pots and pans organizer

Look what I made! I'm so proud of myself. This thing is STURDY. 

The previous setup was not the worst situation, but it was not ideal. 

Things got cattywampus pretty quickly, pretty often. 

I believe that if you interact with something daily, it needs to function optimally. And if you need to make an investment to make that happen, it's worth it. For someone who cooks at least 2 meals every day, I needed something better.

So I started to research pots & pan organizers, and those flimsy wire contraptions were NOT going to cut it.

I remember that my grandma had some sort of custom built-in similar to this in her kitchen, and even as a child I thought that was really cool.

Since I couldn't find anything pre-made in the size, quality, or price that I wanted, that meant it's project time. 

I drew up the dimensions, pulled out some scrap plywood & leftover paint, and went to town. FH did a few drive bys to see how I was doing (I know it drove him nuts not to help). I had to have him show me how to use the nail gun, but otherwise I did it all by myself.

Look how good it is! Nothing is wobbly, everything has a place. *wolf whistle* Hubba hubba.

Plus apparently I have space to buy 2 more pans.

booty pellets

Well, put me in the hormone therapy club.

My hormone test results came in. I am not yet clinically in perimenopause but am still experiencing symptoms like I am. What fun.

The biggest struggle? Fatigue. I don't know how to describe this feeling. It's not normal tiredness. You know how you feel when you're coming down with something? It's that bone-deep weary heaviness, all day, most days. It makes it hard to function normally and I don't have the energy to do the things I want to do. My labs all came back fine for the normal culprits like iron, hemoglobin, vitamin levels, and thyroid.

Which led me to the hormones. In fact, the potential issue is not the one I expected; it's testosterone.

The way the doctor described it, testosterone levels drop in your 30s, and by your 40's they're half of what they used to be. Guess what? Lower testosterone levels lead to fatigue. Plus a bunch of other things.

So we're trying this and starting slow. I opted for the pellet in the booty (vs a daily cream on your inner thighs), which lasts 3-4 months and of course is not covered by insurance. If I was a dude, it would be. What fun.

The insertion was about what I expected- you get a numbing shot and they stick this little thing into your butt cheek, and then you go home and you can't take a bath or do intense booty exercises for a few days until the incision heals. Then you can take off the bandage and go about your normal life. 

I hope this works. I'd like to have normal energy levels again. Plus it might help with the brain fog and make it easier to build muscle. Which would be awesome.

The irregular periods and all that? I'm on my own for now. Honestly, that's okay. That part doesn't bother me much.

what was that

The other day, I woke up before dawn with the thought, "I should get up and drink my coffee on the porch and watch the sun rise."

...which is VERY off brand for me.

But I did. It was a cool morning and the sunrise was gorgeous and the mist coming off the river was very peaceful. The birds were chirping in the trees and we heard the chickens thump down off the roost as they woke up, one by one. By that point FH had joined me and we giggled at each thump.

That day, I had SO MUCH energy. I felt awesome all day. I never felt tired or sluggish, and nothing on my body hurt. 

I really can't explain it; I didn't do anything different the night before. I wish I know what it was because I'd do it every day!

I was hoping it would continue, but the next day I woke up feeling "normal:" hurty and fatigued. Merp.

Just thought I would document the random day I woke up with tons of energy and feeling awesome.

collection of random thoughts

I bought a she wee. They say to try it in the shower for the first time, and ew. I don't recommend that.  It's not that hard to use, try it outside or in the toilet to avoid pee splashes on your legs and a gross shower. No wonder men's rooms are so disgusting.

One of the chickens has egg drop syndrome. No wonder, since it's caught from waterfowl and we have plentiful options around here. There is an egret that likes to fish off our dock and crap in the yard, and I bet he's the source. We have had a gross and strange assortment of egg-like things in the coop lately. No doubt it will make its way around to the rest of the hens.

The hip. After years of intermittent pain, it's not going away anymore. Finally saw the doctor. Here's what's wrong. I figure because of that, this year I'll be meeting my insurance deductible, so there's that. I also saw the gyno to get my hormones checked and see if maybe that's the cause of this unrelenting fatigue.

Also lately I've been obsessed with veggie straws, grinding my own coffee, and ginger root supplements in the morning for the cranky belly (and whoa they do help).

Some things I've crocheted:

I have a whole bunch of flowers that I'm going to make into a garland.

This was supposed to be a heart. Fuck a magic circle.

Little bitty baskets to put things in. I played around with techniques to get a rounder basket vs a basket with a straight edge.

stepping stone refresh

Here's another craft that's been on the list for a while.

This past summer, right before the neighbors tore down the house next door, I dug up a random stepping stone that had been embedded in the ground between the houses that we kinda just mowed over and ignored. 

Then it sat propped up against a post for a few months. Then one day I scrubbed it with soap and water and it sat for another few weeks before I plopped it into the middle of the driveway and spray painted it white.
Then it sat in the driveway for a few more weeks. Then today I grabbed an amazon box, a razor blade, and a garden sign that I picked up at the dollar tree a long time ago and I made a stencil. 

Grabbed some spray paint and headed back outside.

I started with a teal color, but that looked a little flat so I went back with a navy on the tips and I really like how it turned out!

Not bad for something that I dug out of the neighbor's yard :)

Crochet things

Since I decided to learn to crochet, I wanted to buy a book that I could easily reference. I know that online learning is NOT for me unless it's a quick video. I looked at a few books and decided that I liked the one sold at Hobby Lobby the best because it has nice charts and some cute projects. Then I spent about 30 minutes picking out yarn. I had no idea that they were categorized by weight and it really matters what you use! I also bought an assortment of crochet hooks and stitch markers and tapestry needles. So I started my official crochet journey at the Hobby Lobby in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Here are a couple things I've made while learning how to read patterns and playing with tension:

This wobbly flower. These are cute and I bought some actual flower-colored yarn to make more. I put this one on a screw outside for a little whimsy.

This lumpy little basket. I don't know if I love crocheting in a spiral because it's so easy to lose track of stitches. I can't figure out if it's lumpy because I was playing with tension or I lost track of stitches. Or both.

This partial hat. I tried making one and ignored the swatch to gauge size, and halfway through I realized I was making a hat for a GIANT. So I unraveled it and anyway it was good practice learning to read patterns and learn different stitches. This one might be better.

I found this website Yarnspirations has lots of free patterns and now that instagram has figured out I'm into crochet, I come across a lot of neat stitches and tips. So. Here we go.

2026 here we go

Quick note. I don't want to be one of those old people that tells the same stories over & over, and complains about all their health issues. Because damn that's all my parents (and FH's parents) do. I love them but I'm sensing a theme here.

Okay, time to review the past year and start a fresh one. Last year was about setting things up to develop new habits to take better care of myself physically, mentally, and financially. I think I did all right. Work got really busy, I traveled a lot, we hosted a lot of folks out here at the river... and I felt like I had no free time or energy. I blame that on the combination of schedule and hormones. I was running on autopilot most of the time without realizing it. By the end of the year, I was able to take some time off and recharge and only then did I realize just how tired and disconnected I was.

With that in mind, one of the things I want to change this year is travel less for work (I am allowed to say no when they ask), and make a point to see my people more. Now that I have my small household support system in place (the maid and grocery delivery), I think that will be easier. I still want to travel for fun once a month (except summer months when we opt to have people come to us), and I want to mix in a few camping trips this year. We already have one planned, weather-dependent. 

Physical goals: One thing I've noticed since I started doing yoga again, is that my body has really changed in the last few years. Movements that used to be easy are more difficult. I've lost strength and mobility without even realizing it. Which tells me I need to keep going. If I can lift weights twice a week and go to yoga once a week, I'm active enough in the interim that I'll be happy with that. Funny enough, it's easier to maintain a workout schedule when I travel, because there's not really much else to do.

Financial goals: We haven't looked at the budget yet, but the goals we had last year are the same this year: max out all retirement accounts and make some smart investments with the leftovers. One thing I do want to start doing is contributing monthly to a fund specifically for travel. Right now when we travel, we add up expenses and split the costs and reimburse each other. Which is really tedious. We have an extra joint account that we don't use that would be perfect for that.

Mental goals: I started to crochet to learn how to make one specific thing, but it might be fun to actually learn the stitches and how to read patterns and make some stuff. 

Cheers.