Year 7, January 10th-16th, 2022: Omnicold Messes Up the Plans

 Monday - Another Day of Sickness

- But Momma and Men have to work, and Keturah and Abishai have to work.

- I took the time to sleep in, and Keturah also took advantage of it, but no more. I am determined to get us all back on a regular circadian rhythm now that the majority of the household has or already is up at a decent time. I've slipped into not getting up on time either in the past week and that's not good at all. And my alarms can't wake me up I've discovered. Keturah slept over 13 hrs last night. She's dead to the world. And if she truly needs that amount, then she needs to go to bed earlier. I doubt she does. I think something else is messed up, like lack of exercise or lack of sunshine. But I'm tired of spending two hours of my morning waking her up. I'm ready to make a major shift in our whole routine now that Justin is working.

- I'm going to shift the whole routine back to breakfast being at 8. Jared and Justin leave at 8:30. Morning Basket by 9am. Independent work at 10am. Done with school by lunch time. I think we could definitely do that. I think that will free up the rest of my day as well, right when I'm fully awake to tackle things like Christmas decor or financial documents. And then if I'm going to bed at 11pm when Jared does, that will solve a whole host of other issues on that end. I just need to make sure I'm at my computer between 7-8pm doing the blog and starting to end my day so I can watch my videos between 9-11pm. And if that means Keturah is in bed by 8:30 like Abishai, then so be it. And Justin can go bed at 11pm. It's not that difficult. And it would put us all on a better schedule with the rest of the world and with the sunrise and sunset and Sunday routines. We've got to be better at this. It's time to pull back and fix this, now, while we have the chance.

- Then I can pick up Justin at 2 and screen time can commence as normal. Justin will need to work on school work after work or in the evening. He'll just have to deal with that from now on. I can check on him before screen time or on Wednesdays or over the weekend or whatever. It's only for another 1 1/2 yrs and then off he goes. He needs a bit of revamping anyway on his studies. And that's where the afternoon time for me would be helpful because I need to work on his transcript and such. But by the time 3pm rolls around, I'm exhausting trying to get in the grove with everybody. I can't keep doing this anymore. We have to get better at this.

- I'm still not feeling well, but I took some medication today that kept the cough and runny nose at bay. The sinus pressure is there, but not too bad. I'll probably take more medicine tonight so I can sleep well. One more day at home and then I'll attempt to rejoin society. 

"Oops, he (I) did it again!" Justin left his hot chocolate from last night IN the microwave. We discovered it 12 hrs later! Goof! Thankfully he made it with water, so I just put it in the refrigerator and he warmed it up to have with his dinner. Sigh. Someday, his poor wife is going to have to deal with his forgetfulness. And I'll just have to tell her to keep him medicated and that I tried my best to train him. I really did.

Grogu came to snooze with me this morning but he didn't get tucked in right. When Abishai saw that, he wasn't happy. But he did get Grogu up and fed. Then he decided to give Grogu a ride "up head" like Daddy used to give Abishai a ride "up head." Daddy can't really do that anymore with his back and Abishai getting so big!

I made Keturah spend 20 minutes brushing the dog, only she didn't do the spots I wanted her, too. I don't want to feel rough spots on Socks' fur, I want to feel smooth. So I went back over his chin, under his ears, his neck, his chest, and under his tail on his back legs and got double the amount she did. I get so mad because I when I don't do it, Socks has more dandruff and now has more of those little growths because his natural oils aren't being distributed properly. It hurts for me to lean over to do it. Plus having a cough and runny nose doesn't help. But it's done for now. It would be so expensive to get him groomed, I just know it, so we've never taken him anywhere. And at this point, I'm kind of afraid to take him to a groomer's and/or bathe him because what if he reacts to the shampoo or something? Plus it's cold out and I know that they dry him and everything but yeah, I just want to keep him safe at home.

Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot that there was an official college age ministry at church. It's not talked about much. It was still going a few years ago. Benaiah says he's heard rumors it's not that active or great right now. I reminded him that it's only as good as the people involved, leaders and participants. And since he wasn't very fond of his peers, that he probably wouldn't enjoy it. It was very, very good for a long time when the minister in charge of that area was here running it. I believe they moved away to a different ministry soon after we came back. Benaiah went through the Rooted experience in the fall, so I think his current small group, which is mostly the same sage, could fall into this category, most likely just falls under Rooted groups. And under young career people, not just college age. We had started college groups back when we were in college because we had a need for one, back when the auditorium was just being campaigned for. We met in a couple of trailers in the parking lot. Our group name was 24/7 and we had a good 2 dozen people. We were all in our 20's, mostly single, college and young career, and had a blast. Then when we first got married and had Benaiah, Jared and I started attending a young couples' group with kids and slowly the other group went away as they dated and married each other and went separate ways. Each group has their time together and eventually fizzles out. That's what I've learned. Benaiah now has his group, and I think Ava may or may not join them. We'll see. She didn't end the group when it went through Rooted though. He did it on his own, and I'm glad he did. They don't have to do everything together. Which, well, leads us to Jared and I's next dilemma because he said he would join Jim when Jim joined a Rooted group with Adrienne and now that time has come. And that leaves me in a bind. Sigh. I'll have to really think through on that one because I don't want to go through Rooted again. So, we'll see. There's a time and place for everything. Time to talk and pray about all that I guess. Sigh.

I think God gave us 3 boys spanning 13 years just so Jared never had to grow up. Why? Just so Jared could give Abishai his mini saw withOUT the blade so Abishai could pretend it's a machine gun and they could chase each other through the house with it. Oh my-lan-ta! The laughter! The kicking down of the door with one kick! The pretending to be dead! Good grief! The tongue hanging out! But boy I would take boys over sassy girls any day of the week! I used to say that in high school, too, trust me. I'm not one for drama. Ok, I am, but only on a TV screen. Not in real life. I have enough of my own internal drama. I don't need more. Keturah brings her own big ???? question mark of drama. That's all I can handle and even then, just barely. I can handle boys. Legos, guns, dirt, farts, burps, give me all of that, oh, and x-games, airplanes, cars, mechanics, etc. I'll dress up and somebody can help me with makeup and hair, but I'm not doing it by myself. Lol. Anyways, boys' antics are so fun and crazy. Sigh.

Tuesday - Another Day

- Another day with Omnicold

- We got up earlier though, and tried to work the newer schedule. However, I couldn't talk so I couldn't do read alouds. Plus Abishai delay fished and would have barely had enough time.

- Abishai came with me to pick up Justin from work just to see how pick up works. He had gone with Jared last week to see how drop off goes. He asked Justin, "How was work, Brother?" And Justin didn't like being called "brother." Justin, he was just trying to be interested in your life. Sigh.

- We switched around chores a bit, too, and Abishai is all about doing all the dog chores including poop patrol and dog brushing. We skipped both today because it's cold outside and I just gave the dog a good brushing yesterday. I want to brush the dog myself anyway, so I'll teach Abishai bit by bit how to do it. Keturah will now do the vacuuming and cleaning sinks again.

- Justin is learning how to do homework after dinner. Fun times! The only thing is that he can't take his ADHD medication at night. Boo! So we'll see how this goes. I will hopefully touch base with him tomorrow or later this week in detail about it.

- Justin opted out of not seeing Kya today because he was tired from work. And maybe he wanted to play video games? He opted to see her on Thursday after haircuts instead. No problem. Maybe I will feel better and want to stick around by then. We'll see.

- The Omnicold cough is just not fun. I want it to go away. I want to be able to talk again. It hurts. Not burning hurt, but quite annoying. I want to move on with life.

- I put all the Christmas knick knacks away today. I just have the trees and lights out, including the wreath. And the Christmas books. The rest is done. Yeah! I like the extra trees and lights though. And I wasn't sure if the kids wanted the books out because they didn't really get into them. I don't know if them being on the shelf made the books invisible or not. I thought it would be helpful. Hm.

- #TeamIAHE Mtg was short and sweet. Pray for legislature. We will have Capital Day, in person, on February 1st. Keep doing what we are doing.

I caught Abishai singing songs again. Of course he hated it when he realized I was recording (see video below).

Uh, should I let Abishai eat this? He found a chunk of ice from way back in the yard and brought it in? He did eat a small chunk of it. Sigh. I don't even know why I let him put it in the freezer. I almost eagerly handed him the plate. Why? Again, I don't know. Because who doesn't let their kid eat germs from the back yard? Whatever. Oh, and he was out there with no coat, just his candy jammies.

Aren't these the biggest "button" batteries you've ever seen? I meant to buy CR 2032, but I guess I bought CR 3032. Whoops! I did look up what kind of things would take these batteries and there's nothing that we would need them for. So, I bought them up on the local "free" page. I did use my Amazon points on them. And then immediately used more Amazon points on the right ones. And I clicked on prime shipping again which will make the new batteries arrive tomorrow with some other packages I think. It's for Jared's old electronic Bible thing. But wowzers. These are like the size of quarters! And they came in a small Amazon box with a bottle of vitamins, which is really a waste of a box, but whatever Amazon.

Thursday - Rough Day

- It's been a rough day. I hacked out a large snot. I've coughed all day. I just want this sickness to stop so I can do my work. I accidentally said a cough at the doctor's office and they wouldn't let me upstairs to get my ultrasound done on my cyst because it's a Covid symptom and I'm not pregnant (jerks who didn't realize this ultrasound was rescheduled three times already). I can't read aloud properly or teach. My neck hurts from coughing. I didn't sleep well. And, I asked my FB friends about hair loss and Covid is probably to blame. I hate you Covid so much.

- Not to mention some other negative words out of my kids' mouths today that I really didn't need to hear that lowered my self esteem even further. Thanks, kids. I think I'll just go watch some BritBox, eat chocolate, and/or sort puzzle pieces. Oh yeah, and cry myself to sleep on the couch so maybe I can get a better night's sleep instead of in our chilly bedroom next to he who needs to use ice packs to sleep. I need heaters and blankets in order to sleep thank you.

- Two more busy days, well, Justin has a non stop schedule. But he's become Mr. Grumpy pants and we have a ways to go before he's settled down into a routine and found his downtime yet. Therefore, he's taking it out on all of us.

- Abishai took the initiative and completed his paperwork before I could finish my breakfast. We got to spend some time looking at cute baby animal and kid videos together.

- If Abishai starts to chant Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Ladin, blame me. We just had two lessons of history covering the Iraqi Wars and the War on Terror. I even showed them a couple of 5 minute videos on their captures/deaths. For Jared and I, it's reliving our own personal memories. 2003. It wasn't that long ago. Our book ends at 2014 when it was published. I had to update it because it said that President Obama was considered withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan in 2015. Well, that actually didn't happen until August of 2021 with President Joe Biden. Also, another guy that was a key player in the War on Terror was in detainment in 2014 at Guantanamo Bay is still there and was finally starting his trial in September in 2021, so I wrote that down. I didn't find any other info about the results of that trial. Of course other major history like the pandemic will be finding it's way into the history books soon. But the kids know what they need to know about that because they lived it. The very last history lesson is on Revelation from the Bible because the author wanted to focus on the very end of time and the hope of Jesus Christ. And I am grateful for that. Who would want to end on the War of Terror or the pandemic? And then, next week, we get to go all the way back to the beginning, to Creation! Abishai is actually excited about that since he knows some of that from his Bible stories. He will definitely be more interested in the ancient civilizations. Who doesn't like the Egyptians and Greeks and Romans? 

That's all well and good. But I didn't get to pick the church we attend. I went because my boyfriend and then husband went to it, and I agreed. And then when we came from Canada, with our tails tucked between our legs, it was the most logical place to go because it was familiar. I didn't expect it to change or feel different to me. But it did. We never have tried a different church in Indianapolis. I know friends who constantly church hop here in Indy and on PEI. I know not to do that. And when we were on PEI, we stuck with one church. We stayed. When we came back, we could have gone to a dozen churches that mimic the one we go to now. They are sisters to ours. But we would have had a fresh start. And that is, in my opinion, very important. I told Jared, just yesterday, that I don't look back. When I'm done with someone or something, I'm too embarrassed to go back. I only go forward. It would be awkward to go back to PEI. I know that. And it has proven awkward to go back to the church here. I have done my best to settle back in. Many, many tears have been shed over it. I have not spiritually grown and I have not helped others grow. Some churches have the slogan "you belong here." Well, I don't feel I belong there. I have been ready to move on for awhile. But I stay because my family stays. They picked one, they stayed, so I stay. Because family first. And I guess as long as we live in this house, that's what they will choose.

I needed to make my coffee, so I let Abishai read to my on the countertop so he and I both could see his words in his reader. Um, he has outgrown the countertop by a lot. Thankfully he didn't knock anything off with all his wiggling.

Abishai is a proficient reader now!

Abishai has picked up on reading faster than lightning. For as little effort as I put into reviewing with him, he seems to just know more each time we sit down. I try to stay consistent, but some weeks, like last week, we skip a couple of days in a row and then the weekend hits, so there's 4 days in a row without any real practicing. Today's only Wednesday and he's already reading smoother than he did last week. I also love the progression of "special sounds" that Abeka Books does in their phonics program. I stick to just their readers when the kids are reading so I don't have to go over anything extra or out of order. And it correlates with the bookwork quite nicely. That's why I don't do any of the extra practice on the board or with flashcards. All the repetition this kid needs is in that bit of workbook pages, including penmanship, and daily reading. Sure I could use other copywork like Bible verses, or other fun books from the dollar store like I suggest to other people. But I like my standard Abeka curriculum. Tried and true for 40 years or more. The Golden Standard for homeschoolers. But the newbies don't have a clue because no one suggest it to them anymore! They are thrown off my the pricetag because they think they have to buy the whole grade level. But when I suggest just getting the phonics portion, it's a lot easier on the budget. I'm such a brand loyal person, it isn't funny. If it ain't broke don't fix it. And if it is broke, seek out a different answer until you find a solution.

Reading is hard work!

Thursday - Sunny day

- But it wasn't all sunshine and roses today. Woke up to the "husband" alarm clock aka "Go to bed one time and (this and that wouldn't happen)." Thanks, dear, I know this, but I had to work on emails until late and then I was either binge watch a show or cry for hours. I choose binge watching and listening to the Shetland, Scotland accent, thank you. The TV series "Shetland" has a 6th season out and apparently I hadn't watched it yet. But Gary and Leah had because when I texted them about it today, they said it was a cliffhanger at the end. Ok. And if I did see, as it came out last year, I don't remember it. So, I binge watched half of the season already. There's only 6 episodes. And hearing those accents, oi, is so soothing to me. Those characters. Well, it carries me off to the foreign land that they are on. I needed that. So I did it. So what. It won't bring back my hair overnight. And it's not stress or my sleeping habits that have caused my hair loss because the hair loss is new and the those things have been going on for 13 years. COVID caused my hair loss. So leave me alone about it. I have a problem, I asked my friends, we solved it, I have a plan, the end.

- I did have work to work other plans today. I saw the chiropractor. Keturah asked why I didn't skip and I said because the chiropractor is the one doctor you should never skip when you're sick. You want your spine to be in perfect alignment so your spinal cord is at it's best so it can send messages to help your body heal. Unfortunately, my regular chiropractor, who had to cancel right before Christmas is out of the office indefinitely, and I had to see his son today. His son is fine, great personality, but slightly different method, so I feel a little different. Plus, again, no massage wand because they don't have enough employees. I hope my chiropractor is ok. I have no idea why he's been out of the office beyond the normal vacation time. He's nearing retirement, so I worry about his health. He's the nicest older gentleman, too. Anyway, I'm aligned for now, and back on my monthly routine.

- Then quick stop at Aldi's to see if they had some stuff in the Aisle of Shame I wanted. They didn't but they had other things, like the name brand collagen peptides, so I got those to help with hair growth. I don't like putting them in my hot drinks, but I'll figure out a way. I've used them before and even had an unopened jar in my cupboard. I thought it was old, but I think I picked it up at Aldi's a few months ago when I first saw that Aldi's carried them. Anyway, that was helpful. And then I got the kids' Valentine's Day treats. I came home and teased them by saying, "No, I didn't buy you anything. I didn't buy you any treats for Valentine's Day." I felt guilty for all my thoughts the previous 12 hrs I've had about them and how they haven't lived up to my standards and why and how I've failed them more than they have failed me. And how can I believe that this or that work when parenting and homeschooling and yet my kids aren't proof of it, etc. etc. I have "imposter syndrome" really bad right now. Some friends asked what that was, and if you don't what it is, please go look it up. I don't have time to explain it today. I'm still in a pity party about it.

- I also stopped and got dog food at PetSmart. I said hi to the chincilla and hi to the guinea pigs. Also hi to the fishes and the rest of the animals. I saw some cute things I wish were small enough and not so expensive that I could get Socks to wear, including some Harry Potter gear. I did get him a Valentine's Day treat. A 30lb bag of the senior large breed blue buffalo brand I usually pick up was nearly $60 though. Ouch! It used to be under $50 even at PetSmart I think for the $30. I know at Kroger they usually sell the smaller 20lb bags. Jared talked about buying dog food at the Elevator but I'm like, um, sorry, no, it will just be a step up from alpo and that's the dirt cheap kind of food. Nope, not my dog, not at this stage in life. Nope. He thankfully forgot to get it when he dropped off Justin this morning.

- Talking about Justin. Justin had the busiest day of us all. He worked 8:30-12:30. Then Abishai and I picked him up to take them to get haircuts. Abishai had to remind Justin to go back in to get his lunch. Abishai had seen Justin take one this morning and Justin totally forgot he had! Lol! After haircuts we came home. Plans then changed a few times, but finally, Kelly brought Kya over for the afternoon and early evening. She picked her up later when she was out as well. We'll get to see them again tomorrow, too. Justin said he finished all his homework for the week yesterday, but I won't get a chance to check it until maybe Saturday. He will work again in the morning before gym day. And then he has Grandpa class. And then he tries to find time to play online with friends. Poor Justin isn't getting much downtime now! Not sure how he feels about that!

- While I was at the chiropractor, Abishai worked on his homework, and Keturah checked them. Then he got to go on the PS5 until I got home. He did them well because I didn't see any erase marks. I'll work with him tomorrow on the rest. Keturah was finishing up her homework when I got home. They both had screen time later in the day, too. I wouldn't let Abishai on after supper and he whined and whined about not having entertainment. But he had trolled Justin and Kya one too many times. He had actually been so loud that he gave Kya a headache! Keturah, too, had been overly critical at dinner. Jared was already gone at Bible study, so I didn't have backup to calm them down. It was a crazy dinner hour.

- I am still sick, but feeling just a tad better. I'm still fearful about what would happen if I don't get better. I wore my mask at the chiropractor and at stores today just so I could cough and no one would look at me funny. I still can't talk at full volume. I didn't keep water with me all day, so I have a slight headache. I don't have much of an appetite. I almost gagged on my oatmeal because I was trying to shove it in so I could leave for my appointment. My body feels a bit achy, too. I don't know if it's a fibro flare from my stress this week or weird sleeping positions or what. Something isn't too comfy in the hip area. I wish I didn't have to wait another 3 weeks until my massage. 

- I don't feel like I'm done, but I probably am. I feel rushed because Jared insists we watch a show together, but this is his early night because tomorrow is his early morning. Which means I have to take Justin to work. Which means it's my early morning. But I have a lot of email to read through because I could barely get rid of the nonsense ones today in between stuff. Ugh. I just want to watch my own video channels on FB and skip watching with him, but whatever. I skipped last night and he wasn't happy about it. Just as long as that's all we do I guess. I'll live. Then he can go to bed with his cold packs in a chilly, dark room. Blech. And I can watch my videos with all my Christmas lights and heaters blasting until I can't see straight anymore.

What do you think? Have I lost hair? As I put my hair up yesterday after it was mostly dry, I was able to do my full updo in a SMALL Lilla Rose clip. I've never been able to do that. Now I knew I've lost a ton of hair. I kept it in overnight because I was lazy. So, this is the result.

This is the only way I get curls. However, do they look less thick to you? Hm,...hard to tell.

Well, I finger combed this a bit, and it's still hard to tell, but I think possibly I have bald areas here and then in the next photo. And when I do put my hair up, on my right side, I have noticed it's been harder to cover up the area above my ear. I thought I was just not doing it right, but maybe that's where my hair has been breaking. This is not good. But I think it's all related to having COVID in October. Most of my friends have said that if it is Covid, then it should grow back. But of course, growing hair is a very long process. Sigh.

Meanwhile, Abishai asked for a shampoo last time and we didn't have time. He remembered again this time, so he bravely tried it out. What he didn't realize was how hot the water got and how scratchy the scalp massage is. He sat there like a champ, looking like he regretted it, but he wouldn't speak up, despite me asking him if he was ok or if the water was too hot. He finally confessed when we got home. He's very familiar with Jennae and will talk her ear off and bounces all around the salon like it's his second home. Well, he's shy, at times, too, but all the ladies are friends of ours and go church with us, so it's all chill. There's a lot of bantering going on during haircuts, let's put it that way.

He looks so big here! Actually, with that profile, he almost looks like Everly, just a tad. Those Johnson genes are super strong. The women still couldn't decide if he looked like Gary or Jared. Well, when you compare him to me, fine, he looks like a Johnson, maybe. They just don't know what my side of the family looks like. I should load some pictures up on my phone so I people can see how my genes come into play. Or rather, how the Scandinavian/northern Europe genes are strong and come from both sides. We definitely mesh well.

Exactly. I want the old GOP back, thank you.

Maybe something I should think about. I was quoting the verse to myself today about "and they will be judged by their fruit." And if I'm to be judged by my fruit, aka, my kids (if that's indeed how it works), I feel like I've failed because they aren't what I had expected from my labors (and those expectations are probably wrong.) This is where my head is at today.

Weather people can be quite fun sometimes! After looking at charts all day and trying to make predictions, they have to have a sense of humor, don't you think? Actually, there's only a few of them out there in the weather station now that a lot of things are computerized. Some of them are quite nerdy. I'm not sure what sci-fi show they are referring to but one of the comments had the Batman signal in it. However, I just saw the headlines of a couple of articles of some major snowstorms hitting the midwest and the northeast and PEI, all this weekend, so who knows. One friend commented that they had gotten their "storm books" from the library today. Bwahahahaha, tis true! Another friend on PEI was warming a newborn goat in her wood stove oven because it is very cold there and that's when goats tend to have their babies. She brings them inside the house when she needs to. They live on a huge farm. It's what farmers do. I saw another video about sea ice (or lake ice) on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan and the reporters made it sound so shocking and I'm like, "It's just sea ice! Get a grip! Don't you guys get that every year?" Surely they do. Tis winter in every part of the land but Indianapolis. I ran errands today without a coat. It was a bit chilly, but I did it. I had a heavy sweater on. Bright blue sky and sunshine. Not a hint of snow anywhere. Sigh.

Abishai said he was going to take over the dog chores. Well, that means brushing the dog, too. So to keep him away from Kya and Justin, I took him to the garage to start teaching him how I brush Socks. I did most of it, but I explained why I do this or that as I went. I managed to get all the hair in the little trash can and didn't need to vacuum. Keturah just makes a mess when she does it. It's only been a few days since I did it and he already had another massive amount to brush off. Good grief. Hopefully Abishai will be the one to learn my technique of getting down to the fluffy parts. The others only really brush through the top layer. Socks has two layers of hair, like birds have two layers of feathers. The first layers being the protective waterproof layer and the second layer being the fluffy down that keeps them warm. It's the fluff that I want to get to so I'm getting down to his skin and spreading the oils and scratching at the dandruff. I'm also checking for those little pimply things.

Jared received one of  Grandpa Cook's hats from his mom. I hung it here for now. It's hard to put nails in the plaster. So if this doesn't work, I'll try to put a new nail in or put it somewhere else.

And then I guess we also inherited another one of Grandpa Cook's canes because Abishai just simply brought it home. This one has a backstory that I will keep private for now. But Abishai is loving using it for weapons' practice.

Grandpa's initials, B.C., for Bill Cook.

Friday - Huh? What? What's Going On?

- Poor dog, he didn't know who was going where, when, and how today. Justin barely got up in time to go to work. Jared literally came in the door yelling at him to get out of his bed at 8:08 in order to be at work by 8:30. Good grief.

- Abishai and I had some great snuggle time in our bed watching "farm animal videos (the YT channels from the Texas rescue farm)" where we watched the animals eat bananas and carrots. One of the pigs barely moves because she's so big, Petunia, and she sucked up a big carrot right up into her mouth. Abishai thought that was hilarious and reminded us of how Keturah is in her bed all day. And we watched Grogu videos. Abishai asked for puppy videos but we couldn't find any.

- Then I opened my email and was reminded that the kids have Bible class with Grandpa class at 10 so I had to rush to get them out the door. Keturah and Socks walked over and then I drove Abishai over. I stayed just a minute too long because then Kelly texted me to say they were at our house. Oh, they were early! I thought they weren't supposed to be there until 11! So I drove quickly home to let Kya in.

- Then Kya had some quiet time to work on school and I checked email while we waited for Keturah, Abishai and Socks to come back home. Leah drove Abishai home and Keturah and Socks came home about 11:15 or so. Then it was about time to think about lunch and picking up Justin at 12:30. I brought Justin some cold pizza, but I had forgotten he was gotten to do Fish Fry Friday's at Wheatley's across the street from work. So he bought that with money Jared gave him last week and his own money.

- Kelly had an appointment so we brought Kya with us to gym day and everything went well there for the most part. We had a little scuffle about the mask policy with one parent and the doorman, but I think we have it smoothed out for now. Omicron is still at it's peak and there's all the other normal viruses going around so yes, we should all be very, very careful. With several of our school districts in Indianapolis, even close by our location where we meet, having to go to all virtual because there's not enough teachers, bus drivers, or kids to even have in person schooling right now, it's not unreasonable for them to have a stringent policy right now. We are guests right now and establishing a new relationship. I'm not willing to forfeit that relationship right now because it's been so hard finding a place that will have us. I know the masks don't really work. But if it helps them feel more comfortable, then fine, I'll wear it for the 20 feet I need to wear it. I'll wear it at church on Sunday if I think I'm going to be coughing a lot because whatever sickness particles I have don't need to spray everywhere. But once I'm 100% and we get through this peak, I'll be going maskless again. I was just against being mandated. It should be my choice. And I'm choosing to be kind to those who have been kind to us and now that I know that the volunteers there are vulnerable, sure, I'll wear the mask. I just don't want to fight it all the time anymore. Masks are mostly for sick people. And for a surge like this one. Just don't make it an overall mandate and tell me I'm selfish if I don't want to wear it among people who aren't in the vulnerable community. Everybody has had access to vaccines if they want it. Everybody has their masks if they want to protect themselves. It's now up to them and not me. It's flu season. Come March, I doubt I'll be wearing a mask.

- Kelly was a bit longer than expected so after gym day we actually took Kya home for a minute. Socks was still so confused. I mean think about it. First Justin leaves with Daddy. Then Socks and Keturah go to Grandma's house. Then Mommy and Abishai show up. Then Mommy leaves. Then Grandma and Abishai leaves. Then Keturah and Socks walks home. Then Mommy, Abishai, and Kya leaves. Keturah goes and hibernates and leaves Socks on guard day duty. And when he's on guard dog duty, he doesn't eat and/or drinks. He lays in that spot between the piano and the heater in the doorway of the kitchen. That way he can see and hear the front door and passageway towards the garage and back doors. He can also be near all the bedrooms. We also find him closer to the front door laying parallel to the piano sometimes, especially if he's heard the car door slam. He is mostly sleeping when he's "on guard" but he's instantly awakened at the slightest sound still. He won't get up, mind you, but he will raise his eyebrows at least to see if it's worth getting up for. Anyway, by this time, the poor doggy is exhausted and confused. Kya is picked up, and then Socks finally relaxed and ate this food for the day. And then he napped again.

- Then the house was quiet. And I did nothing productive. And the beef roast finished in the crockpot. And I didn't tell kids to get off at 5pm. So Jared had to. Because it's the weekend and I'm off duty now. Or something like that.

- Jared took Abishai to karate and when they returned I asked Abishai if he was finally tired and he said, "Nope!" Dude, go to bed! I teased Kya and Justin about just wanting to go home and being done with socializing and said, "Introverts unite!" And they agreed. I asked Abishai if he was done and he said, "I'm an introvert, too!" "No, you aren't not. You're an extrovert. You like to hang out with people, right? You want to do it some more, don't you?" "Oh yeah, I do!" Ok, buddy, I'm glad you got to see lots of people today then.

- I'm starting my evening late because I spent time "bonding" with my middle kids. I showed them some funny photos off of FB and the clips of TikTok vids from FB and the crazy weather pics from down below. And then Socks joined us both times, so I snuggled him, too. I think he felt jealous and wanted momma. So all 4 of the younger ones got me today. Now, the big child is on date night so I can't really bond with him but I sent him a photo Jared sent me this morning so that counts. And Daddy-O and I will watch the rest of Clone Wars tonight. I have a crap ton of email to catch up on, but I guess that can wait. Tons of IAHE stuff to do. It's going to be a long day at the computer tomorrow. That's for sure. Blech. I think I'll just keep ignoring it and binge watch the last episode of Shetland. I watched 3 episodes the first night, two last night, and I only have one more left. Whoops.

-TGIF! And my cough is a little less today. And the nose a little less runny. And I hurt a little less. Hopefully, I'm on the mend. Praise the Lord! Tomorrow makes one week with this nasty thing!

Can you say GMO or oranges on the max dose of steroids? I almost didn't want to eat the pieces that had been left on a plate for me. And I'm not usually picky about organic vs. not organic. But seriously, there's something wrong when oranges are this big or strawberries are bigger than my palm. Jared bought them hoping they were grapefruit. That's what he said. Yeah, I don't get it either. They tasted ok. I'd rather have smaller fruit. Smaller fruit is usually sweeter. Commercial blueberries vs. wild blueberries. California strawberries vs. locally grown strawberries. Huge red delicious apples vs. honeycrisp or other nearby apples. Mandarin oranges vs. these monsters. You get the point.

This is how I find out where my father in law is nowadays. Bwahaha. Like, literally, I opened up the "find my phone" app to see if the kids were supposed to go to his house or stay home and do Bible class over Zoom. I knew he had been traveling yesterday but I didn't know how far. And then Justin was at work. Gotta love how close his work is.

I had to zoom out so you couldn't see the exact address, but while Justin was at work, and I was at home, and Gary/Leah/Keturah/Abishai/Socks were at J2's house, Shauna and the girls were at their house in Chalmette, LA talking to J2 for Bible class over Zoom. Small world. Awesome technology. And to think, just over 200 years ago, Indiana had just become a state. And I don't think the Louisiana Purchase had happened yet. Sometimes, some of humankind actually has the IQ to come up with new things to further humankind.

Geniuses like this guy who naturally finds patterns in EVERYthing. Uh, boy, how? We've never really played these with him. He doesn't know how to play the game yet. But he figured out that every color has the same symbols. And not only that, he stacked them up vertical, one row higher than the other. Genius. Pure genius.

I looked it up today. Yellow snot means that the white blood cells are doing their job and getting rid of the infection. You're so welcome. I guess I'm getting better.

I don't always repost these when Facebook makes them, but this one was super cute and I knew Ginny loves seeing the girls when they were little. I did save the photos later in the day so they are down below.

#Truthagain

One of the first mobile games that got me addicted to games...and yes, I played for 30 minutes. Could have listened to a video or the Bible or something while I did it, but nope, I didn't. I told myself I would play for 5 minutes. But nope, played for longer than that. My game addiction really started with Minesweeper and Solitaire. Old habits die hard. And yes, I remembered my strategies and already had a 20 win, 4 losses streak going on when I did put it down. I would put it in my backpack at college and play it between classes and sometimes, I think I played it in a class quite possibly. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know. And yes, I did find a couple of games on my first flip phones to play. And I played Farmville. And I played on the free game websites. And then I got games on my smartphones in games. And now the iPhone games are endless....but it's usually strategy and word games. Card games and puzzle games. Never, ever arcade games. Nope.

Ok, bear with me and my fascination with weather, but this is too good to pass up. This is NOT a fake weather map. God has the hugest sense of humor this weekend. No joke. We seriously live in snow HOLE folks! God is literally attaching a string to the bottom of this storm or the bottom of the jet stream, and yanking it so far south, that it is totally missing our entire state! And then, when it's cleared our state, He's going to let go, and it's going to boing back up the Applachian Mountains and the Eastern seaboard right through New England and hammer them after their current snowstorm they are having this evening that will dump the usual 12-18 inches of snow. This is NOT April's foul! God, I know you and Jesus are just laughing away right now. Grandma Cook, this ain't funny! These great grand kids need some snow! I've never ever in my history of following Indiana weather patterns (ok, the last 20 years) have seen this. This is completely nuts! The weather people are flabbergasted, too.

Temperatures are fairly normal for this time of year in Indiana. But absolutely no snow and winter weather advisory in Indianapolis. Not even a hint of one.

But this map and the rest of the videos are full of these huge storms. What in the world?!

If you don't like snow, don't pray for dry weather. Move to another state. The environment actually needs snow. Because when it melts, it feeds the streams and ponds and reservoirs. If we don't have it, then we will have drought come summer time. I'm serious. We used to hear about it all the time on PEI and in New England. We need snow for the crops. It's a natural part of even Indiana agriculture. Move south if you don't like our weather. Stop praying against snow!

Here are the actual photos from the collage up above. Keturah was so embarrassed when I showed her. She can't believe she used to wear overalls. This was actually the rare time I put her in overalls. It's too hard to change a kid with overalls on, even if they do snap through the crotch area. I call this her "moo" phase when she really liked cows. This photo was taken during the fall festival time at Kelsay's Farm in Whiteland.

Jordan Minton has never been camera shy, lol. But Keturah, well, cameras are not her thing. But, I did make her wear pink, a lot! Come on! I had two boys first, do you blame me? And yes, we put her in pigtails a lot, too! Jared loved her pigtails!

Back when our grown men were small enough to fit into a toy box. One works for a mortgage company and one is an apprentice at the private airport.

There's Jordan again. This was at our going away party in June 2012 when we left for Canada. Next to Jordan is Nora, Everly, and then Justin. Justin is the 6 yrs 9 mos. Abishai is now 6 yrs 11 mos. So, you tell me, does Abishai look more like Justin or Benaiah? I get so many different answers. It depends on the day and who is saying it. And most people compare my kids to a Johnson family member. They just don't know what my family looks like. I usually don't fuss about it because I don't have my family's younger photos out to make that comparison even myself. But, Jared and I's heritage are both northern European so I bet the kids really do have my family's features if we really looked hard enough. Size wise, though, Abishai is about the same size as Justin was. They are both super thin.

And now, 9 1/2 yrs later, Justin is still super thin, just tall. And he does look a lot like my side of the family at times, especially the straight dark hair. It's just like my dad's. The nose, however, that's totally a Gary Johnson nose. Poor Socks. He doesn't understand how Benaiah has totally left the household and now Justin has been gone so much. I hope he doesn't feel abandoned.

My rough translation is that I divide everything by half and then add a little bit to make it more like 5/8's. So, 15-20 inches, and 45 mph. Yup, that's a significant storm. Plus, I know my friend was still shoveling out from the storm they had earlier in the week.

This is the radar for PEI. Uh, it's gone. Prince Edward Island has been wiped off the map. Basically this means it's a whiteout and no one is going anywhere and I bet there's no ferry service and the bridge is closed and the rural areas are going to lose power for a day or two. Schools will close for a day or two as well. They may or may not do virtual. You have to give teachers and families time to actually shovel as well, right? Oh wait, tomorrow is Saturday. I guess everyone has enough time to clean up before Monday or before the next storm hits in the next 3-4 days. That's how it felt in the winter of 2015 when Abishai was born.

A different perspective. PEI's current storm. They will get the remnants of this gigantic winter storm that we are not getting but everyone else is getting, Winter Storm "Izzy," in 3-4 days.

Meanwhile, NH is just cold and clear for the weekend. At least according to this forecast.

This is the start of the storm when I took the screenshot on Friday afternoon, January 14th. See that green hook at the front? That's where God's going to hook His string or finger and pull directly down and south so Indiana gets no snow. Normally, most storms, summer or winter, go pretty much straight across our state from west to east. Sometimes they come from the northwest or southwest and sometimes the jet stream does affect how much rain or snow we get. But never have I ever seen it be this drastic before.

We've got FOMO in Indianapolis.

No Indiana on this map.

No Indiana colored in on this map either.

It looks like NH might get some snow at some point but this video and the actual forecast from my screenshot earlier isn't matching up so I have no clue. The Weather Channel is not known for it's long term forecast accuracy.

Well, we aren't part of that 1 in 5. Although we technically live in that geographical area. We are just an isolated island in that geographical area. We are in our own bubble of protection or something.

Jared shared this photo he took this morning at 5:50 am on his way out the door. I then shared it with all of the kids. The older kids said, "So, what's the point?' I had to explain to all there of them that the point was "How did Socks get up on the couch with all that stuff in the way?" Like did he jump up and turn around on a dime or something? I guess he does it on Keturah's bed. It looks like he's pretty much dead asleep though. Obviously Jared didn't make him get down. We just leave him be. He doesn't do it on purpose during the day. The kids will try and it's funny, and we'll again, just let them, but it's not his go to because he knows the main rule. But when you are almost 12 yrs old, when you have the chance, wouldn't you want to sleep on the couch instead of the floor? Sweet baby doggy. He deserves to sleep on the couch. Best puppy dog ever.

Saturday - 

- We got an inch; PEI got the usual 12 inch, or rather nothing in one spot, 2 ft in others because winds created drifts, so basically, they got a mile. Get it? Give them an inch and they take a mile? Ok, bad joke!

- But, it was Grandpa Cook's birthday and bad jokes are allowed on his birthday, right? And ice cream and pancakes, not together mind you, but those are his favorite foods.

- I didn't fall asleep last night until 3:30am. Or maybe I dozed off and then woke up to my FB TikTok stream repeating the same TikTok video looping, I don't know. But I went to bed at 1:30 and for 30 minutes I was wide awake trying to figure out how we could rearrange furniture in the house with what we already have on hand to better suit our needs. And I think we might need a storage unit for a month or two so we can try some things out because we can't leave stuff out in the rain. I know we need to get rid of stuff, too. I just don't think we take things out and put it all back in properly in one day. I don't know.  We'll see. Point is, I was up too late. But somehow managed to stay awake fine all day. But I've got some attitude going on. Hormones at play and Omicron is not helping.

- Jared took a 4 hr nap today. That didn't help me but I hope it helped him. He made snowmen out of toilet paper towel rolls with Abishai, so at least that project was finally started. And he started reading the Bible at night with Keturah, so maybe that will help somehow, too. Otherwise, I don't know what to do with kids' attitudes. The boys' both had angry attitudes today.

- Keturah is sick again, so I "canceled" her today. I told her worship leader that she won't be doing it tomorrow. She's got a runny nose and cough again. Which I do not understand. It must be a different virus. She was totally fine for like 5 days. What in the world. I guess I'll stay home with her tomorrow and watch church on the big screen.

- It took me over two hours to go through my email accounts and actual respond and do what I needed to do with them. But I'm up to date now. I tried to free up space on my computer's hard drive but I couldn't find enough to bring it down out of the red zone. Sigh. I want to leave some photos on it to work with. Grrrr. I just wanted to load some cd's so I could get them on my phone via iTune, too. Not very nice. Not sure what to do next with that stuff.

- Jared managed to scrape together enough leftovers for dinner.

- Oh and I read the last lesson of Mystery of History to Keturah and Abishai. I put away some of that and then tomorrow I'll need to dig out Volume 1 again.

- Just your typical, get barely anything done, J6 Saturday. Oh, and the electric/heating bill came yesterday. It jumped another $30. All my fault, yes. Partly his fault for not caulking the windows and finding ways to block vents, yes. But whatever. We pretty much suck at life. #impostersyndrome

Socks and Abishai were happy there was a dusting of snow on the ground this morning. But that is all we will get with Winter Storm Izzy

I've kept the snow weather magnet on the calendar since December 1st. I'm not taking it off either until like March 1st. It's winter. I'm pretending there's snow outside.

Hey, that's my spot. Mr. Fuzzy over there has more white hairs than dark hairs now. Crazy!

Daddy challenged Abishai to run outside barefoot! Look at those toes go!

Hm,...someone runs on his toes too much!

It took us 9 1/2 years, but we finished our 2nd round through all 4 volumes of Mystery of History. Phew! What a marathon! Ready for Round 3! Keturah will probably the only one who gets a Round 3, and probably not a full Round 3. I started it when she was 4 years old and she would listen in on the reading portion. I will probably have her help me with Abishai for a couple of years and then dismiss her. We were so heavy in this volume that I will not make her repeat it. I will probably still put credits on her high school transcript though and put that she completed them in her 8th grade year. It's a lot.

I made this timeline for the first volume of Mystery of History almost 10 years ago out of a tall UHaul box made for lamps and things. The lines are actually just some black electrical tape I had on hand. It made the trip to the condo and then to here. We didn't use it much with this past volume, but I've wiped it clean because we are going to completely start over with our timeline figures. Basically, we trace a figure onto a 3x5 card and then the kids draw the figure into whoever we studied. Or there's an alternative scene or something. The Days of Creation will go first. Abishai is old enough now to draw some of it, so between him and Keturah they can make a new set of figures. I have some figures from our original set that are just Keturah's coloring and then some from her drawing some goofy eyes when she was 3rd and 4th grade. I didn't have them redo them all the 2nd time through. But I want Abishai to have that experience now this time around. And then Keturah will be the helper with the hands on activities I did when she was little. The material will be very much review for her, but it will keep her engaged and I will still feel like I'm reading aloud to more than one person before she's too old and off on her own. So, come Monday, we are back at the beginning of the world!

It might not be snowing outside, but Abishai and Daddy were building snowmen inside. Well, Daddy was doing all the work until I intervened and said, no, this specifically was a project where Abishai could do most of the work. So Jared let him stick the buttons on after Jared put the glue in the right spots. Oh my word. Let the kid go to town! No wonder we suck at crafts! It doesn't have to look like the book! This isn't Legos!

With much grumbling from Justin because he wanted exact instructions and didn't want to work on his day off and didn't want to think logically on a project on his own, I made him finally move the pinball machine that needs to be fixed. I wasn't going to let Aaron's efforts of cleaning up Grandpa Cook's toolbench go to waste. But instead of putting cars or Legos in it, it became Abishai's arsenal holder. Great. Whoops. Oh well. The switch was made.I'm sure it's going to get messy. And at least there's more floor space open.

Well, I don't think these are quite done yet, but I think the green buttons is Abishai. Not sure if the purple buttons is Daddy or me or the yellow buttons is Daddy or me. Not sure I like that one has a smile and one doesn't. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what the outcome is going to be. There's pipe cleaners and such, too, to give them arms. I hope Jared knew that. Not sure that he did.

Sunday - Cold, Sick, Tired, The Usual

- Keturah and I stayed home because she was sick with a cough and runny nose and I was keeping her company. I was going to watch service with her but we woke up late. So she watched it on her tablet at 11 while I took my shower. We joined everyone for lunch and Keturah kept her distance. Grandma was surprised Keturah came since she didn't go to church. It was fine. Keturah insisted Socks come, too, and he even snuggled up to Grandpa for some pettings. Keturah also skipped out on small group time because of her sickness.

- So it was just the boys at church this morning. Jared said he was going to wear a mask because I had been sick. Ok, fine, whatever, I thought your vaccine was supposed to stop the spread of Covid so you should be covered. And I'm 8 days out from the start of my sickness, so far enough out from you coming up with it. So, whatever, it's not the CDC guidelines anymore, but whatever. Be overkill. It's flu/cold season. Covid-19 is now endemic. Everybody can finally get over themselves and stop this nonsense. Back to normal. If there's too many people out sick, then cancel and/or go virtual. Otherwise, have class for the healthy and the sick stay home. No need for masks. And no need for mandated vaccines. Just recommendations. Which, mind you, Jared hasn't gotten any boosters, yet. I wonder why that is. Oh, maybe it's waiting the 3 months after having Covid in October. I think that's it. The End.

- I spent the afternoon doing some cleaning up of my desk and being frustrated with iTunes. Jared napped. Kids had their screen time and did chores. I brushed out Socks hips really well and trimmed his nails. Abishai played more screen with Jared and then picked up Justin from Crave. 

- I've got some appointments this week, otherwise, it's a typical week. Time keeps moving on.

Uh, is this a joke?! I didn't read the whole post. I didn't comment on the post. I sure hope the original poster was being utterly sarcastic. Because there is no way I can believe it. Not with the scores of parents I have talked to that these schools have failed. The bullying in these schools, and I mean ALL of these schools, is insane! And for them to even remotely think they are top schools is lubricious! What does that tell you about all the schools in the other parts of the country? What checklists are they using to say these are good schools? Because I'm not seeing it. GPA's? Graduation rates? Well, those that decide to homeschool or move out of the district because you failed them obviously won't affect those two thing anymore. And we have a teacher shortage, too. And kids aren't allowed to use the bathrooms because of vandalism and bullying. And you've got the drugs and other now "normal" issues in the high school. Are you kidding me? Just ask me children who can ask their friends. Oh my word. What are on earth are they basing this on? I know some of the super smart kids at the schools. And there's some great teachers and admins, but there's also some not great stuff going on in those schools. I have heard the stories first hand. This is a joke.

Because Keturah and I accidentally slept in, Socks accidentally got left out for like two hours. Poor puppy. Time to warm him up! He's not amused though. He's just fine without the blanket.

I would say #bookgoals, but my house already feels like this. I showed the kids this photo and reminded them that a lot of homes don't even have a bookshelf in it. That's why they always feel so empty. They might have a single shelf in their playroom for kids' books or something and an adult might have a few books on their nightstand. But it must be really, really odd for a non homeschooling person to walk into my house and see bookshelves in every room. No wonder we feel cramped. It's actually not normal and makes each room smaller by a foot on every side. I seem to always forget that. And then I went to pull out books for the next volume of history, most of which were hiding behind some boxes, and found myself getting frustrated that some great books had been hiding there for 3 years that I could have been using! Ugh! So I pulled them all out vowing to use them! Of course, I won't use them all and I'll put them on the shelf again saying "I'll use them next time" except this time, there won't be a next time. Eek! It's now or never! Actually, I found a couple of things that might help me in my individual Bible study time. We are going back to the beginning and most of this history volume is based on the Bible since it's ancient history. I can't wait!

Cold for us this morning.

Clear for us and PEI, in fact, they get to dig out today from their storm. But here comes Winter Storm Izzy. Watch out New England.

That's it. I broke down and finally cried. Something in the sermon hit me (I was listening to it during my shower) and then I gathered up all the hair I lost before, during, and after my shower and this is what I came up with. I pretty much have been losing this much hair every single day for two months. These strands are almost the full length of hair. So either they are coming out at the root or they are breaking 3-6 inches down and that's why I have so much frizz and it keeps coming out of the clips and pony tail holders. It's dark pieces, so it's coming from the underlayers. And it's thick strands, so usually very healthy strands. It's pretty much devastating to me. It's a source of pride, my "crown of glory." The one source of physical natural beauty I've taken care of for years. Yes, the hair will hopefully grow back. But will it grow back brown or gray? How long will it take? Will it still be fine and straight? I wanted to donate it this summer and it won't be very thick. I wanted to do 12 inches worth. Everybody keeps telling me to cut it off now. No way am I doing to do that. That's dumb. I'm crying about this now, why would I cut it more? But I am extremely upset about this. It makes me feel like a cancer patient. My mom lost her hair with her cancer. She looked so awful. She never had a chance to shave off the rest, we didn't think about doing it. She never wore scarves or anything, but went to wearing a wig sometimes in public. I didn't get involved in that decision since she handled everything until like the last month or so before she died. I was very naive and little ones to tend to. And for years and years and years I've thought about what I would do if I had to make that choice. And I don't have an answer except that I would cry and cry and cry when my hair would start falling out. So here I am crying over my hair falling out because I had Covid instead of Cancer making it fall out. There is a big difference, but the grief is still the same for some. And the judgment I will get from some will be the same. So, for me, it's just too much. Covid taking away more than it needs to. Again.

Well, isn't that cute? Greenwood, IN has their own Monopoly game based on their city. Neat!

I guess I'll just have to pretend my oldest is at college because it will probably be awhile until I see him face to face again. He has small group on Sunday afternoons again. Nice set up though. I like that he has all his micro builds on the top ledge there. At least it looks fairly organized. I gotta love that one lonely, dirty sock on the floor though. Grandma must have come through (or maybe Grandpa) and insisted that nothing be let on the fireplace because that was cleaned off. Benaiah had bought and/or built everything you see here, too. The desk, lamp, monitors, special monitor holding thing, chair, desktop computer, keyboard, speakers, mouse (these aren't cheap things in the gaming world, these are very expensive to get decent ones). I'm pretty proud of him for this bachelor pad area.

Well, for the first time in two years I weight 147 lbs again! Woot! Woot! Back to pre-pandemic weight! That was really scary for me to gain that much weight so quickly early on in the pandemic. It only took the actual Covid virus and the starvation method to get me jumpstarted, but I've kept losing bits of weight since October by still eating something at regular internals but only eating enough to feel satisfied. Now, if only this reflected in my Mommy pooch. I have my mom's genes to blame for that. My mom lost so much weight with her cancer and yet, never ever got rid of her mommy pooch. I'm doomed on that one.

Since I've used this app/website for so many years, I actually have an account that goes way, way back. 134 is close to my pre-Canada weight. That would be a fun goal to achieve. It's not that much more. 15 lbs. But oh my those 15 lbs. That will take some time. And that was before Abishai. I can also fit more comfortably in a pair of size 12 skinny jeans. The current pair of jeans I wear all the time (hint: I only wear one pair of jeans at a time until I pretty much wear them out) are pretty saggy and baggy and unflattering now. The skinny jeans are a bit more low cut and tight so if I'm bloated I probably won't want to wear them. We'll see. So, sometimes there's a plus side to Covid. Sometimes. Hair loss is not one of them. Having flu/cold like symptoms so now we can't go anywhere ever in the cold/flu seasons is also not anywhere. It's time to get rid of these sicknesses so we can go be social again.

The End