Monthly Archives: January 2015

Please Say Play Dough

Posted on January 10, 2015 | 2 comments

My house is a wreck. I am not kidding. There is a porcupine in my living room…

covered in popcorn.

I have a ton of energy right now. I worked out. I shoveled snow. Cleaned the snow, unloaded/loaded the dishwasher and even dusted a ton. And yet, if you came in my house, you might want to call the health department on me (kidding, don’t. Really. Don’t.)

I wanted to keep going this morning and then my 4 year old said, “can we make play dough?”

Yes, yes we can. The rest can wait.

Here is the recipe I love for play dough.

Now about that Porcupine. It’s a funny story. Really.

2 Comments

Posted in kidlets, parenting, Patrice

Giving the World

Posted on January 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

Hubby and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon just over 10 years ago. We covered Disney to our satisfaction.

He stated he was good for a lifetime.

Then Caitlyn.

We were still in the hospital when he looked at our little bundle and said, “I could go back to Disney [with her].”

And maybe some day we will. Maybe we won’t. It may be one of those things we have to give up to have me homeschooling our girls. And I know they will be fine if we never step foot in the Magic Kingdom.

Patrice came out today and asked “Can we go to Disney World for just one (pudgy finger and all) day?” My heart cracked. “Someday baby, hopefully someday.” And I started to feel bad for myself. And my girls.

Then my brain woke up a bit. I remembered our lesson from Bible today. We are studying Bangladesh right now. Bangladesh is considered the 196th poorest country (out of a list of 226) in the world. The people there aren’t looking for a trip to Disney or even a remodeled house–they are looking for a house and food and, you know, when they dream big, to go to the doctor when they need to. They are looking to fill their basic needs. As many of us are.

This isn’t one of those, wake up people and stop being so selfish, posts. It’s not. It’s just my thoughts today. Do I hope to take my girls to Disney some day? Absolutely. Sooner rather than later, I hope. I also hope to be able to help those whose needs are even greater than my own. Mine seem great, and in many ways are, but I want to give. I want to bless. I want to reach out. I want to support. So many people, so many places.

What is a Charitable project or organization that is near and dear to your heart?

Not Sleek But Me

Posted on January 6, 2015 | 3 comments

I have really turned up the exercise lately. Truly, it is that and not the medications that are getting me through the hard days, it is the sweat and work.

I am starting to understand why people say “skip the meds, I’ll just wing it.” But that is another post, so back to exercise.

I am pretty in love with exercise programs put out by Beachbody (Insanity, P90x, PiYo, and others). Each one offers you the challenge of getting a free shirt if you send them before and after photos and complete the program.

I finally did it!

PiYo. I owned it, except the days it owned me, but we’ll pretend those days I owned it too, mkay?

Here is me in my free shirt. I wish I were more sleek but for now I am an extra curvy curvy girl.

3 Comments

Posted in exercise, exercising

Breathing Room

Posted on January 4, 2015 | 1 comment

My hubby has had some extra time off for the Christmas and New Year holidays. I can’t even tell you how nice that has been.

We’ve been giving the doctors newest medication regiment a go while he was here to oversee. Good thing. I slept, a lot! All night, most of the day. A lot.

I’ve gotten a lot of sleep, and so, by default, a great deal of time to myself.

Tonight is one of the planned days for me to have time at home while hubby takes kids to Bible club. I have cleaned the house a bit, thought through lesson plans (some, not enough) and taken some time to blog and dream.

And sit here wondering if I deserve this me time. I mean, I have been sleeping a lot. That’s some pretty solid me time if you ask just about anybody.

So do I deserve this time, or should I have spent it deep cleaning, digging into fantastic new teaching ideas and lessons.

I really don’t know…

Guess I went with a little bit of everything. As my dad used to say, “Jack of all trades, Master of none.”

1 Comment

Posted in random thoughts

40 Bags

Posted on January 3, 2015 | 6 comments

Last year I joined a declutter challenge (remember this post). The goal was 40 bags of stuff out of my house in 40 days. I did great the first several weeks and then went out of town. And I got lost in the project. I slowly got it sorted out again and decided NOT to give up.

Instead, I made it a year long project. I kept my sticker chart and gave myself a sticker every time a sizeable item, bag or box left my house. I made it to 100 stickers!!!! Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger and didn’t take a picture. I tried to dig it out of the garbage, yup, but it was too deep. too gross to keep going.

In my overly filled chart from last year, there is a new sheet and a sticker already!!!!!!! And I have a box ready to go Thursday. I feel like a decluttering rock star.

The bottom there is the website that hosted it last year. I am not sure what her plans are this year: whitehouseblackshutters.com

6 Comments

Posted in 40 bags

Medication What?

Posted on January 2, 2015 | 1 comment

Let me introduce myself. I am Judgy Judge Judgerton.

Yup.

I would hear of people prescribed medications for mental health issues and how they wouldn’t take them. Or they would only take them until they felt better.

I thought they were idiots.

Now I can look in the mirror to find one of those idiots.

I try to take them all.

There are just three that mess with me. And I hate them.

My longest standing medication of my current medley still makes em dog sick some nights. Dry heaving isn’t quite as glamorous as it sounds.

And then there is one I am trying for the third time. It has some great benefits, but it causes muscle weakness and issues with my running. Last time I was on it, it got so bad I could no longer run and it took a couple years to get back to where I a now. I used to run 6-10 miles a day. Now 2 is a victory. Honestly, the running helps more than the medication. I’m not sure what to do.

The third one does it’s job beautifully. It keeps me very calm…and knocks me right out. Christmas? It was the best I have had in a long time, but I slept 14 hours that day.

I hate these three medications. I totally understand why people choose not to be medication compliant. I am so torn about what to do. I see the medications robbing me of things, but I also see bits of improvement. Is that the medication or the running and exercise? I don’t know. I don’t know what to think or feel.

I’m just too tired.

1 Comment

Posted in Bipolar Disorder