Not my plants, but my cholla bruise. 😂

Not my plants, but my cholla bruise. 😂

Teddy Bear cholla is my favorite. Looks all cuddly and glowy in the sunlight, but peak violence. 🔪

I accidentally backed my hand into 5-ish spines when I was watering plants on Sunday. It was hard getting detached from my plant. It was holding on. This is the result.

Check out this reddit post. They got punctured, too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cactus/s/TLd81eRDJu

Is your communication style accessible?

Is your communication style accessible? Does it matter to you if you can easily be understood by others?

I got fat, but there were reasons.

I got fat, but there were reasons. Eventually, I lost some weight with the help of corrected hormones and Semaglutide.

How's my Spanish, y'all?

How's my Spanish, y'all?

Rambling again... But this time in video format. 😂

I really butchered what I was trying to say, but I guess that happens when you only get to sing it or speak it to your pets. I'll get better.

SWEATY.

SWEATY.

You nasty, Houston. 😂

I've made it below 125 lbs again.

I've made it below 125 lbs again. I haven't been this small in at least 10 years. I'm feeling really great and a lot more comfortable. I have a bunch more energy, too.

Ten lbs to go and I'll be at my goal weight!

(I know that might seem low, but for those who haven't met me, I'm 4'9". The BMI at 115 might actually still be high for that height, but I'm not shooting for my post-pregnancy weight of 105 from 25 years ago. It looked fine back then, but I feel like I'd look like a wrinkly sack of bones at this age. 😂)

I had to move my wedding band to my middle finger because it kept falling off of my ring finger. We didn't do special expensive bands that we would bother resizing, so I'll replace it once I'm in maintenance mode. And the most special ring I've ever had is the chain mail one Shaun made with his own two hands years before we got married. I wore it for a long time, even though I'm not a fan of uncoated metal. In general, I'm not a jewelry-wearer, though.

Anyway, HRT and Semaglutide are to thank for my glow-up. I knew my hormones were jacked up in 2015, but living in Alabama with no insurance, and doctors that treated labs, not people kept me messed up. Now I've been on HRT since January, and Semaglutide since March. I'm still at a low dose of the Sema and am still making good progress. I just gotta be careful what I eat the day before and the day after the shot. IYKYK. 😂

I've been working on updating my Etsy...

I've been working on updating my Etsy (unfortunately not the photos or videos, yet) and that's pretty much all for today.

I did take a break and watch Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso live at Coachella on Hulu. They were great. I can't believe I get to see them live next Friday! I'm so excited!

Almost a year in!

Almost a year in! This is one of my favorite parts of the day.

This is what I'm looking like these days.

This is what I'm looking like these days. Freshly showered, longer hair than I've had in ages, new glasses. Nice gray streak going in the front; it reminds me of my MaMaw. Down 15 lbs. Forty-two is feeling pretty good!

Imagine that. 😂❤️

Imagine that; a top listener of Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso. 😂❤️

I didn't even know that badges were a thing on YouTube.

I did my walking this morning.

I did my walking this morning. Yay for self-care.

I had my first therapy appointment in a while because of the insurance mess.

I guess I won. The therapist said I seemed well and since I didn't have anything that I needed to talk about, she suggested we meet on an as-needed basis. I'm good with that.

I actually do feel really good. Physically and mentally, things are going better than they have in a long time. I haven't had nightmares or migraines recently. I have some energy. No complaints at the moment! ❤️

I'm getting my eyes checked Wednesday...

I'm getting my eyes checked Wednesday at Wal-Mart. I spend too much time taking my glasses off to see. I'm a mess, and I'm getting mild headaches that I think are related.

Shaun's crud is dragging out...

Shaun's crud is dragging out, but mine seems less severe so far.

I don't feel great by any stretch and I slept like crap because I was coughing and blowing my nose all night, but I got up this morning and took a really hot shower and coughed out my crud. I haven't been sinus/lung-sick since I had COVID in 2022 and I definitely don't miss feeling sick. But I've been resting and staying hydrated and I think that's helping me fight it off.

I am really hoping that it doesn't get worse before getting better. A few days has been enough. 😂

I had a tickle in my throat yesterday...

I had a tickle in my throat yesterday. I feel straight up bad this morning.

I guess I've got whatever Shaun had. Yay.

I'm finally about to shower.

I'm finally about to shower. I've been able to keep food in for the last 17 hours. Woo!

Shaun changed my sheets earlier because they were disgusting. He's made me soup all day and brought me everything I needed. I really appreciate him.

He almost never gets sick in the disgusting ways that I do. In the 17 years we've been together, he hasn't thrown up once. That's unfathomable to me. I don't understand how that happens.

I'm down 4 lbs in 2 days. Not exactly how I wanted to do it, but I guess I'll take any wins I can get. 😂

I finally made it out of my room for the day.

I finally made it out of my room for the day.

I'm a disgusting mess. I just wanna see if I can keep my food in me before showering.

Wish me luck.

I haven't had a super fun day.

I haven't had a super fun day. I've been vomiting and running to the toilet frequently since about 5 this morning.

Shaun had some stomach upset the other day, but he hasn't thrown up in the 17 years we've been together, so I don't know if I caught a bug from him or if my dinner last night just didn't agree with me.

I just had some chicken noodle soup with crackers and Sprite. Just a little to see if I can hold it down. Wish me luck.

I didn't do any plant stuff today, but it's been windy and rainy, so I probably wouldn't have, anyway.

I wanted to post a positive little update.

I wanted to post a positive little update. I'm down 10 pounds since starting Semaglutide in February. The fat has been slowly, but surely melting away. I'm sure I've lost some muscle, too, because I completely stopped strength training in March. I also haven't been walking consistently. But I have been eating less. Food noise is totally gone. That's a thing I didn't realize I had before starting this medication.

I don't know why starting and maintaining new habits is so hard for me, but it really is. I also struggle with schedules, in general. I am a work in progress, I guess, and that's ok. I am really trying my best.

So I've lost ⅓ of the weight that I need to get off of myself. I am feeling better in my body than I have in the last 10 years. Regardless of how I look, it's better for my joints and Psoriatic Arthritis to not carry extra fat around. I'm trying to protect what I've got before it's too late.

I'm in bed...

I'm in bed under my weighted blanket, being cuddled by Adrian and Scar.

For the first time in I don't know how long, I feel at peace.

❤️

It's no secret...

It's no secret that I have indulged in retail therapy over the years.  Sometime near the end of last year I really cut out/cut down on buying stuff (most of which was nail polish/stamping plates and succulents) and by and large, I have stuck to it this year, too.  Even if I'm not doing my walking or my strength training, I have stuck to one thing.  Change isn't easy, so I'm proud of myself for that.

I've been trying to spend under a certain amount of money each month.  There are still things I want, but I am being very mindful and showing restraint.

I have also been showing restraint with my eating habits thanks to Semaglutide.  I mean, right now I could totally order and eat Crumbl Cookie.  I don't feel that it would make me sick and it does sound really good.  I am a little hungry and I might make a serving of pizza rolls in a minute... btw, did y'all know that a serving of pizza rolls is 6 pizza rolls?  Well now you do.

Anyway.  It's really nice that it doesn't feel impossible to have some control over what I eat.  It really did before.  If I had a craving, I was super unhappy until it was fulfilled, but then I was super unhappy for having done something that I knew wasn't healthy for me.  There was no winning.

So maybe I'm not gonna be buff and strong this year.  I don't know.  But I will save some money and slowly lose weight and that is progress.  I have a lot of work to do on myself, and anything is better than nothing.  I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to walk and strength train, but it's very difficult to stick to routines and I think that's because of how my brain works.  We shall see.

First therapy session tomorrow!