Right now, I am...
nursing a cold that I got on Friday. Boo.
planning to start taking some probiotics because this is my second cold almost smack-dab in a row, and that's unusual for me. I'm wondering if it's because of the antibiotics I had to take for my nose surgery...before that, I hadn't been on antibiotics for a good decade or so, and my gut bacteria probably were marvelous. Right now, they're probably just a shadow of their former selves, so I'm thinking a jumpstart would be good.
(Of course, I will still be drinking yogurt smoothies every morning too.)
having a normal school day, as Mr. FG is at work. He does get federal holiday time off, but he opts to work most holidays (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) and then use the accumulated time off in a nice chunk. Because 3-5 days off in a row are a lot more fun and useful than random one-day holidays here and there.
happy that Aldi is open on the holiday because I am seriously low on groceries right now.
drinking a peach and yogurt smoothie. I'm out of most other frozen fruit, so I just blended homemade yogurt and local peaches (frozen from those super discounted boxes I buy from the local stand in the summer).
looking at that picture of peaches and missing the sunny days that accompany peach season. The darkness and cloudiness of winter are not my favorite.
(Buuuuut...the shortest day of the year is behind us now, so I'm cheering myself with that thought.)
thinking about what I want to cook this week. Menu planning is on my to-do list today! I hate the process, but I love the result (me not scrambling to come up with a last-minute meal, to be precise.)
checking what's coming in my produce box this week so that I can plan meals around those ingredients.
trying to figure out what is going on with my mortgage payments. Our mortgage got sold (again) and I signed up for automatic payments with the new company, but something is going wonky with those...the site says I'm signed up, but they're not debiting my account. Augh.
I am not a fan of having my mortgage sold.
(Update: I got ahold of a customer service rep and my account is now properly set up. Yay!)
If you'd like, you can share what you're doing right now in the comments. I hope your week gets off to a good start today!
I hope you feel better quickly! After my sinus surgery I caught a few more calls than usual, but that has since resolved it's self.
On this holiday I'm treating myself to a hot breakfast. II am doing some frightfully grown-up things like life insurance and a will today. And at the tender age of only 47! I am also strongly encouraging my husband to get his clutter out of the guestroom. My best friend is flying in next week to help us out and she shouldn't have to share space with heaven knows what. I want her to have flowers and peanut butter cups in her room and space to relax.
To follow up on a previous post, I'd be happy to write up something about the unexpected expenses that has come as a result of a disabling diagnosis. Please let me know how many words you would lik and I will send it to you for consideration.
I'm flexible on length...my posts usually are around 700 words, but you write whatever length you want!
Right now, I am listening to John Rutter's music -- engaging my first cuppacafe, and so glad that I am on the right side of the sod. I too am hosting a buggie I hope will so depart . . . I think too many are visiting our area.
I am praying also that this week is a turning around point for our great nation -- that we will forgive fore the Lord's sake the transgressions of others, and we confess and repent of the wrongs we have done to others.
I am reading _Hidden Figures_, and remembering that the kinds of shame and humiliation described were in my lifetime. Thank you God for putting a stop to some -- Guide and goad us into finishing racial reconciliation.
God bless you with health strength and joy!
oxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
bwsmith
Sounds like a great morning to me! 🙂
Aww, I'm sorry you feel under the weather. Antibiotics can really wreak havoc on your immune system. Some probiotics should keep you right as rain after you get over this bout of a cold. 🙂 I'm sure the cold weather doesn't help, either.
Right now I am:
trying to figure out how to set up autopay on my student loans. They're being a little too high-security about this so it turns out I have to call and get it set up. So annoying.
using a homemade hankie to blow my nose. I've had pretty funky cedar allergies lately and was tired of going through boxes and boxes of tissues. I sewed myself some cozy hankies from fabric scraps and they work like a dream. It cost me $0 to use them; I just toss them in the washer and they come out perfectly clean.
writing in my planner for the week. I like to write down what we're having for dinner as well as any foods I need to defrost. This helps me stay on top of dinner plans so we don't spend money on takeout.
Autopay is SO great when it's working properly. But yeah...a pain to set up sometimes!
I feel for you. Colds are no fun... I know there's lots of hype out there about vitamin D, but since I started taking it faithfully in the winter (along with vitamin k-2) a few years ago, I have been far healthier in the "dark months". Now watch me come down with something just for saying it! 🙂
Same here. I take 2000 iu per day and I'm "never" sick. Cross fingers! Same for hubby (2000 iu) and my kids (rarely sick. 3000 ui once a week). Might just be luck also, who knows.
I was wondering what a produce box is?
It's a delivery box that brings me a mix of local and regular produce...I buy it because it takes me out of my comfort zone food-wise!
Colds are no fun. Hopefully you feel better soon!
I'm trying to get my oldest to stop talking and start reading, adding one final clause to the purchase agreement for our house (which we're finally buying after years of renting), deciding whether we're going to go to a friends' son's last-minute birthday party this afternoon (I'm feeling lazy today and like I just want to curl up on the couch with some knitting once we're done with school, but we probably should go), browsing some knitting patterns for the aforementioned afternoon knitting, and deciding what we're going to eat for lunch today. I think I'm going to make more of that African peanut soup for me and make PB&J for the kids.
I would totally not feel like going to the party either. But if I went, I'd probably be glad I did.
I feel your pain!
We did go, and I am glad we did!
Plus, I was still able to get in some good knitting time because the younger two and I left after cake and presents, so they'd get in a nap, and my older two stayed another couple of hours to play board games then walked home.
"We did go, and I am glad we did! "
I feel this so often. I call it being inertial - not wanting to stop if I'm going, and not wanting to get going if I've stopped. My response to my inertial self is to remind it how often I've thought "I'm glad I went."
Hope you feel better soon. Just got done working out for the first time this year. I have been participating in Weight Watchers since this time last year and have lost forty pounds. I just hate exercising with little kids a crazy schedule and trying to stay on a budget. Hope to make it a habit this year.
That is awesome! You go, girl!
Well done. That is an amazing achievement.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work, it's hard but it's worth it.
I am getting ready to sew doll clothes that I cut out yesterday. I am using fabric from my years-old stash and some beautiful fabric from my husband's worn-out shirts. My granddaughters have American Girl dolls, and the doll clothing will make nice birthday gifts.
Oooh, so fun! What a great way to repurpose old clothes.
I would suggest you get an a amitorazation (sp?) from your bank and make paying down your mortgage a priority. We paid our mortgage off in less than 10 years and saved a fortune in interest. ......and what ever you do, don't listen to the fools who tell you writing off the interest is a good thing. They're wrong!!!! Not having to deal with a bank is a blessing!
Yep, we're working on paying it off early; we pay double the principal payment each month. Totally agree about the interest...better to not pay it in the first place than to deduct it from taxes.
The same thing happened to me last year. I took an antibiotic and ended up getting sick a couple times shortly there after. So when I had to have surgery from cutting my finger in November and had to take a strong antibiotic, I was sure to go to the health food store and get a good probiotic, and add my yogurt to my morning smoothies. Hope you feel better soon. I make a weekly meal plan too, it is so helpful! We also started a facebook group, it's Z Life What's Cooking Group if anyone is interested. 🙂
I am Listening to The Professor making his lunch in the kitchen, drinking my coffee, admiring the sunshine outside my window, feeling bad that you have a second cold (I feel ya, girl, that was me in December), planning my day/week which will include jury duty.
Maybe you need some probiotics too! 🙂
Sorry to hear about the jury duty. Oof.
Kristen I surely do feel for you, because I came down with a cold on Friday, too! My husband has been battling a cold, and I thought I had managed to escape. Nope.
I'm a huge fan of probiotics! My son-in-law became sick with Clostridium difficile after a round of antibiotics, and ended up in the hospital with it. His gut is still not quite the same, and it's been about ten years since then. Also, my elderly aunt was on antibiotics in the hospital after having a surgery, and contracted C. diff. there even though at first she had seemed well on her way to recovery from the surgery. Unfortunately, she didn't survive the C. diff. I'm a big probiotic pusher these days.
I'm at work today, since I don't share an office, and I am actually finishing this cold -- I use zinc and elderberry to shorten it and make it lighter. I have work I have to do and I don't have a back-up person, so here I am. I am being scrupulous about washing hands and sanitizing them.
I have been watching the NFL playoffs, which I used to never do, but when there is a hometown guy on one of the teams, it becomes much more interesting. Normally I only watch college ball.
I am still trying to do a clean out of the house, but the cold has derailed some of that. I hope to be back on track after this week.
I'm trying to think of a new recipe to attempt. My husband is driving me crazy with this. I made what I though was delicious pesto, and he turned up his nose at it. He may find himself going hungry if he doesn't start expanding his tastes a little more :). Although, I shouldn't complain -- when I married him, he had grown up with a mother who cooked a limited number of dishes and who wasn't interested in trying anything new-fangled. The number of dishes he'd never tried or even seen served back then just amazed me. If he hadn't been in the Navy for four years, the list of un-tried foods would have been even longer than that.
I developed c. diff after a surgery and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. The antibiotics used to treat it literally nearly killed me, and it took two rounds of it (at $3,000 for 20 days each time!). They were recommending a fecal transplant, since that has a nearly 100% cure rate, and I think that scared my gut into a cure. It took about two years for the after-effects (including severe malnutrition) to go away. Over 40,000 people a year die from c.diff so it is nothing to fool with if you get it.
I'm sorry about the cold. I am a huge fan of probiotics. A few years ago I was suffering from chronic nausea every day. Out of desperation I started taking a probiotic, despite being a huge cynic about it. It worked like magic for me. Hope it works for your too.
Right now I'm watching my soon-to-be 12 year old (birthday tomorrow!) build his new Star Wars lego set. He has been talking to me the entire time without ceasing, despite it being "quiet time" in our house. I am reminding myself that this nearly teen may not be so chatty in the upcoming years and so I should enjoy it.
Before New Year I got a cold too and it got worse a few days later for getting a sinus infection. I hope you feel better. Drink plenty of water and rest as much as possible.
Please just add me to the list of people with a cold after taking (several) antibiotics! The dh has it too.
No school today due to the holiday.
My brother in law took the boys this afternoon for a January beach visit and the baby is napping.
Dh had to work today.
I haven't had this amount of quiet since the grands came to li here with us!!
Menu planning and need a quick trip to the store for the week after the baby is up.
Hope everyone feels better and has a great week!!
Antibiotics are a wonderful, life-saving discovery...but yeah, they do seem to come with some unpleasant after-effects.
Enjoy your quiet day. 🙂
Right now I am
Eating a quesadilla made of stuff I needed to eat up in the fridge.
Just getting back from a bike ride through a gorgeous Richmond neighborhood.
Watching my kids play happily together. They are six, three, and one, so this is a miracle. After I typed that someone started screaming.
Wondering why in the world they will not take naps at home when they take such luxurious naps at daycare.
Thinking about all the school work I have to do. Deep breath. It will all get done.
Baking two loaves of bread, drying laundry, and planning spaghetti for supper.
I am sorry that you have a cold. It is awful have cold on top of cold.
I haven't had one for a while but recently had antibiotics and oh boy have I had horrible times since then. I was sick and never want to be that ill again. Today I travelled by train from Paris to Geneva. Several people were spluttering away so I hope I haven't caught a bug. I have been buying clementines almost daily. My daughter is so over it but hey we don't have them in Australia and I love them. When I get cak it won't be long until our mandarin season and they are pretty much the same.
I hope everyone who feels unwell feels brighter soon.
Hi All, well I've got my pot of red lentil soup simmering away for the work week lunches. YUM!
I am on day 16 of a no spend detox (groceries and gas are okay), and month 6 of no clothes buying. It is mind blowing how much money I will be socking away for college tuition for oldest daughter. No coffeebars or eating out this whole month makes a big difference!
Next project, look for ways to earn a little more $$.
Karen
Good job! You are doing awesome.
I am...
...sitting on the train home after a productive day at work
...happy and sore after my post-work workout (new class - it's a keeper!)
...looking forward to trying out a new recipe for dinner
Yay, for getting a customer representative that was helpful!
Boo, for mortgages being sold. That is usually annoying. It has happened to me twice. I don't like change. We were sold to one about 4 years ago that made us use paper tickets to pay. They didn't offer online payments. It was old school (or so I am told). We refinanced and changed to yet another bank.
Boo, for two colds in a row. That is never fun.
Oh my goodness...they didn't accept online payments? What in the world. Luckily all of the companies we've bounced around to have accepted online payments.
Right now, I just got home from spending the afternoon with my middle daughter obsessing over a couple episodes of Downton Abby. (Yes, I know I'm a bit behind, but she's watched all 6 seasons 3 times!). I stressed a bit because I just turned on my dryer and it is making an annoying fast clicking sound. I hate it when appliances break. 🙁
But aside from the dryer, I had a "mahvelous" afternoon with my daughter. 🙂 Guess I'll go find something for dinner as I'm not as good at planning as you are.
My gosh, I hate it too when appliances break. It stresses me out to a kind of ridiculous degree.
Today I:
* emailed back and forth with a couple people on Craigslist. I need a new bed and comforter. Happy to say that I found a headboard (40$), a metal frame (30$) and a comforter+bed skirt (45$). Now I'm waiting for my new matress and will be all set, yay!
* was working 8h to 4h
* spent time helping daughter with a school project
* Arranged with girlfriends to go skating on Friday
* Re-reading one of my favorite book (On a dollar a day). I must have read it 7 times and I still enjoy it. And I usually don't re-read books.
* Taking it easy. I'm working on reducing my stress and one way to do so is to consciously calm own. So I try to move slower, to speak more softly, to not interrupt people, etc. I'm a type A, go-go-go person, impatient, etc, so this is a great challenge for me! It feels nice!
Right now I am...feeling grateful for your reader who shared the slow-cooker chicken curry recipe the other day. My husband and I just finished eating it for dinner and it was SO good and SO easy! It will definitely be made in this house again!!
Thank you to the reader who shared this recipe:
http://www.frugalmomeh.com/2013/06/slow-cooker-chicken-curry.html#_a5y_p=5054182
Could you please tell me more about these probiotics of which you all speak? Would like to get my mother on some before an upcoming surgery. Maybe which brands you have had success with, etc. Thanks
I would probably not start her on probiotics before a surgery. Typically they tell you to discontinue the use of supplements and vitamins a week before surgery. I'll just say my aunt learned this the hard way! Best of luck.
Check with her doctor first, of course, but if she can or will eat yogurt or other fermented foods, such as real sauerkraut or brined pickles (not the vinegar kind), or drink kombucha, she could be building her system in preparation for the surgery. I get most of my probiotics through food and kombucha and take Garden of Life supplements, but there are a lot of good probiotics out there, many refrigerated to help preserve them. Look at sites like Vitamin Shoppe, Drugstore.com, Vitacost, iHerb, etc., to get an idea of what's out there, and check health food stores and "healthier" food stores, too, if any are available or if you can get to them online.
I hope you feel better! I also vote for a hot bath, extra sleep, and (if you do such things) drinking a hot toddy before bed.
I also hate mortgage sales! I was in a good groove before that happened to us, paying down a little extra on the principal every month. It threw my whole system off for quite a while. Then we refinanced and it was confusing all over again. Now it's one of the bills that my husband pays, so I just ask him for the balance each month when I do our spending/saving spreadsheet.
Right now I am...
- Grateful that I don't have a cold
- Thinking about how much I enjoyed the movie "Hidden Figures." FG, I think even your youngest would enjoy it, and the scriptwriters did a good job of explaining the fundamental math challenge facing the Friendship 7 team. It's also an effective primer on the racism and sexism (more racism than sexism) of that time.
- Thinking about how to organize my week's work, and fit in an extra project I want to do.
- Realizing that I left my lunch at home and pleased at my foresight to keep cans of soup at work for just this contingency. I did remember the fruit and veg so I'm good to go.
- Trying not to think about having to pull together my tax information. Sufficient unto the day are the challenges thereof.
I was just checking out Aldi's Healthy Living Blog. They are offering meal plans! I don't "meal plan" but I try to have a general idea of what we'll be eating in a week. I would like to move to a more formal system in an effort to reduce food waste AND trips to the store. Also a good way to scout out new recipes!!
I have become a huge fan of probiotics. Rarely does one take a supplement that you can actually feel making a difference. I have diverticulosis so my stomach can be easily aggravated. I would seemingly for no reason have terrible stomach bloating and discomfort. I now rarely experience this. I would not be without them. I did a lot of research before settling on a brand. I ended up buying one from Costco https://www.costco.com/Nature's-Bounty-Ultra-Strength-Probiotic-10%2c-140-Capsules.product.100225688.html
Silly me, I thought FOR SURE I could avoid my guy's flu and for nearly a week I was doing great! ...then it hit and it hit hard. I'm typically pretty healthy, but when I catch a cold or a bug it seriously kicks my butt, so I feel ya. This past week has been filled with lots of puppy snuggles, good books, and soup. I'm on the mend (finally) but still in that foggy, not-quite-right stage.
I hope you feel better soon!
My life is extremely busy at the moment. Between two of my kids hitting big milestone birthdays next week (daughter 18 and son 16), I am my 9 year old daughter's Cookie Mom for her troop. Girl Scout Cookie season started here on Friday, and we have been swamped! I'm happy for all of the cookie business, but it came as a surprise so I need to get more organized. I've been helping my daughter get ready for college (scholarship applications, cap/gown, invitations, etc...the list never ends) as well as they are both starting to learn to drive. I also have two other kids that need my attention so let's just say I'm frazzled a bit! lol....otherwise, all is good.
Feel better! We are lucky that rarely anyone gets a cold, and usually when they do it's because they've not been getting enough sleep and/or eating right.
I
Had dentist appointment first thing this morning. While there I confirmed 2 of the grandkids appointments. Also, I worked on some billing and insurance issues we are having. I hate dealing with insurance.
Took our students to an away basketball game. These are held during the school day. I take pictures of the games and other special events for our mini yearbooks.
Worked on getting students grades posted. I'll be finishing this up first thing in the morning.
Fixed lasagna for supper, unloaded dishwasher and did another load of laundry.
Wrestled with 2 year old to get him to bed.
Ready for bed.