A Good Week

This week has been pretty damn good! No specific reason but I just feel like it has. I finished a book I’ve been slowly reading over the last month or so and immediately started reading it again. I feel like it has so much good info in it about the process of creating and just really good info about living. It’s called “The Meaning in the Making” by Sean Tucker. He also has a youtube channel under his name which I highly recommend as well! I don’t usually re-read books after I finish them or if I do it’s months or years when I get back around to them. I’ve even started underlining things and I’m not one to write in the margins but this book makes me want to b/c it’s giving me so much to think about but I don’t want to stop long enough to make a note elsewhere.

Apparently it’s super difficult to get an unsweetened, no cream/milk/whatever iced coffee at starbucks…this is the second week and I specifically said no sweetener. Even tho I’ve reversed my diabetes I’m staying away from added sugar/artificial sweeteners simply b/c I liked sweet stuff soooo much. I don’t want to go back down that rabbit hole. It was easier to overcome sugar back in May when the diagnosis was fresh but now I find myself giving into cravings for things like pizza and bbq..I’m not overly concerned with the bbq since it’s mainly protein and fat but I don’t want to overdo either. I am concerned with the pizza since I always have a side of “loaded fries” with it which has cheese and bacon on it 😬. I’m concerned with them b/c of the carbs. I don’t think carbs are evil or anything but when I was diagnosed originally I basically landed in a low carb/keto diet. Something I noticed after being on that for a few months is that when I eat a lot of carbs in one sitting I don’t feel well the rest of the day/next day. My joints hurt and I just feel sluggish overall. This is all anecdotal of course but it’s happened a handful of times now. I have still ordered the pizza/fries combo at least weekly but they are getting few and farther between simply b/c of how I feel afterwards. I’m getting back on the regular exercise track again. I’ve been stuck at the same weight for over a month now and I’m still ~30lbs away from my goal weight. One good thing about that is I’ve been maintaining the same weight, within 1-2lbs, for that amount of time. I’m pretty proud of myself for that. The last time I lost a lot of weight I wasn’t able to do that b/c I felt hungry *all the time*. Being able to maintain and still eat things I like has been a great exercise.

The weather has been cooling off where I am, finally. I know this is faux fall and we’re bound to have 90*+ days again but the respite from the goddamned heat and humidity has been really nice. I think that is probably why this week has felt like a good week. It’s so nice waking up to upper 50’s and not melting the rest of the day. I feel way more active and motivated to go outside. This year I’m not looking at the extended forecasts. I realized it was affecting my mood too much and causing me to get angry/depressed at the constant stream of 90+ degree days. The way I felt that first morning of mid-50’s confirmed that I’d made the right choice.

I’ve book a day trip to another city in my state by train in preparation for my photo trip next year. It’s ridiculous how much I’m looking forward to it. It will be a *long* day and I haven’t really done any prep on where to go/what to do when I get to my destination which is definitely unlike me. I’ll do some research either a few days before or on the train down there. I don’t want to get bogged down in the details so much that my anxiety kicks in and I end up not going. That’s happened to me before on a couple of trips. I tried to plan things down to the minute and end up overwhelmed and just saying “fuck it” and not going. This will be a trip to mostly test some gear, bags, batteries, packing and what not. I’m going to do a few more of these day trips to get used to traveling by train and work the bugs out. Hell, I also just want to travel. I really can’t go on “big” trips b/c I can’t afford them right now and I’m also looking after a family member that would require a bit more planning if I were to go across the country or international. Plus, covid is still a very big concern for me but these trips are somewhat “commuter” trips and hopefully potus will mandate you must be vaccinated or have a negative test to travel. That would def make me more willing to go on longer trips.

I’m noticing that I feel better about things when I have something to look forward to. This isn’t really a new revelation to me but it is something I’ve forgotten about. This train trip cost me $34 for a round trip ticket which is most def cheaper than driving. I fully expect to run into issues on this trip but I’m already looking for a destination in my state to hit up on the weekends. The only wrinkle is my pup…I can’t take him with me and I don’t feel comfortable leaving him at home all day alone. If my friend can’t stop in and check on him for me I’ll have to board him and since the boarding facility isn’t open sunday’s, b/c of covid, I’d have to board him overnight..likely 2 nights since the train leaves so early. That bumps up the cost pretty significantly. But, I’ll blow that bridge up when I get to it. I’m a good place so at least for this month if I have to board him I can. He’s an expensive little booger but I wouldn’t give him up for anything.