Category Archives: Uncategorized

Savoring the Small Moments

It’s mid-morning, thanks to Daylight Savings Time, but the rooms are not filled with sunlight, as they were yesterday. Instead a quiet grayness lights the house, and occasionally, you can hear the staccato of raindrops falling to the ground from the trees or the ro Even the rain is too lazy this morning to fall steadily.

I had sat on the sofa, with my feet propped up on the small ottoman, drinking my breakfast shake that I wished were a coffee. Not that I don’t like my shake, I do, but on a morning like this, a warm coffee to cuddle into would be preferable. But I am out of creamer.

My library book is about 2 weeks overdue, so I’m trying to finish it. I’m reading “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” This book is rather like this day; it reads in a slow, rich manner, inviting you to savor it in an unhurried manner. So unlike much of my life.

Sidda, one of the characters, is in the Northwest, and is experiencing the cold and the wet as I am this morning. But the book often has scenes from her mother’s life in hot and humid Louisiana, and the detail makes it come alive for me. I can’t wait until I get to visit Louisiana and experience this for myself. I can only hope that I will allow myself time to enjoy it and not get caught up in the whirlwind of events which I am sure are going to be present.

So, for the moment, I’m trying to savor this morning. To listen to the quiet, soft rain. To cuddle into my throw blanket. To enjoy the flickering light of the candles. And to read a good book and not worry about tomorrow just yet.

My Black Friday

Friday morning. One of those which is so blackly frustrating that you are certain you are getting a foretaste of Hell itself. I have been having increased pain in my arm and it took a lot of crying and tossing and turning to fall asleep. Then, an amber alert went off at 2am, waking me again. No surprise, I woke up later than I wanted.

Getting dressed in new clothes always takes a little longer, due to the tags and whatnot. Getting dressed in new clothes with a messed up arm and hand is even worse. DELAY.

Blood glucose, which was low at the time of the amber alert, is now high. Decide it’s best to take insulin now, rather than in an hour when you get to work. DELAY.

Frustration after frustration happened in the short time I was getting ready to go to work. The final straw was when I could not find my glasses and spent 10 minutes looking for them. I wanted to do violence to something, but I couldn’t think of a proper target. Just one of those frustrations where you want to scream and hit something and fall into a puddle and sob until it gets better.

But I’m still running late.

And I have to scrape snow and ice off the car. With my painful, messed up arm.

WHY am I in Hell? What did I DO to deserve this?

The drive in to work was probably mostly fine. The normal morning rush and all that, but I was in a black mood (and knew it). I wasn’t driving with road rage, because I don’t do that. But there was plenty of profanity in my head for all. My apologies, fellow drivers.

I arrived in Ann Arbor with some time to spare, so I decided to stop at Starbucks to get some coffee and breakfast, as I had taken insulin before I left. While there wasn’t a lot of people in line at the drive-thru, this is the slowest Starbucks ever. DELAY.

I make it to work and to my desk with 2 minutes to spare, but I was already done with Friday.

THANKFULLY, I love my job and my coworkers, and I had a project to work on, so things improved greatly from there. I got to have breakfast, work on my project, take some calls, and prep for a professional certification exam I was taking in the afternoon.

I had sent a message to my Neurologist’s office yesterday about the increased pain and numbness and received a message back, adjusting my medications. I looked up the gabapentin online to look at dosing and saw that it peaks in effectiveness about 3 hours after you take it, and can make you sleepy. I was told to increase my dose to about three times what I was currently on. My boss noted that everyone will have to keep an eye on me, as I adjust to the new meds, and make sure I’m good with the changes before I tackle my long commutes. He asked when I was starting the new meds. As soon as I got home, I replied, as I had counted out my medication for the week and only had the old dose on me (which was fine). The suggestion was made that I start the new dose at home, where I can evaluate how it affects me. Which was my plan all along.

HA HA HA.

The drive home took TWO HOURS. It was grey and cold and rainy and SLOW. I had to keep turning the heat/defrost on, then back off as I got too warm. I was getting really tired, bored by the slow traffic and lack of distraction (my phone battery had died), and was feeling slightly nauseated from all the stop-and-go. And, of course, this was just about three hours from when I took my noon dose of medication. Never mind that it had never affected me like this before, but NOW I was being crushed with fatigue.

I made it home without incident, but I was crazy tired. I mean, like I was drugged (hahaha). I stumbled to and from the mailbox and brought packages in, took my dinnertime medications, and immediately fell into bed. I was asleep probably within 5 minutes of being home. I slept from 6 pm until 4:30 am, when my alarm went off.

AND THUS FRIDAY ENDED. Hallelujah!

(Sorry, everyone. I don’t have any pictures from Friday.)

A Dark, Quiet Morning

This morning is a bit of a rarity. ย I don’t have to go to work today, and a have a couple hours before I have to be out of the house. ย So, I am not rushing around trying to get out of the door. ย I woke up to the sound of rain, but now there are just a couple snowflakes floating to the ground. ย Even though the sun is technically up, it is overcast outside, which means that my house is dark and still.

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My desk, illuminated only by my little task light.

Typically, I like all the lights to be ablaze, and I keep myself busy flitting about the house going from one task to the next.

But there’s something nice about this stillness and quiet. I’m going to keep the light low for a short time, grab a coffee, and reflect upon my day. It’ll be nice to have a low-key morning.

Happy Sunday!

Getting Ready for 2016!

Hi Everyone!

I am still working on finalizing my plans, resolutions, and goals for 2016! ย I know, I should have ironed all this out earlier, but at least I have been *thinking* about it for a long time.

That counts, right?

Shortly, I’ll let you all know what I’m looking forward to in the New Year.

A little hint, my word for 2016 is Discipline!

I’m so excited! ย I’ll see you all shortly!

Fr. John’s Daily Pontiffications

Fr. John has been breaking down and discussing events and issues surrounding the Holy Father, Pope Francis’s, trip to the US. Well worth a watch! Enjoy!

Daily Pontiffications #1

Daily Pontiffications #2

Daily Pontiffications #3

Daily Pontiffications #4

I’ll keep this page updated as new Pontiffications are published!

God Bless!

Office Survival Tips #1: Whatever Works, Bro!

If you are like me, you may find yourself locked away at your office for hours and days on end. At which point, you may need to find creative ways to survive. ๐Ÿ™‚ Today, I bring you tip #1:

Whatever Works, Bro!

It seems that this tip tends to occur around meal logistics. Like, when I bring something for lunch/dinner, but forget to bring the necessary dishes/utensils. This happens more often than you might think.

Today, I had brought in some soup, but neglected to think that I might need a bowl and a spoon to eat it. So I looked in the kitchen cupboards and found a bowl-shaped object and a spoon. Score!

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As you can see, I think I’m eating out of someone’s grandma’s candy dish, but I’m making it work! (Plus, as a side benefit, it makes a lovely clinking sound as I dine, almost like we are being all fancy up in here!)

Another fine example of this is the Coffee Filter Popcorn Bowl:

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What odds and ends have you found around the office to make a meal happen?

P.S. Let me know if you liked this post. I’m thinking about keeping it around as a regular series.

Plated: Quinoa Grits with Squash

After last Sunday’s homerun with the Peanut Chicken Curry, I was looking forward to making my next meal from Plated. The opportunity came up last night, and I made the Quinoa Grits with Squash. Here’s their reference picture. Sorry that I don’t have as many pictures as I did for the other dish, but my camera was at work and my phone battery had died. And I was too hungry to wait for it to charge so I could take pictures as I went. ๐Ÿ™‚

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The recipe is slated to take 25-35 minutes to make, and it took me 30 minutes. So, again, they were spot-on as far as cook times go. The only thing I would do differently with this recipe would be to either reduce the temperature of the oven or the bake time for the squash. And probably try to stir them around a bit halfway through. My squash got a little burnt on the bottom.

I also ended up cooking the quinoa a little longer than what they had specified, as it was supposed to be cooked until “tender” and never seemed to get to that point. But I got it to be acceptably cooked and went on from there.

Grits.

I’m not really a big fan of grits. But I’m willing to give it a try. As soon as I was done, I put half of the meal in a container to take to work today for lunch. Which worked out perfectly, since it’s a vegetarian dish and today’s (No Meat) Friday!

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This is how mine turned out. Not too bad. And taste for this one? It was okay. It was slightly on the bland side. Were I to make it again, I would add a little more cheese and seasoning to the grits, and perhaps more sumac on the squash, as that flavor didn’t stand out as much as I thought it would.

Lunch today, even reheated, was also good. And both meals were filling.