July 16, 2021
1. I just saw an ad for Fidelity saying they would help someone planning for retirement consider “different scenarios, like saving more each month.”
That was the example. Saving more each month. I had to laugh. (Then Donna made the good point that what’s basic to us isn’t even on the radar for someone who doesn’t live and breathe money talk.)
2. Turns out the answer to the question of “what do you do if you have some free time?” is: dive into tax and retirement planning and blogging and watching Leverage: Redemption. I would like more free time please. I need a nap.
3. In an unexpected twist, since my maternity leave earlier this year was medically indicated after the first 8 weeks of CA SDI ran out, I think the rest of my leave was paid for through SDI as well instead of the Paid Family Leave program. If I’m right, then I think perhaps that all the state funded income for my maternity leave won’t be taxable. I hope I hope I hope.
4. PiC has finally hopped aboard my container garden train, full steam ahead! By which I mean, our living circumstances are finally such that he thinks it’ll work, and we have friends with great gardening experience telling us potatoes are dead easy to grow, and we’ve experienced the fun of digging up potatoes. We bought a couple large grow bags, soil and fertilizer, and we’re gonna do it! This is a hobby, though we’re absolutely eating whatever we grow, because otherwise these are the most expensive potatoes ever. I’m keeping this project very very small because despite my desire to Grow All The Things!!!! we don’t have the time to pay attention to or research a proper garden and I do not want to waste money starting up crops that are just going to die of neglect and ignorance.
5. Leverage: Redemption Leverage: Redemption Leverage: Redemption!!
I tell you what, I screamed internally when I found out they were coming back. Absolutely giddy. I adored the first run and I was so thrilled they were bringing the characters back. Like old TV friends. I always want more story with characters I love and for once, I’m getting it.
Challenges this week: We’re planning to travel quite some way for the first time in almost two years and it’s a big undertaking.
Technology is fighting with me. Why can’t it just do as it’s told??
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July 9, 2021
1. PiC pulled together a lot of meals seemingly out of the ether this week. I’m so grateful.
2. He was able to take on more of the meal prep because his company declared a no meeting week and OMG can they please have more of those??
3. On a totally unscheduled day, after a few instructions on things to do (reading, Spanish, typing practice, short videos), and a few suggestions for fun things that they passed on, JB kept themselves occupied for hours with a self motivated project. That was really nice.
Challenges this week: Work tripled this week as people who generate work for us seemingly all worked on the holiday weekend and some of the people who do the work were unavailable. I told PiC on Thursday that I was on a razor’s edge about to absolutely lose it.
A family friend had a heart attack. They seem like they will be ok but it was of course very worrisome.
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July 2, 2021
1. Sneaking through the bedroom where Smol was sleeping, my heart squeezed. Their little tiny baby face! So tiny, so baby.
2. Our library is open to the public with precautions and we’re so grateful. We came away with a tower of books, a stack of summer activities for JB and a free board book for Smol. I love the library as much as an adult as I did as a kid.
It’s time for my annual donation to the library. My birthday gift to myself is supporting the library. Usually I just have the bank send a check but I want to write a thank you card to the staff this year.
3. JB and I did a little YouTube craft tutorial together and I only got annoyed that they didn’t follow directions once. That’s pretty good considering our track record with origami.
4. We also made brownies from a keto sugar-free mix and loaded it up with extra walnuts. It might have more walnuts than mix. It barely holds together and I don’t care. Yum.
5. We were so grateful to have dodged both massive heat waves. Instead we were wreathed in by Karl the Fog all weekend. Though I do love some heat those 115 degree temperatures were no joke. My sunburns aren’t ready to be retoasted.
6. I bought these spin pins years and years ago, and could not get them to work in my hair. I was very annoyed with myself but set them aside in hopes that eventually I’d find a use for them. It turns out when your hair is as long as it can possibly get, more than halfway down your back, it’s long enough to be held by these! Just one holds up one of my buns now. I JUST discovered this when I was inspired to try doing something new with my hair (double cone buns which did not work at all).
Challenges this week: JB is processing the loss of our friend and that’s a bumpy road. Well heck, we’re all processing.
My back pain has escalated this week. I’ve woken up with a great deal of muscle pain even though I’m laying on a heating pad for at least a couple hours each night. I have knee support and neck support and the mattress is new so I don’t know what’s wrong. I also picked up my planks and walks most days again but it hasn’t put a dent in this pain. Alas my massage therapist isn’t available until the fall.
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June 25, 2021
1. Their pain, my gain: the terrible heat wave meant we got a couple nice days and I thoroughly soaked it up. Too much, in fact, and got myself quite a sunburn reading out in the sun. Whoops. (But I got to read A WHOLE BOOK on a Saturday afternoon. That hasn’t been possible for years!)
2. Therapy was helpful as I continue to work through my deep rooted instincts that flare up in times of hurt and vulnerability: to push everyone away, tell myself that I’m better off alone, that no one outside my innermost circles cares about me so it’s best to self isolate more and more. I’m not fixing anything, I’m learning to feel what I feel and understand why, and let it pass so I don’t need to revert to old habits to cover up pain. It also lets me be present for JB and teach them how to grieve instead of bottling it up.
3. I set up a subscription to The Bouqs to send flower to our recently widowed family member now, and again in a month. I may keep it up for a few more months, just because.
Challenges this week: Grieving. Too too many losses this year.
Fireworks started mid June. This is ridiculous and stressful for Sera.
I have a mouse (the computer peripheral) graveyard on my desk. I’ve been trying to get a mouse to work for weeks. It keeps disconnecting. I thought it was battery related, so I switched to a really old mouse for the interim while recharging the batteries, then trying replacement batteries, but the USB doohickey still keeps disconnecting. The old mouse is isn’t a good size and it’s LOUD whenever I click so I really don’t like using it. I finally unearthed an older version of the current mouse which works but the movement was lagging just enough to make my eye twitch. Thankfully it looks like changing the cursor speed in the mouse settings fixed that bit.
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June 18, 2021
1. As a notebook hoarder, I’m pretty excited to discover that I’m within two pages of finishing up a notebook. I’ve been chronicling my day to day completed tasks and checklists since March in a single little book. It’s fun to cycle through my colorful pens and helpful to manage my expectations for work in writing. Now I have to decide which notebook to use next and do I keep the completed books? Probably for a little while, there are some reference bits in there that I may need to look back to.
2. Our insulation is helping! Our floors aren’t nearly so frigid and we don’t need to bundle up in three layers (or run the heat) to stay warm enough to function every day! It’ll be ages before we break even on the money front but I don’t care. We’re feeling the benefit every day and we’re not wasting heat when and if we do run the furnace.
Challenges this week: Our friend has passed and we’re all grieving deeply.
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June 11, 2021
I had a hard time coming up with anything for this list at first, but here goes!
1. I made a sale on Poshmark! Yay!
2. That little kitchen scale PiC pushed me to get has come in handy for clearing to-do items off my list. I needed to go to the post office for two packages that had been waiting for ages but I simply haven’t had any time or energy to fit that in. The scale took care of figuring out postage for two of the four things that didn’t merit going out flat rate.
Challenges this week: My back pain is back. I’ve not done my planks in months, and I’m not even getting out for a walk once a day, so of course it’s back. I should have remembered to start them again once sleep training started taking hold, I had stopped because of neck pain flaring up and just being too dang tired to exist. Back to planking.
I’m struggling with grieving our friend as they enter hospice and their final days of life. It’s setting off my defense mechanisms where I distance myself from people, tell myself that they don’t care about me anyway, and go into my antisocial-shell in a futile attempt to protect myself from further pain. It won’t protect me at all but I’m learning to recognize that’s what my instincts tell me to do.
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January 8, 2021
1. I had splurged on some warm clothes for myself and they finally arrived! Pile lined sweatpants and fuzzy lined sweatshirts, where have you been all my life? This is the first time I’ve been able to walk around the house in a normal number of layers of clothing and not be cold! I’m calling it my bear suit. One might argue comfort and being warm isn’t a splurge, a dear friend made that exact point, but my brain would be confused by that.
2. On a whim, I picked up long beans and garlic black bean sauce at the local grocery store. Together, they made a delicious veggie dish! We finally have a veggie I won’t get sick of after two servings (I hope).
3. At least one of my healthcare professional relatives has been offered and given the vaccine.
Challenges this week: Mild grumble – why is my ortho office constantly marketing to me? I committed to treatment, you don’t need to keep sending me marketing emails! So weird.
I feel like a zombie. Sleep deprivation, OMG.
Moderate grumble: Comcast has been a RIGHT PAIN. I’ve been working “with” them (just holding onto my patience for dear life as I try to get them to help) to get our internet back up and running since before Christmas. They have definitely NOT fixed the problem. One technician did come out and replaced all the bad cabling but there’s still a problem with their network that they have identified but it’s like pulling teeth to get them to get a second tech out for this known problem.
Severe: I continue to work my way through the ups and downs of depression. The weight varies day by day.
The coup attempt at the Capitol Building, aided by the Capitol police WHO LET THEM IN, was another … I don’t even know what to call it. The fact that 45 is still trying to fraudulently negate the election results here in 2021 is infuriating.
:: How was your week?
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