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| how is this comfortable??? |
River likes to pretend he's asleep so I'll leave the room and he can get up and play around.
Me: "Are you pretending to be asleep?"
Him: "Uh huh"
Well, at least he's honest....
Sunday, October 31, 2021
Monday, October 25, 2021
Weekly Mileage #239 and River's Baptism
Monday I went for a trail run with Max, then had a mundane day: school work, Scouts, etc.
Tuesday after music lessons Sunshine had an orthodontist appointment. When we returned home from those, we made treats for a fall bake off Wednesday morning. I made cookies with Ocean and a pumpkin roll cake with River and Sunshine made a chocolate cake.
At karate that evening my sister and MIL joined in. It was a rather chaotic class, so not the best intro, but that's how it goes sometimes. The little kids were out of control and the instructor that day doesn't have a commanding voice to get everyone's attention (some of the other instructors do).
Wednesday morning we went to a fall bake off with some of our homeschool friends. Sunshine got the most overall votes for taste and looks. It was a lot of fun and there was a number of gluten free treats to choose from- more than I've seen at any gathering we've attended.
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| The cookies and pumpkin roll the boys made are front and center in the photo. I somehow missed Sunshine's cake before it got eaten. |
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| the winners in the various categories |
It was also my sister's birthday, so I made a german chocolate cake for her and a birthday dinner.
Thursday I took my sister to the airport at 5am. Despite trying to get to bed earlier, I did not get enough sleep and was so tired.
River had his annual checkup and both boys got their flu shots. River got his first, which gave Ocean time to freak out about it. I had to give him the body hug to distract him while the nurse gave him his shot. He calmed down as soon as it was over and he realized it hadn't hurt that much (as always happens...).
I napped for a bit because I was so tired, then everybody went to the dentist. There were no cavities this time around, thankfully, though I have a referral to an endodontist to look more closely at a root to make sure there's no issues (I think it's on a tooth that I had a root canal on a few years ago) and River has a referral to an orthodontist for a slight cross bite.
YW was that night and I was not looking forward to it due to a resurgence of the mask issue.
I'm so tired of trying to balance mask vs anti mask crap in YW. It's such a contentious topic, and it doesn't need to be. Just wear the stupid mask at church and don't wear it anywhere else if you feel that strongly about it. The unfortunate thing is that I have both leaders and girls who are on both sides of the issue, and trying to keep everybody on the same page (let alone happy), is just not possible. Add in a YW with serious chronic health issues, and it's even more of a mess. Seriously, the whole mask thing is the most stressful part of my calling right now. It's worse than dealing with zoom lessons and activities.
Our activity consisted of planning combined YW activities for the coming months plus smoothing out some mask messiness. It went better than I was afraid it would, but it was still stressful. It doesn't help that I am very non-confrontational and am uncomfortable trying to mediate disputes like this.
Thursday night I went to bed earlier than I have in awhile. It was absolutely necessary after a really poor nights' sleep Wednesday night. I felt better Friday, but was still so tired.
Friday morning we went on a hike with friends.
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| Ocean had to bring Oink Oink on the hike... |
I got a call that my tool kits are an hour away! They'll be delivered on Monday, though we'll have to meet at a local grocery store to off load the three pallets since there's no room for a full size semi to drive down our twisty road or to turn around (even with our enlarged parking area).
My parents arrived just a few minutes before Jeremy's brother, after our karate class.
Saturday River was baptized.
We were almost late since Max got out just a few minutes before time to leave. Luckily she came back quicker than usual and Jeremy was able to get to the church on time. The kids and I had gone ahead to get everything set up and warn of the potential delay.
The baptism went well. It was simple, short and sweet, and to the point. No frills and furbalows. We had a zoom link for those who wanted to watch, but everyone started talking while River and Jeremy changed and it was rather distracting from the spirit of the event.
Afterwards we hung out with our families and went to a local apple orchard, only to find out you had to buy tickets (at $8 a person) on high volume days and they were sold out. They did have a drive-thru option, though, so we just picked up some apple cider, apple donuts, and apples.
Sunday morning I took my parents to the airport at 6am, which wasn't quite as bad as when my sister left. I even managed to go back to sleep for a little bit before ward council and church.
Weekly Mileage
Monday- 1.62 miles .5 hours
Wednesday- 2.0 hours
Friday- 2.10 2.0 hours
total- 3.72 miles 4.5 hours
2021 totals
243.5 outside hours
225.58 miles
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Sunday Funny
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| parked next to this car while running errands |
I was sifting through old notes and found this from December 2019 or sometime before then:
I had a fuzzy pink blanket wrapped around me and both boys informed me that they should have it since pink is a boys color.
They just wanted the warm, fuzzy blanket.
Monday, October 18, 2021
Weekly Mileage #238 and the Store Party
Monday I couldn't go on a trail run since it rained Sunday.
Tuesday we went to music lessons in person, but I didn't walk in the woods with the boys during Sunshine's lesson. I didn't sleep well Monday night and I was tired. The boys entertained themselves quite nicely.
During karate class we did a high intensity warm up and the room was hot. Between the two of those, I was wiped out.
Wednesday I went to sleep earlier than I have been, but I still had a slow start to the day. I was still feeling wiped out from not enough sleep Monday night, a busy day Tuesday, and the intense karate class.
Since I wasn't feeling energetic, I did some more reading in the ADHD book my sister recommended.
Thursday I finally managed a trail run with Max. Afterwards I fixed the chicken coop door window (it's an old door with a single pane window and Ocean had stuck his hand through it last week, thankfully without injuring himself). Honestly, it's a miracle the window lasted as long as it did. I replaced the brittle old glass with a sheet of plexiglass so we don't have a repeat.
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| I love foggy mornings |
I also helped the boys make things for the store party we attended Friday morning.
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| River cut yarn for the tops of his bookmarks after cutting the leather and punching holes (with my help) |
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| Ocean had to lean into the hand press to install the snaps on the bracelets he'd punched out earlier (with my help, of course) |
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| holding the bracelets and bookmarks they made |
Friday we went to a friend's house for their annual store party (we've attended for several years). The kids bring things they made and you go around purchasing those things with leaves. It's funny to see the things that attract the kids and those that are less interesting to them.
Afterwards I rested for a bit, then did some house cleaning since we have company coming soon.
Karate class was the same tough workout from Tuesday and it was still intense.
I worked on updating the video for next week's Leatherwork 101 lesson and re-did the pdf outline.
Saturday I slept in a little. I thought about going for a run, but I was too tired after Friday's karate workout.
Jeremy's parents arrived in the evening.
Sunday we went to church with Jeremy's parents and some friends of theirs that they knew when they lived in Japan 40+ years ago. They came from Florida to visit with them and us.
One of my sisters flew in shortly after midnight, after multiple delays.
~~~~~
As I've been reading about ADHD (a lot about adult women with ADHD, but also some about children) I've been consciously making an effort to identify why I've been doing certain things.
I go to bed at a decent time, then spend hours reading or playing games on my phone instead of going to sleep. If I do in fact have ADHD, I believe this is my brain searching for stimulation or "fun". Sleep is not "fun", so let's do something else instead, regardless of the consequences.
I think the same thought process applies to the creative slump I've been experiencing. I really need to work on my social media and pinterest stuff, but they're not fun (I dislike and/or don't understand them) and will take some concentrated effort to understand and move forward. My burned out brain would rather go for the easy "fun" stimulation rather than the harder, more effort needed tasks.
Tardiness is an issue for many with ADHD and I realized I've developed really good coping skills over the years to deal with the disorganization in my brain. I have paper planners going back to high school that I've used to track appointments, deadlines, meetings, etc. These days I also have alarms on my phone set to go off before I need to do something. If it's a zoom meeting at home, it's usually just a 15 minute and 5 minute alarm. If it's something outside the home like church or karate class, I factor in travel time, then add alarms 15, 30, 60, and 90 minutes out.
~~~~~
While I think I'm ADHD inattentive type, Ocean is definitely ADHD hyperactive type.
Some of his symptoms: random emotional outbursts (which I do have), inappropriate interruptions (Always. Every adult in his life knows that at some point in a conversation, Ocean will interrupt and want to tell them something about Castle Crashers), inability to focus on one task for long periods of time, especially if it's not "fun" (guitar practice lasts 10 minutes, if we're lucky, but he'll spend hours on a video game if we let him), impulsive actions (we've been working with him for years on this- "Why did you do this?" "I don't know". I'm pretty sure it's also why he's the only one of our kids to color on the walls).
We need to get him evaluated, but there's no rush. At this point, increased awareness is helpful.
Weekly Mileage
Thursday- 1.68 miles .5 hours
Friday- 2.0 hours
Saturday- 4.0 hours
total- 1.68 miles 6.5 hours
2021 totals
239.0 outside hours
221.86 miles
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Sunday Funny
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| still doesn't look comfy.... |
Ocean after I called for his sister: "Sunshine is up in her room, hyperventilating"
Me: "You mean hibernating?" (something Jeremy and I frequently say she's doing)
Him: "No, hyperventilating."
I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what either word really means.
Monday, October 11, 2021
Week #237 and the Pinewood Derby
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| it tasted good, but it didn't look as pretty as I'd hoped... |
Monday I had an eyeball type migraine, which is lots of fun. Despite the migraine, I did manage to spend some time working on a couple of zip bag prototypes.
Tuesday I had another eyeball migraine, plus I was fighting the kids' bug. Sunshine still had a nasty cough from her cold, so we did online music lessons.
My eye strain was finally bad enough that I was able to put my new glasses on without an instant headache. I have no idea what's going on there.
This week at karate it's ab week. I can tell my muscles are getting more toned, though I still have a ways to go.
We celebrated River's birthday! He's now 8 years old.
I made a layer cake with mango fruit puree in the middle. Unfortunately, it started oozing out the center while I was trying to ice the outside. My frosting needed to be a bit stiffer to keep the filling in place. Note to self: put the frosting in the fridge before using it.
Wednesday I had planned to go for a run since we weren't going to karate that afternoon, but it rained Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and I was feeling crummy- headachy, sinuses, a bit of a cough.
I basically laid in bed all day, trying to fight off the cold that Sunshine somehow shared with me. I spent a lot of time on the bio mat, which I feel does help lessen the effects of illness.
Thursday I couldn't go for a run again, since the trails were still wet. Instead, I went to the chiropractor and ran some errands, then went back to bed for awhile when I returned home because I was tired.
Since I was in bed, I started reading a book my sister recommended: Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD.
Friday we were supposed to spend the day getting ready for a Scout campout that Sunshine was cooking 5 meals for, but it got pushed back a couple weeks due to a staffer at the camp being exposed to covid. Not a bad thing, all things considered, since Sunshine still has a cough she hasn't quite managed to get rid of.
I spent a lot of time in bed again in an effort to kick the bug and not get so tired that it hangs around forever, especially since I'm already always tired.
After karate class, Sunshine and I helped setup for the multi-ward pinewood derby being held Saturday morning.
Saturday I didn't go for a run since Sunshine and I went to help finish the pinewood derby setup. It was run by the youth, but the adults were still needed for some things. The cars were organized into three groups, seen below:
The pinewood derby was with the youth from two of the other wards in the area. It went well and everyone had fun. The youth were supposed to make their own cars, and I think the creativity level was higher than with the Cub Scout pinewood derbies.
Afterwards, we hauled stuff out to the storage container. Some bins full of stuff that's never used, all the random stuff that's been shoved in the upstairs hall bathtub for the last year or two (most of it needs to get donated), plus some of my business stuff (mostly shipping materials and convention display stuff). There's more boxes and tool kits that need to go out to the container, but I need to buy a shelving unit first.
Sunday church started a half hour later so that none of the wards overlap, trying to cut down on unnecessary interactions and groupings.
Weekly Mileage
total- 0 miles 0.0 hours
2021 totals
232.5 outside hours
220.18 miles
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Sunday Funny
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| happy post-run Max |
Recently, the power went out around 1:30 am. Jeremy was working overtime, so Max was curled up on the couch waiting for him to get home.
After the power went out, she started growling and barking at something outside, which woke up Sunshine. Sunshine went downstairs, brought Max upstairs, and woke me up:
"The power is out and Max is barking at something outside the door."
Me: "ok?"
Sunshine: "I need you to do something about Max and turn the power on"
Me, confused and still half asleep: "I can't turn the power on. Just put Max in her crate till dad gets home."
Sunshine left the room and I went back to sleep.
The next day I asked Sunshine what she expected me to do when she asked me to turn the power back on.
"I don't know, I was really tired. I think I wanted you to turn the generator on."
Yeah, that wasn't going to happen in the middle of the night.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
3rd Quarter Goals Update
Miles
My hip isn't bothering any more, thankfully. However, I've struggled to balance trail runs with karate workouts. I can't do both on the same day, which is limiting my miles.
Hours outside
I managed to log some good hours with the various camps and activities of the summer. The heat and humidity were still a stumbling block to us spending more time outside.
Business progress
I had a busy summer. I made lots of buckets and pockets, attended Primary Day Camp with River, prepared for, attended, and taught a leatherwork class at YW camp, chaperoned the youth on a one day trip to the Philadelphia temple to do baptisms for the dead (it was a looong day), prepared for and attended a homeschool convention, and took the boys to visit friends and attend pirate camp. And that was just in July and August.
The leatherwork class at YW camp was a good learning experience and the girls enjoyed it and it prompted some changes to one of the projects in my course. The homeschool convention was also a good learning experience, and while it was smaller than usual since it was in August instead of April, it did give me a good idea of what to expect for future conventions.
Health progress
I'm doing ok, but not great. Lately I've struggled to stay motivated to do things. Around the house, business-related, it doesn't seem to matter. I got burned out after everything I did this summer and it's taking longer than I thought it would to pull out of the funk.
I'm still eating too many carbs and sugars. My sleep schedule was variable with all the activities and camps, so I was more tired than I'd have liked.
Monday, October 4, 2021
Weekly Mileage #236 and Trail Runs with Max
Despite not sleeping well Sunday night, I did manage to get up Monday morning and take Max for a trail run. It wasn't as early as I'd like, but we made it, which is what counts.
We pulled the container a little straighter with the RV, though it's still not super straight. It's not a huge deal, though, so it's staying. We moved the Subaru cover next to the container and tied that side of the cover to the container. We staked down the other side with some heavy duty screw-in stakes. Even with the high winds we sometimes get, it shouldn't be going anywhere. We parked the RV next to the Subaru cover so it's closer to the house and the extension cord won't get run over as we drive in and out (we'd like to install an electrical stanchion next to the RV pad, but that's not in the budget right now). We'll probably have to move it back to its former spot next month when we have family visit. We couldn't get it to level properly, probably because of the nasty gravel (way too moveable, which is why we wanted the RAM, which compacts down easily and stays in place) and we're still looking for RAM...
After dinner we took the boys to a small local cemetery to take photos of headstones to get some service hours in for karate (Sunshine and I did our service on Saturday at the Eagle Project).
Tuesday I went on a trail run with Max. I actually slept decently, for me, and woke up feeling ok. We didn't do music lessons since Sunshine still wasn't feeling well, and I did the grocery shopping instead.
Wednesday I was tired after two workouts on Tuesday (trail run in the am and karate class in the evening). So I'll have to avoid that, at least for now, while I build my stamina back up. I dragged the whole morning as a result. It's frustrating that I'm still so limited, but at least I'm able to exercise in the first place. The next thing to test is whether I can do karate in the evening and have the energy to go running the next morning. If that's not doable, that will be a lot more problematic, since that will eliminate four days of each week from running. Add in one more day off for Sunday, and I'll only be able to run two days a week: Mondays and Thursdays. It's better than nothing, but not as much as I'd like or Maxi needs.
Thursday I wasn't as tired as I was afraid I'd be, but I still took it easy. I ran a couple errands, then hopped on a zoom call with Sunshine for a class she's taking.
That evening for YW/YM we had a pinewood derby car work night. I brought our scroll saw that hasn't been used in 3-4 years, and it wasn't super happy about being used again. It warmed up eventually, but I probably need to oil some parts and use it more frequently.
It was a fun hike with a large group. We had seven families of various sizes- two kids up to seven kids. We went up the hill on the back side of the park to check out the old graves, then headed back and played in the river for awhile before it was time to head home. Some of the kiddos broke out the sidewalk chalk while we waited for some slower members of the group to catch up to us at the parking lot.
Ocean drew his favorite: the red Castle Crasher character.
Saturday morning I went on a trail run with Max before General Conference.
In between sessions I took photos for next week's course outline. When I recorded the lesson originally, I ran out of time to take photos of each step in addition to the videos, so last week and this week I had to take some process photos so I can add them to the outline. I think these are the only lessons I have to do that though.
Sunday we had more Conference. Sunshine's had a cold for the last week (she got it from Jeremy and the boys, who just had mild cases), now I'm starting to feel crummy too. yay.
~~~~~
I found some low carb, sugar free chocolate that actually tastes good. Evolved hazelnut butter cups are decent, but I don't care for the other varieties or the bars. On my last trip to Whole Foods, I bought some ChocZero white chocolate peanut butter cups and milk chocolate hazelnut bark. No weird flavors or aftertastes (erythritol ruins the taste of so many other sugar free sweets) since it's sweetened with monk fruit. I totally went to the website and bought a bunch of other items in their product lineup, since Whole Foods only carries three items.
The only problem is that they taste sweeter than the Evolved hazelnut keto cups that have been my once daily treat, and it's harder to eat just one per day. Both are monk fruit sweetened, so it must be how much is used? Neither use erythritol, which I can't stand.
If you want to give them a try, use this link to get $15 off your first purchase of $30 or more.
~~~~~
I only have a few students in my current Leatherwork 101 session (I need to do much more extensive online advertising), but I've realized that's not a bad thing. Back in May I ordered 300 more tool kits, which were supposed to arrive no later than the middle of September. That still hasn't happened- they were off loaded at the port a week or so ago, but I had to pay a lot more in tariffs than I was expecting- 25% of the value of the items- before they could be released and shipped to me. Theoretically, they're on their way here, but I haven't had any tracking updates. I'm reasonably certain my shipment got caught in the backup of cargo ships hanging outside various ports, waiting to be offloaded (there's labor shortages in the ports). Luckily, I had enough tool kits at home to cover what my students needed. So now I'll have the kits for my next class session, but it does make me think I need to place my orders even further out than I'd thought I needed. It's hard to judge how many I need, and it's not good for my cash flow when I pay for them in May or June, but can't actually do anything with them for 4 or 5 months (longer, since my next session doesn't start till January). Things to think about...
Weekly Mileage
Monday- 1.82 miles .5 hours
Tuesday- 2.01 miles .5 hours
Thursday- 2.0 hours
Friday- 2.20 miles 2.5 hours
Saturday- 1.70 miles .5 hours
total- 7.73 miles 6.0 hours
2021 totals
232.5 outside hours
220.18 miles
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