Day 104: Feeling Better

 

My area remains under a winter storm warning but I have yet to see even one flake. The forecast now says snow will move in Sunday evening, so we'll see what that brings. The forecast for my area also indicates the probability of snow is now, so I don't think I need to worry about "feet" of snow. It's mostly sunny right now, but that can change.

I was awake and up shortly after 8 am today. I could have slept longer but my full bladder took precedence ! There were no stray cats waiting to eat this morning and it was nearly 11 am before they showed up. I think they are hunkered down in their shelters because of the cold. It's only 33 now and it's 11:15 am. It's windy too, so that makes it feel even colder. Yesterday I covered the chairs on the back step with the tarp that Erin & Alyssa used for Minnie & Abby last December. They didn't ask for it back and it's been sitting in the garage. I made a bit of a shelter to keep the snow off the dry food for the winter. It seems like the wind isn't catching it, so I'm hopeful it will stay put.

I ended up going to the post office yesterday and then headed to Walmart. On the way I decided to get gas too, since I was under a half tank. I went to Delta Sonic first and then headed to Walmart in Central Square. I didn't really "need" anything, but $50 later I was on my way home. I bought some soup & crackers, a few beef pot pies, another tray of scalloped potatoes, a cherry pie and a few individual size lemon pies. I also got a box of Eggo waffles, a can of whipped cream and a 2 pack of cinnamon rolls. I bought the cherry pie because I've had a craving for it ! The pot pies I bought were only $1 and they're small ones. I remember when they used to be 50 cents ! The lemon pies were 84 cents and I remember when they used to be 50 cents too. The soup makes a good lunch during the winter as the calories on most of them are within Nutrisystem's guidelines. I only bought one cream soup, which would have a higher calorie count. How can you resist a can of loaded potato soup ?!?!?! I had more mail than I expected and it seems like it's been a while since I got the mail. I need to start going once a week again, especially now that I feel 100% better. It is clear to me that sitting slumped over for hours on end (with my legs up) was a big problem. I can't say for sure that it is the only reason for my digestive issues, but I feel a lot better about things. I've seen no more blood and things are moving more smoothly. I will never take ibuprofen again. I took Tylenol when I hurt my back and had no side effects, so that will be my go-to pain reliever. I'm also glad I got rid of all the vitamins. I will eventually start taking a multivitamin again, but I'm in no hurry to do that. Once I was home from shopping yesterday, I spent the rest of the day watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam. I've at level 7290 right now ! I'm 14 of 50 on my team. I have to pass 10,230 to move up another level, so it'll be a while !

As I mentioned at the start of this blog, it was pretty chilly this morning and I had zero motivation to do anything. I did manage to get dressed just after 11 am. I have a few dishes to wash so I'm going to get that done. I'll also run the dishwasher. I'm glad I washed all the dishes before I had to make my Thanksgiving pies & stuffing, because I don't really have many dishes to wash now ! I really need to keep things manageable instead of letting it build up. I'm continuing to moderate watching political videos. Megyn Kelly has two video's out that combined are over 3 hours. It's with RFK Jr. and he has some "out there" ideas, so I have zero interest in watching these old video's. Hopefully she'll be out with some new content in the coming week. Trump is already shaking things up. Mark Zuckerberg made a pilgrimage to Mar-A-Lago, as did Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Trump has also been in contact with the President of Mexico. She's talking tough but I have no doubt they'll have to help tighten up the border if they want to continue exporting goods into our country. I know darn well that's why Trudeau was here. He wants to make sure trade continues without tariffs. China will be a different story, but they bent to Trump in 2016. I really hope the economy starts to boom again so all the nay-sayers will be proven wrong.

I didn't get anything accomplished today, but that's ok. It was cold and windy and I was enjoying playing Cookie Jam and watching a new YouTube channel called saskdutchkid. He's a dairy farmer from Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Canada. I love the dairy farm content but it's always sad when they are shipping animals off the farm. In most cases they are sold for beef. Male calves are sold because they're useless to a dairy farm and adult cows are sold when their milk production isn't good enough. It's a fact of life and I still enjoy my hamburger and steak, but it does tug at my heart. It's also sad when the lambs are shipped off from the sheep farmer I follow (sheepishly me). Most of them are destined to become lamb, which I have never liked and haven't eaten since I was a child. Even so, it's sad to see them loaded up onto a truck. I will say all of the farm channels I watch are sensitive to that and they don't put a lot of focus on that part of the business.

For the past 2 days I've been enjoying the stuffing I made for Thanksgiving ! I ate it twice yesterday and twice today, then put 8 packets of it in the freezer. I always make a ton of it just so that I can freeze some and enjoy it a bit longer. It really is my favorite item. At Christmas Joe makes his mom's stuffing and it's always very dry and poorly seasoned. There is no onion or celery for flavor. It's like little bread balls and some sausage. My stuffing is modeled after what my dad always made, just as Joe's is modeled after what his mom made. I eat it and bring some home, but usually end up throwing it away. This year I may try adding some chicken broth to it instead of wasting it !

I haven't seen any snow yet but the forecast still says we'll see some tomorrow evening. On the right now (7:30 pm) I can still see the snow spewing off Lake Ontario well to the north of me. This has happened a lot the past couple of years. Most of the "lake effect" snow is typically north of me, which is great !

I checked in on my finances today to ensure all November bills are paid and that my transfer to cover the first couple bills of December had posted. All was well, but I hated seeing my savings balance dip below $70k. On a positive note, I have $1250 in credit card rewards that I can use at any time. I can take it as cash or get gift cards. I leave it there as a little bit of an emergency fund. I also have something like $450 sitting in my Venmo account. I need to move that one of these days. 

Despite the cold, the house remains comfortable. Having the thermostat at 68 is perfect for the downstairs and the thermostat in the dining room often displays a room temp of 70, since the laundry room thermostat has to work a bit harder to maintain 68 and the kitchen is heated via that zone. Having the upstairs at 65 is working out great. I find that I'm not throwing the covers off very often and I think I'm sleeping better. I still sleep naked and I'm plenty warm with the top sheet and the comforter. I think last night and today is the coldest it's been outside and I'm fine with it. I have tons of blankets to cover up with while I'm on the couch. I also have space heaters I can use. The test of the heat will come later this week when overnight temps dip into the teens. I need to pull my sweats out of the dresser upstairs and wash them. I rarely get hot flashes now, so wearing sweats during the winter makes more sense now ! I also have a brand new super soft plush robe I can wear on cold mornings and evenings. I also have my flannel nightgowns to keep me warm ! I think tomorrow will be laundry and dishes, then Monday I will restart my treadmill program. I have to buckle down and start getting this weight off. I thought about canceling Nutrisystem but I think it would cost more to buy my own food. I've analyzed this before and right now I'm paying about $244 for 96 items, which comes to about $2.50 per item. I could eat Eggo waffles every day for less than $2.50 but then I'd have to cook something for lunch and dinner every day or meal prep in advance. Then I'd have to find something for an evening snack that didn't have a ton of calories. I'd also have to control portions and I know I'm not good at that. I hesitate to cancel because I will never get this price back. So I'm going to keep trying. I've been on a bit of bender the past few days with the stuffing and dessert, but I will roll that back. Christmas is coming and that will bring cookies and a holiday meal, but not as much in the way of leftovers ! I will be making some press cookies on Friday December 13, so I will need to shop ingredients for those. Saturday December 14 I'll be going over to Kim & Joe's to bake cookies.

2024 has been a tough year and 2025 brings more uncertainty. I'm not focused on trying to find a job right now but I will start looking again in January, since I'm planning on applying for unemployment. My goal for 2025 is to lose 100 pounds by 12-31-25. My hope for 2025 is to find a job. My dream for 2025 is to find peace no matter what happens.

At this moment, I feel good. My digestive issues have resolved and I feel more like I did before this latest episode. I feel ready to get back to exercise and trying to lose some weight. I'm not going to weigh myself until January 1, because the holidays bring indulgence. On January 1 I will weigh myself and take a "before" photo. I'm going to try and do that on the first of each month in 2025. January 1 will launch a last ditch effort to get fit and thin ! I know I can do it if I try !

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Below is what I achieved today. I am focusing on what I do each day, and not looking back to what I did or didn't do any other day. I hope that one day soon I won't need a checklist to ensure I do all of these everyday tasks !

Make the bed - 

feed cats - 

have breakfast - 

get dressed - 

exercise - 

clean litter boxes - 

have morning snack - 

have lunch - 

have afternoon snack - 

have dinner - 

have evening snack - 

shower - 

skincare - 

brush teeth -