The Back-Slide Cha-Cha

Two steps forward, Three steps back. Cha-cha-cha.

I realized yesterday how easy it is to slip back into bad habits--and how difficult it is to maintain good ones. We wanted to eat at home and cook more, rather than eat out [for the benefit of both health and our bank accounts]. That lasted about two weeks. I wanted to get back into yoga. One week on, one week off. I'm not on here to bitch and moan though, more to muse. Within a week or so, we stopped cooking, I stopped keeping my food log, started buying coffee rather than making it at home... it was all just so easy to start again. But now that I've really caught the backsliding, I can actually do something about it. So.

Today when I woke up it was actually perfect weather to do yard work. So I did! I spent a good couple hours planting more crocus bulbs, aerating part of the side yard and sowing lavender, and sweeping up the sidewalk. I will probably regret this tomorrow, if not later tonight. I was going to weed the side flower bed, but Mr. Obnoxious was being, well, obnoxious. Decided it was probably time to give the neighbors' ears a break.

I haven't been writing [obviously today changes that]. I did manage to finish one of the baby blankets, but the other is still barely started. Although I dropped my math class, I have been keeping up pretty well on Kahn Academy. However... I'm a little nervous about taking pre-Calc 2 and Java at the same time, so I started doing some of their JS tutorials. I'm not trying to brag, but this entry level type coding seems to be coming to me very naturally. It's kind of like line-editing, or learning a foreign language. It's all just a matter of knowing the right commands and using 'correct' punctuation [for the program]. I'm hoping that this might be the start of me settling into a career finally.

Unfortunately, I can't focus on coding as strongly with company over... the boys are about to start playing something online, which will distract the hell out of me. And we'll probably throw on a movie as well. I could work on the other blanket, but my hands are kind of sore from gardening. I'm definitely too tired and sore to be cleaning up or doing more laundry [why is it that laundry never ends?]... soooo I will likely try Civ Beyond Earth again. It was on sale so we snagged it. I'm still not sure how I feel about it--I can't seem to do as well on BE as I have on V--but then again, I have played V for years. Plus, I'm limited to things I can do with a puppy in my lap.

Side note, Pup-date: He's had his stitches out for a couple weeks now and everything's doing well. He finally got a bath again! He still has one teeny scab from the stitches, but everything else is healed up. Except... he hasn't quite grown back his foot fur yet, so his toes look really creepy. Especially next to his other foot. We're hoping that was his last histiocytoma, but only time will tell. He'll be 2 this July, which is around the time they 'normally' stop showing up.

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Pupdate: Stitches came out on Tuesday, but Doc said we should keep the cone on for another week, in case the healing caused him to itch. Most of the fur has grown back so that's a plus. He's been really good and I'm home sick today so I could supervise completely... So today was Cash's first cone free day in over two weeks! YAY! He has only licked once or twice and generally doesn't seem to care about his foot, he's took excited that he doesn't run into things now. I think tonight he'll still get to sleep in the bed, but then we'll start to transition him back to the kennel for nite-nites.

What else? Well, I am dropping out of my math class because I'm too far behind. I was auditing a class--meaning taking it for free, and receiving no credit--but it was too far above my skill level. Mostly because the University goes on semesters and the community college goes on quarters. So I'm taking the rest of this quarter to focus on health and getting in shape and establishing a routine--not that being sick and having cramps is helping with any of that, but hey, baby steps. I bought a groupon for some Hot Yoga, so that will be kicking in as soon as my uterus quits kicking my ass.

Today I mostly laid in bed with Archer on, ate pho [magic soup], and worked on finishing up a baby blankie for a friend. I'm one row from being done, because I don't know if I have enough yarn to do a full border around the outside. I wish my hand would stop going numb... but that's kind of normal for me. Mildly annoying to take this many breaks, but it is what it is. I'm a little overwhelmed because I have two friends due in March and volunteered myself to send them blankies. Silly me, I forgot how much I procrastinate and ADD on projects. I only have slight baby envy. It's a little bittersweet that I'll never produce my own kid; but at the same time I was never sure I wanted to. Mostly I feel bad because I'm helping to perpetuate Idiocracy by not birthing an intelligent and responsible child. However, I would run the risk of ending up with some very bad physical defects,  which honestly I'm just not a big enough person to deal with. I don't want to end up with a kid and resent them, so I am probably just better off with a puppy. This has always been the case. That said, I love making blankies for my friends' kids, and I hope that I can be a positive influence on their lives in some way. And adoption is always an option later down the road, when life is much more settled.

Just realized I have 919 photos on my phone! That's a little bit overkill. I try to go through them and clean them out from time to time, but I'm always paranoid I'll have not backed something up enough and lose a picture I wanted to keep. Luckily my phone has a huge internal SD card.

[Insert Clever Title Here]

I keep blogging in fitz and starts. It's true that I'm doing less than I used to, but I'm still doing enough that I should be writing about.

Not even sure where I left off, to be honest! I went on leave and visited my grandma, and when I came back I started taking my math class for the quarter. It's not particularly difficult, but it's where they wanted me after the placement exam. It's a review at least, so I'll be ready to move on... all the way up to Calc 3 [scaredface!]. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do as far as tuition and GI Bill goes, and work. But, if I play my cards right, I might be able to get a MSE by 2020, and be working on a PhD as well! With minimum out of pocket expenses, even!

I've been slacking on crafting, arting, and even cooking. Mostly my life has been math, cleaning, and work. I'm on the night shift again, so my days are completely upside down. For some reason, I've been sleeping WAY too much lately. I'm trying to get my medication, vitamins, and minerals back on track, but it's been more of a struggle than usual. Lately I've been reading about adrenal dysfunction and how that affects... well, nearly everything, really... and I'm pretty sure that my adventures in hormonal birth control, coffee, and whatever else lifestyle choices you want to lump in there have more or less caused some sort of issue with my hormones. This is a thought I've had before, of course, but it just makes so much sense. I don't know why this isn't more well-known knowledge, or a bigger deal to more people in general. I'm going to try and take better care of myself, but it's going to be a huge struggle. I figure since this year is technically my 30th birthday [more on that joke later], it's about damn time I take care of myself. I've already started by quitting smoking, now I just need to work on a healthier diet and the right kinds of fitness. [I'm about a month in to that quitting, so let's see how much longer I can make it stick!!]


But anyways, that's not really what I wanted to write about today. As of some time today--like I said, I slept pretty much through all daylight--we recovered our house. Long story. My kitchen has been freed from the oppressor, and I celebrated by rebelliously cooking my butt off. Well, not literally, or I wouldn't be talking about diets... but anyways yeah. I make two different kinds of banana bread. I made what I think is my official Best Mac N Cheese So Far. I also experimented with meatloaf cupcakes. Although mine look nothing like anything you'll find on Pinterest, they were really tasty. Snackbar couldn't find the french-fried-onions at the store while he was out, so half-way joking I said "oh, just get Funyuns instead." Best. Joke. Ingredient. EVER. Best [non]-Mistake Ever. Crushed up, they make the BEST topping. I even put some in the meatloafs because I was running short on breadcrumbs. Delicious meal. I wish I was hungry so I could eat some more. But alas, that D-word is looming...

Overdue.

So, the New Year has started, and I've been busy as all get out. I was able to start college again--I'm taking one math class to get caught up before I start full-time next quarter. I spent the New Year in a hotel in SC, as I did last year, so I could visit my wacky grandma. We had a blast and went out to lunch. I had to cut my trip short to make it back for school, or I would have visited my other grandma and my dad too. I don't remember how I got into it this time, but I have started the genealogy thing again. It's a blast, and I have found some really interesting folks. So far nothing much worth noting; I keep getting stuck since a handful of my folks came from Canada and Ireland and I don't have access to those records... because I didn't pay for a world-wide account. Maybe later. 

I am very very achy today, and I'm not sure if it's because I've been going to class every day or some other reason. But I'm taking it easy today either way. I need to get to work on my letters... For the record, my medical board was denied. So I have a few more days to put together my rebuttal and request for a formal hearing. Which I should be doing now, instead of this. 

For art stuffs... Here is a glimpse at a projecting I'm doing for Dirty Jose. I couldn't find the right size canvas at first, so I coated an old one I never finished in gesso and tried my hand at it anyways. Did NOT turn out like I wanted... and while organizing a bunch of paperwork, I found the canvases that I could have sworn I'd bought before. So I'm redoing the whole thing. The quote he requested is from a Bad Religion song, and I'm trying to figure out what else I can factor in to the work to make it more cohesive. 

 

 One thing that is consistently making me smile, like on a daily basis, is the garden! I planted bulbs back in November, and they are starting to pop up! Although I'm pretty sure a few of them were eaten, there's enough of them left to make me grin. The garden by the kitchen window is sprouting at a rate that is noticeable daily, although I still can't see the Crocus. My extra bulbs I planted in pots, so I can take with them with if/when I move. Those Crocus are popping right up, and I can't remember what the huge ones are in the other pot, but I love having them next to the door. 

And just for fun, here is your adorable kitty pic of the day. She decided to cuddle him, which is kind of against her nature. Ever the sweet boy, Bill decided it was bath time. I guess I managed to take this when he was making an exceptionally derpy face. I missed my kitties!

In other news, after geeking out on Musical Tesla coils off and on all night, I have decided I MUST play with them.