March 22, 2019
1. Saturday: Cal Academy day with friends!
2. Saturday: Splurged on a couple of donuts and cheap tennis balls for the dogs. Dogs were so pleased they cracked the new balls in half within 3 minutes of play. Dog joy!
3. Saturday: We were all up very early and visited our favorite hairdresser at the cheap chain nearby. They dote in JB and are so lovely to talk to.
4. Sunday: I got 9 hours of sleep!!!
5. Sunday: I got two loads of laundry done and put away, and…
6. Sunday: we had gorgeous clear skies and warm sun so the kids and I went out on the drive where I concocted a foul smelling mess of weedkiller that is relatively safe to use around kids and dogs so long as they refrain from licking it up and it worked! A pity I still need to dig up the now browned and dead weeds but they’re dead!
7. Monday: A harrowing day, physically and emotionally, made better by PiC thoughtfully leaving a reasonable substitute for a lawn chair out for me. Dogs and I camped in the yard soaking up sun for an hour while I squinted at my screen working and baking the “I’m so behind” anxiety down to a dull roar.
8. Tuesday: Painsomnia meant I was awake until past 2 am (boo) but then I remembered to submit a request for a third T-Mobile Rover promo code in time for the redemption deadline so small insomniac favors?? I’m also so grateful for thoughtful readers who are willing to share coupons and promotions they don’t need.
9. Wednesday: Our sunny day streak is over! Grey skies and rain have moved in but as compensation, I was able to wake JB from a full sleep and get zir ready and out the door before 8 am without any tantrums! One minor put-out episode but it was headed off quickly. THANK YOU UNIVERSE.
:: How was your week?
March 15, 2019
1. Friday: It bode ill that JB was waking up at random hours of the night BUT instead everyone got up unusually early around 6 and got out the door by 7:11. It was like a Friday morning gift!
2. Saturday: We watched Marie Kondo, though PiC was initially skeptical. He KonMaried our freezer later. 😂
3. Sunday: We sent PiC out to the gym while we made pancakes and then weeded until I couldn’t move anymore. Then I got a nap. We both got what we needed!
4. Monday: AND the nap gave me the brainstorm I needed for a work problem.
5. Monday: The sky was a gorgeous clear blue for the first time in weeks.
6. Tuesday: Ah ha, TMobile Tuesdays promotions are usually useless for me with their focus on entertainment discounts but this week we snagged a $10 promotion for Rover for each of us. $20 off a future booking! This is one area that’s really tough for us to save money – the quality of care for our kid and dogs is not up for compromise and that costs $$$$ since we don’t have enough friends in the area to trade services with.
7. Wednesday: I purchased a second set of Pyrex from Target at full price to fill out a $35 minimum order for free shipping and I’d had my eye on it for some time. It chafed to pay full price but I’d done research into local outlets and it would be a 90 mile round trip to get 50-70% off a $15 set before tax. That math doesn’t work out. Our local Goodwill is pretty slim pickings so it’d take a great deal of precious time and energy to find a full set with lids. The same day that the set arrived, there was a 10% discount on the set so I happily hit them up for a price match refund on chat help and ta da! Set minus 10%.
8. Thursday: D’oh! I had all the checks covered in our checking account, but then our twice-monthly transfers to savings cut in two days early and emptied our account just in time for the check to be returned for NSF. OOPS. I hopped onto customer service chat and pled my case, and they immediately refunded the $29. For my part, I immediately transferred some cash into our buffer savings account which I had unwisely let drain down to below the amount of the check, and sent the check again. Kind of an important one, it’s my life insurance premium.
9. Thursday: The time change plus a new whealth challenge meant this week was utter misery. I was barely functional by the late afternoon. PiC and JB to the rescue with some takeout!
Please share your good things this week!
March 8, 2019
1. Friday: Costco figured out that they stiffed us $70 in our tire rebate so they gave us a refund on our credit card instead. I’d rather have the cash rebate but this is fine too thank you.
2. Friday: I’d gotten too little sleep last night and fully expected today to be incredibly tough, which it was, but I also unexpectedly cleared one of my four to do lists for work. Yay!
3. Saturday: Frozen pizza and nuggets for dinner, woot!
4. Saturday: We went into the city for the 100,000 tulips in Union Square thing. We got there not long after it opened and it was already too late for us, so we looked at it from afar instead and enjoyed some play time at the mall nearby. Even if we didn’t come away with beautiful blooms, we got out of the house to do a thing and that’s cool.
5. Sunday: We went across the bridge to visit a friend with their new baby, JB and I on our first “long distance” venture without PiC and I’ve got to say it felt like I was making a big mistake when we hit the freeway because my fatigue walloped me a good one. I sincerely worried about having the energy for a visit and the return drive. It was touch and go but we made it there and back safely and we had a fun visit to boot! I’m so glad we made it. JB loved kissing on the baby and we were able to give PiC morning off to get a good long cardio session in. He used to, and still does, take JB out on Dad-kiddo adventures so I could rest, I was pleased to return the favor.
6. Sunday: I did all the laundry, PiC did the grocery shopping, everyone was decently fed, and we did some fun things. Feels like a huge win for the weekend. (more…)
March 1, 2019
1. Friday: I was so sure that today, my second try, would be the day I got this lava cake right, but it wasn’t.
The great thing is if you mess up lava cake, you end up with “just chocolate cake” and that is a decent consolation prize. It was mostly for PiC and JB, I only had one indulgent bite, and it lasted us a whole week because we really don’t do much dessert.
2. Friday: I tussled all morning with Ally and HSBC and eventually got all the things we needed set up. Achievement!
3. Friday: We had a brief chat about parenting techniques and shared some thoughts on things we can do better.
4. Saturday: We went to the bank and deposited ALL THE CASH. We also managed to go to the grocery store, check out a kid activity, and dropped off returns packages. A very productive morning without much fuss from JB.
5. Sunday: I signed up for userinterviews at Zero‘s suggestion. Looking forward to exploring a decent income supplement.
6. Monday: I trimmed my nails on Friday but I have been basking in that lovely sort-nails feeling for typing all day.
7. Tuesday: I’m picking a couple/few inheritors for my beloved comic books. Possibly half for one nephew and half for one niece. This makes me happy to contemplate.
8. Tuesday: Walked the dogs in the bitter (hahahah I know I know) cold. Was able to hold their leashes in my hands without swelling or extraordinary pain.
9. Wednesday: Traffic broke entirely my way this morning. There was even a street light out and a subsequent line from that light all the way back to the next but the way I organized the order of my errands meant that I avoided getting caught entirely. Managed to do daycare dropoff, gas up, and load up on groceries in an hour and a half.
10. Wednesday: We left Sera alone (with Seamus) at home for 3 hours and she didn’t destroy anything! This is a huge first.
11. Thursday: We had TACOS. Yummm….
Wishes:
- May the prices on my long watched-for backpack, water flosser, and alarm clock drop by at least 30%.
- May PiC’s job search turn up the role that he’s looking for without a cut in salary.
- May both parts of that Huge Thing I’m working on at work turn out well. Part 1 seems promising, and Part 2 is still very much in question.
Please join in with good things from your week and what you want!
February 22, 2019
1. Saturday: The ability to zap food warm in 30 seconds is amazing. PiC thoroughly disapproves of my callous “30 seconds fits all” methods of reheating, preferring to bring all foods up to an acceptable temperature gradually and gently, respecting the food, but I am glad to have the brute force ability when I need it.
2. Sunday: Whatever the cause, whether it be because of mindful gratitude or a change in my brain’s chemical needs or because we had a beloved friend visiting, I was only Growly Bear irritable a couple of times over the weekend. Mind you, if I still need to add back my anti-depressants if I need them that’s not a problem. I just wanted to try my hand at a few other options first. Perhaps I need a touch more socializing than I realized?
3. Monday: The sun is out today! It makes such a difference in the logistics of the day.
4. Tuesday: After a harried morning, being crabby, getting JB off to daycare, getting a next day appointment for Seamus set, and getting gas for the car, I managed to put in a whole day of work. Partway through, I realized that the irritability and anger had lifted. No matter how temporarily, I savored those moments of calm and peace.
5. Tuesday: Completed our second HSBC application – yay!
6. Tuesday: I only had to sternly scold JB a few times today. Not one mama bear roar was needed even though we cooked together. Whew.
7. Wednesday: We made it to the vet and back without incident. Sera is still seriously in training and it’s good for her to go out to places with people and animals so she learns not to freak out every time she sees them.
8. Thursday: It was a brilliant blue sky day today. It also feels like the fog is lifting a little bit.
9. I have a wonderful partner.
Wishes:
- May the prices on my long watched-for backpack, water flosser, and alarm clock drop by at least 30%.
- May PiC’s job search turn up the role that he’s looking for without the expected cut in salary.
- May both parts of that Huge Thing I’m working on at work turn out well. I’m setting things right after taking some risks that were total flops and my next two months depend on this working out.
Please join in with good things from your week and what you want!
February 15, 2019
I’ve been tweeting good things in my daily #GoodThingsThread hashtag to promote a more positive mindset. As a dyed in the wool pessimist, I have to actively push to think positively in the first place.
The past several months, I’ve been laboring under a near-constant feeling of irritability. My temper is Smurf-level short. I’m bored with and unhappy at my job even though it provides everything I want from a job and I’m very good at my job. I’m illogically discontent with our daily lives, even though the routine is exactly what I wanted. Nothing is cheering me up, or even denting in the fug. Not food treats, not petting the dogs, not having beloved old shows in the background while I work.
It doesn’t help that a lot of these days have been gloomier than usual. Long walks with the dogs usually get my chin up again when the sun is out, less so when battling winds that blow me backwards and rain in the ears.
It’s possible this is a side effect from the diet experiment. I discontinued my anti-depressants (prescribed for pain but definitely helped with my mood) while trying out the new diet to fix the pain issues. For a true read on the diet’s efficacy, I needed to be off the medications. If this mood relocation to the emotional equivalent of Mordor is really a chemical thing, I may have to start them again. It’d be nice if that wasn’t the case, though. I’d like to be off medications for a whole six months of my life for the first time in 20 years, it’d be novel! But no shade on medication here. If that’s what’s necessary, I’ll take them.
I was pondering making a formal weekly post on that theme here. Reading Disabled Girl’s post on the flood of good things, and a really awesome thing to do with a vehicle made up my mind. I’m going to try it out and see what happens. This doesn’t need to be big stuff, money stuff, or any particular level or category – just things that made you feel good. Plus this is where I am going to think positively about the things we want.
This was going to be FIVE good things Friday for the alliteration but I changed course halfway through. If I have more than 5 that I want to share, I should! As should you! It felt like I should try to have at LEAST five though in the spirit of thinking positively every single day. That turned into an argument for 7 things, for every day of the week, and eventually devolved into – I’m not setting a number in the title. I’m just going to aim for 7 or more.
1. My blister paid off! I spent an hour erasing pencil marks out of an old textbook, thus incurring a massive blister, and sold it for $45.
2. Tanja‘s book Work Optional was released on Tuesday! I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC and so enjoyed it that I purchased copies for people I love.
3. Booksgiving was last week but I participated this week and it was lovely.
4. I took some casualties (farewell, layer of skin on my finger) in the doing, but I successfully adapted this short rib stew on the rainiest day of the week and that was totally satisfying. Note: 2 hours is simply not long enough to braise 2 lbs of short ribs (bought them on massive sale!) I do need a good no-sugar low-carb/higher-fiber substitute for potatoes though.
5. I packed up two big boxes of books for resale and got them out of my office. This also helped me rediscover some books that I should reread.
6. We still have our jobs – financial stability FTW. If we have to change, I hope it’ll be on our terms.
7. We worked out a new set up with JB for therapy and the first session went pretty well.
8. I have a wonderful partner.
Wishes:
- May the prices on my long watched-for backpack and water flosser drop by at least 30%.
- May PiC’s job search turn up the role that he’s looking for without the expected cut in salary.
- May both parts of that Huge Thing I’m working on at work turn out well. I’m setting things right after taking some risks that were total flops and my next two months depend on this working out.
Please join in with good things from your week and what you want!