June 18, 2020
Current Weight: 287.8 lbs
Weight Loss: +1.5 lbs
Total Loss: 9.7 lbs
So I gained. And then? I keep moving forward. This whole weight loss thing is hard and scary and mind boggling! There are some weeks where you do absolutely everything correctly and you gain weight. There are weeks when you completely fall off the wagon and you lose weight. Both types of weeks will make you (me) question what the hell the point of all this is anyway. And you know what, that's OK! Question it! Work it out! And then get back on and do what you need to do! The only person you are really going to let down is yourself. Are you OK with that? I'm not.
This past week has been...different. There was lots of stuff going on and I really didn't have much gumption to do much of anything if I am being honest. I didn't take pictures of all the food I made/ate. I don't remember much of it either. This week has just been...off. But here is what I can tell you/remember!
My amazing daughter graduated 5th grade on Thursday of last week. A drive thru ceremony, no hugs, no high fives and masks were worn. But she got to say goodbye to her teachers and get her school stuff. This school year did not end anything like what ANYONE thought it would. But it ended and again, we must move forward.
I was telling her to shove the frog in her face! She couldn't stop laughing! And yes, Sweet Frog was needed!
Even Olaf couldn't be bothered to do much of anything this week! Slacker.
I have been having some sort of mental/emotional breakdown and I am fairly certain my poor husband would agree to do anything for me here lately just to make me smile. A couple weekends ago it was my craft/photography room. Talks were already in the works to replace all the deck boards on our back deck. I have banned anyone from walking on the deck at this point because the boards just aren't safe anymore. So we had these plans to measure the deck this weekend to figure out how much its going to cost us to replace the boards and put up new railings. I was stupid excited! Who in their right mind gets excited about replacing a deck!? Apparently I do. However, that is NOT what happened.
You see, I have this super cute kitten. This one. Right here.
Queen Elsa Kitten
And for as cute and cuddly as she is, she has 1 MAJOR flaw. She picks and chooses when to use the dang litter box. Carpet is her cryptonite. We are fairly certain she had a traumatic experience in the litter box when she was little. I found her on the floor growling in pain one morning. Since then, 3 known seizures and multiple vet appointments later, she picks and chooses when she uses the litter box. No matter how many times I shampooed the stairs, scrubbed on my hands and knees, used vinegar, bleach or any number of pet carpet shampoo "miracle" solutions, nothing worked. So, instead of doing the deck...we ripped up the carpet on the stairs.
Not all the stains on the stairs are from her. She has two spots on the big landings in the middle of the stairs that she has claimed as hers. The rest are just regular joe wear and tear on any stair carpet. I can not even begin to tell you guys how satisfying it was to rip all that carpet out. The original plan was to rip it out, get rid of the carpet strips and staples, sand the stairs down and then stain/paint them. However, just like any project I have in my head, we ran into a few snags.
The very top step is not supported in the middle like it should be, which is why when you step on it it creaks and gives a little. Come to find out, when the builder built the stairway, he only used 2 supports instead of 3, which would have been fine if the tread and the riser were connected. The riser acts as the middle support. Somewhere along the lines, the riser for the top step had to be replaced, so it is no longer connected to the tread. I get physically sick to my stomach each time I think of Will bouncing on that top step and seeing the gap that happens between the tread and riser. So that will need to be fixed.
Both middle landings will need to be completely replaced. One is OEM (??) board and the other is particle board. The carpet padding under the carpet protected 99% of the stairs from any major staining, except for those two landings at the very edges. The top landing doesn't have a finished edge on it either. So those two will need to be replaced.
There is a long crack along one of the steps on the bottom side of the stairway. I am fairly confident, and yes I laugh every single time I think about this, that I broke that stair tread when I fell down the stairs. Oops.
The stair treads are Pine. The rest of the flooring around the stairs is Oak. So...Sigh. We have decided the best bet is to either completely replace the treads with Oak or to get replacement treads that will fit over the existing treads. We are still trying to figure all of this out. The biggest question we have is about the landings in the middle. I can find regular treads, but nothing that is one piece that would fit those stairs.
Before
After
Also, I don't want to replace anything until I can break the dang cat from peeing there! So far, I have placed 2 puppy pads there along with a jar of vinegar to hopefully deter her from sticking around there for too long. I have also ordered an
Aroma Porcelain set from Scentsy to place there with a few different oil options. I don't want to deter her from coming upstairs, just from peeing on them! She better be glad she is cute!
Pretty ain't it! Ugh!
Moving on! Friday evening I surprised my kid with her best friend! Which was quite possibly the best thing we could have done for that weekend! While we were demolishing the stair carpet on Saturday morning, those two were doing their own thing. Saturday evening we went to Brother/Sister In Laws place for a cookout. Sunday morning I made breakfast for everyone and the rest of the week!
After breakfast the girls played Hydro Thunder and giggled like idiots! One of my favorite sounds! Then they got ready to take Chrissy back to her house for her graduation party.
What we didn't tell the girls was that it wasn't just Chrissy's graduation party! My BFF did such an amazing job putting together this amazing party for both the girls! They were both announced as graduates and given promotion certificates! It was a great afternoon spent on the deck enjoying the sunshine and amazing breeze with our amazing family and friends.
The rest of the week is still pretty much a blur. I went to work, I came home, I did dishes, I cooked and I went to bed. I woke up the next day and did it all over again.
However, I was able to spend some time one night cleaning up the camera's I inherited when my Granddad and Aunt passed away. Here are two of the cooler old ones!
From 1937. The price on the box says $11.50!
This one is from the late 1960's. No box so I am not sure on the price of this one.
This will be my photography setup to display all the cameras and lens I have. I do want to be able to use any of them that I can which makes having them displayed this way much easier. I have other later model cameras that still need a good cleaning and will be added. The bottom shelf will remain empty...because Olaf.
I did remember to take pictures of last nights dinner! Paleo Country Fried Steak. Disclaimer: I have made this recipe at least 5 times. This is the FIRST, yes the FIRST, time I have made it and it came out like it should have. I could never get the breading to stick properly. The gravy was always bland. I burnt something. Stuff got stuck to the pan. Every time I made it I wanted to throw stuff. This time...this time was different. I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but I did it!
Here are my tweaks.
- Bacon grease. Don't be scared to use a lot of that stuff! Every single time you cook bacon, save the grease! You can use that stuff for LOTS of cooking! I used a little more then 1/4 cup for the first piece of steak. After each piece was done cooking, I added another big spoonful to replenish the grease that had cooked off. It sounds super fattening but I promise its a good fat!
- Make a double batch of the flour mixture. You will be super sad if you don't! Also, add pepper to the flour mixture. It ads so much to the taste of the breading!
- Cook each side for at least 6 minutes on medium heat! Seriously! Put it in the grease, set the timer and WALK AWAY! Don't be tempted to "check" it. Just don't. Let it cook. Flip. Repeat.
- I used a whole can of Coconut Milk. No it doesn't taste like coconut. But it makes it a little sweet. I will add more pepper next time to cut the sweetness.
I think that's all. LOL. I have rambled a lot in this post. And its not really a weight loss related post. More of like a vent/release/ramble post. I guess we all need to have a vent/release/ramble moment every now and again.
I hope everyone has an amazing week/weekend and I hope to see all of you back here next Thursday! Hopefully next week will be more productive!
