Trip Planning

I think I'm all caught up, moved the posts from Photographs to this actual blog :)
Sorry 'bout that!

When I was young and had school-aged children, trip planning was never easy.  Of course, we were always trying to find the cheapest way to get there and back, which almost always meant driving, sleeping in tents, cooking meals on a camp stove.  But I never complained, and we had wondrous journeys and ramblings!   There's a whole lot you can see along the way when you drive.  And even when you think there isn't anything to see, if you look hard, there will be!

I remember a trip across the plains states - was it Kansas or Nebraska?  We could see things on the road, so we stopped to check it out ---- turtles!  It still makes me smile :)  Another trip, we were driving close to midnight up on a mountain somewhere, and you could see so many stars!  We woke up the kids, made them get out of the van and just look in amazement at the number of stars in the sky!  Being from California at that time, with so much ambient light in a city, the stars aren't as visible.  Another trip and we set up camp and a thunderstorm blew up.  In those days, with 5 kids and 2 adults, the kids slept in a divided tent - boys on one side, girls on the other - and the adults had their own tent.  But after the winds started howling, thunder crashing, it wasn't long before all 5 kids were in the adult tent!   With all the bodies in there, the wind just whipped that tent left and right, but we never left ground.  haha

But times change, thinking changes, and we're all about "How do we get to our destination the quickest?"  It's become harder and harder to just pick up and go.  I thought it would be easier in my "golden years"  but now I have to find a "sitter" for Sadie if I want to fly anywhere.  And driving isn't the easiest thing, she's too excitable on a driving trip, takes her an hour or so to settle in after every stop - even a short rest area bathroom break!  oh well, we make do. :)

I am trying to put together a trip to California to see my sister and Mom.  I haven't been there since November, which wasn't so long ago, actually, but with sis being ill, I wanted to get my daughter and granddaughter up for a visit as well.  Talk about a coordination nightmare!  Juggling travel to the same destination at the same time can be difficult to plan.  We all have our own schedules -- I am an early riser, and want to get out, and be done.  My daughter?  would rather spend 2 hours getting ready before getting on a plane, so she's not ready to leave until noon or so.  haha

I'm sure we'll figure it out, we always do, and it will be great :)

Gratitude and Attitude

With all the pessimism and turmoil that's hit our country lately, I found a very good suggestion from one of the Empath teachers I follow.  He said one of the ways to get your 'mojo' back is to keep "a list everyday of all the good things you did or were gifted each day, however small. ....  Every time you congratulate yourself, you release neurotransmitters that make you feel good."

I don't know about you, but lately I feel like I need every bit of "feel good" that I can get!

So here's my short and sweet list for today:   I skipped processed foods and had an apple and orange for lunch.   I stayed focused at work and the day just slipped on by!   I came home and walked my dog Sadie; and we watched a beautiful sunset!   It was also much warmer today, without any wind, so thank you Mother Earth!

Be grateful for all the small things in your life that give you joy, or make you happy.  It's the little things we celebrate that bring our gratitude and attitude up a few notches!   Stay blessed, family!

A Good Day

Most people think of the desert as being hot -- and it can be!  In the summer, temps are high, but the desert can get awfully cold at night, and when it's been cloudy, the sun doesn't warm up the land, and mornings lately have been brrrrrrr!   I told myself to remember when summer hits what it feels like to have icy cold fingers!  Hurry Up, Spring!

I tried the half-dose of my meds yesterday, and it was a good day today.  Yes, there are side affects, a little extra gas, but I can handle that.  I was down a half pound this morning - and yes, I take joy in the little bits!  I had another fruit n veggie smoothie today - by far my fav flavor is Blue Machine by Naked Juice.  *pause*  I just googled it, and boy the reviews for this are all over.  Yes, it says on the package that its full of things like apples, blueberries, etc.  But its pasteurized and processed -- so does that count as a "processed food" ???   And made by Pepsico.   Hmm.  Maybe I'll have to rethink this; real juicing at work just won't work.

Either way, it was a pretty good day :)
Hope yours was too!

Kick Sugar

Wednesday can be the best day of the week for me.  In my job, I prep a lot of products to be sent to suppliers, and today is the day my truck driver shows up to take it all.  It always feels like a fresh start to the week for me, with all the clutter-y stuff gone!  I take a lot of pride in building my pallets and love that my BigBoxStore pays me to play "tetris" with all the odd shaped boxes!  And of course, with a touch of OCD and perfectionism, I like them all lined up on a pallet, all edges as flat as I can make it, with nothing hanging over.  When that happens, my pallets can be turned sideways, getting extra pallets on the trailer.  Today, unsure if I could fit 11 pallets on today's trailer, it was hit or miss til the very end -- and when they all fit, it's a huge High Five!Wednesday can be the best day of the week for me.  In my job, I prep a lot of products to be sent to suppliers, and today is the day my truck driver shows up to take it all.  It always feels like a fresh start to the week for me, with all the clutter-y stuff gone!  I take a lot of pride in building my pallets and love that my BigBoxStore pays me to play "tetris" with all the odd shaped boxes!  And of course, with a touch of OCD and perfectionism, I like them all lined up on a pallet, all edges as flat as I can make it, with nothing hanging over.  When that happens, my pallets can be turned sideways, getting extra pallets on the trailer.  Today, unsure if I could fit 11 pallets on today's trailer, it was hit or miss til the very end -- and Wednesday can be the best day of the week for me.  In my job, I prep a lot of products to be sent to suppliers, and today is the day my truck driver shows up to take it all.  It always feels like a fresh start to the week for me, with all the clutter-y stuff gone!  I take a lot of pride in building my pallets and love that my BigBoxStore pays me to play "tetris" with all the odd shaped boxes!  And of course, with a touch of OCD and perfectionism, I like them all lined up on a pallet, all edges as flat as I can make it, with nothing hanging over.  When that happens, my pallets can be turned sideways, getting extra pallets on the trailer.  Today, unsure if I could fit 11 pallets on today's trailer, it was hit or miss til the very end -- and when they all fit, it's a huge High Five!

I last took my new meds on Sunday around noon, and today around 1pm I had what I'm going to keep calling an "episode" (cuz that sounds way better than diarrhea. ugh. lol)  and so I'm thinking I need to take this every third day?  Might be hard to remember, so I decided to try just half a serving -- took meds at 7pm, swished it down with some OJ followed by a bottle of water -- too little water would give me the opposite problem and that's almost just as bad!  My reasoning for the half serving was even if I have to take it more often, maybe I won't feel so backed up - I'm hoping to find that happy medium again!

Which also got me thinking about all the intestines and how they all work together.  If some portion of my intestine got damaged or became more sensitive to bile salts as the episodes worn on during the summer, is it also reasonable to think that maybe with meds and some better food choices that it will heal itself, making it possible to take even less meds?

So I'm pondering a new sort of diet.  I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" - a story about a guy who's overweight and taking medications who wants to make himself healthier.  He did it by committing to juicing every day for 60 days.  He didn't eat any meals, just whatever he juiced up.   One of the benefits I can see would be all the nutrients and macro-nutrients in your fruits and veggies- would they be absorbed more readily into your system?  I realize your stomach is built for that purpose, but after years of bad eating habits, perhaps it needs a rest from overworking the processed junk foods we all rely on?

I've had a fruit/veggie smoothie every day this week for breakfast.  My toughest meal is lunch, so I'll need to work on the logistics of what to eat.  When I get home from work, the first thing I have is 2 cups of broccoli and cauliflower, steamed, with just a touch of mayo because a little fat each day is good for you.  If I'm still hungry, a half cup of brown rice and a little bit of protein, usually chicken or turkey will do the trick.  Getting in more water, and cutting out all sugars and that daily Diet Coke will be a huge struggle for me.  They say kicking sugar is as hard as kicking cocaine or heroin.  I believe them, I've tried many different times, and sugar is nearly impossible to avoid if you enjoy any kind of processed foods --- or are a chocoholic like me!

Here's to making good choices over the next two days ...... :)when they all fit, it's a huge High Five!

I last took my new meds on Sunday around noon, and today around 1pm I had what I'm going to keep calling an "episode" (cuz that sounds way better than diarrhea. ugh. lol)  and so I'm thinking I need to take this every third day?  Might be hard to remember, so I decided to try just half a serving -- took meds at 7pm, swished it down with some OJ followed by a bottle of water -- too little water would give me the opposite problem and that's almost just as bad!  My reasoning for the half serving was even if I have to take it more often, maybe I won't feel so backed up - I'm hoping to find that happy medium again!

Which also got me thinking about all the intestines and how they all work together.  If some portion of my intestine got damaged or became more sensitive to bile salts as the episodes worn on during the summer, is it also reasonable to think that maybe with meds and some better food choices that it will heal itself, making it possible to take even less meds?

So I'm pondering a new sort of diet.  I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" - a story about a guy who's overweight and taking medications who wants to make himself healthier.  He did it by committing to juicing every day for 60 days.  He didn't eat any meals, just whatever he juiced up.   One of the benefits I can see would be all the nutrients and macro-nutrients in your fruits and veggies- would they be absorbed more readily into your system?  I realize your stomach is built for that purpose, but after years of bad eating habits, perhaps it needs a rest from overworking the processed junk foods we all rely on?

I've had a fruit/veggie smoothie every day this week for breakfast.  My toughest meal is lunch, so I'll need to work on the logistics of what to eat.  When I get home from work, the first thing I have is 2 cups of broccoli and cauliflower, steamed, with just a touch of mayo because a little fat each day is good for you.  If I'm still hungry, a half cup of brown rice and a little bit of protein, usually chicken or turkey will do the trick.  Getting in more water, and cutting out all sugars and that daily Diet Coke will be a huge struggle for me.  They say kicking sugar is as hard as kicking cocaine or heroin.  I believe them, I've tried many different times, and sugar is nearly impossible to avoid if you enjoy any kind of processed foods --- or are a chocoholic like me!

Here's to making good choices over the next two days ...... :)

I last took my new meds on Sunday around noon, and today around 1pm I had what I'm going to keep calling an "episode" (cuz that sounds way better than diarrhea. ugh. lol)  and so I'm thinking I need to take this every third day?  Might be hard to remember, so I decided to try just half a serving -- took meds at 7pm, swished it down with some OJ followed by a bottle of water -- too little water would give me the opposite problem and that's almost just as bad!  My reasoning for the half serving was even if I have to take it more often, maybe I won't feel so backed up - I'm hoping to find that happy medium again!

Which also got me thinking about all the intestines and how they all work together.  If some portion of my intestine got damaged or became more sensitive to bile salts as the episodes worn on during the summer, is it also reasonable to think that maybe with meds and some better food choices that it will heal itself, making it possible to take even less meds?

So I'm pondering a new sort of diet.  I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" - a story about a guy who's overweight and taking medications who wants to make himself healthier.  He did it by committing to juicing every day for 60 days.  He didn't eat any meals, just whatever he juiced up.   One of the benefits I can see would be all the nutrients and macro-nutrients in your fruits and veggies- would they be absorbed more readily into your system?  I realize your stomach is built for that purpose, but after years of bad eating habits, perhaps it needs a rest from overworking the processed junk foods we all rely on?

I've had a fruit/veggie smoothie every day this week for breakfast.  My toughest meal is lunch, so I'll need to work on the logistics of what to eat.  When I get home from work, the first thing I have is 2 cups of broccoli and cauliflower, steamed, with just a touch of mayo because a little fat each day is good for you.  If I'm still hungry, a half cup of brown rice and a little bit of protein, usually chicken or turkey will do the trick.  Getting in more water, and cutting out all sugars and that daily Diet Coke will be a huge struggle for me.  They say kicking sugar is as hard as kicking cocaine or heroin.  I believe them, I've tried many different times, and sugar is nearly impossible to avoid if you enjoy any kind of processed foods --- or are a chocoholic like me!

Here's to making good choices over the next two days ...... :)

Meds

If you're like me, you remember things better once you write them down.  Or maybe you just begin to depend on having notes to look back on.   I've been doing that with my eating habits lately, because after having my gall bladder out, I've been having digestive issues, namely, bile salt diarrhea according to my new doctor.

I met her last week, and like her a lot.  Once I described my symptoms, she immediately knew what meds to put me on:  cholestyramine.   This isn't the way I wanted to do it- I was hoping to find a "magic formula" of eating that would counteract my ~episodes~ and not have to resort to meds of any kind.   *sigh*   But as we get older, it just doesn't happen that way, it seems.

Not knowing what to expect, I picked up my Rx and nearly gulped at the price -- $220 -- and was so happy to learn my insurance would cover it.   It comes in a powder form and is to be mixed with water or juice and could be taken up to four times a day.  Hmmm.  Seems like a lot!  I have found that I can control my episodes up to a point by eating brown rice and veggies for dinner every night, and keeping away from fats and sugars during the work day.  But that didn't cover doing anything outside of being at home or work
(read between the lines:  close to a bathroom!)
Eating this way for the past two months or so enabled me to drive to and from work without needing a bathroom during the 30 minute commute!

Here's my advice to young folks:   Eat healthy and keep your liver/gall bladder functioning properly -- you won't like the alternatives!

So Thursday I open my first packet of cholestyramine and pour it into the last 8 ounces of my 33 ounce water bottle.  Instructions say to "mix well".   I shook that bottle for all it's worth, and boy did it foam up!  When your mind thinks 'water' and you're drinking something that has a nauseating fake orange flavor, along with tons of foam, and you find that your water is actually gritty --- UGH!  Talk about a gag reflex!!  What I didn't notice in the side affects is that this could cause dizziness or drowsiness.  And I just downed it.  At work.

It took about 30 minutes and I could feel the dizziness and realized that this was something I needed to take at home, perhaps before bedtime!  I'm sensitive to many meds as it is, and rarely take any kind of pills, aspirin and such, so when I do take something, I need to be careful.

With my first dose under my belt, I waited, wondering if this was going to work, how it was going to work, what effect it will have on me and my episodes.  When you become used to going to the bathroom often, having your bowels empty most of the time because of a high motility rate, not going as often makes you feel just as uncomfortable.  Needless to say, I didn't venture outside my normal routines of work and home, walking Sadie each evening .... just in case.

And being the kind who always wants to push limits, I let my eating habits be No Limits for the weekend:  ice cream.  check.   cheese.  check.  chocolate bar.  check.  pizza! check.  So far, none of them caused any issues all of Friday and Saturday.  Hmm.  Maybe I can get away with taking this only two or three times a week!

Today, Sunday, was another matter.  I had a peanut butter bar and a wrap with bacon on it, and an hour later, back to old habits and into the bathroom.  But that's ok.  I got home and took another dose, this time mixing it with real orange juice.  It was still a little thick, a little gritty, but I got it down.  I did notice that not mixing it well meant a bit of the grit stuck to my teeth and it was like applying ice to a sensitive tooth - ouchies!

I'm going to continue to monitor my food intake and my doses of this wonder drug, and will keep you informed.  As I write this, I'm having a bowl of delicious split pea soup -- one of my favs that I haven't eaten in nearly 3 years!

Hmm, maybe I should have checked the expire date on that can! haha

Got Time?

When Blogger changed its dashboard layout, I had no idea I was posting these on my photography blog.  Ugh.  

Ever noticed how there doesn't seem to be enough time to do everything?  That's just a symptom of recent times, it seems.  Between jobs, home chores, laundry, grocery shopping, all the usual simple chores to keep us sane - it leaves us little time to do the other things we want to get done.  I wonder all the time how I can get more time into my day, to do what needs to be done.

I recently tossed out my old desk, and re-purposed my entertainment center into a new desk, which means losing all the old places to store things.  I have all these things that need to be put somewhere, and it seems like I get one thing put in one place, and find a dozen other things that need to be put somewhere.  Every day, I put away one thing --- but it seems like there's never an end to the dozen other things!

Today, I needed a thumb drive to move some files for safekeeping, and I couldn't find it!   Aarrgghh! It's just so frustrating.  I thought I had all of those in "one single place"; turns out I didn't.  Because a desk is used every day (at least, mine is!), things are sort of fluid - always moving from place to place!


Anyone have an extra hour ----
or three ---- I can borrow??   lol

Got Nature?

It's so easy to take things for granted, to look at things that are always there and not really notice them.  Sometimes our lives are so busy, we move from work to home to chores to bed and forget there's more out there.

Like this flock of geese
honking noisily .......






I've been guilty of that for more than a month. It's much easier to walk Sadie around the neighborhood than hop in the car and head for our favorite park.  But we miss out on so much when we take the easy way out!

Even on a cloudy day, the sun breaks through and shines a bit of evening light on the pond.....





Golden Ball Lead Tree, they have a dreamy scent to me, light and elusive at times.











and of course,  #AzSadieThePug!

she just LOVES going to this park

and we walked for an hour!

"In every walk with nature, 

one receives far more than he seeks."

-John Muir

Whine, Whine, Whine!

What. A. Week.   And it's only Wednesday!

Lately, the absurdities in my BigBox store are mounting.  The management structure of a BigBox store is based on sales volume, and we're losing key management because we didn't achieve our sales goals.  But oh how I wish I could pick which one(s) we're losing!   Why is it the ones who are deemed "the worst" by those who have to put up with -issues- are the ones who stick around???

I don't have a degree in accounting, or in managerial skills, but I've worked retail 15+ years, and I'm not dumb.  (Unless of course it's on purpose to get out of ...something. lol)   But in a retail environment, the store doesn't have a large markup on items, so it creates profit based on sales volume.  Pretty basic.  But one of the key factors is having workers who are productive, who use their time wisely.  I've always been a proponent of "work smarter, not harder", and for me that means being productive and accomplishing things in a set amount of time.  I have one manager who insists on things being done her way, and frankly, it's not a productive use of time.  I've been 'swimming upstream' with this individual and getting no where.  So I've come to the conclusion that I'll just have to do things her way.  But what happens when the job I've been instructed to do isn't being accomplished because I am being 'advised' on a different way of doing things?   *smh*

The other issue I have is having a co-worker who's work ethics and sense of accomplishment differ from mine.  If you label me as the Type A gung-ho worker, their label would be a full pendulum swing in the opposite direction  - no matter how much there is to do, there is only one speed.  If things aren't done when the shift ends, eh - no matter to them at all.  And it really bothers me.  I would tolerate it better if the slower work meant that it was accurate work, then it might be a different story.   Or it might be tolerable if this person wasn't always thinking of a way to get paid for doing nothing.  Like clocking in 15 minutes early and then flopping in the lounge to gossip with friends before beginning work is one example.  Leaving for lunch, walking to the front of the store to purchase said lunch, then walking back to the lounge before clocking out for lunch is another example.  In my opinion, that's stealing time.  It's been reported, and nothing happens.  I've been reporting this, the inaccuracies of the work, the errors that, if discovered, might result in fines from the DOT or other environmental agencies, for over a year.  Today, this same manager comes in and asks me to "make sure I'm keeping up on reporting the inaccuracies, etc" ..... I'm sorry, but I'm just tired of doing that over and over again.  It takes maybe 2-3 minutes to make the necessary corrections before shipping something out, and 15-20 minutes to make a log of the error and corrections.

Yep, it's been a whiny day.  Actually it's been a week of whiny!

Two weeks ago, this manager pulls me into the office to see if there's "something wrong..." and why don't I say good morning to her?   Um, I'm here to do a job, not blow sunshine and smiles at you to make you feel good.  And it might be different if she didn't swing back and forth between cheery and bitchy on a daily basis.  This morning my greeting was " ..... when you get these shopping carts emptied, I want them pushed up to the front and not left here in the back ..."  So I did just that.  I emptied one shopping cart, and pushed it up front.  Then I emptied another shopping cart, and pushed it up front.  Until all 6 shopping carts were gone.   *lmao*  It meant I had 11k steps by lunch time!  Talk about unproductive time, though; if I could have emptied several and pushed them all up at once.....  but, that's my way, not hers.   *sigh*  

3,485 days - give or take a few!

I'm ready now!

Be Strong

When it comes to cancer, there's only way to be and that's strong.  In fact, for all of us, fighting cancer or not, being strong is what's needed.

These days, there are so many things we have to deal with that we never had to before.  When I was a kid growing up, the incident in Ft Lauderdale might have made a mention in the "world news tonight" segment of the news hour, but constant or instant updates didn't happen like they do now.  Our lives are instantly changed by events not only in our local community or state, but world wide as well.


All of this instant information can be quite alarming, and sometimes quite addicting.

Back in April 2016, an incident happened in my store where a police officer was shot, and recently they released the tape of parts of it.  And it's frightening -- but also kind of spookily weird.  When I watched it - and let's face it, we are drawn to look at incidents - I could see myself walking through the very doors where it happened.  Something, anything can happen anywhere, but when it's in our own "backyard" we feel the effects differently.

But with information technology, we see things in an instant and nowadays events across the country can feel as if they're in our own "backyard" as well.  And it's difficult to find a way to turn it off, to set our own personal limits on when and where we let the information in.  If you're like most, you're attached to your phone -- or it's attached to you.  Either way, we have them set up with notifications that alert us to when we need to pay attention.  And even without an alert, we're checking constantly for updated information.  But when do we say "enough" ??

For me, I've set limits.  I don't check my phone constantly any longer.  I allow myself 10 minutes to check things at the beginning of my lunch hour and then 20 minutes when I get home while dinner's cooking.  That's it.  I have to limit myself and what I let in, because it's important to have "down time", time for me, time for my brain to think of things that aren't bad/scary/frightening and to learn to refocus on the good things, things that bring me happiness.  Our time is so limited, it takes great strength to be a part of the techno-info world and yet still have time for what is important to us.

In these times, I say it's time to be strong,
to set limits and give ourselves time to be us,
time to think and do and create.

My sister is doing just that:  in the face of stage iv pancreatic cancer, she is being strong and proactive.  Her first chemo treatment went well, she is also having acupuncture to deal with pain and nausea and it seems to be working well.  She also takes a med daily via epi-pen.  Technology sure has come a long way when it comes to health issues!

Just Believe

Ring, Ring

The last time -- in fact every time -- I've gone to a concert, my ears ring afterward, something about too much noise, or too loud.  Or both!   and lately, my ears have been ringing that way once I get home from work.  And it has me wondering if it's from work?  I started googling around to see if there was anything else.  There's the usual "something electrical" in the house, from TV output to toys with batteries that are dying.  And maybe there's something to that. I'll have to check the only things with batteries:  the computer, the smoke detectors and flashlights -- on tomorrow's TO DO list!
The other thing that the Mayo Clinic had to say (one of my fav go-to's when looking up health issues) is that "stress, alcohol and caffeine, can make tinnitus more noticeable."   Ok, since I can't just cut caffeine out without a major meltdown at work, I decreased it by half today, and doubled my water intake (thinking I can at least flush some of it out?).    The other thing I'm pondering is some gentle ear plugs to block a bit of the louder ambient noise at work (or the boss's loud barking??? haha) to see if that helps.  I've unplugged both of my TV sets;  I seem to notice a bit more from my computer when it's on, but I leave that off when I'm not using it.  Someone else suggested reducing salt intake.  Hmmmmm.... so many things!

This will be trial and error until I figure it out!
I'll update if/when that happens :)

Keep It Simple

The Holi-daze has ended, and things are getting back to "normal" - whatever that is.  A New Year is full of new promises, a time for making resolutions - promises to ourselves for a start to a better new year.  Do you tend to keep your resolutions?  In the past, I found that I didn't keep mine because I made them too lofty, too unattainable.  I mean, lets be real, "Lose 50 pounds" isn't a very practical resolution, because at a safe loss of 1-2 lbs per week, it would take months to actually achieve!  And maybe we are more successful if we make smaller goals that when we actually accomplish, we feel that much better about ourselves, and even more inspired to try for more!

Yes, I want to lose weight this new year, but I also want to find a way to be a happier person, finding time -- scratch that, making time -- for the creative side of me.  So my two concrete resolutions are simple ones:  Take more pix/be creative, and smile more.  :)   Giving someone else a smile, if they give one back, perhaps it's a connection to the inner soul for a more peaceful me.

Sounds a little simplistic,

but with everything that's going on with family,

and my own feelings as I grow older,

simple is the order of the day.