I think it's safe to say that this has been one of the oddest, if not THE oddest, February's I've ever had in the Midwest. For example, the snow is entirely melted outside, the sun is shining, and it is 60 degrees. And today's not the first time it's been this warm this month; it's been reaching this temperate a few times, and when it's not, it's been hanging around in the low 40s and mid-30s. Balmy, all things considered. I remember back in 2012, we had a week in March following a snowstorm that dumped like 13 inches on us, where it was in the 70s. I was laying out on a beach towel in a swimsuit at my parent's property, getting a tan. Also that year, because of the warmth, it jumpstarted the growing season for trees and such and ended up ruining crops for cherries in Door County because, as it is custom to doing, the weather slingshotted around and froze again not long after.
But I will enjoy this while it lasts. Birds chirping in the morning, leisurely walks through the dark and into the gym, and some Vitamin D to remind us that natural spring isn't far away.
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| I took advantage and started chopping my trees down. |
The part I don't enjoy is how badly this makes me want to start working on outside projects. Some of them can get going (cutting down a couple trees and space planning for what's to come), but others (painting the house) need to wait. It's stressful enough, pricey enough, and hard enough to paint your house as is. It's worse if the paint freezes before it's had a chance to cure properly, and it ends up peeling off the siding. That would just about make me wanna die.
February, in large, was a quiet month for me. For the most part, I spent it acclimating to Andrew as my roommate, getting into a routine with the gym, and working on the downstairs full bath in the house. Outside of those things, I didn't spend too much time away from the house, seasonal depression still being a thing that I succumb to.
Andrew moving in meant that it was time I came through on my vow to join the gym. We found a great deal in town at a local facility, saving a good chunk of money by signing up as a duo (couple (though not a couple)) instead of a single plan. I guess the best part about the place is that it's directly across the river from my house, so it only takes 3 minutes (literally) to drive in the morning. We've each screwed around with the times of day to go but settled on 5am being the best as it's sparsely occupied, you can use the equipment you want to, and the gym doesn't smell bad yet.
Trust me, it's a thing.
I've been going 5 days a week, only taking this past Friday off because I was too worn out. The first week was tough on me, just getting back into lifting any kind of weight in a controlled manner and not, y'know... heaving doors up the stairs or painting walls while clutching a gallon container to your chest for hours at a time. But then it got more manageable, and then I downloaded an app to help guide me in the gym, and it got harder. Today was legs, and I'm already in an uncomfortable amount of pain from that. But it'll get better.
What has not gotten better about this little adventure is my weight.
A year and a half ago, I was (falsely) diagnosed with Meniere's disease, an inner-ear condition where your body does not properly convert sodium into potassium and ends up storing fluid in your ear that causes vertigo.
Basically.
In reality, since you can't actually TEST someone for the disease but can only go off the symptoms, I've decided the symptoms were caused by TMJ (I grind my teeth at night, and my bite-guard had broken a couple months earlier) and stress. I was just purely and utterly fucking miserable working retail and living in Minnesota and going through heartbreak and all that stuff.
So anyway, not Menieres. The thing is, they prescribed me a diuretic (a water pill) to help get rid of the sodium. At first, it was fabulous because I dropped a few pounds and felt terrific.
Then I never got off of them because you have to wean yourself off or else risk severe health complications. Cut to now, when I AM getting off of them, and am gaining weight at a pretty stupid rate. I know your body goes through a sort of retaliation when you're getting off a diuretic, storing water weight in a panic setting that you can't turn off. And because I'm weaning off so slowly (after this week, I'm done), this weight issue has just been a pain in the ass.
It's easy for me to say, "Well, I'm gaining weight, BeCaUsE oF tHe WaTeR pIlLs," but who knows. It's a vicious cycle when you're eating well for a few weeks, largely avoiding sweets, working out daily for 45 minutes of lifting and an hour of cardio, and your weight continues to climb... so you then start eating poorly to make yourself feel better. Today, I got on the scale, and I am 10 pounds heavier than I was at the start of February when the gym started. No pun intended, but that was a tough pill to swallow. I know it'll get better because it has to; just for now, it's a bit demoralizing.
My arms look good, though.
(Author's update as this is published: 16 pounds gained. Sadness ensues.)
A good chunk of my time, as I said, has been spent working in the bathroom downstairs. I'd love to go into detail on that, but we've still got a month before I drop the blogs about everything I've done in the house over the last year. Suffice it to say, there have been some tears shed in this bathroom, and not even while taking a shower. This picture was either before or after said tears... I can't remember... as I leveled the floor with shims.
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| Bathroom work |
You'll have to tune in on March 27th for more house information. More surprises also await that day, so you'll want to hang out when the time comes.
For now, I'll sign off. I came down with the flu or Covid or a miserable cold from hell, but I think it's the flu. So in addition to being the size of a whale, with an eye issue that I'm now on antibiotics for in lieu of a potential surgery, I'm sick as fuck. Really just... winning at 2024.
So, what else happened in February? I winged it on a new queso recipe that I made from scratch, and it tasted like shit. Went to a Superbowl party, started a new venture in a legal sense (exciiiiiiting stuff!), and discovered I can make Corbonnara from scratch really well. I finalized my bathroom design, got a Costco membership, and refrained from chopping my hair off. Struggled to function with some work stuff but persevered, struggled to get up at 4:30am M-F but managed, and struggled to breathe deeply and calm myself down a few times but got through it. And in the end, we're all just trying to get through it.
Ciao for now (c:
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