A Seriously Overdue Update

Has it really been two weeks since I posted anything? I mean, I knew I’d been busy, but didn’t realize I’d been that  busy! This is going to be a long  post. You’ve been warned. J

I took a little time off from writing to go be a florist for Valentine’s Day at my mama’s shop, and then for a bit of rest from the stress that comes with working the insane amount of hours that I do. We also took a little trip down south for my oldest daughter’s first archery competition, and it was nice to get out and about to somewhere we normally wouldn’t visit.

Not that any of that is important to anyone in the world but me, but that’s what I’ve been doing during my hiatus of late. I wasn’t feeling too well last week; there was a stomach bug that the kids got, and I got a touch of it myself. Feeling better now, I suppose. I felt really good toward the end of last week, but then all that traveling kind of drained me. All in all, though things are relatively decent.

The Dyshidrotic Eczema Epic Continues

I’m still struggling with my dyshidrosis, though I haven’t had too many new blisters come up in the last couple of weeks. It’s mostly been severe dryness, cracking and splitting of the skin, and peeling. I’m moisturizing like crazy, and there has been a marked improvement, but I’m definitely not free of the misery.

I have discovered that, as long as I am sensible about it, I can tolerate small amounts of caffeine on occasion. I cannot begin to describe how ridiculously happy I am about this. While I certainly cannot go back to my pot-a-day coffee habit, having a couple of cups of regular coffee once or twice a week hasn’t seemed to be a problem. There are several things I’ve been experimenting with, but I’ll dedicate a full post to that later.

The Coke Addiction Has a Stronger Hold than I Think Even I Realized

I knew my ludicrous dependency on Coke was severe, but I think I was always under the impression that if I really  wanted to give it up, I could. This is proving not to be the case at all. Since I discovered caffeine-free Coke, I’ve found myself steadily increasing how many I drink per day instead of the other way around.

I’ll try to limit myself by only buying one or two 12-packs at a time, thinking that I’ll ration better if I know I’ll run out. Instead, I’m finding that I’m more than willing to make a trip to the store to get more. The seltzer water was helping for a while, but the help was short lived. I do like the seltzer, but I just like the Coke better. Perhaps it is time to make a renewed commitment to getting healthier.

Maintaining the Status Quo

I’m not gaining any weight at this point, but I’m certainly not losing any, either. I really am tired of being fat, and I know I’m the only one in the world who can do anything about it. I even know what I have to do. I just can’t seem to make myself do it. It would seem that I want it bad…just not bad enough.

This is very frustrating to me because it just doesn’t make good, logical sense. If you know what you want and you know what you have to do to get what you want, then why would you not do it? Even if I didn’t do anything else, I know that if I could just give up the Coke, I could lose some weight and feel better. But then, I also know that giving up smoking would make me feel better, too, but I have zero motivation to do so. Maybe I just have some screwy wiring in my brain somewhere.

My Semi-Annual Mattress Fever Has Set In

About once every six months or so, I take a notion that I simply MUST have a new mattress. My husband and I have been sleeping on the same mattress for 10 years now—and it was given to us by my mother-in-law, who used it for several years before we got it. It’s old and worn out, and it hurts my back more than I can describe. I’m eternally grateful for the gift we were given, especially since we could have never afforded to buy one at that time, but time and use have definitely taken their toll.

Buy New Mattress Sets Online

I have taken to sleeping on my loveseat more nights than not, because it gives far more support than the mattress does. No one in my household particularly likes this arrangement, including myself, but the nights I do try to sleep on the mattress result in misery the day after. Every year when we get our tax refund, I declare that this will be the year that we replace the mattress. But then, there always seems to be so many other things that are more important to use that money for and the mattress gets put off till next year.

I found a wonderful mattress on sale, and I’m itching like crazy to buy it. It’s a $2300 set from Serta, and it’s on sale until tomorrow for $900. It’s driving me insane! But then, mattress sets do go on sale every February, and perhaps next year will be my year. In the meantime, I am seriously considering getting rid of our poster bed and just putting the mattress and box spring on the floor to see if we can get another quasi-decent year out of it. I truly believe that my insomnia would improve with more adequate support.

Hopes for Overall Improvement

I have high hopes for getting my act together in all aspects of my life, and I still refuse to give up altogether. It’s a cycle I go through constantly, but one day I’m going to break it in favor of steady, gradual improvement. I refuse to admit defeat. So, while it may not look like I’ve made very much progress at all, I’m going to keep on truckin’ and keep on trying. After all, what else can we really do?