Anxiety, depression, laziness...Can the nameless wonder change? page 364

[namelesswonder]

Thanks to my snoozing yesterday, I couldn't get to sleep at a reasonable time last night. I ended up taking 3mg of Melatonin sometime after midnight. I was pretty groggy this morning, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Looking forward to teh sleepz tonight.

Hulky had ridiculous gas last night too, so it must be something about the cake. Could just be from the coconut milk I used in it (next time, will try coconut or almond milk from a carton). Well, I do not intend to have more than a piece at a time so that should not happen again. I'm going to try and make a coconut cream-based frosting (second recipe) for it tonight. I think I will plan to not have any treats until I am totally full from other foods, and nothing after 8:30PM. Last night, I nibbled on some leftover chicken & had two sweet potatoes for dinner. I feel like it's been easiest to eat moderate-high carb lately, and I don't feel bad, so I will likely continue! Weight is stable around 125 lbs.

I didn't do as many push-ups yesterday, but I did 12 on the first set (previous max was 10). I think I want to get up to a total of 40 (adding up the amount from each set) as a short-term mini goal. At some point, I want to be able to do 50. And I need to figure out how I can try to start doing real push-ups, as these are all on my knees. I guess I'll start doing counter-top push-ups? Hulky is at 50 push-ups in a single set, and at least 100 for a work-out.

I have a full lunch today of chicken (garlic & oregano), broc, an apple, and a banana. I forgot to put a little almond butter in a mini-tupperware container and slice up the oranges. I am not sure if this food will be enough, but if not, I will just bring more tomorrow!

Mind-dump
Friday is pay day and I need to catch up on a few things. We forgot to get a battery this weekend for the car so hopefully we can do that this weekend. I need to ask Hulky to get the tires out of the Mustang trunk so we can pick the best ones. I can take those & the wheels to a garage on the weekend to get them mounted.
-pay electric (haven't received a bill yet for February)
-pay oil (says if I pay by 3/15, I get to subtract a few bucks, does that include the 15th?)
-buy gaskets for Mustang muffler (less than $15 including shipping)
-something else I had to buy/pay but now I can't remember

Every time I talk to Baba about the wedding, she asks about where I'm having it. It doesn't seem like she's forgetting, it seems like she's trying to wrap her head around having the ceremony at her house. My mom suspects that Baba would not be able to handle the stress/excitement of having so many people there, even for just a couple of hours. I need to talk to my dad and my aunt about this response to see what they think. If we don't think Baba can handle it, Hulky doesn't want to do the wedding up there at all. I'm on the fence. I'd still like to do everything up there, close to her house, and not just because it would be cheaper than anything here. I did some quick searching for local venues yesterday and there are a lot more options with packages (including tents, dance floors, seating, and sound systems), but I think the price will go up by quite a bit. I'm waiting for a response from the maritime museum up in town by Baba's, it looks cool and I'm hoping it's not too pricey. Then again, it would be a lot easier to plan things if we didn't have to spend $40+ extra on gas every month or two in order to drive up and see things.

[namelesswonder]

I just realized that my spending-money-on-gas/which-vehicle-to-use woes are easily resolved: ride my bicycle to work Spring, Summer, and Fall, weather allowing. This makes me nervous for a number of reasons. The roads on my commute are largely in bad condition and my bike is a hybrid, so it would need frequently tuning or some new rims to withstand the bumps. Traffic is sometimes pretty bad, in some areas of the commute, and I would be pretty scared to bike through those intersections.

I think I will just have to start biking again as soon as it gets warmer out and go from there. The hills on the commute aren't many and aren't that steep, but the routes I was taking last summer for leisure had practically no inclines so I didn't get used to that kind of exertion. The adaptation period is going to be a lot of cardio and I hate cardio.

The question remains: do I try to sell the scooter as-is, or get it tuned up (upwards of $200) first? I may only get about $500 for it. I'd like to sell it before I have to renew the insurance, in June.

[namelesswonder]

Hulky and I are emailing back and forth while we are both at work. It's nice to "chat" with him during the day! I feel less deprived of him during the week and the last several weekends have been extra relaxing to just spend time with him, even if it's just a nap on the couch together.

He brought up the matter of chores today, suggesting some kind of rotating schedule. I'm really happy he brought this up because I felt like I was initiating all of the chore/cleaning efforts since we moved in. I suggested we break down the rooms into particular tasks, like toilet on one day, shower on another, sweep everything on day, vacuum the next day, and we alternate those responsibilities each week. It seems that he has enough income to help with groceries a little, but I'm not sure how we'll split that up because I don't go on a regular schedule. Estimating what we'd use for the whole week drove me insane, so I go by "feel" and what we need, and that means a couple of trips a week. Hulky suggested rewards and consequences for not doing certain chores, such as no going out to a movie or ordering dinner out on the weekend (or baking/buying beer for him). I admitted that I don't really know what I'd "punish" myself with, as I already feel pretty deprived. It's only very recently that I started baking gluten-free stuff about once a week.

[jenn26point2]

I see no signs of the other bone. I can't imagine she swallowed it whole, and it seems like it would be too tough for her to break up. I haven't been feeding her large raw bones, usually she just gets the small pieces in the neck/back mix from WF. Kind of scared that my cat is about to die or need major surgery. She seems okay now, but what will happen to a bone in her stomach?

Very likely, she ran off it with it and you'll find a desicated bone under your couch in a few weeks.

He brought up the matter of chores today, suggesting some kind of rotating schedule.

This is nice. Wish my hubby would take a lesson from your soon-to-be hubby.

It seems that he has enough income to help with groceries a little, but I'm not sure how we'll split that up because I don't go on a regular schedule.

I make a list each weekend of what I plan to make for food the following week. Then I determine what I need for ingredients and check what I already have. Then I go shopping. I have some staples that I get every week - eggs, bacon, etc. I use an App called "Out of Milk" as my shopping list. Each week, I reselect those staple items, add the unusual items I need to buy (unusual as in not a weekly buy) and the app tallies up how much I'm going to spend. This of course, requires you to know what things cost at the stores you shop at. I have a list for Walmart (for packaged foods b/c they're cheaper here), HyVee (this is where we get our produce and meats) and Walmart non-grocery items. I have a grocery budget and a sundries budget. Sundries obviously go on the non-grocery list. My grocery budget is $200 a week (family of 4 - breakfast and lunch for Brad and me, dinner for all 4), and sundries budgets varies depending on what we need, but is often $50. I go shopping one day a week - usually Saturday. Saves a LOT of time because then I only spend 2 hours getting the stuff we need rather than 45 minutes to an hour two to three times a week.

You should try to get on a regular schedule, see how much you spend and then split it half and half or however it works for your incomes. Even if you don't go one day each week like I do, you'll still have a budget you can work from on your quick trips. I usually have $20-$40 a week leftover that I can use for the one-off trips for missed items - like grill gas that seems to run out with no warning.

[namelesswonder]

We get weekly flyers for the major stores in our area so I usually go by those for meat prices. What we get depends on what's on sale and what we're in the mood for. I get my potatoes at Trader Joe's because it's cheapest. I'm not sure Hulky would be willing to go to multiple stores, so groceries may remain in my domain. I don't mind. I usually end up doing a quick trip on weekends, but sometimes it's a week day, such as if we're running low on eggs. Hulky HATES going into Whole Foods, but that's where I get the eggs (organic cage-free for $3-4/doz, or the local pastured brand they carry, if I can swing the $6/doz) and Fae's pet food ($1.99/lb, one pack lasts nearly a week).

On average, I already know that we spend about $50/week, give or take $10. If sundries are dry goods, like paper and cleaning products, we don't get those very often. I keep an eye out for coupons when we're running low and get whatever is on sale. We bought a huge pack of paper towels, toilet paper, and hand soap at BJ's Wholesale when we first moved in and only recently ran out of the toilet paper. We've bought paper towels twice since moving in and only just ran out of the second pack. We haven't renewed our BJ's membership, not sure if we will, but we got a coupon for $10 off the renewal cost that expires at the end of the month, so...maybe. I wonder if it's worth it.

Thinking of cleaning products, I've been meaning to get clothes detergent for ages now. I want to leave a bottle at my parents' and Hulky's parents' as "thanks" for letting us use their washer & dryer for so long! We are definitely putting purchasing our own on hold for a while now. Hulky is out of the aircast, but the basement has been flooding a little lately and the land lady/plumber hasn't figured out why yet.

Wedding update: my mom seems to have gotten herself invested in checking out venues for both Hulky and me, and my sister and her fiancé. Her tech savvy isn't great (esp. compared to my dad and me), but she is really good at compiling research. She found a couple of places that I hadn't spotted yet and sent me the links. My aunt and my dad said that we just need to reassure Baba that she doesn't need to do anything, just sit back and enjoy the wedding.

[jenn26point2]

My aunt and my dad said that we just need to reassure Baba that she doesn't need to do anything, just sit back and enjoy the wedding.

This will be key.

[tomi]

Thinking of cleaning products, I've been meaning to get clothes detergent for ages now.

I haven't actually tried any of these yet, but I'm going to. Let me know if you try any and how you liked it!

[namelesswonder]

One of those DIY laundry things is DEFINITELY on my to do list, but I'd like to save it for my own washer when we have one. I don't want to cause a soap explosion in anybody else's washer, in case something goes wrong!

[jenn26point2]

I want to make my own too. I hear it's cheap - like 5 gallons for the price of a bottle at the store.

[namelesswonder]

I don't entirely remember what I did last night. I was not very tired, which is surprising given the lack of quality sleep I got the night before. I had a sweet potato, made sausages, ate all 4 of my Lara Bars. I was hungry! My breakfast had only been two eggs and lunch was not filing enough, so I'm not surprised that I was hungry, but it was inconvenient to eat my snacks! I also had two small slices of my chocolate cake and got a headache. The whipped coconut cream frosting was good (though was bordering on extreme dislike because I don't like coconut THAT much), but I think I have to part ways with canned coconut milk altogether. It always gives me horrific gas and makes me bloated. I think cow's milk gives me less awful side effects! Definitely time to get some un-homogenized, whole, grass-fed milk and try it with the Lactaid

I had trouble sleeping last night because we were out getting groceries shortly before bedtime and gas pain kept me from getting comfortable (also woke me up early). Then I got up at 6AM because Hulky had wanted me to drive him in early to work, but I had to be in by 8AM, so we were leaving 1/2 hr earlier so he could be in by 7:30. He hadn't been able to fall asleep till about 3, so he ended up not going in early. So I left early which means a little more sunlight after work! It was so beautiful yesterday on my way home, I drove with the window cracked. I wanted to take a walk, but couldn't think of anywhere to go and had nothing to buy (and no money hah).

At the grocery store last night, Hulky asked me which bread he should get for his sandwiches. I stared at them kind of blankly for a little while and then picked the one that said "No HFCS, no preservatives, no artifical flavors or colors". Lesser of many evils, I suppose. I wonder if sprouted bread would be a better option. I guess that depends on if or in what way something is wrong with Hulky's gut and processing grains/wheat.

Colostrum is supposed to be good for immune health, so maybe I will see if Hulky will take the maintenance dose for a couple of weeks when I resupply. He keeps getting sick. It's probably due to his stressful schedule. I'm not sure if it's just the Therbiotic Complete probiotic that's helping with my digestion, or a combination of that and the Colostrum, but it's working well enough for me to continue, anyway. I'm pricing out my options to look for the best quality at the best price. I need to ask him if he wants more Melatonin, as I think he's still taking it, but we're nearly out. I just got it at CVS last time. Not sure if it's cheaper at Vitacost. I need to do some research this week and see what probiotic I want to continue with. Therbiotic Complete is so expensive, but I don't want to waste money on something that doesn't work well for me.

Blah, this post is all over the place. I don't feel very focused or motivated today. I increased my vitamin D dose a little/resumed taking it because I noticed some strong emotional responses to sunlight yesterday, and I am feeling the lack of sunlight today. At least it's warm out and I have a cool jacket!


Fluffy hurrs!

I'm working on figuring out how to share a playlist on my blog. Hulky and I are really enjoying the mix cd I put together to keep in the car. It's very Spring-y and all of the songs are ones I enjoy singing along to (except for one that I think I'll remove from the playlist and one that's instrumental).