Rachel's coming out of hibernation, thread 2

Hi all! Thought I'd start a new thread and actually try to be active on it.

I'm Rachel, 43, mom of IL3, stepmom of M10 and D12, wife of Aaron.

I read a variety of books, though I'm focusing on lighter reading right now in hopes of breaking through my reading slump.

Topper to come, when I'm on a computer.

Books Read in 2022

1. The Gene, by Sidhartha Mukherjee
2. Erak's Ransom, by John Flannagan
3. The Hidden, by Melanie Golding
4. My Sister the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite
5. The Kings of Clonmel, by John Flannagan
6. Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas
7. Halt's Peril, by John Flannagan
8. Will Do Magic for Small Change, by Andrea Hairston
9. I Like This Color, by Liz Goulet Dubois

2022 Oct, Nov, Dec Quarterly Goals (REVISED 10/27)

*Health and Fitness*

Achieve the 20lb weight loss goal
Current count = 17lbs

Reduce caffeine to zero by year end - down to 2 cans

Drink gallon of water in a day 50 times
Current count = 6

Work out 32 times
Current count = 1

*Environment*

Deep clean
Loki’s room
Basement
bedroom
Blankets
Fridge
Litter boxes

Maintain
Laundry weekly ☑️
Livingroom weekly ☑️
Kitchen weekly ☑️
Sheets weekly
Upstairs bathroom weekly ☑️
Downstairs bathroom weekly ☑️
Nursery weekly
Pink car every two weeks ☑️
Red car every two weeks ☑️
Floors every two weeks
Bedroom every two weeks ☑️
Basement every two weeks ☑️
Utility room every two weeks

*Education and Reading*

Listen Halt's Peril ✅

Listen Will Do Magic for Small Change

Listen Invisible Kingdom

Listen Marked for Life

Listen The Resemblance

Listen Time Machine

Listen 2 book club books☑️

Read To Shape A Dragon's Breath

Read The Quiet You Carry

Read Lisa Unger book

*Hobbies*

Organize old pictures 10 hour-long bouts

7 letters per week ☑️

*For My Soul*

Attend 20 religious services

Complete 40 episodes of Bible in a Year podcast
Current count = 4

*Life*

Complete courses of work

So...a description of my daily goals which will hopefully help me achieve my quarterly goals:

I have separated my goals into 4 categories - Life, Body, Mind, Spirit. I generally make a goal of completing 12 in life, 12 in body, 6 in mind, and 6 in spirit on weekdays, and 6, 6, 3, 3 on the weekends. Though I sometimes reduce to weekend levels during the week if I am not feeling well.

I keep track of these goals daily, so I'm going to post whether I made my goals here daily, along with my short blurb about the day that I generally reserve for a weekly update. Maybe the frequency of visits will keep me thinking about LT and make me more active on other threads, too. 🙂

Hope I am not to previous!

Happy new thread, dear lady.

>4 The_Hibernator: The thread was ready for you, Paul! Thanks for stopping by!

>6 The_Hibernator: I like to be early but not before I am welcome so I am pleased to see you were ready, Rachel. xx

Happy new one!

>8 figsfromthistle: Thanks Figs!

10/15 Goal:
Spirit: 3
Body: 6
Life: 6
Mind: 3

10/15 Accomplishments
Spirit: 1
Body: 10
Life: 13
Mind: 4

Completed 89% of my daily goal today
Completed 1.6% of Quarterly Goals so far

Saturday I spent 4 hours playing D&D while simultaneously watching IL3. M10 and Aaron were camping, and D12 was at her mom's. Dad, IL3, and I went out to Olive Garden for dinner. Good day!

Happy new thread Rachel.

Happy new thread, Rachel.

>10 The_Hibernator: Good luck with your goals, you started well!

Happy Sunday, Rachel. Happy New Thread. It looks like things are going well for you. I am enjoying watching your lovely kids grow up. I can't believe IL is 3 already. How have those books been treating you?

Happy new thread, Rachel!

I like the way you are approaching control in your life - life, spirit, mind, body. You always have my best wishes for your happiness.

Daily Goal:
Spirit: 3
Body: 6
Life: 6
Mind: 3

Daily Accomplishments
Spirit: 6
Body: 10
Life: 9
Mind: 3

100% of daily goal today
4.3% quarterly goals so far

Sunday was a relaxing day. I was resting from a cold, but I managed to get a lot of cleaning done. Then Aaron and I had a date where we retired downstairs and watched Supernatural.

>11 fairywings: Thanks Adrienne!

>12 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Thanks, I'll need luck. I made some pretty hefty ones considering I'm just coming up off a slump! But why not start out with a bang? Easing in is for wimps, right? 😲

>13 msf59: Hey Mark! I'm slowly getting back into the groove of reading. So they're treating me well at the moment. 😁

>14 karenmarie: Thanks Karen! It's working out really well for me so far.

Happy new thread!

That's a wonderful list of goals, Rachel. I try not to set any goals because I instantly resent them! I do have a daily plan with lots of wiggle room in it. Today, my plan is to get caught up on LT. Thanks for helping! :-)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread Rachel!

New-thread orisons, Rachel, and a wonderful Halloweentime trip was obvs had by all. Be well and stay happy! *smooch*

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 5
Body: 8
Life: 19
Mind: 3

Quarterly goals: 5.6% complete so far
Daily goals: 78% complete

Monday and Tuesday weren't high motivation days. I was distracted by several things, including a cold, and the worrisome health of the kid's grandfather. Also, IL3 refused to go to school. He struggled so much that we were unable to get him dressed. The first day, we thought it was a one off. Tuesday, I asked him what was bothering him, and he said that a monster had jumped out at him, and he was scared. With much negotiation, I managed to get him dressed and to the school. He couldn't point out what was upsetting him, but he was clearly upset, even though I'd told him I wouldn't leave him there.

Wednesday, I took him to school again with much negotiation, and he agreed to stay there for two hours. I was very proud of him, and he dealt well with his time there.

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345259

>22 The_Hibernator: Wow! That is disturbing, but it's great that you could get him past it for those two hours. I hope that takes the curse off for him.

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 12
Body: 16
Life: 14
Mind: 4

94% of daily goals complete
6.8% of Quarterly goal complete so far

Thursday, IL3 refused to go to school again. I couldn't get him there at all because they didn't want me to take him in the afternoon, and I was too busy in the morning. I took hom to the park for 3 hours, and then played D&D with the kids for a couple of hours.

>17 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi!

>18 Donna828: I never resent my goals, Donna, I just forget them. Lol. But I really like having them all the same.

>19 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>20 humouress: Thanks Nina!

>21 richardderus: >25 richardderus: Hi Richard! Yes, our Halloween month has been wonderful this year. As for IL3, given that his fear is of a monster, I'm hoping it's an irrational fear rather than a fear of something real that happened to him. He gets scared of monsters very easily, and that's what he claims is at the school.

>23 SilverWolf28: >24 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! I'll hop on over there! Though, as usual, I have a full weekend so can only participate a little.

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 2
Body: 11
Life: 19
Mind: 2

75% of daily goal completed
9.1% of quarterly goal completed so far

Friday I had a caffeine withdrawal headache most of the day, so I chose not to focus on reading, listening, or writing.

ETA: IL3 spent the entire day at school, with offered reward of going back to the park!

>22 The_Hibernator: Good parenting! I wish my two kids had come with the instruction book.

>29 humouress: Thanks Nina!

I didn't want him to be resistant to go to school in the long-term, so I was trying to be gentle with him. As I edited in, he went to school on Friday.

Yes, an owner's manual written specifically for each individual child would be amazing. They're all so different!

My planned time to go thread-hopping unfortunately was hijacked. I will probably have to wait till next week. However, to tide you over till then - picture of the week:

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 10
Body: 9
Life: 12
Mind: 4

86% of daily goal complete 🎊
10% quarterly goals complete ❤️‍🔥

Saturday D12, IL3, Aaron and I went to the park for an hour. There was an incident where I lost my balance (through no fault of my own) and fell on top of IL3. I ended up with a nasty bruise and IL3 cried, but was fine.

After that, we watched a couple episodes of X-files and a couple episodes of Supernatural.

>31 The_Hibernator: Little fellow is clearly confident in your driving, Rachel, or not enamored by the conversation!

Have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for posting the photo

Impressed with your grit in sticking to goals!

>31 The_Hibernator: *baaawww* every papaw-gene in me just switched on!

Stay steady, there, Rachel.

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 6
Body: 9
Life: 14
Mind: 5

Quarterly: 8.66% of quarterly goal so far
Daily: 89% today

Sunday I went to a LGBTQ church with my friend Todd. It was a lovely service with a nice message about how loving oneself makes it easier to love others. Afterwards, Todd and I had lunch . Later that day, Aaron and I went to a friend's house for a mini-party.

ETA: I changed the way I was calculating the quarterly goal percentage. It made me move down between yesterday and today, but I think it'll help me in the long run.

>34 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! Glad you enjoyed!

>35 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda! It's only been a couple of weeks. Think I can hold out till December?

>36 richardderus: Hi Richard! Aren't small children cute?

>31 The_Hibernator: Love how focused you look, Rachel :0)

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 3
Body: 8
Life: 12
Mind: 5

9.1% quarterly goals complete so far
87% of daily goals

Monday, I took IL3 to his dentist appointment. He agreed to sit in the chair, which looks like a phlebotomist chair to him! Afterwards, I took a 3 hour nap, wrote two letters, and relaxed a bit. So...lazy day.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 2
Body: 5
Life: 6
Mind: 0

43% of my daily goal
9.2% of quarterly goal complete so far

Tuesday was a hard day. M10 discovered some head lice. That meant we had to keep IL3 home from school, but the older kids could go because they're less likely to touch heads with people. I looked at Loki, and he didn't have any visible, so I'm sending him to school Wednesday and treating him tonight. (I couldn't treat him alone because he needs to be vice gripped by two people to get his hair washed, and Aaron and Malcolm were at a party in the evening.)

On top of all that, I was let go from one of my jobs. My client wouldn't let me work whenever I have a minor cold or the kids have head lice, which has been a lot lately. Guess she just got sick of telling me I couldn't work. 🤷‍♀️ Now I have 36 weekly work hours to replace. I managed to find a 7.5 hour job, and think I'll probably be hired for a 10 hour one today. But I can't find another overnight asleep job, so the rest of the hours will subtract from family time. ☹️

Well, I used my depressed unemployed time to make the rounds on threads, since this Saturday is out, too. I was left with the impression I should try Wordle for the first time ever. Is it an app?

>42 The_Hibernator: Sorry you are feeling down. Losing a job stinks. Wordle is just a website, hosted by the New York times (they bought it when it proved popular). https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

Wordle 494 3/6

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Heehee!

>44 The_Hibernator: Well then! You're doing great for a newb, Rachel.

Sending comfort huggings for the sadz. *smooch*

Beautiful first Wordle, Rachel! Welcome to the club!

Goal:
Spirit: 6
Body: 12
Life: 12
Mind: 6

Accomplishments
Spirit: 1
Body: 4
Life: 6
Mind: 1

40% of daily goal
9.2% of quarterly goal so far

Wednesday, I was feeling the unemployment blues. I applied to several jobs, went to the dentist, and dealt with an electrician.

ETA: maybe I'll write a review today.

ETA 2: I'm listening to "Will do Magic for Small Change." Reading "To Shape a Dragon's Breath."

>43 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi! I followed the link and bookmarked it.

>45 richardderus: Thanks Richard! *Smooch*

>45 richardderus: and >46 norabelle414: I think I was just lucky this time. But I was pretty proud all the same.

Hi Rachel!

Sorry IL is going through a monster phase. I remember my dad always had to open up the bedroom closet and look under the beds every single night when we were little to prove to my brother that there were no monsters in our bedroom. I wonder why IL thinks there are monsters at school.

>31 The_Hibernator: That pic of IL conked out is precious. You look stressed, mom, and I love your glasses.

>41 The_Hibernator: Ugh. Head lice. I’m sorry to hear that, especially with the ripple effect of you being let go from one of your jobs.

>44 The_Hibernator: Yay! You’re caught up in the world of Wordle. Have fun.

>45 richardderus: – What Richard said, Sending comfort huggings for the sadz.

Sweet Thursday, Rachel. Just checking in. Getting much reading in? Good luck with the job hunt and an unruly IL.

So...when my client laid me off the other day, she made the point in telling me that I was better off with another client because they could offer me more reliable hours. I didn't bother telling her that she was saying that to make herself feel better, not me.

Today, she sent me a suuuuper long text stating her carefully thought out reasons for laying me off, and in that she had no hard feelings. Maybe I would stay on the payroll to pick up if someone is sick?

The text obviously made her feel better, but was supremely unhelpful to me. So I sent her this:

"First of all, there really aren't that many overnight asleep jobs out there, (in fact, none as far as I can tell) so I'm going to have to take a day job and take the kids out of psychological therapy, feeding therapy, and speech therapy. So I really am not better off for having no job.

Second, I am applying for unemployment, though I'm skeptical I'll get much since I still work for S---. I don't know if I need to be off payroll to apply. 🤷‍♀️ So I guess we should probably take me off just in case?"

It felt mean, because I know she wanted to hear "it's ok! No hard feelings!" And for the most part, there aren't. But I honestly don't want to listen to her console herself for what is my problem and not hers.

>50 msf59: Well, I expect to finish Will Do Magic for Small Change next week. I hope to review Halt's Peril this week.

>49 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Sometimes it's cute. Yesterday, I came home with a skeletal frog decoration, and IL3 reached into the bag, picked it up, looked at it, yelled "ahhh!" And dropped it. 😂🤣

Wordle 495 3/6

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Nice! Two 3s in a row on Wordle.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345442

Wordle 496 3/6

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I have to give credit to Richard for loaning me an awesome word though....🤷‍♀️

>57 The_Hibernator: It worked a treat for me, today! I'm glad it's useful to you, Rachel.

Happy weekend-ahead's activities!

Wordle 497 5/6

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That word did not pop to me.

>59 The_Hibernator: I took one fewer steps than you did but it wasn't the *word* that came to me but the shape of the solution. The word itself was kinda irrelevant.

Those are the puzzle-solving days that I love the best. When I'm hunting through my vocabulary for a word it makes me nutso!

Wordle 498 5/6

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Bummer about the job. I bet you can get unemployment, though.

Sorry to hear about the job. You ex-employers e-mail would have been nails on a black board to me - i think you handled it a heck of a lot better than I would have

Welcome to Wordle! Congrats on today's - I was totally blanking and finally looked up a hint so I didn't just give up on guess #6.

Sorry about the job, and fingers crossed that you're able to get something good to replace the hours.

Monday, I chaperoned a Junior Achievement field trip. The kids had been preparing for weeks...learning about debit cards, checks, and jobs. JA has a mock town, where the kids held jobs and got paid and got to be consumers. I was working for Delta Airlines, where our poor CFO was overworked. M10 worked in City Hall, as the town treasurer.

After that, we all went trick or treating. We were out for about an hour, and IL3 was SO excited.

>55 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi!

>56 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! One of these days, I'll participate again!

>58 richardderus: and >59 The_Hibernator: Thanks Richard! I don't try it every day, just to shake things up a bit. But it's really a good strategy.

Yeah, the hard puzzles are fun. 😊

>62 banjo123: Hi Rhonda! Yeah, I'm going to apply today. I should have applied last week, but I was depressed.

>63 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! I had a litte restraint because I know she didn't realize how annoying it was to hear her excuses. But she definitely needed to be touched with a reality wand.

>64 bell7: Thanks Mary! I've replaced 8 of the hours. I'll just have to wait until I can find another overnight asleep job with someone who won't shank me.

Pictures of the week

Books / podcasts / lectures/ shows:

Bible in a Year Podcast: Dr Mike Schmitz Episodes 2-5

Great Mythologies of the World Lecture 2

Will Do Magic for Small Change, by Andrea Hairston (Audiobook) 32% - 49%

Supernatural Season 13, Episode 4

X-files season 2, Episodes 1-2

Scrubs Season 1, Episodes 6-7

Lucifer Season 1, Episodes 1-8

Great photos!

>67 The_Hibernator: Great photos, Rachel!

The early snow was discouraging but how about the Halloween we had? So nice to go door to door without having to wear winter coats over costumes.

Wordle 500 5/6

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Frankly, I didn't think that was a real word, I just tried it.

>69 _Zoe_: >70 richardderus: Thanks Zoe and Richard!

>71 Oberon: Hi Erik! Yes, it was amazing weather. The kids had so much fun, and got quite the haul.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 4
Body: 2
Life: 12
Mind: 3

63% of daily goal
9.8% of quarterly goal so far

Tuesday I was busy with appointments and IL3's swim lessons.

>67 The_Hibernator: Wow, the kids are growing up! My older son has had a buzz cut for national service; out of camp he keeps a baseball cap on to hide it though I did tell him to take it off at home.

Wordle 501 4/6

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4days are good streak-extending days, aren't they.

Happy Humpday, Rachel.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 19
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 5
Body: 2
Life: 12
Mind: 6

73% of daily goal
9.8% of quarterly goal

Wednesday, I had 6 appointments! IL3 started his occupational therapy, and we had 3 parent teacher conferences for two kids. M10 was grounded for the first time ever - he keeps taking his school iPad downstairs and staying up all night, and we're having trouble remembering to confiscate it before bed. So yesterday, he was grounded. He's SO angry. On top of that, he slapped a kid at school, and lied about it when he got home. I told him I wouldn't punish him for the slap, but if I came home from conferences convinced he did it, his punishment would be worse. I am now convinced. 🤷‍♀️ He's grounded until a week from Friday.

>77 richardderus: I think I now have more 4 days than 3 days, but my streak was lost on a day that I ran out of time and wasn't able to finish the puzzle, so I just cheated because I wanted to know. Monday, it was.

>78 The_Hibernator: Ah yes, the fun side of parenting. It’s good that he got to 10 without grounding. Hang in there; we’re with you.

Wonderful to see all your Halloween photos! It looked like you had a lot of fun!

Hope you find a new and wonderful-ler job very soon. Perhaps something you could do from home??

Boys will be boys. Sigh.

I love the way you are keeping track of your accomplishments.

Wordle 502 3/6

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Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345596

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 1
Body: 3
Life: 7
Mind: 3

47% of daily goal met
9.8% of daily goal met

Thursday, I took IL3 in for his autism assessment. I was more worried about him at the time I made the appointment 6 months ago, now it was just a formality as his speech and social skills have exploded recently. Later, I took M10 to meet our state representative. M10 needed to meet with a government official and discuss an issue of community importance in order to meet a requirement for the Arrow of Light award in Cub Scouts. They had a good long talk about many things, most notably the representative told M10 that although he is a Democrat, he finds it important to consider the wellbeing and needs of Republicans whenever he votes. Another important issue discussed was that (the representative said) in the US, he could grow up to be President, but that wasn't true of many countries.

>80 humouress: Hi Nina! Yeah, he got to 10 without being grounded, but he's had his tablet taken away lots of times. I've just never been like: "thou shalt not sit in the livingroom while other people watch tv."

He told me he'd rather a year of no tablet to a week of this. 🤷‍♀️ Which is nice, because I've NEVER found a punishment that he found onerous enough to demotivate him. He is generally fine risking losing his tablet for a thrill of naughtiness. But this seems to make him pause.

>81 streamsong: Hi Janet! On Friday I interview with Delta as a ramp agent. However, I don't really want to work during the day or in the evenings or weekends. I know that sounds super picky, but I really liked my overnight asleep job!

Totally bombed today. I had a crazy anxiety attack starting 10pm last and lasted till about 5pm today when I was able to get hold of my psychiatrist who gave me excellent advice that calmed me down within 30 minutes.

On top of that, I had the Wordle down to the last 4 letters, which were incredibly distinctive, and still couldn't get it because of my anxiety.

Also, I told M10 if he finished the book that he hadn't started yet I would unground him for the day. He read for five and a half hours and finished the entire book in one day. He's super motivated to not be grounded.

On top of that, I did some research trying to get my homeless nephew J18 a recruited to the military. He wants to be a sniper and "in on the action," or "make bank" by being an electrician or mechanic. So far, I have contacted the Marines and the Air Force.

>87 The_Hibernator: Wow - another reader in the family!

>88 humouress: Yup! D12 reads too. :) She's totally into the Keepers of the Lost Cities series right now. SOOOO excited about it.

Listened to one episode of The Bible in a Year Podcast (not gonna do this in a year)

Listened up to 57.9% of Will do Magic for Small Change

Read 1% of Debroy's translation of Mahabhrata

Listened to Great Mythologies of the World lectures 3-4

Reading Biblical Literature lectures 4-7

Wrote

1 letter Canada
1 letter North Dakota
1 letter Michigan
1 letter Maryland Department of Corrections
1 letter Djibouti (Any Marine)

>89 The_Hibernator: A couple of my nieces (my cousins' kids) are into the Wings of Fire series, apparently. Had D tried it? Though I think they're a couple of years younger than she is.

>90 The_Hibernator: That's good of you to write letters. I run out of inspiration very quickly - and that's writing to people I know.

>91 humouress: Hi Nina! Both M10 and D12 have read several of the Wings if Fire books.

I just write what I have done, much as I do here.

Goals for November 5-11
Work: Course C2
Life: clean house
Body: Exercise 3x
Spirit: 7 letters
Mind: Finish Will Do Magic for Small Change

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 9
Body: 5
Life: 10
Mind: 2

73% daily goal
11% of weekly goal
9.8% of quarterly goal

Saturday, Aaron and I played D&D with my adult group. Then, I went to the mall with IL3 to meet J18. We talked about the armed forces, and he decided he wanted to be an electrician in the Air Force or Navy. IL3 and I drove around on an angry bird motorcycle at the mall. He actually drove it himself, and got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Hi Rachel!

>85 The_Hibernator: I've NEVER found a punishment that he found onerous enough to demotivate him. It's always good to find a punishment that gives them pause. With Jenna it was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, no electronics in hand (although at that time she only had a Gameboy, I think). If she snarked or sassed me or got off the chair, I’d walk over to the wall stove timer, and bump up the number of minutes she had to stay there. It drove her wild.

>95 karenmarie: Yeah, M10 says it's partly boredom, partly loneliness, and partly physical discomfort of not sitting on the couch.

Wordle 505 5/6

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>95 karenmarie: >85 The_Hibernator: Yup, still looking for something that stops my teens in their tracks. They're savvy enough to get around my electronics locks and too big for me to take stuff off them physically (plus with a lot more attitude than they had as small kids).

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 6
Body: 6
Life: 11
Mind: 6

86% Daily goal (YAY! First time since I lost my job)
37.5% of Weekly Goal (Right on Track!!!)
15% if quarterly goal

Sunday was really productive! I got lots of cleaning, reading, and writing done. I also cooked a roast and some stuffing.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 19
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 4
Body: 6
Life: 18
Mind: 4

80% of Daily goal
51% of weekly goal
16% of quarterly goal

Monday went well. I had 3 appointments, and got a little burnt out by the third, so I didn't do much for the rest of the day.

Wordle 507 5/6

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M10 got the word. 🤪

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 5
Body: 11
Life: 18
Mind: 5

BAM!!!

100% of daily goal
70% of weekly goal
17% of quarterly goal

I totally rocked Tuesday. I even worked out for an hour on the treadmill! I would like to add weight lifting to that eventually - 1 day a week for each lower body, core, and upper body. But for now, I'll start with the treadmill. D12 had an appointment in the morning, and M10 an appointment in the afternoon, and of course I voted. I am hoping things come out ok. 😱

>98 humouress: I'm dreading the day they find out how to get around the locks. M10 will never sleep again.

Happy Wednesday, Rachel. We are back and I am slowly catching up with my LT pals. I hope you are doing well.

How do ye do, R35. Hoping all's well!

Wordle 508 4/6

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Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 19
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 17
Mind: 5

100% daily goal
81.8% weekly goal
19.6% quarterly goal

BAM, POW!!!

Wednesday was another great day, with a few hitches. 45 minutes into my treadmill exercise, the daycare called me to say IL3 had missed his bus to special education. I had to drop everything and take him. I don't know what they said to him, but he apologized over and over for missing the bus. ☹️ I told him it wasn't his fault.

When I picked him up, I took him to occupational therapy, which he loved. In the evening M10 had his last baseball lesson, so I signed him up for a baseball clinic since he liked it so much. Go figure. He's always hated sports. 🤷‍♀️ I wanted to sign IL3 up for T-ball, but, alas, there's no T-ball league around here. Instead, I signed him up for wrestling, which he'll start tomorrow. Hopefully he likes it.

>105 msf59: Glad you're back, Mark!

>106 richardderus: LOL, Richard. I'm R43. But thanks. 😂🤣

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345739

Thanks Silver!

Wordle 509 5/6

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Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 2
Body: 9
Life: 11
Mind: 2

76.7% daily goal
86% weekly goal
20.4% quarterly goal

Thursday was a low motivation day. My client had had a tough night, so I hadn't gotten enough sleep and was coming up with excuses not to exercise. At first, I told myself that dad needed out of the house, so I took him on a bunch of errands. They were definitely things that needed to be done, but they were not in my plan for the day. Then I ran out of excuses, so I went on the treadmill for an hour. Then, I sat through a 2 hour appointment with D12 while Aaron and M10 took IL3 to wrestling. Which IL3 decided he didn't like. ☹️ On top of that, my friend is having huge difficulties getting his Suboxone and other meds, so I was troubleshooting how to fix that problem quickly. I'm going to have to get a release signed so I can advocate for him, and then help him with his pill minder on a weekly basis - when I take him to church on Sundays.

And, I lost enough weight to fit on my wedding ring!!!

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 10
Life: 19
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 1
Body: 5
Life: 12
Mind: 1

56.7% of daily goal done
88.6% of weekly goal
20.7% of monthly goal

Well, Friday was a mess. We started by getting up early to drop pink car off at the mechanic. On the way back in red car, some teenager turned left RIGHT in front of us. There was just enough time for Aaron to say "okay..." and hit the break before we slammed into them. Red car is almost certainly totalled and we are waiting for cerification of it's death certificate before buying a nice big car that we can fit our whole household into. I wish pink car had bitten the dust, and the red car were in the mechanic, since we haven't even paid off red car. 😱

I ended up with a banged up knee and for some unknown reason a painful tailbone. My head slapped hard into the side airbag, which almost certainly saved me from being brained. Aaron scraped his thumb. The doctor says that my knee would probably be ok in a coue of weeks, but not to be surprised if I were butt-hurt for a couple of months. It hurts to sit, and REALLY hurts during the act of standing up.

We were SO lucky...we had been going to take IL3 with us but D12 agreed to watch him while we went, because we'd get back before she went to school. So none of the kids were in the car. We called up dad, who relieved D12 of babysitting duties, so she went to school all worried about the accident, despite being told we were ok. The sad part, is Aaron was supposed to chaparone a field trip to the zoo for D12, and she had really been looking forward to it. But we decided not to have Aaron go because we didn't know if he'd start feeling pain when the adrenaline wore off.

We couldn't take IL3 to daycare without a car, so he stayed home for the day. Pink car was fine, though, and we got a new air filter. 🤷‍♀️

M10 left with his mom in the evening, and Aaron and I watched X-files with D12 after I cooked salmon for dinner.

Yikes! I am so sorry to hear about your accident. I’m glad none of the kiddos were with you and wish you and Aaron quick healing. ❤️‍🩹 I guess the upside is that you have a good excuse for a larger vehicle which will be more comfortable for your family. I hope you can rest this weekend, Rachel. That tailbone injury sounds particularly painful.

Dang! So sorry. And I feel your car pain. My son's parking brake let go and his car rolled down the hill into our garage door. The lucky part was that it actually hit it straight on and didn't hit the sides. Amazing. But totaled the car. Awaiting the check...

Take care and hope the pain goes away quickly.

>113 The_Hibernator: Oh no; so sorry to hear that. I can empathise about the tailbone. I've never (that I know of) impacted it but I've had issues since my pregnancies and also have a couple of dodgy discs.

But yay! for none of the kids being in the car. Take the small miracles as they come :0)

Sorry to hear about your accident! I hope you heal quickly.

>113 The_Hibernator: That's a colossal load of nasty! Tailbone injuries are surprisingly noticeable, aren't they...I've only ever thought about my tailbone when I bruised it one time and it was no fun at all.

Yay for a bigger vehicle! Something good had to come out of this. *smooch*

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345932

Goal:
Spirit: 2
Body: 6
Life: 5
Mind: 2

Accomplishments
Spirit: 1
Body: 2
Life: 9
Mind: 0

53% of daily goal
20.7% of quarterly goal

Well, it's been one week from the accident, and my first diary entry since then. My knee (which hit the dash when we crashed) is bruised, but fine. My tailbone (which is inexplicably hurt), is causing a lot of pain. Especially while driving.

Friday and Saturday night, I called out of work because I didn't want know if my knee could handle some of the tasks. However, I was able to return to work on Wednesday, and my tailbone didn't impact it. Insurance is reimbursing 85% of the lost wages.

Tuesday, we had a minor snow storm, which our trucks were unprepared for, so the roads were horrendous. I had been supposed to drive M10 30 minutes to get a flu shot, because for some reason it is inexplicably hard to get a flu shot for someone under 12 this year. I decided not to do it, because it seemed dangerous, and now I don't know where to do it. The clinic is booked out till mid-January, and none of the pharmacies close by will schedule it for someone under 12. 🤷‍♀️

On Wednesday, I had a virtual meeting with my doctor following up about my kidneys and pre-diabetes. Both are doing great. After that, I took M10 on a 30 minute drive to an appointment, and much to my horror it was horrendously painful to sit in the car that long. I subsequently cancelled all appointments for the rest of the week except the ones that were short distances. Then I broke down and bought an expensive donut pillow for my bum.

Wednesday, we had a talk with the doctor about IL3's autism assessment. The conclusion was unsurprising: he does not have autism, but he does have a speech delay and seems to be well on his way to attention deficit with hyperactivity, though they can't accurately diagnose that till he's 5.

Also on Wednesday, I called up the rehab center to make a physical therapy appointment for my tailbone. I specifically asked for a pelvic floor specialist, but the referral from the day of the accident said "knee and tailbone," so they put me in with a knee specialist. I was horrified on Thursday when I drove a painful 20 minutes for a waste-of-time appointment. The therapist told me I needed a pelvic floor specialist, which I knew, and I had to start all over with scheduling.

Also on Thursday, Aaron and I went to Toyota to test drive a Sienna. Despite calling in advance, they informed us upon arrival that we couldn't test drive a Sienna but we could go on a 12-18 month waitlist to buy one, or buy used for an extra $15k above new price. Instead, we test drove their 7 seater SUV (I can't remember which one, as I was distracted by my pain). That one only had a 2-month waitlist to buy at the new price, or we could buy used for a pretty penny. We left without making a decision.

Friday was a busy day, I worked till 8am, and of course Aaron had to pick me up because we have only one car. Then, I took IL3 to speech therapy, then went shopping after dropping him off, followed by Thanksgiving lunch at his daycare (he asked me to snap a picture of him, said "cheese," and looked away from the camera.) I then took D12 to an appointment, followed by a followup orthopedic appointment about my tailbone. I was in the car all day, and was exhausted by the pain by the end of the day.

The other major thing to happen had to do with D&D. Aaron has been feeling bullied by the DM, who is a guy I met on the internet. The guy also bullies M10, who cries every time we play. I asked the DM if he could be kinder to Aaron and M10, and he essentially answered that they deserve it. So I'm searching for a new DM. M10 needn't be bullied by a grown-ass man.

Finally, I had a job I was looking into where they are going to pay me a week in advance as soon as I provide them with my bank account number. No interview necessary. Woo-hoo!

Getting around to answering comments today. I'm going to lounge on my back all day and catch up on reading and comments (by phone).

Wordle 518 5/6

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>121 The_Hibernator: Sorry to hear about the pain you are in after the accident. Car accidents are tricky. Just when you think everything is fine, you end up with an unexplained pain. Hope it goes away soon and you are able to find a way to manage the pain.

I can't believe that a used car would cost more than new! The wait times for a brand new one is quite long as well-I guess that explains why the dealerships can charge more for used. Good luck with your car purchase.

Anyhow, enjoy the rest of the weekend. Don't forget to relax a little ;)

Oh wow, Rachel, that sounds exhausting and painful. I hope that next week is better!

Goal:
Spirit: 2
Body: 5
Life: 5
Mind: 2

Accomplishments
Spirit: 4
Body: 3
Life: 14
Mind: 1

78% of daily goal
8.2% of weekly goal
18% of monthly goal

Saturday, we decided to buy a Highlander to replace the totaled Outback. It is a 7-seater, so we can fit our whole family in one car now. Then we watched a couple episodes of Psych and She-Hulk.

>114 Donna828: Hi Donna! Thanks. 😊 The tailbone is still a problem, but I guess it will be for a while. Today has mostly been a good day, though, so maybe the pain is letting up.

>115 Berly: Hi Kim! Sorry to hear about your son's accident. How's his car shopping going? We had a particularly persistent Toyota salesperson, and ended up getting a car from him because we couldn't figure out what else to do.

>116 humouress: Sorry to hear about your dodgy discs Nina. I've heard chronic back pain can be awful.

>117 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi!

>118 richardderus: Yes, the bruise is so annoying! But at least it's not broken.

>124 figsfromthistle: Hi Figs! I rested most of last week (as much as I could). Today and yesterday I'm trying to get back into the productivity groove by cutting my goals in half. I'm hoping to be normal productivity by December.

>125 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda! I have high hopes for next week.

Goal:
Spirit: 2
Body: 5
Life: 5
Mind: 2

Accomplishments
Spirit: 3
Body: 7
Life: 11
Mind: 2

100% Daily goal (time to move back up to full throttle goals instead of half goals)
15.3% of weekly goals
20.7% of monthly goals

Sunday was a relaxing day in which not much happened.

Wordle 520 4/6

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>129 The_Hibernator: I swear, Racel, we're all getting into a groove about Wordle scores! I think all of us took 4 today!

Feel better every day this week.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 8
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 4
Body: 8
Life: 12
Mind: 2

85.7% daily goal
22.1% weekly goals
19.7% monthly goal

Monday I ramped up to about 75% of my usual productivity goal. I wasn't able to exercise due to still being tired from my injury, but I started my physical therapy stretches. Additionally, IL3 got his COVID and flu shots.

>130 richardderus: Well, I think I got a bit lucky on that one. On my 4th guess, there was only one word it could be.

Wordle 521 5/6

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Here's the Thanksgiving readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/346030

>134 SilverWolf28: Yay!!! I hope to read bunches!

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 12
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 5
Body: 14
Life: 10
Mind: 5

100% daily goal!!!
38.5% weekly goal
22.7% monthly goal

Tuesday was excellent. My tailbone seems to be improving, and it didn't exhaust me like it had been - I managed the whole day without a nap. I credit the physical therapy exercises with the improvement. I had an interview to replace the hours I lost recently, and I should find out next week if I got it.

>136 The_Hibernator: Hooray for a great day! Glad you are starting to feel better, tailbone-wise.

Goal:
Spirit: 5
Body: 12
Life: 10
Mind: 5

Accomplishments
Spirit: 4
Body: 6
Life: 6
Mind: 0

50% daily goal
41.6% weekly goal
25.8% monthly goal

Wednesday morning, M10 discovered that what he thought was a baby gate was actually a marble slide. Completely randomly, he rolled a marble down it and exclaimed "Rachel! Look! Isn't it cool that a marble will go all the way down?!" IL3 was rolling marbles down it all day (I'm not sure how he figured that out) when M10 was at his mom's.

Wednesday was uneventful. I tried taking IL3 to Occupational Therapy, but my tailbone hurt too much for the 45 minutes each way. IL3 had a parent-teacher conference at the daycare, which went really well. His social skills and coloring skills have really improved, and the teacher said he's right where he should be. D12 and M10 left with biomom to see their grandpa for Thanksgiving.

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Rachel.

Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel. I am so sorry to hear about the accident. Glad to hear that you are improving. Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Have a great holiday with the family.

>137 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi! My tailbone feels good some days and hurts more other days. I think the PT helped at first, but as I continued the PT, it started hurting again.

>139 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I'm always happy to see you around.

>140 msf59: Thanks Mark! Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, too!

Have a lovely Thursday, Rachel!

Hi Rachel.

I'm sorry about the accident too, sorry you're having so much pain. Glad IL3 was not in the car.

Wordle 523 5/6

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That is so embarrassing

>144 The_Hibernator: It took me eight tries!

Goal:
Spirit: 3
Body: 6
Life: 5
Mind: 3

Accomplishments
Spirit: 2
Body: 7
Life: 10
Mind: 3

94.1% of daily goal
45% of weekly goal
34.8% of monthly goal

Thanksgiving was great. With IL3's help, I cooked corn casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. I was pretty exhausted by the end of all that cooking, but we all enjoyed the feast.

Wordle 524 5/6

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I was really disappointed that it wasn't "pithy"

>145 SilverWolf28: How did you manage eight out of six?

>146 The_Hibernator: Get 'em in the kitchen early, I say. Mainly because I didn't. I'm glad you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Goal:
Spirit: 3
Body: 10
Life: 5
Mind: 3

Accomplishments
Spirit: 6
Body: 15
Life: 16
Mind: 3

100% Daily goal
68% of Weekly goal
42.5% monthly goal

Friday was fun. I created my character for Saturday's D&D one-shot with a group of friends - a 12th level Owlin Warlock. Then I had another interview for a potential job. Finally, I went shopping with Aaron and IL3 before going to work. I almost made my 10k step goal without going for a separate exercise!

>142 richardderus: Thank you Richard! You too!
>143 karenmarie: Thank you Karen! I'm still in pain, but it's much more tolerable now.
>145 SilverWolf28: Lol, Silver! I just knew it was going to be Thanksgiving related, though!
>148 humouress: D12 and IL3 both love the kitchen. It really bugs Aaron, but I enjoy the company. I also enjoy him helping me put away groceries, even if I have to do it one item at a time because IL3 hands them to me so carefully.

Media for this week:

She-Hulk, episodes 3-9
Psych, Season 6, episodes 8-10
Will Do Magic for Small Change, by Andrea Hairston 93%-100%
Keepers of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger 12.5 - 9 hours left
The Bible in a Year podcast, episodes 14-22
Reading Biblical Literature, lessons 11-12
The Chosen, Episodes 1-2

Saturday's D&D one-shot was nearing 6 hours long. 95% battle scene. I managed to strike the killing blow against the blue dragon. When we finished, Aaron, dad, and I watched the first 3 episodes of Wednesday, despite Aaron's protestations that the actress can't hold a candle to Christina Ricci, who (I found out) is his celebrity crush. Sleepy Hallow Christina Ricci, he says....he doesn't crush on 14yo Ricci.

Goal:
Spirit: 3
Body: 8
Life: 5
Mind: 3

Accomplishments
Spirit: 2
Body: 5
Life: 6
Mind: 0

75% Daily goals
8.5% Weekly goals
44.9% Monthly goals

Tuesday, we had a snow storm. We got about 4 inches. It made the roads pretty messy. But I had already moved M10s appointment to virtual, do there wasn't a lot of driving. I had IL3 home for the second half of the day (due to storm), on top of being unmotivated, so I wasn't very productive. In the evening, D12, M10, and I watched Les Miserables. We all cried. I was trying to convince D12 into going to the theater instead of getting cash for her 13th birthday. She was convinced.

>153 The_Hibernator: Several people on my Mastodon instance live in Rochester and I was quite surprised to see so much snow so early in the winter!

Hoping it all smooths out soon, Rachel.

>154 richardderus: We had snow in October at some point...I think mid October. But this is our first big snow.

In the 9th book of the Ranger's Apprentice series Will, Horace and Halt are hunting down a murdering "prophet." This is a great continuation of the series, which has been very entertaining. However, I'm happy to see the end of the original series is near. The overarching plot has ceased to progress, and I'm ready to move on to the 10th and final book.

Wednesday M10 tried eating pineapple upside-down cake and maraschino cherries as his palate-expanding foods in therapy. He spat out both after the first bite. Next time is kale, cabbage, and mashed potatoes. D12 and I worked on her book report. Then I went to work.

>158 The_Hibernator: Ah, yes, I remember that phase:
'I don't like that food.'
'But you've never ever tried it before.' To which they have no reply but still refuse to taste even a tiny bit.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/346201

>159 humouress: Yes, Nina, all three of my kids are in that "stage," though M10 brings it to a new level. He has a full-blown eating disorder and is seen at an eating disorder clinic. I'm really proud of him for trying these foods.

>161 The_Hibernator: Good for him! And for you; I know you've been working with him on this for a while.