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.