new things

We have tried a few new things lately. And now I can't ever go back to the way things were before. Funny enough, these things were triggered by the fact that I've had to travel a lot lately (aka the last 2 years) and I am struggling with fatigue. I just can't do it all and I need to call in reinforcements. 

First, we hired a maid.
We've budgeted for a maid every year but didn't use one because I enjoy cleaning. But picture traveling all week and coming home to a house that needs to be cleaned but you didn't make the mess. And your energy levels are bottoming out. Take my money. Clean my house. Her name is Nikki and I love her.

Second, we signed up for Walmart+ (I guess there was a half price promotion lately) and we've started getting groceries delivered. Walmart is the only place that will deliver groceries out here. It's a game changer. Picture a long travel day and then having to spend at least 3 hours grocery shopping (the drive + the shop + putting away) and your energy levels are bottoming out. Having them delivered saves time and energy and I'm loving it. We accidentally bought a gigantic jar of pickles because we didn't pay attention to the description but that's part of the learning process.

I've also started going to yoga again and I love it. I try to go once a week and it's so, so good. Lifting weights at the hotel gym or at home is great, but I forget how fun it is to move my body and stretch and set an intention. I originally signed up again because I need to spend the "wellness" credit that's offered by my job, but now I'm hooked and I will be investing regularly. 

In other news, the chickens are still laying regularly even though the days are shorter, and the neighbor commented on how healthy they look, which made me feel really proud. It turns out, chickens are awesome and pretty low maintenance once you figure out your system. Also fall gardening > summer gardening. We are swimming in tomatoes and eggs right now. Pretty great problem to have. 

The flock

Let's meet the girls.

I got 5 grown hens from the local feed store. I showed up on a Friday morning with 2 large amazon boxes with airholes cut into them, and the guy cracked up at the creativity. They were living in cages packed so tightly, I feel like I rescued them. The first day they rolled around in the dirt like they'd never seen it. And they probably hadn't. 

They are all red star hens, and I couldn't tell them apart so after about a week I put a different color zip tie on their legs. Except for one. She was supposed to be yellow but I couldn't catch her so she's the only one without a bracelet.

Their names:

Clover- supposed to be yellow.
She keeps her distance. Out of respect for me being unable to catch her, she was named after the whole reason they are here.

Coco- Blue. 
Easton named her. 

Micora- Purple.
Lilah named her.

Gertrude- Green.
Named after my Aunt Kate, who for some reason was nicknamed this after a chicken named Gertrude.

Princess Mary Jane O'Kief- Orange.
Named as if she was a racehorse, by some friends who named her after... a favorite hobby. 

They are all pretty mild-tempered. Everyone except Clover will let me pet them, and will eat out of my hand. They love strawberry tops and bananas, but won't touch kale or watermelon.

Here's a shot of the very first egg. What an expensive egg!

chickens

And now, for a little chicken content.

Here is the coop, designed to be cute and easy to clean. It is moveable in the event of a hurricane or severe flooding.

The run, attached to the back of the coop, includes some area under the deck to gain square footage, shade, and use otherwise wasted space. Every opening is secured with hardware cloth.

We ripped out an old rotting firewood stand, put in flower beds, and planted grass to boost our backyard curb appeal.

And, of course, here is the flock.

life appreciation post

You know, sometimes I have to stop and take a deep breath and re-center myself. Been feeling a little off lately.

I have been traveling a lot, which inherently creates a need to adapt, and I've also been navigating the shifts that come with perimenopause. Yes, I saw the doctor and they said that I basically have 2 options. Either get my levels tested and take hormone therapy, or deal with the natural process and take good care of myself in the meantime. Of course I chose the crunchier option.

This week, when I left for the airport for the second Monday in a row, I really didn't want to. But since there was nothing I could do to change the situation, I had to change my mindset. I could be sad that I have to leave home, or I could re-frame my point of view and be excited for the adventure and the opportunity to see a new city. Why spend the time being upset when I can choose to change my mood? 

Fortunately, I've had practice with shifting my focus to appreciate the present. And I'm so glad. Because even though my days were filled with layovers and work, it really is cool to visit a new city. I didn't have time to do much, but in the last couple of weeks I was able to do some recon and see if these cities were worth visiting again. And, they were.

How lucky am I that I get paid to travel? I've been to some really cool places and met some cool people. My company pays for my snacks. I get to keep my airline, hotel, rental car, and parking points, which enables us to travel for fun on a budget. I get to come home to a house in paradise with a wonderful husband who carries my luggage upstairs, makes sure the toilet is clean (LOL I'm not mad at it) and fresh flowers are ALWAYS on the table. I get to sleep in a comfortable bed next to him and wake up to scratchy beard kisses and drink my coffee in the morning with views like this.

So yeah, life gets busy and I get tired, but when I stop to take it all in, it's all pretty damn good. I am SO lucky.

more healthish

Continuing the health kick.

A few weeks ago, FH and I made the decision to cut back on carbs. (and he also cut out dairy)

 
At that point we had been working out for a few months without noticing much difference in our bodies, so that was the next step. I've done it before and I know it works, having done a few Whole 30s, but it SUCKS making that transition. Those first couple of days are a TEST of will power. You have to really want to do it. 

Over time, it actually gets easier for me to maintain. I think it's related to building new habits and also I tend to feel better when I'm not drinking wine every night and eating lots of carbs. 

It's a good reset.

We decided to take the weekends off, to keep things realistic and long-term maintainable. I've never tried that, but I found that it gives me extra motivation to stay on track during the week, knowing that I have that freedom coming up. But like I said, the longer I do it, the easier it is to keep doing, so on the weekends I don't even go nuts. I still want to choose healthier options, but mix in a little wine and chips for a treat.

After a few weeks, I'm noticing a difference. I feel more lean, less puffy, more muscular. Nothing crazy- I don't suddenly have tons of energy or have a six pack, but my shorts fit better now. I'll take it.

The biggest challenge for me was not having my nightly glass(es) of wine. I really, really enjoy my wine. It really helps me wind down and I have trouble falling asleep when I don't drink. So this decision to cut back was probably good for me.

I tried taking magnesium and it does help me feel relaxed and I don't have that much trouble falling asleep, but it's not as good as wine.

cosmic chickens

Something really weird happened with the chicken decision. 

First, a little backstory.

Late last year, I convinced FH to get chickens. Then I did a TON of research to design a custom coop & run to fit our unique space. 

Then I started second-guessing if I wanted chickens. I mean, I DO want chickens, but the past several years we've talked about how once Pumpkin & Rosco died, we were going to stay pet-free so that we'd have the freedom to travel without those responsibilities. And I'm over here talking about getting chickens, which directly contradicts that idea.

Eventually I reasoned that since the dog refuses to die, we still have pet responsibilities, so I might as well get chickens.

Fast-forward to today, when we started building everything. About 2 hours in, I got overwhelmed and changed my mind about the whole thing.  Yes, we had bought supplies, but I was ready to return everything and abort the whole project. It was too much time, money, energy, effort, and stress. I made a mistake deciding to get chickens, and I didn't want to do it anymore.

FH disagreed and tried to talk me into moving forward, but I was 100% DONE. He continued building the coop and several times I tried to explain that he was wasting his time- we had a nice long disagreement about how I did not want chickens anymore but he was committed to the project. For someone who initially didn't want chickens, he was stubborn.

After some time, he seemed happy working on his project and I wandered over to the porch, where I decided to enjoy the afternoon. At some point, I noticed a clover patch in the yard. I really like to look for 4-leaf clovers, but despite spending lots of time looking in the last few years, I haven't found any in this area yet.

I told myself that I'd go look, and if I found a 4-leaf clover, it was a sign from the universe to change my mind about chickens.

So I walked down to the patch, and immediately spotted one. Then another one. Then ANOTHER one. Then TWO MORE. I found FIVE 4-leaf clovers within 30 seconds of walking down there. Which is how many chickens I want. Taken aback, I told myself that if the universe really wanted me to have chickens, that I'd find another one.

Well, I did. So I walked back up, showed FH the handful of clovers, put my shoes back on, and was all-in on chickens once again.

I'm hungry now

Yesterday I left the house to drive to Ft. Worth and had stomach troubles so bad that I had to turn around and go back home. Which is saying a LOT because over the years I have rallied through some pretty bad stuff.

Not sure why it happened. Ate something funky? Picked up a bug? Flare for no good reason? Hard to say for sure. 

I managed to rally this morning even though I felt crappy. At around 1:00 this afternoon, about 4 hours into my drive, the clouds started to part and I started to feel better. I've said it before and it's still true. Traveling with a stomachache is the WORST.

Even though I started to feel better, I was afraid to eat until I was done seeing the customer and safely back in my hotel room. Even a few bites of food made my stomach hurt.

At this point, I have minimal pain and I'm ready for food. I feel like I haven't eaten in days. 

Not sure where I'm going with this, except to say that I had 2 little dinners and there's a 3rd one in the freezer but I think it's a bad idea to go for that.