Making a Family Hallway Collage + Update

Good morning. Today’s video is LIVE now and you can watch it HERE. Spend a week with me, and we’ll work on the family photo wall collage. Lots of vlog footage too. A fun and busy week.

Update

So life is moving pretty fast it seems. I have worked hard on the video upcoming for Saturday the 21st, as I have to get the one done for Saturday the 28th as well. I will be traveling soon and wanted to be able to get a video out.

So how’s life been the last week or so? OK I suppose. It’s been quiet and I have enjoyed a much needed few days at home, catching up on a few things, doing housework and spending a lot of time video editing as mentioned.

My tiredness lingers some. However, I think it’s a little improved. I really have to focus on my sleep and nutrition. Have been doing my daily exercising. Still waiting on mammogram and bone density tests. I know I have to work on sugar and cholesterol numbers. I have to remember to take all the supplements that I am to take 4 times a day to make up for what we don’t get in our food. I often slack on the late afternoon/dinner time supplements. Those include red yeast rice which can help with cholesterol.

I’m wondering if my body is in some kind of strange “healing mode” or “recovery mode” from being stressed for so many years. Does it take months or years to shed that off? I noticed that the doc gave me an anxiety test (it was questions) but I didn’t know what it testing for at the time. But I did not rate as having anxiety. That surprised me once I found out I’d had the test, I’d have thought I’d be someone that would have it. It seems like I do but I think since I don’t work anymore and we don’t get out too much to travel and go places – other than a couple times a year- I don’t have a lot of changing conditions in which to worry or fear, thank goodness. Plus I have God and angels watching over me.

But it did surprise me about the depression diagnosis which I think I mentioned in my last post. I also have a video coming – eventually that I talk about that. I’m labeled with mild depression because I said I was tired and that made them ask me the questions and do a depression and an anxiety test. All of the questions relate back to sleep, for the most part.

I have an at home sleep test coming but it has not arrived yet. It will test for sleep apnea. My sleep scores have been in the 70’s to low 80’s for the most part and I’d really like to get into the 90’s and increase my average. Average had been 88 then it moved to 80. I just feel the need to be closer to 90.

I have trouble staying asleep. I toss and turn a lot in the night. We are trying to eat earlier but I have little control over that since George cooks. We are still on that later eating schedule like we were when we worked. If we could eat around 6 I’d be happy versus 7 or 7:30. That may help the sleep.

I ordered more of my sleep spray which I was out of. And I ordered a cooling blanket. I’ve been using a winter throw to curl up to and I ball the end of it up and use as a neck support but it gets hot. So perhaps that is waking me up. So I ordered the cooling one and will see if that helps. Last night of being in bed for 8 hours and 47 minutes I had 1 hour and 41 minutes of restless sleep and only 7 hours of restful sleep. But at least my HRV rate is bouncing back to a healthier spot which is an indicator of stress and well being. HRV indicates high energy, good recovery, enhanced cognitive performance, and balance of heart and mind. It’s the measure between heartbeats.

I’m using the sleep number app.

I’ve definitely been more tired, and feeling lifeless at times, but maybe better this week than last. Really have added more greens back into the diet in a big way, and also ordered a hydration drink that has minimal salt in it. The Ultima brand seemed the right version for me. It has Stevia, no added sugars and less sodium than the others and I can drink that after I exercise, for some extra replenishment. I was concerned it didn’t have “enough supplements” in it but then I immediately thought that it might be perfect as I already take some supplements anyway. It has a lot of Vitamin C which I’m not taking as a supplement right now as we are eating some fruit so I think that would be helpful as I’m not eating fruit every day – once it runs out. So I think this will be good for me. It has some Magnesium and a little Zinc, a little Potassium, and a few other things. I take Magnesium at night and I take Zinc once or twice a week but will increase that in November as flu season comes upon us, might take more of it while traveling to Texas.

So really just trying to be healthy here and feel better, and not push myself too hard.

Upcoming and Other Happenings

• Really looking forward to seeing Katy and going on our Waco trip, and then spending time on the ranch with the grands, and seeing what all we get up to there.
• Have been watching Katy and Cody and the grands while on their trip to FL. Katy added me so I could follow them. They are on the road back home as I type and I can see they are in Tallula, LA going down the interstate. That has been fun to see where they go and eat on the map. I have been obsessed with checking it out. It’s fun to watch them go down the road in the Find Me app, lol.
• I ordered an apple air tag for my luggage, and to use for my purse or other items as needed. I wanted a pack of 3 or 4 but that was going to be too expensive so I’ll order them a few at a time.
• I’m looking forward to some things after I get back home from the trip too.
• Have been enjoying Ree Drummonds book. Almost finished with it. I will also be finished with the Heaven book soon. I also started another book called Bald Faced Liar but not very far into it. It’s my iPad book and I’m trying to get through with the Ree Drommund book first. I finished the Biltmore Book which is kinda like a coffee table book, but I’ve decided to read my coffee table books. I don’t have very many but I like going through a few pages a day and then deciding to keep or give away.
• We are enjoying the painted den and happy to say that the video for that will be out on Saturday 6/28. I will be editing that one this week. The office clean up video is going to be out Saturday 6/21. I just finished it.
• Looking forward to setting a different routine after my trip, just to mix things up a bit, and make life a bit different. More on that later.

Well we are about to go to the store today and get a few things. I’ve been enjoying a relaxing (not hurried) trip to the store for us instead of doing a dual shopping trip in Lebanon while doing Mom’s shopping. It’s been nice going to our local Kroger again and leisurely shopping instead of doing a rush job on Sunday after church, trying to get back to the dogs and get back home. It’s a lot of running around on Sunday already. So this works better for me now that we don’t work.

So I need to get ready and go.

If you need the video link again, here it is. Watch it HERE.