Day 95 through 98: Down But Not Out

 

Thursday:

I'm still out of sync with my goals, but I haven't given up. I've been off kilter since blood showed up in my stool again. It just sent me into a tailspin. All is well in that space now and I am more convinced this was related to ibuprofen. I feel like if this were something serious the bleeding would continue. Hurting my back delayed getting back to the treadmill but I've also not been eating as per the Nutrisystem plan. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm already planning on washing dishes and getting the kitchen in shape. I'd like to try getting back on the treadmill Saturday. I'm going to start with the slower workouts for at least a week, so I've set a goal to get at least one cardio workout each day starting Monday December 2. I reread the signs and symptoms of ischemic colitis (aka runner's colitis) today and I am pretty convinced this may be what I had. The maroon colored blood, the left sided abdominal pain after doing 4 workouts a day for over a week. Ibuprofen might have been part of it too. Regardless, it is clear that 4 workouts a day was a ridiculous goal at my current weight, age and fitness level. I'll be limiting myself to 2 until I get to a point where I feel I can do more.

I also need to get back into the diet groove. I've been eating erratically and not drinking anywhere near enough water. Being dehydrated all the time can contribute to ischemic colitis. When I wash dishes tomorrow I'll be scrubbing both of my large water bottles and getting them back into rotation ! Goal will be finishing at least 2 of them per day, which is 80 ounces of water.

Wednesday was rock & roll bingo day and that was fun ! It was just Kim, Joe and I as Rich & Barb were getting ready to head down to Virginia for an early Thanksgiving with Nichole. I had a burger and fries and regretted that. The burger was dry and the bun was stale. I'm going back to my flatbread pizza ! We came close to a winning bingo a couple times but came home empty handed. It's ok - we had fun ! Rain had been in the forecast but it held off until after I got home. I didn't do much yesterday other than watch YouTube and play Cookie Jam into the early afternoon, then I showered and got ready to go out. Today was a gray drizzly day but there was no substantial rain. From the forecast it looks likes rain is in the forecast every day into next week, so I won't be seeing the sun again anytime soon ! I spent much of today also watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam but I also got some things done around the house. I finished decorating the front porch and reset some of the things that Joe put up for me. I also picked up some of the clutter around the downstairs. Tomorrow's task is going to be washing all of the plasticware that has been hanging around. I want the kitchen to be nice and clean before I make my stuffing next week. I also made a grocery list to pick up the things I need for my pies, stuffing and cocktail.

We haven't seen any snow yet but there is a winter storm warning for Onondaga County Thursday night into Friday. I live in what has always been called the "snow belt" but the weather patterns seem to have shifted to the north and south of me, and storms often miss my area. Even so, I already lined up my plow guy for this winter ! I might be unemployed but I still need to keep my driveway clear. I thought about just trying to handle it myself but I'm not getting any younger and I'm so overweight. I also need to be careful of my back. I can afford it, and I'm glad to have that peace of mind. We might see flurries but there is no accumulation of snow expected. Drought is still a concern, but I'm sure we'll get enough snow to refill our lakes and reservoirs.

In somber news, Wednesday I learned that a former colleague had passed at the age of 66. Sandy Epolito. I'm so sad for her to be gone so young. This really cements my decision to retire in the new year. I want to enjoy the years I have left and I believe I can afford to be retired. I'm still planning to sign up for unemployment and apply for jobs to maintain eligibility, but if nothing comes of it I'm ok with that. Life is just too short. I'm ready to put my working life behind me.

As expected, the left is still melting down over Trump winning the election and taking control of the House and Senate. I've started watching more political coverage, mostly because I find it interesting. I enjoy watching Megyn Kelly's YouTube video's and I also watch DeVory Darkins. I also watch much of what Fox posts to their YouTube channel, which includes snippets from The Five, Greg Gutfeld and other Fox shows. I haven't been able to find a free way to watch Fox News so the YouTube channel seems to be the best option. I'm looking forward to January 6, when the election results will be certified by Kamala Harris and January 20, which is Inauguration Day. The unemployment rate in DC will rise in the days to follow !

My stray cats were out of sorts Wednesday, maybe because of the rain. When I looked out there were no cats waiting ! I filled the dry food and put out fresh water and still nothing. I checked later and 2 were waiting, so I fed them. That evening there were 3 out there looking to eat so I made an exception and cracked open a couple cans of food for them.

Friday:

I spent the day watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam. It was rainy and gloomy all day but we didn't have any snow. Area's to the south of me did get wet snow but it's probably all melted. The chances of snow have increased for Thanksgiving and beyond, but there is no major snow in the forecast. I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner ! About all I accomplished on Friday was making my grocery list for the items I still need to make my pies and stuffing. 

Saturday:

That brings me to today, Saturday. I was awake just before 7 and got up around 7:05. I fed the cats and then sat down to watch YouTube and play Cookie Jam. I'm closing in on level 7000, which is amazing. I was at about 1700 when I got laid off in May. By 11 am I'd had 3 cups of coffee and sat down to edit this blog. I subscribed to Fox Nation ($1.99 a month) so that I can watch all the Fox Shows in full as they air. Gutfeld's daily show and The Five show are audio only. The YouTube channel only has excerpts of the shows, so you have to rely on individuals who are recording the shows and then uploading to YouTube to make money if you want to see the whole show. I'm not sure the $24 I spent is worth it, but I'm going to give it a try. I can watch Jesse Watters and Hannity episodes, along with the Gutfeld "Rewind" show - which is actually what I've been watching on YouTube.

Today was a dry day so I decided to head out to the grocery store just after noon. I wish I had thought to go out sooner and pick up my mail. I'll do that on Monday as its been a while. The plan was to go to Walmart and the liquor store in Central Square and then head home. My trip to Walmart was successful and I got everything I needed, but the liquor store didn't have the Inferno whiskey. I was going to go home and just shop another day, but decided to just do it today while I was out. I ended up going to the liquor store near Wegman's in Cicero and the whiskey was actually $5 cheaper ! I didn't price the Prosecco but I'm going to bet it would probably have been cheaper too. I don't think I'll be shopping at the liquor store in Central Square anymore. I'm glad I have everything I need to make my pies, cocktail and stuffing now. I still haven't washed all the plastic ware or cleaned the kitchen, so that will be my job for tomorrow.

I'm feeling better physically. Blood has not returned to my stool and I'm not sitting on the yoga pillow anymore. I'm also trying to sit with a pillow supporting my lower back so that I sit up straighter. My back is 100% better too. I mentioned earlier in the blog that I was approaching level 7000 in Cookie Jam. As of 6 pm, I was at 6973. I will hit 7000 late tonight or early tomorrow. I have to pass 7111 to move up another level in my group of 50. I'm #15 right now. Looks like the game levels are up to 12,395 so I have a long way to go. They are always adding new levels so it'll be quite some time before I can declare I've reached "the end" of the game !

Once the kitchen is clean I will organize everything to make my pies and stuffing. I will make the pies late Wednesday and also prep the stuffing. I can cook the sausage, onion & celery and shred all the bread. That way all I have to do on Thursday is mix it all up with the seasonings and liquids and then bake.

Sunday:

I was up shortly after 8 today and as forecast, it was a gray drizzly day. I was glad I did my grocery shopping while it was dry yesterday ! Once the cats were fed I sat down to enjoy my breakfast (pancakes with sugar free syrup) and a couple cups of coffee. I watched YouTube and played Cookie Jam until almost 11 and passed the 7000 mark ! I need to get to about 7150 to surpass the person ahead of me, so I had a challenge for the day ! Just before 11 I booted myself off the couch and went out to the garage to add air to my tires. Three of four tires were fine but one was low, so I added air to all to get them up to 35 psi as per the manufacturers recommendation. The new extension cord I bought is perfect and allowed me to easily go around the whole car with the compressor. I was happy to have that job done while it was still chilly out. I had lunch around 12:30 (quesadilla with low fat sour cream and salsa), then cleaned the kitchen sink and put the dishes to soak. By about 1:15 most of the dishes were done and I sat down to update this blog and let the moldy plastic bowls soak. I had 2 bowls and 2 big pans to wash and then I would be done. I was also happy to have this job done ! Looking under the kitchen sink for a sponge I noticed mouse dropping, so I have a mouse in there again. I'll have to take everything out and clean it good again. I still have some poison for that, so I'll put out a couple cubes for them to munch on ! Minnie can't get in there, so there is no danger to her. I think I'm going to move most of the stuff in that cabinet to the pantry, where it will be more easily accessible. I have a can of expanding foam and I might use it to fill the gap around the pipes that is allowing mice to get in. Either that or I'll buy steel wool again and stuff that in there.

Yesterday I checked in on my bills and overall finances. Scheduling my utility payment for Friday worked perfectly and there was no "you missed a payment" message on that account. The payment posted and that made me happy. Same should happen with my Chase payment this week as that was also not scheduled for a weekend or holiday. I should mention my bills that had payments scheduled on the weekend were not deemed late by the account, but it bugged me to see an indication that they were. I worked hard to pay off debt and keep a clean credit record and I'm really proud of that. My ability to keep the bills paid was one thing that Alex admired about me and took the time to tell me of his admiration. It didn't matter how broke we were, I always paid the bills, with the exception of the credit cards I stopped paying in 2003. I would never have gotten out from under that crushing debt so today I can say it was worth what I went through to escape it. I owed well over $20k and I don't regret not paying it back. Sure, my credit sucked for a few years but all of that is gone from my credit record now. One smart thing I did was pay down my credit union credit card. I knew I needed to maintain a good relationship with them and its worked out over the years. I had car loans through the credit union and my mortgage is with them now. If I ever need it, I still have a line of credit and that credit card, along with a few other credit cards. One thing I haven't done in the past 4 years is carry a balance ! Any card I use is paid in full when the bill comes. The day I can't pay the full balance is the day I reassess how I'm living my life.

By 2 pm the dishes were done and the stove top was clean. I still need to scrub it with the polishing cleaner for glass cooktops. I also want to scrub the hard water stains off the stainless steel sink. I may get to that tomorrow once the dishes are dry and put away. Bad news. About 2:50 I remembered I had a bag of plastic ware that needed to be washed. I forgot all about it, so I'll be firing up the sink for another round of dishes !

By 4 pm I had cleaned out the cabinet under the sink. I stored everything in 2 bins in the pantry and the plastic drawer unit in the laundry room. It was my mom and it was mostly empty. Going through all the stuff I found several bottles of hand soap and lots of air fresheners. Once the cabinet was empty I cleaned it all out with disinfecting spray and all that is in there now is the fire extinguisher and dish soap. I also left the open bag of poison cubes. Hopefully the mouse (or mice) will help themselves to an early death ! Having the bins and assorted bottles under the sink was never convenient, so I'm glad to finally have everything moved to a place that will be easier to access. I can also keep track of what I have and what I might need. With the cabinet pretty much empty it will also be easier to keep track of rodent activity.

I happened to think about the fact that Wednesday is rock & roll bingo night and I was planning on making my pies and prepping my stuffing that day. This means I will need to work in the morning hours, which is fine. The pies are just a matter of cooking the pudding, which is tedious more than anything else. The shells are pre-made so all I have to do is bake them. The stuffing prep just means shredding the bread and possibly cooking the sausage, onion & celery mixture. These are all relatively easy tasks.

Shortly past 4:30 I heard a crash and then the non-stop blaring of a car horn. I went out to the front porch to see what happened (it was clearly a car wreck) and saw a car diagonal in the intersection and another in the parking lot of the gas station. It appears both cars had airbag deployment. It didn't take long for the fire department, volunteer firemen and 2 ambulances to show up. I can't imagine what happened, considering the speed limit in the village is 30 and there is a traffic light at the intersection. Did someone run the light ? Was someone pulling into or out of the gas station ? Hard to know. The gas station might have caught it on their surveillance cameras or there may have been witnesses. I'm always leery of that intersection because where you pull out of the gas station is directly across from a main road. If you're turning from Scenic to Main (or vice versa) you have to be aware of anyone who may be trying to pull out of the gas station since a car going straight out has the right of way.

I have yet to be able to motivate myself back onto the treadmill, but I'm going to try harder tomorrow ! As long as I'm getting things done around the house I'm ok with skipping the treadmill. One thing I really, really, really need to do is address the mess in the closet in my office. I have so much clothing that I can't wear right now and I really need to shift some of it upstairs. I've tried to start this task a couple times but gave up because it was so overwhelming. I think if I just take an armload of clothes upstairs once or twice a day it would be a great start !

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 -