Status Update

I haven't been writing much here because I've been busy with the holidays and, yeah, I admit it, playing on Facebook. I actually have had to install Leechblock to get myself away from Facebook and back into the real world (thanks to Colleen Doran for the tip).

As you know, hubby-Eric and I moved recently to Eastern Washington, and have had our first desert winter weather, which the neighbors assured us was strange weather. Usually this area gets almost no rainfall, so the snow was a bit of a surprise to longtime natives, although it was also no big deal. I learned that Eastern Washington snow is completely different than Western Washington snow. In Seattle, the snow is heavy and wet and freezes together overnight. Here it's dry and dusty and can be swept away with a normal broom. Until it gets compacted, then it becomes a little more annoying. But it's much easier to drive in and just generally deal with over here than in Seattle.

I documented our harrowing Christmas Eve trip over Snoqualmie Pass to visit relatives. What I haven't documented was my OCD fear of the house burning down/being burgled while we were away. I want to get a webcam so I can keep tabs on the house while we are away. That would relieve one of my minor stresses. I found a decent-looking webcam for around $60, but we don't even have that to spare right now.

Frankenhaus is still not sold. Countrywide doesn't like the offers on it, and wants more money. We've explained the situation (the foundation was MUCH worse than we realized), but they don't really care. Sometimes I wish they'd just foreclose on us so we don't have to deal with them anymore. As it is, our credit is being battered by the current situation and there's not a thing we can do. We can't even pay our current bills, much less the mortgage on Frankenhaus.

After the Sleep Study, I've been taking a timed-release melatonin capsule to adjust my body's rhythms to my schedule. This has mostly worked. I'm getting tired later, and I can wake up a little earlier. It has been hard to judge with the interruption of our standard schedules with the holiday, but now that we're getting back into the swing of things, I'm feeling a little more alert in the mornings and getting more done right when I wake up.

The Sleep Doctor prescribed Yoga to help with my anxiety, so I decided it was time to really get back to the Wii Fit (thank you again, twin sis, for getting it for us... we WILL pay you back someday). First thing I'm doing when I get up each morning is a session of Wii Fitness, mostly Yoga. In addition, Eric and I agreed that the moment he gets back from work each day, he gets the TV for his Wii Fit session (no Olbermann for me until he's finished). I need to find a regular time for my second session, but one step at a time!

Over the holidays, I gained back 10 pounds because I stopped counting calories and, worse, stopped caring for over a month. I felt awful the entire time, but man my taste buds were happy! As of Monday, I'm back on the calorie count, and Eric has asked me to track his calories as well. My goal is to stay around 1700 calories a day. Eric's got 2000 a day to work with. So far, we've done well... but it's only been two full days. We still have some leftover holiday candies and such that need to be slowly and carefully consumed during snack times. I'm working on that, too. I plan on making some 100 calorie packs soon. Wonder how small they will be?

At the Oogaboo New Y'Oz party I was introduced to another snack food that I need to find a source for. AppleSweets are low calorie and keep the doctor away! I'm going to see if I can get the local Safeway to carry them. Wish me luck.

My comic book reading has been sporadic lately. I'm finding almost no joy in the regular DC line. I still like the kid's line, but that's the only place I'm reading about my characters. Getting the comics every other week or so via mail order makes for different reading habits as well. I miss going into the comic shop and shooting the breeze with the owner. I don't miss the compulsive list checking to make sure I got every book that was supposed to ship.

My Agatha Christie reading is proceeding apace, but other reading fell by the wayside over the break. I need to get back to other books. I'm still having Kindle Envy after playing with Granny Who's Kindle over the break, but I'll get over it. I'd better get over it. Even if someone got it for me, it wouldn't arrive for another two months. So that's a non-starter.

At this moment, I'm listening to a windstorm howling through the neighborhood and feeling glad that I didn't put the house flag back up after removing it last night when the wind was bad. I think it's time to do some housework. Then maybe I'll start hunting for links for a linkdump. Yeah. Leechblock has got me off Facebook for a bit, maybe now I can get something done.