Weekly Mileage #189 and Some Super Cool Business Progress

doesn't it look like she's giving me the side eye?

Monday I did a 1.5 mile run with Max- she wasn't impressed with how short it was, but I had a busy morning and didn't have time for more. Plus, changing things up keeps things interesting for both of us.

After our short run, I went to a local outdoor gear consignment shop to drop off some things to consign, then asked about their local artisans section. I talked to the manager and showed her my waxed canvas and leather bags, which I'd brought, but left in the car. I now have some buckets in the store! Check off that goal from the beginning of the year! It was definitely a bit scary, but I'm glad I did it, and she even recommended another consignment store in town that might be willing to sell my hand sewn leather totes (the outdoor gear crowd is not the right market for that). I need to follow up on that soon... Super exciting and a big step forward!

Grocery shopping in 2020 looks like this:

rows and rows and rows of hand sanitizer

The branded tape for my course arrived. It turned out great!

Last week I participated in a narcolepsy research study, which culminated in a phone call interview, which was Monday afternoon. All the questions they asked brought up a lot of things I hadn't thought about for years.

the boys playing chess

Tuesday we did a 3.5 mile run, which made Max much happier, but I was just tired. I didn't intend to go that far, but couldn't remember exactly how far the loop was that we ended up on. It wouldn't have been as bad if we'd gone the other direction, but we ran it in the mostly uphill direction, which wore me out.

I got caught up on a bunch of YW emails (I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I find being YW president much more stressful than being a RS president was). Then I moved on to some catch up work on my course. well, really the course work for the how to write a course. I've gotten a little behind on the assignments as I've been pulled in different directions.

I also started drafting the pattern for the next item I want to add to my shop, which will be a good companion to my waxed canvas buckets. They're waxed canvas foraging pockets. I'm still deciding on the waist: leather with a buckle, webbing with a buckle, waxed canvas tie, or some other type of tie? The pockets will be waxed canvas, I know that much. The foraging pockets I've seen have been cotton, but I think the waxed canvas will be easier to keep clean/not allow what's in them to bleed onto clothes, stronger, etc.

Wednesday after my trail run with Max, I made a leather business card holder to drop off at the consignment store. I was going to drop it off Thursday, but then I checked their open times and realized they're only open Friday-Monday. oops.

The blue origami envelope is one I'm working on for one of the projects in my course. It makes a great business card holder to toss in my bag.

And this is the business card holder I made to take to the store. I saw someone else make something very similar and realized it would work perfectly for what I needed.

Thursday I wasn't feeling up to a run (it's that time of the month), so I just road my bike. Max wasn't super happy about missing her run, but there will be days where she doesn't get her exercise.

I went to the chiropractor and ran some errands. I stopped by Harbor Freight for a heat gun and foot switch for shrink wrapping small bottles of glue and gum tragacanth for the tool kits for my course. I wasn't completely sure the foot switch would work with the heat gun, but it was less than $15 and I could return it if it didn't work. It does though, which is super cool. Now I just need to build a stand for the heat gun and I'll be able to shrink wrap bottles quickly and without having to switch the heat gun on and off with my hands.

Friday we went for a quick trail run before the kids and I went back to the park for playtime at the river with friends.

the bags make great dry bags. we put wet towels and clothes in them for the walk back to the car.

The weather was great and rain is in the forecast for the coming week, so we spent some time working outside. Sunshine worked on the post holes while I worked on finishing building the compost bin (the base is out of cinder blocks- I still need to build wood slats, and add a few more cinder blocks, but I'll need to buy more blocks and I can build the slats later). Then I moved the compost pile- the newer part of the pile into the bin, the rest into the raised beds, which needed topping off after a year or so of settling. Now we have a pile of old pallets that need to go to the dump. Moving the heavy compost wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. It definitely tired me out more than I'd prepared myself for.

That evening I put together the fabric prototypes of the foraging pockets so we can try them out. I've got an adult size and a kid size.

Saturday I got a late start because of feeling crummy after working outside Friday afternoon. I didn't take Max for a run because I knew she'd be on the leash while we worked outside and I hoped that would be enough exercise for her. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.

Jeremy and Sunshine worked on the post holes while I cut the wood for my new worktable (I can put it together in the house, so I just focused on getting everything cut to length and ready to assemble), and then worked on the treehouse. 

I used wood from our stack from the tree we had sawmilled and sheathed the frame I'd built a while ago, which makes both a table and a barrier across one portion of the lower platform (it's the highest off the ground and I either needed to block it off or build a ladder or steps. I chose to block it off). While I was at it, I also added wood below the platform to fill in all the irregular spaces and hopefully keep critters from setting up house under the platform. I still have more to do there, but I made good progress.

Jeremy and Sunshine got the holes dug to the right depth, but it took a lot longer than we'd thought/hoped. We still need to set them in concrete, which will hopefully happen on Monday. 

After dinner we were playing a game with the kiddos and I was having the worst time staying awake. I was just completely exhausted. Early night to bed for me.

This week has been rough. Trying to get up earlier on a daily basis takes extra energy. Exercising on an almost daily basis takes extra energy. That time of the month sucks up massive amounts of energy. Working outside and bending and lifting sucks up massive amounts of energy. Needless to say, I was not feeling great Sunday. If you're familiar with spoon theory (everything you do takes spoons (energy), and you only have so many spoons per day, and that number of spoons can vary from day to day, etc), my spoons were most definitely depleted/empty/used up.

I spent some time on the heating pad Saturday night and Sunday morning, which helped, but I still felt a little buzzy. When I overdo it, my whole body feels buzzy, like it's vibrating at a super fast/high speed. It's hard to describe, and I'm not sure why it happens or what's really going on.

Sunday I managed to get up and take Max to the dog park, only to realize that she needs her rabies tag to go in (oops, we've got the certificate, but haven't gotten her tag yet). Plus, there were a number of other dogs there and I just wasn't sure how she'd really do with them. We ended up hiking about a mile on the trails around the dog park. I could have gone a bit further, but I needed to get back for my YW class meeting. She liked the hike, but probably would have preferred a run, but I definitely didn't have energy for that.

This is the worst I've felt in awhile. If I did less each day and took longer to get it done, that would probably help, but when it comes to working outside, it's hard for me not to do as much as I can as quick as I can. Rain and heat always get in the way... I'm getting better at stopping indoor projects, but they're not as exhausting as the outdoor projects. I also need to figure out how to balance Max's exercise needs with my available energy levels. This does fall on me- Jeremy can't do it because of his bad back. Sunshine doesn't have the stamina to keep up with her, and the boys weigh about as much as she does and can't exercise her on their own. I don't mind being the one to exercise her- I enjoy running with her, it's just the energy it's sucking up.

It's frustrating. Aside from the brain fog and physical exhaustion I'm experiencing, there's the questions about how am I ever going to be able to handle daily chores on our future farm? I follow enough small farms on IG (and know from experience having goats, chickens, rabbits, sheep, and pigs when we were growing up) to know that there's a lot of work that goes into taking care of animals on a daily basis. So do we hire out all the chores to the boys (until they leave home) and hired hands? Do we keep things small, and hopefully manageable, and just do the bare minimum to produce food for ourselves? We'd talked about producing our own meat for Jeremy's food truck, but I don't know if that will be an option. I can see that we'll need to plan things out to be as energy efficient as possible, even if it costs a bit more to get them up and running. Energy efficient as in uses as little human energy as possible. Jeremy can do stuff, but if it involves bending and twisting, it's very likely to end with him flat on his back, in massive amounts of pain for several days.

Living life with narcolepsy can be very limiting. I haven't had a full-time job in 15 years since I've been home taking care of kiddos, but I don't see how I could work a full-time job outside the home. When the bad days strike because I used too many spoons in the days or weeks leading up to that point, I'd have to stay home, even if I didn't have any sick days left. Getting up every day at a specific time is also very stressful, which makes me feel worse.

This has me thinking about stuff to look into: farmers and ranchers who thrive despite narcolepsy. Hopefully I can get some ideas to figure out ways to make it work for us, then we can share those ideas with others. 

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 1.50 miles run and hiked

Tuesday- 3.50 miles run and hiked

Wednesday- 2.27 miles run and hiked

Thursday- 5.00 miles biked

Friday- 1.70 miles run and hiked

            1.20 miles hiked

            1.00 miles outdoor walk

Saturday- 2.00 miles outdoor walk

Sunday- 1.00 mile hike

total- 19.17 miles

2020 totals

45 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

208.25 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
22.50 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
310.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
540.75 miles total

Weekly Mileage #188 and Halloween

I run the seatbelt through the handle of her harness, which she doesn't really appreciate, but it keeps her safer and in one spot.

I ran with Max on the new path I heard about a week or so ago. It's nicely paved and connects the sidewalks and bike paths of one area with those of another area, so the potential for longer mileage is very good. It's a great alternative when the trails are too wet to run on, like they were Monday morning. Max liked it, but was a lot more distracted than when we're on the trails. I liked it, but my legs let me know that it's been awhile since I did any hard surface running.

tiny snail crossing the path

Jeremy went to the doctor to get a couple moles looked at. The doc removed two and sent them off to be biopsied. He also got some ointment for another mole that might not be a mole and for the tick bite he got a few months ago that's having a hard time healing.

He called Monday morning and got a same day appointment. I guess potentially problematic moles rate higher than physicals. While Sunshine really only needs a physical, I have other things I need to talk to my doc about, so I may call back and see if I can't get my appointment scheduled a little sooner.

I got back to sewing and finished this tote. The brand placement isn't quite where I want it because of how the hide was cut, but I do think it's a cool feature.

I finally went through my emails. I had over 1000 unread just in my main inbox. It took awhile, but I finally got things deleted or filed and my inboxes are much more manageable and I can actually find things. Now to see how long I can keep it this way....

fashion choices of the semi-feral five year old

Tuesday I did my bike ride then we did music lessons and speech. Jeremy had an appointment at the VA hospital to get hooked up for a 24 hour EEG. The wires and attachments are very reminiscent of when we did our sleep studies. They added some gauze on his head to keep everything in place. It's a great look.

he refused to let me post the one of him with his wrapped head and his CPAP 😂

I finished another tote, but still have three more to finish and photograph so I can get them listed in my shop.

I worked on my miscellaneous to-do list (all the random things that need to be taken care of, that I keep avoiding until I really have to take care of them). And I made this yummy cake:

A chocolate peanut butter cake that I saw the recipe for and decided to make before I went back to eating low carb. Dark chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting, and totally worth the carbs. The swap for gluten free flour worked well and I think this is my go-to chocolate cake recipe now. I found the recipe here.

Wednesday my eye was fully back to normal. There's no swelling in the morning, though there's some dry scaliness as the skin heals. I went for a trail run with Max and Jeremy went back to the VA to get the EEG stuff removed and go over the results (there was nothing unusual, he's not even really sure why they did it).

I worked on more details: catching up on some emails, ordering packaging, shop blog posts (I had a couple months of catchup, but I also jotted down the main portions of posts through March, posting twice a month), etc.

Thursday it poured rain all morning and rained most of the afternoon. It was the edge of a hurricane, I think, but we didn't have any damage. No outside exercising in that rain, so I rode my bike.

We tried making candles out of melted crayons, but our technique was flawed. I didn't want to melt one crayon color at a time, so we just popped each jar in the microwave to melt the crayons. It kind of worked, but I tipped one of them over and made a huge mess, so I wouldn't recommend it.

I worked on my course for a bit. The leather I ordered last week arrived Wednesday so I sorted through it to decide which to use for which projects. Reading about it on the computer is one thing, actually feeling each one is something completely different. I'm trying to have a variety of leathers used in the projects while not sinking all my profits into leather. The new sides should work better than the sides I used in the original prototypes.

I also got the packaging materials for the glues that will be included in the course materials.

I worked some more on the blog posts for the shop. Mostly I edited photos then uploaded them. I forgot how long this takes on Shopify. I can only upload one photo at a time, and our internet is still not great. It takes forever to upload all the photos just for one post, which is why I got behind in the first place.

Did I ever show the brass maker's marks I got awhile back?

and how about the rubber stamp I got?

Friday I intended to get up early and take Max for a run, but I didn't manage to get out of bed early enough. I should have though; she really needed the energy outlet.

We had park day that morning. It was sunny, which was nice, but also windy and chilly. I got a little chilled since I was not expecting the wind and hadn't dressed for it.

working on a notebook while watching kiddos and talking to my friend, flowers courtesy of River

I finally placed my order for 50 leather working tool sets! They should arrive in about a month or so. Lots to do while I'm waiting for them.

I spent more time working on the shop blog posts and photo editing. I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again, the Shopify blog platform is not nearly as user friendly as the Wordpress blog platform. Which is why it was so easy to stop posting after I got caught up last time. It's annoying to have to spend so much time on this, but it's good material to have available for those interested in learning more about me and my business, so I'll keep doing it. Since I now have several months worth of posts halfway written, I'll do as much as possible this week so there's less to do on an on-going basis.

Saturday I ran a 5k trail run with Max. It was a virtual race I signed up for awhile ago that I just hadn't gotten around to doing. It was a bit further than I've run in a while, and I may have pushed myself a bit too hard. The ground was a bit wetter than I'd like from Thursday's downpour, but it wasn't too bad. I did manage to trip and fall, and between my inertia and Max pulling, I slid a few inches in the mud on my stomach. So glad no one saw that one. I scraped one palm and bruised both palms on rocks or roots. Max stopped and waited for me as I got up, brushed myself off and hobbled for a few steps before running. Thankfully I was almost done at that point and only had to run a bit further.

Afterwards I did a dump run with Jeremy, then stopped by Lowes for posts for a swing set and wood for a larger work table for the basement.

We unloaded the wood and marked out where the posts need to go. I started digging with the post hole digger, but didn't go very deep. Despite the deluge on Thursday and the current slimy condition of our "lawn", digging was not easy. I didn't intend to do much more than mark it, though, so it was ok. I'm planning on doing more digging throughout the coming week.

I didn't make any Halloween costumes this year. I didn't have time and I didn't really see the point since I knew we wouldn't be trick or treating.

Since we weren't trick or treating, we filled mini piñatas for each of the kids. Saturday evening we let them whack their piñatas around. 

It was lots of fun. More fun than trick or treating is, IMO. Ocean was giggling and laughing while trying to hit his piñata. He thought the whole thing was hilarious.

River was having a hard time, so Jeremy held his piñata for him, but that only lasted for a couple whacks before he let go, in fear of his life.

While we were doing the piñatas, we'd leashed Max to the treehouse, which put her within reach of the holes we'd started. She loves digging and quickly dug one hole down about 10 inches. She wasn't as interested in the other one, but did dig a little in that one as well. It definitely helped and I'm glad there's a little less to do this coming week.

Sunday was the first Sunday where everyone who wants to can attend church, and this will be the case on a weekly basis from here on out. Jeremy and I will still alternate, though. Saturday night Ocean was licking all over his hands while eating, despite the fact that we've told him repeatedly not to. There's still a zoom option for those unable to attend sacrament meeting, so whoever stays home that week will be able to hear the talks still.

I definitely over-did it Saturday. Despite not eating low carb the last few weeks, I've actually felt pretty decent (all things considered) because I've been exercising on a regular basis. I felt a lot worse this summer when I wasn't eating low carb and also wasn't exercising.

However, I woke up feeling pretty crummy: I didn't sleep well, I ran too hard Saturday morning, I've been eating too much sugar, the time change, some combination of one or more of them. Probably all of them. It's past time to recommit to eating low carb, but also to be careful about my exercise schedule.

We've realized that Max really needs to go for a run every morning, and will probably need to do so for at least a year or more to come, till her energy levels calm down (I hope). I'd rather not actually go for a run on Sundays if I can help it, so I'd planned on taking her to a dog park that's not too far away. She hasn't been to a dog park yet, so if that didn't go well, there are some trails next to the dog park that I could take her on. But we woke up to pouring rain, so I scrapped that plan. Max hates being out in the rain (she'll pee in the house rather than stand out in the rain and pee outside) and since I already wasn't feeling great, I didn't feel like dealing with getting cold and wet.

Max's heritage seems a bit more pronounced as she gets older. We've decided that along with the blue heeler/australian cattle dog the shelter said she is, there's a lot of greyhound and a dash of black lab.

can you see the greyhound silhouette?

My poison ivy is almost cleared up. I no longer look like I have some weird leprosy. River's hives have cleared up, but we still have no idea what caused them. The skin on his hands is now peeling where the hives were.

~~~~~

After everyone else left for church on Sunday, Ocean was telling me about something he remembered.

"Last time Daddy and Sunshine and River went somewhere I got to eat ice cream and watch a movie! And do you know what movie it was? Memo!" (Nemo)

Now, I have no idea when this happened, but I do know it wasn't recently. It was probably last year? 

I said I didn't remember this happening, but it sounded like he had a fun time.

He repeated his description of it, worried that I was saying it didn't happen.

I tried to explain that just because I don't remember it happening doesn't mean it didn't happen. I forget a lot of things and don't remember everything.

I could tell by his expression he didn't really understand. But then, how do you explain memory problems to a 5 year old?

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2.40 miles run

Tuesday- 5.00 miles biked

Wednesday- 2.60 miles run and hiked

Thursday- 5.00 miles biked

Saturday- 3.50 miles run and hiked

total- 18.50 miles

2020 totals

39 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

194.08 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
22.50 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
305.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
521.58 miles total