DIY and Projects

Other than the paycheque limitation on getting materials, which I hope to be on the other side of after a new range hood and countertops, time and health have been bottlenecks. Energy as well as I have been working two jobs for the past couple of weeks. One week left on that exhausting piece.

But I’m also in perimenopause and that has been complicating things. Have you ever felt like vomiting, passing out, and spontaneously combusting all at once? Well, that’s how hot flashes feel for me. I’m having to go slower than I’d like because the only thing that helps once I’m in one is pausing what I’m doing, having some water, and just letting my body have time to cool down. Interestingly, the hot flashes don’t actually raise my body temperature like a fever does. My thermometer reads in the normal range while I’m having one.

Currently, all the doors are off the upper cupboards and I have some minimal stuff to do to prep them for painting.

The crud near the hinge holes is from pest control. I need to clean that up before I paint. These will be white still. The trim will be black. I need to get that paint yet. I also have some minor work on this side as I don’t like how the cupboards above the fridge are connected inside to the rest. Also, there are a lot of open spots on the underside that let pests hide in or escape through. I will be putting an end to that nonsense.

Aside from that, on the other side of the kitchen, there is a spider who loves hanging out in the corner. It rarely moves. I have told it that it will eventually be having a bad time when I get to doing the stove area. It’s almost the last area to do. I will be installing a stainless steel piece behind the stove before I do the rest of the backsplash.

Gaming and Videos

My Nintendo Switch has been missing for months. I was really frustrated and mystified about it. I have been playing it at my dad’s house over the Christmas break, but I knew I had brought it back to Ottawa. This weekend, I found it inside the box for my Ring Fit device. Why did I look in there? It was the last place to look. Why did I put it in there is an even better question. Sometimes my brain is wonderful and othertimes it is a detriment to myself. Maybe I thought it was a good hiding spot for it while I had to go out of town? Who knows. At least I can finally use it again. I was truly enjoying Detective Pikachu.

Also in gaming this week, I got an external SSD in the hopes that I could put a couple of large games on it that wouldn’t fit on my laptop. It took forever to install them, but they actually run better on it than they even did on my main drive.

General and Miscellaneous

I have been reducing how many hobbies I am involved in. I don’t have the time to do them all and I need time for bass, choir, karate, and writing. Also for finishing the kitchen renovation.

Health and Fitness

I told myself I would totally get onto the stinky paint on Monday, but I felt like I needed time after figuring out that I was experiencing some lingering stuff from the past. At least I figured it out and sometimes just realizing a thing like this is really helpful in taking the power out of it. I read about ways to get through it and reducing cortisol is key for these things. Exercise, good nutrition, sleep hygiene, and such are in the list of activities that help reduce the stress hormone.

Karate kicked my butt good this week. It was great to be back at it. It’s helping strengthen my tricep, which is what I suspect is the cause of the missing bit of range in my arm at this point. I injured it twice when I hurt my rotator cuff muscles last year. I did a bit of research and I think I found a couple of other exercises to help it out some more.

Finding my Switch was important for my fitness goals. Ring Fit is part of the picture for cardio, especially once winter arrives. I relocated my blu ray player to my bedroom for fitness reasons and also because popping a movie on while I do things like fold and put away laundry is helpful for my ADHD. It also gives me a space to retreat to while the renovation is still ongoing.

I am regularly having sore, stiff muscles. Perhaps I’m low in some nutrient like potassium. This happens to me now and again and I pretty much just cycle various electrolytes until it goes away. Perhaps someday I’ll have a doctor again and can actually have a targetted approach to it rather than trying everything.

Movies and Television

This week, I watched the Blade trilogy. I didn’t remember much of Blade: Trinity, but I enjoyed the Dracula lore. Incidentally, a friend is in Transylvania touring everything she can related to Vlad the Impaler, the supposed inspiration for Bram Stoker. I also had the Twilight series on while cleaning. It’s a comfort watch that has a great soundtrack.

In television, I finished The Morning Show. Well, I caught up to where it is in the release schedule, actually, so I eagerly await new episodes each week. I’ve been watching Slow Horses since. It’s quite a vibe change, but interesting. Basically, it’s about the MI5 rejects that get parked in crap jobs when they make mistakes. Some end up there for having sex with the wrong people. Others because they made the kind of error that would result in mass casualties.