Monthly Archives: August 2022

A Belated Birthday Celebration 1

A Belated Birthday Celebration

Heath and I finally got around to celebrating my birthday. Taking vitamin D and iron, as well as tapering down my recently prescribed narcolepsy medicine to the lowest possible dose has helped tremendously with my energy levels. So I *finally* felt up for a day out!

We started with driving to West Farms mall in West Hartford to visit the YogiBo store. One of Heath’s greatest joys in life is stretching out on a couch to relax and watch TV and movies. Because he’s so tall, there aren’t many couches that afford him this comfort. We’re also still housesitting in Norfolk (going on six years!) and so the living room furniture is not ours to replace. So we’re limited in what we can do.

A few weeks ago, I had the idea to Google “couch alternatives.” Up popped the website for Yogibo. Heath agreed that it could be a solution for his desire to stretch out. We were then thrilled to discover Yogibo is not just a website – they have stores throughout the Northeast. We decided to head there on my next day off.

Wow, that store is fun! We came home with a Yogibo Max and Support, and  we’ve both been enjoying them this last week or so.

A Belated Birthday Celebration 2 Next, Heath and I headed to Dee’s One Smart Bakery in Glastonbury to pick up my birthday cookie cake. Dee’s in an allergy-free bakery. Neither of us have food allergies; we simply find these baked goods superior to any others in Connecticut.

A Belated Birthday Celebration 3

Since there’s a Whole Foods across the street from Dee’s, we stopped there for lunch at their hot bar. I don’t know what they put into their mac n’ cheese that’s so delicious, but it’s some of the best I’ve ever eaten.

We then returned home to watch many episodes of Friends. I’ve seen the show multiple times whereas Heath had only seen a handful of episodes. My favorite part of watching it is hearing him laugh and say, “It’s so stupid.” Friends is a stupid, silly show and that’s why I love it – it’s pure entertainment that reminds me of my younger years.

This birthday celebration included nothing special or fancy. But it was exactly what I wanted – feeling mostly awake spending time with the person I love most in this world doing things that bring me joy. May the year be filled with more of the same.

A Belated Birthday Celebration 4

Splish Splash 5

Splish Splash

Activities I stopped doing consistently over the past few weeks because I’ve been so tired:

  • Meditating
  • Most Exercise
  • Eating with nutrition in mind
  • Gratitude Journaling
  • Morning Pages Journaling
  • Visiting with Friends

Every so often I muster the energy to do one or more activities on the list; but it’s not every day and it’s not often.

I’ll know I’m in real trouble when I add Walking Dogs to the list.

Meet Willis! Willis is the most Muppet-Looking dog I’ve ever met.

Splish Splash 6

As it is, dogs remain one of the greatest motivators I have in my current low-energy life. I’m hoping my energy situation vastly improves soon because I found out from some blood work that all my fatigue isn’t just narcolepsy-related. Both my iron level and my Vitamin-D level are ridiculously low.

In the meantime, I continue showing up for work and the dogs in my life, and I’ve decided to be perfectly satisfied with those choices. I could prioritize nutritious meals and more exercise since I know both are incredibly helpful to my sleep health, but then I’d have to quit my job and there goes my paycheck and health insurance.

The irony is not lost on me that the best choices for health right now I cannot prioritize because they would jeopardize losing my health insurance.  The healthcare/health insurance system in this country will never make sense to me.

The only reason I still keep up with some exercise is because I’ve started thinking of Annie as my “accountability buddy.”

Splish Splash 7

It’s been so hot lately, we’ve haven’t been hiking quite as much as we’ve been swimming.

Annie, not surprisingly, is an exceptional swimmer. She can both belly flop and dive, as demonstrated in the video below. (If for some reason you can’t see the video, please click here).

Annie is so awesome I can’t even be disappointed that spending time with her truly is a highlight of my blah days. Because even if I had all the energy in the world and I woke up feeling refreshed every day, I would still want to spend time splashing with her in a pool.

Splish Splash 8