Coffee Ecstasy

The weeklong reset worked.  Coffee is all things rainbows and unicorns again.  Hubby wondered if feeling crappy was at all related to stopping coffee.  The timing is interesting.  But I was drinking decaf -- can't imagine a week of "withdraw" from decaf.  Guess I'll see today after my morning joe.

Most of the house is clean except dusting.  I didn't have it in me to completely finish yesterday.  I washed all cabinet fronts and that was too much extra bending and stooping.  

I'm ahead on my lists for the week and I want to stay that way.  I know last minute stuff will pop up and I want to make sure I have enough time to rest and relax.

I'll practice my hair today or tomorrow -- pictures to come :)

Some goodies arrived for the new house.  I'll also grab some pictures.  Mostly boring kitchen necessities this week, but the fun stuff is dripping in now.

Short post today because I need to help hubby get on the road.  Final walk through of the new house today and he's bringing a big car load of stuff with him.

Have a happy day and stay well.

Feeling Better?

No major hot flashes last night.  Just some regular temperature swings.  Maybe my hormones are settling down again?

I also didn't need to take a second dose of allergy relief meds overnight.  I hope this is the start of feeling better.

Tomorrow is COFFEE (!!)  As expected, I'm totally jonesing for all things coffee.  I wish I promised a little less than a week of this reset.  Keeping the promise is important though so I'll wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also the first of a real deal practice hair -- I'm pulling out the big girl toys.  I haven't used a curling iron in decades.  If it goes well, it'll be a huge RELIEF off my worry plate.  Fingers crossed.

Everyday is a list of stuff to get finished and I'm relieved to have the list.  No panic needed because I have it all planned out.  When things get this tight, I also try to get a little ahead on the list to have some wiggle room.  I did Monday's list yesterday.

This weekend is CLEAN THE HOUSE.  Ugh, but it will feel great when it's off my list.  I say ugh because my back is still wonky and I need to be careful.  Today is the heavy stuff so I'll see how it goes.

Overnight temps look like they start the warm up on Tuesday.  Still undecided if I should plant because the seeds need to stay damp to germinate.   Maybe I'll try a few -- I have a lot so I'll replant if these don't take. The potter is filled and ready to go.  I think the basil seeds from the Jen Hatmaker are a bust.  Nothing growing and I should see something by now.  I guess I'll replant in her pot too.  The flower seeds from Trader Joe's are nicely up and growing.  I'll transfer the pot to outside once temperatures warm up.  I'll take pictures soon.

I'm slowly reading, but, of course, can't remember the titles.  JH's bookclub pick and a self-help book I got with kindle credits.  Both are good-ish, but I've felt too yucky to read for long.  I started watching Lucifer (Netflix) and it's much better than I expected.  I'm not very far because I'm busy enough to not binge all day LOL.  

Hope you have a happy Saturday and stay well.  Later gators.

Swirling the Toilet

Man, I feel crummy.  This is hormones mixed with allergies.  Sit outside for a few minutes and my sinuses are a mess.  Another night of hot flashes kept me tossing and turning.  

I have everything as cleaned up as possible.  No caffeine (not even decaf this week), no alcohol (messes with my hormones), no sweets (sugar does the same), plant based eating, going to bed on time, exercise.  Nothing is helping.  I imagine I'd be far worse without doing everything though.  Good news ... cold showers feel refreshing again lol.

I made a schedule for the next couple of weeks.  It's the only thing that calms me down.  I'm sure some of my worry is hormone induced.  The 3 things that are worrying me -- and they are strange -- (1) practicing my hair for the wedding, (2) having time to grocery shop so I can make meals that keep me feeling my best and (3) having a clean house.  Those things are on the schedule now and that makes me feel better.

Target was hit and miss yesterday.  A lot of shelves empty -- very random, so I didn't get as much as I planned.  Registers went down, so I had to wait and have my order hand scanned.  Good news is there is a Target 15 minutes from our vacation house.  I think I can do fun shopping for things while I'm in Asheville instead of here.

Today is a Trader Joe's run.  I'm also going to the sheriff's station to submit a background check to volunteer for the public health emergency unit.  I'll volunteer once I get vaccinated and I hope this bumps me.  They're asking for RN help now that more vaccines are available -- volunteers are the missing link at their vaccination sites.  

I have a couple of old pieces of furniture that I'd like to paint for the new house.  This will probably wait until later in April though.  Neither are nice now, so I can't ruin them hah.  This can be my crafty project for my 21 for 2021 list. 

All my garden supplies are in.  I was waiting for the overnight temps to get a little higher to plant.  I think I can do it in the next few days.  I also need to make sure I'm home enough to water them during the germination stage.  I might need to wait a couple more weeks.  I have to do a little reading.

Gibbs Gardens opens today.  They have over a million daffodils and it's their hallmark event.  I don't want to miss it.  I have it on the calendar to go next week.  Just a quick trip to make sure I see it while I have a membership.

That's my update from here.  Despite being all complaining and whiny, I'm holding a reasonable mood.  Enjoy the process.  Just need practice.

Have a happy day.  Stay well.  Later gators.

Just Need Practice

There's a concept that has helped me a lot in the last few months.  We've all heard it before, but I listened to a podcast that took it to a new level.

We know that doing a new skill is hard because we aren't practiced at it at first.  But what about other things?  Things that we think are just who we are or simply what we prefer, but it's really about what we've practiced into a preference.

Some examples:

I don't like vegetables for breakfast.

I need coffee to wake me up.

I'm an introvert.

I can't meditate.

I can't style my hair well.

I need wine to relax at night.

I'm uncomfortable in social settings.

I don't like the beach.

Now, it's not about debunking all preferences or all "who I am" statements, just the ones you wish you could change.  So many of these statements are practiced behaviors that are reinforced by thoughts, feelings and society.

This podcast (and I can't remember which one -- I wish I could because I'd listen again) says we try for a minute to change something like above and it feels uncomfortable and hard, so we label it as WHO WE ARE and move on.  

If you've never eaten vegetables for breakfast your entire life, one week of trying them might not be enough to PRACTICE a new way.  This was a big part of Whole30 -- adjusting to breakfast veggies.  Now I can't imagine breakfast without vegetables.  There were mornings I actually gagged trying to get my veggies swallowed.  Practicing something I WANTED changed my preference dramatically.

This brings me to NOW and why I'm writing about this -- I'm suddenly BUSY.  Like really pre-pandemic busy.  I have a limited belief that being busy isn't fun because all my life busy meant WORK.  Now I'm busy with enjoyable things, but my brain keeps saying this is horrible.

The truth is, I'm not practiced at being busy with FUN THINGS and managing my normal life.  Fun things become work.  Work things take priority.  

Reminding myself to enjoy the process and that all I need to change this belief is more practice, helps me continue in the way I want to continue.  (That's the big disclaimer -- if I didn't wish for different, there would be no need to change it.)

Here's the kind of stuff that's on the calendar this month and I wake up thinking that no good will come of this -- not true though.

Making my little veggie garden (growing season is starting).

Setting up for the Welcome Event for the wedding.

The Wedding.

Practicing my hair.

Compiling videos for those who aren't at the wedding.

Registering for waitlist for vaccine.  

Volunteering to administer vaccine (online testing, background check, etc).

Painting 2 old pieces of furniture for the new house.

Watching grand-dogs.

The new house (list 10 deep of things to do).

Running and training Duke so he can handle Asheville.

Visiting the daffodils at Gibbs that I've wanted to do for years (only this month).

Finding time to clean my house.

Finding time to cook plant based meals.

Add that allergies are acting up, hormones are a mess, my back is wonky -- STRESS (!!)

I'm focusing on remembering it takes time to undo a belief that's held for decades.  It's possible with practice and a different mindset around what this means.

I'm getting plenty of rest.  Nothing is frantic.  Take a breath and practice adding a lot of fun with my normal life.

Right now, it's uncomfortable and feels hard.  But I want to be able to do both.  Things might require problem solving to tweak what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, but it can all be done and be ENJOYED. 

Does any of this make sense?  

I woke up with panicked thoughts in the middle of the night and I need to recenter over and over.  Enjoy the process.  Just need practice.  Stop telling myself this is awful and hard and impossible.  Get curious about making a change.  Being curious is fun.  Being curious isn't a pressure cooker of perfection.

I'm trying :)

Have a happy day and stay well.  

Falling Apart

Eeeek -- this is not a feel good week.  

My back, hormones (hot flashes, headache and cravings), cold sore and ear zings.  The cold sore and ear zings happen during yellow pollen season for me.  I'm one big pile of poo this week.  Sleeping was hard -- lots of tossing and turning.

I'll keep the course and know that this will pass, but, dang.  It's frustrating to feel crappy out of the blue.  

I'm going to try an outdoor run with Duke today.  I don't think running is the issue with my back (it's a very random muscle mid-back muscle).  This SHOULD help with my mood, although allergies will not be happy.

I'm sitting here typing in a massive hot flash.  Dripping on every part of my body.  Real deal hormones.

I don't have much to report today again.  I'm finishing up some wedding details with the cookie order (doing it virtual -- yea!) and sending Evites for the Welcome Night.  House stuff is a scramble, but it's coming together too.  Tomorrow is an early Target run (only 2nd time in a year).  

Have a happy Wednesday -- I'm hoping too.  Stay well.  Later gators.

Need a Plan

My back was fine for the Peloton yesterday, but isn't okay for an arm and yoga workout today.  This means a rest day.  Not a huge deal -- rest was scheduled for tomorrow, but it means I need a PLAN today.  Non-workout days are the hardest to not overeat and I'm in full swing with HORMONES.  Waking up to craving sweets.  I had a feeling I'd have to rework my workout schedule.  I can't do a leg cardio today -- my legs need a break (to prevent injury) so rest for the win.

I might bump some of my errands to today so I can keep busy-ish.  

This morning was the first that I WANTED coffee again.  The week's tastebud reset is working as expected. I can have coffee again this weekend and by then, I'll be jonesing.

What's already on the plan today is Duke to the groomer and a Costco run.  

I have nothing to chat about today (can you tell??).  

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better back day and hormones will settle down.  If I can't do arms tomorrow, I'll head back on the bike. 

Extra load of nothing today LOL.  Have a happy day.  Off to think of my plan.  Stay well.  Later gators.

Hello, March

I'm not to the only one who is floored by how quickly this year is moving.  March ALREADY.  Wow.

I killed the list yesterday.  Even finished both books.  Choosing new reads today.  I also ran at the park -- without Duke because soccer games start early on the weekends.  Lots of zig-zagging to avoid people, but it felt good.  Starting the week with a bunch of things off my list -- that's good stuff.

However ...

I hurt a muscle in my mid-back which is in spasm since yesterday afternoon.  Running?  Probably not.  It might have been holding Monti during the Saturday zoom class.  I've never had trouble with this muscle.  It's a pisser, but not as bad as a lower back issue.

This week would be my regular monthly if it hadn't come 2 weeks early.  I'm in non-stop hot flashes.  Maybe it's coming again?  Maybe this is just a hormone surge.  Dang.  And CRAVINGS -- this is the worst.  I'd take hot flashes over cravings any day.

Anyway ...

Lots of stuff this week too and I'm on it.  Lists made and I should be able to get it done.  Possibly my hair trials and workouts might be wonky with my back, but I'm hoping this is the last day of spasms.

Coffee break going well.  I'm not interested in it yet -- will take a few days before I miss it.  Then a few days of really wanting it and I'm back to loving my cup-of-joe.  Taste bud reset.

I ordered a second electric tea pot for the new house.  It was relatively pricey since I wanted temperature control too.  It came in an enormous box and inside was another amazon box with the label torn off and a bad tape job.  Inside that box was the box for the tea kettle.  IT WAS USED (!!)  OMG.  Gross.  Dirty, fingerprints.  Seriously, Amazon??  And the BIGGEST waste of boxes EVER.  

Off to start this Monday.  I'm going to try a Peloton workout and see if my back can hold up.  It usually doesn't bother my back, but if it does, rest day.  Have a good day and stay well.  Later gators.