Day 60 through 66: Crash and Burn

 

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. I'm not going to link my original Day 60 through 66. I know where the blogs are if I want to read them again.

It's been a week since I wrote, and that's because I got sick. I had a scratchy throat at first and thought it was some indigestion. Well, I should have known better. It was actually the first signs of a bad cold or a mild case of COVID. I suspect COVID mostly because I ran a fever for days and lost my sense of smell and taste. Those are not normal cold symptoms for me. I wasn't as sick as I was the last time I had what I think what COVID, back in December 2023. I was able to function pretty easily though I didn't do much besides sleep, watch tv and play online slots. I did manage to get through the job interview on Thursday. It seemed like it went well but I haven't heard anything. I think they are early in the process and she did say they are interviewing multiple candidates. I honestly won't be sorry if I don't get the job.

So after basically a week of being sick I'm finally on the mend and forced myself out today to get some cash (to pay Doug for plowing) and a few groceries. It was a beautiful sunny day. It was 48 degrees when I left the house at 2:45 and 52 when I came home at 4:11 pm. I went to the credit union first to get money and discovered my ATM card was expired ! I don't recall getting getting a new one, but the bank teller was able to make me a new card so it's all good. He also gave me some info on high yield savings accounts, probably because he saw the $65k in my account. I'll look into that if I happen to get a job. Next stop was Walmart. I got some dry food for the strays, canned food for Minnie, diet coke, 6 frozen comfort food dinner entrees and a cherry pie. I also bought a tub of cashews. I was getting out of breath just walking into Walmart so I did my best to use some restraint on what I bought. I didn't buy whipped cream and I'm going to try going without that. I didn't buy candy because I really haven't had the desire for candy. I didn't buy ice cream either, though it briefly crossed my mind. I was hungry when I was leaving Walmart so I decided to take a chance on McDonalds. The drive through was packed so I decided to go inside. You can place your order at a kiosk and pay there, so I did that and it was super easy. I hit the jackpot today FINALLY ! I got fresh fries right out of the fryer ! I saw the employee pull the basket out of the oil, dump them in the bin and lightly salt them before boxing and placing them in my bag. I was SO happy ! I ate every freaking fry on the drive home. I didn't care if my hands were "dirty" from touching stuff in Walmart, there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy those hot fries. They were SO good ! It has been years since I had a good experience at McDonalds'. I got a double quarter pounder but didn't eat that right away. It's easy to microwave those, so it was a good dinner hours later. I also got a vanilla shake. I had a bit of it but put it in the freezer. Once it's frozen it is like ice cream ! (late update: they screwed up my order and I DID NOT get a double quarter pounder. I got some sort of modified big mac with tomato on it. grrr. I picked off the tomato and ate it. Lesson learned: next time I will open all food before I leave)

So it's 5 pm now and in other good news, I got my prorated 2024 bonus from ATT ! I got a net amount of $2,170.12 and I'm not going to complain about it. That will pay my insurance for 3 months and then some ! My utility bill is about $43 lower this month thanks to warmer temps. I may see one more "big" bill and then we should be done with it ! I feel good about my financial health, but I have to keep reminding myself that unemployment ends in June and if I don't have a job I'll have to look at my options for social security and my pension. That would be my only income and I really don't want to spend all of my savings. You need to have some cash on hand for emergencies. I've never been a spender, so it's not hard to hold myself back from buying stuff I don't need. I am considering upgrading my phone since I'd get a good trade in. We'll see ! I'm also still thinking about the snowblower. I want to watch some YouTube videos from people who have it and then make a decision. I can use credit cards point to cover almost all of the cost. Beyond that there is absolutely nothing I need or want. If I do get the job at Digital Direction, I may look into having the windows on my porch replaced and having new stairs built for the basement. Even if I don't get the job I may still look into the stairs. I really do need them. The guy that shoveled off my porch roof does construction and he left me his card, so I plan to call him when the snow is gone. I'd like to be able to go to the basement without being afraid of falling or having the stairs collapse.

All in all today has been a lovely day. I'm still stuffy and coughing some, so I'm not 100% over this. However, I feel 100 times better and it's going to take some time to get my strength back. I just need to keep getting up and moving around. There is snow on my sidewalk and I'd like to start trying to shovel some of it away.