#2125 three good things

At WW on Saturday, the topic was focused on showing gratitude. You know, research shows that doing certain actions regularly can give a lasting sense of joy. One thing that can be done is to express thankfulness in everyday stuff. I have a few friends who post a daily gratitude on Facebook every day in November. My sister keeps a gratitude journal that I'm guessing she writes in every day. A friend of my sister's regularly shares a whole list of things and people she is grateful for. In my personal journal, every day that I write I include something that I am grateful for. Sometimes it is a little thing, like a hot chai latte on a cold November morning. Sometimes it's a big thing, like finding out that MT didn't suffer any long-term back damage when he fell off the ladder.

Back to WW, our challenge this week was to think of three good things that we are grateful for from this week. Here are mine:

1. No cavities! I went to the dentist this afternoon and my cleaning was quick. I've been very good at flossing regularly. The dentist said my teeth looked great and best of all, no cavities!

2. I feel good! After battling a cold and some type of bacteria for the past few weeks, I finally feel like myself again. I'm tired at night when I'm supposed to be tired, and I'm alert and active during the day when I'm supposed to be alert and active. I've been able to get back to the gym, I've been eating pretty well most of the time, and my moods have mellowed out.

3. By this time tomorrow, that February vacation to SE Asia will be all booked! The hotels and most excursions are already booked and deposits have been made. Tomorrow I will pay for the air fare to get us there and home again. After all these weeks of research and thought, it's about to be final.

#thankful

#2124 the rabbit hole

This may sound strange, but I really like my deodorant. It's a brand I've never tried before, Tom's, and the scent is coconut lavender.

I still have a lot of it left, but I was already feeling sad that when I do finish it, I won't be able to get it again. Isn't it a thing that you are supposed to change deodorants every time? Is it? I decided I should GTS (Google That Shit) to find out if this is sound advice or an urban myth.

What I found out boils down to this: antiperspirants have aluminum chloride that blocks your sweat glands which causes you not to sweat. Your glands can get all blocked up and that's what makes it so your BO stick (that's what I sometimes call deodorant/antiperspirant) doesn't work as well. Deodorant makes it so your sweat doesn't smell as bad, although it's not actually sweat that is smelly. It is the bacteria in your armpit that is stinky.

What I learned next is that you can detoxify your armpits to clear the glands. On Pinterest you can find lots and lots of DIY armpit detox stuff. One that I looked at was a paste of apple cider vinegar and bentonite clay. I was thinking "What the hell is bentonite clay and where would I find that?"

The answer to the last part of that question, of course, is Amazon.com.

That's kind of a lot of bentonite clay. My next thought was "What else can I do with this clay?" I would hate to detox my armpits a few times, then have my jar of clay get all hardened or whatever and I can't use it anymore. As it happens, there are lots of things you can do with bentonite clay including eat or drink it (in tiny quantities) to cleanse all of your insides. People are writing about brushing their teeth with it, gargling with it, and drinking it in their water. Mostly the articles and blogs I read talk about how great it is for the skin. That same bentonite clay/apple cider vinegar paste you put on your armpits can be put on your face for a mask. 

I have not ordered the jar of bentonite clay. Apparently I can also get it at Target. I'm not exactly sure what section it would be in though. I've never seen it, but I've never looked for it either. I've never even heard of it before today.

In general, I don't think I am stinky. I do smell yucky after I finish a workout because I am sweaty and I am wearing unnatural fibers (spandex) that is a wicking fabric so the bacteria gets trapped on the shirts and pants. Remember how I said bacteria is the stinky part? There you go.

I also learned that it's better to put antiperspirant on at night. I took a shower tonight when I came home from the gym. Using my newfound knowledge, I swiped on my lovely Tom's coconut lavender antiperspirant/deodorant.  The article said you don't have to reapply it in the morning and it will even stay on after your morning shower.

It's kind of amazing how one little thought that popped into my head lead to all this other new info that I hadn't ever heard about.  What did we ever do without the internet? Or is this a case of a little information can be a dangerous thing?

I don't know if I am done thoroughly checking into this fascinating topic.

#2123 I choose neither

I couldn't think of anything to write about so I went to a prompt. On Pinterest I found a list of ice-breaker questions and I picked question 13 since today is the 13th. The question is:

Are you a morning or a night person?

I'd say I'm neither. I'm a daytime person!

I don't really enjoy getting up very early, especially at this time of year when it is so dark in the morning when I wake up. Sunrise today was at 7:12.  By 7:12 I am fully dressed and getting ready to head out the door to work. In a perfect world I would be waking up around 7:12 (or a skosh later) and easing into my day.

Sunset this evening was at 5:09. Tonight I was just heading out of the office around that time. By 7pm it was dark like it was 10pm. I'm just not a fan! Right now it is 8:45 and I am yawning and thinking about how great it will be to crawl into my comfy bed and go nighty-night.

I like sunshine. I like daytime. I am a daytime person.

#2122 not a good start

This morning I was sleeping soundly and well when I heard my phone make the text received noise. I thought that maybe someone was texting to let me know they wouldn't be coming to work today, so I picked up the phone to check it out. That's when I noticed it was 6:44 - I had overslept by an hour! The app I use for the alarm shut itself off or something because it wasn't even open and I know I set it last night. Maybe my phone did an update or something. I guess it doesn't really matter. What matters is that I overslept by an hour!

I asked MT if he had tried to wake me up. He said that he hadn't because he thought maybe I had something going on and I didn't have to work. Wrong! I did have to work!

I absolutely had to take a shower and wash my hair. I looked like hell and there was no getting around the fact that I had to shower. I made all that stuff happen in a hurry, then I got out the blow dryer to quickly dry my hair. The thing is that I have sort of wavy hair and sometimes when I blow dry it, the waves go all wonky. Of course that's what happened this morning, so then I had to get out my curling iron so I could straighten a wonky wave right in the front. I was in a hurry and accidentally ever so briefly touched the hot wand to my forehead. OUCH! You've probably never done anything as silly as burn your own head with your curling iron. Let me just assure you that it is not a good feeling.

Then I had to fix my hair in such a way that you couldn't see the glowing red skin. I put a wee dab of coconut oil on the owie. It only sizzled for a second and then the burn calmed down a bit. You can't even see the red spot now.

I was about 15 minutes late to work, but after the start to the day, I felt like that was pretty good. The rest of the day went smoothly and with no more mishaps.

Had to be a Monday!

#2121 busy but mellow and good

It's Sunday night already.

As planned, today I did a bunch of chores. I got all my sweaters out and put away my capris, skorts, flip flops and other summer-y stuff. I washed everything and got rid of a few things, too. I paid the bills and I ordered Lizzie's birthday gift - it might be late by a day or two because the days just ran away from me. I went to the grocery store. And I read a book! I started reading it yesterday and it was so good and such an easy read that I finished it today. :)

My reading goal for the year was 52 books. The book I finished today was number 52. Yay me! you can see and read my thoughts on all the books on the 2018 Reading page tab.

Let's see...what's coming up this week? There are three lunch events at work. I'm going to the dentist on Thursday. I've got a haircut scheduled for Saturday. I could probably use the trim but I might reschedule it. I need to get with the travel agent to book the flight to Cambodia and back from Thailand. I'll probably get over to the gym at least three times this week. I'd like to make a list of the clothing I will need to buy for the SE Asia trip. I've got a pin on Pinterest that will help me plan.

MT is back from Pocatello. He put an offer on a house, but the offer was rejected. Back to the drawing board. T is chillin' in his room, watching videos.

Everything feels pretty good.

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Thank you veterans!!

#2120 Saturday with Sandy

It is quiet at my house tonight. MT has gone to Pocatello with his mom. She returned from her trip to Key Largo today, so MT picked her up at the airport and they headed to Idaho. MT is going to look at a potential flip house there. He's struggling to find a house here to flip, so he's expanding his search area.

T just left to go to a friend's show, so Osi and I are hanging out. She is only interested in sitting by the treat door and grumbling at me to give her a cookie, so I came upstairs.

I'm really tired tonight. It's 8:30. I was thinking about going out to get a cheeseburger, but I'm not really hungry. Then I thought about changing out my seasonal clothes. Now I'm thinking I may just crawl in bed. Since MT isn't here, I can sprawl out in the middle of the bed. I like that idea.

The day has been pretty mellow. I went to WW and that was good and fine. (I'm a loser this week!) Then I went to the spa to get my eyebrows tamed and a pedicure. My feet and toes needed some love. Sweet Mckenzie threw in a paraffin wax treatment on my feet (bonus!) and it was heavenly. After that I went to Target for some household supplies and to the library to pick up a book that was waiting for me on hold.

I got home around 2:30 and realized I hadn't had anything to eat or drink. What?!? That does NOT happen to me. I went to Fiiz and got a delicious beverage, then I came home and ate up some leftovers that were in the fridge. I'm not really hungry now that I think about it, so I will skip the cheeseburger tonight.

Utah played Oregon in football this afternoon. It's been a rough week for the Utes. Last Saturday the quarterback suffered a season-ending injury. This week the star running back suffered a leg injury of some kind that may end his season as well. How was Utah going to win today's game without its two best offensive players? The answer: the back-up quarterback and the back-up running back stepped up and played great. The Utah defense was fantastic as well and the Utes did in fact beat Oregon! YAY! #GoUtes

Okay, well, I've said all I have to say tonight so I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll change out my clothes tomorrow. I'll do laundry, I'll go to the grocery store, I'll pay my bills, I'll clean up the house a bit and I'll read. It will be a full day of chores. That's Sunday in my world. Saturday is for chillin' and  doing fun things. Sunday is for taking care of household business. It's good.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

#2119 it's gonna happen

The big news in my little world today is that MT and I put down a deposit on our Thailand trip.

We're going to Southeast Asia!

The trip will be in February, and I was looking at my calendar today and February is NOT that far away. I've got a bunch of stuff to do to prepare for this epic adventure including getting visas so we can enter Cambodia, getting linen clothing because I guess it gets pretty hot in Thailand in February and maybe getting a new bathing suit or two since I haven't had a new suit in a couple of trips. There will be other stuff too but those three popped into my head.

I'm excited and nervous and happy and a little overwhelmed. I've been doing research for this trip for a few months and there is still so much to learn.

Quick overview: We'll spend the first few days in Siem Reap, Cambodia, touring Angkor Wat. Then we'll fly to Krabi, Thailand and stay at a fantastic-looking resort for a few days. Next we'll drive (we will ride, but someone will drive us) to Phuket where we'll stay another fantastic-looking resort for a few days. Total days out will be 12 or 13. Like I said, I'm a little overwhelmed tonight and can't even keep it all straight.

Don't worry though. I have created a calendar for myself with the details and over the next couple of months you'll probably get tired of me talking about this trip.

Oh my goodness. This is really happening.