Hey all. Been at a study day today that I organised. It went very well! Good talks. Now going to a friends for food and drink. Cannot wait to just relax. Been a long time sinc I've gone out to a friends like this. My mum has the kids

Then birthday party tomorrow. Needless to say this weekend is a bust. Oh well

Good morning!

It is Monday. I honestly didn't feel to bad about it though waking up, I think it is definitely a sign my mood is improving.

This weekend didn't go quiet as planned. One of the kids who was supposed to help us said he felt sick on Friday night so we just called it a bust and will reschedule. DH and I did run a bunch of errands. I got all the tanks emptied and flushed on the trailer and put the trailer up out of the way (I am a getting better with backing up!). While I did that, DH sprayed the weeds along the driveway. We had to stop at USPS and UPS to drop off sales and DH wanted to get a haircut. He dropped me off at Goodwill while he got his cut, it is the expensive one. They had some really nice Hokas but they had them priced at $40...good price for personal use, but not to resell.

CATS:
Grey cat is meh. We only did his antibiotic eye drop for the weekend and he stopped pawing at it, well till last night. His arthritis was really bothering him and he slept a lot. He still ate well though an snuggled at night. Oh I think he fell off the bed Saturday night and that probably hurt.

Ranch:
Made a bunch of calls on Saturday for stuff that never happened. Freaking people don't communicate! The Mower guy never came and the mustard is flowering and about up to my shoulder. His tractor broke and he is waiting on a part. I did get the mobile home mover scheduled for next Friday morning and trying to get the blacksmith out for the horses at the same time, but he is very unreliable. Today's goal is get the new fence marked off by the surveyors. I still need to call PG&E.

Food, Exercise
Saturday was probably over. We picked up a donut on the way into the ranch and stopped by a Hawaiian BBQ for a late lunch. I am sure it was high calorie. For dinner we had a snack. Sunday I went out for my run and my power meter still says I am so out of shape and my "easy jog" is still 15 min/mile walk. I decided since I was walking I would do 2 loops which came out to 5 miles. Food was all home cooked but I did get into a costco bagel (310 calories), I think I was ok with the walk.

Total for the week: 11 miles

I am dehydrated today so I didn't get on the scale. Pants are still tight.

Mood:

Doing good and still just fighting the same old boredom induced low motivation.

Sounds like things are going pretty good @CMorning99 . I can tell from the tone of your post that you are in a little bit of a better mood. I hope ;things continue to get done. Five miles is a great walk!

@RunsOnEspresso I am so glad I am over that part of my life. I feel for you though. Great job on being down a pound.

Things have been really busy the last few days, sorry I have been so quiet. We headed off on a road trip this morning and I really wish I had done more over the weekend as usual I did some but thought I would have more time on Monday. I got in a run on Saturday in the heat and spent Sunday doing laundry and generally getting ready for our trip. Monday morning we woke up to cool, cloudy and drizzly so I had to get a run in. I had a PT appointment midday and he put me thru a workout (my triceps are SO sore now!). Monday night Hobbes and I had agility and again it was so much running but so fun. Of course when we got home I still had to finish getting everything ready (more laundry!!) and packed for the trip. It was nearly 1am when I finally fell into bed and had to be up early so we could head out. Today was our longest drive - 9 hours of driving plus about an hour of stops. I had Starbucks croissant for breakfast and then nothing until late afternoon when we stopped and I had a protein drink. Dinner wasn't too bad, a big salad and pulled pork from a small BBQ/deli near the hotel but then we had ice cream.
Tomorrow is a 7 hour drive but then we will be in Hillsboro, OR by early evening so I am hoping to get a run or a walk in as well as one on Thursday morning. We are visiting dd's best friend and college roommate Thursday for brunch. She has two little girls (new baby and a 2 yo) and I need to tire Hobbes out before we go there so hopefully he behaves. I am nervous about him with her littles but I think other than maybe barking he will be fine.
On Friday we head to Seattle to spend the weekend with dd. Not sure what all we will be doing other than just spending whatever time we can with her. This is our first visit up since pre-pandemic although she has been down to visit us.

@Avidkeo I hope the party went well! The cake is adorable! Also hope you had a fun day with your friends! We all need that once in a while.
@RunsOnEspresso - hope you are feeling better! As much as I hate the menopause symptoms I do not miss the cramps, etc...
@CMorning99 - I am sorry about grey cat. You just have to enjoy what you can with him. I worry about the day that I have to deal with Hobbes declining - keep hoping it is a long ways off!
Also can't believe that substitute vet would want to change everything up. I guess maybe she just thinks she knows better.
Sounds like everything else is progressing albeit slowly but that is how those things seem to go I think. Are you moving the mobile home that the lady is living in, to a different location? Do you. have to relocate all the various hookups too? Hopefully it all comes together.
@swenson19d - are you doing ok?

@shanaber yes I'm ok. Been busy with course work, dogs, house, husband. I think allergies got me a bit too.

Since starting the ADHD med
Ive turned in a few assignments. They are easier to sit down and get done. All of it has been essays with the psych programme. 93 and above is an A. I struggle a bit there, I'd been a 89-92 student so I have a 3.5 in the masters programme. I got a 99/100 on the last essay in a psychology of learning class and the prof in the psych testing course was impressed with my submission and gave me extra credit. 25/20. and included a nice note I'll copy it below. He's a terse instructor and is quite rigid. so it means a bit to get a compliment from him. which, this is the second one this week.
I am sure I included a header and page numbers and he knows that. The format gets adulterated when it gets uploaded. Usually I add a PFD so he can see the formatting. Word because he checks APA formats. Anyway, guess the ADHD meds are paying off.
Perhaps I have finally found how to work smarter and not harder.... with meds.

Had my last visit with my hip doc today
He's retiring. He's been good to me. Sure he's finally talked his wife into moving to Hawaii'i. Told me to but off the SI joint fusion as long as I can and do the steroid shots as needed up to 3 times a year.

Dh had the elbow surgery redone yesterday
The first surgery failed. they used an outdated plate for an ankle... so he looking in to suing them. Bone was loose and they had to do a graft yesterday. it was a 3+ hour surgery. His elbow is in a splint straight now. The surgeon that did yesterdays said he has fixed a few of the ones the first surgeon has done. not the first.

Dogs are doing good. Cats too. Malory and Bear are two peas in a pod. They spend the afternoons walking around knocking things off dressers and shelves and romping' chase games.

@CMorning99 You could always do a few courses that are of interest. If it's paid for, why not? There's nothing wrong with cc, but I'd find a larger uni since they offer a larger variety of courses.

85-YR-OLD GRADUATES

@swenson19d - Yikes on DH's surgery! I think he probably should sue. Especially if he has lost income as a result of the recovery and more surgery and more recovery!I hope he is feeling better now!
I love the compliment from your professor! So awesome! Clearly impressed with your work!
Will the hip doc hand you over to another doctor for ongoing care? I hope so!
Seeing machines - I have my mom's old (60+) singer sewing machine. I have never had any other brand and probably would always go with singer. You know all of them are drilled the same so they can fir in any singer cabinet regardless of how old or new.
@CMorning99 - I too have thought about going back to school to take a few fun classes but I don't want to be tied down to a schedule. I guess being retied has warped me that way. With it all paid for you might try it at the CC and see how you like it. It is also a good way to meet people and make friends outside of work.
We saw the friends in Portland today and Hobbes was amazing. He loved up on the 2yo (she was holding part of a scone and I am sure that helped) and was so curious about the baby. Had to sniff her feet and got a bit jealous when I held her. He never barked at all and seemed excited to be there and meet everyone.
Food was ok - I had Greek yogurt with fresh berries and nectarines, cheese and broccoli quiche and homemade lemon poppyseed scones that Jen's mom made. I had 2 of those! I decided I am not even going to try to Loog it all... I did get Hobbes out for a 3.3 mile run in the park and it was so cold (54F) and lovely! I even took dh for a walk there after dinner. We didn't get far but I feel like it was a win just getting him to go for a walk with us. Tomorrow we are off to Seattle. Dd has a schedule for us so it will be interesting and fun I hope. She has some conflicts that made me sad that we won't have as much time with her but we will enjoy what we have.

I have a bid in on an old singer in an estate auction for 30$ haha! Seems the deceased sewed and has a few. So it is probably in working order. I really just want something for minor repairs (Kevin) and washing throws every other day is hard on them. One belongs to Alex and I use it daily. I think something basic will be fine until I need something else. DD is more likely to use it for altering her clothes. She has several that she loves and has lost weight and wants to take them in.

@quilteryoyo I'd love a photography class! Thanks for the sewing machine thoughts, you too @shanaber.

@swenson19d Sounds like you went down the rabbit hole today. LOL It happens. I hope you get the sewing machine you want.

I got an e-mail last night from my Discover card that I had a potentially fraudulent charge. It was $1 from Google. I looked it up and it said they can do that to make sure your card is valid, but I didn't make any purchases yesterday. So, I called the credit card this morning and there was also a $1 charge from Amazon yesterday. Sounds like someone was fishing to see if they could use the card? Anyway, they closed my account and I'll be getting a new card in the mail. Horrible timing since I am going to FL in a week. She is going to expedite it though, so should have the new card by Tues. I can still use this one, in store only until then. I shouldn't need to though.

@Avidkeo Big hugs to you. It sounds like you had a really tough week. You are doing the right thing to slowly build back up. Have you tried the run/walk method. That really helps me get out some days...just to know that I can stop and walk whenever I want/need to...or even schedule x min run/x min walk. I understand about not being able to run the HM too, and how that would be depressing. Hang in there. You can and will get back to where you want to be. Please so check in with us as often as you feel you can. We will miss you.

@swenson19d No, I am not an Apple user. This is the first time I have had this happen, so who knows how "they" got my number. I hope you get into the school that is the best for you. If you get into TN and move, you'll only be about an hour from me. I don't know anything about the CT scan, but it looks broken.

@swenson19d Right now all of the houses are selling before they get on the market. I'm sure you could find something...well, maybe, but it will be a premium right now. Thanks for the info on the CT scan.

Good morning everyone!

I love when I can spend time catching up on everyone, it is like having coworkers to talk to LOL

I had 4.5 days off, not mad about it LOL

I left at lunch time to go to dermatology. Still not impressed. I had to laugh @swenson19d, so doctors really have "the touch" and others fee like cavemen. My old Derm, you didn't even feel the numbing shot and he could be done with a wide margin excise in 4 min flat LOL. My new Derm stabbed me at least 10 times with the numbing shot and then said he had to let it sit for 15 min...huh, the stuff is instant? I am pretty sure he was double booking patients. An HOUR later I walked out with a band aide half hanging on and a 2.5 inch suture that I feel was 100% overkill.

The rest of the weekend was errands and taking black cat for his b-12 shot. Even though we bring our own bottle we got from them (like we have for the past 10 months, the tech used their stash and charged us $46!) I didn't say anything b/c it was done, but next time I will point out to them that the bag I am handing them has the B-12 in it.

I went thrifting WAY to much! I found a new store that is actually a chain from up near Sacramento that I used to go to. They are really big and you have to work hard to find the gems, but if you have 3hrs or so you can get through it and they always have a sale (it was 75% of Sunday). I also went to the Goodwills on Monday for their 25% off sale and also to another one with 25% off. I went to the Goodwill Bins too and didn't do so great, it was crowded and only found 4 things (but honestly, the chain thrift is almost cheaper and not so exhausting). I also went to a full price Goodwill and found some stuff...I always take everything off the hanger (more for me to give it a solid once over) and fold it so the check out person can just scan each one quickly...well the guy at the GW was so impressed that he gave me all the shoes for free..it was 3 pairs...probably $28 worth. I am not sure on my full count, but I think I got around 75 items to resell. Not that things are really selling still. I went through a bunch of folks on eBay that I follow...you can sort by what has sold for them...everyone is avg 1-4 items a day.

Ranch.
I did get the blacksmith out to do the horse's feet...$110 sheesh. The mobile home guy came out again and reminded himself of what needed to be done. Unfortunately his buddy at the Gas Co quit so I am on my own for scheduling that. I have to make a decision...when Mom had the utilities put in she had 2 sets put in...well it seems when she put the gas meters in, the addresses got mixed up. So electric goes to 1 address and gas to another...not a huge issue, the tenant just started service on the other address. I am trying to figure out the best way to fix it, switch the gas? or the electric? Either way comes with inconveniences.

House:
No word on the soils test or from the draftsman...it has been a month on the draftsman, going to send him a text this AM.

Exercise/Food:
Food ...I don't feel like I overate, but I def did not eat to lose. I did a 4.1 mile walk / job on Saturday and my stitches did not appreciate it. Been taking it easy but might go out today. Gonna start throwing stuff in the tracker too. boo.

Well, best get to it!

Hi All - I am still alive. We are working our way back down the coast and should be home on Saturday. I have been trying to eat reasonably and kind of but not really logging. Definitely not getting enough protein though. I have run or walked when/where it has been safe to do so and when we haven't had something planned. Left WA and OR with high temps maybe hitting 70F (mostly in the high 50's) to 104 once we hit No CA! Yikes!! I wanna go back north!
I have been mostly following along but didn't have internet access for a few days. Got a lot of reading done those days (yes, I brought physical books along for the trip). Will catch up and comment more when we get home.