If I was really a wonderhorse? I'd be able to count to 3 by pawing the ground

 In the middle of week 3 on Wegovy. Week 2 was kind of a dud since I lifted the pen too soon and all the medicine dribbled all over my arm instead of going INTO my arm. Ooops. I muscled through the week but definitely overate since there was nothing stopping me. This week I managed to get the injection into my body, and I am feeling the effects, in a mostly good way.

1. I don't have cravings, and my food intake has cut back nicely. I get hungry and I do think about food, but in what feels like normal ways. I like only eating half of my dinner and having the rest for leftovers. (Because I still don't know how to cook the right size meal.)

2. A meal of too much cheese (like, say, manicotti for dinner) does not do well as it's leaving the body. I need protein in all of my main meals, and it can't just be cheese, dammit.

3. I include a fruit or vegetable with every meal. My snacks don't have to be protein, either; I had a banana mid-morning yesterday and that was sufficient to get me to lunch. 

4. The one big downsize so far is that my two cups of coffee in the early morning hours had to be cut down to one, and now I think need to be eliminated altogether. But I need some caffeine, and I need that warm drink on the couch in the dark. So I guess it's time to try some teas. I will get a nice English Breakfast, and a green one too, to see what caffeine level I can tolerate. My tea-drinking friends, feel free to offer recommendations!

My doctor extended my .25 prescription for another 3 months, so I get more time to adjust to the med. So far, so good. I only weigh myself once a week so I don't know how this week with actual medication in my system is going, but I feel pretty good. Last week I just maintained my weight.

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My fellow PT friends: how do you incorporate your at-home exercises into your daily routines? I am failing miserably at getting mine in, and it shows. My ankles hurt more now than they did when I started, and now my right knee (the leg that was not injured) is feeling sore and bursitis-y. I gotta do them regularly. What tips do you have for me?

Ok, gotta give the house a big, deep, clean today. Even removing cobwebs on the ceiling! 

 The first weekend of the 12 Days of Christmas Sale was stunningly good. In 3 days I made over $2100 gross, which is often what I make all month. My best year for November/December was 2023, when I opened up my big double-booth. I am less than $200 from that peak, and there are two more weeks to the month. It's going to be my biggest payout yet. So excited!

My boss told me that I came in as the 5th highest seller in the store last month. I bet I do the same or better this month. So very validating.

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Christmas shopping proceeds apace. I never get it done early, I am usually too focused on Thanksgiving, and Black Friday weekend at the store, and then getting the tree up and house decorated. By the time I start thinking about gifts, I only have 2 weeks to go, and I need to figure out shipping too. At least now it's only worrying about shipping to Connecticut for my sister, and Detroit for the nieces.

Speaking of painful reminders, USPS informs me there are a bunch of Christmas cards coming from my parents' neighbors and friends in Florida. I got weepy just seeing the email message. 

I don't do cards, haven't done it for years. But I will send replies to them. 

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One of the nicest things about being able to set my own schedule is that I can change it when the mood strikes. I was looking at my running list of to-do in my Notes app, and realized I really want to get out of the house this morning. So the at-home chores move down the list, and the outside errands move up. I think I will be adding a few thrift store stops too; Mama needs to source more to sell more!

Today is still bitterly cold, but it looks like it's the last brutal one for a while. Will be in the 20s and 30s this week. Yes, you warm-weather people, that's pretty balmy for us right now. 

 Two days later, the inside of my house looks better even if the outside doesn't.

The art glass and displays all over the house have been rearranged. I have 4 grocery boxes of lovely pieces that I have grown bored with and am taking to the booth. Some should net me a nice profit. 

The office is tidied, boxes have been emptied or moved, papers have been filed. There is so much floor space again I laid out Molly's favorite fuzzy rug from Florida and she has been snoozing away on it. 

The living room is lovely and calm looking. Still a few more decorations left to put on the tree, but the rest is looking very nice. I did some shopping in my booth and at a few others to find the extra ornaments I need.

The final task will be to repot some of the plants so the grouping under the TV set and by the window are perfect. R way overbought on indoor plants, and some are not thriving or are actually very ugly. So they probably will not survive the repotting.

The outside is still a clusterfuck. I have machinery in my driveway and ladders and soffits in my backyard. They have only finished the soffits on 30% of the house after two days of work. Turns out my 1959 house did not have 2025 standard-size soffits so they have had to custom-cut each one, and that requires a lot more time to do. Also, the weather has not been cooperating at all. This morning it is snowing AGAIN but expected to end around 10am It's 8:30 and they literally arrived as I was typing this. So they are busy working in the freaking snow to get this done. The only silver lining is that it rained during most of last night/today's storm so all the icicles and black ice melted and it's easier to get around. 

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In many ways, this year-end busywork very much resembles my year-beginning work, just in the opposite direction. Then, I was systematically taking apart every section of my parents' home and lives, while also doing the daily household chores for me and Molly. I collected all of their reading and regular glasses to donate to the Lions Club. Cleaned out the pantry of my dad's BOGO buys and donated hundreds of pounds of food to the local pantry, while keeping Molly's and my food stuffs in the space. Emptied out drawers and closets and cabinets, packing for home or donation or giving to neighbors or selling at the garage sale. Packing my mom's display items while rearranging the rest for staging. 

Now, I am nesting, building our home back up. Finding the new right spots for their items and mine. Re-imagining what my living room should look like. Spending time in an office space that I enjoy and don't want to bury in crap. Incorporating R's passion for plants with my passion for vintage items. Most of all, right now, after 30+ years on the road to Connecticut, Detroit, or Florida, we will be celebrating Christmas at home from now on. I am figuring out what I want that to look like. All the while, washing dishes and doing laundry and making the bed every day. And making sure I find pleasure in this, like my parents did. They loved fussing with their house, making it look pretty all the time. I just don't think I realized how much work went into that.