Post #350, Plans, Previews and Pinterest....

Well, here she be...post #350 (which means I have between now and August 4th to really get cracking and hopefully flood you with posts in order to make it to #500 for the 6th Blogiversary).

Gonna share the love of food and exercise in this one...along with some links.

First up, awaiting me at the new place and preppin' to start on June 15th is this:

21 Day Fix

My friend and coach, Lindsay Baker (who is freakin' fantabulous btw), just finished her first round and posted a review.  I'm just dying having to wait to start.

Thankfully, there aren't many changes (from what I understand) that will need to be done with the diet, as we've already started those changes.  I've got links posted to favorite foodie haunts on the Foodie Links page AND here ya go...a look at my Pinterest board filled with Clean, Paleo and Primal food yumminess that is finding its way into our chow rotation.  I highly, highly suggest the Paleo Chicken Nuggets...always a win here.

The next week is going to be completely nutty around here as the Great Move approaches and since I'll be MIA (due to utility transfers and weekends not getting along) I'll be attempting to write up some posts for the "down" days.  In other words, be prepared for out of place randomness from May 30th to June 2nd.  You've been warned.

Brief Self-Debate...

this morning....I had thought (very briefly) about switching to a different blogging setup (i.e. Wordpress, etc) and promptly discarded the idea.  Blogger is comfortable, and as my well worn yoga pants can attest I adore comfortable.

I played around with the Pages feature a bit (they are not currently showing, so don't go looking) in an attempt to combine the dietary/lifestyle change blog with this one....fail.  I don't want, nor do I have the patience, to maintain to separate blogs...so you lot will just have to deal with any KA-BOOM moments that I have on that front.  Deal I say!  Besides, it might be edumacational for some.  I'll be setting up a Linkage page (or two) to make that at least easier to hunt through.

On to happenings in mi casa....nada.  Tanker has us packed to the bare minimum (which makes cooking super fun...not) and we're in the just counting down days mode that we excel at.  32, for those that wonder.  Not soon enough.

Now, I'm off to enjoy a second cup of coffee to hopefully warm up from the chill of the rainy outdoors!


(psst...click an ad...the one below works well...you don't have to buy anything!  Thanks!)

Can't Remember...

If I'd ever share these before or not...I'm sure most of you know about them, but just in case.

Self-Education via Coursera.org (I enjoyed the discussion in the Disaster Preparedness course)

And a little know thy enemy via FEMA (a whole list of courses designed to educate the average joe in how to work like them) that I'm actually finding a bit enlightening.

I only do the freebie stuff, of course, 'cause I'm cheap like that.

Enjoy!

(Psst....click an ad.  The little white boxes over there ----> or the big one under the post....thanks!)

Dreaming Again...

weirdly enough.

The past week my sleep has been broken and filled with strange, decidedly dread inducing dreams.  All are somewhat post-apocalyptic in nature; a world once again based on small communities attempting to carve a life out of the surrounding countryside.

Normally I wouldn't find dreams like these dread inducing...normally they don't happen every single night...normally when I wake and then fall back to sleep the dream will change to something else.  This has not been the case.

My own personal demons coming through?  To much anxiety?  Possibly.  It certainly isn't from reading too many post-apocalyptic novels (haven't read one in months).

Perhaps my unconscious mind is reacting to the uncertainty we currently find ourselves in (personally, nationwide and worldwide).  Perhaps it is a sort of wishful thinking.  Or simply a personal prod to action as I've been disgustingly lax the past 3 months in making sure we are as prepared as possible for the coming year since it is our first here at the lake.

So in the weeks to follow I will be throwing myself into finishing unpacking, taking stock and making lists.  I know for a fact that we have entirely too much stuff (again) and quite a bit will be making the short journey into town to be deposited at either a consignment shop or the local thrift shop (which donates to Veteran charities).

In the meantime, I dream.

The Past Month...

has been a lesson in what's really important and preparedness.

Losing Dad was...not devastating.  I know...weird, right?

You see, I've been preparing for it since December.  Survival rates of SCLC patients can't/shouldn't really be called survival rates...more of  "it's possible that you might make it this long" rate.  There is no survival...it takes you eventually.  End of story.

So the past month has been more of a helping others deal with it (screamers...particularly the eldest...have been strongly affected.  They adored their Pawpaw.), helping Mom go through years of hording (more of that to come later this month) and finding a "new normal."  Fighting the urge to call Dad and tell him about the hilariousness that is our house, seeing something online and thinking "I should tell Dad about that" and, today's challenge, getting his FB pages (yeah, he had two...lol) set to memorial.  New normal.  I don't like it.

But it's not my job to like it.

The past month has also brought about massive changes to our lifestyle...huge.

Smoking is done...the particular brand of SCLC that Dad had has never been found in non-smokers...and just his having it moves my chances of having it WAY on up there.  No thanks.  Quitting with the tobacco will take the risk down a bit.

Dietary changes...we had fallen into the horrible habit of convenience foods again.  Eating junk and feeling like crap.  No more.  We're back on track with food and dropping weight again.

Fitness changes...we take the screamers and four-legged fiends on nightly walks now.  Anywhere from a mile to 2 on steep, hilly terrain.  We'll do that for a few more months, adding length to the walks and eventually tossing packs on our backs too.

Time changes...there is considerably less time spent online, watching TV and playing video games.  We're spending time with each other, reading and, STILL, unpacking.  We're planning for next Summer and trips we intend to take, this Fall's camping expeditions and a mess of other things.

We're redoing our wills, looking at doing the whole pre-arrangement thing and redoing that lovely paperwork organization so that finding anything of vital importance will be as easy as opening a drawer.  Basic things that pretty much everyone I know just tends to put off and not worry about.

It's been a month of changes...

Better. Sort Of.

Tanker is more human since realizing that I was right (16 years married and he still hasn't figured out that I'm right 98% of the time) and started some self-helpish stuff.  I'm good with that.  Plus I pointed out that we only have 6 weeks (or so) left living On Post and he perked right up.  Back to planning his garden and outbuildings he has gone.

The Sort Of part is this:  I'm suffering from a pretty rough bout of De Quervain's Tendinitis.  Damn it hurts.  Makes working at McD's living hell.  I can type one handed pretty well; fine motor stuff or lifting/gripping with the right hand...not so much.  I have the feeling it's going to come down to deciding on work or health.  Health will win hands down (no pun intended).  We can make it by (now that the pay issue crap is straightened out) without me working but I've kinda gotten used to having an outside the home job now.  So I continue to look for something else...something more worthwhile (money and gas wise) than the 30 minute drive from the new place to McD's for $7.25 an hour.  So not worth it.

Our little "garden" in the "yard" (seriously...do 5 plants count as a garden?) is producing nicely at the moment...pulled out the first cucumber and the kids when nuts.  You'd have thought it was made of gold, honest.  Going to let things keep going as long as they can then let them go to seed so we can gather up and save those precious heirlooms before "returning the yard to the condition it was received in"...aka WEEDS.

Off to ice the wrist...it's feeling a bit dodgy at the moment.