a peek inside the fishbowl

Thanks to everyone who reached out to us following the recent bus crash at Westboro station. We are all ok, thank goodness. Mark is the only one of us who takes the bus on a daily basis and that bus isn’t one he’d ever take. The bus station itself, however, is close to home and I pass by it regularly. I’ve been glued to the news and it’s entirely possible that I’ve now consumed too much at this point. I’ve tried to take a step away from social media today too. Facebook and Twitter don’t necessarily post items in chronological order, and those first reports and posts (“Oh my god there’s been a terrible crash in Ottawa”) have been appearing in my feeds on repeat. There is more news coming out every hour, it seems. They released the names of the three people who were killed. My heart just breaks for the victims and their families.

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One of the best things about being an adult is that I’ve had a lot of time to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t, and what I need to do in order to be a happier person. If I’m feeling crappy I can usually figure out what I need and (er, water, food, sleep) and make it happen. That is, of course, unless the thing that’s sinking my ship is stress or things outside of my control, in which case this makes “getting over it” a little harder.

I want to tell a little story that’s related to this.

We bought new windshield wipers for our car recently. Our old ones were functional, but barely. They always left streaks across the glass (which, of course, were often directly in the driver’s direct field of vision), but the worst thing is that they almost always made a bone-rattling BRRRRAAAAAP sound whenever they were deployed in light rain, which was almost always.

Well, the other day, one of them came off and so Mark replaced them both. The new wipers are a DREAM. (I never thought I’d describe wiper blades that way, but there it is.) The windshield is now perfectly clean and streak-free. What’s more, the wipers are BLISSFULLY SILENT. I didn’t realize how much the old wipers were stressing me out until they were replaced. And now I wonder (a) what took us so long to replace them (b) what other small changes can I make in my life that will result in a big improvement to my mental health?

If you’re Canadian and use milk bags and have never cut the tip off the bag by sawing it with a steak knife because nothing else was available, you’re lying

— jump for my love (@JodiesJumpsuit) 6 January 2019

• You Should Meditate Every Day, nytimes.com
• 4 Ways Walking Improves Your Brain, myfitnesspal.com
• The new Canada Food Guide means the jig is up for meat and milk lobbies, theglobeandmail.com
• The Woman With Lapis Lazuli in Her Teeth, theatlantic.com
• Weight Loss Is a Rock Fight, theatlantic.com

On the nightstand: Cloud Atlas

The other day I posted about some promises I made to myself and we are ten days into the month so I wanted to share a small update. To summarize: so far so good, on all fronts. My January is still a Dry January and the scale is finally heading in the right direction.

I’ve had a mild cold for the past couple of days, which makes it hard to gauge exactly how WELL I am feeling now that I’m not drinking alcohol and eating next to no bread and sugar. I will say, that the day before the cold hit me I felt pretty darn amazing. I had so much energy I hardly knew what to do with myself. In between stretches of work I spontaneously vacuumed and cleaned the house (including all the toilets, thankyouverymuch), did two batches of dishes, bought groceries, put away groceries, dropped off one large box and two bags to charity, made a great dinner (using not one but THREE new recipes), “salted” the driveway, and speed walked for 40 minutes, uphill, on the treadmill.

I don’t know whether this sudden whirlwind was a direct result of my cutting out booze and afternoon coffee or better eating. All I know is that I haven’t had that much energy in months and I have to keep this up because I want MORE whirlwinds.

I do know that for whatever reason, sugar and bread doesn’t agree with me and that I can’t eat them every day. I am definitely not celiac but something just isn’t right about how my body processes it. When I cut these two things out the weight, bloat, and sluggishness slowly dissipate and my mood and energy improve. I want to be strong enough to save them for special occasions or when there’s something really good on offer. Life is too short not to enjoy a  slice of birthday cake or a croissant once in awhile.

In other news, I picked up a new pair of eyeglasses (and a new prescription, because I’m old). I got such great service at the Bayshore Lenscrafters when I first got glasses three years ago that I decided to go back. This was one of the things on my List of Things I Don’t Want to Do but Must Do. It’s hard for me to check these things off. Next one: to sign my organ donation card and mail it in. And make a doctor’s appointment. Ugh.