Rearin' to Go!

I still have nine days to go before I get out to my cabin in the woods. A lifetime in my brain. As I had some downtime today, I have been searching for hikes in the area outside of just the mesa out behind the cabin. I found three possibilities, taken down to two if there is any threat of rain at all as that last one is along a streambed (not likely to be on my docket). I'm really out of practice--as in no real exercise since the end of last year. I'm going to have to take it easy, at least until I can get a gage for how much endurance my body has lost.

As per usual, I am planning on making my vacation food-limiting to keep myself honest and on my nutrition. I have to make sure that I take extra, of course, just in case something happens, but I can make that something I would rather not eat on a whim. Unlike when I was near Ruidoso, I can't easily hop down to the well-stocked grocery store for midnight munchies! The closest tiny market is about 20 miles south of me--did I mention tiny? Not a terrible drive, but a definite encouragement to stick to home, with the exception of when I go south for hiking. Besides, being on this whole keto thing can make spur-of-the-moment munchies rather difficult. I think I still have my packing list from my last trip, so this should even be easy to get everything into the car without forgetting too much.

Speaking of that whole eating thing, I am losing around a pound a week pretty steadily now. If I average out from where I started to this week, it is almost exactly one a week. Not too darn shabby, if not how fast I was hoping for. I consider it consistent and safe at that. 203 right now, and on my way back down to where I was pre-plantar-fasciitis in January (194 if I recall correctly)

I'm not sure what is going to happen at work while I'm gone, but I'm sure they'll manage. Only my boss is allowed to call me on my vacation, and even then it had better be good. I'm planning on two calls over the week-ish time I'm there. Only time will tell.

On a completely different note: I have started a new book! A sequel to the monster-slaying fantasy book. I guess that it is time for me to get off my rear and just publish my first on Kindle and start some advertising somehow. The second one is being read (and boy is it more polished than the first one.) Completely different genre, but I learned a lot from the first one. The sequel is a good thing for me to keep busy, even if it never turns into a fully fledged book. already 8,000ish words in three sessions of typing. I am having fun coming up with ideas for monsters--and tapping my friends' brains for new monsters as well. But it is a great diversion to get me out of the house. It will also be something good to get me relaxed while out at the cabin. Writing just feels good.

But I guess that my break time is over and it is time to get back to that paying job instead of digital scribbles.

Family Fun!

Yesterday my brother-in-law and aunt came in for a quick visit on their monster road trip across the US. It has been years since I saw my brother, and it was great to finally get to catch up after...8 years? 11? It may have been since Jason died that I had seen him. But we caught up quickly and hung out for the night. My aunt, who is the official chauffeuse for the trip, I had seen last year, so we were more up to date. Dog had to sit in his crate for a few minutes before he would calm down enough to just want to play instead of eating anyone. Then he wanted to play. All the time. And I took away his toys--gasp! I know. Mean Mom. I ended up having to call him off and make him lay down and pout instead. He 100% did not approve.

On an interesting note, Jason's grave is being lived in, and it's not by him.

This is his grave as of yesterday. Ventilated. The cross fell down a while ago and I figured that the wind would just take it down again, so I rested it appropriately. But the hole? The two and a half by four foot hole? That was new. And it looks like it is being lived in by...something. I think I need to call someone out to dump some dirt in there, evicting anything living in there at the same time. Not was I was expecting.

Last night we went to the New Mexico fixture, the Owl Bar and Grill, for dinner and the burgers have improved greatly since I was last there. Heck, the service was great too, which was its big downfall the last and only time I had gone there. Good dinner, complete with my aunt leaving the obligatory dollar bill with note. Used to be the note was just sharpied onto the bill and posted on the wall, but now they have dedicated slips of paper to make it easier to read...and to take off the wall when it gets too full so you can harvest the bills as real money!

Onto last post's news, my work grandma still doesn't know what is going on since they keep pushing back her tests despite it being a Bad Thing. We are muddling through work without her, but she is sorely missed, and I just flat out miss her!

And now it is the weekend and I have the days to myself. Perhaps to eat out again this afternoon to go out and write on the third book. (Yeah yeah, I know that I haven't done anything with the first two.)

Work and my Adopted Grandma

I don't usually write about work, but something is happening that has me in tears.

Someone at my office, let's call her Grandma, has been there longer than anyone else here. She welcomed me with open arms since day one, even when my predecessor shat all over her. I taught her how to use a computer from "this is a mouse" to "Payroll's done" even with a crippled dominant hand. 

Anyway, she has a serious illness that just came to our attention yesterday. She waited to get help for a large growth because she was afraid of Covid. So she may not be coming back to work because, well, healing's a big deal and work can take a flying flip. I'm worried for her and her family.

On a related note, we need to keep things moving while she's not here, despite having no clue how she ran this ship in occasionally troubled waters. We are wondering how one woman in her 90s was able to stuff so much work into her few hours a week. We've got no clue how things are organized, much less how to do all but the basic tasks.

But the biggie? I have to come to the terms that nobody lives forever, despite wanting them to.

So all my fretting and stewing over the weekend about a reprimand (that never came) was for naught. It was taken over by far more important things. Far more troubling things.

Moral: live life to the fullest. And leave notes on how to run a tight ship. Or at least how to not sink a blow-up dinghy.

Could Have Been Worse

My mental status is often directly correlated to how I see myself and how adversarial I am to myself. Talking down to myself, Should-ing, Could-ing, etc. That occasionally puts a damper on the healthiness of my food. 

Background: Steroids suck. I had to take a high dose taper last week. The mad-raving munchies finally caught up with me over the weekend. I felt it rising for a few days before and I was pleasantly surprised that it hadn't kicked in much earlier--like mood swings in the middle of work.

Now, having said that, steroids still suck. I spend most of the weekend with full-on blast of energy and the alternate of slug napping. The rather unfortunate extra was that I was ready to eat EVERYTHING in the fridge/pantry.   But I didn't.  

Nope, I stayed the course and, while I overate, it wasn't on the things that are (mostly) off limits for consumption in my ideal world. Did I want that thick stack of pancakes? Oh God Yes. But I held it down for the most part. Only threw me off two days instead of what would probably have taken a full week to fix had I gone with the Gee-I-Want It and NEEEED it method of shoving my face into a stack of pancakes. One good thing? All of the things I munched on were already edible in their base form. No cooking needed! 

I'm not happy with the scale, but I know that I am shrinking because my shirts and pants fit better, and when it comes down to it, the last thing that really matters is that scale. Still only rarely exercising (yeah yeah, I need to start weights) on the treadmill, but that is more than I have been since December and pre gallbladder/foot issues.

Now I get to retrain my body to a real sleep/wake cycle after riding out the prednisone. Anyone got a brick? I hear they are good for helping people sleep.

Update on Comcast: The almost didn't fix their ****. I insisted again. TADA! Next up: Dealing with Comcast for work due to a faulty line that they already said they fixed once. I hate Comcast with a fiery burning passion, but their business service seems to go smoother than the residential version.

Tribulus Terrestris and Other Victims of My Rage

Goatheads. Nature's Caltrop. Tribbles. And while they spread like their Star Trek counterparts, these have no redeeming cuteness qualities. 

No. Not this type. Even he won't eat these abominations.

They and their other weedy counterparts fell at my hand last weekend. I succeeded in at least round 1 of the great culling. More will be needed on another weekend, but I put in a good showing with about a half a trash bag of those and the almost-as-vile silver-leafed nightshade with its sharp fine filaments that pass technically as spines. The damn spines made it all the way through my elk-hide gloves! I was...displeased.

It's been dry at my house, like dry enough that the drought-tolerant Russian thistles (still-alive tumble weeds) are having trouble growing. Good for me though, so long as I remember to water the plants that should be there. 

In other news, well...new to some people... Comcast is a pain in the *** to deal with, especially since I got to be on the line with seven (7) different representatives yesterday, only to get disconnected, much like what happened last week. Finally late last night I convinced them to fix their system right this time. Or at least to try. I loathe Comcast with a fiery burning passion, but they do provide a service that is required at the moment. Good friends even perked up a day that Comcast had ruined (never be on with customer service when on steroids).

Now life is good. Lunch has been had. And it should be smooth sailing for the next few hours. Or at least I can hope!

Dad is home so Link is spending most of his time either on Dad's lap or playing ball...or eating. Everything that Dad eats, so does the dog. I had just gotten Link down to a reasonable weight again. Oh well, it makes them both happy!

I'm managing to go the opposite direction from the dog. Still working on it and seeing success, so I will keep up the fight and even introduce exercise again! Slow steps. Lots of support from family, so that makes life much less difficult than it could be. And now lunch is over, so it is time to hang this up for the moment. 

Things are Indeed Happening

Things are happening. Yes. Things. Of various types. 

I am pleased to see that the keto food plan is still working, though there was a week of stubborn-scale syndrome. I can't really complain given the results early on. I'm twelve pounds from where I was at my lowest in December. I should hit that in the next month or two, then on to new territory. 

On that food thing, Mom's joining me through her work program. It is going to be interesting with Dad home, but we will still manage well since everyone knows how to cook. Don't like dinner? Augment what's there or make your own. No biggie. Eggs, tuna, and cheese are frequent flyers in my playbook that require little to no cooking and fit the bill as "safe" food. The big question: Am I willing to set myself back a week for a tasty little/large feast of goodness?

That question comes up because the fresh and homemade cinnamon sticky rolls awaiting my return to the house are going to be a pain in the ass to not eat one after the other. But I can hold strong. Maybe I will be happy with just a half of one! Maybe not. It will be the first willingly munched bread product that I have had in... almost two months? But I am not passing up the goodness... Though now that sounds like it could indeed be an option if I have the will/won't power to stay away despite the siren song of cinnamon wafting throughout the house.

But I digress. I have choices. I will make them as I see fit at the time.

I keep waiting for rain, real soaking rain for the monsoon. But I am left wanting. A spit of rain here, a quick-and-gone downpour with no actual rain soaking in, but nothing of note. That is great news for the mosquito prospects, but lousy for my yard. One good thing is that the dirt is officially too dry for Russian thistles (aka live tumbleweeds) to grow. Goatheads? That puncturevine is evil and doesn't seem to care about the heat. I have next weekend only to get them out of the yard and into the trash can before they release their evil caltrops of doom upon my yard and the dog's feet.

Finally, I'm sad. My vacation in October falls right over my favorite band's concert (Shinedown, for those who would like to know). I already had purchased a ticket to the concert and failed to check it before scheduling my getaway. The ticket won't go unused though. My might-as-well-be niece also loves the band and is happily taking it off my hands. *sniffle* I want to go so bad, but the vacation was a massive deal and I don't want to reschedule it at twice the price. And not being in Albuquerque during the Balloon Fiesta is a grand thing--I loathe that event, but it makes a lot of vendors happy. So I'm happy I have the cabin, but I about cried when I found out about the conflict. Maybe they'll be back next year.

Life is...

Strange. I have a mix of feeling that lead me to believe that I am in a pretty good space right now. That's a scary thought. It's something that I hesitate to type. But I'm going to, since it is a good thing to focus on the good sometimes.

I also found this pretty birdie. Meep! Meep!

I have plantar faciitis. I also have a freaking great podiatrist who is working me through getting rid of the dang problems. Two shots and a pair of crutches to get around and it should be getting better soon. I even had the forearm crutches from long ago when my arthritis was kicking up bad. Going to be able to walk (hopefully) by Monday, once the steroid crystals go away. Healing is a good thing.

My pooch has a (mostly) clean bill of health and clean teeth. The lump on his foot was benign. And, even though he had a seizure while he was under anesthesia, it was not something more serious. Link is even getting most of the time during the day outside of his Cone of Shame! (He's most happy about being able to play ball now.)

It's been a little over four weeks and I have lost 13.5 pounds. That's pretty impressive for someone who is on two meds that can cause weight gain. First week of shedding? Water. After that? Score! I'm focusing on not going overboard so that it is sustainable and safe. 13.5. Huh. After the foot is fixed I can get back into walking again. Maybe strength training, which I haven't done in years!

My 13th anniversary of my wedding was earlier this month. There was some sadness, as is to be expected, but most of it was looking back at a happy time. Five years we had, and most of it was spent well. Good times.

Finally, I have good friends. I may not see them for months at a time, but I still love them.

But now it is time to find something to eat that is healthier than cookies. I have a full pantry and yet don't want to cook. So many things like that to be thankful for. But I really should come up with dinner other than southwest eggs.