A Mental Health Day

Yesterday was a much needed mental health day from the blog. It's usually when I'm having a hard time with depression/anxiety that I feel the most vulnerable and sensitive. Things that usually roll right off my back suddenly seem to steam roll me and make me feel like I just can't say or do anything right.

I'm not saying that I'm suddenly "better" and feeling great, but I really needed to take a break from writing yesterday. At least then I couldn't say something "wrong", hahaha. 

I'm so glad that I have my walk streak going, because now I just don't want to end the streak. I really REALLY didn't want to walk yesterday--I was just feeling so bad about myself--but I didn't want to ruin the streak, so I went out anyways. And I always feel better when I'm walking.

This was DEFINITELY me on my walk yesterday morning! Haha:

It's kind of interesting--I've actually started talking with a woman who lives halfway through my five-mile route. She has a black German Shepherd named Roomba (I think I mentioned Roomba before, when she ran after Joey and me and her "dad" had to come get her). Anyway, one day when I was walking Joey, Roomba came running up to us--although acting very skittish--and after a few minutes, felt comfortable enough to play with Joey. 

So, I let Joey off leash to play with Roomba, and Roomba's "mom" and I chatted. I introduced myself and she told me her name was Melissa. The whole way home, I kept thinking that I KNEW her but I just couldn't remember exactly how or what her last name was. I was pretty sure I knew her from high school, so when I got home, I looked through my old yearbooks. I didn't seen anyone who looked familiar with that name, so it still bugged me.

I saw her again a week or so later, and while the dogs were playing, I mentioned how familiar she looked. It turns out that we graduated not only from the same school, but in the same class! (My school was very small, so everyone pretty much knew everyone.) When she told me her maiden name, I immediately remembered her. I think she was a cheerleader and a part of the more "popular" clique than I was ;) 

I've seen her a couple more times, and it's been nice chatting with her. She and her husband rescued Roomba from a woman who was breeding German Shepherds and apparently, people weren't buying them once the whole COVID pandemic started, so she "had no use" for Roomba and wanted "to get rid of her". How sad is that?!

Roomba had spent her life thus far in a dog crate, being used for breeding. It's been amazing to see the change in her just since the first time I saw her a couple of months ago. She was extremely skittish and sudden movements made her jump and run away. Now, she goes crazy when she sees Joey and they chase after each other. I love it!

It was hilarious a couple of days ago when Joey and I walked by. Roomba ran over to us and they started playing. Being a German Shepherd, Roomba is MUCH faster than Joey (a lab/chow). They started running laps around Roomba's house. First, Joey was chasing Roomba... and then he just got farther and farther behind.

Eventually, Roomba came up behind him, totally lapping him, and they both looked so confused! Hahaha. I really need to get a picture of them playing. Seeing two black rescue dogs play and be SO happy is extremely heart-warming.

My token PSA: I only mention that they are black dogs because black dogs are the least likely to be adopted out! It's so sad. That's one of the reasons we chose Joey, as well as why we chose to adopt the kittens, Chick and Duck--both solid black as well. So, if you're looking for a pet... PLEASE choose one from a shelter or rescue organization; but also, consider adopting a black dog or cat. They need love, too :)

Anyway...

Today, I finally picked up the game I'd ordered from Target--Ticket to Ride (Amazon affiliate link). We don't have a Target nearby, otherwise I would have gone sooner. Thank you so much to those of you that recommended it! We LOVED playing it. Jerry and I played a game first to understand it, and then the kids played a game with us.

I don't know if it's just the lighting, or what, but Jerry's face is extra creepy in this picture!

I was a little overwhelmed when I was reading the directions, but once we got started, it was super simple. I love that you really have to work on strategy, though! It's not a simple game of chance. The kids liked the game and said they'd play it again (which is their best "teen" way of showing approval) but Jerry and I really loved it as a two-player game as well. It was much harder with four people! I came in dead-last ;)

I was cracking up at how we organized our train cars. Mine were the yellow ones and Jerry's were the black ones. Based on our personalities, one would think it'd be the opposite when you look at their organization!

I added to my wishlist a couple of other games that were recommended by readers as well. I've been on a big board game kick lately with this COVID lockdown.

Anyway, I'm feeling better today (thank you for the nice comments on Instagram!). Just a reminder for us all:

And as always... BE KIND!

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Wordless

 

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A to Z of Some Favorite Things (a writing prompt)

I really feel like I need a light-hearted post today, so here goes... an A to Z list of some favorite things in life!

A - Autumn. The best time of year! Not only do I love the crisp air and pretty colors, I like seeing Halloween decorations and being able to wear comfy hoodies.

B - Board games. I go through phases where I play them all the time followed by long periods of not playing them, but ever since I was a kid I've loved playing board games. I even used to get creative and make my own.

C - Cats! I have four of them and I love their unique personalities. I don't think I could choose a favorite of them--I love them all for different qualities.

D - D.I.Y.  Doing things myself gives me a huge sense of joy and I feel pretty proud of the things I've taught myself to do over the years. 

E - Electric heating pad. I have a bad back and there really isn't anything I can do about it. However, I do love to sit with my heating pad on my back because it brings a little relief. I'm also freezing all the time, so the heating pad warms me up!

F - Friends (the TV show). The one thing that Jerry and I have in common--we love Friends! We even named all of our pets after Friends characters: Phoebe, Estelle, Chick, Duck, and Joey.

G - Giving gifts. I love to buy gifts for people! When I find something that reminds me of someone and I think they will like it, I get super giddy about it.

H - Horror movies. I'm a sucker for a good slasher film! I recently wrote a list of my favorite scary movies.

I - Ice cream. I am NEVER too full for ice cream! I have so many favorite flavors that I can't even list them. In this photo, I believe it was cake batter. We were at a local dairy farm with fresh ice cream!

J - Jerry ;) He's my favorite person. Of course!

K - Kindle Paperwhite. I have read so much since I bought it. I never thought I'd like digital books more than the regular paper ones, but I definitely converted when I got the Paperwhite. (ETA: I think it goes without saying, K for "Kids" would be too obvious--clearly my kids are most favorite things! If I was writing a gratitude list, it would be different--but this is just supposed to be a silly A to Z list.)

L - Love Languages. One of the most life-changing books I've ever read was The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Amazon affiliate link). It helps to understand people around you--not just your partner, but your children, friends, family. It made SO much sense to me and a world of difference in how I respond to different people in certain situations.

M - Memories! I am a nostalgic person and I love to look through old photos and watch old home videos of my family.

N - Nieces and nephews. I became an aunt in 2017 and now I have two nieces and a nephew. Now that my kids are teenagers, seeing the little ones makes me feel so nostalgic and wish I could do it all over again. (No, I'm not having more babies, haha)

O - Orange. Orange is my favorite color!

P - Pizza. The best food ever! I love so many varieties of toppings, but my go-to toppings are green pepper and feta cheese. A local restaurant makes a Reuben pizza that is to die for.

Q - Quiet. Sometimes I love having the house to myself and just relaxing with a book or writing a blog post. I have such a hard time concentrating on anything when there is noise. I am hypersensitive to noise--I have to tune out the hum of the kitchen appliances, birds chirping outside, the furnace running, etc. Having everything super quiet feels so nice!

R - Rainy days. There is something about a rainy day that makes me want to get all cozy in my pajamas, curl up with a blanket and a book or TV show, and just relax. 

S - Squirrels. I adore squirrels! Even though they live outdoors, I still consider them pets. I buy them walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds--they are spoiled :) They have individual personalities, too, which are so fun to learn.

T - Thrift stores. I love shopping at thrift stores because you never know what you're going to find. You can gets some awesome deals! I've bought several designer brand articles of clothing for just a couple of bucks each.

U - Underdogs. This is a stretch, I admit, because there aren't many U-words. But I always root for the underdog where appropriate, and I love hearing stories of underdogs that come out on top.

V - Validation. I learned so much in therapy about validating others' feelings and exactly what a big difference it can make in how people feel. Most people who talk about their feelings (even something incredibly simple) want to feel heard and that their feelings are valid. I even wrote a post called "The Most Important Tool I've Learned in Psychotherapy" to explain it better because it was so life-changing.

W - Woodworking. I love to build things out of wood, especially when I can make things out of scraps. They may not be the nicest looking objects, but I have fun making them :)  This is a "fishing gear station" I made for (a fraction of) Eli's fishing stuff.

X - Xanax? Hahaha, not a lot of X words, but Xanax is kind of legit. I don't take it anymore, but it certainly helped during panic attacks or when I had to fly somewhere. 

Y - Yard sales. Just as I love thrift stores, yard sales/garage sales are so much fun because it's a mystery as to what treasures you may find.

Z - Zealousness. Maybe it's the bipolar in me, but I get very overzealous sometimes and I don't think that's a bad thing. When I have an idea, I get very excited about it! I love when people have a strong passion for something, whatever it may be. 

This was a fun list to write--as you know, I love lists :)  If you feel like leaving a comment, why not use the first letter of your name to tell me one of your favorite things that starts with that letter?

Have a great weekend! xo

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Making Stupid Bets Over TriBond

Gah! I don't know what is wrong with me. Obviously I'm bipolar, but these mood shifts are happening so quickly. Much more than usual. I felt on top of the world after Brian and Becky sold us their car a couple of days ago--everything just seemed to be falling into place.

And then after the problems I had with the serger yesterday, I just went into this mood where I wanted to quit everything... sell all of my sewing stuff, my knitting/crocheting stuff, my woodworking stuff, etc. All of my hobbies, basically!

(Yes, I know that's a huge overreaction, but that's a part of me being me.)

I feel like I've been in a rut lately as far as projects go (I want to work on something... badly!). Michigan went on "lockdown" again yesterday and I want something to look forward to working on every day. When I was remodeling the house and then the garage, I felt so excited to put on my work clothes (basically just pants and shirts stained with paint) and get to work.

It was something I really, truly, looked forward to!

The last few things I've attempted to work on have been futile and have left me feeling like something is missing. I started a small project today and we'll see if that works out. But it's nothing big. It's just another attempt at an ottoman, only much smaller and with a little spot for the cats to sleep underneath if they want (of course they will). 

This is what it looks like now, but I'm going to paint it and then add a cushion on top for feet and a cushion on the bottom for the cats.

When we went to Brian and Becky's a couple of days ago to pick up the car, it was time for us to leave and I was saying good-bye to Riley. She asked me if Uncle Jerry was going good-bye too, and it was so heart-melting when I had to tell her he wasn't staying! So we arranged to have Luke and Riley stay the night tomorrow night.

My mom really wanted them to stay at her house, however, so I said I'll just pick another time. I'm bummed, but it was super fun to see them the past couple of days! I miss having little kids around. Planning on having them over will give me something to look forward to. I definitely need it.

This afternoon, Jerry and played one of the games I bought at Goodwill... it's called TriBond (Amazon affiliate link). Basically, there are cards that lists three items and you have to decide what they have in common/how they are related.

At one point, we decided to make a bet. Before looking at the card, I said that if I guess it correctly, he would have to dust the window blinds this weekend (something I despise doing!). And he said if I guessed incorrectly, I would have to... ahem... perform a sexual favor. Typical! ;)

The three items listed were: chinchillas, jerboas, and marmots.

I had NO CLUE what the jerboas and marmots were. I could kind of picture a chinchilla, but I really don't know anything about them. Just before my time was up, I guessed that they were rodents. And I was correct! Hahaha! So, Jerry will be dusting the blinds this weekend :)

The game is so much harder than I thought it would be and I'm terrible at it! Jerry, however, is the MASTER of trivia. Seriously, you don't ever want to play against him because he knows the most random and ridiculous things.

One of the questions today showed a few jumbled words and he had to unscramble one of them into an article of clothing. When I looked at the answer, I KNEW he wouldn't get it right because I'd never even heard of the thing! Well, the joke's on me...

Hahahaha, I couldn't believe that 1) he remembered the word, and 2) he learned it from Toy Story 4! 

Anyway, it was fun playing a couple of games with him today. I ordered the game that SO many people recommended, Ticket to Ride (Amazon affiliate link), and I just have to go pick it up at Target. (It was on sale for $25 at Target on that day--it's a crazy expensive game, so I was excited to see that! A huge thank you to the anonymous person who left the comment about the sale.) Since Luke and Riley aren't coming over tomorrow, I'll plan to go pick it up then and maybe I'll force my kids teenagers to have a family game night ;)

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Serging Frustration!

Today started out so promising, and I was in a great mood. Then this evening went downhill and I'm in a very irritated and frustrated mood right now. I don't want to complain and go on about it, but basically I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to use my serger.

I've been wanting to make scrub caps for my sister and my friend Gail sent me a pattern that looked very simple. When I tried to serge the edges of my fabric, it looked terrible and I just don't have any clue how to figure out the correct thread tensions (let alone the other adjustments on the side of the machine that I have no idea what they do). I read the manual over and over and I wanted to tear it into little pieces before stuffing it in the garbage disposal. 

So, I'm just done messing with it and thinking about it tonight. Here are a few pics from this morning, however, when I was very happily playing with Luke and Riley! Brian came over to set up a heater for the garage and he brought the kiddos. They were only here for an hour or so, but we stayed extremely busy! :)

The kids were fascinated watching the kitten play. And the kittens love this elastic web chair that Jerry likes to sit on when he plays his Xbox. It's hilarious to watch the kittens wrestle and play on it.

Then I got out some chalk for the kids to draw on the clock chalkboard. That didn't last long! While they were drawing, Riley sang her ABC's to me--I was impressed! She just turned two years old in August.

The kids helped me fill up the squirrel lunch box with peanuts, and while we were outside, Luke started asking me about this huge rock in our yard. It's been there since we moved in. We had to move it once when we started building the garage, and it was SO HARD to move. We broke a few poles while trying to use them as levers.

Anyway, Luke and Riley were convinced that they could move it, or at least flip it over. It was so funny to watch them try--and make grunting noises while they pushed or pulled ;)

After they left, I took Joey for his walk and then Jerry asked if I wanted to play Toe Jam and Earl--a game that I used to play on my Sega Genesis when I was a kid! We have it on our Wii U, which we haven't used in forever. So we busted that out and played 10 levels. It was SO much harder than I remember it being!

The graphics are great, I know! I always choose to be Earl (the fat one). That game is nostalgic! We also have the original Super Mario Bros. games, so we'll probably play those soon, too.

After he went to work is when I decided to go out to the garage and work on making those scrub caps for my sister. I got all of my equipment set out (ironing board and iron, cutting board and rotary cutter, sewing machine, serger...). Then I was ready! And two hours later I just quit with tears of frustration.

So, I'm not going to think about it anymore tonight! I had a great morning with Luke and Riley :)

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Living on the 'Edge'

That's a terrible pun for a title, but I couldn't help it.

This afternoon/evening went by so quickly! I hate to use the word "impulsive", but it kind of fits in today's situation...

As I mentioned yesterday, I was upset about Noah telling me yet another thing was wrong with his car. His reaction doesn't help--he acts the same whether it may be a blown transmission (thankfully that hasn't happened) or simply running out of gas. My anxiety feeds off of his cues, and that's not a good thing when his cues are very over the top.

I had suggested to Jerry several times lately that we just get a truck (Jerry's been wanting one for pretty much ever) and give Noah the Patriot. The Patriot, while 10 years old, is super reliable and we've never had a single problem with it.

(Now that I said that, watch--we'll have a blown transmission next week!)

The problem is that trucks are insanely expensive and we want to pay off my Renegade first. I happened to notice a post on Facebook from my brother, Brian, listing his and Becky's 2014 Ford Edge for sale. Immediately, the wheels started turning in my head--what if we bought their car? Jerry could drive the Edge and we could give the Patriot to Noah.

Jerry is sitting behind me and massaging my shoulders right now, and he just asked me if the above photo is an ad. "Is that an AD ALREADY?" Haha, no--it's a photo of the car. (But watch, once I post this, there will be an ad above this paragraph, confusing the actual photo of the car. I promise I don't choose where the ads show up or what they will be for.)

I half-jokingly asked Brian what the "family and friends" discount would be (which he mentioned in his post) if we bought it. Becky called me a little while later, and said she and Brian talked about it. They offered us an amazing deal. I feel EXTREMELY grateful that all of this happened when it did! (I don't want to go into the details of it all, but this was truly a circumstance of it being the right timing and having an amazingly generous family.)

It's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders (regarding Noah's car). I'm thrilled that the Edge has all-wheel drive because I've always worried about Jerry driving to or from work insanely early in the morning before the roads are plowed in the winter. Now, we have two vehicles with all-wheel drive, which makes me feel a sense of relief for when Noah and Jerry have to drive in the winter.

Jerry called the insurance company right away and then he and I drove over to Brian and Becky's to pick up the car. When we got home, Jerry couldn't stop raving about how much he loved driving it. I'm so glad for him! He's most excited about having a remote start for the cold mornings, hahaha. 

In other news...

Yesterday, my mom gave Noah a Hello Fresh kit because he wanted to cook dinner for us tonight. He didn't want any help doing it, so before we left Brian and Becky's we sent him a text to let him know we were on our way home and he could start prepping the food.

He did a great job! I really didn't think I'd like the food--horseradish, beets, beef. Things I'm not crazy about. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. The only thing I didn't care for was the beets (they were diced and cooked with the potatoes). The goat cheese was mixed into the beets/potatoes, and there wasn't much of the cheese, so I actually didn't mind the it. The potatoes were delicious.

The steak was cooked perfectly! I don't love steak, but when I do eat it, I like it medium-rare (or medium at the most). Noah used a meat thermometer to make it perfect. He topped it with a horseradish garlic butter.

Unfortunately, Noah hated the whole meal. He said that now that he's handled raw steak, he can't eat it--even after it's cooked, the smell reminds him of raw meat, which reminds him of dissecting things in biology/anatomy class, haha. He felt like the meal was ruined (gee, I wonder where he got the catastrophic mentality?) and he didn't want to eat it. Jerry, Eli, and I loved it! I ate everything but the beets.

I don't know whether I should feel guilty or accepting of the fact that Noah's mood/mentality takes after me in SO many ways. He reminds me so much of ME when I was his age (or even during my 20's). I'm glad that I understand him so well and because of that, I can figure out a plan of what to say and how to act in order to do what's best for his interest.

After dinner, we watched a movie that Noah had written a paper about for his Psych 101 class. I have a lot of thoughts about it, so I'll prep that for another day! 

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Sometimes I Have Mental Freak Outs

I was up pretty late last night reading a book that I couldn't put down, and every so often, I checked my online medical chart to see of my COVID test results were available yet. Finally, at 2:00 AM, the results were posted!

So, no COVID for me! At least not yet. I was grateful to get the results before morning, because I wasn't sure about sending the kids to school. It was their last day before going to 100% online learning. I was thinking I'd keep them home, but I really didn't want to! Since my test was negative, I felt fine sending them to school.

It was interesting reading your comments on my last post--thank you for sharing your experiences! It shows that COVID affects everyone differently, which is kind of scary. You really have no idea how it's going to present. I'm glad that it seems to be fairly mild for most people.

I had a minor freakout today. I guess I should say mental health difficulty? Haha. I don't know what happened. I am just the person in the house that everyone dumps their problems on, and being an empath, I take it all to heart and I feel like everything negative that happens is my fault and I need to fix it.

I hate living that way! I wish Jerry could tell me that he had a bad day at work and I could just be "normal" and listen sympathetically, then do something nice for him to cheer him up. Instead, it eats at me and I question what I could have done to prevent it or maybe he regrets switching to nightshift (which he did because he knew that I preferred it).

If Eli orders something online and it arrives not as expected (story of his life), I feel horrible about that, too, even though it's not my fault. I just hate the feeling of him being disappointed and it upsets me so much. I want to do everything I can to fix it!

Today, Noah came home and told me that he couldn't fill up his car (with gas). We bought the car for $500, knowing that it might need some work--no big deal. Noah and my dad replaced several things on it and made sure it was very safe to drive. However, it's one thing after another that he comes home and tells me about.

The first time, it was that it just "stalled out" and he had to pull over. It turned out that he ran out of gas. It'd completely forgotten to tell him that the gas gauge was broken and he'd have to make sure to fill up before it gets to 1/2 tank. (My friend Adam sold it to him, so he explained it to me--I just forgot to tell Noah). 

The car is a 1989 LeBaron (super old!) but it only has 50,000 miles on it. We put about $800 into it after he bought it, so it was still cheap for a first car. But I worry so much about something going wrong. The other day he told me that he almost got rear-ended by a semi-truck because he couldn't accelerate fast enough while getting on the expressway!

Naturally, that would freak out any mother.

However, I remember I couldn't drive my first car on the expressway for the same reason. I had to take the back roads, which was fine. But I still feel like it's my fault for the problems with the car because I am the one who told Noah it was a good deal. 

ANYWAYS, back to today. He came home and told me that he tried to fill up his car, but the gas pump shut off each time I pushed the lever. I told him it was probably full, but he seemed adamant that it wasn't. (Later, Jerry took his car to the gas station and had no problem with it, so who knows?)

I kind of lost it and just started telling Jerry (well, kind of yelling, I guess!) that we should get rid of Noah's car and he can have the Patriot (Jerry's car) and Jerry can have my Renegade. I can get by without a car. He kept insisting no, it was fine, but I still felt bad about the whole thing and was catastrophizing the issue with Noah's car. I could feel myself acting how I did before I started my bipolar meds and it scared me. 

I told Jerry that I was going out for little while. I just felt bad about several things in my life right now and I wanted to get away.

I turned my phone to "do not disturb" mode and then cranked up the volume on my 90's playlist in the car and drove down to Toledo. I had ordered a couple of things as gifts from Dick's Sporting Goods and I had to pick those up. I did the curbside pickup, which was nice--I just texted them when I got there and someone brought it out to me!

After that, I decided to look up thrift stores nearby so that I could get some warm pants to walk in when it's cold in the morning. I found a Goodwill store but I didn't have much luck there--I only bought two pairs of pants and they ended up being too small :(  I did buy a couple of other things, though:

My favorite purchase was actually the five board games I bought! I'll have to go look at them and post about them later (I'm comfy in my bedroom now) but I've been wanting to get some new board games for my family to play. Coincidentally, I just asked on Facebook this morning about game recommendations. Most of the games we currently have are for larger groups of people. 

If you have suggestions, please let me know! Lots of people on Facebook suggested "Ticket to Ride". I looked on Amazon and there are so many different versions! It also looks like we need to know a lot about geography?? (We--or at last I--don't!) But correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to try one of the versions--just have to figure out which one :)

Here are games we have currently (minus the ones I just bought today):

After I left Goodwill, I stopped to buy a shipping box for the gift and a birthday card. On the way home, I thought about Jerry and that I should stop and one of his favorite beers--Yuengling--that he can't buy in Michigan. So I stopped at the last exit from the expressway in Ohio and bought him a case of it.

By the time I got back home, I was in a much better mood. 

While I didn't totally freak out today, like I have so many times in the past I could feel myself getting there. I didn't want to (I like to think that I've gotten past that) so I chose to take a drive by myself--and it helped.

It may not sound like much of a victory, but I am glad that I stopped myself before having a meltdown. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, it's really hard not to completely panic and feel like I'm losing it. As far as mental health goes, I like to think I'm making strides ;)

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Shutting Down Michigan... Again

I'm STILL waiting for the results of my COVID test. I was told 24 hours and it's been 32 hours now. It's no wonder the cases are skyrocketing. I felt sick on Wednesday and the earliest I could get in for a test was on Saturday. Now, it's after 9:00 on Sunday night and I still don't know.

Jerry's not allowed to stay home from work to quarantine unless my test is positive. If I had been able to find out by Thursday, then he could have avoided going to work (if my test was positive) and possibly infecting others (he has no symptoms, so it's unlikely, but theoretically, the virus could be passed all over the place simply because of the long waiting period for testing).

We had learned last month that the schools were going to go to a four-day per week in-school session (so Eli would be going four days instead of two days and doing virtual learning on the other days.

However, tonight the governor issued orders to shut down high schools for three weeks beginning Wednesday. This is so frustrating. I understand why they're doing it, but it's been so hard to get used to the new system in the first place and Eli REALLY needs in-person classes. 

Noah's schooling is completely different because he is taking mostly college courses now and those each have their own rules.

I'm really dreading to see what happens after Thanksgiving. I bet the number of cases will jump dramatically because people will still be having big gatherings. I told my mom that I don't think we should do a family dinner together this year and she agreed.

Last night before bed, I checked the weather forecast for my walk this morning with Joey. I was NOT excited about what I saw!

Wind and rain with a real feel temp of 34? Yikes.

I haven't had the issue yet where the weather really does stop me from walking. I walked in a total downpour in the summer--but it wasn't cold, so I didn't mind it so much. I've walked in severe wind--again, it wasn't super cold, so I managed. But walking during a wind advisory, with cold and rain? I was honestly dreading it.

If it wasn't for Joey who adores his morning walks, I would have just done it on the treadmill. I felt too bad doing that, so I dressed in my running tights and a big, warm water resistant coat. I wore a hat with a brim to keep the rain out of my eyes and and off we went!

There wasn't a single soul outside this morning. I was listening to my audiobook and when we got to a road that is right next to the lake without anything blocking the wind, I felt like I was going to blow over. I couldn't hear my audiobook at ALL over the wind and Joey and I were walking directly into a headwind. I had to hold onto my hat because it kept trying to blow off.

When I was a mile away from home, my headphones powered off. I'd forgotten to charge them and I was super bummed! My book was getting really good. So I had to walk the rest of the way in silence. 

I'm going to write a post soon about what I've been reading, watching, and listening to. I love writing those posts! But I have been waiting until I finish a couple of books. I had a hard time finding a good book and I bounced around until I found one.

I thought my cold symptoms were gone but today they've been acting up again. My nose feels super dry and almost burns which makes my eyes water. And my throat is still sore. Nobody else in the family is sick, so I hope it stays that way! And good grief, I hope I get my test back soon.

Out of curiosity, have any of you tested positive for COVID? What was your experience like? Were your symptoms just mild or did you get seriously ill?

Stay healthy, everyone! :)  Just for fun, here is a cat meme that Jerry sent me. Anytime I sit down, at least one cat immediately sits on my lap. It drives me crazy! Sometimes I just want to sit without the cats on me. But I feel bad moving them, so I'll just sit there until I have to pee so badly I apologize to the cat and as gently as possible I scoot out from under them so they can still sit where I was. Haha! Spoiled is what they are.

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The One That Would Make Chandler Bing Cry

(Fans of Friends should understand the title reference!)

I'm still waiting on the results of my COVID test from today. My throat was sore and my nose was runny again today out of nowhere. I would be shocked if it's actually COVID, but I still have been self-quarantining to be safe.

When I went for the test, it was super fast--I didn't even have to get out of the car. There were cones in the parking lot to follow around to a tent, where someone confirmed my name and birthdate (my doctor had called it in a few days ago) and then I pulled up a little farther where someone came up to the car to do the test.

After checking my name and birthdate again, she handed me a tissue and told me to blow my nose. Then she inserted a cotton swab into each nostril and swabbed it around. I had been worried about the test because I thought they'd have to stick it way up there and it would be painful, but it wasn't at all. She stuck the swab in the tube with my name on it and then I was done! The whole thing took less than two minutes.

I was told the results would be in my online chart within about 24 hours. So I've been checking way too frequently.

However, since I was self-quarantining today, I used it as an excuse to binge-watch a show on TLCgo. It's called Long Lost Family and there are actually six seasons of it. I'd never heard of it before, but I'm so glad I came across it today!

If you watch it, you'll need a box of tissues handy. Each episode of the show features a couple of people who were placed for adoption when they were babies and then they get help searching for their birth parents/families. Not all of them are reunited (most are), but it's SO emotional to watch whether they are reunited or not. 

I didn't realize how many seasons there were and I happened to start with season 6 episode 1... which is what hooked me. (Minor spoiler below, but based on the show's topic, it's not really spoiling anything!) 

There was a woman who had gotten pregnant when she was 14 and her boyfriend was 15. She talked about how madly in love they were, which sounds silly for young teens like that. When she found out she was pregnant, she and her boyfriend decided they wanted to keep the baby and they were very excited about it.

Her mom was NOT happy and sent her to a home for unwed mothers for the duration of her pregnancy. She was given forms to sign and, not knowing what they were, her mother told her to "shut up and sign them". They were adoption papers, and when her baby boy was born, she never even got to see him before he was taken away and placed for adoption.

She and her boyfriend ended up getting married and having three more children--they stayed together all that time!--and they never forgot about their son that was taken from them. They both wanted to find him so badly and they even celebrated his birthday with their family every year. When her husband became sick, it was his dying wish to reconnect with their son.

Unfortunately, he died a little over year before the show picked up their story, so he never got to see his son. But the mother learned that her son was looking for her as well--AND OHMYGOSH, SO MANY TEARS--they were reunited! The mom and her other three children got to meet her son and his wife and daughter. 

If any of you are Friends fans, do you remember that episode where everyone was trying to make Chandler cry because he said he wasn't a crier? (Season 6, episode 14.) They tried everything--sad movies, sob stories, etc. Well, THIS SHOW would be the one thing that would totally make Chandler Bing cry ;)

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A Very Close Call!

Happy Friday the 13th! :)

A couple of days ago, I woke up feeling a little bit sick. Just a runny nose, watery eyes, and sore throat. Very mild, though. Ordinarily, I wouldn't think twice about it, but now I feel like every little symptom of being sick has to do with COVID!

I VERY rarely get sick, so when I am, I definitely notice it. I didn't want to overreact, but I also didn't want to assume that it was "just a cold". My sister works closely with COVID patients and she said that a lot of people who just have typical allergy symptoms are surprised when they test positive for COVID. Since I don't want to risk getting anyone sick with COVID, I decided I'd better get a test.

Ha! Not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. After calling all the locations (within a reasonable distance from here) to get tested, there were no available slots for a test until Saturday. Even the places that accept walk-ins said that it's first-come first-serve and the line is infinitely long each day. I called my general practitioner and she put in a script for me to get the test, but the first available slot was Saturday at 1:40 pm. 

I'm feeling 99% back to normal now (my symptoms only lasted a couple of days and I never had a fever or cough--the only thing lingering is the watery eyes and mild exhaustion), but I'm still going to get the test tomorrow just to be safe. I've been self-quarantining for the past few days to stay on the safe side.

I've still gone for my five-mile walk with Joey each morning, though, and today I witnessed a very close call between an eagle and a cat!

Joey and I were just approaching my house after the walk when I saw a bald eagle swoop down in front of my house to grab one of the feral cats I complained about. As annoying as the feral cats are, I would have been HORRIFIED to see an eagle grab it and carry it away!

Thankfully, right at that moment, Joey ran toward the cat (he's gotten used to chasing them away from our house) and it scared the eagle. The eagle flew away and the cat immediately ran up a tree, terrified. That cat had no idea just how lucky it was!

This particular cat is solid black and likes to hang out in front of my house. Every time I see him, I immediately think it's Duck--but then remember that it couldn't be my little Duckling. Duck is terrified of the outdoors and would never even try to sneak out.

I've been going really strong on my walking streak. I was about to write here that today is Day 124 of my walk streak, and then I realized that the math wasn't adding up in my Garmin Connect account. I started re-labeling my walks to "Day X" for each day. I discovered that it's only Day 117 and not Day 124! I was off by a week, so I'm assuming that I just miscounted the weeks when I started counting my streak.

So, while I'm "only" on Day 117, I'm proud of that! When I look at the monthly calendars, I love seeing that starting on July 20, there aren't any missing days.

Some stats since July 20th: I've walked 185 times; a total of 602 miles; 174 hours and 41 minutes; and burned 60,000 calories from the walks. It's gone by so fast! 

October 3rd is when I switched to doing a five-mile walk in the morning instead of doing two 45-minute walks per day. I like it much better! I feel like Joey and I have bonded quite a bit since we've been walking together every morning, too ;) 

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