taken care of from Monday to Wednesday, Mr. L became extra needy and acted like I'd abandoned him. I've noticed if I'm ever paying attention to anyone other than him he gets this way. I do the best I can to make sure he's not really abandoned, but I can't change the way he feels, if, in fact, that's what's he's feeling. It annoys me, but it is what it is. It's probably not going to get any better.
I kept up with my 750 words daily entry, I downloaded a few videos from Holly's site, I did a little writing planning, and mostly didn't get anything of consequence accomplished. I piddled with a few of the A-Z entries.
I've been feeling queasy all week. Not sick, but not well either. I'm feeling slightly better today.
The Week Ahead:
We are back in Central TX, and Mr. L intends, I think, to take a look at the water pipe situation tomorrow, but we won't have access to parts to fix it until Monday (because he didn't want to deal with it on Thursday afternoon). This is not a problem, because we store 30 gallons of water at the shop, and we brought 15 of them to the house when we got back to town on Thursday. We were in Houston Friday and most of today, and we have bottled water for drinking. We have enough water for, ahem, sanitary reasons.
Mr. L is finally getting a fire under him to tackle several projects he's been telling me he's going to do for some time, and it seems like he's going to try to do them all in the next week and a half? Something isn't going to work as he hopes. I will provide assistance as he'll let me, but, knowing how he works, I cannot see this happening. This should be an interesting week, and much of what I might hope to do for anything I want to do is likely to be pushed aside.
Last week with Cat from Germany went very well. I also met several How To Think Sideways classmates who reside in Texas (two in Dallas-area, one in Austin, and one in the Hill Country). This was a treat. They all came down to San Antonio to meet up with Cat.
Mr. L had planned to take his truck in for service on Wednesday, but he decided to do so on Monday instead. Good thing, because he didn't get it back until Thursday morning. It needed new tires, a new driver seat pan, and a new power steering pump (covered under warranty) as well as a few other sundry nitnoid items. $1200 cost to him for non-warranty work -- $800 for tires; not sure what the remainder was for.
Lady had a few incidents, both times while I wasn't home. Mr. L put her in the cage, and he didn't know who she was discussing things with. Now that we're back in Central TX, she gets a chance to try again. We decided not to board her for this weekend. We left early Friday morning and got back early this evening. I just gave her her medication before we left and as soon as we got home. I felt okay with leaving her in the cage for that period of time, and, thankfully, the other cats didn't mess with her food or water bowl.
This was a lousy writing week for me. Because I was pre-occupied with making sure Cat was taken care of from Monday to Wednesday, Mr. L became extra needy and acted like I'd abandoned him. I've noticed if I'm ever paying attention to anyone other than him he gets this way. I do the best I can to make sure he's not really abandoned, but I can't change the way he feels, if, in fact, that's what's he's feeling. It annoys me, but it is what it is. It's probably not going to get any better.
I kept up with my 750 words daily entry, I downloaded a few videos from Holly's site, I did a little writing planning, and mostly didn't get anything of consequence accomplished. I piddled with a few of the A-Z entries.
I've been feeling queasy all week. Not sick, but not well either. I'm feeling slightly better today.
The Week Ahead:
- Help Mr. L as needed to:
- Repair the water line
- Clear the showroom floor at the shop of all stuff so he can paint the ceiling
- Anything else he needs
- Get a haircut
- Get the ranch ag exemption sheet turned in to the appraisal district
- Begin working on taxes
- Work on cleaning the upstairs floors
- Work a little each day writing and revising -- even if it's only a few minutes
- Begin reading my drafts and evaluating for future work. Begin building a queue for work planning purposes.
- Monitor Lady's progress and behavior
Sunday, March 9, 2014
improving
Things are slowly getting better. It's also thawing here. I'm pretty sure one has to do with the other.
Good Stuff:
- Y'all know the best news already. If you check here, you can see if for yourself if you scroll all the way down.
- I had a long conversation with Jeff, whose illness has afforded me this opportunity. Not only did he help me put together a list of stories to tell little kids, he's going to copy some other stories he's had good luck with and stick them in the mail. It looks like phone and snail mail will be the way we work for a while. He has no plans to leave Kansas City anytime soon, and we haven't decided if we're going to trek all the way out there for the KC Games.
- Visited the Art Institute of Chicago with a friend Tuesday morning, which gave me a chance to ride the L. I now have my very own bus and train pass.
- Started therapy. It went pretty well, I think, for an initial visit. I'm going again this week.
- Eric was in Milwaukee all week, and I survived. ;-) I had been a little concerned about being in the city alone, but it wasn't a big deal.
Not So Good Stuff:
- Eric and I were supposed to meet with a trainer at the gym yesterday and our appointment didn't get booked, so we wasted an hour trying to get that straight.
- I packed all our spare blankets in a big suitcase and apparently left it downstate. It wouldn't be a big deal except Alex and his girlfriend are coming for a few days this week while they're on spring break. I did go by Target and found a pair of bedspreads that I'm sure will see good use here, but still.
- I've started tracking my food again, and while I've kept the calories within limits, I'm eating a lot of carbs. Even on days when I try to go low carb I end up eating a lot of them. And why does protein almost always come with fat? It must be a conspiracy. Keeping junk food out of the house does appear to be a good strategy. Even on the days when I REALLY want cake, it's too much trouble to suit up for the cold to walk across the street and get it.
- The warm-up isn't a minute too soon. For the first time ever, I think, I'm getting a little desperate to wear something besides jeans, possibly because I've pretty much been cycling between two pairs for the last few months. Probably 80% of my lower body wardrobe doesn't fit right now, and some of the shirts are tight. I went through three sweaters getting dressed this morning. This move has not been good to my weight.
This Week:
- Go to the gym a couple times.
- Write.
- Get ready for Alex and Emma.
- Remember to pick them up at the train station. (Like I need a reminder for that!)
Good Stuff:
- Y'all know the best news already. If you check here, you can see if for yourself if you scroll all the way down.
- I had a long conversation with Jeff, whose illness has afforded me this opportunity. Not only did he help me put together a list of stories to tell little kids, he's going to copy some other stories he's had good luck with and stick them in the mail. It looks like phone and snail mail will be the way we work for a while. He has no plans to leave Kansas City anytime soon, and we haven't decided if we're going to trek all the way out there for the KC Games.
- Visited the Art Institute of Chicago with a friend Tuesday morning, which gave me a chance to ride the L. I now have my very own bus and train pass.
- Started therapy. It went pretty well, I think, for an initial visit. I'm going again this week.
- Eric was in Milwaukee all week, and I survived. ;-) I had been a little concerned about being in the city alone, but it wasn't a big deal.
Not So Good Stuff:
- Eric and I were supposed to meet with a trainer at the gym yesterday and our appointment didn't get booked, so we wasted an hour trying to get that straight.
- I packed all our spare blankets in a big suitcase and apparently left it downstate. It wouldn't be a big deal except Alex and his girlfriend are coming for a few days this week while they're on spring break. I did go by Target and found a pair of bedspreads that I'm sure will see good use here, but still.
- I've started tracking my food again, and while I've kept the calories within limits, I'm eating a lot of carbs. Even on days when I try to go low carb I end up eating a lot of them. And why does protein almost always come with fat? It must be a conspiracy. Keeping junk food out of the house does appear to be a good strategy. Even on the days when I REALLY want cake, it's too much trouble to suit up for the cold to walk across the street and get it.
- The warm-up isn't a minute too soon. For the first time ever, I think, I'm getting a little desperate to wear something besides jeans, possibly because I've pretty much been cycling between two pairs for the last few months. Probably 80% of my lower body wardrobe doesn't fit right now, and some of the shirts are tight. I went through three sweaters getting dressed this morning. This move has not been good to my weight.
This Week:
- Go to the gym a couple times.
- Write.
- Get ready for Alex and Emma.
- Remember to pick them up at the train station. (Like I need a reminder for that!)
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Living on the Fault Line
It's been an interesting week. Weather in Central Texas had wind chills of 6 for a couple of days. I'd forgotten to cover at least one outside faucet before we left. We set the thermostats to 50 before we left. My bathroom scale recorded temperatures in the bedroom in the low 40s. We called a neighbor and asked him to stop by the house and check on it. He confirmed the water was frozen, and he turned water off at the cutoff. So far, so good. Even if a pipe was broken, water wouldn't be flooding the house after the thaw. I went up on Thursday to check, and, yes, there is a broken pipe. Inside the house, unfortunately. Fortunately, it's in the area of the back bathroom that has been plumbed but no fixtures installed, so once we find the break, we can just cap it off for now. That's the one bathroom I'd like to have completed, because, to me, it's just stupid to have the only upstairs bathroom in one of the bedrooms. The back bathroom has a door to a bedroom, but it also has an access from the hallway. Unfortunately, a lot of the piping seems to be run through or have access via the closet on the back porch. This closet has a vent in the floor that lets cold air from under the house into the closet. When they plumbed the house, they used PVC (I hate PVC for just this reason -- it's brittle). They insulated the pipes with that foam stuff you put over it, but when we get these hard freezes, that's not enough. Clearly, we have to do a better job of insulating that back porch and the access to under the house. There's too much open air access.
The way I could tell there was a broken pipe was from the water dripping onto the back porch after I turned the water back on. I turned the water off as soon as I saw that, but there were a few puddles inside the house as well as running down the wall inside the back door (right by the light switches -- I didn't turn any kitchen lights on from there). I walked up the back stairs to survey the inside damage, and there was a little bit of water on the landing at the top of the stairs and even less inside the bathroom area. I walked back down the stairs to get supplies to clean up the water, and my foot slipped on a puddle, and my left knee bent more than 90 degrees rather suddenly. It doesn't like to do this, so I felt immediate discomfort. It has gotten better each day since then, but that was not a comfortable 24 hours. I'm wearing a sturdy brace to keep it supported. I don't think I did any permanent damage. It feels more like I strained a few connecting tissue things. Needless to say, I got the crux of what I went to Central Texas to do done, but I decided not to do several things I had planned because of the pain. That three hour drive back wasn't fun either.
I went to pull out Polar Bear on the Loose to work on it and realized I'd brought the wrong folder. So much for that. My short stories all feel as if they are just a narrative and nothing more. I'm annoyed about data caps on my cellular hotspot access. Why oh why doesn't Verizon have data rollover? That would solve most of my problems. Whose dumb idea was it to kill the DSL service down here in San Antonio anyway? Don't answer that. I know whose idea it was.
We did get the two china berry trees taken down. We also removed the barrier between the back yard and the interior side yard, so that area will be easier to keep mowed and cleaned up now. The back yard has come a long way from the overgrown mess it was four years ago.
Lady is responding well to her Reconcile prescription. We've been able to leave her out of her cage all week. It's nice to have her integrated into the household again. We've had no incidents -- just a few warning growls from Rossie, which Lady appears to have heeded.
I met my first 5% weight loss goal this week (meaning I lost 5% of my starting body weight since January 1). I went to set another 5% goal, and the Withings app said (essentially), "Whoa, there! Let's take some time to stabilize here first." What a good idea. So I left the goal alone for a couple of days, then I reset it yesterday to my next goal, which I plan to hit between July and September. At this point, I'm between sizes -- one size feels a lithe large and the lower size feels a touch snug. Was it from the mindful eating approach or the 90 Days to A New You on Lift App? I suspect a combination of the two. I finished the first time through the 90 Days to A New You plan this week. I intended to roll it over and let it start again, but with the knee, I decided to archive it for a little while and start again when the knee is doing better. When I'm back in Central TX and have was internet access, I want to do the Office Yoga plan. I think it's about a week to ten days, and it teaches a different office yoga pose each day. That one sounds fun. I was going to do it concurrently, but I think I'll do it, then I'll consider resuming the New You plan. I don't like to get too many plans running at once, because that gets difficult to keep up with.
I have developed a significant distaste to the limitations of 4GB of cellular data. I must find a better solution. I hate being restricted in my online access, and Mr. L doesn't like me to be absorbed in the computer the whole time we're someplace that has free WiFi.
The week ahead:
- Get Cat from the airport on Sunday night and get her to her hotel
- Meet up with her and the other Texas Sideways people on Monday for dinner
- Make sure Cat has transportation when she needs it and gets to see what she wants to see Monday through Wednesday
- Head back to Central Texas on Thursday, drop Lady for boarding, and troubleshoot where the water line break is in the house
- Get parts as needed and repair water line if possible.
- Spend Friday and Saturday in Houston
- Get some useful revision done in preparation for the A-Z Challenge.
- Probably some other things that are completely escaping my brain now
The way I could tell there was a broken pipe was from the water dripping onto the back porch after I turned the water back on. I turned the water off as soon as I saw that, but there were a few puddles inside the house as well as running down the wall inside the back door (right by the light switches -- I didn't turn any kitchen lights on from there). I walked up the back stairs to survey the inside damage, and there was a little bit of water on the landing at the top of the stairs and even less inside the bathroom area. I walked back down the stairs to get supplies to clean up the water, and my foot slipped on a puddle, and my left knee bent more than 90 degrees rather suddenly. It doesn't like to do this, so I felt immediate discomfort. It has gotten better each day since then, but that was not a comfortable 24 hours. I'm wearing a sturdy brace to keep it supported. I don't think I did any permanent damage. It feels more like I strained a few connecting tissue things. Needless to say, I got the crux of what I went to Central Texas to do done, but I decided not to do several things I had planned because of the pain. That three hour drive back wasn't fun either.
I went to pull out Polar Bear on the Loose to work on it and realized I'd brought the wrong folder. So much for that. My short stories all feel as if they are just a narrative and nothing more. I'm annoyed about data caps on my cellular hotspot access. Why oh why doesn't Verizon have data rollover? That would solve most of my problems. Whose dumb idea was it to kill the DSL service down here in San Antonio anyway? Don't answer that. I know whose idea it was.
We did get the two china berry trees taken down. We also removed the barrier between the back yard and the interior side yard, so that area will be easier to keep mowed and cleaned up now. The back yard has come a long way from the overgrown mess it was four years ago.
Lady is responding well to her Reconcile prescription. We've been able to leave her out of her cage all week. It's nice to have her integrated into the household again. We've had no incidents -- just a few warning growls from Rossie, which Lady appears to have heeded.
I met my first 5% weight loss goal this week (meaning I lost 5% of my starting body weight since January 1). I went to set another 5% goal, and the Withings app said (essentially), "Whoa, there! Let's take some time to stabilize here first." What a good idea. So I left the goal alone for a couple of days, then I reset it yesterday to my next goal, which I plan to hit between July and September. At this point, I'm between sizes -- one size feels a lithe large and the lower size feels a touch snug. Was it from the mindful eating approach or the 90 Days to A New You on Lift App? I suspect a combination of the two. I finished the first time through the 90 Days to A New You plan this week. I intended to roll it over and let it start again, but with the knee, I decided to archive it for a little while and start again when the knee is doing better. When I'm back in Central TX and have was internet access, I want to do the Office Yoga plan. I think it's about a week to ten days, and it teaches a different office yoga pose each day. That one sounds fun. I was going to do it concurrently, but I think I'll do it, then I'll consider resuming the New You plan. I don't like to get too many plans running at once, because that gets difficult to keep up with.
I have developed a significant distaste to the limitations of 4GB of cellular data. I must find a better solution. I hate being restricted in my online access, and Mr. L doesn't like me to be absorbed in the computer the whole time we're someplace that has free WiFi.
The week ahead:
- Get Cat from the airport on Sunday night and get her to her hotel
- Meet up with her and the other Texas Sideways people on Monday for dinner
- Make sure Cat has transportation when she needs it and gets to see what she wants to see Monday through Wednesday
- Head back to Central Texas on Thursday, drop Lady for boarding, and troubleshoot where the water line break is in the house
- Get parts as needed and repair water line if possible.
- Spend Friday and Saturday in Houston
- Get some useful revision done in preparation for the A-Z Challenge.
- Probably some other things that are completely escaping my brain now
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Forgot to say...
I was watching Dr Oz the other day and they were talking about magnesium. I take magnesium every morning but they said its better to get it from food sources so you can get it throughout the day. I started taking another tablet in the afternoon, and it's made a difference in my energy level. I've been getting more done in the afternoon and early evening. It's something we all seem to struggle with so maybe it will make a difference for y'all.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)
Manu Ginobili (star guard for the San Antonio Spurs) blew out a sneaker in a spectacular way during a game this week, and the Spurs training staff had one for him to change into nearly immediately when play finally stopped long enough for him to sit on the bench for a minute to change the offending shoe.
We're in San Antonio. Things are going reasonably well.
- Lady is one week into her medication. She's more subdued. She's not picking fights with the other cats. Rossie has growled at her at least once, but Lady has not been aggressive in her behavior. When we're not sleeping and home, Lady is out of her cage. When we leave the house to run errands, we put Lady in the cage just in case. We also put her in the cage overnight just so there's no chance she disrupts Mr. L's (or my) sleep with a potential altercation. Ruby has taken to spending time in Lady's cage, and I've not chased her out when I've put Lady back in. So, Lady has had company. Including last night. Ruby and Lady coexisted in the cage just fine, but at 7 this morning, I heard Ruby meow, so I let them both out. Delta was sleeping on the bed within a foot of Lady today, and didn't seem to be afraid of her. Lady has been on the bed in the bedroom all day today -- which is right near the chair Rossie takes refuge under. Rossie doesn't move about much during the day, so I'm not certain if Lady just wants to sleep on the bed, or if there is an underlying tone of aggressiveness here. Time will tell.
- We got one china berry taken down, cut up, and out for trash pickup on Monday. We plan to get the other one next week. This corner of the yard is nearly rehabilitated. It's been several years coming together, but it's getting there.
- I'm starting the third month of eating mindfully. I'm losing a few pounds a month, and I'm nearly ready to move down a size in jeans -- I've been wearing my next smaller size jeans interchangeably, and my larger size jeans feel pretty loose. Here's the third month update on Medium.
- I'm doing a little working on Kitty City. I have Polar Bear on the Loose here with me. Lots of work available to be done.
The Week Ahead:
- Vote on Tuesday
- Take down the second china berry tree
- Write and revise
- Prepare for Cat's visit beginning on the 10th
- Keep an eye on Lady to see how she's adjusting to the medication.
We're in San Antonio. Things are going reasonably well.
- Lady is one week into her medication. She's more subdued. She's not picking fights with the other cats. Rossie has growled at her at least once, but Lady has not been aggressive in her behavior. When we're not sleeping and home, Lady is out of her cage. When we leave the house to run errands, we put Lady in the cage just in case. We also put her in the cage overnight just so there's no chance she disrupts Mr. L's (or my) sleep with a potential altercation. Ruby has taken to spending time in Lady's cage, and I've not chased her out when I've put Lady back in. So, Lady has had company. Including last night. Ruby and Lady coexisted in the cage just fine, but at 7 this morning, I heard Ruby meow, so I let them both out. Delta was sleeping on the bed within a foot of Lady today, and didn't seem to be afraid of her. Lady has been on the bed in the bedroom all day today -- which is right near the chair Rossie takes refuge under. Rossie doesn't move about much during the day, so I'm not certain if Lady just wants to sleep on the bed, or if there is an underlying tone of aggressiveness here. Time will tell.
- We got one china berry taken down, cut up, and out for trash pickup on Monday. We plan to get the other one next week. This corner of the yard is nearly rehabilitated. It's been several years coming together, but it's getting there.
- I'm starting the third month of eating mindfully. I'm losing a few pounds a month, and I'm nearly ready to move down a size in jeans -- I've been wearing my next smaller size jeans interchangeably, and my larger size jeans feel pretty loose. Here's the third month update on Medium.
- I'm doing a little working on Kitty City. I have Polar Bear on the Loose here with me. Lots of work available to be done.
The Week Ahead:
- Vote on Tuesday
- Take down the second china berry tree
- Write and revise
- Prepare for Cat's visit beginning on the 10th
- Keep an eye on Lady to see how she's adjusting to the medication.
broken record
Same stuff, different week. Mostly. I'm trying to cut myself some slack, although it doesn't sound that way. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants winter to *March* out of here!
Good Stuff:
- We joined a gym. It's across the street from Target and attached to a Panera. It also has a spa.
- I went to a yoga class, all by myself. I'll be making that a Tuesday morning thing, I think.
- I finally got a garage door opener after hounding the property manager for four months. We get 2 parking spots, and they only gave us 1 remote. The PM has been telling me you can only have so many remotes per opener, and if they program a new one for me, it will bump someone else off. Turns out the people who moved in downstairs this week got an opener for their side of the garage, and one for ours, and I happened to be downstairs when they discovered it. (More on that in a minute.) I mentioned I'd been trying to get one since sharing doesn't work so well, and he gave me the one that opens our door. So now I'll go to bat for them to get a second opener. They seem very nice, btw, and apparently the PM thinks none of the tenants talk to each other because we've caught him in two lies today.
- Got some words in. Not sure they're good words, but I counted them. I wrote 16 days in February, double the 8 I worked in January. I'm going to note the number of hours starting this month just to set up a baseline since I can't double the number of days again.
- I have isolated the bulk of my adjustment issues to the emptiness of my nest and a need to find my new identity and purpose. I thought I'd dealt with the Mom to Consultant transition, but I guess not. I'll tackle that in therapy.
- All the boxes are unpacked. That's not to say that everything is put away, but at least the boxes are empty, and so is the chair in my bedroom. The reading nook is taking shape.
Not So Good Stuff:
- I was going to go to another yoga class yesterday and the van wouldn't start. Of course it was parked in the front spot in the garage. We bought a new battery for it today, but the battery sits under a bar and the fuse box, and our socket set is downstate.
Plan B: We pushed the van out of the garage, intending to push it with Eric's car the half block to the mechanic's shop. Easy peasy, or it would have been if it hadn't been for the ice and snow in the alley we back onto. We got the van stuck on an ice bump and couldn't get it back over. The ice cut the traction, so Eric couldn't even move it with his car.
Plan C: Since the car was out, Eric drove around to jump it. Too bad the battery was so dead the starter wouldn't even click.
Plan D: We called a tow truck, and were told it would be an hour and change before they arrived. I stayed downstairs with the van for a while so Eric could get some research for his term paper done. That's when I met the new neighbors and got the garage door remote. The tow truck came sooner than expected, and he had a fancy pants battery jumper. Of course, it started right up. *Insert unkind name here* At that point, I came upstairs to get lunch and let Eric deal with getting the battery changed. The only good part about that happening now is that it didn't happen when I was driving back and forth, and it didn't wait until Eric goes out of town this week on a site visit.
This week:
- Start therapy
- Go to yoga
- Eat all my favorite meals while Eric is away
- Write. Maybe finish the book?
- Don't have another melt-down
- Maybe get a pedicure?
Oh, joy. It's snowing. Again. Think this will be the last snowfall? Jean, I would totally send all this to you if I could.
Good Stuff:
- We joined a gym. It's across the street from Target and attached to a Panera. It also has a spa.
- I went to a yoga class, all by myself. I'll be making that a Tuesday morning thing, I think.
- I finally got a garage door opener after hounding the property manager for four months. We get 2 parking spots, and they only gave us 1 remote. The PM has been telling me you can only have so many remotes per opener, and if they program a new one for me, it will bump someone else off. Turns out the people who moved in downstairs this week got an opener for their side of the garage, and one for ours, and I happened to be downstairs when they discovered it. (More on that in a minute.) I mentioned I'd been trying to get one since sharing doesn't work so well, and he gave me the one that opens our door. So now I'll go to bat for them to get a second opener. They seem very nice, btw, and apparently the PM thinks none of the tenants talk to each other because we've caught him in two lies today.
- Got some words in. Not sure they're good words, but I counted them. I wrote 16 days in February, double the 8 I worked in January. I'm going to note the number of hours starting this month just to set up a baseline since I can't double the number of days again.
- I have isolated the bulk of my adjustment issues to the emptiness of my nest and a need to find my new identity and purpose. I thought I'd dealt with the Mom to Consultant transition, but I guess not. I'll tackle that in therapy.
- All the boxes are unpacked. That's not to say that everything is put away, but at least the boxes are empty, and so is the chair in my bedroom. The reading nook is taking shape.
Not So Good Stuff:
- I was going to go to another yoga class yesterday and the van wouldn't start. Of course it was parked in the front spot in the garage. We bought a new battery for it today, but the battery sits under a bar and the fuse box, and our socket set is downstate.
Plan B: We pushed the van out of the garage, intending to push it with Eric's car the half block to the mechanic's shop. Easy peasy, or it would have been if it hadn't been for the ice and snow in the alley we back onto. We got the van stuck on an ice bump and couldn't get it back over. The ice cut the traction, so Eric couldn't even move it with his car.
Plan C: Since the car was out, Eric drove around to jump it. Too bad the battery was so dead the starter wouldn't even click.
Plan D: We called a tow truck, and were told it would be an hour and change before they arrived. I stayed downstairs with the van for a while so Eric could get some research for his term paper done. That's when I met the new neighbors and got the garage door remote. The tow truck came sooner than expected, and he had a fancy pants battery jumper. Of course, it started right up. *Insert unkind name here* At that point, I came upstairs to get lunch and let Eric deal with getting the battery changed. The only good part about that happening now is that it didn't happen when I was driving back and forth, and it didn't wait until Eric goes out of town this week on a site visit.
This week:
- Start therapy
- Go to yoga
- Eat all my favorite meals while Eric is away
- Write. Maybe finish the book?
- Don't have another melt-down
- Maybe get a pedicure?
Oh, joy. It's snowing. Again. Think this will be the last snowfall? Jean, I would totally send all this to you if I could.