I might still continue daily posting, but I’m no longer going to call them daily. I don’t like the pressure, ha!
Today was a slow moving day, fatigue was in the background all day long but I was able to take care of the dirty dishes. Small victories. I also had a couple really great conversations and connections with friends, and that is an even bigger win, in my book. I have been blessed with some pretty incredible friends.
Tomorrow will be a food day. I have to order groceries for the husband to pick up, as well as get started on making yummy Christmas treats. And I may throw some vacuuming in there just for funsies. We’ll see. Have a great night folks!
Category Archives: Food
Daily Post #11 – December 15, 2024
Did anyone notice that my #9 daily post was incorrectly named Weekly Post? I think that was the start of my downhill trajectory with fatigue. I did not post yesterday. I had trouble in the morning, so I slept in and missed church. I had a mostly uneventful day and then I was in bed before 9. And then this morning slept until 10. So you know, fatigue has officially set in. And the timing of it was unexpected, but it makes sense when I recall all the activity last week. My body is in recovery mode. This is the price you pay for doing fun things when you have M.S. I don’t care for it, but I’m not going to stop doing the fun things. I need quality of life, even if it comes in spurts and stutters. I can handle the down time. At least I have the dogs to keep me company.
This week I don’t have many events on the calendar, but I do have things I want/need to do. I’m making puppy chow for a family Christmas party, I still have some gifts I need to wrap, and I want to make some roasted pecans. But before all that I need to get my kitchen clean again, and that takes energy I don’t currently have, so it will just have to wait. I’ll get there, eventually.
Since this was yesterday’s update, I’ll try to do another one tonight and get back on the regular. No promises.
Daily Post #10 – December 14, 2024
Number ten! How about that? I think at this point we’ll just see how long I can keep it up.
Today is Saturday, so I was able to sleep in, which was wonderful. I did some reading and studying in the morning and then my husband and I headed out to get lunch and head to his mom’s house to help her with some technical issues. He is an only child and he does an amazing job helping both his mom and his dad with various tasks. I hope we get that lucky when our kids are grown. We had a great time visiting with her, and Mike was able to get her all squared away.
When we arrived home I made a ham and cheese fritatta for dinner. My daughter doesn’t like eggs, potatoes, or cheese, so she declined to eat with us, and my son wanted frozen burritos, so he was on his own to make those. I hadn’t made a fritatta in ages so I used a recipe to be sure I had the ratios right, but I messed it up a little. I had a hard time reading the steps in the recipe and put the cheese in too early, so I just added more at the end. It was a tad crispy but we both liked it, and I’ve dubbed the new creation, Melly Fritatta. No pictures, it was hideous. Hideous, yet tasty, and I’m looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow.
It’s common knowledge around here that I’m not much of a cook, so I was happy to make something that landed well at least with the adults. I’ve come to accept that I won’t be able to please my teenagers with my cooking. If you know, you know.
And that was pretty much my day. Next week I have holiday treat making to do, as well as finishing up the gift wrapping. It should be a lot more chill than this week was, and I hope I don’t regret saying that, because it may jinx it. We’ll see how it goes!
Daily Post #8 – December 12, 2024
Oh boy, you guys. My brain, my legs, my arms. They are all so tired today. I moved around and did things, but most of the work I did was sitting here at the desk. I tidied up my space a bit, because when I am surrounded by clutter I just can’t think straight. Too much nagging from the objects needing my attention.
I had planned to work on wrapping Christmas gifts today, but the kids had a snow day. That meant my early morning meeting with the school was postponed as well. Again. They had a snow day last week on the same day as my scheduled meeting. Anyway, so no wrapping got done. However! I did organize the gifts, assessed what we have, updated my spreadsheet (of course I have a spreadsheet) and even placed a couple last minute orders. One of them won’t get here in time for Christmas, but it will be close. So I’m ready to devote tomorrow to boxing and wrapping the gifts and I do hope I have the house to myself so I can accomplish that in peace.
On the subject of Christmas, you may remember last Saturday I posted about us going to get our Christmas tree? Yep, and it’s still sitting in our living room, without decoration. The dogs don’t seem to mind, but I talked to the kids and we’ve decided tomorrow will be the day to decorate, so I think I’ll make some peanut butter popcorn tomorrow so we have something yummy to snack on while we decorate. It always feels to me like a daunting task, decorating the tree, but the kids are almost fully grown adults and are super helpful, so it’s really never as bad as I expect. We will have a good time.
And that is all for today. I’m sure there was more I wanted to talk about but I am beat. I did not exactly rest the way my body needed, so I’ll be putting myself to bed once I hit post. Good night, y’all.
Daily Post #5 – December 9, 2024
I almost forgot my daily post! So, I’m sitting here at my desk, sans cochlear implants (so in the silence) and with my face 10 inches from the screen because I already took my contacts out. Basically, I’m going to make this quick. Today entailed some prayer in my living room with another mom from our school (we do this every other week but normally there are more than just the two of us), then a wonderful brunch with a friend I hadn’t seen since May. We had so much catching up to do and we’ve already planned the next meetup for next month. Then a quick stop at the lab to get my repeat blood work done. Hopefully they get it right this time. Then a stop at Starbucks for a mocha hazelnut latte – 2 pumps mocha, 4 pumps hazelnut. I took a solid nap, and then woke up to find my husband had successfully procured our new phones and service. We are now 4 for 4 an iPhone family which I am honestly not handling well at the moment. Nothing against iPhone, it’s just something new. And I am having significant trouble finding things on the phone and seeing the screens to log in to my various necessary apps, it’s just an exercise in extreme frustration. Both my kids have helped me with this, but a lot of it I need to just figure out on my own. It’s a very slow and somewhat painful process with low vision. I’m reassured by iPhone users that it will be worth the switch, so we’ll see. I hope it is.
That is all. You get one big run-on paragraph and I’m off to bed. We’ll talk again tomorrow!
Daily Post #1
I decided this morning that I want to do a daily post and see how long I can keep it up. Just a recap, no editing or fussing over wording or details, just stream of consciousness, talk about my day, and call it good.
So, day 1 here, December 5, 2024 started off around midnight, 1 am, waking up with a migraine. I took various pain medications throughout the night and eventually it was calmed enough to let me sleep. Hubby putting pressure on my forehead and holding my hand didn’t hurt either. I tend to get very panicky when I get these migraines, so if nothing else his gentle presence kept me from spiraling into a panic attack.
When I woke up in the morning (kids had a snow day so I was able to sleep in a little) I still had the shadow of the migraine so I took a 600 mg Motrin so that I could be comfortable for my infusion later in the morning. I had also had night sweats, which I found interesting. I haven’t had a migraine or night sweats in some time so it makes me wonder why they made a reappearance on the same night. Oh well. Onward.
I got my infusion and had zero issues with the IV – yay! – so that was a relief. I had some issues with my pickup ride running late due to the roads, but the ride home went fine and I survived it all. I’ve been having frustrations with Spec-tran because they are short on drivers and the people scheduling their routes clearly don’t know how to read a map, so getting anywhere on time can be a gamble. I’m still so thankful for that service, but I also still really miss being able to drive myself places.
This next update is long, so settle in:
About a month or so ago I met with a woman from Michigan’s Bureau of Services for Blind People (BSBP) to talk about training for using a white cane, and various other O&M (orientation and mobility) training. This is new information, y’all. I’ve considered using a white cane, off and on, for as long as I’ve had low vision, and I just decided it was finally time. The majority of the time I’m out and about I do fine, but there are the handful of times where I’m out in public, in unfamiliar places, and I feel completely unsafe. Super anxious. And when I realized how much anxiety I was feeling so often, I determined that maybe I could do something about it. I’ll be honest, I was absolutely conflicted about the idea of using a cane, because it can draw a certain attention to myself (mainly fawning, which I loathe), but in the end, after much prayer and pondering, I decided to take that step. So I met with a woman from the BSBP and we are working on getting me approved for services. After talking with her for a good length of time, I was so encouraged at all the ways they can help. Ways that I didn’t even realize I could use the help. Ways I’ve adapted over time, muscled my way through, and now I’m just tired. So tired.
I have a white cane that a friend gave me to use several years ago. She is blind herself and this was one she no longer used. We are around the same height so she figured it would suit me well. And it absolutely does, but I still need proper training. I did watch some YouTube videos to learn what I could, and I’m comfortable using it, but I know training is still needed in order to get the most benefit out of it.
You guys, it’s a game changer! I took it with me on a women’s retreat and used it while we were shopping in downtown Saugatuck. Outdoor walking, lots of cracks and bumps on the sidewalk. But with the cane informing me of what was to come, I was able to walk with my head up, not staring down just past my feet. I was even able to engage in conversation with the other women and that was probably my favorite part.
I had to make it fun, so I named the cane. Casey. Casey Cane. And she is now my companion for special outings. I take her to the gym with me and she is very useful for riding the bus. When I’m holding Casey, the bus driver doesn’t rush to leave. They actually wait until I’m seated before they start moving the bus again. It’s wonderful!
Another benefit to having Casey is that when walking in crowded areas, people aren’t expecting me to get out of their way if they are walking towards me. I’ve been in busy areas before where people nearly plowed through me, and it’s quite scary because I really can’t see them coming until they are very close.
The problem with my disability is that I look completely fine to strangers. In society, we have unspoken expectations on others. So it helps that they can see Casey and know that it means I can’t see well and likely need more space and time. I have said before it would be so much easier if I just had a sign on my shirt that says, “Deaf/Blind” much like the running vest I wear. So rather than wear a bright orange Deaf/Blind vest on outings, I’m going with something a little less obnoxious, a white cane.
Oh, and the best part? ZERO people have made a fuss over it. No fawning, whatsoever. They just carry on like it’s been there all along. I absolutely love it.
Since this is just a daily recap, I’ll finish off with the dish I prepared for dinner. Chicken and broccoli alfredo. I used a rotisserie chicken, and it was my first time breaking down a chicken, so I was pretty nervous about that. Since I couldn’t really see what I was doing it was all done by feel. I felt like I did okay, but one of my husband’s first bites was a piece of gristle or bone or something. Ack! That just ruins the whole dish you know? But my portion was tasty, so hopefully that was the only piece I missed. I made the alfredo sauce from scratch because it’s super easy, and storebought alfredo is crap. Overall I thought it was a yummy dish, and my son agreed, so I’ll keep the recipe for a repeat down the road and hopefully I can do better with the chicken next time. I put notes on how it went in my recipe app (Plan to Eat), because I know I’ll forget this information.
And that’s all for my recap. I’m pretty spent from the day and looking forward to tomorrow. I have to get some lab work done because they ordered the wrong test on a crucial item last time. But I’ll leave you there because I can talk about that in tomorrow’s daily update. How about that? Good night, and we’ll talk tomorrow!
Dark Mode
Fun fact – I cannot read normal computer screens. I cannot navigate filling out forms on paper without significant difficulty (and inevitably leaving a lot of fields blank). My visual impairment is unique in that a good portion of my visual field is covered in fog. That’s the best way I am able to describe it. When I look at a “normal” screen (i.e. white background) I can’t see most of what is there. This means that a lot of the apps I use on a regular basis are very difficult for me to use. Over the years I’ve learned to be patient and allow myself more time to complete tasks.
But when I open an app and discover they have added the dark mode feature? Oooh boy, I can’t tell you how relieved I feel! I remember the first time this happened was with Facebook, and while I was elated, it didn’t add much value to my life. Cuz you know, it’s Facebook. But then, much later, I opened up my recipe app, which I use a ton for preparing meals and snacks for my family – something I strive to do well at, whether my family really cares or not – and it was in dark mode!! Let me tell you, that made my whole week.
Then awhile back I had another pleasant surprise when I opened the Android app for Goodreads to find my next book to read and it was in dark mode. I could have cried. I am an avid reader and it’s been so frustrating to not be able to really navigate that app for so long.
My third win for dark mode happened when I finally dug around the interwebs and found tape for my label maker in “white on black”. Guys, I’m having so much fun with this! I am a label nerd, for sure, and the first thing I did with my new readable labels is to tag my leftovers. Because once I put the dishes in the fridge, I never really know what’s there. Not without taking each dish out and opening it up, and even then sometimes I can’t tell without actually sniffing or tasting the food inside, and that’s I think mostly due to the atypical colorblindness. So labels have been a game changer. I’m a very happy woman over here.
For the record, these are my favorite apps that I am able to view in dark mode:
Plan to Eat (my recipe app!)
Goodreads (books!)
Facebook (no explanation needed)
YNAB (my awesome budgeting app!)
VRBO (trip planning)
Booking.com (trip planning)
Now it would be great to have my banks get on board. Out of all the banks we bank with, NONE of them have a dark mode option. So I keep doing my banking on the computer, where I have extensions to view those web pages in dark mode. Tell your programmer friends… we want more dark mode!
What’s cooking?
I am not the best at cooking. I’ve never enjoyed it, and that has always deterred me from trying. I think for most, cooking is a learned skill that rarely comes naturally. You get better with practice. However, I do like to bake, and I do like to make food for people if it makes them happy. Food = love, right?
I recently attended a weekend retreat with the women in my church, and I brought a pan of homemade rice krispie treats. I love rice krispie treats, and homemade are not only the best tasting, they are fairly simple and quick to make. And they are gluten free! Which made the handful of ladies from my church who are strictly gluten free, very happy.
But also, I’ve been on a weird kick lately of trying new things in my kitchen. It started when I saw a recipe for homemade granola. I eat granola pretty regularly, but I really shudder at the price of it in the stores. So when I saw that I had all the ingredients for this recipe, I jumped at the chance. And you know what? It was so easy, so delicious, and plentiful! I am going to save so much money on granola.
That got me thinking… if I can save money by making my own granola, maybe I can save on making my own yogurt too? My all-in-one Ninja cooker has a yogurt function, and I’ve always been a bit curious. So I tried that out too. Only the recipe I found used the dehydrate function, but it worked just the same. I learned about straining yogurt, and am now the proud owner of cheesecloth. I’m 46 and I’m still building my homemaker arsenal.
Which leads me to another thing that’s been on my mind lately – decluttering. Maybe it is time to get rid of that 25 year old crockpot? I’ve been watching new episodes of Hoarders on Hulu, and while watching the show doesn’t result in me getting much done in my house, it does keep my mind on the topic. I need to be ruthless about getting rid of the things I never use. Really. Because having to sort through drawers and piles to find what I need is not fun, and often deters me from starting joyful projects in the first place. So that’s going on my goal list for the next season. Tossing stuff.
So, while I’m over here being Miss Susie Homemaker it’s been a nice distraction from the mess that was our Presidential election. Woah baby. I was conflicted going into it, and am grieved coming out of it. I’m just hearing so many of my friends and loved ones who are hurting and scared. I think most of us could admit we didn’t have great options to choose from, so there are people on both sides who are conflicted. And then there are people like myself, who don’t really align much with either side and just want to see our country healed from all the fighting.
We are studying the book of Revelation in BSF this year, and this book was so timely for this election season. I’m blown away at how much it relates, especially given the fact that it’s an international study, not limited to the U.S. I sit in my discussion group each week with people of many colors, backgrounds, and faith histories, and I am encouraged. Encouraged that we can all come together in agreement that God still has dominion over all. We have hope in our Creator that one day He will make all things new. No more division, no more hate. And we can trust Him in all things. Time and time again He has used crummy situations to grow and teach people, and He will do it again. Because His character is one of a good and redemptive God and that fact will never change.
So I guess this post took a turn for the serious, and I apologize if that was too much for you. Go grab a cup of coffee and do some coloring. Take good care of yourself and then go out and help someone else. It will do your heart good, I promise.
My very brief “75 Hard” journey and what I learned
I don’t know if any of you have heard of “75 Hard” but it’s this bazonkers challenge that some guy made up a few years ago, and it seems to have quite the following.
The challenge is this: For 75 consecutive days you must complete the following tasks:
1) Drink one gallon of water
2) Follow a diet of your choosing, no cheat days!
3) Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book
4) Complete two non-consecutive 45-minute workouts, 1 of which must be outdoors
5) Take a progress picture
If you miss any of the tasks even once, you have to start all over again on Day One. Oof.
A good friend of mine completed this challenge a couple years ago, and she is now working the challenge once again. When she did it the first time, I seriously gave it some thought but never did anything with it. This second time I felt compelled to hop on and give it a shot.
Now a couple of these things were easy for me. I have been intermittent fasting since March of 2023 so following a diet wasn’t a big deal. I would just be more intentional about sticking with my chosen eating and fasting “windows”. No problem.
Reading 10 pages of nonfiction? I’m a huge reader, and 90% of what I enjoy reading is nonfiction. Again, no problem.
Taking a progress picture is a simple enough task, and thankfully no one would have to see it but me, so the trick was just to remember to do it. Easy peasy.
It’s the gallon of water and 2 daily exercises that were the real challenge for me. I don’t mind drinking water, but I prefer coffee, and that doesn’t count. So I just had to be intentional about sipping from and refilling my water bottle throughout the day. I even bought myself a larger bottle (half gallon) so I would only need to refill once during the day. However, since I had just been coming off training for the Sleeping Bear half marathon, I was already in the habit of daily hydrating so this wasn’t a huge deal.
For the exercising I was doing an outdoor walk and indoor Fitbod workout each day. That was going very well, and with all the water I was drinking, my muscles were recovering well every day. I would feel a bit of soreness but it never stuck around for long. I was feeling really good!
Y’all, I lasted 8 days. That 9th day I had a super busy day morning to night. Doctor appointment for me, orthodontist for both kids, and having to use paratransit to get everywhere means every trip takes awhile and has zero flexibility. But that wasn’t what killed the challenge for me. I had been out of town the weekend prior and the day before I came back, my husband left for a 3 day work trip. So on that bonkers day with all the appointments, that evening I just wanted to spend time with my husband. I had to make a decision – stay home and complete my workouts (because all the appointments prevented me from getting them done earlier) or ride with my husband to take our daughter to her horse riding lesson. I chose the latter, ending my 75 Hard challenge streak, and I have no regrets.
I may try again some other time, but I don’t know. I strongly felt like God had been leading me to that challenge, so I had to really ponder why. I think He was trying to show me how much my daily life had been lacking in discipline. And while 75 Hard was very much an all or nothing thing, installing discipline into your life doesn’t have to be that way. The key is to be intentional. So now I’ve been thinking a lot more about how I can maintain that intentionality but in a way that fits with my impairments and my daily life. I’m being humbled here. I need to cut out a lot of things in my life for awhile that were distracting me. I would spend hours on Facebook or Netflix or the stupid coloring app on my phone, and before I knew it, I had lost most of the day. Since I’m not working, I don’t have anyone telling me what or when things need to be done. I am the boss of my life, and I had been doing a shoddy job of it.
So I decided to make my own list:
1) Read 10 pages of a book
2) Exercise for 30 minutes
3) Drink a half gallon of water
4) Pray/study the Bible for 30 minutes
5) Write for 30 minutes
The times listed are just minimums of course. I just list them that way so I have measurable goals. I found a habit tracking app so I can keep the list in front of me and check things off as I go. It will be satisfying to see streaks of habits, but I’m allowing myself the ability to skip days if necessary. Some days my body and mind need rest, and I’m going to honor that. But I’m working really hard to not slip back into bad habits. While binging on Netflix seems like it would be restful, it’s really not. And it’s discouraging when you come off of a session of 6 episodes of Reba and realize you’ve lost your whole day, and you still need to put away that laundry you washed last Tuesday, and you have no idea what you are going to feed your people for dinner.
So yeah. I’m working on some healthy habits. I was gonna say “new” healthy habits, but then caught myself. These are not new. I’m working on some healthy habits – again. And I should say, it feels pretty damn good.
Moving forward!
Scary Book
I’m reading a really scary book right now. No, it’s not a gory thriller or suspense novel. It’s a book about type 2 diabetes – The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung, and it’s freaking me out. For one, it’s very science-y so it’s slow reading. For two, I’m worried about every human I know and love because, well, sugar. Refined sugar is terrible for our systems, and at least here in the U.S., it’s in *everything*. So it’s nearly impossible to avoid. I’m trying to just get through this book and when my brain slips into panic mode I set it down for a while and move on to more pleasant things.
Like watching Reba reruns on Netflix!
Little M.S. Runner 