Monthly Archives: June 2019

Musings of a chronically tired person.

Day 9 of the sugar detox and I’m feeling good. I finally got that allergy situation under control and I’m back to feeling the positive effects of this detox. I still do not have more energy. Low energy has ALWAYS been a problem for me. ALWAYS. Yes, I have chronic, clinical (aka Major) depression and yes I take meds for it. Yes, I have my thyroid checked every year and while I’m on the cusp, meds are not necessary. AND For the record, yes, I’ve tried them and they made me very shaky.

My theory about my energy problem? I’m a night person forced to live a daytime life. I used to joke about this but it’s the only thing that makes sense to me.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Throughout my adult life I have been trying desperately to appreciate the beauty of daytime. And trust me, I do. I love being in my yard while my son and dog run around. I love walking around the park. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my ass to sleep before 1am. I think I’m just wired this way. Imagine making an owl do all of it’s stuff during the day. It would be cranky and tired too.

Now that I’m in my 40s, it’s pretty clear that my dream of being a full time artist and/ or singer is probably not going to happen. I’m grateful that I have time to do both and I’m also thankful for my daytime job that affords me these things. But in working full time… I have to walk with the day people. And I don’t feel like I fit in at all.

Detox…

Believe it or not, I’m still going strong. I am ON IT with meal prepping and staying out of trouble. I did have way too much wine on Saturday but I had written that in as a “cheat day”. It was one of my oldest and dearest friends’ bridal shower. Aside from the wine, I stayed within the rules for food at the party and continued to do so for the rest of the weekend.

I found these flax seed crackers which are helpful. I also found plantain chips but then realized there are four servings in each (very small) bag. Too good to be true indeed. Whatever.

I’ve been enjoying deviled egg salad, sweet potatoes, salads, and roasted veggies. I HONESTLY do not feel like I am missing out on anything. Is it a pink cloud situation? Maybe but I’m using it.

Also, drinking wine on Saturday after avoiding it for a week made me realize I how SHITTY it makes me feel the next day. Frankly, I still don’t feel right. My head is weird. I’m sneezing. Perhaps I’m also allergic to white? Bummer but I will not be doing that again. I mean, I could be getting sick but I feel like the coincidence is pretty strong.

Day 4

I am successfully on Day 4 of my 21 Day Detox and honestly I feel really good and motivated. I had a killer headache this morning but that comes with the territory for a couple of days.

What does a night in the program look like for me? Well, a 20/20 marathon, knitting, and lots of unsweetened iced tea. It was a pretty good time. I had no FOMO and fought some small urges for sweet things (and wine). I did have a hard time falling asleep. I remember this happening last time. I’m hoping it will also dissipate after a few days.

Breakfast has primarily been mushroom and mozzarella omelettes. I am even allowed some roasted potatoes! It was delicious.

I forget where I saw the following idea, but it’s a hot dog on a sweet potato instead of a bun. I was pleasantly surprised that I felt like I was not missing out on a thing. With mustard and sauerkraut, it was SO satisfying. Sure, it was a pain in the ass to bake a sweet potato beforehand but going forward, I’ll probably just make one or two at a time. (I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out and sweet potatoes are beloved in my home.)

I had a yummy salad for lunch, I’ve got grilled chicken with quinoa and brussels sprouts on the agenda tonight, and some deviled egg salad if I need an occasional snack.

I’m feeling pretty stoked.

Sugar sugar

Forgive me, internet, for I have sinned. It’s been about a week since my last post.

I think the last post about envisioning my “perfect” life, loosened up some things in my head. This is not about what I’m losing but what I’m gaining.

The day after writing that post, I went to bed early and then woke up early, had some tea and did some reading. It was a dream morning. I watched the drinks for the rest of the week and did not go overboard at any time.

On Monday, I started the 21 Day Sugar Detox program and I’ve been eating well, sleeping well, not drinking, and so far so good. I’ve done the program a couple of times before but never cut out alcohol. I’m also fully aware of the whole “pink cloud” situation. But I will take whatever this is. I’ll do my best and consider it a success to see this through as best I can.

I gave myself an out for a bridal shower this weekend and one free emergency pass. We’ll see. Maybe I won’t use them, but I feel better knowing that they are there. I’m hoping to become more aware and to re-learn how to get through my day without just floating away in a sea of wine.

When I envision my perfect life, I see:

  • waking up early
  • cups of tea
  • a clean frigging house with minimal clutter
  • a more active lifestyle
  • feeling awake and motivated
  • more outdoor time
  • reading all of the books in a cozy bed
  • using my extra morning time for writing
  • having enough sleep and not oversleeping to avoid life
  • more museums and outings with our family
  • a beautiful home near a lake
  • woods on my property
  • dedicated art time

Most of these things are attainable. Waking up early requires that crazy little thing called will power that I lost somewhere along the way. With waking up early, comes several more items in the list. A clean frigging house could happen if I took the time to really declutter. I’ve been doing it piecemeal. I actually want to hire a home organizer. I’ve been dealing with being disorganized my whole life. So, the money I save on not buying 800 bottles of wine a year could easily go toward making that a reality.

We’ve been scoping out homes near lakes and I do believe I found “the one”. I feel like it won’t last and I’m trying to really motivate my husband to get on board. It’s really everything I’ve envisioned. It’s perfect. My heart will break if we don’t get it. That’s only happened a couple of times in the few years we’ve been casually looking.

Envisioning that home and it’s property full of trees and the view of the lake sounds so inspiring. A fresh start to only move what we will need. My husband has things from his childhood that he moves. I have a few special dolls and books. He has a garage full of stuff I have not even seen in our 11 years of marriage. So that will be a hurdle. But it’s do-able.

The main thing about this house is that it has a “she shed”. NOW… I HATE that term. I makes me cringe. But it’s gorgeous. A tiny little glass building that would be perfect for painting and writing. I am filled with butterflies even as I type this.

What comes to mind when you envision your perfect life?

Want. Need. Listening. Shit.

I had my ladies night on Saturday and I didn’t get too crazy. In fact, I got a headache. I’m not sure if it was from dehydration or from exhaustion but it was a doozy. I barely slept the night before due to the Pup wanting to go out, the little guy wanting to come in, and regular old general anxiety. I had a nice breakfast at the diner with the girls and then went home to complete some chores.

I went back down about 3:30 and had a few hard seltzer’s before the headache started it’s strangle hold. I just wasn’t feeling it. I wanted to go home but I felt bad, so I stayed. A beloved friend was in from out of state so I wanted to be sure I spent time with her. Unfortunately, it was getting to the point where no one was making sense and kind of talking over one another. Sometimes, I feel like I somehow missed the wave everyone else is surfing on and then I just can’t catch up. And ultimately I’m fine with that because I’m so tired. And cranky.

I had intended on staying over and really going for it, but I left around 1am and put my throbbing cranium on a pillow. It’s weird that I couldn’t just leave at like 9 or 10 when I wanted to. I always feel like I’m going to be seen as a jerk if I do that. And I have a crippling need to be liked. So this is what I do.

We had a nice family day on Sunday. Lots of outside time. Reading, My little guy and the dog running around the yard. We went out for dinner and I had a glass of wine but that was it. All night. I went to bed at a reasonable time after watching a Doris Day movie.

Tonight, I am struggling. I honestly do not WANT a drink but I’m craving one. Does that even make sense at all? Like… many body wants it. I guess that’s why they call it addiction (sung to Elton John’s song). It’s such a shit feeling. I’m sort of caught between “oh go have one” and “no, just ride it out. Prove something to yourself.”

The second one is yelling louder. I’m listening.

Death.

If you’re not a tarot nerd, this card might alarm you. But when I drew it today I started to laugh. It’s perfect.

This is the whole reason I’m writing here. I am desperately trying to end this cycle of numbing and apathy and laziness; Living in a half -life due to alcohol, depression, self sabotage, and binge eating. I’m trying to turn this ship around.

I can’t do everything all the time and be there for everyone at all of the times and go to all of the things and still do my job, care for my family, get sleep, eat normally, and generally decompress. Decisions have to be made about what is in my best self-interest to continue with. I will be clearer with people who use my tendency to go with the flow to their advantage. I have to shed some things in order to move forward.

The Death card kind of gave me the feeling that the energy of the universe – or whatever you want to call it – has my back.

This is not a food blog.

I made some pretty good choices today. I worked from home so I was able to cook some healthy food. I’m not much of a cook. I mean… I like cooking but I rarely feel inspired to cook. It’s a hassle. I’m tired from running from one thing to another and I don’t feel like doing it. You know the feeling. But when I have some time, I do enjoy it.

I installed a meal plan app on my phone because I literally need to be told what to do when it comes to food otherwise I default to raccoon in a dumpster. This app gave me a handful of meals that are easy to prepare and leave leftover to enjoy for lunch or dinner the next day. So I’m not cooking every night. It sounds good.

This is one of my own creations. Fried egg on whole wheat English muffin with avocado.

As we know, I get really jazzed about things in the beginning and then revert back to the raccoon. I’m just saying that so you don’t call me out on it. It’s what I do. But this plan could be promising. The recipes looked like things I would actually eat and they are not complicated. You can rule out meat or gluten, etc when you’re searching for your plan. And all of the meals are healthy. No they are not paying me to say any of this. I simply want to share.

In keeping with my “baby steps” approach here, if I even substitute ONE meal a day with one of these meals, I’ll be greatly reducing my calorie intake. You guys would not believe the amount of french fries I have ingested this year alone. Unsupervised toddler. That’s me.

So my commitment for the week is ONE of these (or comparable) healthy meals each day. If I’m inspired to do all of them, cool. If not, I won’t give up and dive into the nearest garbage can.

Thai Turkey (Lettuce Wraps) via MealPlan.
I had mine with quinoa. The peanut sauce was impressive!!!

Mountains.

Have I mentioned that I am a performer? Maybe not. I mostly perform in bars and at (alcohol fueled) events. This weekend’s gig was an overnight. It’s far. So we took advantage of the situation. A bunch of middle aged folks unleashed from having to drive anywhere. Mix in the fact that we’re in gorgeous mountain country. It was a recipe for celebration. We were out until 4am. I slept well and the mountain air did me good. I love it up here. Today I feel relatively gross but not terrible. I’m also pretty sure I smell like a barroom floor which is horrifying.

silhouette of mountains

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com

I’m still listening to Claire Pooley’s The Sober Diaries for my long car trip. I’ve also cued up Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly but haven’t started it yet. Pooley’s story (and her honesty about her drinking) resonate deeply with me. She almost makes me believe that I can do it one day. I’ve reached the point in her story where she discusses her diagnosis of breast cancer at 46. Women who drink excessively are way more likely to get it. She also discusses Edith Piaf’s death from alcoholism at 47 from liver cancer. Like… what the fuck am I waiting for here? I’ll be 42 in a few months. I’m honestly terrified to go to the doctor for anything because who knows what is brewing in this cauldron.

Right now I am in famous hippie town having a lovely lunch and drinking a blood orange iced tea that is delicious. Can’t I drink things like that when I’m out (or in)?

I worry about how my relationships would continue. My friends and I have a very deeply rooted drinking culture. Staying out well into the morning hours, drinking bottles over bottles while making a mountain out of an ashtray. These are therapy sessions. Summits on solving the world’s problems.

I’m scared of losing that.

When I try to break down what that would look like… I see more day time hangs. Maybe more like outings – to DO things? A museum, a show, a yoga class? Even if we did dinner, I doubt there will be a shortage of things to talk about.

Truthfully, I’m afraid of who I am without drinking because I don’t know her at all. I’ve been “self-medicating” since I was 24. I don’t know if she has ever even existed.

I DO know that the person who drinks is a loud, rambling chainsmoker who loves to interrupt you and talk about herself. The alcohol free me can’t be any worse than that. I also know that before I drank I was not a talker AT ALL. I was an observer. I would take EVERYTHING in. As an artist, I’m going to guess that will only benefit me.

I think of the extra energy I’ll have. I’ll lose weight. My skin will clear up. I’ll be fucking healthier. I’ll likely keep the majority of my friends. Ugh.