Day 46 through 50: Still Struggling

 

Here we go ! It's a new year. Time to get back on track with diet and exercise. The goal is 100 pounds by 12-31-25. Can I do it ? At this point, probably not but I'm going to keep trying. My original Day 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 blogs can be found here, here, here, here, and here. I was sick with a cold during this time, so there wasn't really much to my blogs. One advantage to being stuck in the house is I haven't been sick this winter !

The snow has finally let up but we haven't had any warm weather that would start the melting process ... and there is snow is the forecast almost every day ! Temps are supposed to be above freezing for the week ahead, so the snow will likely pack down and melt a little bit. I haven't been out of the house since February 11, other than going out to the driveway to shovel snow here and there. It's 1:57 pm now and I just took a shower, washed my hair and did my skincare. I would like to get dressed and TRY to move some snow off the porch roof. My plan is to use the roof rake from inside my bedroom. We'll see ! I may also go out and shovel outside the garage and perhaps the front steps. Right now the sun is shining and the skies are blue, so it's a beautiful day !

So what have I done for day 46 through 50 ? Sat on the couch watching YouTube and playing online slots. I'm glad I didn't buy a ton of "junk" food as I would have sat here eating too. I'm sure Minnie has enjoyed having me as her personal pillow all this time. She is snoozing next to me as I write this. I checked in on my bills and bank account to make sure all was good.

In looking at the 10 day forecast, the week ahead will have daytime highs in the 30's, but the 20's will be back the following week. It's nearly March, so I take comfort in the knowledge that this horrible winter will be over soon. As soon as the snow is gone from the grass I plan to start checking out the State Parks to see where I can get started walking and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine ! I would like to believe that next winter will be better, but who knows ? At least I've learned some lessons and I'll think more about keeping the snow under control. I don't ever want to see it piled up past my windows. If I move it as it comes it should be easier to manage. I may buy a snow pusher for this purpose. Doug has been my Guardian Angel since he took over plow duties at the beginning of January. He has kept my driveway clear and used his tractor to move all the snow away from the windows on the driveway side. I'm so glad I had him do that since more has piled up since ! People say 2015 was this bad, but I honestly don't remember that. For me, this has been the absolute worst winter ever. Maybe my age and mental state is part of that ?!

I've continued playing the online slots and it's a much better experience since I dumped the ones that didn't want to pay anything. I am struggling for coins on Quick Hits but that is my own fault. I had a ton of them and I wasted them.

Well, it's 5:50 pm now and I went out and shoveled the snow in front of the garage door and cleared a path to the side door. I've opted not to mess with the porch roof for today. Just before I went out to shovel I called in an order of chinese food. I've been dying for it for days but didn't want to venture out. I'm very afraid of falling on the sidewalks as they're snow covered and icy. My driveway is a sheet of ice in places. Once I called in the order I went out and did the shoveling. As I walked down the driveway to go pick up my food the roof decided to unload some snow in a place I had passed just seconds before ! It was heavy icy stuff and had it landed on my head I could have been injured. Fortunately someone was looking out for me ! The food was absolutely delicious, just as it was when I had it 3 weeks ago ! I got the same thing: hot & sour soup, wonton soup and chicken with garlic sauce. I got a larger portion of the chicken and it's enough for about 3 meals. The wonton soup is good for 3 servings because they absolutely stuff those wontons into the container. The hot & sour soup is good for 3 servings but I had more than half of it, so it's only going to be 2. It cost me $26 but it was worth every penny ! The walk wasn't that bad. I walked mostly in the road and when I had to cross, the section of sidewalk I had to traverse had a road sign and the railing from a business to hold on to. It worked out perfectly. I wish I had gone out sooner to enjoy the sunshine. The next time the sun is shining I'm going to get out there and enjoy it, regardless of the snow !

I feel a little brighter mentally today. I've taken focus off diet and exercise until the snow is on it's way out. I can't manage it all right now. I'm just going to worry about getting through winter. I've given some thought to the Nutrisystem food. I'd really like to start making some of my own meals. I feel like fresh food would be better for me and I've been inspired by a YouTuber that lives in a van in Norway. This guy cooks simple meals every day and I've realized there is nothing keeping me from doing that. Portion control is an issue for me, but if I cook a fresh single serving meal every day I won't have to worry about over-eating. I moved my next delivery out to 4-10 mostly because I have a TON of dinner entrees and I need to eat this food. I can eat them for lunch and dinner and sub in Eggo waffles for breakfast. Evening snack is my only problem as it's hard to find low calorie dessert items. Once the Nutrisystem food is low I will get another auto shipment but my plan is to delay each shipment as long as possible. I hate to just cancel it as I'll never get the price I pay back. So I'm going to proceed with caution and see how it goes.

The days are getting longer and I like that. It's 6:04 now and it's not quite fully dark outside. We turn the clocks ahead on 3-9 ("Spring Ahead") and I'm looking forward to more daylight hours ! Temps today got up into the 30's and in the first time in forever the thermostat in the laundry room read 65 ! That's not the 68 it's set on, but it's closer than it's been in weeks ! The warmer temps this week should give me a little break on heating costs, which is great. I feel like I haven't used the space heater as much the past couple of weeks and I haven't used the electric blanket on my bed the last couple nights. I'd like to think we're "safe" from single digit or below zero temps, but after the winter we've had so far, nothing would surprise me ! The first day I can throw the windows open and enjoy the fresh air is going to be amazing !

Today has probably been the best day I've had in the past couple weeks. Just showering, washing my hair, doing skincare and getting dressed made me feel better. I absolutely need to work harder on doing this every day ! In good news, the shampoo I'm using now is leaving my hair feeling and looking so much nicer ! It also helps that I cut off the length that was full of dead ends. I'm working on getting used to wearing it down. I feel like I'm not losing as much as I don't have piles of hair in the comb after I wash it. Having to comb through all that long hair caused so much breakage ! The next step is to have Michelle color it, but I'm going to wait until the threat of snow is gone, so a few more weeks. We're actually under a winter weather advisory until 1 pm tomorrow. The forecast indicates snow could start falling by midnight but we're "only" expecting 4-7 inches. Right now that seems like nothing .. lol !

On a somber note, yesterday I learned that a shooting took place in the Top's parking lot last weekend ! It was nearly 3 in the morning and stories vary on what was going on. Two guys were apparently dumpster diving and looking for money (they supposedly looked in the McDonald's parking lot for lost change) sometime after 2 am. One of them got into an altercation and ended up being shot and killed. This is shocking news in a tiny small town. The Red Apple across the street from me was one of their stops. I knew that place was open late but apparently it's open 24/7 ?!?! Regardless of the circumstances, it's sad that someone lost their life over such stupidity. Also sad that 30+ year old men are out in the middle of the night dumpster diving. The guy that died has 4 kids who are now fatherless. Even though he appears to have been divorced, the kids still had a father until then. Very sad for all involved. The suspect is already in custody, which isn't a surprise in a small town where everyone knows everyone ! This is only the second killing in this town in the nearly 20 years I've lived here. The only other one I can recall was a troubled kid who was killed by a State Trooper. Again, in the late hours of the night. Nothing good ever happens when you're out prowling around in the middle of the night. People might think I'm crazy having the security cameras and the lights on all night outside my doors, but when you live alone you need that peace of mind even if you live in a sleepy little small town.

On that note, I'm going to wrap up this blog, put my jammies on and enjoy the rest of the evening.