Weekly Mileage #132 and Wood Badge Beading

Giant $50 pumpkins outside Whole Foods means the boys think they need a picture with them.

This week I didn't go to the park for a trail run and hike. Ocean didn't have preschool and I just didn't manage to get out of bed and moving that morning. It is helpful to have preschool Monday mornings - it's definitely a good start to the day and the week.

I haven't made Halloween costumes the last couple years, but this year I decided to change that. I miss the creative process involved, and even though I don't have a ton of free time (ok, really I don't have any free time, but I'll make it work). It helps that we're reusing costumes for three of us, so I only have to make two costumes. Any ideas what we're going as this year?

I had planned to take the kids hiking Wednesday and Thursday, but it's just been too hot. Temps above 90* do not tempt me to go outside and get sweaty, especially in October. Thankfully, it finally cooled off Saturday and Sunday, but those hot summer temps have hung around way longer than they needed to this year.

Thursday night was my Wood Badge beading ceremony. I finished my ticket in May, but we didn't have time to do the ceremony until now.

Sunshine got to lead the pledge at Round Table, which wasn't her idea of fun, but I think was a good experience for her (doesn't she look cute in her uniform?). The boys did pretty well. Ocean's been going through a phase the last few weeks where he has a really hard time being quiet, but he managed to stay quiet for most of the time we were there. And he even stood pretty still while the ceremony itself was going on. Since he could not keep his mouth shut during General Conference this weekend, that is really saying something. I'm so glad we can stay home and watch conference these days: 8+ hours of conference at church would not go well.

The two guys on the ends are from my Wood Badge course, the one on the right next to Sunshine was my ticket counselor/advisor (what are they called- I'm drawing a blank here) and our senior patrol leader.

Friday we had a store party for our play group. This is an annual thing that the kiddos really enjoy. Each kiddo brings something they made or don't want anymore or whatever, and they sell it with leaves as payment. Fall is the perfect time for this as the leaves are all falling off the trees and they can just gather leaves from the ground. Sunshine made some pipe cleaner cats and something else (I don't remember what). I didn't have the time or energy to help the boys make anything, so we went to the dollar store and picked out some punch balloons for River to bring and some glow sticks for Ocean to bring. They were both a big hit, and so easy on my end :)

I've realized that it's not just my food issues that affect my anxiety levels. Lack of sleep + stressful situations = high social anxiety.  (getting up in front of people is always stressful, so while it was good to achieve my Wood Badge goal and get beaded, it was also a stressful experience for me)

But the social anxiety is different from the generalized anxiety I usually deal with (or don't, if my food is on track). The social anxiety leaves me questioning my reactions and interactions with people. 

The last few weeks have been pretty bad, but it’s been ticking up since last summer. I’ve been in a lot more socially uncomfortable (for me) situations since then, and I haven’t reacted as well as I have in the past when I’ve been in socially uncomfortable situations. It's harder to let things roll off my back and not worry about every interaction. It feels similar to how I frequently felt in junior high and high school. 

Second guessing what I said, wondering if I offended someone, could I have worded something differently, did they understand what I meant? The social anxiety had tapered off significantly through adulthood, and hasn’t been much of a problem for the last ten years or so. I’m guessing it’s related to the worsening of my narcolepsy, just as my general anxiety is related to my celiac disease and what I'm eating. 

While in theory that just means I need to watch what I eat and get enough sleep, life is rarely that simple. A gluten-free diet hasn’t solved all my food-related issues and I’ve had to eliminate other foods as well. I spent the summer eating way too much sugar and carbs and am now easing back into the low carb lifestyle. The worst is trying to get to bed on time, though. There’s always more to do than I have time for and it’s so easy to stay up late to get stuff done. But the boys don’t believe in sleeping in, so I can't make up the sleep difference in the morning. And even if I do get to bed on time, I don't always sleep well (though on average, I do sleep so much better than I used to). It's a work in progress.

General Conference was uplifting, what I heard in between Ocean's constant noise :) Of the upcoming changes, I think learning the new YW theme will be the most difficult. Memorizing things does not come easy for me these days.

I also worked some more on the two costumes I'm making. One is done, other than tweaking a couple of accessories, and the other (more labor intensive one) is mostly cut out. I miscalculated my fabric needs, so I need to buy more before I can finish cutting out all the pieces, then start sewing everything together.

I was sitting at the kitchen table between sessions on Saturday when I looked out the window and saw a bear walking past the car and the shed. I grabbed my phone, but it turned and went into the woods, so here's the best I got.

It's in the underbrush, somewhere. Maybe that roundish looking black spot in the middle of the photo? :) It was on the small side, definitely not full grown. I'm pretty sure it's the one that's been having fun with our trash cans.

The boys think the bear is still hanging around outside. Sunday I caught Ocean locking the doors so the bear wouldn't come inside. We told him bears can't open doors, but I don't know that he was convinced. We haven't had a bear come through our yard in years, but this summer we've had several visits. I'm wondering if it's not because our neighbors moved, taking their Great Dane with them. The Great Dane is larger than the bear, so I'm sure he had some sort of deterrent effect.

Weekly Mileage
total- 0 miles

20 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.56 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

92.35 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
41.16 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
80.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
216.07 miles total