Day 110 – Late

Azalea Popcorn and Today's Eats

I woke in the early morn some time to pee and then a little later heard thunder rolling, which made me instantly think of Garth Brooks and his song. No, it really didn't but it does now. There was some nice rain that I could hear with the bedroom window being cracked and it lulled me away, until telling Kev goodbye as he went to early gym. I was up at 7 and going, a rare, little earlier time for me. I was ready for coffee on a cloudy day. I made the pot, did my chores and sipped out front. I made Kev a chicken enchilada casserole for him to take to an event tonight and then, after coffee it was time to pick up Lucy for the rescue mission. I then went along with Ma to take her to the new place, which was WAY better, and we were all at peace. Got home and for lunch I made a jammy egg bowl with three eggs, four slices of bacon and a little sharp cheddar. Mom made a salad and we ate outside on the back deck, enjoying the day. A friend came by to let us borrow their "extra ice portable ice maker" and we visited until almost 3PM. I had a meeting in the afternoon, set to 3:30 for weeks now, and my dang calendar has been switching things to central time, super annoying, and so for the first time in my life, I was thirty minutes late to a meeting, that I was supposed to lead, which was mortifying. But life goes on. Kev had a climbing event, with the casserole, so I made me and Ma cast iron burgers with some pan onions, AND pepperoni roll ups, since she'd been wanting to try them. They really don't go together as a meal but it was fun. I made a cup of Sleepytime tea to end Friday.

Day 109 – Sonic Fail

Ready for Workout

Sleep was great. I got up at 3 to pee and right back into dream land. I did Wordle this morning at 7:15, which means that's when I woke up, got it in three tries, and got the day going. The fur boys were ready for some food so after I dressed and made the bed I got them fed and did my morning chores. I made coffee and it was one of those days that it just smelled smelled extra good. I sipped inside today thanks to fog and wet and ended up bringing coffee up with me for island time before getting changed for the Dave hour. 

Expensive, Sad Trombone

He upped my weights today, which was so mean, but good because I need to be pushed like that. I left red-faced and jelly like and walked two laps around the track before I couldn't go no mo. I went home, took a shower, dressed and headed back out to get Mom some ice. Our ice and water is broken on the fridge so I'm surprising her with Sonic ice, her favorite. While there I decided to try a couple burger patties. I ordered a double cheeseburger with onion and mustard, with no bun, and she came back on the speaker and asked "did you say no bun?" very surprised like. I think it threw her for a loop! The photo is what I got. The size of the patties were like two McD's small hamburgers, and they didn't add the cheese, but I wasn't going to wait for a redo. This was $8 or 9, I shit you not. A reminder of how far superior Wendy's is, for affordable fast food. I left still hungry, obviously.

Real Burger Night

I got home and went to work the rest of the afternoon. At 3:30 I was starving and had a CHOMPS meat stick to hold me over until burgers. I am super weird about meat sticks and jerky's, as non really taste good to me except home made. I'm very picky. CHOMPS are one of the only brands I can tolerate, and sometimes they are too much. I am going to put on my to-do list, to start using my dang dehydrator more. Kev makes some good uns on a combo of the smoker and dehydrator, and maybe that will also be in my future for snacking emergencies. Mom got in around 4:30 and at 5 I rode with her to drop her dog at a local boarding place on the mountain. We were in shock it looked so terrible and so we left her for the one night and Mom found a different place for the rest of the week. Poor Lucy! We got back to the house and made burgers on The Chug, which were superb. We had the inaugural dining outdoors and I enjoyed two 8oz patties with pickle and some onion.

Day 108 – Froggy Mountain

Cheeseburger Bowl with Pickle

Wednesday morning started with getting up to pee at 2AM, so much for sleeping through the night. I do think it's the more water I'm drinking in the evenings. But I am sleeping well. I got up at 7:30 but did Wordle, so didn't get out of bed until 7:45. I did all the morning things and enjoyed a cuppa on the front porch with Kev before getting up to our offices. I got hungry around 11:30 and heated the leftover cooked up ground beef for another cheeseburger bowl. Today I mixed the beef with a little mayo and mustard, grated on some sharp cheddar and cut up some spicy pickle. 

Steak Bites on a Foggy Night

Our contractor came by at 1PM to talk about a few things we're thinking of doing. Most were outside, and of course it was pouring rain. I put on my raincoat and boots and felt like a proper "land owner" mucking through the mud, holding measuring tapes. 😂 The rest of the afternoon was lovely and rainy/foggy. I adore the fog on the mountain, when I don't have to drive in it. I sipped a cup of warm green tea mid afternoon as I worked, and went down for a lovely dinner that Kev made, of steak bites, and watched an episode of The Gentlemen. The rest of the night was spent working on the couch, shutting it down around 10:30 and flopping into bed. Oh that bed felt so good! I turned on a story and was gone.

Day 107 – Jelly Legs

Pre-Workout Energy

 was up at midnight, wide awake again. An alert "buzz" came in on Kev's phone from the front door camera and woke me. I knew it was a murderer so I woke him up to check. It was a bug. I should have known. But I'm the best at thinking the worst. It's always a murderer and I want to be prepared for it. 😂 I played 3D Match and browsed Instagram until 1 or so and eventually got back to sleep. I woke for the day at 7, doing Wordle and getting out of bed at 7:15, ahead of schedule, Go me! I dressed, bed made, fed the fur boys, got bacon in the oven and did my morning chores. We had a short sipping of our cuppas on the front porch before the bacon timer buzzed. I made fried eggs to go with the bacon and then went up for some island time and work before Trainer Dave's hour.

Quick Cheeseburger Bowl

I got to the gym and warmed up on the treadmill before meeting Dave to warm up shoulders when he said "surprise! It's leg day on Tuesday!" I was not thrilled to hear this after all the work that was done over the weekend, but...I had the energy. And I really wasn't all that sore anyway. I think it was really just the surprise switch-up,  and mentally I wasn't prepared to exert leg day energy. LOL. It was fine and I left with jelly legs. I only did two laps at the track afterwards, due to jelly legs and went home for a shower. After I got dressed and hair dried and had to cruise down the hill for some groceries. I went to the two stores and loaded up with meats and cheeses and eggs before getting back up the mountain for lunch and work. I had some ground beef I thawed and thought about taco meat but opted for a quick meat cook, draining the fat, putting the meat in a bowl and melted on a couple Kraft singles. a quick cheeseburger bowl. Adding a pickle would have made it better, but it did the trick. 

I cut the work off just after 5:30. I settled on the couch and watched a couple sad episodes of Call the Midwife. It was 9PM when I made a chocolate collagen almond milk and started episode one of a PBS Masterpiece called Nolly.

Day 106 – Buds

Twin Sleepers and Tons of Buds

I fell asleep immediately, although I did turn a story on, but really heard none of it. I woke at midnight to music playing and was a little freaked out. I tapped Kev, who also heard it and we remembered that we didn't turn the little portable radio off that we had left on for the cats while we were gone. 😂 I got up to pee, guzzled more water and fell right back to sleep, until 5:30 when the Kev left for the gym. I got up again to pee and went right back to sleep until 7:15. Teddy greeted me good morning and Remi appeared at the side of the bed to also greet me quietly. I dressed, scooped, made the bed and got them fed before doing my other morning chores like sweeping and de-hairing. I made coffee and we enjoyed a cuppa out on the front porch, admiring the millions of azalea buds we have this year. They are starting to pop like popcorn. and I can't wait to see them all. We took a walk down the lane to retrieve the recycle bins and then went up to our offices to get the work day rolling.

Leftover Lunch Burger

It was nice timing that I had a chiropractic appointment at 10:15. I happened to ask if she knew anything about a Patchulous Eustacion Tube, my weird inner ear thing, and she hadn't. BUT she does think that there's a possibility of getting rid of it with focused treatment. She cured her own painful inner eat problems with chiro, so we will see. I will shout from the rooftops if this gets fixed. (and yes, it's cranked up today and annoying.) I made a collagen protein shake with mostly water, and a splash of heavy cream, and a sprinkle of chocolate LMNT, and at 11AM I met with my wonderful facial friend. I will be redoing her product brochure so we went over all the new content and pricing. She was gone by noon and I heated a leftover burger and melted on some sharp cheddar. 

No More Work and Dinner Rollups

I mostly worked on the brochure and had a little bit of other client work to do in the afternoon. I shut things down around 5PM, put some socks and yard shoes on, my earbuds in and went to mow. We've had a lot of rain so the grass was high. I used up every battery I had in the push mower, and then some, but did have a little extra to get the blowing done. I love our suite of Ryobi tools that all share the same batteries! I was done close to 7PM and by the time I took a shower I didn't want to cook, nor did I really want anything specific. I decided to make quick mozzarella and pepperoni rollups because I knew I'd get hungry eventually. Laid six little piles of shredded mozzarella on parchment paper and added a slice of pepperoni to each pile (the large deli slices.) They baked at 400 for about 8 minutes, until nice and brown, and then I rolled them up when still melty enough. They were so good, and perfectly filling.

Day 105 – A Burger Day

Pretties and Lunch on the Road

I think I fell asleep before even fully getting my head onto the pillow last night. We all hit the bed by 9, if not before 9 and were goners. But then, at 3AM, I was wide awake, thanks to some weird, extra chirpy birds, at that time of the morning. And they kept going. And then there was a strange "clunk, clunk, clunk" coming from what sounded like under Ma's house, on a pipe or something. I cruised Instagram, getting up to all kinds of no good with my meat peeps and my new cleaning girl. I learned about this little machine that I'm so getting. After 4AM I dozed off and on, getting up at around 6:30. I had a cuppa with Ma and the Kev and we got on the road towards home around 8. We stopped in Ft. Payne Alabama when we needed food, trying out Hwy 55 Diner. I had a double cheeseburger with onion and pickle and it did the trick. I think I still prefer Wendy's but loved trying something new.

Burger Time is All the Time

We stopped to get Kev a haircut on the way back to the mountain and then made a quick stop for dinner meat before getting home to the Nest. Got unloaded and unpacked, sipped some sugar free lemonade and caught up with Bro Bear up in Alaska before, I think, taking a quick snooze out on the back deck. The breeze was blowing, the wind chimes were chiming, it was heavenly. Around 6PM Kev got The Chug started and I made up burger patties. They cooked for their 33 minutes before the Irish cheddar got added and melted, and then it was ON. I ate almost three half pounders, leaving one bite for Kev to finish and we watched an episode of The Gentlemen before an episode of Call the Midwife. I ended the evening with some hot chocolate electrolytes.

Day 104 – Sprucin' Up

Yard Day at Ma's

I woke just after 6AM and did Wordle before getting up to pee and dressing.  We had coffee on the back porch and then me and Kev took Lucy for a walk. Ma made a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and then I was off and running. I got the two front beds cleaned out by pulling off the old pine straw, weeding and removing landscape fabric. We went to pick up top soil and it got spread into the beds. We got a first batch new plants and assessed what else we wanted. We went back for more dirt, mulch and plants, got them set, and into place before taking a little break at lunch time. I had pork rinds with hoop cheddar, which was surprisingly good, and then got back to work. The rest of the day was spent weeding in back, making one last run to the nursery for final plants, hauling brush from the trees Kev cut down and stumps he dug up and by 5:30 we were spent. I downed a cold Fresca on the back porch. Kev downed a non-alcoholic beer, we had showers, which were crazy called for, and absolutely crushed some burgers my Aunt Aim grilled up for us. I had three, Kev had four, Mom had two.  Meat peace all around. Completed landscape pics will come tomorrow as I was just too pooped to think about snapping one. Ibuprofen will be my friend tonight.

Day 103 – Wind and Road

Kev's Burger and My Burgers

I woke at 2AM to pee. Man that carne asada, as good as it was, was salty, in a good way, but also (TMI alert) gave me the runs, thanks to a lot of marbling. I went back to sleep until 5:30, when Kev left for the gym, and went ahead and did Wordle, staying awake for a while. He got home at  6:30 because no one showed to open the place, so he crawled back into bed and we both slept until around 7:30. I didn't actually get out of bed until 7:45, my lazy arse just wouldn't go. I noticed that it was still super windy out, but at least there was sun. I did my morning chores, made some coffee, and chatted with Kev until he got his work day started. I only had a smidge of work to do in the morning and it was done by 11. I ran a short errand and then at lunch made a couple cast iron skillet burgers. Kev had his leftover smoker burgers, which he loves. I had to take a pic of how he eats them. A mountain of mayo and Irish cheddar. Man-aise. 😂

Chicken Salad with Pork Rinds

The afternoon crept in quickly and it was 1:30 before I knew it. I got the furboy's water filled both downstairs and upstairs, food topped off, bags packed, tools in Sterling, and we hit the road around 4:30 to help Mom get her flower beds in order, and plant some things, this weekend. We had a bathroom break and some chicken salad and pork rinds at our rest area and kept on truckin. We got in at 8:15, and after our bags were brought in, we unloaded garden tools from Sterling and sat out on the back porch with a Fresca. At 9:15 I was ready to hit the sack, it really being 10:15 body time. And tomorrow would be a bustling day with plenty of energy needed. 

Day 102 – No Foam

Workout Ready

Y'all. I ended up watching a Hallmark movie last night before bed that was the most emotional ever. I even yelled out at one point "what kind of Hallmark movie is this?!" It was called Guiding Emily, about a woman that loses her sight. It had the girl from Grey's Anatomy in it, that I love, and I was just a teary mess all during this thing. And then I was wide awake at 3AM this morning. I woke with random things on the brain, including that dang movie and how life can change so quickly, and also got up to pee, but that wasn't what woke me. I did Wordle, browsed around Instagram, and then went back to sleep about an hour later. Kev got up at his early time, to go to yoga, and I had finally dozed super hard, not wanting to get up, sleep until 7:30. I lounged for fifteen minutes before pushing my way out into the world. I did all the morning things and enjoyed a cuppa with Kev on a very foggy morning. I so love it here on this mountain, among nature, in my peaceful nest. I cooked up bacon to eat with cottage cheese and had a little island time before changing and getting to the gym.

Stupid Foam

I also love the mountain gym. I enjoy my routine with Dave, keeping my muscles moving. I make it a priority, like a job, and show up when I sometimes don't wanna. As Aunt Joy always said "Keep moving." She lifted little weights in her bed daily until she passed at age 102. I walked the track after Dave time to stretch things out. I got home, took a shower, went up to do some work, and it was1PM when I went down for a protein drink. Water and protein with a sprinkle of chocolate LMNT electrolytes. Let me vent for a minute about foam. I can NOT make a shake without it and I hate it. I think it's because I'm going water only with no fat. Adding some fat tends to keep the foam down a little, so if you have a trick to blending with no foam (I have to blend this as shaking or stirring isn't an option to dissolve the beef powder) lemme know please! I ended up letting the glass sit for 45 minutes and still couldn't enjoy without foam. So annoying.

Play Time and Chicken Snack

While I worked, I turned on yet another Hallmark flick, this one was Blind Date Book Club, with my cutie patootie When Calls the Heart girl, that I adore. After an hour, the foam had subsided enough to sip my protein drink. And then a flying Teddy suddenly appeared on my desk, knocking the remainder of my chocolate shake all over the desk, and getting it all over his white fur, which means all over the house. I had a couple slices of deli chicken breast with a little Gouda to hold me over until dinner time, which I very much looked forward to. 

Tex Mex Carne Asada

It was a kinda quiet work afternoon, and the rain came off and on. I really thought about a nap, but didn't because I wanted to sleep good tonight. A new project dropped in at 3:30 so I jumped on that, finishing up the day at 5:30. Kev had a late call and ooooh wee I was ancy for some meat. I killed time by doing a full clean of the litter box, dumping out all that was in there and cleaning the box before adding new, fresh litter. I also did a deep clean of the cat room which means sweeping and wiping everything down, including the floor. Just as I was finishing up the Kev came down from his office and got the grill started, in the rain. Tonight was finally THE night for Tex Mex carne asadas. I marinated them last Sunday and we've waited all week for them to be perfect. I knew this batch was gonna be good because the flaps were so so perfectly marbled, which was unusual. I made our usual marinade with lots of fresh-squeezed lime juice, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, a little cumin and a little lime tequila. Once the meat was done I melted pepper jack on under the broiler. Nothing was finer and I stuffed myself silly while watching The Gentlemen. That is a good meat-eating show I think. We ended the evening with some laundry going and some crazy winds blowing the trees around.

Day 101 – Keeping On

Eggy Lunch

I had no heartburn yesterday but woke to a super foggy morning and really wanted coffee. We'll see what happens. I would have slept longer but at 4AM the Kev got up and it woke me, meaning I then needed to pee. I got back to sleep quickly, and didn't wake until 7:20. I did Wordle and got moving. Made the bed, dressed, fed the boys, swept, de-haired and made coffee. I had island time and then turned back on the Hallmark movie I started yesterday, Shifting Gears, which was super cute. I wasn't hungry until around noon, and FYI the annoying ear thing had turned itself on something fierce today. I was reading that caffeine could make it worse. 😭 I made six scrambled eggs with a little sharp cheddar melted in for "eggs solo: and I was stuffed when done. 

Burgery Dinner

I met with some landscapers at 1PM to talk about some of the things we want to do around the house. We've met with a couple so far and these guys came highly recommended from a friend, which says a lot. After meeting with three other companies, my gut is feeling like these guys could be the ones to help get some shiz done. I worked and watched another Hallmark movie, Easter Blooms and ended the work day at 5PM. Kev got The Chug going outside and I made up burger patties. Irish cheddar was melted on, two and a half 8oz meat discs on my plate, and we ate alongside The Gentlemen. We are very predictable these days. I can almost count on one hand what I like to eat.