Living the Good Life

While I"m still having some low energy issues, I did get out and about today and got some stuff done. I'm still ignoring the growing pile of incoming paper. I've got about a week and a half to clean out the living room and spiff up the patio before people start coming by who might have an opinion.

So I felt good about getting stuff done:

1. I spoke to most of my family today: mom & dad, brother, both grandmas. Grandma S is out of the therapy unit and back in her assisted living condo although she's had some low energy days. Grandma P self reports being "great" and went to church, had lunch out, and took a bit of a road trip today, and they had a truly tasty sounding dinner.
   
   I spent about an hour chatting with my brother while I walked over to get an apple fritter. He had some fascinating insights on how to motivate each of his friends differently. One needs to be cajoled into doing stuff AND prevented from backing out at the last minute. Another decides early on whether or not to do something and sticks with that decision to the point where he doesn't enjoy going to things he's been coerced into attending. Another always reschedules unless my brother works the time out with the friend's wife first. It made me realize that I haven't done such an analysis on any of my friends, nor had it occurred to me that it might be a useful thing to do. Who is likely to show up when invited? Who is likely to say they'll come then not without a good reason? (Luckily, few.) Who will do something if I ask, but won't ask me first? Maybe I'll think on that after I clean up my paper piles.



2. Anyhoo - also got the car washed and picked up some supplies for projects. I need to make a container for carting around my glassblowing pipes and decided to copy an idea I saw someone else use of a PVC pipe segment with end caps so I got a giant 10' piece of 4" pipe that stuck out my window on the way home. I also bought stuff to make a hanging basket of impatiens because my mom says they'll do well in full shade, unlike my still runty marigolds. I even hung it up and everything. I got the laundry done yesterday and hung up the fancy shirts so I don't have to iron, although I do miss the stiff starch/sizing feel of them being new.
   


3. I also made a tasty dinner - spinach salad (I've been getting a good deal on the pre-bagged spinach) and homemade pizza (tomato sauce, mushrooms, olives, broccoli, zucchini, turkey burger crumbles and mozzarella) on a homemade thin crust using sconome's parchment trick. And for dessert, mango, grAple, cherry salad with lemon juice and balsamic. And the rest of the apple fritter.
   


4. I justify eating this feast by actually exercising beforehand. In addition to 40 minutes of weighted cardio yesterday, I did a 25 minute run this evening with 2+ minute run segments in my run/walk combo. Music really, really helps motivate me to keep moving. That and being accountable to other people. The brother and I had a chat about how there is exercise that makes us feel good to do, but we still hate doing it and put it off as much as possible despite knowing we will feel better later. It's one of the few things we have in common.


5. I did enjoy finishing Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses. It was saucier than I expected.

Well, now that you know how exiting my life isn't... I'll try to have something better for next weekend. Better to fit that "Living the Dream" lifestyle change.