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Wegovy thoughts

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!

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not all griefs are the same

Maybe I am the odd man out, but I don't grieve for celebrities or public figures.

I am sorry they died, I remember and honor their work, I feel for their families and friends who will truly experience grief and loss from their deaths. I do feel many things when they die, but then I move on. Especially now that I am in the midst of my own personal grief journey, I can see and feel the difference between personal grief and parasocial grief.

There were a few major celebrity deaths this weekend, Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle, and Tony Geary from General Hospital. Both men created indelible stories and characters that live on in my head and millions of others' heads forever. All were gone way too soon. 78 (68 for Michelle) is too effing young to die.

Which is probably the thought that drove my subconscious to relive both of my parents' dying moments at 2am this morning. That's how old they were.

I am very tired of feeling the weight of this grief. I hate when it sneaks up on me like this, just as I think the hardest parts are over.

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Trying out some new non-political podcasts lately, just to see what the fuss is. The self-help ones, yeah I dunno if they are for me. I have Mel Robbins on my playlist but I keep skipping them because they are really freaking long and there is something too polished and practiced about her. But this week was about "How to Make 2026 Your Best Year: 6 Questions to Ask Yourself." You guys know how much I love a good New Years Resolution list, so I thought this might be a good way to frame it this year.

The Questions:
1. What were the low points of your year?
2. What were the high points?
3. What did you learn this year?
4. What are you going to stop doing?
5. What are you going to continue doing?
6. What are you going to start doing?

I could fill a book with answers to number 1, but I can't think of a single answer to question 2. Every single "high" is tinged with bittersweetness. The Amtrak ride with my husband...after my parents' memorial service. Watching Molly bond with Abby and R...because she can't live with her original owners anymore.

I will have to think about if these are the right questions for me this year. She put a lot of focus on the necessity of looking back in order to plan for the future, and that is how I have often framed my NYE Resolutions, but something about that this year feels redundant, wallowing, and unhelpful. So we shall see.

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(no subject)

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.

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I have a rooooof

Roof replacement: COMPLETE

Christmas decorating: COMPLETE

Art Glass re-arranging: COMPLETE

Such a freaking relief.

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Of course, there is always more to do. I contracted the roofers/general contractors to also replace the original cement utility sink in my basement with a new plastic tub, and they did that on the last day as the last task. But there was a lack of communication to the project manager and he only purchased a tub, not a new faucet. The existing faucet does not quite reach the new tub, and it leaks if used. It needs replacement ASAP. They credited me $350, but now I have to contact our regular plumber to install one. Tbh, I think I prefer using them anyway. First off, our plumbers know our house really well since they have been repairing it through multiple owners, and they know all the old houses in the neighborhood. Second, the roofer was really good and knowledgeable about the attic and the roof, but all the extra small projects they offered to do were only partially done. The attention to detail and skills sets are a little lacking on the interior work. I do intend to use them to replace the windows in the spring, but when it comes time for the bathroom I will likely use someone else. But we shall see.

And of course, now it's time for a full house cleaning.

And the Christmas shopping has to get done this week so it can get shipped out to Connecticut and Detroit.

And our last big sale of the year starts today at the store.

But that's all easier and more fun, and under my own control. It's not watching icicles drip from my freaking unfinished roof for weeks on end.

God, I am so relieved it's done. It's really so lovely sitting with my husband and dogs on the couch at night enjoying the twinkling tree.

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inside, outside

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.

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half-way on all my projects

The mantle is decorated. The tree is up but not decorated yet; it takes a while for me to correctly fluff out the branches so they aren't any weird gaps and the lights are distributed evenly. You would think that would be easier with a pre-lit tree but it is not.

I have to re-arrange the art glass in the living room to accommodate the Christmas decorations, although in fairness it was an overdue task anyway. Since I am still building my collection and deciding what styles and items I like, it's always a work in progress. On the plus side, it also means I will have more items to flip in the booth.

Also half-way done: repotting several of the indoor plants. This now also part of our living room decor, and changes here also impact changes in the art glass. It's all one big cycle that takes time, even though ultimately I do enjoy it.

What DID get completed is I cleaned up the jalousie window porch so R can use it as a mudroom for the winter, and R did as I asked and cleaned up his semi-permanent piles that had gathered just inside of all the doors. Between the dog gear, his smoking gear, his winter clothes gear, and firepit gear, I am honestly surprised he doesn't have more piles. (Don't tell him I said that, I can't encourage his disorganization.)

ALLEGEDLY the roofer is coming today to work on the gutters, but it is just as cold as it was last week, and there is now even more snow and ice so we are skeptical today is the day. I would be more upset with them about all these delays, but then I read that this is the snowiest early winter we have had since 1978. So of course back before Thanksgiving they thought they could get it done, even waiting on materials. No one expected this much snow because we haven't had any this early in over 40 years.

I do hope they can get it done this week, though. The dripping icicles are all around the front door and path to the cars, and it is scary af to walk around. I use so much salt right now, but it is an endless cycle.