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The Crazy Girls Guide to....SQUIRREL! Ahem...The Crazy Girls Guide to Staying Sane. Yeah, that's it.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Abby Abby bo Babby banana fana fo Fabby, me my mo Mabby, ABBY!

First, a great big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post with song suggestions.  Those are always welcome, so keep them coming!

I have a complaint.  My husband (there are some who call him....Tim?) is trying to make me eat an orange with my lunch, and I do not want it!  He always packs more food than I'll eat.  Just in case, he says.  You never know when an apocalyptic event might occur, and you will want that orange.  The orange which I've brought home uneaten every day for a week now.  There isn't enough room in my stomach for both the orange and the chocolate I have stashed in my desk.  Besides, it's so much work to peel the thing.  I could get juice in my eyeball, and then what would I do?  Eyeballs are essential to my work.  He's threatening drastic measures.  I'm not sure what that means, but I fear it.  He said something about "smiley faces", and I'm worried.

On a more serious note (I've always wondered what note that would be.  I think it'd be a very low one, like The Mystic Chord in The Dark Crystal), Tim and I have recently changed from a two income household with two vehicles to a one income household with one vehicle.  We realized this would change the budget and our schedules, but we didn't realize the magnitude of it all until this evening. It went like this:

Me:  I know I said I'd clean the bathroom, but I'm really damn tired after working all day and I'm kinda jealous because you take naps and hang with the cats and do laundry and dishes and cook and that's awesome but really I don't think it's fair that I work 8 straight hours with a 30 minute lunch and two breaks and you get a 4 hour nap and Skyrim every day.  We need to reevaluate this shit, yo.

Tim:  Ok.

Me:  This is going to be an awesome subject for my blog post tonight and we can list all the stuff we have to do daily and weekly and monthly and divide it up equally and then I can blog about my method and you could be a guest blogger so we can compare the similarities and differences between them and it'll be AWESOME.

Tim:  Breathe.  I don't blog.

Me:  Can I ask you questions and then blog about your method for you?

Tim:  Ok.

So, we're going to make this list tomorrow evening.  Then I'm going to do all the deciding and he's going to be all silent and agreeable until 6 months later when he blows up because he actually thought it unfair at the time but is so terminally polite that he can't bring himself to say his opinion out loud in the moment even when I ask him to because that is how we do things in our house.  Or I'll poke and prod him into making some of the decisions and ask him eleventeen times if he's really positively alright with the chore division because I'm paranoid that he's not telling me how he really feels and it'll turn into a long discussion (meaning I'm the only one talking) about communication styles and how we have to meet each other halfway and I don't really feel like he's participating in the conversation.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Also also, Tim went to the used bookstore today and got these:

Guess what we're going to do this year





Sunday, January 29, 2012

Persephone Says - Eating healthy gets expensive.

Well, I hope y'all aren't totally sick of me babbling about food yet.  Even though I am following Paleo Plan right now, I am also getting newsletters and reading the blogs of people who follow the raw diet, the primal plan (very similar to Paleo), the "traditional cooking" gurus, and the "whole foods sans animal flesh" people.  I'm a firm believer that a lot of these have very valid points, and that each individual is unique.  You have to adapt and see what works for you and what doesn't.  I'm not into "exclusionary" diets on principle.  The foods I'm allowing myself to give up are because I firmly believe they are not good for me, as an individual, or it's very widely known that over consumption is harmful to everyone.

I have given up (with only slight setbacks) grains, sugar, legumes, and as much "processed" food as I can.  I have NOT given up dairy, but I've cut it WAY down.  I'm not doing this for weight loss purposes, so I eat a lot of fruit to combat the cravings for refined sugar.  Bread / Pasta has actually been the easiest to give up, which surprises me a lot.

Now, ideally, all of these food gurus are pushing grass fed meat, pasture raised eggs, & raw milk if you can get it.  (Illegal in many states unless you are part of a herd share).  No GMO food, no preservatives, no MSG, no cruel animal treatment.  They want you to get expensive water filtration systems, and go on expensive supplements of fermented cod liver oil and skate liver oil.  You can make your own butter oil, which is also highly recommended.  They want you soaking grains, fermenting things, sprouting, etc. 

It's pretty overwhelming if you take it on all at once, trust me.  And for me, who has very few applicable domestic skills, it's been a lot to take on even in seemingly small increments.

Now, a lot of you know that you can get all of this whole food fancy pants goodness by shopping at expensive grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but I thought I would spend some time giving you all resources for other options.  Especially since those stores aren't really ALL that much better than the regular grocery stores.

FARMERS MARKETS:

My first suggestion, if you have the time and basic knowledge of fruits / veggies / meats is to hit your local farmers market.  Chances are you are already aware of those in your area, but here's a link to search by zip code if you want:  http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

For my fellow Indianapolis residents, Trader's Point Creamery has both a summer and winter farmer's market, and in the summer there are others that pop up in the area.

LOCAL CSA's and LOCAL DELIVERY

CSA's are another great way to get your produce super fresh for less money while ALSO supporting your local farms.  Some CSA's will also deliver.

This is the best resource I have for looking on a national level:  http://www.localharvest.org/

For Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky - I recommend Green Bean Delivery: http://www.greenbeandelivery.com/  I mean, what's better than fresh and locally grown?  Fresh, locally grown and DELIVERED!

GOT RAW MILK?

Have you heard about all the benefits of drinking raw milk?  Want to know where you can get it?  Click on the embedded links to learn more.  *I have not yet tried raw milk, nor am I endorsing it as safe and viable, I am simply providing information. 

MISC SUGGESTIONS:

Look around your town/city for local farms, herd share / beef share programs, local butcher shops, etc.  There are a ton of ways to get the most out of your food and your paycheck, and as I discover tricks and tips I'll keep sharing them here.  Thanks for reading!

-Seph

P.S. I will be posting on Friday next week instead of Thursday, and most likely it will be based on my new routine tracking / schedule making of DOOM.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

And now for something completely different!

Abby here!

So, the one night a week for doing boring tasks idea isn't going to work.  My husband is doing volunteer work for the next 3 months, and with one car between the two of us, we're going to be real busy in the evenings.  Instead, I'm going to attempt the boring tasks in ten minute spurts.  Eventually.  LOL!

I've been getting really good at getting to work early, especially considering my amazing husband makes my breakfast and packs my lunch every day. You can be jealous, it's alright.  However, I don't like the stress of constantly checking the clock, which I have to do because of my time-blindness.

On Wednesday, I was looking through the new mp3s on my phone and noticed a set of 4 songs had a combined length of about 15 minutes.  That's how long my shower takes.  What a coincidence!  Then I thought, why couldn't I do that with my entire morning?  For this part, I need your help.

I need a soundtrack for my morning.  I'd like a song to wake up to, then 30 minutes of breakfast and reading tunes.  I have my 15 minute shower track, but after that I need another 30 minute dressing and primping set.  Then I'm out the door and on to my day!  May I have song suggestions, please?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Persephone's Skin and Bones

Hey folks -

As you know, as I go around discovering things to try, I bring them to you, and I am about ready to give "bone broth" a try.  So here are the basics that you need to know about bone broth. 

Bone broth is made from taking any animal bones (but the joints and knuckles have the best mineral profile) and simmering them in a pot for hours or days.  You can make it in batches, or you can have "perpetual bone broth" in a dedicated crock pot.

Some health benefits of bone broth are purported to be:

Treatment and prevention for colds and flu as well as treatment for mineral deficiencies.  Bone broths contain a high quantity of the vital minerals calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sulfur, fluoride, sodium and potassium.
Consumption of bone broth can combat anxiety and insomnia, heal wounds and improve skin.

For more check this out:  http://www.livestrong.com/article/337123-bone-soup-nutrition/

So now...how to make it?  Where to get the bones?  What the heck do you DO with it?  For answers to these questions I refer you to the following posts that say it better than I can.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth-101/

http://www.traditional-foods.com/bone-broth/

This is probably something I am a few weeks away from working on, but it's definitely on my radar,  especially since mineral deficiencies can exacerbate many "mental health" issues, and getting my body and its nourishment profile to balance and stabilize is one of my top priorities.  

So, here you go.  From the person who brought you green smoothies, I hope you enjoy this little foray into the world of bone broth.

-Seph

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Abby - Wednesday night is Go Time

I have sucked at time management lately.  This is partly because my medication was thrown off when I quit smoking 26.59 days ago.  I've mentioned that in previous posts, I know, but bear with me.  It's also because I've been playing a new video game.  It's called Skyrim, and it is SO AWESOME!

Last night I picked up my new dosage of medicine, and so I must get back to my routine.  I have no excuse not to other than pretty pretty Skyrim, but that's not near good enough.

MALD suggests to designate one time a week to tackle some of the mundane tasks I hate hate hate because they're dull dull dull.  I have chosen Wednesday evening.  There's nothing exciting about Wednesdays, so why not, right?  I shall choose two boring tasks to accomplish on Wednesday night, and alternate between the two (for variety) for 2 hours.  That's tomorrow.  Ick.

Bathroom and dressers, I choose you!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Abby writes a win/fail

What is a win/fail you ask?  I shall tell you!  A win/fail is a list I make when I'm getting frustrated or discouraged with my current situation, be it the state of my home, an inability to concentrate, difficulty finishing a task I don't want to do, whatever.  It helps me put things in perspective before I get angry at myself or panicky.  Once I hit that point, I'm done doing anything for at least an hour.  That sucks.  I actually think this list would help anyone who is stuck or feeling down about their situation.  It also helps me to remind myself that very few things are that deep.

Win!
I have been a nonsmoker for 19.65 days and haven't committed a felony!
Despite my medication needing an adjustment, I am keeping on track with my most important tasks at work.
I have gotten to work early/on time so many times in a row that I've lost count.  This is really big for me.
I motivated myself enough to write a blog post tonight.
My 2 year wedding anniversary was last weekend, and we had a perfect evening and amazingly fabulous fondue.

Fail.
I haven't gotten anything done this week that I don't really like doing...because I was playing Skyrim.
House is a mess, and my husband's awesomeness is the only reason I have clean clothing.
I can't finish three sentences in a row without being distracted...oooh look, glitter!

All in all, not as bad as I thought.  It never really is quite that bad.  Hooray, I feel better!



Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sunday, bloody Sunday

Looks like Abby had some technical difficulties last night, so I hope I don't lose my post too.

Things are going well for me - redid my schedule and tracking sheets again.  Still following the Paleo Plan.  Today was my flex day, and I definitely took advantage - pasta, breadsticks, and some soda.  Likely I'll be feeling that over the next few days as I try to detox again.

That's the cool thing about the Paleo diet, it's not about being perfect 100% of the time, it's just about eating as clean as you can as often as you can.  It's about being conscious, not deprived.

Anyway, all is well here, though I need to keep sticking to it.  I promise a more focused and content driven post soon.

-Seph

Screw you, blogger.

I had a whole post done, submitted it, then got an Error 404 message, and the whole thing is gone.  I'm too irritated to do it over right now.  Might give it another go tomorrow.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Persephone only has time for a quickie ;)

OK, it's late and I'm not super used to my new schedule yet, but here are the successes for the week

1. Started and followed Paleo Plan, which for me is also a crash course in learning how to cook.  I've had more wins than losses in that department this week, but the learning curve is steep.

2. I had four days this week above 90% sleep effienciency, and I brought my total week percentage from 75% the week before to 86% this week.  WOOT!  And in regular terms - this means I've been getting my ass up on time.

3.  New daily schedule/tracking sheet is going well.  The notebook is helpful.

4.  School is slowly getting back on track

However, on the other side of things, giving up sugar, grains, and processed foods is not easy.  I would likely shank someone for a freaking Dr. Pepper right now.

Abby Derailed

Hello, folks!  I'm not entirely sure this will make sense tomorrow, but I'm going to post even though it's a day late.

I quit smoking for the eleventeenth time 13.65 days ago.  I have an app that tells me this fact.  It also says that I haven't smoked 136 cigarettes and have saved $37.56.  I am very proud of this, however, it has completely derailed my brain.  I have been an on again off again (mostly on) smoker for about 12 years.  Many people with ADHD self-medicate with nicotine.  It's a stimulant, and I could list all sorts of research on the effect it has on people with ADHD, how it's helpful with the concentration and brain function, but I'm going to link to a blog that explains things better than I.  Here's that link.

Here's my problem.  My medication works great when I am taking all of it.  I didn't realize the nicotine part of it was so important until my husband pointed out that I've been pretty scattered for about 2 weeks.  Next Thursday I go in for a med checkup, and then things will get better.  However, I've forgotten my pre-medication coping mechanisms.  It would be a huge understatement to say that my inability to concentrate and forgetfulness and impulsiveness is frustrating.  The bedroom isn't going to get done.  I'm lucky that I've been getting to work on time.  I would have no chance at that without my husband keeping me on task in the morning.  I'm clinging to my calendar and hoping that I don't screw things up too badly.  Of course, now would be the time I have all sorts of projects at work.  I hate it when my brain doesn't work right.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Abby is back!

Hello, everyone!  I am stealing Seph's night and apologizing for being so lame about posting over the holidays.  I have no excuse.  Great big fail.

I have returned from visiting my dad and his side of the family.  I've discovered a mildly annoying side effect of having a routine.  No matter how late I stay up, I can't sleep in past 9 AM, not even when I'm on vacation!  I finally managed to do it last night, but I was up playing Rock Band until 4 AM, and I still woke up by 10:30 AM.  I used to be able to sleep half the day away, which isn't something to brag about really.  However, when the opportunity arises to sleep in guilt free, I can no longer do it.  The loss, while a good one, makes me a bit sad.

In other news, I haven't done anything about any routines or self-improvement since I blogged last.  It's high time I make a new goal.  I'm going to go in a completely different direction than Seph, since the healthy eating concept terrifies me.  I am going to organize my home.

Currently the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen are done.  The office is my husband's realm, and so this leaves us the bedroom, 2 bathrooms, the front room, and the craft doom-I mean room.  That room is currently stacked floor to nearly ceiling with boxes.  I kid you not.

This week we will begin with the bedroom.  I'm going to research some tips and tricks and report in on Tuesday!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Persephone's Constant Revisions

OK, going to try to keep this short and sweet today.

1.  Forget the new master schedule I posted.  It's working, but I am incorporating some different elements and so now I'm going to be making dynamic schedules on a weekly basis, in a notebook, with all of the meal planning resources, etc.  This will allow me to incorporate social time, etc.  (My therapist worries I'm not social enough)

2.  This is something I actually have formed a good habit around: https://idonethis.com/about/.  Check it out.  Basically, they e-mail you at a time you specify with "what did you get done today?"  You reply with a list, and BAM it records it in a calendar for you.  It's pretty cool.

3.  After all of the research I've been doing on the Standard American Diet (SAD) and the alternatives to it, I've finally settled on going Paleo instead of "raw".  To help me with this, because I am basically kitchen / food impaired, I've joined this site: http://www.paleoplan.com/.  It gives me meal plans, recipes for said meals, and a weekly shopping list of ingredients, cross referenced so I can easily modify, erase, or replace things without buying food I won't use.  It's made for two people, so I do have to cut everything in half, but that will be part of the weekly planning.  This starts Sunday, so expect posts about it soon.

4.  My kitties are freaking adorable right now.  (They are both asleep on the couch right above my head)

5.  I just really don't like lists that don't end in multiples of five.

Peace out my homies!

-Seph

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Persephone's Brand New Weekday Master Schedule

Hello all!

OK, well I am happy to report that my head is slowly inching itself out from where it has been firmly lodged for the past several weeks, and I'm starting to tread water and see daylight again.  The daunting task of "CLEAN ALL THE THINGS" is far from fully accomplished, but after MANY hours and soon to be crushing water bill, at least my kitchen looks amazing.

In addition laundry is washed / dried and the cat boxes are clean.  I have fresh sheets on the bed as well, which helps me sleep better. 

Still left to clean are the living room, the bathroom, and my office, but since I am pseudo out of town tomorrow, those will have to wait.

LASTLY, I created a NEW master schedule and routine tracking sheet, as well as a school tracking log.  I won't bore you with all of them, but for those of you looking to do routines, I'm going to paste my Weekday Master Schedule here.  (I have not come up with my weekend schedule as of yet).

OK, without further ado:

Weekday Master Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday:
6:15am – 7:30am – Wake-up / Morning Routine
8:00am – 5:30pm – Work / School
6:15pm – 7:15pm – Physical Therapy / Fitness
7:15pm – 7:45pm – Shower
7:45pm – 9:15pm – Dinner / Downtime
9:15pm – 9:45pm – Prep for morning
9:45pm – 10:35pm – Reading
10:45pm – 6:15am – Sleep
Thursday:
6:15am – 7:30am – Wake-up / Morning Routine
8:00am – 3:45pm – Work
3:45pm – 6:00pm – Therapy
6:30pm – 8:00pm - Groceries
8:00pm – 8:30pm – Shower
8:45pm – 9:30pm – Dinner / Downtime
9:30pm –10:00pm – Prep for morning
10:00pm – 10:35pm – Reading
10:45pm – 6:15am - Sleep
OK folks, so there you have it.  I don't go back to work until Tuesday, so I'll let you guys know how it goes on Thursday.  If anyone has questions or feedback, please feel free to ask in the comments. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!