03/19/2020 Thursday

1. Within Range: yes
2. Blue SmartPoints: 15
3. General Wellbeing: 8
4. FSF: yard play with A & S; settling DC in
5. Yesterday's Insights: My boundaries (protection from negativity and stupidity) are as effective as my willingness to enforce them.

So, as many of you have seen, FB helps me feel connected but my intolerance for stupidity/ignorance/constant negativity has amplified. In order to enforce my boundaries to keep myself mentally and emotionally healthy, I have blocked & unfriended individuals who threaten my balanced health. Our immune systems are strengthened when we can reduce unnecessary drains on our energy. My Fitbit sleep score was 45 (Poor), partly because DC is struggling, but mostly because I was giving up too much space in my head worrying/perseverating about things I can't change. We ALL have moments of being scared, sad, and overwhelmed and I am totally on board with the dynamics of a living breathing support system/family. I choose to insulate myself from constant denial and negativity. I do not have space in my life for 100% energy drainers and/or for individuals who constantly push my are you *** ing kidding me ? button. Sadly, I have some long term friendships that will end, and I'm okay with that.

We'll get through the challenging coming days by making sure we take care of ourselves and each other. Love my tribe, and we've got this !!

Amen, Diane.

All evidence to the contrary, I do so wish we could fix stupid. But since we can't, I don't have to wallow in it either. Thanks for the nudge.

Weight this morning 137.4 (got to be IV fluids, post-surgical swelling fluids, etc.

Calories yesterday 570, protein 43. Will try to get the protein higher today.

Boy, am I groggy!

BTW, my Fitbit has stopped counting steps. Any suggestions, y'all? I haven't even tried to figure it out yet. Because groggy.

EDIT: Figured out my Fitbit ... I've been using a walker here at the house to steady myself (taking NO chances of falling!), which must be "too smooth" a walk to count any steps. Now have Fitbit threaded through a pajama top buttonhole, and it's working fine. Won't get many steps, but will try to get up every hour and do the required 250.

Weight 125.8, WW Bluepoints 31. I was good all day then went off the rails. Not happy with myself. My WW goal for the week was to not gain, but I am up .4 (which I deserve). I am doing my WW virtual meeting at 9:30. Should be interesting!

DD arrives around 2 today. It will be good to see her. We purchased her food basics yesterday and scored 48 rolls of TP. How strange to be excited about that. We had not hoarded previously and were low, so it was good to get it with another person staying here.

I hope all those healing post-surgery have a smooth recovery and you all stay healthy!

Good on you for your hunter-gatherer skilz.

159.4

Man it is hard not to be negative and fearful in times like these.

Gasoline is $1.21 here. I have never, so long as I've been driving, paid so little. Companies are beginning to talk layoffs...again. It's nauseating.

The only sport that hasn't been cancelled? Tornado season. Severe weather risks all week. It was raining this morning and beautiful. But it does add to feeling cooped up.

And worst of all my SIL has an oncologist appointment today to find out whether cancer is lymphona (hopefully) or another cancer that has metastasized.

But we will pretend things are okay. That normal life will resume, people will be healthy, and our economy will thrive once again.

DH worked to get leaves out of the pool yesterday. HOpefully we can heat the pool and swim soon. I think we're safe in our backyard. Grilled salmon on a cedar plank. This morning I made homemade buttermilk pancakes.

Yes to shedding emotional vampires, using walkers after surgery, and embracing family.

My daughter hopes to be home with us by Sunday. Fervently hoping she arrives.

My bff arrived in Massachusetts to stay with her long distance boyfriend. This trip was originally planned to visit him, meet us in NYC, and then come to Minnesota for the birth of her 3rd grandchild. I asked what her plans were now, and they are, come to Minnesota on March 30th, and can she stay with us. I told her if she did, she can't work retail, and that we are following strict social distancing.I also told her to seriously consider that she may never be able to hold or touch the baby, that the doctor may advise total baby quarantine. I know if it were me, I would have as tight of a quarantine as I could manage.

This working from home is not going so well! I have checked email, and done one Google hang out department meeting. I can't decide if I should try to work now, and set up my work space tonight, or vice versa. I think I'll go with setting up my space. Then maybe I can focus better.

Stay safe, Bonnie I can't believe in the midst of all this : tornadoes. Earthquakes in Nevada, good grief!

Keep singing in the lifeboats!

It IS you, and you CAN have as tight of a quarantine as you can manage.

That may mean telling your friend she can't stay with you now.

I'm okay with her being here viruswise, as long as she follows all our protocol, I already told her that. She has to be ready to self isolate, no trips to target etc. But, we can't do an ideal self quarantine, since DH has to go to work. (Retail management). And it's not ideal that there will be 3 of us homebound (but at least DD and I will have work to distract us), and 4 when DH is home from work. But I'm not sure why she is still coming to Minnesota. Maybe she will change her mind. Maybe she doesn't want to be alone at her home in Mexico. I did stress that it's almost guaranteed that her son and daughter in law won't be able to even let her in the house. Previous to this conversation, she thought she could visit once she had been at our house for 14 days. Nope, there is no guarantee that we won't be exposed from DH any given moment, no matter how good of hygiene he practices.

Earthquakes in Nevada, Utah, AND RIGHT OFF THE COAST OF DIANE S's TOWN! A 5.4.....

So, the lovely thing about self isolating is that I can touch my face and not wash my hands every 5 minutes! Therefore, the skin on my hands is healing and seems to have stopped splitting open at my finger tips causing lots of little ouchies! The last bad crack is almost healed up.

It is a pretty spring day today. The rain washed the skies clean. We have intermittent sunshine between big fluffy white clouds and ominous looking thick dark gray clouds. The roses are covered with tiny, soft green and deep red, but delicate buds. I'm guessing we will see our first blooms in a short few weeks. Across the path the mama Sheep and her twinlings are grazing in the neighbor's 1/2 acre meadow. I don't see Mr. Goat, their guardian, though. He is usually not too far away from the little family. He is a big goat - the size of the mama sheep. He his white with a black head and legs and has rather well developed horns. Speak of the devil. Here he comes! He is also a clever goat. He knows how to get through the fence, walk across the path and eat the leaves off of my wild plum tree. He infuriates the Airedales with this routine. But the Airedales scare him not. He simply glowers at them and bleats. When he is done, he ducks back through the fence and plays the innocent.

I sent my "Distance Learning" plans for the day to my student families. I'm starting to get the hang of this. It has taken a few days, but working out how to plan lessons on line for the students to access has been good for me. I created two long term lesson plans on DreamBox for each student. One is a unit on the relationship between multiplication and division. The second is a unit on fractions. With the help of our librarian, (who is working from the hospital no less) I have been able to set up remote access to a beginning keyboarding program so kids can practice keyboarding skills, too. My next endeavor is to create a Youtube channel and record a Read Aloud for the students using our next core book, Charlotte's Web. I think I can manage doing the reading and the following instruction. It would give me something positive to do and keep me connected at some level to my students and also let the parents know I want to continue to support their child's learning and sense of routine.

I have done a lot of reading the past 24 hours on the Corona Virus. Frankly, I don't want to leave my house for any reason. I should go to the pharmacy for Ella's diuretic and we need eggs and milk. But, I don't want to go out! For someone who was very hesitant and slower than most of you to jump on the band wagon, I am taking the spread of the virus very seriously. I am also a bit worried because I still have this respiratory thing going on and can't help wondering that since my bronchia are already somewhat compromised by this "normal" cold virus would that make me even more susceptible to more serious symptoms should I contract COVID-19? While I don't believe in borrowing trouble from the future, this is different. It is more along the lines of self preservation thinking kicking in. Not a bad thing, I guess.

I have a grooming on Sunday. The client is a friend and a very nice woman who is a retired teacher and very type A. She wants her dog groomed, which I understand. I have enough room in my grooming area to keep a 6 foot distance from her, but I am still not 100% certain I wish to have any outside contact. Ron is okay with me having her come. I also have a client who has one of the most recent pups that needs to have the pups ears set. She is over 70, is still going to work in her small office. I don't think she should be going to work at all, frankly. She works in the office of a wine warehouse in Napa. Truckers come in and out of the office. I think I'm going to send her a video of how to set the pup's ears and let her have at it herself or she can stay in her car while I set the puppy's ears.

My house is CLEAN! That is how I broke through my feelings of oncoming depression. I felt productive, which triggered some dopamine hits! Today I will tackle some organization in my "office" area.

Weight is back down today. I am focusing on maintaining my "NO SUGAR DURING SCHOOL HOURS" rule. It is helpful. I am not trying to "diet", but am working on identifying trigger behaviors as they pop up and deciding each time whether eating is the right choice at that moment. Sometimes eating is the right choice - even if it is a non nutritious item.

Continued good wishes for healing to Ann, Shirl, and DC! Hope Diane S checks in and updates us on the shakes, quakes, and rumbles of yesterday.

Here's to all of our new normals. Stay safe. Stay physically isolated, but emotionally close. Ceci, do you have daily voice contact with people? Please make that a priority.

Hugs to all.