Stealthstitcher Seeks the Elusive R & R

[stealthstitcher]

I know I keep saying this, but this challenge I'm going to be so busy! I don't see how I'll have time for health related goals! Or indeed anything but running around like a chicken with its head cut off. 

I know, I know - there's a never a "good time" to do anything, but sometimes there really aren't enough hours in a day to accomplish all the things that need to be accomplished. And sometimes you don't have much choice about what gets prioritized. This challenge period is going to be one of those.

 

Week One - It's an overtime week, so I need to work about 60 hours - but I will also be out of town for three days for a funeral/to stay with the friend who just lost someone. So, four 15 hour days and then a situation that can't help but be stressful.

Goal - Go directly to bed, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 (sadly). Make the wisest food choices available. Don't forget to drink water (Or tell yourself that you're TOO BUSY AAAAHHH!!! You have time to get a drink of water.) 

 

Week Two - Show week! More long days and late nights. 

Goal - Repeat week one. 

 

Week Three - The "easy" week - hopefully installing the new laminate floor and then doing my part for my department's reunion weekend and the high school theatre festival. 

Goal - Repeat week one. Add a daily walk. 

 

Week Four - Thanksgiving. Love my family, but staying at my parents' house is anything but restful. 

Goal - Take a day off for just me. You'd think that would be the easiest goal ever but I have a really hard time asking my supervisor for a day off. Not because he won't want to give it to me - he'd have no problem with it. I just have a really, really hard time with this for some reason. I reread the section in the HR handbook and the leave request form fifty times and walk down to his office and then freak out and keep walking and act like I was going to the bathroom or to make a copy. And I have no idea why. One of the many irrational things that cause me anxiety ... Anyway, the plan is to take the day before Thanksgiving off and just rest. And by rest, I mean don't do housework or yardwork or anything like that.

 

I don't want to be all complainy, but I feel like since last summer, I've been running without ever having a chance to slow down or catch my breath, and I'm not totally sure why that is. Life always gets busier from time to time, but for the past six months or so it seems like it's ohgoshIcan'tcatchupwhenwillitend all the time. I think of the Through the Looking Glass quote, "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." a lot. 

 

I wanted to do Nano, but it's not looking likely. At least not for the first two weeks.

[Huldra]

Holy cow! Sounds like your goals to go directly to bed and eating the wisest food choices available really are all you can fit in this time around. No shame in that! And yes, adding water is good too. 

 

How about also adding a minute or two a day to just...breathe? I mean, deep long breaths from the diaphragm (did I spell that right??) I understand you're in showbiz - maybe you have dancers or actors who can show you how if you are unfamiliar with it? Add some simple stretches (they can probably show you some good ones here too) to get your blood flowing and I'm sure it will help your energy levels.

 

Hang in there!!

[stealthstitcher]

Taking a twenty minute break and thought I'd check in! 

Goals are ... meh. I have made some healthy food choices. Some were out of my hands. (When you're stranded at McDonald's, your options are mediocrity or nothing.) Tonight, I'm having cheese and crackers and orange juice. However, most days I've opted to run out for some soup or salad, I've usually had protein, and until I got a cold three days ago I wasn't drinking calories. (The cold is on its way out, but while it lasted I didn't want anything but juice, tea, and broth. FYI, and I have no idea if it was actually the reason or if it was just a happy coincidence, but last night a friend gave me a Korean herbal tea that she claimed cures colds right away. It tasted mostly like dirt ... sweet dirt ... but this morning my head was clear and I only had the final traces of the cold. So ... worth a try in future? The only problem is the packaging was all in Korean so I have no idea what it's called or what's in it.)

As for going to bed without dawdling or procrastinating, it hasn't been a problem. Getting enough sleep has been a problem, since my days have been long and my mornings early. Super excited for a morning show tomorrow! Not for the part where I get up at 6 but for the part where I'll have four hours between shows and can go home and nap!

I solved the water problem by just buying a case of bottled water and putting it under my desk. I wouldn't want to do it usually, but temporarily it helps. I can just grab a new bottle instead of walking all the way around to the drinking fountain to refill.

 

On 11/1/2016 at 11:32 PM, Huldra said:

How about also adding a minute or two a day to just...breathe?

 No time for breathing! Only work! 

No, you're right. I'm terrible at taking breaks. I don't mean breaks like lunch or something (although sometimes that too) but convincing myself that it is okay if I take five minutes and go to the bathroom. If the show isn't going to open because I occasionally stand up and stretch and so on, then we probably have bigger problems. 

 

[Sylvaa]

She's aliiiiive!

 

I was going to wait to check in with you next week, but yay! Glad to see you are still with us and that the cold is on the downswing. I also had an experience with Asian tea curing my ills when I was younger (I lived in Philly and had a horrible chest cold. My Chinese delivery guy - who delivered regularly - brought me these little cubes of tea that dissolved. It helped so much, but I do not know what it was to this day). So I hope you figure out what they are - I want to know too!

 

I know that bottled water isn't the best solution, but I am glad you were able to compromise to keep yourself going!

[MichiruSedai]

Sounds like a super crazy month, wow!   I think you're being super smart to tailor your goals around that.  Take care of yourself!

[stealthstitcher]

My schedule slowed down to normal crazy this week. Yay! Not super excited about working the weekend, but happy to have my evenings back. It's going to be a kind of get back on track week, hopefully. Lately I feel like I only have get off track weeks and get back on track weeks. Never any already on track and staying there weeks. 

Anyway, goals on Monday were ... okay. Walked the ecstatic dog. Drank plenty of water. Got to bed later than I should but not ridiculously late. Ate ... poorly. I'm in this mood where I don't want to cook anything. Ever. At all. Scrambling eggs sounds like too much work. Heating up a frozen vegetable sounds like too much work. I just want the food to miraculously appear before me. And then the dishes to miraculously vanish. This is partly because I'm still tired from the past couple weeks, but mostly I just need to pull up my socks and get it done. It's not like I have to go chop wood and build a fire and butcher a chicken and so on. 

[Loveable_Bouncer]

I know the feeling about the food issue... Just with my personal job change eating canned food has been my number one choice (next to chips in salsa). I would probably being out of the can also if it wasn't the whole liking food warmed up in the microwave...  But sill, I only work up to 6 hours a day (on a busier day), I have more than enough time to make sandwiches or real chicken xD

 

I give you luck on getting back to better habits! Too bad you don't have a dog/fish that finds cooking a necessary part of the day (growing up my dogs ended up being accidentally trained to let us know when "cooking time happens" because it was their favorite TV channel xD )

Luckily the walking cheerleader is always handy!

[stealthstitcher]

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday:

Walked the dog every day. Since it's dark now when I get off work, this is like the only time I see daylight all day. Sigh. Not looking forward to winter this year. But to be less depressing, goal success. Definitely need to step up my exercise goal next challenge, though, especially since for once I don't have a show during the challenge. 

Drinking water, not a problem. It usually isn't unless I'm so busy I feel like I can't spare the time to refill my water bottle. 

Going to bed ... eh ... I've been routinely going to bed about an hour later than I need to. 

Meals - healthful home cooking until last night, when I got off work late and angrily went to get a cheeseburger. When I'm not super busy or sick, that tends to be why I eat out. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm cranky, and there's nothing quick, easy, and appealing at home. And I don't want to have to cook and wash dishes. 

[MichiruSedai]

I'm glad you're getting into the daylight while you can!  That's been a huge challenge for me with my work hours.

 

I totally get the quick/easy/appealing/no dishes/etc.  Could you maybe batch cook some freezer meals so that all you have to do is reheat?  Also, one cheeseburger isn't the end of the world! I hope it was yummy. 

[Huldra]

On 15.11.2016 at 6:18 AM, stealthstitcher said:

I'm in this mood where I don't want to cook anything. Ever. At all. Scrambling eggs sounds like too much work. Heating up a frozen vegetable sounds like too much work. I just want the food to miraculously appear before me. And then the dishes to miraculously vanish. This is partly because I'm still tired from the past couple weeks, but mostly I just need to pull up my socks and get it done. It's not like I have to go chop wood and build a fire and butcher a chicken and so on. 

 

I get like that too! I sometimes fear I will starve to death in front of a fully stacked fridge because I'm just not in the mood to cook. I may open all my cabinets and the fridge multiple times to see if there's anything, ANYTHING (except boring carrots and the like, of course) that I can just pop in my mouth. And I'll be like that until I get so cranky that I end up eating something I shouldn't have. (Like the time I found a big bag of twizzlers and ended up having that for dinner. Sugar high, anyone???)

 

What saves me on days like that, though, is that I always have pre-homemade, portion-sized spaghetti sauce in the freezer. (One of the very few things I am REALLY good at making.) Even on those weird mood days, I am often able to convince (nag, threaten, curse, plead, coax...) myself to boil pasta and nuke the sauce in the micro. Dinner within 15 minutes. I don't really have to watch it, and there's hardly any dishes. Does anyone else have an easy go-to dish for days like this?