Peopling

I have been trying to set dinner dates with friends so that I have to get out a socially interact.  I do not want to lose my people skills. 

There is nothing major going on in my life.  It is settling in and I am finding my new normal.  It has taken me a minute to realize that I am not waiting for my next move.  I am making changes to this place a little at a time.  Putting my mark on it.  I am getting ideas for what I want to do outside.  I want it to look really nice, pleasant, not over the top.  I have one more tree in the front that needs to be cut down.  But it is a size that my brother and father can tackle with chain saws.  It is a tree that could grow to be out of hand and I would rather take care of it now.  I will replace it with a decorative tree that does not get very tall.

My kitchen will be the last thing I tackle.  I have ideas but they will cost. 

The next big thing I have my sights on is changing schools.  There is another online school that one of my teaching buds from last year jumped into at the last minute and she is putting in some work to get me in there next year.  It pays more and is less work.  She says the environment is not quite as stressful as the school I am working for.

Bethany and Jordan are working on moving up near me in summer of 2020.  They had thought about doing it this summer but realized that they weren't quite ready yet.  They still need to save up money for a down payment on a house.  I think they finally got what I was trying to tell them that moving into a rental up here for a year was not going to help anything because rent up here is just as much as it is down there.  They have a decent apartment in a decent location right now that allows them 2 cats and a dragon. 

The DIL is now working and training as a vet assistant and she loves her job.  She really does love it.  She loves the animals and does not have a problem with going to work.  TJ has been sick for quite some time and finally went to the doctor.  He is on meds now and hopefully it will get better for him soon.

So, a dinner at home with a couple that I went to college with that lives in the area, and one dinner out to a new restaurant with my friend Susan...in February.  Lucy is not liking the snow anymore than I am but even less because she has to go potty outside.  I, on the other hand, do not have to leave the house.

This is my life now.  I am 58 years old and living on my own with a dog that is the best behaved dog in the world.  She is my buddy.  I work from home.  I cook what I want when I want...or just eat toast and peanut butter.  I do laundry about every 10-14 days.  I go grocery shopping twice a month.  I just don't have the daily human contact. That is both a good and bad thing.  I can have complete control over my finances.

God has my back.  I am not worrying about what's up ahead.   I know He is taking care of it. 

This blog has helped me to put things into writing that I needed to get out of my system and get through my marriage/divorce/aftermath. 

2 Negatives Do Not Make a Positive

My mother was reading the obituary of a woman in town that had been very social and a hard worker.  I only knew of the woman.  I did not know her personally.  My mom started picking this woman's life apart and I was shocked at the negativity.  Was Mom jealous of this woman's life? I think the thing that topped it all was when she said that just because she had played guitar in her church did not make her a Christian and she was not in Heaven today.

I had to change the subject.  How did she KNOW if this woman was in Heaven or not?  God judges that.  I would not be making a pronouncement.  The whole diatribe of hers was aggravating.

Then today my oldest sister started complaining about  Christmas presents.  She was yapping about last year's gifts and how she had spent a lot on a present for Scott and Lisa but they didn't spend as much on her and David.  "They got me exactly what I asked for and nothing else." Oh.for.the.love...  "I can guarantee that they didn't spend as much on you as you did on them."

I could not stand it.  "Ok. They got you what you asked for.  And? I don't  care what anyone spends. I put a lot of inexpensive things on my list but they are things I need.  Even if they buy me one small thing on my list, it is one less thing I will have to buy myself. What I choose to spend on someone else is just that...MY choice.  I  am not sizing things up. It takes the joy out of it.  Be grateful!"

Then she proceeded to yap about something mom did for her, "because I would not do it well enough.  I am too stupid and incompetent."

"Oh relax! She did the same thing to me. She has control issues. She has always been that way.  It isn't personal."

Give me strength. 

Bah humbug. 

Melting Away

I have a fairly good bill of health.  The doctor said there is a TINY nodule on what's left of my thyroid.  It is a matter of waiting for it to get a point where I need to begin the fight with the doctor's to remove the thyroid in order to biopsy it.

My blood sugar level is good, my cholesterol level is good. The doctor said my diet it good...just don't do keto and stay away from red meat. He also told me that I was extremely low in D3.  He told me to take 5000 IUs each day, gel capsules.  So, I have been doing that and just recently added magnesium to that.  I had been taking potassium every morning for weeks and it seemed to help me feel somewhat better. 

I lost 3 pounds in 5 days.  I was not doing any major exercising. The only thing I have changed is no carbs after noon.  I have found if I want bread/grain carbs I can eat them but they have to be consumed before noon.  If I don't eat any of them after noon, I will lose weight. Curious...I made this discovery by accident.

An old boyfriend found me.  No..there is no relationship...beyond a friendship and I have made it perfectly clear that there is NOT going to be a relationship.  I told him that I am not interested in a relationship right now and when I am, it will not be him.  He is an ex boyfriend for a reason and we have baggage in a past relationship and I am not messing with that. Besides, I find many things about him annoying.  IF I decide I want to have someone in my life, I am not settling.  I would rather go it alone.  If he tries to push an agenda, he will be cut off.  I have not patience for putting up with someone trying to manipulate me and I have gotten good at recognizing passive-aggressive.

My daughter's bf bought me some CO2 detectors and smoke detectors for my house.  I plugged a few of the CO2 detectors in. This morning the one in the hallway started chirping at me.  I got upset.  I found it weird that the one in the kitchen did not go off and the one in the sunroom with the fireplace burning did not go off. So I moved the chirping CO2 detector to the livingroom. Same thing. Then I moved it to the closed off extra bedroom. Same thing.  So moved one of the other CO2 detector to the livingroom and nothing.  I unplugged it and noticed a compartment on the back.  I opened it and there as a 9 volt battery in there.  Apparently, the battery was low in the chirper.  So, it scared me for nothing.  ugh  Life is annoying enough.

Having the trees cut down drained my finances and now I am catching up with some things.  It is not an easy thing with the Christmas season upon me.  I am definitely going to need to pick up part-time work and pray that Ohio Connections Academy hires me for next year.   However, for now, I just need to concentrate on getting through this school year.