total randomness and lack of focus
I think the fact that our trip is so close isn’t very real. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that in a week we’re off and that our bags need to be packed appropriately. I’m always a bit overwhelmed with packing for a longer trip and with it being January (and thus less predictable, weather-wise) it’s hard to get motivated to even start.
I’ve written a packing list within the last 10 minutes and made a list of sorts for Walmart to assist in the getting of stuff. This is the part of a vacation that is not fun.
scraggly 14-year-old Tiger
This weekend I’ll also give my scraggly elder (and older) cat a bath. He hates baths but he’s forgotten how or no longer cares to groom himself so that leaves us to do it for him. Can’t send him over to my parents’ house looking homeless. Tiger spent the first year of his life in their house and I’m curious if any part of his cat brain will register a familiarity with it.
Gonna be a busy week between gymnastics two nights, a condo board meeting another and then my mom’s birthday another. Should help the week go by faster, which will be a good thing.
I’ve got an evening with friends today, which I’m really looking forward to. Pizza is on the menu and I”ve been dreaming about it all week.
Speaking of food, after several days (couple of weeks even) of freedom from reflux symptoms I’ve gone on a bit of a junk food binge and paid dearly for it. 3 days in a row of my lovely apple-cider vinegar concoction. Blech. Today, aside from the pizza, I need to eat with my poor esophagus in mind. I’ve been off meds for a long time now (used to take Prilosec every day for several months) but with the the vaca looming and no easy access to apple-cider vinegar I’m going to need all the help I can get. Going to be hard to eat 100% healthy on vacation.
Despite my junk food binge the scale has revealed low (for me) numbers. How does that work? Could be the vinegar actually. Studies show it aids in weight -loss, though I suspect only if used the right way, which is taken 30 minutes prior to a meal. When taken that way it acts as an appetite suppressant. Thus far I’ve only managed to take it as a defensive maneuver. So, I don’t know why I don’t weigh 5 pounds more than I actually do.
The dutch oven arrived a few days ago. I’ve used it twice now with moderate success. The first recipe called for 1/2-3/4 pound of steak and instead I used at least 1lb of pork tenderloin, so the cooking time was much higher than the recipe called for. Despite the massive amounts of vegetables (which, if you know me, are not my favorite things) it tasted all right. Last night I made pasta with meatballs. The meatballs were made with lean ground turkey, and thus were dry and rather bland. I should have added more spices or something to make it tastier. The whole dish would have been better with ground beef but since I can’t resist the occasional cheese burger I try to cook healthy recipes with healthy ingredients.
I do what I can.
I’m off to try and read more of the never-ending “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb. Enjoyable, but not a page-turner. I’ve got some good recommendations for books to get before the trip so I’ll try and remember to mention what I’ve read and if it was any good or not.
Happy weekend people!