Monday, April 30, 2012

Ah, Monday...


A pinch out of sorts today...just little stuff...went to make my coffee and discovered that it tastes a lot better if you actually remember to put grounds in before you turn the sucker on...couldn't find my little pill bag this morning on my desk, was baffled as to where it had gone to, until I realized it must be back in my purse, because my pills were already out on said desk...things that make you sigh....and remember your warm, toasty bed.....

The lithium has definitely raised my spirits though, and combined with the vitamin B12, has me more focused and awake during the day, which is nice. Did OT on Saturday, came home, napped a bit, then went and got my hair trimmed. He took a bunch off the bottom, which makes it almost all one length in the back...I miss the length a little, but I'm so glad it's even now. Feels healthier too and I look forward to playing with it a little more...gotta find more styles than just the boring ponytail now that summer's here...

Once we start sweating, I consider it summer. We're probably past the point of being able to open windows at night, and I need to buy some T-shirts. Trying to lighten our meals a bit. Remembering to put foundation or sunscreen on before I go to work, something with an SPF. Don't mind browning up the arms, but the face gets major splotchy if I'm not careful...thank you, Irish lineage...

All that OT and I still can't afford sneaks yet....amazing how real life gets in the way. I am picking up my orthotics on Wednesday, though, thank the gods! Just one more check...harder to begrudge it when I'm feeling better about my food purchases lately, more organics (or close to), more homemade foods, less packaged...baby steps...

Been so pretty out, thought about buying potting soil and seeds, but stopped myself. I know it's just not worth it right now....which makes me nuts and motivates me to plan the move. Husby's first act this morning was throwing water on the feral duck that was kicking my pots all over our porch, trying to find a place to nest. Really makes me wish we had a varmint rifle....and didn't live in the city limits...

May is bearing down on me a bit...Dad memories slipping to the surface more often. I couldn't get any time off around that day, which is probably a blessing, but the 12th is a Saturday this year. I'll hit the arboretum, maybe the beach. Meara and Mom were very smart about this anniversary; they won't even be in country. Mom's never even traveled outside the US; so they're going to Ireland. Wish they could put me in their suitcase for the trip...

I have laundry and cooking waiting for me tonight, meal prep for the week, and then OT the rest of the week. In addition to the hearty checks it produces, there's a company contest going on with some decent prizes up for grabs. Here's hoping!

Image from here.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Taking Stock



I think I'll need many of these metal bushel baskets for container gardening in the future...actually, just changed my mind, as I'm thinking metal would be scorching to the plants. Hate plastic though...will stick with terra cotta.

Sure is purty though.

Man, time flies...how is it Wednesday? Did a little OT on Saturday, then relaxed. This week brings more OT and the promise of a nice, fat check for buying a few things and saving a bit for Husby's b'day in May.

The lithium is doing its job nicely. While it does flatten things out a bit, I think it helps my metabolism, so I might decrease the B12 supplement I'm taking and see what happens. My body is a backwards temple.

Eating habits are a mix this week, but I had blood work done too, so I'm betting the come-to-jesus effect of those numbers will get me back on track. Also, been actually reading the recipes in the Clean Food books and a lot of them are in our comfort zone. I ain't diving into the fennel and bok choy yet, but anything's better than McD's...

Outside: we had 2 days of bliss, cool enough to open windows. Alas, we're getting back to normal now, 80s today and 90s the next 2 days...my mood must be changing because this warmth has me thinking about buying skirts (and anyone who knows me, knows what a tomboy I am...). Loving the warmth on my arms and face, feels like I'm recharging my batteries...

Inside: busy...they put a lucky few of us on a project, which has me more focused, while cursing it under my breath...also, training newbies makes for a noisier area.

Wearing: my frankenstein shoes and recognizing that they're more a fall/winter shoe.....now, how to explain my desire to buy dress sneaks for summer to Husby, who's quite male on the subject of female shoe acquisition...

Creating: hmm...yea, little dry here. Paycheck should allow me to indulge in new recipes this weekend though.

Reading: The Dragon Reborn...after a hiatus, I'm back on that series.

Going: up to SC soon, but not this weekend.

Hoping:
My mood continues to maintain its lightness. SUCH a nice change.

Image from here.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Oh, THERE I am...


My gods.

My body metabolizes lithium fairly quickly...I used to go for a fasting bloodwork while on a full dose, and have the number come back below par. So the benefits of being back on it don't take long.

I'm pretty sure that lithium for me is like xanax. Because the first thing I notice is the calm, like someone's airbrushed all the rough edges off my day. I walk outside and I'm not pissed that it's warm out, even though I'm wearing black. I take the long way to my lunch destination, so I can enjoy the drive. I'm making myself focus at work, and I'm not quite so impatient with life.

These things happen so quickly, I do recognize that there's probably just a slight placebo effect corresponding with the "idea" of being back on lithium, but I'm pretty sure what I'm feeling is mostly real. The thing is, it's so damn subtle it makes you wonder, even though it's obvious I'm on the real thing...the generic version hasn't changed in appearance in the last 5 years. Another bit of familiarity in the whole sitch that makes me smile...

So. frickin'. subtle. I could weep with the relief. Can relief have an ache? Cuz I've got a good psychic ache going on right now.

(Which gets me thinking about if I'm even meant to carry kids...not getting into that right now, just has me thinking...)

Makes me want to go to my boss's office and say, "hey, I'm back on lithium! you don't have to worry about me speaking too harshly anymore!" That's one of the coolest things about the lithium: I may think you're a douchebag, but I can keep myself from voicing that fact. Not so much, without it. Makes me very "real," but not as pleasant to be around.

Still buried in OT, but it's not overwhelming...I'll be done tomorrow and can get to my real work, knocking out goals. A little dining room organization, a little meal planning and cooking...we're due for some rain, and I look forward to smelling it.

Image from here.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Taking Stock


How I felt in the doctor's office today...weight hasn't changed one iota. Didn't really expect it to, but there's always that hope...

Luckily, my newish doctor is a doll...started me on the new Rx on my word as a former nutbar and ordered the appropriate bloodwork for the file. And she's a runner and health nut, so seeing her gives me a lift, reminds me of how I'd like to live.

Outside: Florida.

Inside: annoying.

Wearing: nothing noteworthy.

Creating: money.

Reading: The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon and Taproot.

Going: hopefully to the farmer's market on Saturday....ANY farmers' market!

Hoping...
I can keep the OT from shredding me too badly and get some stuff done this weekend. I'm going to get back to the Y. I'm going to continue eating healthy. Did some yoga last night, which helped. I'm going to continue packing and purging. I'm hoping to start organizing my thoughts regarding the move: potential towns, potential job markets, potential living areas. I'm going to be kind to myself.

Image from here.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Marking time


When we have a house, my dining room table will have a table runner, placemats, and napkins made of some kind of cloth...

I'm buried in OT this week, but my thoughts are outdoors. Jenna and Amanda were both rewarded with lambs this week, and the pics are exquisite. I can feel the oh-so-soft fleece run through my fingers as I pet the lambs, checking that their eyes and ears are clear. I can feel my now-practiced hands running over the mother ewe's body, ensuring that everything that was supposed to happen during labor has. My fingers are breaking up clods left by the hand tiller, so I can plant seedlings. I reach into the nesting boxes to gather eggs, and my eyes scrutinize the flock for signs of illness. I push my bangs out of my eyes and it leaves dirt streaks across my forehead.

It can't be bad to indulge these dreams. Keeps me sane, if a little wistful. I know it'll be years before we can afford "real" livestock (the kind with 4 hooves), but I hope to at least start a garden at our first rental house. The OT this week will be a bitch, but it'll finally get me into my new custom orthotics and sneakers (assuming the car trouble is behind us for now).

I'm back reading the Encyclopedia of Country Living and thinking about other references I want in my library. I'm thinking about making meals from home again, and learning to can and make dairy products. Spring has brought a surge of things I want to learn. I caved to bad food today at lunch, because I didn't have it in me to open a can of tuna this morning...what the hell?! When we have wheat bread coming out of our ears at home, because there was a BOGO deal @ Publix! I will be SO glad to be back on the lithium, even just for a little while. It orders my thoughts and gives me such focus.

Image from here.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Mental Monday Musings


I'm calm today. Those look good, may have to make them this week.

The weekend was interesting. I plowed through the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy, reading them so fast I know I missed stuff, but the plot is such that you want to know what's going to happen like, right! friggin'! now! I want to reread them now, more thoroughly, but I need a break first. They're damn difficult to read, for someone like me, who's no longer quite so desensitized to death. I'd revisit similar scenarios in my dreams at night. Though, might be a blessing in disguise, because I came to a decision this weekend too. Been listening to my body, my mind, the way I'm coping with life and OT and stuff...and I'm going to the doc this week to talk about going back on the lithium for awhile.

Very difficult decision. I'm certainly not giving up on having kids, not yet. But the truth of it is that we're going to need to save (for IVF) in order to really try probably, and that's not happening in the near future. The move is first, and before that, repairing credit and buying a decent pair of sneakers and unforeseen car issues (more on that in a sec)...and I will handle things a lot better if I give my brain a break. If some miracle were to happen while I was on the stuff, all we could do is cold turkey and pray. I'm OK with that, because the alternative right now is no longer getting the job done.

Not getting the promotion earlier this year was eye-opening. It showed me that, while I may not mind (myself) the personality quirks that come to the surface as a result of no natural lithium, I don't like the feeling that those quirks could hold me back from jobs I'm otherwise entirely able to do (there's a whole sub-conversation there, about how I'm happier as a drone than as a manager, so why am I letting this bother me, but that's too woolly a topic to get into here...). Turns out, I do give a small crap about how others see me. That whole not-getting-the-promotion thing left me feeling like, "I know I'm unspooled, but I hate that you see that I'm unspooled, because while that is certainly me, it's short-sighted to think it would hold me back enough to not be a viable choice for harder jobs...so you're douchebags and I'm not changing for you, but wait, maybe I do need a change..."

Yea, that's a long one...I think too much. And a part of me still doesn't give enough of a crap about what others think, because I'm never going to be one of those who can buy into the corporate culture enough to be a suit. I'm too liberal, life's too short, would rather be writing and running my little farm than creating websites selling crap that people don't need...but I like to eat and keep a roof over my head, so I'll maintain my worker bee status for that.

So Husby woke up chipper on Saturday (we switch personalities occasionally), and he was determined to get us out of the house, even for a little while, to combat depression, so we went to his smoke shop in Mandarin...and the car died. We both spent the first half hour kicking ourselves for not listening to our father's voices in our heads when the dash lights came on 2 weeks ago...and then we called for a tow and spent the day getting the alternator replaced. Thank goodness I got paid Friday, but there went any surplus we had on that check, which means pushing out doc appointments and orthotics and sneakers yet again.

I'm through using those as an excuse not to exercise though; getting my happy ass back to the Y this week. Felt so good just walking outdoors yesterday to do laundry. I need the sun on my face.

Image from here.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Gotta love a Friday


We have one upholstered chair that's covered in old woobies. It acts as Les's gaming chair until we can get him something more suitable. I have another wing chair that I keep in the bedroom, which I rescued from eminent landfill status during a friend's move, which they had found @ the Goodwill. It's not quite big enough to hold me cross-legged, but it gets the job done. I think I'll be spending quite a bit of time in it this weekend.

I heart a good chair for curling up and reading, knitting, dreaming...

Not taking advantage of the Write on Edge prompt this Friday, but my wheels are turning. There's a trailer out right now for a rom-com called The Five-Year Engagement, chronicling a ridiculously long engagement between Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. There's a flash of scene where a little girl shoots an arrow into Emily's leg. It's supposed to be funny, a reference to the latest Hunger Games publicity, thanks to the movie and book successes. I'm enjoying the heck out of the books, but there's an essay forming in my head about how kids are growing up too quickly and media is a huge culprit. Will be writing this weekend...

OT tonight and then my weekend's free. Thank goodness, because we slipped a little this week. Nothing huge, just some thinking and planning to do. This year's going by damn fast.

Image from here.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Taking Stock


April's not bringing showers, just smoke. It was so thick this morning, I wondered how close it is to the city limits, because there's no wind today. Little flecks of ash on my car. North Florida has turned into California, just in the last 5 years. I assume it's the Okeefenokee, because the local news is barely reporting the fires themselves, just the smoke. Weiners.

Outside: warmish, smells like wood.

Inside: snore.

Wearing: Danskos.....seriously awesome shoes.

Creating: a tuna casserole from Eating Well last night. I'm finding that the Eating Well recipes need more spice; they're awfully bland. Still, was very glad I threw that together last night, as I've slipped off the good food wagon a bit in the last week (thank you, Easter candy!), and it shows widescreen in my mood.....I was ready to kill someone yesterday afternoon. Serious irrational anger. Like, take PMS and multiply it times 1,000. Courtesy of Zaxby's. Significant lesson there.

Reading: Hunger Games...yes, I joined the herd. Damn good, so far. Love me a kick-ass heroine.

Going: yea, right...gas $3.90/gal. I haven't even made it to the farmers market downtown yet.

Hoping:
Gas prices plateau or drop, my attitude improves, I can get some cleaning and planning done this weekend. The usual. Asked for time off in June, hoping to plan a trip to SC for scouting. Fingers crossed.

Image from here.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Junior high


Amazing how those two words can make the average adult cringe.

Couldn't quite manage the word count, but here again, I'm not organized yet....still figuring out when the prompts are. Didn't realize this one was given to us on Friday, so I just now dashed off what's below. I definitely still have it in me.

Prompt: Finding Beauty in Awkwardness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wasn’t a popular kid, wasn’t an outcast either. I wasn’t worldly back then either, by any stretch of the imagination. My parents were emotionally stunted individuals, and my siblings and I were raised in a sheltered environment.

So when I was in 9th grade, and I got a phone call from a boy, B, in 8th, who said he thought I was pretty and intelligent and did I want to meet up with him the next day at school, I was floored. Who in the world would take notice of a mouse like me? I had an only OK body in my opinion, and I was too shy to speak out in class; and I didn’t come from the town where all the cool kids lived.

I remember being overwhelmed with nervousness, both as I talked to him on the phone and as I thought about my situation afterward. We were to meet before lunchtime, in front of the display case in the English hallway.

I paid special attention to my wardrobe that evening, probably laid out clothes the night before...a nice top, a straight skirt, my beige Grasshopper flats. I took pains to look nice that day, which didn’t help my nervousness, but did help me feel pretty.

At lunchtime the next day, I went to the display case in the hallway where the English classrooms were.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The second bell rang…and it became clear that I had been stood up. I was confused, and I didn’t even think of it as “being stood up” at first. I really didn’t have a clue about social interaction at that age. I wondered what had happened to him, if he was alright. Like maybe he had to go to the nurse’s office?

I headed to the lunchroom, got my lunch, and sat down with my usual girlfriends, C and H.

And H, who had a personality gift for sounding superior and making you feel like you were 5 inches tall, asks me, “so, how was your date with B?”

I was stunned. I asked her, “how did you know about that?”

She responded, “oh, T was telling everyone about how he played this trick on you…”

I blocked out her remaining words as my face flushed red and I blinked back tears. I was so embarrassed I wanted to disappear, but I wouldn’t give H the satisfaction of seeing that reaction. H belonged to the cool clique. H was sharing in their merriment at my expense. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and go to my next class.

My face still burning, H scoffed, "you didn't get dressed up just for him, didya?" Luckily, I had the presence of mind to laugh and say "of course not!"

In class after lunch, the embarrassment still stung hard; it would take me quite a while to get over those emotions and bury the rest. The resentment shaped my feelings about that whole crowd for the remainder of my time at that school.

But as I looked back on it, I also remembered the nice top I wore, the favorite skirt, and how pretty I felt. And I knew that B had missed out on something special.


RemembeRED is an exercise from Write On Edge.

Monday, April 09, 2012

Personal philosophy


Maybe.

Still ready to write this Monday off the books, though.

Gone knitting, back soon.

Image from here.

Friday, April 06, 2012

Trying my hand @ Write on Edge


I've talked here before about having a novel in the can. Actually, it's trapped on a 3½" floppy, but that's beside the point...the point is I consider myself a writer and I haven't put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard for my own "stuff" in years.

I have a coworker who's a writing machine. She edits sites for 8 hours a day, then goes home and works on her freelance business, pinch-hits articles for the local papers, and tucks into her own novel. This girl has the bug, and it bit hard. I used to think that would be me.

Do I still want it to be? And if so, how do I bring it back into the light?

Found one way, maybe. This isn't anything yet...it's the seed of a story I've had rattling around in my head for ages. Girl on a train, going where? But I cranked out 350 words like it was nothing, which begs the question, why the blank aren't I writing more?! If I don't consider myself a storyteller, then cheat, use prompts, and see where it leads.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prompt: Introduce an element of romance.

He’s really not coming…


The train lurched forward and I grabbed at the bunk to catch my balance. My stomach hurt with the weight of the words we had thrown at each other as the taxi had honked for me outside the house. I blinked back tears and shifted my shoulders, so the heavy knapsack could slide off. I swung it up to the top bunk and placed my duffle on the lower bed.

Maybe he’ll meet me up there?

We’d been planning this trip for months, a nice break from reality before we both start grad school and new jobs. I hadn’t found a solid gig yet, but was freelancing. He’d found a job this past week. The downside: they wanted him to start now. Since he’d been out of work for years prior to this, he was afraid to tell them no, to say he needed the customary 2 weeks.

I’d been unfair, and I blinked back tears now, thinking about how we’d argued. We never argue, never-ever, and the foreignness of these feelings made me break down now, as I crumpled into a sitting position on the uncomfortable couch opposite the bunks. The rhythm of the train increased, but the sound of it didn’t soothe me as it normally would have. I grabbed at my cell phone to call him, but of course, there was no signal.

There was a knock on the cabin door. I assumed it was the conductor, so I wiped frantically at my face and ran my hands through my hair as I got up to open the door.

He took me in his arms as I gasped out “I’m sorry.” The tears came back in a rush, and we kissed and embraced as I sobbed. I pulled him into the cabin and tossed his bag on the couch in a single movement as my hands moved over his body. His hands reached up to cup my face as he kissed me tenderly and said “please don’t cry, it’s OK. I’m here.”

Button from here.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Still wouldn't mind taking that Carpentry class...



So last night I was attending a high school open house of sorts and attempting to register for classes, in spite of the fact that I'm 42 years old and have no business going back to high school. I was trying to do it on the sly and not have them figure out that I'm already a graduate, while simultaneously trying to figure out how I was going to finagle carrying a full load of classes while still maintaining my full-time job of website editing. Was going to have to shift my schedule around some at work. So I'm going over that in my head, while signing up for junior classes (English, Algebra II, US History, Chem) when I realize that I left my grey sweater in the gymnasium on the bleachers somewhere. So I go back to look for it, but someone's already taken it to lost and found, and when I stand in line there to retrieve said sweater, I'm told they're closed already and that I need to come back tomorrow. Since the weather is inclement, I decide to hang around until people have dissipated enough and then sneak back in and grab it from the rather massive warehouse area where lost and found items are being kept. This area, it turns out, is being managed/overseen by Shohreh Aghdashloo, whose acting and voice I love...but something was a little off about her here, which no one was eager to share with me. They turned me out again, but I snuck back in to grab my sweater, and that's when I saw that she had been turned into a malevolent red-eyed, dragon-like creature...looked like a dragon that had survived a holocaust, burnt to a crisp, but still alive. I hid as it soared out of the building and then landed not far away, and appeared to be sniffing/sensing my presence. It terrified me, but that was also when I discovered that I had the sword in my hand that was meant to kill it, a heavy, fancy hilted thing with a stone in the pommel. I stood, repositioned the sword in my hand, and walked slowly toward the creature...

The scene shifted and suddenly I was back in the school, explaining to the old, imposing woman in registration that I needed my new schedule, so that I could coordinate my work schedule with it, and she tells me that I still have to choose one elective. Most of the electives are weak or things I have no interest in (jewelry making, basket weaving, pottery), but when she mentions carpentry, I'm on it like white on rice. To be able to make my own bookcases! We need those so damn much! So I head right to the classroom/workshop where the carpentry classes are going to be held, so I can meet the teachers, learn more about what we'll be learning, and I meet Beau and Jeff Bridges (yes, the actors) both working on something in the workshop. They're not the teachers, he's a no-face behind a drafting table covered with supplies that fascinate me, and as he starts to go into all that we'll be learning, I wake up.

Glad this weekend's Easter. I think I need to lay off the jellybeans.

Image from here.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

I really should Twitter, but I haven't the attention span.....

I get my best material (in my opinion, and let's face it, that's who matters here, she says with tongue planted firmly in cheek) while iChatting with my Lil Sis throughout the workday. It's a means of staying sane while trapped in cubicle world, chained to a keyboard. Quite a life raft actually, as there's only so much bad writing one can stomach about paving contractors and auto repair shops before you find yourself wondering just how far the monitor would soar if you heaved it across the cubes...

I talk about missing that filter that people have, the one that allows people to succeed in politics and the law, or at least keeps you from calling people douchebags in public. But I do maintain some remnants of it, I guess, because I am able to hold down a job outside of the house. The urge to burn off steam by skipping down the aisles mid-afternoon while playing with my own boobs in my professional office environment is kept in check by the occasional rant or quip to Lil Sis. We bitch about first-world problems, ponder the Darwin award winners that surround us on a given day, and occasionally exchange actual information about family.

"Pretty sure the girl in the next cube just coughed up a hairball."

"Niiice...offer her a breath mint."

"Wasn't Mom's doc appt today?"

"Yea, but call her tomorrow, we have church tonight."

"I'll never understand what phone call is so important it can't wait until a person is done propelling 1500 pounds of metal and fiberglass through the streets of Jacksonville..."

"It's called speakerphone...embrace it."

"NEVER!!!"

"Old fart."

And so on...nothing to write to the NY Times about, but I do find myself nailing the occasional quip and going, damn, I should put that on the blog. Because I dream of opening that filter just a bit more and unleashing the Bloggess'-style wit that I have buried somewhere. In the meantime...

"Pretty sure my grades would've been better in college if there'd been Starbucks in the '90s..."

"I really think I should be allowed to go home early because I just realized my chin hair grew back..."

Eh...it's a start.

Taking Stock



Doesn't feel quite like Wednesday, thanks to my day off Monday. Not complaining.

The pic is a nod to the fact that every time I think that keeping sheep might be too much trouble down the road, I find another shepherding blogger who makes it sound amazing...I know, I know, I have almost no clue, it's a long way off, allow me my dreams...

Woke up grumpy, but I appear to be rallying. Just the usual restlessness, which started last night when I had to do a quick load of laundry amongst my colorful neighbors in a laundry room that smelled like someone else's feet...and continued as I trudged to work today at a job that tends to bore the crap outta me...

8. More. Months. Dang.

It's quite tenuous still, the move. We are going to have to sweet talk someone into renting to us. I have to find a job up there. Les finding a job would be nice too. He's talking about it more, again. I'm patient. He's quite limited in what he can do, both because of his health sitch and his education; but we'll figure something out.

Then there's the finances...the unforeseen bills that we were saddled with via my flexible spending account came at exactly the wrong time (thanks again, IRS, for systematically punishing us a little more each year for being able to save that money pre-tax). My custom orthotics are only half paid for, and I still need new sneakers. The car's OK for now, but I'm not relaxing on that; so there's additional costs to anticipate. I'm squirreling money like never before, which is a good thing; but I hate it being so earmarked, so already spent. Silly adulthood. Such is life.

Outside: tempering just a smidge, thank goodness...nearly hit 90 for 2 days there. Too dang early in the year to be sweating.

Inside: sterile.

Wearing: Husby calls 'em my Frankenstein shoes. I call 'em comfy.

Creating: hmm...muffins? Homemade pizza?

Reading: Outlander, the Terry Walters books, Encyclopedia of Country Living.

Going: yea, right...you seen those gas prices?

Hoping...
Since there's no point in killing myself for OT this week (would have to work 8 extra hours just to get into OT range, and I'm not feeling it), I'll use the time to relax and regroup. The silly intestinal distress of last weekend meant the dining area got ignored, and it's bad again...like, good thing it's nowhere near an exit, cuz it's a fire hazard over there...time to repack some boxes, purge some others, and generally keep myself busy so I don't get depressed over the fact that there's no point in spending money on dirt and seeds because the ducks keep flying up to our porch and knocking shit over.

Image from here.

Tuesday, April 03, 2012


Bit of a pensive week here...listening to myself a bit.

The weekend was OK. Slipped off the rails a bit as both the Hubs and myself dealt with a touch of food poisoning. Nothing too awful, but an interesting reminder about the state/perils of the food industry. We think it was the catfish from Publix, but we're not sure. Luckily, it was really mild, as food poisonings go, but still, made me very glad I've adopted this eat-from-home approach. Even though we made the meal in question, I've been feeling nothing but good about having homemade meals/snacks at hand. We're spending a pinch more money on food that's SO much better for us, and we're not spending at all during the week as a result.

Still, with OT on Saturday and a seriously out-of-sorts Sunday, I woke up Monday CRAVING sleep and still feeling bleh, so I called into work and crashed til noon (something I rarely do). Then I puttered, grocery shopped, and puttered some more, and I feel way refreshed today, thank goodness. It was a wake-up call that while I may put my brain on an autopilot of sorts to get through these OT sessions, that coping mechanism ain't exactly the healthiest state to stick around in for too long.

Made blueberry maple muffins ala Eating Well, that came out surprisingly good. Overcooked my first try at granola, but I'm sure it'll be OK with milk or yogurt accompanying. Have meal ideas in the hopper for the week, and I froze half the shepherd's pie I made last night, so it wouldn't go to waste. Haven't eaten out in more than a week. The Domino's crave hit for a short time on Sunday night, but I shoved it aside and made a barley/red bean concoction instead that ain't great, but will suffice for lunch a couple of times this week. And then I bought the fixings for homemade pizza.

Image from here.