July 15, 2024

When I dreamed as a child of what my life would become, this is certainly not what I expected. In some ways my life has been better, in others, so much worse. And right now I am sitting in a pretty deep hole. So on my 53rd birthday, I figure it’s as good as time as any to really start living my life. But first I have to find a way out of this hole.

I’m going to try to chronicle this journey here. This page is going to be full of way too much personal information for most people’s comfort, but I think it needs to be for personal accountability. It will include everything from my finances, job hunting, weight, mental health, de-cluttering, health, reading, and anything else I run up against.

July 16, 2024

Today is my official starting day, so for accountability purposes, I am listing pretty much everything. As I continue through this project, what I track may change. I started tracking around 6am this morning, but think I will track midnight to midnight going forward. I’ve also been in a pretty deep depressive state for the last few weeks, which is something to keep in mind when looking at where I am with things. Another thing to keep in mind is that I am AuDHD.

Weight- 245.1 lbs
Bank balance- $2.07
Sleep- my sleep schedule is incredibly wonky right now. I went to bed at 10:05am and fell asleep fairly quickly. I woke up at 1:40pm to use the bathroom, fell right back to sleep, and woke up again at 3:30pm. From this point, I dozed in and out until about 5pm. Altogether I got around 7-ish hours of sleep, but felt really tired later in the evening
Food- 2 pieces whole wheat toast w/ butter (7am), 4 slices pepperoni pizza w/ 24 oz Dr Pepper (7pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- some back pain while cleaning, shadow headache over right eye came on around 8pm (no pain relievers taken)
Notable accomplishments- bagged up recycling, gathered up all dirty laundry into basket, caught up reading log
Inbox Dollars balance- $4.47
Jobs applied for- PT Library Aide
Outdoor Temp- L: 57F, H: 95F; Indoor Temp- L: 79F, H: 84F (my house has no air conditioning)

Reading completed:
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch31
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch9
Playing for Keeps ch14
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch12
High Five ch5
Ash & Quill ch3
Lost in the Never Woods ch7

I really want to get my sleep sorted so that I am keeping more regular hours again. I have always been a night owl, but it’s ridiculous that I struggle to sleep at night at all. Especially since I need to be rested to drive and my only purpose right now is to shuttle everyone where they need to go when there is an overlap in schedules. I am ridiculously tired right now, so hopefully I will be able to get some night-time sleep tonight.

The temperature is supposed to drop a bit tomorrow, so that will be nice. I struggle so much in the heat. Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m sleeping during the day, to avoid the worst of the heat. I only got through about 2/3 of the stuff I wanted to complete today, so I’m hoping tomorrow will be a little more productive. But considering how little I’ve gotten done the last three weeks, I’m calling it a success.

July 17, 2024

Some things won’t be tracked daily, so I’ve removed them from today. Even though I slept during the day yesterday, I was still really tired, so I wanted to try to get at least some sleep overnight. I didn’t stream anything yesterday, so hadn’t added streaming to the tracking, but decided to add it today, as well as a couple of other things, including a list of potential dream projects to start pursuing.

Sleep- laid down at midnight with lights off and no music; just laid there for about an hour, but finally fell asleep around 1am. Woke up at 2am and fell back to sleep, woke again at 3:30am with my right eye crusted over (it had been irritated last night), got up to use the bathroom and get some water. Laid back down to try to sleep some more, but gave up at 4:30am and got up to start day. Got about 2.5 hours sleep in this round. I knew I would need to sleep more and boy did I. I laid down around 10am and fell asleep right away, woke up at 1pm to use the bathroom, fell back to sleep, woke up again at 3:30pm, fell back to sleep, woke up at 5pm, then dozed in and out for another hour until I finally got up at 6pm, so around 8 hours this time, with the lights were on and Spotify playing.
Food- 2 pieces whole wheat toast w/ butter (6:30am), spaghetti w/ tomato basil sauce & parmesan, 16oz Dr Pepper (8pm), 1/2 bakery brownie (w/ frosting) (10:30pm)
Water- 67.6 oz
Pain- woke up with some shoulder/upper arm pain about 3:30am, I think I was sleeping on it; pain in my back when standing, my right eye started bothering me again in the late evening. No pain meds taken.
Notable accomplishments- finished putting away clean laundry, general clean up
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.11
Branded Surveys points- 22
Outdoor Temp- L: 54 , H: 84 ; Indoor Temp- L: 77, H: 81

Reading completed:
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch32
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch10
Playing for Keeps ch15
High Five ch6
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch13
Ash & Quill Ephemera 4
Lost in the Never Woods ch8

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 16 (Re-watch)
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 3 (Re-watch)
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 11 (1st watch)
New Girl Season 2 Episode 22 (Re-watch)
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 18 (Re-watch)
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 8 (Re-watch)
Remington Steele Season 1 Episode 13 (Re-watch)

Dream Projects:
Indie bookstore road trip
Dream bookish life with dream home
Travel the world
Go back to school full time
Cat sanctuary
Create an income without needing a traditional job

There were moments today when I questioned why I’m doing this, why I’m tracking everything, why I’m posting it to this page. I wanted to stop, just two days in. But I reminded myself that I need to choose to do this every day, and that I am doing this to help make changes in my life for the better. I need to see what I’m doing, what’s working, what’s not. I need to understand what is keeping me from sleeping well or eating right. I need to see where I can make changes. And I need to understand my motivations. Routines are very important to me and hard to change, but habit creation is incredibly difficult for me (especially hygiene and cleaning related habits which were not reinforced for me as a child).

I didn’t mention at the start that I plan to have a different focus each month. This month my focus is on clutter, the physical clutter, electronic clutter and mental clutter in my life. I am currently focused on the physical clutter and an dedicating 15 minutes per day to this project. In just 2 days (30 minutes), I’ve made a huge amount of progress with the surface clutter. Once the surface stuff is done, I’ll start one piece of furniture at a time and work my way through it. Next week I’ll add electronic clutter to my task list and tackle files and junk email. Mental clutter will be the most difficult and I will be working on a lot of mental health stuff throughout the year.

July 18, 2024

The two biggest things I am keeping an eye on right now are sleep and food. I seem to be getting enough sleep for the most part, just at the wrong time of day. This affects my food consumption since I’m sleeping through most of the day and don’t really eat during the wee hours for the most part. Of course the fact that I am unemployed with no income means that I am conserving my food as well and don’t really have any snacks to eat any way.

Sleep- Laid down just before 9am, fell asleep around 9:30am, woke up at 1:40pm to use the bathroom, fell back to sleep, was woken up at some point by mom asking me a question, went back to sleep again and woke up about 5:20pm.
Food- 6 pieces Red Vines (4:30am), 2 pieces whole wheat toast w/ butter (6:30am), 4 small quesadillas and 32oz Dr Pepper (8pm), 1/2 frosted bakery brownie (10:30pm)
Water- 67.6 oz
Pain- Back pain while cleaning/cooking, neck pain when I woke up at 1:40pm, migraine came on around 6pm, took 600mg Advil
Notable accomplishments- Took out trash, cleaned out fridge, finished general room clean up
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.30
Branded Surveys points- 27
Outdoor Temp- L: 53, H: 88; Indoor Temp- L: 75, H: 82

Reading completed:
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch33
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch11
Playing for Keeps ch16
High Five ch7
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch14
Ash & Quill ch4
Lost in the Never Woods ch9
Queens of Geek ch4
Kilt Trip ch2
You Should Be So Lucky ch1

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 17
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 4
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 12
New Girl Season 2 Episode 23
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 19
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 9
Remington Steele Season 1 Episode 14
The Office Season 2 Episode 9 (Re-watch)
A Discovery of Witches Season 1 Episode 3 (First Watch)
Parks & Recreation Season 2 Episode 8 (Re-watch)

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color
Mahjong Solitaire Classic
Word Craze

Dream Pros/Cons:
Indie bookstore road trip: P- tackles multiple goals, gives me time to explore, build a brand & make connections; C- I’m getting older and it will take a long time to save up enough money
Dream bookish life with dream home: P- parts of this I can do now (reading, book socials, reviews, etc.); C- This one also requires money (ideally a lottery win) for purchasing books and the dream home library.
Travel the world: P- this would bring a wealth of experiences and adventures; C- I would need a passport, which I don’t have and again, money.
Go back to school full time: P- would help with future career aspirations and allow me to continue learning; C- issues getting financing to cover tuition, more debt
Cat sanctuary: P- cat therapy, doing something worthwhile; C- need to find location, set up nonprofit, seek donations, find money
Create an income without needing a traditional job: P- this one makes the most sense because I need money and don’t have a job; C- would need to put myself out there, would need to find clients/customers

I really wanted to stay awake during the day today, or at least sleep a short time. but slept a full 8 hours. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day, so I won’t have a lot of sleep time. Hopefully I will be able to sleep at least a little bit overnight, I am a little tired. And my eyes are very fatigued. And I’m feeling a little bit off, having some digestive issues. But I did get a lot done today at least.

I looked at some of the pros and cons of my various dream projects (highlights listed above), and have narrowed it down to two potential projects to begin working on: going back to school full time and creating an income without a traditional job. Both options have some pretty big obstacles to them, but anything worth doing is going to take some work to get there.

July 19, 2024

Fridays are always busy, I have to chauffer my brother and sister-in-law, plus take mom to the grocery store. This means sleep is hard to come by, especially if I can’t get any night-time sleep. My goal for today is to get some sleep before the errands and driving starts. Fridays are also one of my worst pain days usually, with the grocery story trip (second only to laundry on Sundays).

Sleep- laid down a few times (midnight, 1:30am, 3:45am, 5:30am) but was not able to fall asleep. I got a little dozy around 8pm, so laid down about 8:30pm.
Food- 2 pieces whole wheat toast w/ butter (6am), 20 0z Cherry Coke (12:30pm), Niblets (corn) in butter sauce and 1 cup brown rice w/ quinoa. (6:45pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- Indigestion all night (this has been happening for several days, but I hadn’t thought to track it until now), back pain at grocery store while walking and lifting/carrying groceries.
Notable accomplishments- Grocery shopping; chauffeuring my brother and sister-in-law to (sil) and from (brother) work, created accountability chart.
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.37
Branded Surveys points- 27
Outdoor Temp- L: 52, H: 94; Indoor Temp- L: 77, H: 82

Reading completed:
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch12
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch34
Playing for Keeps ch17
High Five ch8
Ash & Quill Ephemera 5
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch15
Lost in the Never Woods ch10
Queens of Geek ch5

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 18
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 5
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 13
New Girl Season 2 Episode 24
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 20
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 10
Remington Steele Season 1 Episode 15

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color
Mahjong Solitaire Classic
Word Craze

I ended up going more than 24 hours without sleep, but struggled to stay awake the last couple of hours. I didn’t want to fall asleep too early and then wake up really early in the morning. I know it will take more than one night, but I really want to get my sleep schedule shifted back to nights so that I can actually do things during the day again, and not be so exhausted.

I was nowhere near as productive today, thanks to the added projects and the complete exhaustion. I didn’t qualify for any surveys today (or yesterday), so my redeemable balances have barely moved. I’m writing this update really quickly before laying down to sleep. If, for some reason, I end up waking up again before midnight, I will update this portion. If not, I will update my sleep tomorrow.

July 20, 2024

Be careful what you wish for! I ended up sleeping for about 11 hours! But I did sleep through the night (mostly). I don’t usually chauffer on Saturdays, but my sister-in-law has to work earlier today so I will be taking her to work around 2pm and then picking my brother up. We are having transmission issues on the car, so aren’t taking the freeway, but the surface route to my sister-in-laws work is very rural. I am anxious that I’ll be the one driving alone if it breaks down since I don’t have a working phone (or money).

Sleep- slept from 8:30pm last night to about 12:30am, woke up to use bathroom, fell back to sleep some time after 1am, woke up at 2am coughing, fell back to sleep and slept straight through until 8am.
Food- Cherry yogurt w/ vanilla almond granola (10:15am), 20 oz Strawberry Vanilla Dr Pepper (1:30pm); 1oz bag sour cream & onion Ruffles (4pm), Chicken teriyaki bowl w/ rice (7pm), Parmesan Goldfish crackers (10:30pm)
Water- 67.6 oz
Pain- Pretty intense headache when I woke up at 12:30am with no improvement at 2am. Took 600mg Advil at 2am; back pain while sitting, slight continuous pain mid/right upper abs, achy ankles at night
Notable accomplishments- Took out trash, chauffeured bro & sil to/from work
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.37
Branded Surveys points- 27
Outdoor Temp- L: 55, H: 90; Indoor Temp- L: 77, H: 84

Reading completed:
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch13
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch35
Playing for Keeps ch18
High Five ch9
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch16
Ash & Quill ch5
Lost in the Never Woods ch11
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch14

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 1
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 6
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 1 (Re-watch)
New Girl Season 2 Episode 25
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 14
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 11
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 21
The Office Season 2 Episode 10

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color
Mahjong Solitaire Classic
Word Craze

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

Social Media Plans:
Instagram: Current read, Random Life post, Bookish Quote, Curated book photo, Tie-in to Daily Blog Post; add 4 blog related posts to story, respond to other posts
Threads: Instagram posts auto share, Link to blog, Random bookish comment or question, Mental health update or statement, respond to other posts
Tiktok: Weekly reading wrap up, mini reviews

I’m trying to put together a new social media plan to help reinvigorate things with the blog and to establish a baseline for potential marketing down the road, so I included some of the basics above. I’ll need to start making more graphics as well. I’ve kind of been away from social media for a few weeks, but it’s time to get back to it, and to writing actual blog posts. Completely unrelated, I also added my current routine to my ever growing list of things that I’m sharing here. I tend to stick with the same basic rotation every day, but do change things up from time to time, adding or subtracting things as they come up.

Today was less productive since I slept all night and had driving duty (I don’t normally on Saturdays). I’ve also just felt really tired and run-down today. Either I slept too much last night or I might be coming down with something, I’m not entirely sure. I need to do mom’s laundry tomorrow and would like to try to get to some of mine as well if possible, so hopefully I’ll have more energy. It would be so much easier if the laundry room was in the house and I didn’t have to carry everything so far.

July 21, 2024

I’m not a fan of thunderstorms, not because I’m afraid of thunder, but because they are so destructive. We had a thunderstorm last week that ignited multiple fires throughout the state (and brought no rain). Tonight’s storm at least brought some rain, but not a lot, and I don’t know how many new fires. In its favor though, it did bring cooler temperatures today.

Sleep- Laid down at midnight and dozed off some time before 1am, when I was woken up by thunder. I tried to sleep again around 2:30am, but more thunder kept me from falling asleep and I felt wide awake. I finally fell asleep at 11:30am, but was in the middle of doing laundry, so I had to wake up every hour to switch the load or restart the dryer. I did this until 3pm, then finally slept for about 2.5 hours straight and woke up at 5:30pm. If you combine it all, it was about 5 hours of sleep. I fell asleep again at 9pm and woke up at 10:45pm.
Food- 1 oz Ruffles (4am), Cantaloupe (6:45am), 2 flour tortillas w/ butter (10:45am), 2 pieces supreme french bread pizza plus 20 oz Dr Pepper
Water-  50.7 oz
Pain- Back pain while working on projects/cleaning, extreme at times
Notable accomplishments- washed all of mom’s laundry
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.47
Branded Surveys points- 27
Outdoor Temp- L: 58, H: 76; Indoor Temp- L: 79, H: 82

Reading completed:
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch14
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch36
Playing for Keeps ch19
High Five ch10
Ash & Quill Ephemera 6
Lost in the Never Woods ch12

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 2
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 7
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 2
New Girl Season 3 Episode 1
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 15
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 12

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

Today was a bit of a rough day since I was so tired. I feel like I didn’t accomplish much. And laundry days are always pain filled. It also doesn’t help that my current decluttering project is clutter inducing while in progress, so I have random books stacked everywhere as I sort and reorganize them. And then there’s the incredibly depressing job hunt. There is virtually nothing that I am qualified for/ capable of available. It’s so discouraging.

Add into everything else, and the shocking political news from today is anxiety inducing. I was originally terrified, but now I’m determined. I just hope people band together and fight because otherwise it’s a frightening prospect. And considering I’m on the opposite side of my family in this whole battle, I don’t know what’s going to happen to/for me personally no matter which way the election goes in November. I just have to move forward believing that we will prevail. The alternative would not be kind to me, an unmarried, childless, non-Christian, bisexual woman in her 50’s.

July 22, 2024

Came into today very determined to support women and uphold women and fight for women. I don’t know how I’m going to do this yet, but I will figure it out as I go along. I am also focusing on finding some non-traditional income sources (legal of course) because the job scene is so discouraging. It’s time to start fighting for me.

Sleep- Laid down at 1:45am, but couldn’t fall asleep, so got up again at 2:30am. Fell asleep around 11am, woke up at 2:30pm to use bathroom, slept fitfully until 8pm, waking up several times and falling right back to sleep.
Food- 3 mini pancakes w/ butter & syrup (6am), Parmesan Goldfish crackers (9:15am), Fruit snacks (10am), steakhouse salad w/ blue cheese dressing and 16.9 oz Dr Pepper (8:30pm)
Water-  50.7 oz
Pain- back pain while cooking, shoulder and neck pain in evening
Notable accomplishments- applied to Concierge position & Administrative Assistant position
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.49
Branded Surveys points- 27
Outdoor Temp- L: 57, H: 82; Indoor Temp- L: 75, H: 79

Reading completed:
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch15
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch37
High Five ch11
Playing for Keeps ch20
Lost in the Never Woods ch13
Ash & Quill  ch6

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 3
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 8
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 3
New Girl Season 3 Episode 2
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 16
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 13

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

I did not plan to sleep as much as I did today and feel like I didn’t accomplish much because of it. I did at least find a couple of potential jobs that I am at least somewhat qualified for to apply to. That makes 3 in the past week. And I continued to make progress on my current book reorganization project.

It’s been a full week now since I turned 53 and started this project. So far I have stuck with the plan and have been working my way through the clutter in my life. Starting tomorrow I’ll be working to declutter my electronic life as well as my physical life.

July 23, 2024

I’m really excited about the idea of doing something to help the campaign. I’ve started looking for ways to help out, but haven’t found anything I can do yet. I’m not giving up though, I just have to find something I can do, I’m sure there’s something. I want to make a difference in the world, not just talk about it.

Weight- 242.7 lbs
Sleep- 11:30am-4:30pm, I was still super tired, but it was time to drive, so I had to wake up. I did lay down a couple of times earlier in the morning, but couldn’t fall asleep.
Food- Raspberry yogurt w/ vanilla almond granola (5:30am), Banana Nut Crunch cereal (10am), Cheddar Sour Cream Ruffles 1oz bag & 16.9 oz Dr Pepper (6:30pm), Pepperoni Pizza Rolls (8:15pm), Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bar (10:30pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- Ab cramping, lower right side in the wee hours, back pain while cooking; ankle pain in evening
Notable accomplishments- wrote 2 blog posts (one posted, one scheduled); drove bro & sil
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.61
Branded Surveys points- 50
Outdoor Temp- L: 53, H: 85; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 77

Reading completed:
All Boys Aren’t Blue ch16 & Afterward
High Five ch12
Holiday in Death ch2
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch38
Playing for Keeps ch21
Writing Brave and Free ch23
Lost in the Never Woods ch14
Ash & Quill  Ephemera 7
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch17
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch15
Queens of Geek ch6
Heat Wave Pre
Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal ch1
Chronically Dolores ch1
Canto Contigo ch1

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 4
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 9
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 4
New Girl Season 3 Episode 3
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 17
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 14
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 22
The Office Season 2 Episode 11

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color
Mahjong Solitaire Classic
Word Craze

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

Potential Income Sources:
Patreon
Kofi
Poetry (sell individual poems or chapbook)
Crafting
Advertising programs
Affiliate programs

One of the biggest disadvantages to where I live (aside from the lack of heat and air conditioning) is that we are not on a city water system or a well, so our water has to be trucked in and filled into tanks. When we are getting low on water, we call to schedule delivery. This time we were not able to get delivery on our requested day (tomorrow morning), so we have to wait until Friday. The problem is we’re are literally out of water as of right now, so we have no water for the next 2 days. We’ve tried to find another water company that can deliver sooner, but we haven’t found anyone. We do have a tank that collects rainwater in the back, so we can bring in a bucket of water for toilet flushes and we have bottled water for drinking, but it’s incredibly inconvenient and frustrating.

Other than that, I’m still feeling pretty good. I’m taking each day as it comes and trying to be the most productive I can be. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’ve broken it down into manageable pieces. Plus keeping busy helps to keep me from spiraling out into the abyss.

July 24, 2024

I’m a little anxious about where my sleep is hitting right now with the readathon coming up. I know that I will probably not be able to stay up and read the entire 24 hours (I have done it twice before!) and am fully prepared to sleep at some point during the event. But I don’t want to be so tired from not being able to sleep during the day (grocery shopping and chauffeuring) that I sleep the bulk of the event (this has happened once or twice before as well). I know stressing about it increases the odds of my sleep being negatively influenced, so I’m trying to just have a sensible plan and let it play out.

Sleep- 12:15am to 3:45am, woke up at 1am briefly and went back to sleep; laid down at noon, slept until alarm went off at 3:30pm
Food- 3 small pancakes w/ butter and syrup (6:45am); 16.9 oz Dr Pepper (5:30pm), Chicken nuggets w/ BBQ sauce plus cauliflower in cheese sauce (7:45pm)
Water-  50.7 oz
Pain- sharp pain in back/right hip while working on project and cooking, pain behind right ear while driving, later sharp pain across chest while driving again (was gone instantly) 
Notable accomplishments- chauffeur duties
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.64
Branded Surveys points- 93
Outdoor Temp- L: 52, H: 86; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 81

Reading completed:
High Five ch13
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch39
Playing for Keeps ch22
Lost in the Never Woods ch15
Ash & Quill  ch7
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch18
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch16
Queens of Geek ch7
Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal ch2

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 5
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 10
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 5
New Girl Season 3 Episode 4
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 18

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

Looking back over all of my entries, I appear to be obsessed with sleep, that’s almost all I talk about. Though it is kind of true with my current sleep patterns. I mean right now I am falling asleep as I type this, so will be calling it a night momentarily. But there is more to me than just sleep, books, games & streaming, so I need to start showing a little more of the rest of my life here as well.

I am working on a content schedule for August posting right now, in addition to reorganizing my bookshelves, adding tags for my 100 books project on Goodreads, and adding a third and fourth hundred lists. I’ve also got my TBR order set for the next several months (at least). Plus I have everything prepped for the readathon this weekend. I just need to buy some snacks on Friday morning.

July 25, 2024

I’m toying with some ideas on how I want to update this page and tracking in August, specifically as far as the Pain notes and health. I also don’t know how long I can make a single page, so I think I am going to do a main page and then monthly sub-pages below it. I haven’t done sub-pages in the past so this will be something new for me to figure out behind the scenes.

Sleep- Laid down at midnight but had to get back up, fell asleep at 1am until 4am. Fell asleep again about 1pm, woke up at 4:30pm to use the bathroom, then slept until 8pm.
Food- Raspberry yogurt w/ vanilla almond granola (7:30am); popcorn and 16.90z Dr Pepper (11:30am), Rotini pasta w/ tomato basil sauce and parmesan cheese (10:30pm)
Water-  33.8 oz
Pain- Back pain when standing and working on projects/cleaning
Notable accomplishments- Caught up dishes after water was delivered 
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.69
Branded Surveys points- 153
Outdoor Temp- L: 54, H: 79; Indoor Temp- L: 75, H: 79

Reading completed:
High Five ch14
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch40
Playing for Keeps ch23
Lost in the Never Woods ch16
Ash & Quill  Ephemera 8

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 6
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 11
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 6
New Girl Season 3 Episode 5
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 19

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

It was a good news/bad news sort of day for me. On the good news front, the water delivery company was able to fit us in today so we didn’t have to go another full day without water. You never think about how much you take something for granted until you don’t have it. Bad news though affects my readathon for tomorrow. I knew that I was going to have to chauffeur my brother and sister-in-law, so I was going to miss the first hour, hour and a half of the readathon. I had a plan in place to get access to wifi for my starting post, and then was just going to do my hour 2 post midway through. I just found out my sil is going into work an hour later, which means I lose a minimum of 2 hours of readathon time and no hour 2 wifi access. I’m sure to most people, and definitely to my family, that seems like a stupid thing to be upset about, but I don’t have a lot of good in my life right now and this is the only thing I have for me and now it’s effed up. A part of me just wants to skip the entire readathon now, but I know that’s petty.

I just feel like everything is derailed now and I’m trying not to spin out. I don’t do well at all with changes in routine or schedules, especially when it affects something that I have been looking forward to and planning for so long. I have so little control about anything in my life and there was already a shadow over this event with the amount I knew I was missing. To realize I’m missing more just casts a bigger shadow and takes away all of my joy and excitement over it.

July 26, 2024

I decided that I’m not doing the readathon. The joy has been sucked out of it for me and I don’t think I could get it back in time for the event. Maybe I’ll find a segment of time somewhere that I don’t have to answer to anyone else’s schedule and can do my own readathon. It won’t be as fun without the interaction with other readers, but it is what it is.

Sleep– 1:15pm-4:30pm, woke up very groggy but had to chauffeur; fell asleep 9pm-midnight
Food- 3 small pancakes w/ butter & syrup (6:30am), 2 dill pickle spears and macaroni salad, 20 oz Cherry Coke (12:45pm), 2 hot dogs w/ ketchup, mustard & relish (7:30pm)
Water- 50.7  oz
Pain- Back pain, as usual, slight headache at times, ankles ache, woke up with sore throat
Notable accomplishments- Grocery shopping, chauffeur duties, applied New Hire Ambassador
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.71
Branded Surveys points- 153
Outdoor Temp- L: 53, H: 82; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 77

Reading completed:
High Five ch15
Holiday in Death ch3
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch41
Playing for Keeps ch24
Writing Brave & Free ch24
Lost in the Never Woods ch17
Ash & Quill  ch8
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch20

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 7
Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 12
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 7
New Girl Season 3 Episode 6
Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 20
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 15

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

My back pain was worse today, and pretty constant. Thankfully mom recognized that and was much faster than usual at the grocery store. In all honesty, she was actually pretty nice to me all day. She usually snaps at me at least once, or makes some kind of snide comment, but she didn’t do either of these today.

I think that I stopped my spiral, or at least tempered it a bit. I still feel unappreciated and unseen, but I really don’t expect anything different from my family. We are so polar opposite in our beliefs about the world in almost every category, I sometimes wonder if I was dropped into the wrong family at birth.

July 27, 2024

I slept most of the night, but am still a bit tired. I decided to make today a reading focus, and put a bit more time into my reading instead of some of the other projects I work on. If I were participating in the readathon as originally planned, I would be completely reading focused anyway.

Sleep– 2:30am-5:30am, 2pm-8pm
Food- cherry yogurt w/ vanilla almond granola (8am), macaroni salad (10:30am), 2 hot dogs w/ ketchup, spicy mustard & relish, 16.9 oz Dr Pepper (12:30pm), 2 pieces garlic cheesy bread (10pm); slice chocolate fudge cake (11:30pm)
Water-  33.8 oz
Pain- usual back pain
Notable accomplishments- applied data entry/typist, washed dishes, finished reorganizing books
Inbox Dollars balance- $6.74
Branded Surveys points- 226
Outdoor Temp- L: 51, H: 82; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 81

Reading completed:
Playing for Keeps ch25, 26, 27, 28 & 29
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch42, 43, 44 & 45
Writing Brave & Free ch25
Lost in the Never Woods ch18, 19 & 20
Ash & Quill  Ephemera 9 & ch9
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch21
Holiday in Death ch4

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 8
Schitt’s Creek Season 5 Episode 1
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 8
New Girl Season 3 Episode 7
Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 1

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

To Celebrate:
Number of books read (10s)
Number of reviews completed (5s)
Projects completed
Interviews completed
Job offer
Monthly focus completed

My obsession with sleep continues and I ended up sleeping most of today, or at least it feels that way. But I also read a bunch and fixed the set up on this page so that each month will have it’s own sub-page for the year. And I finished reorganizing my bookshelves (and even labeled them). Next up is my hygiene cart (which may at some point convert back to a TBR cart, but not just yet).

In other news, I hate all of the scammers who post job postings and then when you apply, they respond with requests for ridiculous personal information. I mean why does a Data Entry position need me to run my own credit report to discuss with the recruiter at my interview? I’ve done enough hiring in my own positions to know that is not legit. I’ve had 4 or 5 applications turn out this way and it’s just gross.

July 28, 2024

I’m continuing my reading focus today. And hopefully through Monday as well. I want to clear through as many books as possible before I start work again. Though who knows when that will be. I need to focus on finding those alternative income sources as well.

Sleep- Fell asleep at 2pm, woke up at 3pm to get last load of laundry from dryer, fell right back to sleep, woke up at 8pm to use bathroom, fell right back to sleep, woke up at 11:45pm
Food- 3 small pancakes w/ butter & syrup (6:30am), 20 oz Strawberry Vanilla Dr Pepper (11am), 2 hotdogs w/ ketchup, spicy mustard & relish (12:30pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- usual back pain
Notable accomplishments- reorganized Hygiene Cart, finished 4 books, did my laundry (wash & dry)
Inbox Dollars balance- $7.03
Branded Surveys points- 226
Outdoor Temp- L: 52, H: 81; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 77

Reading completed:
Playing for Keeps ch30, 31 & Epilogue
The Misdirection of Fault Lines ch46, 47, 48, 49, 50 & 51
Lost in the Never Woods ch21, 22 & Epilogue
Ash & Quill  Ephemera 10, 11 & 12 & ch10, 11 & 12
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch21, 22 & 23
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch17 & 18
Queens of Geek ch 8
Holiday in Death ch5

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 9
Schitt’s Creek Season 5 Episode 2
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 9
New Girl Season 3 Episode 8
Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 2
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 16
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 23

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

I felt super productive today and was getting a lot done before I fell asleep. I never intended to sleep the rest of the day though, so I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t get to finish folding and putting away the laundry, or make some more progress on reading. But I believe that my body needs the sleep when I sleep that long, so I’m not going to be overly upset by it.

I’m enjoying the reading focus and have finished several books in the last couple of days. I finished a summer reading challenge (reading every day from July 1-28) that I was participating in and met my Goodreads goal today (100 books). I had thought about increasing the goal in February when I was tracking to complete closer to 300 books this year, but am glad I didn’t. Now there’s no pressure and I can just see how far I’ll go.

July 29, 2024

This is the last day of my “weekend” before I return to chauffeuring duties, so I’m planning a big focus on reading again today. I don’t think I’ll finish any books, considering I’m at 52% in my book with the most progress at the moment. But I do hope to make some serious progress, especially on some of the books that are at 6 or 7% right now.

Sleep- 1:45pm-4:15pm; fell asleep again at 8:30pm, woke briefly around 10pm and went back to sleep around 10:30pm.
Food- Broccoli Crunch salad (3am), Vanilla yogurt w/ peanut butter granola (7:30am), 3 dill pickle spears (9:30am), 4 pigs in blanket and 16 oz Dr Pepper (11:30am), 2 pieces supreme french bread pizza and 16 oz Dr Pepper (7:30pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- usual back pain, a lot of coughing (no fever), ankle pain
Notable accomplishments- folded laundry
Inbox Dollars balance- $7.10
Branded Surveys points- 226
Outdoor Temp- L: 54, H: 79; Indoor Temp- L: 73, H: 81

Reading completed:
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch19, 20,  21, 22, 23, 24 & 25
Queens of Geek ch 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14
Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal ch3, 4 & 5
Canto Contigo ch2, 3, 4 & 5
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire ch2, 3 & 4
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West ch3 & 4

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 10
Schitt’s Creek Season 5 Episode 3
9-1-1: Lonestar Season 1 Episode 10
New Girl Season 3 Episode 9
Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 3
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 17
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 Episode 24

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort
Happy Color
Mahjong Solitaire Classic

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book(s)
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

My Strengths:

Analytical
Caring
Loyal
Compassionate
Empathetic
Open-minded
Accepting

I focused less on cleaning and projects today, and more on reading. I ended up reading about 33 chapters, which is awesome. I didn’t finish any books today, but as I said previously, the book I was the furthest in was around 50% and the others varied between 6% and 25%. Now I have them between 11% and 79% (there are others that are still at lower percentages, but I didn’t get to them today.

I’ve also started working on August’s blog posts. I’ve got two written and scheduled so far, and am about halfway through another review. It feels good to have two consistent weeks of progress under my belt. Every day I am making the commitment to focus on this project and all it entails. My progress is slow, but it’s real. And even though there have been days where I have not felt my best mentally (or physically, for that matter), I have continued to choose this path. That feels good.

July 30, 2024

Sometimes a quiet moment away from the push to productivity is needed. I took some time in the wee hours of the morning to just chill in silence scrolling through social media. It was nice to relax for a little bit. Today’s focus is a little more on cleaning. I’m tackling my dresser and dishes, as well as other stuff.

Weight- 242.9
Sleep- Woke up at 1:30am, slept 1:45pm-4:30pm and woke up very groggy. Laid down at 10:30pm
Food- Banana Nut Crunch cereal (7am); Protein shake (10:45am), goulash, asian salad, Dr Pepper (7:15pm)
Water-  50.7 oz
Pain- usual back pain, headache (took 600mg Advil)
Notable accomplishments- finished putting away laundry, wrote review, took out trash
Inbox Dollars balance- $7.12
Branded Surveys points- 226
Outdoor Temp- L: 61, H: 83; Indoor Temp- L: 77, H: 82

Power outage- 10:48am-12:10pm

Reading completed:
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch32, 33, 34 & 35
Holiday in Death ch6
Queens of Geek ch15, 16 & 17
Writing Brave & Free ch26
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch26 & 27
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire ch5

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 11
Schitt’s Creek Season 5 Episode 4
Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 4
New Girl Season 3 Episode 10

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book/ebook
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

We had a power outage today that kind of knocked me off track and I had a difficult time recovering from it. The power was only out for about 90 minutes, but I wasn’t able to do anything during that time (needed wifi for computer work, our water doesn’t work without power for the pump, and a tree blocks my window so it wasn’t bright enough to read). By the time the power came back up, it was time for me to sleep for a bit before taking my sil to work.

I also had a pretty severe migraine today that didn’t help matters. It was worse in the evening when I got home from picking my brother up from work. I had to resort to painkillers even though I try to avoid them most of the time. I decided to call it a day early in the hopes that more sleep would help. 

July 31, 2024

After having slept for the entire night, I feel very behind as I start the day. But I feel much better without the headache. I do not have anything that I plan to focus on today, just working through my rotations as I finish out July.

Sleep- slept all night, woke up at 5:30am to use bathroom and slept again until 7:30am
Food- 4 dill pickle spears, Dr pepper & popcorn (10:15am), pickle spears, Dr Pepper, chicken nuggets w/ bbq sauce & ranch dressing (8:30pm)
Water- 50.7 oz
Pain- back pain as usual
Notable accomplishments- applied Public Relations Assistant, Training Ops Associate
Inbox Dollars balance- $7.22
Branded Surveys points- 226
Outdoor Temp- L: 57, H: 92; Indoor Temp- L: 77, H: 84

Reading completed:
The Emperor and the Endless Palace ch36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 & Epilogue
Queens of Geek ch18, 19, 20, 21 & 22
Once Upon a Broken Heart ch28, 29, 30 & 31
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire ch6, 7 & 8
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West ch5
Chronically Dolores ch2

Streaming watched:
9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 12
Schitt’s Creek Season 5 Episode 5
Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 5
New Girl Season 3 Episode 11
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 Episode 1
Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 18

Games Played:
Triple Match 3D
SuperCity
Tile Connect
Tile Busters
Cooking Frenzy
Closet Sort

Current Rotation:
Phone- email, game, audio book
Computer- Daily checklist, 53 checklist, job search, blog, SuperCity, surveys, streaming, 100 project
Physical book/ebook
Declutter/ Clean
Eat/Drink/Misc.

I took a little adventure today since we discovered they were doing road construction on the way to take my sister-in-law to work. I took a different set of backroads back to town, and I might take this route going forward since it was a little easier on the car with less hills to climb (and easier on me with less twists and turns). It took the same length of time, so I still made it to my brother’s work at my usual time to pick him up.

Other than that, I am ready to close out July and welcome August. I have a new page set up for August and will be changing up the layout a little. My focus is still on decluttering through mid-month. And it looks like I’m be sleeping overnight, so maybe I can start August out with a more normalized sleep schedule.