December 01, 2010

Bah Humbug

Well, here's to hoping everyone had a special and great Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty nice. It was kinda low-key and held at my sister-in-laws house. I did fairly well on the eating; although I had two complete dinner servings, I was a good boy and stayed away from having any dessert or yam's, and kept the adult drinking in check. My sister and brother-in-law were very good hosts and it was a little tamer this year as all my nephews and step-daughter were not in attendance.

I spent my 4 days off of work catching up on some TV, working on a train model I am building, going to the gym and working out hardcore at least twice. Maybe a little too hard as my body still feels a bit achy and sore 3 days after the fact.

Been taking my pills as I should be, although I still tend to forget my nightly supplements on occassion (Fish Oil tablets and Vitamin D), but overall have cut way back on my drinking. The Lipitor alternative continues to make me tired and on days like today I feel I could fall asleep at 2pm in the afternoon if I don't force myself to be active.

My wife had an emergency root canal yesterday: $259 was our portion of the bill that was of course unexpected. An additional $259 we don't have but had to pay. Looks like breakfasts will be skipped again this week and generic sandwiches for lunch and as much tuna, rice, and soup as we can eat this week. Oh well....what can you do?

Christmas is upon is in less than 4 weeks now and the feeling hasn't kicked in yet. Due to our finances, we have opted to not buy presents for our family this year. We recently had to explain to both sides why, and they were understanding. Instead, I'll be charged with making a Christmas Eve dinner in which I've been designing the menu the last few days. One thing I can do is cook. God gave me that skill and I always get rave reviews for my meals. This year will be Italian....it's a tad cheaper and easier to do as much of it can be preped the day before.

Usually, the day after Thanksgiving I traditionally put out the Christmas lights. Didn't happen...yet. I ended up helping my neighbors with theirs, and by the time we were all done, it was too late and cold to tackle my house. I was going to do it on Sunday, but then it rained in the morning, and the rest of the day was too cold yet again. We also battled an ant invasion due to the cold snap and rain....ugh. I work all week and this Saturday we have plans in which I won't be home. So by the time I get around to it, it'll be Dec. 5th, and if I feel anything then like how I feel now, I won't be doing it then either. At least my wife hasn't got on my case about it. As a matter of fact she hasn't even put away her Halloween decorations inside the house from last month, so she's letting me pass on this.

Other bad news is my work ended up terminating people again today. Practically the same day as a year ago. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so work has been tense with a black cloud of moral hanging over everyones heads. I'm thnakful everyday for my job even though at times I'm bored out of my skull and fantasize about diffrent careers.....but I got to get through the next 13 months unscathed before the pressure begins to lift off my shoulders and chest.

I have a blood test coming up in the next few weeks. Gonna re-check my cholesterol. Hopefully it's gone down this time. I've tried much harder to be good (although not every day is perfect). More fish. More turkey. More water. More fiber. More excercise. Less booze. Less dairy. So we'll see. If not, then I don't know what's next.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You've been a busy blogger!! Glad you had a nice 4 days off - sounds like some needed time.

This will sound silly, but try watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to find your holiday spirit... (ABC will air it twice this year... at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, and 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16) - It always helps me find my holiday spirit and is a good reminder about what the real meaning of Christmas is...

It's good you caught your anxiety attack before it became truly crippling... And feeling high or not, your presence at that dinner was important,,, At some point, your step-daughter will realize that she needs to move on in her life from where she is/what she is doing and she'll recognize that you were there and will look to you for an example of how to be a responsible adult... Even when we think kids aren't paying attention to what we do or how we act, the truth is that they are... You & your wife have to be on the same page as to what you expect of your daughter... Job? Rent? Chores? etc... and you both have to stick to that... You give an inch, they take a yard. Not easy, but worth it. I'd be willing to be your parents were clear as to what they expected from you and what the consequences were if you didn't deliver. There seems to be a trend in parenting, especially when kids grow up with divorced parents, that the parents want to be their child's friend. The truth of the matter is that parenting is full of tough decisions that are usually really unpopular with the children.... WOW, I'm totally over the line with unsolicited advice - sorry.

Just hang in there...