Maybe Next Time

I might nix the internet from my vacations, like I do when I go camping. Yeah, yeah, I'm writing this on an internet connection while watching videos online, but somehow I wonder if I should hold internet necessities next time. Granted, my people would worry about me then. Of course, they worry about me when I try to become a burrito for a bear too. Yet I really like the ability to peruse YouTube while I type blog entries.

 

Link has mastered the Netflix-and-Chill mentality

Heck, I even have phone service here!

Next time will be out to the west of the state instead of east/central unless something else pops up, also with internet, but no cell coverage, which does feel a little more freeing while allowing myself to use or not use digital devices. A couple times today I just put everything down and drank my tea outside, dog sniffing around me for scraps and pettins. The hikes where I silence the phone (but still take it because I'm not stupid and might need it). The cooking without eating out (though that isn't really unusual for me on my own, just when I am up with the parents). But that is for the last free week of my job, at least paid vacation that is. Probably not until October so that it is cool again. A long time.

On other news: food. I have been eating no sugar (yeah, fruit is fine) and thus have been having more fat than usual. I even found mint chocolate chip ice cream! It is indeed ice and cream mostly, and tasty too. But that and the beloved eggs and such is very different from my usual diet. I don't think this is sustainable for me, and that's okay. It was a...I hate to use this term...washout from me needing bread and cereal. I am in control of what I eat and some of the cravings have hushed. Oh, do I still want a fresh and hot piece of bread with jam? Hell yes! But I think I could have one piece. One. Not four. Or just huff the bread like I did when I couldn't have gluten all those years ago (excess stress made my body react to all sorts of things). And no more Fruity Pebbles. Nuff said.

What is This?

 

 

What in the name of all that is cold and dreary is this stuff? Is it snow? Is it rain? Is is some hellish combination of it made up to lower the temperature in a hurry?

I have dubbed it snain. Neither rain nor snow. And thunder.

Overnight we failed to have the predicted inch or so of snow and massive winds, which is fine by me. Seeing that this meant the trails were dry, I decided to go out for a walk. It was not a very long walk because the incoming weather significantly dropped the temperature and, let's face it, I'm a wimp when it comes to cold, even when bundled up in a warm coat and gloves. But it did mean that I got moving today instead of being in complete sloth mode as was the expectation as of yesterday (and will probably be tomorrow). I didn't even make it around the shorter of the hikes and instead chose to cut that one in half--reference the wimping out.

I had good timing since after I got home it continued to get colder and eventually led to the snain shown above. It was nice looking out at it from the warm inside the cabin. Made me happy to have gotten out, but equally happy to have been home when it started.

The dog, at the first sound of thunder, decided that my feet were the place to lay or right against the couch if he couldn't reach the feet because they were on the couch. He's not terrified of thunder but he certainly is not a fan. But even without the weather he is in his spot by the couch with his head stuffed under the table so he can see out the window. Silly boi. And he's snoring again.

The eating is going well, though I have exhausted my stash of roasted nuts. I made a pig of myself on my bag of cashews last night and ate all that I had saved up for the next two days. I don't want to go out to the store so I am making the most of the food that I have here and carefully rationing so I don't have to go to the store.

On that. I did go into the grocery store to get said nuts and some veggies to make chicky shoup for dinner last night...and found "keto ice cream." It's mostly cream, as it turns out, and is really tasty. I got the mint chocolate chip and I am carefully rationing it, which isn't hard because dang is that stuff rich. Now if only I had rationed the cashews.

Bread. My Nemesis. Bwa Ha Ha!

 

This week I embarked on a trial run of a self-made diet to see if it can help with both my weight and my digestion woes that the lack of gallbladder has produced. Why? Because I am thirty pounds heavier than four months ago. 30.  I can pinpoint the reasons for that gain: white bread and cereal carbs, closely followed by apathy. My innards are less than pleased and problematic. Solution? Washout the cravings for butter and sugar bread and bowls upon bowls of cereal. 

First I am switching out regular milk for almond milk (I am using Califa Barista because it is awesome), nixing the bread, and kicking out all added sugars I can find. This includes condiments--who knew BBQ sauce had so much sugar! The sugar in my tea is now stevia drops, which I have used in the past and just got out of the habit because it has a different mouthfeel to sugar. I don't drink soda, except for the rare diet Dr. Pepper, so that is easy. For now I cut out dairy, other than cheese, since I tend to binge on it.

So for now I am loving the eggs, nuts, salads, and lean meats. And a few no sugar chocolate chips for the craving crushers. But, having said that, I am still eating fruit, so it is not a true keto diet, just low-carb and ultra-low added sugar. And tea, of course. Always the tea.

Is it sustainable? Not for me. Dairy will end up back in there, but probably not real milk to prevent the cereal binges (also getting rid of the cereal will help too!). But bread? That is sticky. I LOVE bread. And my mom makes some awesome homemade stuff that will be about the house out of my control. I will need to make peace with the fact that there will be that good stuff in my future, I just need to keep from devouring it all at one time, especially with butter and sugar on it. Other than that I am going to try to keep the bread to a minimum and if really necessary for some reason it will be whole grain.

This week is proving that I have a physical addiction to a large amount of carbs. So far my guts have been happy to oblige this change. No major incidents to speak of and less...um...unpleasantness. Still some there, but A: I am only two days in on this, and B: I got a LOT of exercise in, which may or may not have altered the system. Being a half hour from a grocery store is preventing me from chickening out and throwing in the carberific towel. (But it is there in case I mismanaged my food estimates.)

So now there are beets in the oven, waiting to be sprinkled with feta cheese and devoured. Interesting side-note. There was no cutting board in the cabin so I made do with the already-sad sheet pan as a board for the beets. A little more damage isn't going to cause any harm. I lined the pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup anyway. 

Now off to check on lunch and then to troubleshoot my computer Windows update. Again. 

Also: I can't wait for that massage tomorrow after a little overdoing it the past two days.

What to do in the Mountains?

 

 

Happy Good Boy on a Break

Get moving! Day 2 of hiking and Link is once again zonked out on his couch after a hike and my feet are VERY confused. Yesterday after getting settled into the cabin I hopped on down (well...drove  fifteen minutes) down to the shorter of the two hikes, about 2 miles. I had two pairs of hiking boots to see which fit better before I went on the longer hike. The first pair was not the answer. So today I did the 3.5 mile beast (for me) of up and down in the smaller and newer of the boots. I found the answer! Except where the problems showed up from yesterday. Still a win.

So now I am dead. Given that it has been a while since I did a longer hike (I think today's was 3.5ish), I call this a success! I am, however, debating whether tomorrow's planned long-ish 4.5 mile hike is a good idea. Why shove all these hikes into such a short time? Snow/Rain. Coming in on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday with snow overnight and rain during the day. Not ideal hiking weather in what becomes a muddy mess. I kid you not, there is a "Mud-O-Meter" at the start/end of trail. The last hike is liable to still have mud after last week's snow. We shall see if I am up to another longer hike (but it is mostly level walking instead of today's vertical shifting). There is no way I am managing that after some added moisture.

So what am I going to do with the rest of the vacation?

Be. Just Be. 

Oh, and a massage on Tuesday. The poor masseuse can de-knot all the hiking in an hour of what is going to be lots of sighing and purring on my end. Me. Netflix. Internet. Book. Tea. Open doors and a blanket to just enjoy the air. 

I'm trying a change in my diet this week, but I'll toss that up in a later post.

For now: puppy snores, carb withdrawal, and lots of tea.

How Many Changes Can I Cram Into One Week?

Let's see here, there's the new meds, there's the rug-pulling sugar cut, there's the hiking (in the mud I think). And hopefully sleep. The combo of meds and sugar-cutting should make for some interesting side-effects, but probably good for me in the long run. I know that the first day is the move-in day. Days 2-5 are all good things. Days 6 and 7 are worrying about going back to civilization. Day 8 is saying goodbye and all the depression that comes with it.

I have all my meals and snacks planned out as well as the hikes I would like to take and may or may not depending on situations out of my control. I am not taking sweets or ways to cook said sweets. I am even checking out a strange concoction called keto ketchup to see if I can save some sugar there as well since one of the nights is a hamburger patty. This diet isn't going to hold up at the parental units' house and is far from low-carb, just low-sugar, but I can at least follow it at my house when away from the landmine field of goodies.

And then there's mud. We got 6 inches of snow in the city, though it all was melted by the end of the day. I am not sure if I will be fighting the remnants of the white stuff on my hikes, especially since there is supposed to be a little more moisture later in the week. One thing to consider is that there are supposed to be highs of 70. If I am going to go on a long hike it is going to have to be on Sunday or Monday since there is more moisture predicted for the week after that. Even if I can't hike, I can still work on the last edit of my second book before I send it off for a full and paid edit. The ending needs work and it needs tightening up as well. Something to do when I am not outside enjoying the scenery!

I woke up several times last night to let the dog out since he had an upset tummy. Apparently those times interrupted my sleep enough that I was dead to the world in the morning. I woke up at my usual 6:45 and got ready for work, then realized that I couldn't drive to work safely. Had to call in and say that I would be in late because of it. Talk about embarrassing. 

Also got a chip in Loki's windshield. Right in front of the EyeSight lane-minder. That means whole new glass. At least after last time's replacement I lowered my deductible since that thing is ridiculously expensive. Some cars are chick magnets. Loki is a chip magnet.

Why We Stop?

 

This is one confused and wet dog wondering why we stopped and why I am looking at him through this weird brick thingie. He's my motivation to get out and move and see other places. Yes, the treadmill is great for getting myself off my rear and moving--something that is VERY necessary when at my house where it is not as safe to walk after dark than at my parents' place. Its problem is that I am not getting uneven terrain, even if I use the incline/decline features, and the great big scary outside is just strange and wonderous.

I did in fact change over my reservation for my trip to a place nearer real trails that are darn near impossible to get lost on, unlike the other place. With the weather being strange (it snowed 6" overnight) everything is probably going to be muddy, but it is supposed to be up to 70 on Sunday, so most of the snow will probably have melted by then. Muddy, but still doable. Who knows what the weather is going to do later in the week at this point. I am making sure to bring all the things I might need just in case I want it and don't have it. Granted, I am thirty minutes from a dreaded Wal-Fart, but I would rather not have to go that route.

My mission over the week food-wise: Nix the sugar. I have been living on sweets and white bread (often with butter and sugar) and it is time to nix that problem. A week of washout should be good for me. Lots of fruit, but that is fine. It will also make my wallet happier since I won't be eating out and have a full kitchen to keep me going. And a side note is that it is COVID safe!

I wonder how out of shape I have gotten over the last half a year. I will still try for the 5 mile trek and turn around if I have to...which knowing me I will be too stubborn to do. Good shoes, good buddy, good water storage (though this time I am bringing more just in case since I was running low last time by the time I got back to the truck), and hopefully a good time.

Great Timing, Dumbass

Now, picture the high desert: sand, scrub, cactus, blue sky. Lots of blue sky.

Except for yesterday.

No, yesterday I wanted to go for a walk. I checked outside and it seemed a bit cloudy and calm. Perfect for a hike. I get to my hike spot and the wind has picked up a smidge. No biggie. Wind is the usual and I have on wind resistant jacket and pants. I start getting spit upon by rain and call in to the mother to check the weather since my internet on my phone was being strange. "It looks fine. I'll see you later."

Well, while not "fine" it was not even particularly pleasant. I got about half-way around the circuit when the wind tore through and started with the sleet and rain. Luckily I had already turned away from the wind by the time that it really started up. The pants are indeed mostly water protectant, which I wasn't planning on testing at the time.

By the time the dog and I got back to the car we were tired, wet, and cold. Then temperature had dropped from 46 when I left the car to 34 when I got back in. (Heated seats are wonderful by the way). And now my car smells like wet dog. Totally worth it though.