Tuesday-Wednesday

Hmm. I'd kind of like to spend some time on Lake Michigan this summer, but I have too much on my plate. I'll look at hotels though. Note to self: New Buffalo Inn and Spa. Go for a walk on the beach and then get a spa treatment :) Oooh: Total Relaxation Package: Relax and have the ultimate Spa Day with an 80 Minute Massage, a Custom Facial and an Herbal Bath in our hydrotherapy tub! Expensive, but sounds heavenly. That would be nice after the move if I have the money. Or maybe I could do a spa day in Champaign and save on the hotel and time.

I connected with a guy who really wants the bike that I'm selling for his wife. He'll come by tomorrow. I hope that this wife likes it.

Took a nap and slept through until morning. I didn't wake up until my alarm went off again at 9 AM, and went, "Shit, I need to get to work."

Because I slept through last night, I missed the news that there was another Sandy Hook-type shooting. When are we going to pass stronger background check laws? It won't solve everything, but it surely will help. The Onion has it right: "‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens".

It was a meeting-o'rama at work. Finally, I can work on stuff.

I sold the bicycle. Far out. We had some problems getting the tires pumped up, but he got it to work.

I looked at a backpack that I have to see if I want to keep it, but no, it's going to Goodwill if they'll take it. (They don't take luggage.) Then I looked at travel backpacks because I want one for traveling and found a few possibilities.

Here comes some rain. They're predicting more tonight. And I need to go grocery shopping.

Lay down for a while because I have a headache. Couldn't sleep. Looked at house prices in Champaign-Urbana, and there are some that would be in my price range in a couple of years. Awesome.

Hmm. The storms are supposed to be over at 10, so I'll hole up for the meanwhile and work on my file drawers. I'm glad that I'm keeping one of the filing cabinets because there are some files that I want to keep. But I'm chucking a lot of stuff out.

Back from the store with ingredients for Apple Spinach Salad and veggie burritos. Walmart was out of butternut squash for the burritos, so I substituted sweet potatoes and bought a bag of them and doubled my ingredients for my recipe. I'll feed the freezer too. Burritos are great food for not wanting to cook. I didn't get peanut butter because it wasn't on my list. I need to run to Aldi.

I need to load and start the dishwasher and crash.

I Made It Through the Day

I ordered a book on Bora Bora (to be delivered Saturday) and a book on self-esteem (will take a while). I also want to get a book on Tahiti, but I'll wait on that. Hmm. I love planning trips, so maybe I should become a part-time travel agent when I retire. I'd market myself to retirees. Or be a travel agent that is open during the evenings or weekends. I think that I'd get a discount on travel! Or if I live in Europe for a while, be a consultant on relocating to Europe.

I couldn't sleep last night. My brain was churning about the Texas shooting and some other stuff. I finally fell asleep at 7 and got up at 9. Ugh.

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight because I didn't want to chop vegetables on no sleep. (I don't think blood would add to the burritos.) I decided to make (frozen) veggie stir-fry. It's chopped up, so I just needed to do the stir-frying. I didn't think that I'd mess that up :) I have a real taste for the burritos though.

Hmm. I plan to put my grill on the balcony of my apartment-to-be, and I wondered if Amazon sold grill covers. Of course they do.

Crud. I just remembered that I have books to pick up at the library, and I didn't want to drive today. They'll keep them through part of next week, so I'm okay. Maybe I'll pick them up during lunch tomorrow.

There is a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) group in Champaign. They have on-site meetings for family members, but only online groups in Illinois for people with mental illness. (Figures.) I might try a meeting and see how it goes. Hey, Made of Millions is a global mental health organization, and it has more interesting resources than NAMI. I want to dig into it. Also, The Faculty/Staff Assistance Services Newsletter at work had a link to an article about What to Do If You Are Struggling with Mental Health at Work. The vacation time that I took off earlier was mental health time. I'll try not to get into a state where I need to take a leave of absence.

Here comes a storm. Mimi was on my lap, and she took off when she heard the thunder. Ugh, more rain tomorrow too.

I already ordered laundry detergent sheets to cut down on plastic waste. Now I'm looking at home cleaning solutions in reusable bottles. JAWS (Just Add Water System) has some that I'd like to try, but I have some cleaning stuff that I want to use up first. Don't know what to do about my soda bottles though. Sodastream doesn't cut it. I saw Cirkul water flavoring systems that include iced tea with caffeine. Maybe I'll try it. Though I'm going to throw a lot of stuff out in this move, and my complex doesn't have recycling.

I just thought of a graphic for Facebook: "The library provides eco-friendly reading!"

I attended another money webinar about paying off debt. They showed a kind of nifty tool that allows you to run different scenarios if you have multiple forms of debt and pay extra on one of them.

Got my laundry in the dryer. I need to stay up until it finishes so that I can hang some stuff up. But I'm a little more perky because it's the evening, and I'm a night owl.

I made the stir-fried veggies (and sauce), and I'm shocked by how good it was and so easy to make. I got it at Aldi, so I need to get more to stash in the freezer. And I need more brown minute rice. I decreased the healthiness of it by eating ice cream for dessert though. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

I got my nighttime tasks done except for my shower. I think that it's time to crash.