Saturday was dd's birthday. We went to the city, so that involved a bit of walking. We finished the day with Lasertron, so there was a bit of cardio there, too. Today, I plan on pattern practice and going to TKD class.

I don't think this would happen in NY. There would either be multiple orange barrels in front of this missing section of road, or more likely, concrete barriers. The only way you could find yourself in this position is if you were very drunk or very high.

Our house has a built-in china cupboard. Then my dad gave us a china hutch and side board. The hutch holds mostly dishes, but also one shelf of books. The side board is devoted to homeschool materials. And then, because I had no place to put tablecloths and such, there's a dresser. The bottom drawer holds stationary supplies. In reality, it's too much stuff, but in my defense, I was raised by pack rats. It is challenging to let go of the mind set, and all that goes with it. Baby steps, I tell myself.

I learned it at Girl Scout camp in the mid-80's.

I use silicone air locks that fit mason jars. Because I am lazy.

All I do now is kefir, with some grains my bil gave me during the height of the pandemic. Prior to my illness, I did quite a bit of fermenting for maybe 18 months. Carrots are easy and tasty; I used to do those frequently. Also sauerkraut, but not as often. I did do some green beans this past summer, and they were very good, though challenging to pack. I found a book called "Traditionally Fermented Foods" to be helpful in getting started.

TKD class this evening. It was quite a workout, despite being a beginner class.

I remember those. You got them at the county fair in the '80's. They were super cool, and they were called roach clips. **They were designed to hold your jo!nt so your fingers wouldn't get burned.** And everyone was totally fine with their kids running around wearing drug paraphernalia. 🙃

Practiced both my patterns. Also practiced turning kicks with black belt dd13, since I had a hard time with those at the last class. Still need more practice.

Not going to class tonight, as I will be going to my monthly book club. I did do an extended session of pattern practice.

I usher bugs outside, usually spiders and wasps, and have taught my children to do that as well. A) I just think they should be outdoors and not in the house. B) The idea of crushing their exoskeletons really squiks me out, and bugs me much more than the bugs themselves.

That is just beyond rude and inconsiderate. As if your time is worthless.

We have another concert this afternoon, this time for ds10. Not as much exercise as I had hoped, but I did get some pattern practice in.

Processed foods have gone up so much in price and taste so much worse, and then with the safety issues, it just makes me wanna move off the grid and homestead.

By ridiculous, I mean completely irrational. This area has been economically depressed for years. Moreover, we live in the township that I prefer, and then, in what I consider the best hamlet. And when I say "best," it's not a normal status thing when people are impressed you say you live in X, it's just I really love this place. We used to live in the township next door, and I was a little sad about it because it wasn't my preferred township. Which I recognize is a little bit crazy. It's a little bit crazy I love this place so much, a place where most people could take it or leave it, and really, most people are leaving or have left. I really appreciate your prayers. The forum will be among the first to know when dh gets an offer. I'm grateful he's gotten more comfortable with letting others know his employment status, most specifically family, so that is a little less stress for me.

It's not very deep, and thankfully pretty light, but shoveling snow definitely got my heart rate up today.

TKD class last night. Dd has a concert an hour away early this evening, plus her lesson, which means we are all leaving the house this afternoon. So, probably no exercise today. I should be able to squeeze some in tomorrow.

I had Covid once before I was diagnosed with cancer. It gave me a horrible, very distinct Covid headache. After starting cancer treatments, I have had Covid twice, and both times have been very grateful for Paxlovid, which at least stopped the Covid headache, if it did nothing else. I understand that it might not be for everybody, but it dropped my misery level from about a 10 to maybe a 6 or 7. For me, it is totally worth it.

Requesting thoughts and prayers. The alternating cycles of hope and discouragement as dh looks for a job and goes through submitting applications and doing interviews are rough. If things don't happen in a certain amount of time, we may have to consider moving. I can deal well with cancer because once treatment is done, things will be more or less normal. Moving from a place which I have patently ridiculous emotional ties to, well, I don't know. I'm pretty sure I can't be stoic about it.

I did pattern practice last night with the family, as class was cancelled due to weather. Hopefully, there will be TKD class this evening.

TKD class last night. Belt testing is coming up in a few weeks. The instructor said that over the next two weeks, they'll start handing out sign up sheets to those students they believe are ready. The instructor must have felt I was ready for belt testing because she had me do my pattern in front of the class all by myself. I can also brag that my whole family were among the first to get their sheets for testing.

For a quick moment, I saw the title as "Basement fishing," which did not sound like a good thing, but I was nonetheless intrigued.

Yesterday, I got on the treadmill for 25 minutes. TKD class was cancelled this evening due to weather. I should be able to get some pattern practice in, and maybe stretching. I woke up with a migraine this morning, so won't be pushing myself, though I am thankful meds have made the rest of the day tolerable.

I went with dh to a few yoga classes, and was surprised at how brutal they were. Perhaps it was more an indication of my lack of fitness than an objective assessment of the class, lol, but surprising none the less.

Late to the party, I know, but I employed a similar tactic when diagnosed with breast cancer, using grateful instead of glad. I was grateful I had symptoms, because I had somehow never gotten around to getting a mammogram. Grateful that I was diagnosed in less than 5 days of noticing a symptom. That it happened at the end of the school year instead of in the middle. That is was type II instead of type III or IV. That the effects of chemo could have been a lot worse. That people were willing to send over dinner and watch the kids while I had treatments. Not that cancer is great - I certainly don't recommend it, but dealing with treatment and all is better than the alternative, iykwim.