Tea Update

So I have been, with the help of a friend, trying out some teas.  I haven't gotten to red raspberry leaf tea yet but I am working my way up.  My friend loves (LOVES) tea and was excited to introduce me to it and happy to share a ton of the flavors she has.

So far I have tried a few, here's the ones I remember:
Watermelon Zinger
Lemon-something
Blueberry herb (err ... I am terrible at remembering names)

...
There were six or so of them, but it's been awhile so yeah ...


Although my favorite smelling one is Yogi's DeTox Tea, I think it smells kind of sweet like baking (my friend promptly thought I was crazy) and I almost enjoyed the taste of it.  However, it didn't sit well on the stomach (maybe I was really in need of a detox!) so I although I may try it again in the future, it is going to take some time before I drink it again.  I really didn't mind the taste though, and my friend swears by it (she said if she is ever not really feeling good, she will drink a cup and it helps her immensely) so I am not completely giving up hope.

My friend sent me home with a small variety of teas to try, like honey chamomille and red raspberry leaf(!) amongst others, but it took me a while to even drink one tea at home (the detox tea).  So I will eventually get around to trying another, I'm sure. Someday.

Ha.

136 down ...

... 864 to go

(p.s. there's some new paper in the mix!)

Rough Week

So it's been longer than I have been meaning to let it get between my blog posts, but I was having a rough week (or so) and I'm not in the clear just yet.  I have been feeling in a bit of a fog lately and I haven't emerged from the other side.  I would go to start a passionate blog post about something that has been stewing for while, but I would get about three sentences in and lose all motivation.  The words wouldn't come; it wasn't flowing out of me like I wanted it to.  My mood has been just meh, and that explains while I am failing to be invested in writing.

A member of my little school community passed away recently, and while I didn't know her well, it has definitely been affecting me.  I can't get her out of my head.  I may have graduated, but I still have a connection to school and to the hardworking students who are still there studying.  I met this girl, and interacted with her on a semi-regular basis.  She had a lot of potential, and now she is just gone. She will be missed, for sure.

So sorry for the gloomy post, but that's where I am right now.  I am trying to work through it, get motivated about something (currently making handmade Christmas gifts for my niece and other family members, and potentially making new Christmas presents) so hopefully I can share that with you soon.

On a more positive note, I did have a (semi)healthy cycle so I am able to take a small breather before getting back on the roller coaster.  I was definitely glad to get my period naturally (with the help of Metformin, but no other hormones) so that means I did ovulate, in theory. It has definitely been bittersweet. I am going to try and get more exercise into my routine this cycle and see if that helps everything along too.  Fingers crossed!

3.6%

Only 964 to go ...

Drained

I need to rein in my emotions.  They are completely exhausting. I feel like I use my hormones as a scapegoat when I am having a bad day.  I want to burst into tears because someone cut me off on the freeway?  Hormones. I want to cry because of some imagined slight by my husband? Hormones.  I get all teary because my car is just as temperamental as I am? Hormones (maybe on the cars part too!)

Maybe hormones do have something to do with it, but I think I also need to work on just letting stuff go.  Not be so sensitive when something is not going my way, or when I am having a bad day.  Everyone has bad days, I am not special.  Not everyone cries over it.

I might be being too hard on myself, but the tempest of emotions are exhausting.  I have been all over the map the last couple of days and it makes me crazy. Or am I crazy because of hormones ... ;-p

You decide.

(p.s. I need a nap)

Running Marathons in my Head

Today is one of those days that I am completely stuck in my head.  According to my period tracking app, Glow (which I absolutely love and recommend), I am late for my period.  However, as good as Glow is, I am irregular so there is only so much that algorithms can do to try and predict my cycle.  So in theory, I might NOT be late for my period, see my conundrum?

So my mind is going in circles, over-analyzing everything I am feeling right now.  I am nauseated, is it morning sickness?  I am emotional, are my hormones going crazy? I’m tired, is it a symptom?  I have had a couple of strange dreams, maybe my body is trying to tell me something?

Or, you know, it can all be in my head.  I had a sore throat for the past few days from a mild head cold, so maybe my ailments are all side effects of being sick. Or maybe I am a total hypochondriac and I am just driving myself absolutely crazy.  It’s all very trying on my nerves, so I am making myself anxious.

I know the best thing to do would be to relax and just let nature take its course.  Stressing isn’t helping anything, and we aren’t trying-trying, so why am I doing this to myself?  Tomorrow I take a pregnancy test, one of potentially many (woo … weekly testing). It’s an emotional rollercoaster that I chose to ride, and it can be intense.

Wish me luck, or wish me a period, either will work for me at this point!

999 to go ...

So I have always loved origami, since I was a little kid. I would go to the school library and check out books on how to fold the pretty little pieces of paper. If I didn't have origami paper I would use construction paper, computer paper, napkins, etc ... I was obsessed.

I think it all started with the story of Sadako Sasaki. My teacher told us her story one day in class and I was mesmerized. The story as I remember it told to us in school was that Sadako Sasaki was a little girl in Japan who was one of many who were effected by the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan during WW2. She got cancer from the radiation and was hospitalized. While in the hospital, she started making paper cranes in the hopes of folding the 1,000 necessary to be granted a wish. Her wish was to become healthy again. Unfortunately she was unable to finish her goal before passing away. Now there is a statue of her in Japan where people go and place cranes to honor her.

I remember seeing the statue of her draped in strings of colorful paper cranes and I was enchanted. So I went to the library and checked out a book and taught myself how to make a paper crane. I was hooked. I tried out so many different things from those books, but the cranes and the story of Sadako Sasaki have always stuck with me. I have always been able to fold cranes ever since.

Now I want to fold my own 1,000 cranes. I am not really a superstitious person, so I don't think I will be getting a wish granted but I know what my wish would be anyway. So I have officially started folding these little paper birds.

I have folded a lot of cranes over the span of 15+ years (including strings of them for a friends wedding) but I am going to start this little batch with the number 1 and eventually I may make it to 1,000.

Wish me luck!