Nov 18 through Nov 23

 

I'm taking a break from writing about diet and exercise until December 11. I may make references to it in these blogs, but I'm determined not to obsess about it ! Here's my "week in review" so far !

Saturday 11/18 was a nice day. Michelle came to color my hair and Lauren came too ! It was nice to sit and talk for a few hours. It's also nice to be blond again ! I spent the morning on the couch playing my slot games and when Michelle let me know she was coming to do my hair I did my 10 minute clean up, which included vacuuming the carpet. Keeping the house clean for the past 2 weeks paid off ! I didn't have to run around like a maniac cleaning or tossing things out of sight just to make the house presentable. I didn't do much else. I just relaxed and enjoyed the day.

Sunday 11/19 I again spent most of the day playing my slot games and watching YouTube. I had intended to go shopping but it got rainy and we had several bouts of what looked like hail, but I think it's called "graupel". Today is cold but sunny, so I planned to shop Monday. The plan was to go out to Clay because I can hit Kohl's, Target, Walmart and Wegmans all in the same area. I also needed to stop at the post office to get my mail and Bath & Body order.

It was only 24 degrees when I got up Monday morning (11/20) and my heating system was struggling a little. It was 66 upstairs (thermostat set on 68), downstairs was 70 (thermostat set on 70) and the laundry room was 67 (thermostat set on 70). The thing with hot water heat is it takes time to respond to temperature drops, so I'm not panicking. The fact that the main part of the house was at 70 is great ! The upstairs and the laundry room were not insulated after the fire as they didn't tear out the walls. I'm ok with the temp being only a couple degrees off the thermostat setting but I wonder what it will look like when we get to single digit or below zero temps. The fact that I can sit here with bare legs is a great indication that the siding is helping keep the house warm. By 11 am the outdoor temp was only 29 and the upstairs and laundry room were holding steady at 67. Not ideal, but not the end of the world. The upstairs and the laundry room never reached their target temps (68 upstairs and 70 in the laundry room). I guess the insulation under the siding can only do so much. Also, I do have the door to the laundry room closed 2/3 - it cuts down on the flow of cooler air into the kitchen. All in all, the house is comfortable and I can't ask for more than that !

Tuesday 11/21 was just as cold as Monday - only in the 20's - when I got up. The house was comfortable - 67 upstairs, 66 in the laundry room and 70 in the rest of the house. Monday I went to Home Depot, Kohl's, Target and Walmart. I bought an air compressor at Home Depot so I can add air to my tires whenever needed. As soon as it got very cold the tire pressure dropped and I don't really want to go to the oil change place to fix it. The unit I got will run on electric or the car's battery outlet, so I may keep it in the car in the event I get a flat. The unit I bought is super easy to use - you attach it, set the pressure you want and hit start. I was able to add air to all 4 tires in less than 5 minutes ! This is one more thing I can handle myself, so I no longer have to worry if my tire pressure is off. I'm trying to be as self-sufficient as possible because I'm getting older and I don't have kids I can call to come do things for me. My mom was lucky in that respect but she always felt bad asking for help and often delayed asking for help. I know how that feels. The difference between me and my mom is I will try to help myself as much as possible .. BUT - I often wait and let anxiety and worry chew at me before I act. After our cold morning, the temp crept up just high enough for it to rain around 3 pm instead of snow. It rained on and off most of the night. I also went to Kohl's Monday and found a couple of Christmas shirts and a cute pair of plaid leggings. I have a t-shirt that will match perfectly ! I also bought a pair of slip on Skechers. These will make it easy for me to put my shoes back on after going through airport security ! They were $65 but I'll get a lot of use out of them. I also went to Target and the only thing I bought there was a bottle of sage. That store was just a pigsty - clothing all over the floors and it was just a mess. They seemed to have very little stock of anything. I couldn't even really find the "women's" department. People say Target is a step above Walmart and I'm wondering how they came to that conclusion. I thought the store sucked. Last stop was Walmart. Even though I forgot my grocery list I managed to remember to buy everything that was on it ! I didn't like the Walmart in Clay as it was filled with the same trashy people that the Cicero store has. I did find a couple cute pairs of leggings. I also stopped at Walmart in Central Square as I remembered I needed poultry seasoning and it wasn't on my list. I picked that up along with a box of banana cream pudding for the pie I need to make. I got the last 3 boxes at the Clay Walmart but I needed 4 in order to have 2 for this year and 2 for next year ! It's hard to find that flavor in the cook & serve variety so now I'm good for 2024 ! Tuesday I spent about 2 hours giving myself one heck of a pedicure. I soaked my feet for well over an hour and scraped off a ton of dead dry skin. I have to get my feet ready for Disney ! I plan to soak them again on Sunday. It was trash day so after my pedicure I went out in the freezing rain to bring the bin back in. I put the trash out earlier since they came early last week. Of course, this week they didn't come until almost 2:30 ! I did a couple loads of laundry and brought my suitcase downstairs so I can start getting my packing done. I won't have a lot of time before my trip because Friday December 1 is an office day and I'll be exhausted by the time I get home from that. Saturday I have to transport the cats and all their gear to Erin's house and then head to Kim's house. Most of what is going to Disney can be packed in advance so I want to get it done as early as I can. I picked up my mail Monday and that included my Bath & Body order. I have been really upset that they discontinued the Saltwater Breeze cream shower wash, so I bought a few new scents to try. To my amazement, they have a new one called Endless Ocean and it smells EXACTLY like Saltwater Breeze. I swear they just took the same product and gave it a new name ! I will either visit a store or place an online order when I get back from Disney so that I can load up on this scent. I got a coupon in the mail to save 20% that is good until 12-24 in store or online, so I'll be using that ! It was really a nice day. It feels good to have the car cared for and my feet cared for ! I'm also glad to have all the Christmas leggings and tops that I wanted for Disney. Daytime temps will likely be warm enough for shorts, but I plan to keep a pair of leggings in my backpack so I can change in the evening if it gets cool.

That brings me to Wednesday 11/22. Temp were in the low 40's, so the heat in my house wasn't struggling quite so much. When I got up the laundry room was at 69, downstairs at 71 and upstairs at 68. I'm most concerned with the main part of the house being warm and so far that has not been an issue. The plan for this day was making my stuffing, the gravy and a banana cream pie since I had to be out of the house early Thursday. I got up around 9 only because Abby was tromping all over me in bed because she was hungry. Wednesday night I was thinking about making soup when December 11 rolls around. Many veteran Nutrisystem people rave about an "unlimited soup" that they eat to chase away hunger throughout the day. It's basically vegetable soup ! There's also the "cabbage soup diet", which is pretty extreme. I get back from Disney very late on Saturday 12/9 and will pick up my cats in the morning 12/10 and head right home, so I'll have all day to unpack, do laundry and settle back in. I also have Monday 12/11 scheduled as a vacation day, so I'll have plenty of time to grocery shop and whip up a pot of soup. I'm going to wing it a little using low sodium broth and some no salt added tomatoes. Then I'll add carrots, cabbage, celery, onions, green beans and maybe some spinach. You can't add things like potatoes, corn or beans because of the associated carbs/calories. Leaving those out is what makes it unlimited ! You also can't load up on crackers. I also plan to start making YouTube video's on 12/11. It's a good thing I'm traveling on 12/3 because it's keeping me from falling for all the "Black Friday" sales online ! It will save me a lot of money .. lol ! By 11:30 all I had accomplished was shredding the bread for the stuffing. I used 3 loaves ! I make a ton of stuffing because it's a once a year thing, it's my favorite Thanksgiving food AND I freeze some to have with my Nutrisystem turkey dinners !