• Menstrual Cup

    September 16, 2020 /

    A month or so ago, I decided to take the plunge and order a menstrual cup. I’ve never used one but I kept hearing how it would be a literal game changer.

    A few days ago, I started my period and tried my new cup. It was uncomfortable to insert, and it wouldn’t open over it was in. I ordered a smaller size and today it arrived.

    It was immediately easier to insert, and I could actually place it properly to where I couldn’t feel it. It was also able to fully open once inside of me.

    And! The best part! No leaks, no ruining clothing or sheets or furniture. Just smooth sailing all day. Emptying it was a bit of a challenge as once the cup is placed right, I can’t reach it, so I need to bear down and “birth” it so I can reach the stem. But it pulls out easily enough, and was simple to dunno into the toilet. It did look pretty gruesome though! Lol

    Then a quick wash under the tap and back in.

    I’m already convinced this is the best thing I should have tried years ago.

  • It’s Over. I Survived.

    June 10, 2020 /

    The spring semester ended last week and I’m mostly happy with how things turned out. I filled for an Excused Withdrawal in Spanish 102, and i got a solid C (about 74%) in both Human Anatomy and Physiology II, and Intermediate Algebra. I’m okay with that. They’re passing grades and and that’s what I need. Mostly I’m just relieved that these classes are behind me now.

    As I think I said, I’m taking the summer off. In Fall I will be taking chemistry, and next spring, microbiology. I’m kinda worried about micro, off I’m being honest. But I’ll make it through, the same as I have these classes- one day at as time.

    I have all this free time right now and I literally can’t motivate myself to do anything with that time, except a little self care.

    I had my hair cut yesterday (Big Mike’s Barber Shop in Lancaster) and Mike made me look great. Then he put a little aftershave on my head and oh my goodness. I smelled so nice all day. I’ve seen him a message asking what it was because I need to buy some.

    I also downloaded a couple dating apps which I have mixed feelings about. I’m trying a couple that are focused on bisexual dating but there’s just no one in my area. I just want to have coffee with someone and have an enjoyable conversation.

    I also dropped off a bunch of donations to thrift, so my car is almost cleaned out at this point. I have a few other things to take in but will do that on another day.

    Today I’m hoping to write a couple letters and maybe do some cross stitching. I need to do the dishes and collect trash around the house to take out. I also need to put away my new yarn and maybe choose some to be donated. Or maybe cast something on.

  • Falling Behind

    April 1, 2020 /

    I’m feeling so overwhelmed right now, between school, and trying to keep up a normal idea of life with this damn virus going around. We had a week off from classes, and suddenly I’m behind. My grades are in the gutter right now. I’m struggling.

    Tonight I had 6 sections of math due and two quizzes. I managed to get 4+ sections and one quiz done, so I’ll be finishing the rest tomorrow afternoon…. Which is when the electrician is supposed to come to I might now have electricity/internet for a few hours. Grrr.

    I also have about an hour of Spanish homework to finish tomorrow and get through at least 3 assignments for A&P II and my brain is just going “say fuck it. Don’t even bother,” because it’s so much work.

    I know if I take my time and actually do things in the chunks that align with the due dates and a little more, I’ll be caught up before spring break, which is next week.

    But ugh. Right now I just feel like giving up.

    I can’t even say a little retail therapy is helping, because it’s not, but I am getting some cleaning and organizing done, and by the time this quarentine is lifted, my car is going to be filled with donations for thrift.

  • Weight Watchers & Points vs Calories

    April 28, 2019 /

    I’m trying to trust the process but I also have a big question. Here we go.

    My issues have always been with portion control. I’m good at eating mostly healthy foods. I don’t eat much bread, rice, pasta, heavy carbs in general. If I don’t eat sweets, I don’t crave them. I drink 85% plain water, and a lot of it at that.

    So even though I’m only one week in, I’m finding its super easy to have eaten 2000 calories of healthy food in a day but only spending 15 or 20 of my 39 daily points.

    I looked up my BMR (basil metabolic rate) and according to the internet, I need about 2600 calories a day to maintain my current weight (310lbs).

    So where do I draw the line, so to speak? Eating all my daily points seems like an excess of food. I’m not going hungry. But it just seems like the free foods make this too lenient. I feel like I’m cheating their system without even trying. The old system has a clear relationship between points and calories but with this system, the relationship is very unclear.

    Today was more in line with what they want (I got the blue dot). But I also decided to track in a second app that counts calories at the same time.

    I feel like I have literally been eating all day today. I haven’t, but I mean I had mostly healthy foods plus a little junk. That junk is the only reason I got my blue dot today.

    I’m going to track in both apps for the 3 months I agreed to commit to WW and see where things are at that point.

    Eta…. Basically I’m seeing that if you don’t eat a lot of junk food or carb-dense foods, you’re going to cheat the program just by eating generally healthy foods. And we all know cheating the program doesn’t work.

    I posted this query in a few places and I caught a lot of flack from WW fans who oddly enough mostly agreed that 1) the plan is always right, and 2) put need to track calories in order to succeed.

    Tomorrow I’ll be calling to see what it will cost me to cancel my subscription. The biggest selling point of Weight Watchers has been that you could still eat the foods you love, but apparently that’s not true.

  • Shopping!

    April 28, 2019 /

    Last week I bought a few things at the grocery store I wanted to try. Things that I want sure how they would fit into Weight Watchers. But they did fit in and I did like them, so today I went back to the store to really shop.

    I tried to follow the whole “shop the perimeter” rule but some things I do buy canned. I spent $95 on 54 food items.

    • Cottage cheese (3 cups x 4) $7.92
    • Plain yogurt (3 cups x 1) $2.16
    • Italian seasoned chicken breasts (2 bags) $12.78
    • Chicken breast tenderloins (1 bag). $7.80
    • Ground turkey (3 lbs) $9.18
    • Salmon burgers (2 lbs) $10.96
    • Southwest style beans (6 cans) $5.88
    • Alfredo sauce (1 jar) $1.97
    • Sardines (15 tins) $13.65
    • White vinegar $0.94
    • Mackerel (2 cans) $3.70
    • Diced tomatoes (2 cans) $1.96
    • Oranges (8 lbs) $3.98
    • Grapes (2 lbs) $2.59
    • Carrots (1 lbs) $0.78
    • Mushrooms $1.98
    • Onions (2 lbs) $1.87
    • Pineapple $1.98
    • Green cabbage $1.40
    • Asparagus $1.42

    I already have things like canned tuna, Mac n cheese, shrimp, rice, pasta…. So I should be able to make some good stuff plus have yummy snacks!

  • Weight Watchers Redux

    April 24, 2019 /

    I joined Weight Watchers this morning. It helped me lose a lot of weight before and I really need to do it all again. I hurt. My body isn’t strong like it was. I’m tired all the time. I have pretty bad sleep apnea because of my weight. I can go on and on.

    I joined up, downloaded the app, and logged in. I input my height and weight. I started tracking my food.

    Later tonight, I was browsing the app in more detail and discovered my weight was listed at almost 700 pounds! Apparently when I input my weight in pounds, it registered as kilograms, then converted back to pounds. Took a few minutes to fix it but it explained why my points allowances seemed so generous.

    I logged my steps and the stair climbing I did today, which earned me a whole 3 points. That’s basically nothing but I know I can do better.

  • Cleaning Out The Cobwebs

    April 17, 2019 /

    I don’t really talk about the details of my mental illness here a lot. When I do mention it, it’s kind of in an oblique way. But tonight I’m going to talk about some really personal things.

    I have bipolar disorder, which while I’m on a great couple of meds that keep me feeling pretty good most days, I do occasionally experience what’s called hypomania. Literally, “below mania.” It’s like being able to have super focus, really get into tasks, get all the things done. It’s sleeping a little less, but because you’re not really manic, and that string of depression is still there, you’re still in control and able to steer the boat. You’re still taking care of yourself, eating meals, getting enough sleep, bathing. You’re driven to succeed, and the more you get done, the more you need to do more.

    And after a few days, maybe a week, it stops. Now you’ve got the motivation of a sleepy sloth and maybe you will sleep for 12 hours because there’s no real reason to get out of bed.

    This is a real thing for me. I just spent 4 days hypomanic and after coming home tonight, I crashed into the don’t cares. But before I crashed, let me tell you what I did.

    • I went to a special sale at my moms work, which was kind of like a mini Black Friday. Between my mom and I, we came home with a lot of stuff.
    • I went through all the stuff and divided it into 5 categories. For Tracy, for Jami, for Jessica, for myself, and to be stashed for future giving.
    • I put everything away that I was going to keep. Not only did I put things away, I reorganized half of my craft room because once I started moving things around, a light went on showing me how I could make everything better.
    • As I worked to reorganize, I started pulling stuff aside to be donated to thrift. As it stands right now, the entire backseat of my car is filled with donations. I didn’t stop at just my craft room. I went through all my clothing, my entire closet, things on shelves in my room. I also selected some things to offer up for free to my online friends.
    • I did 5 or 6 loads of dishes, several loads of laundry, collected the recycling from around the kitchen, and bagged up several kitchen trash bags full of trash. I put the old lemons down the disposal and I cooked a couple meals.
    • I visited with our neighbors. They’re great people, but I tend to keep to myself, so being social like that is also tied into hypomania for me.
    • I worked for several hours on projects. I framed a big project I finished a while ago. I removed some listings from my shop and added others.

    And it all came to an end today after taking a big exam in class. I was suddenly exhausted, and had to make myself gas up the car and head home. Once I got home, I heated some leftovers and crawled into bed to watch Netflix. Hypomania over. I don’t even want to get up to pee.

    So why am I telling you all this? Because this is how I work. I can’t do anything for weeks and then, if I’m “lucky,” an episode comes on and I get everything done. I make new art. I make jewelry. I stitch some stuff up.

    Right now I’m currently taking one single course at a community college. Next semester I’ll be taking two. And two the next semester. And then I’ll be going full time to learn the skills needed to become an MLT. I’m excited but I know it’s going to be hard. I’m going to have days where I just can’t do it. But I want this and I want to put myself in a better place financially. I want to be a functional member of society who is self sufficient.

    But I’m taking it one day at a time. Baby steps.