Christmas is Almost Here and I STILL Have Cards to Mail Today *sigh*

I didn't get enough done yesterday, and I'm still running in place. It seems to be quite common recently. Several of you will be getting your holiday cards late - I'm sending most of the final ones out today. I think I've finally managed to update my address list with the correct addresses, and everything should arrive correctly. Not promptly, but correctly. It's the best I can do this year. 

I'm sending the final holiday cards out today. It took 
a bit of time to get all of the address changes into 
my system and updated. A lot of you moved over the 
past year (a lot being more than five people). 

I spent yesterday working out the final sort of the Holiday Cards addresses and filling out the database appropriately, and I shoveled the small amount of snow we had on our walkways and driveway, groaned over bills to be paid and knew I needed to hit DH up for money (since I don't actually get paid, it's really his responsibility, but he complains mightily every time), and I cooked. I made baked fruit, I made a lovely vegetable soup, and I made my "Ogre Juice" for the upcoming week. 

I made a batch of Bob's Vegetable Soup yesterday, and 
it turned out lovely. I forgot to add the turkey kielbasa 
I had purchased to add to it, so I'll just add that one 
portion at a time. It'll be just fine - very taste on these 
cold Minnesota days. 

I took a short time to go to my local Barnes & Noble, looking for a specific book that DH wants, but the checkout line was HUGE and I decided to flee and order the book from B&N online instead. They didn't have exactly what I wanted in stock in any case, so standing in line would have been a worthless event. I've been wrapping DH gifts for several days now - every day or two something else appears in his pile. I hope his curiosity is piqued, but you can't ever tell for sure. I know my own area has remained pristine except for my wrapped mixer box. He tends to populate my area quite late. 

DH loves getting his current Almanac, but 
last year was a bust - they didn't have the 
correct year, and this year they were sold out 
again. So I ordered it online instead. It might 
come late, but it'll be the correct volume. 

I also have a shopping bag with wrapped gifts for Chickie and Chickie Mama. Sharon's items have already been mailed, so except for the last few holiday cards (which are always welcome, whether they arrive for a specific holiday or not), I'm actually somewhat on time. Somewhat - LOL. But when I look around me, I'm saddened. My life is a mess right now. I like order and specific locations for items, and I can't seem to keep things orderly or neat, no matter what season lately. The gift I need more than anything is time, and that's one gift I very much doubt will be given to me. Oh well, I just had to kvetch, you know? LOL Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. 

Sadhguru, Animal "Farming" and Kvetching - My Mind Is All Over the Place Today

Thank you for all of the comments on yesterday's post about source and resource. I want to give credit where it is due - the theme for yesterday's post came from a question raised to Sadhguru on his "Save the Soil" initiative. It struck a chord in me, and it seems it also struck one for many of you. 

I like Sadhguru. He's human - there are times he speaks 
and I wonder why he said what he did. But the majority 
of the time, I learn something from him, or I learn a 
different way of thinking about a topic that I find 
helpful. He's a fascinating man and I recommend his 
books to you if you haven't read them already. 

The idea of exploiting a resource bothers me in the same way that "farming" an animal does. I don't think it's possible to "farm" an animal. I'll stretch it to crops, but when I hear the term "pig farm" or "goat farm" or others similar in nature, it grates on my nerves. These are living beings with personalities, goals of their own, and lives to live. They feel fear and pain, they have feelings for one another - good or bad - and who are we to say they don't have goals - short-term though those goals may be. 

Animals have feelings to - they bond to their young, they 
have friends in their group, and some others they don't 
like as much. They probably have goals but I'm sure 
they're different goals than our own. They are 
living creatures, not a "crop". 

How a person can "farm" an animal, a fellow being on this earth, disturbs me a great deal. I'm not sure if the term "ranch" is any better, although the terms "farm" and "ranch" are actually not interchangeable. But in my mind, ranch equates with a large area of land, minimal fences, and herds of cattle scattered over it. Throw some horses into the equation and you've got my "ranch". Farm, on the other hand, equates with silos, clusters of buildings with several barns, animals in smaller stockades, and crops taking up the majority of the land. The farmer isn't planting and harvesting his pigs, yet he's "farming" them. It's confusing. 

There's actually a "Pig Farmer of the Year" award. This is 
the winner from 2019, Chris Hoffman from Pennsylvania. 
Who knew there was such an award? Don't we choose the 
oddest things to honor people for? 

Today I have a 10:30 am appointment with my orthodontist to get my molds made and specific measurements taken. I burned my tongue yesterday, and have at least one place where my gums are sore, so I guess I'm stressed a bit, subconsciously. But this is a minimal appointment. The one in November, where they actually apply the bands and wires - that one will be worth some stress. This one ... I'm just being silly. In the longer picture, however, this is something I've wanted for a long time - more than 30 years - and it's starting to finally come true. So no real complaints here, just kvetching. 

Every now and again I kvetch. Don't take it 
personally, I need to keep my hand in. To 
kvetch well requires periodic practice - LOL. 

Have an excellent Wednesday. I'll have to squeeze in my grocery shopping between my swimming and my orthodontist, but my afternoon might be available to start photographing the next batch of crystals for Etsy. I can try, at any rate, between the laundry and making dinner. Otherwise, it'll be Friday's agenda. Enjoy your day and Slava Ukraine. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Today I'm Kvetching - Because I Can

I find myself dearly missing my morning bowl of oatmeal. Grains were among the first things pulled in my WildFit program, and I understand the nutritional problems of grains and how they actually are not very body-friendly for most people's digestive systems. But I loved my one bowl of oatmeal in the morning, and even though I'm making eggs every few days, I'm finding they lack the simple joy I have in a bowl of oatmeal. I'm not willing to add my oatmeal back into my diet ... at least not yet. I'll stick this out and see what/how I want to have my meals arranged, but I'm telling you now. If I have to rely on eggs for breakfast, I may go crazy. 

I'm missing my daily bowl of oatmeal. For me, breakfast 
oatmeal is a comfort food, and it's something I'd had daily 
for years. I'm not fond of eggs, and today I didn't really 
have anything else of interest in the refrigerator. I'm getting 
really bored with food choices in my WildFit Program 
right now, although my body loves it. I'll have to stick 
through this week, and I'm sure things will be better 
next week. 

Except for the eggs thing, I'm pretty happy with my nutritional program. Or at least I'm not complaining heavily. I'm well aware that I'm in the strictest portion of the food choices right now, and that the menu will shift and experiments will happen over the final five weeks. Frankly, I can hardly wait because, as I had been warned, weeks 6,7 and 8 are truly the hardest, and I'm in the middle of week 8 right now. 

I'm trying to stay upbeat and keep my eyes on the goal, 
but today it seems a bit harder than usual. I'm not really 
sure why - I'm not sure if there really is an answer. But 
today is seeming really difficult. 

I'm tired of foods that are boring, and without a spark of sweet, they really are. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to add honey and some fruits back into our diets next week. I sincerely hope so at any rate. Living without those occasional treats makes eating horribly boring - a chore instead of something to be enjoyed. 

Today my eating program is seeming like a chore, instead 
of something I've really looked forward to. I didn't like 
my eggs for breakfast, and I'm not looking forward to my 
shrimp for dinner or my turkey tenderloin for dinner. It's 
all "blech" to me right now. 

Oh well, I really don't have to share my momentary depression with all of you. But it's only Tuesday, and I have until next Monday before anything new happens, so I'm looking at a week of relatively boring food. Yuk! At this rate, if my fellow Tribe members are feeling the way I'm feeling, the Friday interactive Zoom call should be quite lively with a lot of moaning from all of us. LOL - OK, I'm already looking forward to that call. It's always fun anyway, but as a "kvetch fest" it'll be even better. 

I realize I'm just kvetching today, but there it is - sometimes 
a good kvetch is necessary. 

On that note, I'm signing off. I need to figure out what the heck I'm eating for lunch, since breakfast was so uninspiring. I hope all of you have a truly fantastic day and I'll be back tomorrow. As always, please be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask.