Happy birthday Tatoulia!

How was your webinar?

I'm sorry about the teenager. Rough day off.

I got part of a stall cleaned out yesterday and did a quick and dirty Spring grooming cut on my boy bunny. He looks patchy and pathetic, but much more comfortable. He had some major dreads going on.

I discovered once again that I am very out of shape from winter, but the increased sunlight is helping with my motivation.

This morning we are having a major thunderstorm! I was planning to take Bean out in the garden this afternoon - but it may be too wet.

Hi everyone, not much to report. I had Friday off and went to a very sad funeral for a teenager who collapsed suddenly and ultimately passed away. Saturday I had girls' day with a friend and her daughter and then the three of us visited another friend and his son. BF and I ate out last night for the first time in 2 years.

Yesterday I got up at 8:15 AM, which is unheard of for me. I did laundry and had time to get gas and meet my friends with no rushing or running late. Last night I was up late. Woke up late today, talked on the phone with a friend then just fooled around til about 4. I went to see BF, then went to Macys, then back here, then to BF's then to mom's. So I did get something out of the day.

I have spent quite a bit of money this weekend and need to take a look at things and stop it. My office reopens on April 4 so I bought two skirts that I will be able to wear. I'm hoping, however, to have lost some weight before then, in which case, I could return the skirts.

I have tmr off. That's it for me. Everyone, be good to yourselves.

I didn't get most if that done. I played with bean.

I did do some laundry, plus washed a few dishes, made bread, and hosted dinner - so the dishes are just as bad or worse.

It was supposed to rain this morning, so I slept in - only to wake up and discover that the rain has been pushed to the afternoon.

And I just cut the bread - which is doughy and undercooked.

And watched a herd of 8 deer walk up along the edge of my woods. I realize some people would think that was cool- but deer don't even start giving birth until April - and eight on my land means extensive habitat destruction already. It is too many!

Ok, I need to shift focus and be more positive. (And remember I'm giving up trying to control things for lent) I had a great day with bean yesterday. The sun is shining now. The girl triplet found the second test yesterday - so I will NOT have to milk and bottle feed. (That's a backhanded positive - let's see - the triplets are doing well.) all the baby goats are doing well.

I'm going to go outside.

Good morning.

I got a decent amount of sleep last night- although I was still awakened by my alarm instead of waking up naturally.

Today is sort of a "start anywhere" day. Everything has gotten so out of hand that there are things that need doing wherever I look.

I still don't know if the kids plan to come out. It's supposed to be warm, so a good day for getting things done outside. And I need to start garden seeds, glaze the Christmas gifts I made for ds and ddil (they might be coming next weekend) as always I'm behind on school stuff, and the laundry and dishes are piled up.

Dh is going to play golf today.

CM, I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with your teeth. :(

Lately my dreams have been about school.

Triplets and momma are still doing fine, but they are all eating from one side so there us going to ge milking and bottle feeding in my future.

Road, I hope you get good answers for your son.

SubC, I can imagine triplet kids would be more challenging just as multiple people births are.

I've been busy with the start of Lent, a doctor appointment yesterday, bunny therapy at a retirement home today, and the quilt bingo will be Sunday. There's also a comic con in our town, but I'm not sure about it - every year I want to go to this one and check it out and every year it is during a time when I'm super busy. And with all that's going on in the world, it doesn't have the same appeal as it would during quieter times.

Some things that feel depressing... pain in my face for about a month, intermittent, thought it was sinus which would be so much "better" than dental. But doctor yesterday checked my sinuses and also Dr. Google seems to think it's dental. Ugh. 😖 Thinking I'm probably going to end up with dentures at some point, since doing the things that are required to preserve real teeth are the things that traumatize me. Things that were decided for me as a child, such as that I would continue to see the dentist that was not willing to work with my anxiety, just because my parents didn't want to hurt his feelings? And to remove too many of my teeth, permanent ones that mean I have fewer teeth to spare now?

Well, enough on that. I don't want to talk about it too much, even this much is anguish for me.

The other thing - I feel a little more like there might be recourse - student loan income based plan renewal woes. Their communication is crappy. I grew up with old school correspondence skills, but the modern world wants to shoehorn everyone into spoken communication with an AI over the phone. Which is a MESS for someone with ADHD auditory processing disorder - I end up with my blood pressure up, angry, practically in a meltdown, and STILL may not understand what has been said or make any headway.

So anyway, I'm going to try the correspondence thing again, with a new tactic. Seriously, what do Deaf and hard of hearing people do with an outfit like that?! I suppose they have TTY. If I am forced to communicate via phone call, I may visit that senior center and see if someone there who is good at phone calls could help interface for me. Or maybe my cousin who has a cochlear implant and has volunteered with the agency for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing might know a way.

It's hard to explain this neuroatypical stuff to ordinary civilians, though. They think I'm just being weird.

In the nights, often, I dream about clutter, moving, flea markets, sales, etc. Does anyone else do that? It is a depressing type of dream, though peppered with little dopamine moments of finding caches of objects like rare dolls - such a microcosm of my life. Ugh. I hope that when I get to decluttering my stuff seriously as I hope to very soon, these dreams will go away. I think they are born of frustration at not being in progress mode right now. Weather will be chilly again but hopefully not terrible. Perhaps after a few days we'll see some real spring? I need to gear up ahead of time, I realize, so I don't miss the chance to jump on the opportunities. Sometimes I have had warm days slide by.

Would love to give up hoarding for Lent - permanently!

Good morning - woke up too early to be functional but too late to try to go back to sleep.

House is a wreck.

Road, I am familiar with rootsandrefuge. I watch her stuff and I am a little jealous - of her gardens, her big batch of kids, her heavily involved husband and her budget.

But then I remember that the budget comes from YouTube - which I would hate, and she can do so much because she has paid help, and she sent her kids to school, and if my husband was that involved my budget would be minuscule because he would have to give up his day job. But I wish I had had someone like her as a friend when my kids were younger.

Twins or singles. Twins are best of you can get them to each pick a side.

I got quads once, but they all died.

So far so good on the triplets.

Current goal: make it through the next 24 hours.

These days Dh cooks. If Dh doesn't cook and there are no left overs I eat things like handfuls of nuts, slices of bread, pieces of cheese, and whole fruit.

Dsil fed me tonight - lentils and curried pumpkin soup with tofu.

Bean says "oop!"

Bean also says "baby goats! Mama goat! Grammie car!"

Triplets?! What are they usually? Twins or singles? You must be toast.

Those plans for lent sound both reasonable and wise.

I have two loads of laundry going today, one in dryer, one in wash currently,,,

Puppy chaos - another pooping In the house event this am, as well as a shredding throw pillow extravaganza. Oy! Getting a handle on the grooming though. I think I will make an appt for her to get groomed in a few weeks so she can see how I'm doing and deal with her face since she won't let me do anything to her face. I can barely manage a totally low maintenance dog and a kind of high maintenance puppy. Can't imagine juggling an assortment including birthing goat babies! Are you familiar with "roots and refuge?" On YouTube?

Got more of the groceries put away and made some pickled veggies for banh mi. Yummmmm. I didn't get very far with the fridge, but will take a stab at meal planning today for now through the weekend. I made butter chicken last night and made a little salad to go with as well as some frozen samosas and naan, etc. it was good but I only made enough for one meal so I have to figure something out for tonight. I go through waves of cooking more or less. I need to get to where we are not dining out or doing fast food except once or twice a week. I'm a soup (and sammie) nazi according to the H so I do try to do soup once a week or so and make it a clean out the fridge event so that works well.

Also started editing my stitching videos (filmed back in dec) for YouTube again but I gave up. I can't think clearly enough to edit.

My son has dance class tonight. Do not want to go out but I will take him because he loves it so much. I have had sessions where I blew off taking him to a lot of things but I'm doing pretty well this time with things.

How do you guys handle meal planning and cooking in your house?

Goat triplets.

Long night.

Rough birth.

Life is kicking my butt right now.

Very glad the eeg went well!

For Lent I am focusing on giving up in general - expectations, attempts to control things, uninvited involvement. Sort of a "let go and let god" philosophy. Also "things" that require effort, but I haven't had time to start addressing the ones I already have yet, only to stop seeking them out.

Omg... March 2 evaporated into thin air! I hope everyone is ok.

Yesterday we had the eeg. All went well. The H agreed to take half a day off to help and since he drove and was the one to "nap" with the boy during the test, he got a gold star. Everyone was exhausted because it's a sleep deprived test so we had to keep him up til 12 and wake him up at 3. By yesterday afternoon he was totally slap happy but still didn't get to sleep til 8pm. Hope he's up for school today.

The tech who did the test was from Ukraine so we chatted to her about the situation briefly. She wanted to talk but also was trying to hold it together enough to do her job. She said they had several family members they were trying to get out and they had quite an ordeal. I guess at one point they were on the phone with them when they heard shelling start and the phone went dead and couldn't get ahold of them again for several hours.

I got a temporary reprieve on the prepping for guests scenario. My friend who was going to stay with us decided not to come after all. She was driving from CO to Chicago basically for the weekend so that would have been brutal. That Nebraska never ends as some of us probably know. But since all the stuff I had laid out that I needed to do in time for her visit, still needs to be done, so I will try to do it. Well, I kind of lost the whole day yesterday and the kid is home on Friday so this is my only chance. I did get most of the laundry down already and did one load (which is now on the bed). And I did some grocery shopping. Bathrooms are in pretty good shape so I think it would only take 15 mins a piece to do those so I will. I'll do another load of laundry (or maybe more), and tackle a couple shelves in the fridge. There are still groceries all over the table and piano and counters so... and here I was just getting all philosophical about the Ukrainians facing down war and only buying what they needed at the grocery so that others could buy what they needed and I *still* overbought. I have been watching some budget meal planning videos lately in an effort to carve enough out of the grocery and dining expenditures to afford to take vacations again... I Had a little success last week and will keep you posted... I was fascinated a few months ago when I saw one woman work out a $10 for the week food budget... eggs and scallions and scallion pancakes, bananas, etc. not a gourmet feast but totally doable, especially in a pinch. Obviously, she wasn't wasting any food. It was inspirational.

Well,I better get moving. Back later to check in.

Good luck to your son tomorrow, Road!

You are brave to have a houseguest. Most people want clean sheets and bedding and a clean bathroom. Let the rest happen with or without you. You know you are doing well and you have your hands full most days. My birthday is Monday.

My cleaners come tomorrow and not a moment too soon. I changed my own sheets last week and the bed doesn't feel righ. I'm not used to not having a footboard.

Very busy this week at work. Looking forward to Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off.

I'll do the dishes and then get ready for bed. I snuck in a load of towels tonight; I'll get them out of the dryer in a little while.

I have my mindful emotional eating webinar tomorrow. Wish me well!

Hi all, so great to read your posts. Tatoulia, happy birthday! Early? Late? It's also the H's bday this week.

Interesting observations from everyone about a number of things! I am also really into process/tracking and while I KNOW it can bog me down it's also sometimes very motivating, star charts for adults!

Being a graphic designer, my approach ended up being to make it very detailed and pretty at the same time. I used some of David Seah's forms as a base and customized and cute-ified them. This is a daily worksheet I used to plan and track everything... health goals, diet, money spent, films watched, creative endeavors - you name it. I actually made different ones for each month, incorporating italian terms (trying to learn Italian) and all the habits I was trying to instill. I guess at this point I am back to using these about half the time. I know when I do I generally have more productive days. Of all the many habits listed on this sheet, I currently ignore almost all of them. That's probably why the system isn't overwhelming me. Lol.

I don't know about you guys - well, I think CM's comments must have gotten me thinking about this - but I anticipate spring pushing me around a corner. I always feel better(mentally and physically)... so hopefully I can have - MAKE - another big leap forward in progress.

My son has eeg tomorrow (weds) and then I have a couple friends coming to town for another friends dads funeral this weekend. One is staying with us for a day or two, this always presents interesting challenges for people in our situation,,, where do they sleep? What has to be cleaned? Triage!!! What in my room can be sorted out and what has to be shoved into the back 40 and hidden behind my temporary curtain situation? Well, one positive thing is last summer before my floor was cleaned out I would never have let her stay here. She's one of my best friends and knows all my secrets but has never actually been in my house. Like happens a lot when I casually identify as a hoarder people don't take it seriously (or don't know how to act when I say that) so they probably imagine a cluttered kitchen countertop and not a full basement and full 2.5 car garage.

Well, anyway, the impending visit should definitely light a fire under me. Or at least TRIAGE!

TRIAGE list:
1) determine guest sleeping location
2) determine alternate sleeping locations for the rest of us
3) clean sheets and towels for guest (towels are done)
4) clean bathrooms (not in bad shape)
5) bad smells? Refresh freshy things
6) FRIDGE! Omg. The horror.
7) the worst cabinets
8) other cleaning
9) groceries/cooking plan

Alright friends, it's 3:30 am and since my insomnia started a few hours early tonight it's almost time to go to bed again...

Also I can't even about the Ukraine situation. I've reflected a lot on these people going from a place of security and comfort one day and literally having their lives threatened or fleeing their home and country the next. What are they carrying? A purse or maybe a single piece of luggage. Their pet. Their kids. What do they have left? Just their friends and family who are all in danger. What do they have materially? Nothing. Do we know what we would take if we only had an hour to pack a bag? What about all the rest?

Lila where are you? Did you disappear like me?

That's an interesting topic, SubC. A few years back, our health insurer had a steps app and you could win badges for 7000 steps a day, 10000 steps a day, doing 7000 for ten days in a month, etc and I thought about how stupid the badges were.until I started collecting them. We also coul earn up to 100 a quarter, which most of us got our 400 each year. But the badges felt so good. Who knew?

I'm going to have to up my diet game. I've decided that when I'm down 20 pounds I'll start getting Botox in my forehead. I have the elevens very deeply. No crows feet or other wrinkles. Very deep lines in forehead. One of the lines looks like a thunderbolt.

So I was hunting on m6 phone for some info I needed and I found all these notes to myself in 2014 about my hoarding and having too much stuff. Amazing how aware I was and the things I'd say to myself. I knew I had to do something. And I made simple lists. I'm so grateful I did it. Huge gratitude to stop living that way.

Ok tonight I really am going to go to bed early. I hope.

Good morning!

I am picking my boy up a bit later today because his mother has other plans. I am rethinking my "habits" I did not fill out my chart all weekend, and I am realizing that the chart had become another source of stress. I was up to nine habits and most days could not do all of them. I was also starting to worry about remembering to record.

I think the value of the habits was less the tracking and more the being mindful of focusing on certain things. So I am taking a short break and setting a new resolution for March, or possibly lent. I have been doing some reading today on Lenten spiritual practices, and there is a lot for thought. (I was raised in a spiritual tradition of memorization and obedience. Neither of those is particularly helpful to me.)

I have also been reading about gamification and how the assignment of points (rewards - grades, dollars, prizes, "likes", views, badges, titles..) teaches us what to focus on (value, pay attention to, invest our time in, track, collect.)

I feel like there is a connection to be made there.

Glad you were able to restore your spirit by attending the conference! And enjoying yourself!

I am taking Friday and Monday off to celebrate my birthday. The 4th is also my anniversary with miss kitty. She was a birthday gift 17 years ago. I still remember bringing her home. She was a wreck from being a stray and sick and was neutered the day before. She was the most pathetic thing. Now we are pathetic together.

Cm, you will break the log jam. I saw something meaningful (well, meaningful enough) on Twitter or Instagram and for the life of me, I don't recall what it said. But it reminded me of both myself and you, so I'll search around for it.

Shout out to Road and Lila!

Everyone is quiet today.

I made four gallons of milk into two pints of cream, a quart plus half a pint of ricotta, and four wheels of mozzarella. I gave part of the whey to the chickens and put the rest away for baking or chickens on another day.

I also made pound cake.

I ran the dishwasher which took care of about half the resulting dishes, and I did two loads of laundry.

I didn't do lesson plans. I have to email the reptile kids' parents tomorrow. I know that doesn't make sense, but I need to get to bed, and if I put the note here, I'll see it.

Good morning! I slept late.

It is sunny today and supposed to warm up. Dh is going to go play golf.

My plan for the day is to do lesson plans and make cheese and maybe poundcake. There are a lot of other things I would like to do, but I have a very busy week ahead and cheese and lesson plans (and pound cake) will reduce the pressure.

Yesterday I went to a wonderful all day teacher workshop at the city studio. I brought home a goodie bag and bought a few things - some for me and some for school. (They had 20% off all day) and I restocked some of the clay and glaze for school.

For me there are two small tools and some goodie bag stencils. I don't know yet which stencils I will keep and which I will take to school (the more fragile ones will stay with me - I can take them in if a particular student might benefit from them) but they are 6" thin squares, so one or ten makes little storage difference. I actually already have one of these stencils, so they will stack on top.

It was a really good mental health break. I realized part way through the third session (after lunch) that I was just relaxed and having fun and not thinking about all the other things I need to do at all.

I need more days like that.

Oops, left out a word - should read "nothing terribly difficult."

At library, found this new thread.

Weather is improving here. Should be in a pattern that'll be easier to cope with. Next week is a little busy, Ash Wednesday, a doctor appointment and payday/bill paying on Thursday, a bunny therapy session in a care facility on Friday. Nothing terribly, just things to remember.

Work on my quilt had slowed down but should pick up again.

I've been bugged a lot by thoughts of my STUFF. I know the angst is partly due to impatience with the bad weather and the way world events make one think about what really matters or doesn't.

But I keep telling myself that stewing about the hoarding and clutter isn't going to be productive, that soon enough I will be able to do something about it. Hopefully that will put an end to the worrying with action. Days will be warmer - and longer. I'll make a point of putting more emphasis on resolving things especially with the storage unit being so disarrayed, and too much stuff where I live - break the logjams, rethink a lot of things, see what can go away.

I was actually up early (for me) today and it felt good! I had coffee and a bagel. BF actually had this AM off so I met him at his place. He was shoveling when I got there. Beautiful, sunny day. Now he's back at the office and I am here.

I changed my sheets yesterday. My cleaners didn't come because I was feeling poorly. I did two loads of laundry last night and have two more to do today, but I don't know yet whether I will. I'm out of oj and other things but might wait to do my shopping til tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit sleepy and feel like laying around.

I'm taking a zoom class for emotional eating on Tuesday. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library but in truth the thanks goes to CM. She got me here!

Good morning! Thank you!

Howdy hey
I don't know why I thought I could make that rhyme with seventeen.

Good morning everyone. Rare moment nothing to say, just "hi"

Ok, hopefully this will make a new thread that Everyone can find easily. If it works, I'll go put a note on the old thread.