August 30, 2025: Life Is All About Me

 

Since 2025 has been a horrible year so far (from a diet and exercise perspective), I decided to restart the year early this month. I'm titling my blog's with the date, because I tend not to write every day and it gets hard to keep track of the days. I will still try to capture everything I've been up to when I do write.

It was nearly 10 am when I got up today, so I guess I was tired ! I go to bed around 11 but if I'm playing Jackpot World hours can go by before I actually go to sleep. I try not to take the tablet to bed every night, but at this point it doesn't matter what time I go to sleep or what time I get up. I'd actually prefer being an early riser, but that 11 pm reset on Jackpot World pulls me in every night ! I like to get right in there and collect rewards, send coins to my friends and get the daily challenges done. It's a competition thing with me that exists only in my mind. I'm going to make more of an effort to leave the tablet downstairs when I go to bed and retrain myself to game in the morning.

Breakfast today was the last of the coconut zucchini bread that Lauren made. It was SO good ! It also had chocolate chips in it. Lunch was a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli .. one of my childhood favorites ! It's only $1 a can but at 320 calories it's not something I can eat every day. Dinner was the rest of the gnocchi that I cooked yesterday. The entire package was 800 calories (plus the sauce and grated cheese) so I'm going to guesstimate 1000 calories for the full portion. That's a few more calories than a Nutrisystem dinner, but I had no morning snack or afternoon snack.

I placed an Amazon order today for a craft kit for hot fix bedazzling ! Two of the gems on my sparkly Skechers are gone so I'm going to try and replace them. I might also "bedazzle" some of my clothing items. It might be fun ! I also ordered a DVD of a movie I really enjoy. It's called The Nutcracker and The Four Realms. It's on Disney+ but movies come and go and I really enjoy watching this one. The order is supposed to be delivered on Tuesday .. we'll see if that actually happens !

I thought about going to Costco today but then I remembered I'd have to drive right through the State Fair traffic. That's a big nope ! I might go on Tuesday. I need to go to Walmart and the post office, so I'll make it one big trip !

I ended up doing a load of laundry and washing the few dishes I had. I've made more effort to keep the kitchen clean so that the task doesn't become overwhelming. I keep telling myself doing things here and there is better than letting everything go and then not knowing where to start to regain control. 

Kim is having a cook out for my birthday tomorrow. She doesn't want me to be alone and I appreciate that. Michelle and Mike are coming, but Rich & Barb have a wedding so they can't. No big deal - I didn't expect anything. 

Winter will be here before we know it and I need to take steps to stock up on certain items like pet food and non-perishable food items. If I cancel Nutrisystem I'll need to cook more often and I can't have an empty pantry in the midst of a blizzard. I'm hoping that we have a mild dry winter, but I need to be prepared for the worst. I also need some things to occupy my mind. YouTube and the online games get boring at times. Last winter was brutal mostly because of the non-stop snow but I never found myself without food for myself and the cats. This winter I'd like to cook more "cozy" meals like chili or soup. It will give me something to do ! I think this is a good time to start cooking for myself since the weather is cooling. Soup would be so easy. Chicken stock and a bunch of veggies ! I could add chicken, beans, rice or egg noodles on the fly to increase the protein or add a little carb. I'll just have to make sure I don't make enormous quantities because I don't want a freezer full of stuff that I may never eat. I have nothing but time so I can make soup every week ! One reason I don't like to cook is the cleanup, so meal prep is going to be key to my success. I can cook a bunch of ground beef and then freeze it for tacos or chili or sloppy joe. I can also freeze cooked chicken for salads and fajitas. Costco sells packets of already cooked chicken and I'm going to try that to see how it works. They also have sticky rice packets that I'm going to buy. So I have a lot of ideas ... now I just need to commit and execute !

Life is starting to settle into a more comfortable place to be. I feel better physically, so I'm no longer worrying about having cancer. Getting some weight off will make me feel even better ! My bills are in order but I still have that unresolved $600 bill from the IRS. I appealed that but they are slow to resolve. I took care of the cars needs and got my license upgraded to Enhanced. I can use it to go into Canada if the opportunity ever arises ! September brings school taxes and the water/sewer bill and November brings the car registration .. then it's on to the winter heating bills ! I'm going to try setting the thermostat on 65 this winter and use the electric heaters or electric blanket to stay warm.

Today has been my day to shop ! I decided to buy 2 more Ring cameras to replace the Eufy cameras. The Eufy's don't work at night and that is really when I want them to be working ! It was $86 for the 2 cameras as Ring had a Labor Day sale going on and there is no added cost for the plan. I've been paying $100 a year for 2 cameras and I'll pay the same for 4, so it made sense ! At least now I'll have a clear view of outside activity instead of the window reflection the Eufy cameras give me.