Average Jane

Category: Daily Life

  • Average Jane Takes Vacation Days

    IMG_1609Well, this vacation thing is going swimmingly so far. I slept until almost 9:00 a.m. today and awoke to a gorgeously sunny fall day. I also awoke to dog poop on the kitchen floor, but that's what happens when you sleep four hours past your dog's walk time. That's okay – I needed to mop today anyway.

    On today's agenda: house cleaning, a late lunch, grocery shopping, and a dinner party at my house with a big group of girlfriends. I'm making enchiladas and Mexican rice.

    Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with another group of women and in the evening my husband and I are going to a highly-recommended performance of Avenue Q. Friday's plans are a little lighter, but my husband and I will probably have lunch together and hang out all day.

    The weekend includes Toby's first trip to my vet (we'll walk there as long as the weather is decent), a role playing game night at my house, and another charity 5k. I'm still taking donations that will go to lung cancer research.

    As I sit in my horribly messy office, I'm hoping I can find some time to at least tidy up in here while I'm at it. I should have at least a couple of hours to devote to that if I can tear myself away from the computer.

    I'm telling you all this stuff now because, barring sudden inspiration, the next few days of posts will probably be mostly photos with minimal commentary. NaBloPoMo or no, I have some vacationing to do!

  • Average Jane vs. Standard Time

    I'm pretty sure I wrote a version of this same post last spring. It's just that I have an unexpectedly difficult time adjusting to the time changes these days. I think traveling across time zones is easier than trying to shift an hour at home.

    On Sunday morning, I forgot to set my clocks back but woke up around 5:30 a.m. anyway. Once I adjusted the time, there I was wide awake at 4:30 a.m. with nothing to do but goof around online until my agenda kicked in.

    Since then, I've been going to bed each night around 10:00 p.m. but waking up in the area of 3:00 a.m. and then fighting to go back to sleep until at least 5:00 or 5:30.

    It doesn't seem to have affected my productivity or energy during the day, but it's just not very satisfying to get such fragmented sleep. I'm hoping everything settles down as soon as possible.

  • Average Jane’s Beautiful Autumn Day

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    Fallen leaves, gourds, puppies, apple cider and warm sunlight. Yesterday at my aunt's house was pretty much perfect!

  • Average Jane Plans Ahead

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    It's kind of unbelievable that we have less than two months left of 2011. There was actually snow in the forecast yesterday, but we lucked out for a little longer with just some rain.

    Yesterday I decided to schedule my last five days of vacation for the year, which means I'm taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off next week. It'll work out great because I'm hosting a dinner party on Wednesday, I have what is sure to be a long lunch with other friends on Thursday, and I figured I might as well take Friday while I was at it.

    I'll also be taking off my wedding anniversary and the day before in early December.

    My next big planning target is Thanksgiving. I've decided to cook dinner at my house, but so far it's for three people: my husband, my dad and me. If you have no Thanksgiving plans and you live nearby, consider this your official invitation to come over to share our overly ample feast. I'll be making all of the classics.

    If you're cooking your own Thanksgiving dinner, perhaps for the first time, here is a link to my recipe booklet. I always like to be helpful that way.

    As for Christmas, we're already affirming that this will be another year in which we only buy gifts for the children in the family. The adults are perfectly content just getting together for family time.

    How are you wrapping up your year? Are you taking any last-minute vacation time that you needed to use up?

  • Average Jane’s Guide to Happiness (Abridged)

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    I'm generally pleased with how my life is working out to date, so I don't feel so presumptuous about sharing some of the reasons for that. I'm going to frame it as advice, but you'll know which pieces to take to heart and which to ignore for your own situation.

    1. Partner with a friend. My husband and I will soon be celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary, in large part because we really like each other, have similar interests and goals, and enjoy each other's company. That said, we still have many separate interests and neither of us takes offense when the other has something planned without them.
    2. Have lots of other friends, too. Of course, there are levels of friends—all the way from "co-worker you sometimes go to lunch with" to "bestie who knows all your secrets." Not everyone you meet is going to graduate up the ranks and that's okay. My best friends are my sister and my husband, but I have hundreds of other friends that I'm interested in and spend time with in many different contexts.
    3. Get some exercise. I like walking. It's about the maximum aerobic level my asthmatic bronchial tubes can take and it energizes me. I also enjoy yoga, not only for the strength and flexibility it brings but for the way it calms my mind. Figure out what exercises you enjoy (or can at least tolerate) and make them a part of your routine.
    4. Prioritize sleep. There's nothing like lack of sleep to ruin your whole day. I am a big fan of naps and I will not hesitate to go to bed for the night as early as 8:00 p.m. if I need to. All my friends know that I'll almost never stay at an event on a weeknight past my preferred bedtime of 10:00 p.m.
    5. Support causes that speak to you, but don't over-commit. I am active with two volunteer organizations and on the board of a professional organization. Right now I have one recurring weekly volunteer commitment, I am on a couple of committees that require sporadic volunteer work, and I help maintain social media presence for all three groups. Oh, and they all have periodic meetings. That's about the maximum amount of time I can give without getting overwhelmed. With any group, there will always be more work than volunteers, but remember that you're just one person. Delegate, recruit or just say no when you have to.
    6. Nurture a living thing. For you it might be children. Or heck, maybe plants. For me, it's always been cats and now a dog. (And plants, although I'm a better pet keeper than a plant keeper.) I think it's good for the psyche to be responsible for someone other than yourself.
    7. Spend time outside. It's really easy to get disconnected from nature when you're sitting in a building surrounded by asphalt and concrete all day. Whenever you get the chance, seek out the opportunity to be surrounded by trees instead. I particularly enjoy the walking trail at Unity Village, which is where my sister hosts "Yoga in the Woods" events from time to time. Even your own back yard can be rejuvenating (moreso when you're not just out there doing yard work).
    8. Learn to eat wisely. I'm not saying you can't occasionally have meals with no redeeming value, but for the most part try to stick with foods that are nourishing, tasty and won't make you feel awful for the next few hours. If you're going to eat sweets, hold out for something really good, not just a cheap piece of candy or a dessert without much flavor. If you can't resist potato chips, don't have them in your house. If a food has been demonstrated to give you heartburn, make your gall bladder flare up, etc., eliminate it from your diet and don't look back.
    9. Take charge of your own health. As you get older, you'll probably start experiencing various and sundry health problems. Get informed about each one and make sure you get the treatments you need. Your doctor isn't going to be anywhere near as invested in your health as you are, so you have to take the lead. Of course, if you're in the U.S. your insurance status will determine how much you can really do. Don't get me started.
    10. Maintain perspective. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, but it's mostly about appreciating what you have. If you haven't seen the documentary "Happy," I highly recommend it.

    So that's my two cents on the subject of having a happy life. What important advice did I forget to include?

  • Average Jane Has Little To Report

    I keep meaning to post more often, but a lot of the stuff I'm doing lately is either not very interesting (e.g., the routine business trip I took last week) or stuff I've written about before (e.g., my umpteenth cat volunteering activity yesterday evening). I think I just need to get back into the mindset of finding the interesting aspects of everyday events.

    One unusual thing from yesterday: yoga at an Old Navy store, taught by my sister.

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    I jumped out of savasana to grab my phone and take this photo of the athletic gear-clad mannequins looming over my sister as she wrapped up the class. At first it was kind of weird to do a class in the middle of a retail store, but once the yoga brainwaves kicked in, I didn't really notice or care.

    I did grab several pairs of sweet yoga pants for $12.50 each, so it was a definite win. Now I kind of want to wear yoga pants all the time, but I know better than to be that guy.

    Today I'm going to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival with my dad. It was his idea, and why not? It's the last day of the festival and I can tell that the weather is going to be spectacular. I was momentarily tempted to bring Toby with me, but I think the logistics would be a little too complicated. Maybe next year.

    Last week I had my annual flu shot and ended up having a really bad reaction. As the day wore on, my joints started to ache. When I got home from work, I made brownies and took them to a dinner party even though I was not feeling well. Once I was at the party, I continued feeling worse and worse. My muscles started aching and my face was flushed, so I left really early and went to bed around 9:00 p.m. I kept waking up suffering throughout the night until I finally thought to take a couple of Tylenols. That pretty much did the trick, but ugh. Still, it's better than having the flu.

    I guess I had a little bit to report after all. Nothing earthshattering, that's for sure.

    Toby keeps poking my mouse hand with his snout, so I guess I'll wrap this up. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

  • Scene from Average Jane’s Marriage

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    Husband (holding packages of lunch meat and cheese): Do we have any crackers?

    Me: I don't know…

    Husband: Okay, I can just eat the meat and cheese.

    Me: …but if we have them they'd be in the cabinet over the stove.

    [I open cabinet. Husband reaches in and pulls out an entire box of saltines.]

    Me: Just because I don't know doesn't mean we don't have them. Were you really not going to even look?

  • Average Jane Changes Things

    IMGP0131 Lately I've been on a big push to try to improve my health. My diet has been the biggest change. I've gotten to the point where I've almost completely cut out meat, processed foods and fried foods. I'm continuing to stay away from caffeine and I've been keeping sweets to a minimum.

    I'm not claiming to be perfect—I do live in Kansas City, which is a BIG barbecue town—but even a mostly plant-based diet has made a big difference. The way I look at it, it's better to have one unhealthy meal per week than one per day.

    I've lost about 15 pounds, which is nice both from a cosmetic standpoint and how it makes me feel. It took a while, but I've reached the point where I have jeans I can't wear because they're just too big. Yay!

    I'm also no longer bothered by acid reflux, even though I stopped taking medication for it. If I get heartburn, it's always because I've eaten or drunk something I shouldn't. I highly recommend that you watch this video to learn about acidic foods and how they affect your system.

    Why do this now? Well, aside from the fact that I'm continuing to age despite my efforts to stop time, I've had inspiration from a couple of sources.

    My sister had me watch Forks Over Knives, which convinced me that I could be healthier if I ate better. I bought the book, which has been especially helpful for recipes.

    From an exercise standpoint, having a dog has helped a lot. Even when we don't do our 3.4 mile rectangle, we still get in a good amount of walking each day. Toby has to go out—there's no arguing with that—so we go. Even my husband is noticing that he's having an easier time walking up our hill now, despite the fact that he only takes the dog for short walks.

    So that's where things stand today. I'm not sure how winter will affect the exercise portion of my regimen, but I'm getting very comfortable with my new diet. I'm actually rather surprised at how easy it has been to make such a big change.

  • Average Jane, Noncompliant Patient

    I had some minor outpatient surgery yesterday morning and proceeded to spend the rest of the day ignoring all of the doctor's post-care orders. Okay, maybe not the whole rest of the day, but I certainly bounced back quickly enough that most of the precautions seemed pretty silly.

    When I got home, I did take the opportunity to nap for several hours. They'd given me a pain pill at the surgery center (not to mention the anesthetic that was no doubt still lingering in my system), so I had no problem curling up with the husband and the dog for some sleep.

    Then the cleaning ladies arrived a full hour early, which drove me to the back patio with the dog until my husband came out to take me to lunch. I really, really wanted a Chipotle burrito, but because the little sheet from the doctor said I should eat stuff like broth and Jell-o, we went to the deli and I got soup (and a cookie) instead. I was ravenous again within two hours.

    After lunch, my husband went back to sleep and although I had taken one more pain pill (which was to be the only one I took from the prescription we filled on the way home that morning), I wasn't sleepy. 

    I surfed the 'net for several hours and then sneaked downstairs to see if my official driver was awake yet. He wasn't, but I got a priceless photo of Xena and Toby sleeping next to each other and actually touching. Ha, ha!

    Snuggles

    Finally, my husband got up and THEN I had that burrito I'd been craving.

    We ate our dinner in front of the TV before my husband's recording session client arrived. I spent the evening doing laundry, taking the dog outside and playing with Flipbook on my iPad. 

    I forewent my morning walk today because the doctor had said I should (see! I can take direction!), but I'm pretty sure I'll be back on my regular schedule tomorrow. And that's the end of that non-story.

  • Average Jane Is Literally Living In Her Living Room

    IMG_1423 Who is surprised to learn that my bedroom remodel is taking longer than I estimated? No one? I didn't think so.

    The good news is that one of my good blogger buddies saw my previous post about our bed breaking and offered me a bed frame and box springs she wasn't using. So although our bed is still in the living room and will be for the next several weeks (at least), it is no longer in imminent danger of collapse.

    My husband and I recruited a friend with a truck and picked up the bed stuff after work. After a nice dinner of Chinese food, I spent the rest of the evening dismantling the innards of the old frame so that it is now a literal frame: it surrounds the structural metal frame decoratively but no longer has any role in supporting the mattress.

    Right now our schedule for the rest of the bedroom remodeling work is as follows:

    • I will go ahead and caulk around the trim and paint the walls, probably this Saturday.
    • Hardwood floor refinishing begins next Thursday, September 22nd.
    • Once the floor cures, I'll paint all the trim and maybe move the bed and dresser back in.
    • New windows will probably be installed the first or second week of October, but most of the work takes place outdoors so the room doesn't need to be completely empty.
    • I haven't ordered window shades yet, but that's on the agenda between now and new window day.

    It's going to be worth it, though. That's what I keep telling myself.