An Ironic and Not-So-Happy Anniversary (UPDATED!)

Yesterday was my parents' 49th wedding anniversary. It's not too common to come across couples who have been married so long!

To celebrate, they decided to take an overnight trip in the "thumb" of Michigan along the lakeshore so that they could ride their bikes (their favorite pastime). My parents love riding bikes, especially along the beach. This photo is from Thursday...

A few years ago, my siblings and I all chipped in money to get some comfortable bikes for them--my parents have always been thrifty, and they have a hard time justifying spending a lot of money on a luxury (rather than necessity) but we knew they would really enjoy nice bikes.

My dad has a chronic pain condition and when he has flare-ups, some movements are hard for him. There was a particular model of bike that he'd rented while on vacation and it was much easier for him to ride. That's when my sister had the idea to get my parents the bikes they'd really liked whiile on vacation and asked my brothers and I if we'd like to pitch in, too.

Since Jeanie lives in Illinois, and Brian was on a trip, and Nathan was working, they asked me to give my parents the card with the money for their bikes and to take a video so they could "be there" when I gave it to them.

I would like to share the video, but I can't get ahold of my mom to get her permission right now. It's one of those feel-good videos that really tugs at your heartstrings. They were so surprised and grateful. They were laughing because they were passing the card back and forth saying, "Here, you read it!" because they would each get choked up as they were reading.

This is a photo of my dad when he received his bike (notice that there isn't a standard bar you have to step over in order to get on the bike):

Now, I write about their bikes in past tense because someone stole their bikes while they were staying at the hotel on Thursday night. On a bike-riding adventure. For their 49th wedding anniversary.

I am SO furious. Not just about the fact that they don't have their bikes anymore, but that someone had no shame in cutting a bike lock and taking SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF right off of their truck. (The bikes were locked to a trailer on the hitch of their truck at the hotel--which was the Holiday Inn in Port Huron, so if you happen to live nearby, maybe you can keep an eye out for the bikes to show up on a garage sale Facebook page or something.)

The person had cut the lock, left their own bike on the ground next to the truck, along with a water bottle, and taken my parents' bikes. Thankfully, they didn't damage the truck (which my dad had just gotten a few weeks ago) but the bolts to the bike trailer were missing (which became a problem... see below).

As you can imagine they were really disappointed not to have their bikes yesterday to continue their riding. And they had to spend the morning filing a police report.

Bikes are sold out pretty much everywhere right now because of the quarantine. Still, they decided to go to Walmart and see if they could find a couple of bikes to ride yesterday. Out of pure luck (kind of an ironic word in this case), they happened to get there just as a new shipment of bikes was arriving.

They bought a couple of cheap bikes to replace theirs so they could still ride on their anniversary. Because of the missing bolts to the trailer, my dad had to go to Lowe's in search of something temporary he could use to hold the bikes to the trailer. (The bolts needed for that particular trailer are specialized for that trailer, so you can't just buy them off the shelf.)

They were able to get the bikes on the trailer to go riding at their next destination, and my mom says that they enjoyed the day. But she also said how violating it feels to have someone take your things like that. I know that feeling well... several years ago, someone broke into our garage and stole a few things (including an ipod from my car). It wasn't about the actual stuff they took... it was the fact that they came into OUR garage, into OUR car, and rifled through OUR things, taking what they pleased. It's violating! I despise thieves.

I posted about this on Facebook yesterday, and some people suggested a GoFundMe for new bikes for my parents. While I would love to do that, my parents wouldn't feel comfortable accepting it. When I told my mom about it (I didn't want to do it without checking with her first) she said she was very touched but wouldn't feel right using other peoples' money and she wanted to tell everyone to go out and do something nice for someone.

My parents' homeowners insurance will cover the bikes, but they have a $500 deductible and it may raise the cost of their insurance by filing a claim. So my mom is debating whether they will file a claim or not.

They'd filed a police report, and the officer who went to the hotel was super nice and actually seemed to care about trying to get their bikes back. (It would be a miracle if they did.) There was no surveillance camera to get a photo of the thief.

I went on Facebook Marketplace to see if the bikes were listed for sale in that area (no luck). I'll keep checking.

So, anyway, my mom says that they really enjoyed their anniversary and didn't want to let the bikes ruin it. They were able to ride their own bikes all day on Thursday before they were stolen on Thursday night.

Maybe their 50th anniversary next year will be extra special! They certainly deserve it.

---

UPDATE 7/25:

The bikes have been found!! Thanks to the power of social media, one of my Facebook followers spotted a post by someone who had found my parents' bikes tossed behind a dumpster. I contacted him and my parents are going to pick them up tomorrow.

I still cannot believe the power of social media. I am so grateful for everyone who shared the Facebook post and for the man who posted that he found them--and then for the people who connected the dots! (When I posted about the bikes, I told Jerry that it would be a true MIRACLE if they were found and my parents got them back. But I had to try!)

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Bike Riding vs. Walking

I had a successful Day 4 of 75 Hard. I can't believe I've made it this far, to be honest!

To give my shin splints a rest, I decided to go for a bike ride in the morning instead of walking. I immediately felt like turning around and doing the walking instead. My "butt bones" hurt so bad from sitting on the bike seat! I kept going, though, hoping it would subside (it didn't--I just hope that I'll get used to it eventually and it'll stop hurting).

If I'd noticed the 6.99 miles before I arrived home, I would've gone a touch farther to hit 7.00--I'm sure that number will bug some of you, haha ;)

Anyway, I found it interesting during each of my (two) bike rides in the past four days that my heart rate is higher when riding my bike than it gets when I walk. In fact, riding my bike puts me right in my MAF heart rate training zone (132-142 bpm).

I never would have thought that to be the case. Biking feels easier to me than walking as fast as my legs will go. When I walk really fast, I can dip into my MAF zone, but it's super uncomfortable and makes the walk not very enjoyable. I have to be very conscious of it. When I ride my bike at a comfortable pace (I keep it on a low speed while in the neighborhoods because I have to pedal more rotations to gain momentum--but it still keeps me slow enough for "neighborhood riding".)

I wanted to find the details on Garmin Connect for my heart rate from yesterday as comparison, but Garmin's app has been "down for maintenance" for 24 hours now. I haven't been able to upload my workouts.

If my butt would quit hurting, I'd like to bike ride more often... maybe one walk a day and one bike ride a day for my 75 Hard challenge. I feel like being in my MAF heart rate zone while intermittent fasting is going to be the most efficient way to burn fat.

Speaking of, the intermittent fasting is getting easier, too. I found that, since I eat a large meal to break the fast and follow it with decaf coffee (with cream) and a snack or dessert of some sort, I'm full enough that I don't even want to eat again for the rest of the evening. Since I eat at 4:00 pm, it's really interesting to me that I don't even have the desire to eat in the evenings--whereas, before, I would snack up until it was time to go to bed. I never felt satisfied. Now I do.

(And yesterday, the kids made cheesecake brownies--I didn't even have a tiny bit of longing to eat one. It didn't even sound good. Very odd for me!)

For my second workout yesterday, I went for a walk in an unfamiliar area (to walk in, at least--I know it well by car). Noah had an appointment and I had an hour to kill, so I killed two birds with one stone--I walked to Lowe's, bought the wood filler I needed, and then walked back to my car. I still had about 15 minutes to go (I'd stopped my watch for the 10 minutes I was in Lowe's), so I just did an out and back from the car.

The timing worked out perfectly--ordinarily, I would have just sat in the car (the waiting room was closed because of COVID). So, it felt good to get the walk done without it even disrupting my day at all.

The walk was totally different from what I'm used to. I live in a very rural area, and I'm not used to busy roads. Walking along this road was a little scary! There was a sidewalk, but the cars were going fast and felt so close. It felt cool to experience a change of scenery, though. I noticed my pace was faster without trying to go faster--it just naturally happened because I was out of my element. My first mile was about 16:00-ish, if I remember correctly.

This 75 Hard challenge has really helped get me into a routine. As I've said many times, I thrive on routine--especially considering I have bipolar disorder. Who knows what will happen when the kids go back to school and my routine changes again, but for now, I feel like I'm back in control. Something I haven't felt in a long time!

I'm really glad that Adam asked me to do this challenge with him. I'm ready to start Day 5--I'm going to take Eli to a fishing area and go for a walk while he fishes.

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Changing Up the Routine

Little Duck was just chilling on the floor like this. It looks like such an awkward position--I couldn't stop laughing!

Since I have been so productive in the mornings over the past few days as I work on a better sleep schedule, I thought it might be nice to blog in the mornings, too--before I start my day. That way, I don't feel rushed at the end of the day when I know I need to get to bed soon.

So, I'll save what I was going to write about today for tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'll just share this...

I was putting away laundry and got really sick of the socks that are always "left over" in the hamper--the ones without a match. It drives me crazy! I used to get so irritated with my family because MY socks always have pairs... clearly, they just lose theirs in their bedrooms or something. ;)

Well, a couple of months ago, I noticed that one of my very favorite Balega running socks was missing. After it clearly wasn't going to show up, I started to rethink what could have happened to the socks. There is no way that they could have gotten out of the dryer--there is no spot for them to escape.

The washer, however, was a different story. I had a feeling that they could slip over the top edge of the washing bin (it's a top load washer) and wind up underneath it somehow. So, I ended up Googling, "How to find missing socks in the washing machine" (and was surprised at how many hits came up... I guess it's a very common problem).

I decided to investigate. I unplugged the washer so as not to electrocute myself, and then I removed the back panel. I stuck a flashlight in there and you know what I found? One lone sock. MY sock!

So now I'm back to thinking my family is just irresponsible with their laundry ;)

Meanwhile, though, my boys were actually spending "quality" time together--something they never do. They have such opposite personalities that they never hang out together, and it bums me out. I wish they'd realize they could have a best friend right in the same house!

Anyway, after I found my sock, I discovered the boys in the kitchen making cheesecake brownies. Together. They were even talking! I snuck around the corner and took a few photos to capture the unique moment.

I can't believe how grown up they are!

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75 Hard - Day 3

I can't come up with a creative title, so this will have to do. I made it through Day 3 of 75 Hard! I feel like if I can get through a week or so, I'll have a long enough streak going that I won't even have thoughts of quitting.

That's usually how things work for me... once I have a solid streak, I don't want to break it, so I become very determined to see it through.

I've been staying super busy, which has helped to keep me on track. The last few days, I've gotten up really early in the morning--like 5:00 or 5:30! I write in my "Some Lines A Day" journal for couple of minutes, then do the 10 pages of reading for 75 Hard while drinking a quart of water--all before I get out of bed.

Then when I do get up, I immediately go for a walk (workout #1 for the day) and take a progress photo in the mirror. So, by 8:00-ish in the morning, I've already done most of the 75 Hard checklist for the day!

Today, I walked Joey this morning (he loves this new routine). It kept looking like it was going to rain, and I was hoping it would. The humidity was 98% and the rain would have felt great. Also, I could check my "rainy walk" off of my Cookies Summer Challenge checklist.

While I was out, I happened to see three rabbits fairly close to the road, spread in a triangle. They were lying down and just starting at Joey and me. It was the weirdest thing! I see rabbits all the time, but I've never seen them do that before. I wonder if they were protecting a nest or something...? I was surprised they didn't run off when we walked by.

The pictures make them look kind of far away, but they were fairly close to the road and they didn't even flinch when Joey and I stopped to watch them for a minute.

Anyway, I've just never seen rabbits do that before. It didn't end up raining during the walk, so I decided to cross off my "bridge walk" on the checklist. It wasn't a very exciting bridge, and I was hoping to hold out for a good one, but I couldn't think of another walk to check off the list. So, here is the bridge. I know, it's intimidating! ;)

Since I've been walking so much, I got shin splints--especially in my left leg, and it's really sore. I also feel pain in the spot where I had my stress fracture five years ago. I know that it's because of the slope in the road. When I walk, I always walk against traffic (which is what pedestrians are "supposed" to do). However, that means I'm always walking with my left foot on the slope. My doctor said that is likely what caused my stress fracture.

So, even though it felt totally weird, I walked on the opposite side of the road, in the direction of traffic. I felt so much relief in my leg when I did that. I'm going to have to make sure to switch it up so that I'm doing each side of the road evenly. The last thing I want is another stress fracture! I've also been rotating my shoes.

After my walk, I drank another quart of water (halfway to my goal for the day). Then I went to Lowe's and bought a bunch of 2x6 boards for the garage. Of course, I left the paper that I'd written the measurements on at home, so I didn't know how many boards to buy. I took a guess and bought 10.

When I got home, I immediately got to work cutting and installing the boards around the perimeter of the garage. When I finished, I had just eight inches of one board left! I couldn't have made a better guess as to how many boards to buy. And I drank another quart of water while I was working.

I forgot to buy wood filler to fill in the little holes from the trim nailer and the screws, so I couldn't prime and paint today. I'll have to buy some tomorrow. I am so excited to see what it looks like when it's done! But even more excited for it to just BE DONE because I want to move all the stuff in the garage back into place.

When I was done working in the garage, it was around 1:00; I decided to do my second workout for 75 Hard. Again, I was sure it was going to rain. To be safe, though, I figured I'd do part of my walk on the beach so that I could cross that one off the list. I hadn't been down to the beach in a long time, so I was shocked when I got down there and saw it was completely underwater!

Jerry and I used to walk along this beach once in a while. It wasn't huge, but there was plenty of space for us to walk in the sand for at least a half mile or so. Needless to say, I turned around and nixed that idea. Of course, as soon as I got home and took off my shoes, it started raining.

As long as I stay busy like I have been, the intermittent fasting isn't hard at all. I break my fast at dinner (an early 4:00) and then have a snack a few hours later. I haven't weighed myself, but I don't really want to for a while. I am feeling really good about this 75 Hard right now, and I feel like if I don't see the scale move downward, I'll get discouraged. I really am doing this challenge to become mentally stronger.

I know it's only been three days, but I am happy with how I'm doing with it. It's been a while since I stuck with anything for three days! Haha.

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The One Where Duck Helped Me Start Day 2 of 75 Hard

For the past couple of days, I've actually made myself go to bed by 11:00 (last night I was asleep by 10:30). I have been trying to get in a nightly routine where I am done on my computer by 9:00 and then I read on my Kindle until 10:30 or so (when I start falling asleep).

I've always had trouble falling asleep so early, but I think that reading a book without distraction makes me tired enough to fall asleep. And then when I go to bed THAT early, I have woken up earlier for the past couple of days, too. This morning, I was up at 5:00 and wide awake to start the day.

This is how my day started... Duck was determined to help me start my 75 Hard challenge. First, he decided that since my eyes were open, it was time to get up.

Then I wrote a few lines in my 'Some Lines A Day' journal (Amazon affiliate link). Journaling is not part of 75 Hard, but a habit I want to get into.

Then I started drinking my water, and Duck was all about licking the condensation from the bottle while I drank.

Then I read my non-fiction book (I'm reading 'The Complete Guide to Fasting' by Dr. Jason Fung. I liked 'The Obesity Code' (Amazon affiliate links) so much that I started this one. I'm not loving it so far, so I may find something else to read for 75 Hard instead and maybe listen to this as an audiobook like I did with 'The Obesity Code'.)

Duck was clearly intrigued by it, though.

By the time Jerry got home from work at 6:15, I was ready to head out for my first workout of the day--a 45 minute walk. Duck decided not to help me with that one.

I actually wanted to check off one of the walks on my Cookies Summer Challenge list, so I walked until I reached three miles. When I walk, I feel like I'm going faster than I actually am. My pace always surprises me. I took Joey with me this morning.

I did the "progression walk", where each mile is faster than the previous.

When I got home, I drank another quart of water and then changed right into my painting clothes so I could work on the garage some more. I felt like I had so much energy! It was only 7:30 or so, but I had already checked off my 75 Hard list: 1) Two quarts of water; 2) Reading 10 pages; 3) One outdoor 45-minute workout; 4) Taking a progression picture.

I did quite a bit in the garage today. Remember that 2x4 sill that runs along the top of the concrete foundation wall, just below the drywall? I had no idea what to do with it.

I decided to use a bunch of scrap boards my brother had given me to nail to the edge of it all the way around the perimeter. Then, I'll buy some 2x6 boards to put on top of those, so it'll be a little ledge all the way around. It's hard to describe, so I'll take a picture once I get the 2x6's.

But today, I used the table saw to cut down all the boards into 2.5-inch wide pieces (I probably had 25 of them when I was done!). Then I used a trim nailer to attach the to the side of the 2x4's. It already looks better than before.

When I decided to be done with the garage for the day, it was 1:00. Jerry was still sleeping, so I decided to get in my second workout of the day and then I could just relax for the rest of the day. Since I started that one between 12 PM and 2 PM, I counted it as my lunch time walk for Cookies Summer Challenge.

My legs were definitely feeling tired. I had gotten in over 15,000 steps before 2:00 PM, which is a LOT for me.

I was feeling hungry by the time my intermittent fasting "eating window" started at 4:00. It was weird--I felt super energetic all day and then right after I ate dinner, I felt like my whole body just crashed. I got SO tired. After Jerry left for work, I started reading my book. I just started Suzanne Collins' new book, 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'  (Amazon affiliate link) a couple of days ago and I'm loving it! It's a prequel to The Hunger Games. Almost right away, I started falling asleep.

The urge to sleep was so strong that I actually climbed in bed and took a nap. I never, ever take naps! I don't know if it's the extra exercise, or getting up early, or the intermittent fasting, or what--but it was so unlike me to fall asleep during the day. I woke up at 8:00 and knew I had to get up and write my blog post, so here I am.

Anyway, I completed Day 2 of 75 Hard and I'm feeling good about it! The part that I find the hardest is the second workout of the day. I wanted to go for a bike ride today but my butt bones hurt too much from yesterday, haha.

I'm going to read some more of my book and hopefully get another good night's sleep tonight. It would be nice if I can get in the habit of being in bed by 10:30 every night and wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 to start the day with my water, non-fiction reading, and first workout.

I feel really good about the last two days and I feel like this 75 Hard challenge will be good for my self-esteem. I have been feeling terrible about myself lately and being able to stick with something like this makes me feel good and it makes me want to keep going. Of course, I have 73 days to go ;)

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75 Hard: A Mental Toughness Challenge

I swore I wasn't going to post about this for a while because you all know me... I start things and only finish them about 10% of the time. It sounds like a terrible track record, but if I had given up what I started before reaching every accomplishment in my life, I never would have achieved some of my proudest moments.

• I tried to lose weight about 10 trillion times before I was finally successful.
• I tried to give up alcohol for 30 days (and failed) lots of times before I finally decided to give it up for a YEAR in 2019 and was successful.
• I tried to make a blogging streak of 30, 60, 90+ days several times, and failed. Right now, I've blogged every single day since January 1st (I made the goal to blog daily for a year)

My point is that I'm going to try a lot of things in life and fail. Over and over. Until one day, maybe I'll have a win.

My other point is that it's embarrassing to post "I'm going to do _______!!" and then a week later, admitting that I failed. This has happened numerous times--over the last few years, especially. So each time I post something like this, I'm nervous that it'll be just another of those times.

Which is exactly why I didn't want to share this just yet. It's just another new challenge that appealed to me and I'd like to try it. Will I succeed? I have no idea. Will I learn from it? Probably. Will it be harmful to at least give it a whirl? Nope.

But I decided to post it because I think that MOST people try and fail over and over until they have a win. I don't think many people achieve everything that they say they are going to do. So I'm not alone in that (at least I don't think so).

That right there is the only reason I keep trying new things, new challenges, new ways of doing things. Most of the time, I fail to achieve what I set out for; but a small percentage of the time, I kick ass. And MAYBE this will be one of those times that I kick ass and I can feel really good about it.

When Adam was over a couple of days ago, he told me about a challenge he is doing called 75 Hard.

I could make this post a trillion times longer than my other posts, but I'll try to keep it brief and then give you a couple of resources to check out for yourself.

75 Hard is basically a plan for mental toughness--something I've been lacking REALLY badly lately. There are some physical aspects to it, yes, but the entire point of it is to make yourself extremely disciplined so that you DON'T quit your goals and you DON'T make excuses not to do things. To quote Andy Frisella, the creator the plan:

"This is not a physical challenge. It is a mental challenge, designed to develop all of the characteristics you lack in life that have landed you where you are at. The physical transformations that occur are just the by-product of the mental transformations you will make."

I used to feel mentally tough. Sometimes, when I put my mind to something, nothing can stop me. But other times, I talk myself out of the steps I need to take in order to hit my goals. I really want to feel that mental toughness again!

The plan is 75 days long, and it consists of five components:

1) Follow a diet. This can be any diet you choose. Again, the point is not a "physical fitness" plan, but a mental toughness plan. So, before you start, you choose whatever diet you'd like to follow. Personally, I'm going to go with intermittent fasting. I've been dabbling with it lately and I'd really like to give it a good, hard try. I think 75 days should be a good amount of time.

Following a diet also includes giving up alcohol (this is a rule of the 75 Hard challenge). And there are NO cheat meals allowed (like people who eat clean six days a week and then have a cheat day, etc.)

2) Workout for 45 minutes twice a day, and one must be outside. Adam totally lost me at this. I said no way! But then he explained that it doesn't have to be running, or cross fit, or Insanity, or anything like that. I could choose to do walking, riding a bike, aqua jogging if the pool ever opens, yoga, lifting weights, whatever. As long as I do two 45-minute workouts a day, it counts.

The workouts cannot be together, like a 90 minute workout. They have to be done separately. AND one of them has to be done outdoors. The reason for this is because you can't always control your environment. Sometimes you might have to workout in the rain, snow, excessive heat or cold, or other miserable conditions. This toughens you up mentally because you just have to get it done, regardless of the circumstances. No excuses.

3) Take a progress picture every single day. I am doing simple mirror selfies. The reason for the progress photos is again, to develop a habit--no excuses. Also, it's because people usually hate having their picture taken and mental toughness is built on stepping out of your comfort zone. Finally, even if you don't see a difference on a daily basis, you can eventually flip through the pictures and notice the changes.

4) Drink one gallon of water every day. This doesn't really require an explanation. The point isn't just because water is healthy, but because it's a habit to form, and habits require mental strength. Also, people tend to focus on the big changes rather than the "easy" ones, but the "easy" ones like drinking water are just as important in mental toughness.

5) Read 10 pages of a non-fiction, self-development book every day. Reading 10 pages sounds like nothing, but it's one of those "easy goals" that can get overlooked. It's easy to say, "Oh, I'll just read 20 pages tomorrow". But that's not acceptable for 75 Hard.

So, the huge kicker is that if you fail or modify ANY of these for any reason, even just something tiny, then you have to start over again from Day 1.

When Adam showed me the rules of the challenge, I really focused on what he was saying and thought that it was do-able. The hardest part for me will be the diet and exercise (which is probably the hardest for everyone). However, I REALLY want to develop mental toughness--I used to be very mentally tough, and I know that I can be if I want it badly enough.

Also, I've already been working on intermittent fasting and on the Cookies Summer Challenge, so this will just solidify that. And add a few more things.

When I decided to lose 30 pounds and run a 10K PR (starting in 2015; my race was in April of 2016) I felt a fire inside of me that could not be extinguished for ANYTHING. I wanted that PR so badly and I worked my ass off for it. And I can't even describe how good it felt to go for something that seemed impossible and actually DO IT. I miss that discipline, that determination.

So, today was Day 1 of 75 Hard for me. Miraculously, my knee felt 100% back to normal when I woke up this morning--so weird!--so I went for a walk. While I walked, I listened to an excellent podcast that describes this whole 75 Hard challenge and the meaning behind each of the components. Remember, it's not about physical fitness--it's a challenge for mental toughness.

The podcast episode can be found here on iTunes or here on Spotify. (Just FYI, there is very explicit language throughout). If you want a clean explanation, there is one on his website.

I drank my gallon of water, I took my progress photo, I read 10 pages of a book, and I went for a bike ride as my second workout of the day (I had to dust off my bike and put air in the tires... I can't even remember the last time I rode it!). And as long as I don't eat anything else before bed, then I will have stuck with the intermittent fasting. So, Day 1 was a success! Just 74 more to go ;)

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Random Camera Roll Pics

I'm not going to write a post today. I was up super late last night with Jerry and Adam (late even for ME), and then I got up early because my body just doesn't like to sleep in. I did do a little work on the garage this morning, but I somehow hurt my knee (I don't remember doing it--I just woke up today and my left knee hurts SO bad). My knee was killing me in the garage, so I went back in the house and set up camp on the couch.

I'm feeling super restless--mentally, I want to go do something! But physically, my knee just won't cooperate. I hope that it's not serious. It's so weird that I can't remember injuring it in any way.

Anyways, I just thought it'd be fun to post some random photos that I have on my phone's camera roll. Mainly just things that I took pictures of and don't really fit in anywhere else!

I'm really in the mood to read a book today, so I'm going to spend the evening doing that.

So, here are some random pictures that are on my camera roll...

This is a sign that my friend Jessica posted (I don't know if she took the picture or not). I love the message!

While it may not be the prettiest sandwich, this is Eli's famous grilled cheese. It's simply HEAVENLY. He made this up all on his own several years ago when I was teaching him how to cook. Here is how he makes it: Add some olive oil to a skillet on medium heat, then chop an onion very fine and add it to the oil. Add lots of garlic (several cloves, minced). Turn the heat down to low and let the onions and garlic sweat so they infuse the oil.

Meanwhile, top a piece of good Italian bread with two slices of Havarti cheese and another piece of bread. Then set the sandwich down into the skillet, right on top of the onions and garlic. Increase heat just a touch to medium-low (to avoid burning the garlic) and cook low and slow until the cheese is melted, flipping over halfway through. Devour immediately. 

This is the "before" photo of a futon we have in our garage. It's just an old second-hand one that we stuck out there in the "man cave" section of the garage. All of the furniture out there is old and worn (and I'm not going to buy new furniture for our garage!) so I figured I'd at least paint some of it and make a new cover for the futon mattress. I'll post an "after" photo when I am done. I'm not painting the metal--just the wood.

This is just a picture of Jerry at work, wearing his mask. I kind of like the skull masks he bought!

An adorable picture of Luke and Riley playing in the rain :)

The only reason this is on my cameral roll is because I found it recently and sent it to my mom. This is from 2014, right when Mark was signed into hospice care and we learned we couldn't bring him to my parents' house--he was going to his nephew's house. I was super upset about it all, and my mom told Jerry and me to go out to dinner to get away.

Noah knew that I was upset about Mark, and he set up this little "nest" for me to relax when I came home. The note reads, "To, Mama! Love you hope you feel well soon! :)"  I don't remember this at all! I must have taken the picture because of how cute it was that he did that, but I don't remember it actually happening.

Jerry bought me a Bingo scratch-off ticket a few days ago, and I won $5 (the same as he paid for it, of course). When we were dating, I would go out to my car after work and sometimes there would be a bottle of Cherry 7-Up (my favorite) and a Bingo scratch-off ticket. He knew I liked to take my time scratching them off, so it was just something fun he'd do once in a while to show he was thinking of me.

Luke and Riley got ice cream from the ice cream truck for the first time while at my parents' house, and I thought it was hilarious to see the packaging vs the actual ice cream. It reminds me of my frozen Smart Ones meals, hahaha.

Adam doesn't eat meat, so when he came over yesterday for dinner, I made Chick Pea Tikka Masala. This is the third time I've made it, and it's SO SO good! I don't even love chick peas, but the sauce is insanely delicious and therefore, the chick peas are, too. Here is the recipe that I used (I skipped the cilantro).

As part of the Cookies Summer Challenge list, I signed up for a virtual race. I just have to get in 20 miles (running, walking, etc) between July 26 and August 8. I thought this would be the perfect medal to have in order to represent this 2020. (So far...)

Finally, I just found this meme funny. Mainly because it's so true! ;)

Okay, I'm off to read my book! I am turning off all distractions so that I actually spend time reading it.

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Party Like It's 1999

I'm going to keep this super short; my friend Adam is over right now, so I'm catching up with him. He's having a conversation with Noah right now (about religion!), so I'm going to type this post while I can.

I met Adam in high school (he's the friend I just wrote about recently... he bought a van and turned it into a home). Now that the social distancing rules are getting a little more flexible, he came over for dinner and to catch up.

We started talking about high school and I asked if he remembered such-and-such person. Eventually, I brought out my yearbook from 2000. It's probably the first time I've opened it since I got it as a senior. You would think I'd have checked it out, because I was on the yearbook staff! Haha.

Sifting through it, I found some fun stuff--surveys about the 1999-2000 school year, interesting things that happened in that timespan, and of course, people that I'd totally forgotten about until now.

I was laughing so hard at the irony of a stupid quote from me in our yearbook class:

"I'm not on the Internet!" --Katie

I am not sure what that quote was regarding, but I'm *guessing* that I'm saying, "Hey, I'm not surfing the web, I'm working on my yearbook spread." I honestly cannot remember this at ALL. Except that it was in my favorite teacher's class.

But seeing the quote, I just thought of how ironic it is. I'm ALL OVER the freaking internet now, hahahaha. (I never intended that, but it just got out of hand back in 2011 and I embraced it.)

Also, what the heck is an "art editor"?!

And also again, "Thrift Fair" was the best! It was a second-hand store where I bought all of my clothes. The division in my class is funny--Abercrombie vs. Thrift Fair--and is quite the difference.  I'll always be a second-hand-clothing person. On Mondays, everything was half off at Thrift Fair!

Here are some surveys in the yearbook that I found interesting... Remember, I graduated in 2000, so this is from the 1999-2000 generation :)

One of the things that was a huge that year was the whole "Y2K" scare. December 31, 1999 was one of the most memorable nights of my life. I went to my friend Andy's house for a party, and had lots of fun with my friends. Everyone was excited/nervous about what was going to happen at midnight.

When it was finally time to countdown, we all started counting down from 10... 9... 8...

3... 2... 1...

BOOM. All the lights went off and the power to the entire house went out. It was a total blackout.

I actually can't remember my thoughts immediately afterward. I think we were all in disbelief and confused?

Anyway, it turned out that Andy's parents have an insanely awesome sense of humor... they turned off the electrical breakers to the house at exactly midnight to scare the shit out of all of us! I totally want to be that kind of parent ;)

I kind of love that I was part of that generation/the graduating class of 2000. Anyone else remember the Y2K scare?

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RECIPE: Mexican-Style Lentils and Rice

After reading The Obesity Code, I have been trying to get in more fiber. Regardless what what else I choose to eat, there is nothing wrong with eating more fiber from natural foods! This is one of my family's favorite recipes--you can use this as a taco filling, topping for tostadas, or eat it in a bowl with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc. It basically tastes just like taco meat. And if you don't think you like lentils? I dare you to try it! ;)

I'm not kidding--Jerry is totally a "meat and potatoes" guy, but he LOVES the few lentil dishes that I make, and this is one of them.

Also, this is the easiest recipe ever. You simply combine ingredients in a pot, don't stir it at all until it's done cooking, and then eat it!

Here is a printer-friendly PDF version!

Mexican Lentils and Rice

3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup uncooked white rice* (see notes)
3-1/2 cups beef broth**
1 Tbsp chili powder***
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. (Don’t open the lid or stir while it’s cooking! This will make it mushy.) Simmer on low until the lentils and rice are cooked, when all the water is absorbed (about 20-25 minutes). If there is still water left, increase the heat and remove the lid to evaporate some of the excess water.

Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, etc. Or use as a filling for tacos, a topping for nachos, etc. Basically, you can use it as a replacement for taco meat, and it adds a boatload of fiber.

Notes:

*You can use brown rice, but it takes much longer to cook than the lentils do. I would recommend cooking it separately in beef broth, and then adding it to the dish afterward. You’ll have to reduce the amount of broth in the lentils by roughly half.

To make this vegan, simply use vegetable broth instead of beef broth.

If you want to skip the spices and add a packet of taco seasoning, just use 4 cups of water and skip the chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powders.

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A Full Night's Sleep (and feeling the need for a routine)

I don't have any photos for today's post, so I'll just share a cute photo that Jerry took of Joey and Duck...

Duck really likes Joey and cuddles with him--he rubs his face over Joey's and he'll groom Joeys face and ears. It's so cute! He also likes to play with him. When Joey turns is back, Duck will jump all over him try to grab Joey's ever-wagging tail.

Last night, I took an over-the-counter sleeping pill because I could feel that I was in desperate need of sleep. I told myself that at 10:30, I'd read a book on my Kindle Paperwhite while in bed, and then I would turn the light out at 11:00.

I slept (mostly) through the night (the kittens wake me when they come cuddle next to my head) but I got up at 6:30, so that was much longer than I normally sleep. The problem was, I was SO TIRED when I woke up. Not tired enough to go back to sleep, but I had no energy at all. It could be residual from the sleeping pill, but my energy level was super low all day today.

It's frustrating! I need to create a bedtime routine and stick to it. Maybe after several weeks, it'll become habit and my body will start getting tired at certain times. I have always thrived when I have a routine, and whenever it gets disrupted (like with this COVID quarantine), I have a very hard time feeling "normal". I think it affects my mood a lot, too.

Being that I was so tired today, I didn't get much done. I worked on the garage in the morning, but I didn't accomplish much. I hung a ceiling fan and then started working on framing the windows. I thought that part would be pretty fast, but considering the studs aren't completely perfect, I have to make sure everything is perfectly square and level. I didn't get far. I even went back out there in the evening to work on it, but was just feeling tired and unmotivated so I quit after only an hour or so.

I did make dinner for the fam--fried chicken thighs. I will not eat them, which is why I never buy them, but I instead ate leftover pulled pork that I made yesterday. I get really grossed out when looking at and trimming raw chicken; if someone else made it for me, though, I'd probably eat it.

Today, I fasted until 3:00 when we ate an early dinner, and I was full when we were done eating. After that, I had a LaCroix flavored water (which you're not supposed to have during intermittent fasting unless it's in your "eating window". I made the decision to close my eating window at 8:00. This should be good if I can just get to bed at a decent hour!

Speaking of which, I'm going to end this post now so that I can read my book for a little bit before turning off the lights at 11:00. G'night!

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