Wow yourself, Wednesday!

[CathyS]

Dh finished his 3rd customer. Then we went to a drive thru for lunch (burgers). We took some tires to the landfill and then we went and picked up bird seed. After that we went and got some spaghetti sauce before the sale ends. Then we came home.

We are having BBQed steak and baked potatoes (on the BBQ). No prep needed. I think I'll take my book and go stretch out.

[DeeClutter]

We have no rain here YET, RR. But expect we will by later this afternoon -especially since I'm getting my hair done at 3:30. Murphy's law, right? Last spring I went to get it done on a somewhat rainy day. By the time I got there it was pouring and I could not open my umbrella. So was dripping by the time I got in there. When I left it was up over my ankles and I was soaked literally to the skin from toes to the top of my head. It was really difficult driving back here as there was so much ponding. Made it (obviously) but I stripped everything once I got in here. Hairdresser asked if I wanted them to curl my hair. Answer: "Really? Do you see what it's doing out there? It would be straight by the time I reach my car."

Dsonil has left to go pick up dd's car and leave his.

I've finally made out a list to help me pack. Think this might be my 'go to' list from here on. Not that I haven't had lists in the past but this might make it easier for me to pack and do all those last minute things. Know our dks will not be happy with me driving myself home but I see no other alternative at the moment. Maybe an answer will drop in front of me soon.

[Harmony]

(Dee) praying that you find a safer solution soon. And you're sure right about Murphy's Law. Remember when I washed and shined the car Saturday night? We had rain Sunday afternoon, first time in weeks. I should have washed the car a couple weeks ago.

And speaking of rain, it is just now beginning to brighten up. We've had a good bit of rain already. I was looking at the radar on my phone app and couldn't understand why it wasn't raining in the back yard. We went out to check on mail and DH wanted to sit out there because he was bored...and it was pouring in the front! I walked around with my umbrella until the mail truck came. I knew she was driving in our neighborhood.

So I had a rough night. When I finally did get to sleep my legs / hips were hurting pretty badly and I was dreaming a lot about things...so not a good sleep. I got up at 5:30 and went to watch some TV because sometimes that puts me back to sleep but I noticed it was still dark out like nighttime dark. How do you early risers get up so early when it is still dark? I sure don't enjoy that.

When I came out to the family room, DH was stretched out on the couch and his recliner was upside down on the floor like a beached whale. I am grateful he didn't fall getting up from the chair which wouldn't go back upright and not when he managed somehow to get it upside down on the floor. He had tools and bolts and nuts out ready to fix it. A bolt had broken and I helped him replace it by propping up the chair and holding the flashlight and helping to tighten bolts. He got the spring reattached and it works now easily. We set it upright and I cleaned the floor in that corner, vacuumed and mopped, and continued mopping in the family room and kitchen. I did some damp dusting in that room too.

I think my hips are "out" as they aren't getting better, so it isn't just a sore muscle. Getting up and down even just in a chair is pretty painful. I'm going to try some heat for a bit and see if that helps. I probably need a massage, if I knew any place to go that I trusted I wouldn't get molested in there. Well, one hears those things....and I don't know anybody...

I could make a schedule like Kathryn, but none of that would get done today.

[Twins' Mom]

I hope you can figure out a plan, Dee. I know it's weighing on you to have him up there "alone."

I feel like I'm getting no where fast today. There was a lady at Michaels framing two pieces, and she sounded pretty unsure of what she wanted. I waited awhile, then offered to come back later. They put my two pieces in the back. I was going to get some doilies but there was a lady at the check out register wanting to use coupons on everything and I just left the doilies and went on to the grocery. I got done there, and ended up blocked at a train crossing on the way home. I sure do hate to go back out but I need to. I hope that lady is done with her framing by now.

I let the dog out to enjoy the sunshine for a few. I need to get her back in and head out again.

[Lady Maverick]

How do you early risers get up so early when it is still dark?

This made me smile because my body early morning preference makes it is so obvious. Yes, it is dark in the early morning when I wake up but the sky is already getting lighter & sun will rise soon. I love keeping an eye out for the sunrise happening. I usually pause to observe the beautiful pattern in the sky. However, when it gets dark at the end of the day there is no hope of the sun rising for hours. My body thinks those long hours of darkness after the sun sets are the perfect time to sleep. I struggle to stay away and have zero energy to do anything. Both ways make sense depending on if you are a Night Owls or Early bird.

I spent an busy hour in the kitchen making lunch. Beef fajitas, refried beans, Spanish rice, salsa & chips. DH and I enjoyed it with plenty of leftovers for another meal. DS14 came home for lunch and opted to make himself chicken nuggets in the air fryer instead of eating what I cooked. Ohs well. his loss.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

In response to:

How do you early risers get up so early when it is still dark?

LadyM said:

Both ways make sense depending on if you are a Night Owls or Early bird.

So what do you do if you are neither a Night owl or an Early bird?!?

I swear, I waste the evenings because I'm so tired but I don't shine in the morning and can easily lie in bed until 7:30 or 8:00.

As for rising in the dark, here in winter it is still dark until 7:30 for sure, often closer to 8 on overcast days. So you just do it. I make it easier by having a light come on in the room at 6:25 (my scheduled time to get up so we can listen to the 6:30 news) and my phone alarm (which is increasingly noisy seagulls plus the phone vibrating) is at 6:29. And I have found having the white mini lights on in the kitchen and living room when I get out of the bedroom helps welcome me to the day.

Watching a sunrise is special and I always feel those days are 'mine' if I'm not watching from bed.

Lately the alarm has been at 7 because of rough nights and now the light isn't on because it is light in the room by 6. Today I set the alarm back to 6:45 as I slowly get back to my 6:30 start. By 7:30 we were dressed, had done dh's stretches, bed was made and we were out the bedroom door, giving me 30 minutes for my tea and chocolate and SAD Light and still be able to stick to the schedule.

My schedule is out the window now. We got back from the walk at 3:15 which was supposed to be when I was mopping the floor. My meeting ran over and it took longer to get out the door than I planned.

I'm still making great progress to day but have added more items to my to-do list (which was so long it became an Off My Mind list since I was paralyzed with all I have to do.)

I'm going to have a snack now and I still haven't thought of something for dinner so I'll check the freezer for a saved frozen dinner from before dh had the surgery. I think there's one left. I haven't made time in the schedule for me to cook so if I can't figure out something dh can do, I'll blow the schedule even more. Plus cooking will mess with mopping the kitchen floor.

[Nancy]

It is lite by 6:00 here.

Fetched and processed the mail.
I have brought up the first load of clothes folded them and they are put away now.
I have had lunch and the next load is in the dryer.
It is cold for walking & we have a bit of rain coming in the next few minutes. etc.

Realized I did not do my morning pages cannot seem to do them as I am distracted hoping for p m pages LOL!
I have a net-flix going the reason for my distraction I have seen it before... I have done most of them.

I have the laundry folded and put away now.
Dishes are done and put away too.

[lucylee]

Well, I haven't "wowed" myself today, but I am s2s and have visited "my colorist," so that's a big step. Hmmm... I guess my hair is a WOW. But I didn't blow it dry or anything, just pulled it back in a butterfly clip and will let it dry on its own. I have actually NEVER once in my life completely dried my hair myself with a blow dryer. It is about shoulder-length and VERY thick. I lose patience with the time it would take to actually dry & style it myself. When I get it trimmed, the beautician dries it probably 90% and scrunches it and uses a diffuser, but I don't think she gets it completely dry.
Oh -- I also used the Merle Norman facial mask, which is supposed to be used up to 3x per week, but I do well to use it once a week.
Anyway -- self-care -- WOW.

I also talked to dmom, and she is supposed to be coming out here later to bring me Easter treats for dgrands, and to have me address a mailing label for her. Her tremor is such now that she doesn't like to write anything, and usually wants me to address envelopes & write checks for her. Thank goodness she has most of her bills on auto-pay!

And y'all -- she has mentioned a couple of times or more that I may have to "move her and dh in together so I can take care of them."
That ain't happening. I certainly hope she is joking. I told dbro what she said, and his reaction was the same as dh's -- "She wouldn't last a week with y'all." SHELDON is just sooo set in his ways and somewhat particular about certain things... I know HE would go crazy and I would go crazy trying to keep them both happy if she lived with us. She is also pretty set in her ways, for that matter, and has commented often that she has finally adjusted to being a widow, and she is quite happy living alone and making her own decisions. Besides the fact that, as I've told y'all before, we live in basically different time zones, LOL! She is getting up about the time we turn out the lights some days. She is definitely an early riser (like you, LadyM!) and we are night owls.
Fortunately, she should have enough money that I could pay someone to stay with her IF that does become necessary some day. But y'all know me -- this thought keeps nagging at me and worrying me from time to time.

Dbro also told her that he had told dsisil that it was time they started thinking about moving closer to her/us, so they could help out more and I wouldn't have the entire responsibility of caring for her. He has not mentioned this to me, but he did say that might move to TN eventually. DSISIL is completely spoiled by no income tax in FL and refuses to ever live anywhere that she has to pay income tax. I told him he should compare property tax rates there as opposed to here, and he would probably see that it balanced out fairly well. AL is known for having low property taxes. But I think it is a matter of principle with dsisil.
I was just encouraged to hear he IS finally seeing perhaps that dmom needs him more. If they lived near the state line, they'd be within an hour or so of us, and less than an hour from Big City hospitals, so that might be an incentive to dsisil, too.

Also on to today's PODA, I've
* paid two bills,
* made one more phone call related to that credit card snafu,
* checked our bank deposits on auto-teller, and
* dh and I went to the post office.
Tonight is church.
I'd like to vacuum a little bit at least, and I need to do laundry. The last two days have sorta been a lost cause around here. However, I'm not feeling very energetic at all. Another wow for me today is, without giving TMI... WOW... How much Imodium is it going to take??? Sigh. Woke up yesterday and today needing it.

Dee -- I am praying some solution to the travel situation will come along! Could you fly and have dd bring your car when she comes? You may have mentioned the problem with that earlier.

What a frustrating visit to Michael's, Twins... some days it seems like everyone in the universe is conspiring against you. (Or that everyone on the road is driving crazy.)

LadyM, your lunch sounded awfully good to me! And mmmm... Cathy's steaks and baked potatoes sound delicious too! We will probably eat something at the church meal, which is sometimes good, and sometimes ho-hum.

Good gracious, Harmony! That must have been quite a startling moment, seeing dh's chair turned upside down like that! My goodness. I hope your hips feel better soon. I feel the same way about massages -- only I would certainly trust the lady dmom has used before; we've known her forever -- but I just feel really self-conscious about being undressed for a massage. This lady has a great business though; she stays booked up all the time.

Waving to Nancy, Kathryn, Rose, and anyone else I may have missed!

[Twins' Mom]

OK, I got back to Michaels and took care of the framing. Gonna be expensive, but always is. One of the items is my CG certificate. I let myself nap for 45 min. when I got back here. I feel like a ping pong ball today.

So what do you do if you are neither a Night owl or an Early bird?!?

I'm neither. I like to sleep late and seem to always have trouble getting up. OTOH, I take a p.m. antidepressant that I believe leaves me sluggish in the a.m. and I also take gabapentin for the trigeminal neuralgia, and I understand both can leave one sluggish. And I go to bed between ten and ten forty-five most nights. And could possibly nap too some days.

Our supper is grilled chicken and roasted brussels sprouts.

[DeeClutter]

Back from getting my hair done. Took the recyclables out to the road. Noticed dsonil didn't even offer. Oh well after next week I won't even give it a thought. He's having his pizza now and I'll do mine shortly. Smells good however!

He brought dd's car back after getting the hitch put on for her bike. Uh-oh! She expected a little over a $1,000 for the job and it was $2,300! That's before she even gets the bike or bike rack. Think the bike is nearly $2,000. Oh well, it's done now.

I feel better this afternoon (emotionally). Prayed a lot on my way to/from the salon and think I'm in a good spot now. I do know things will all work out for the best.

Charging my fitbit then I'm going to ride my bike for a little while before dinner.

Meantime I'm working on my packing/doing lists.