I always feel rich

Well, best news first: Yesterday, our pharmacy told Ron they can't sell him his motion sickness medication over the counter anymore, he has to GET A PRESCRIPTION.  Which means, seeing his doctor! 

I plan to pass a note to the medical assistant after she takes his vitals, for the doctor.  I'll even give her a hint "Tell him his complexion was a little flushed" - amusingly, *I* have the flushed face (due to my Wellbutrin), but his is getting pretty ruddy.  I have mentioned the alcoholic glow to him, so he would accept that. 

You can imagine the fun if "Your wife told me you have a drinking problem"- GACK

So, he will be seeing a doctor who will be notified of his alcohol use. 

He has to take motion sickness medication every day due to the head injury, or he vomits when riding in a vehicle.  He used to be a little carsick before, now it's a lot carsick. 

So, that managed.  Yesterday was a lot of running around. 

First, I went to Foodtown with Ron.  We bought soda for work.  I forgot I had put a 20 ounce Foodtown soda in the shopping cart and didn't catch it until after I left. 

Yike!  That means, I stole it.  We went back today and I explained to the very nice lady, and had her ring my single soda, twice. 

Speaking of sodas, I am cutting them out.  Too much about diet sweetener and depression.  When my existing stash is gone, they're gone.  No more lugging home several 2 liters or entire cases of 500 ml bottles.  I'll buy a six pack now and then, or a fountain drink if we're eating out, but the days of me drinking a gallon or so a day, are nearly at an end. 

Besides, I feel a little conviction on my dependence; for obvious reasons I don't want to be dependent on any substance other than my medication! 

So, after Foodtown, we went home.  Then we went to Walmart.  Since it was later in the day, on the weekend, on the first weekend of the month, we couldn't find a good kiddie cart. 

I was feeling a little overwhelmed anyway.  So, I left Ron on the bench and did my shopping. 

First thing in the cart, Driver Candy.  I had just gotten a huge shipment of Scripture booklets from World Missionary Press.  They were DELIGHTED to send me an assortment of Spanish booklets, some Chinese, and a whole lot of English.   Last night I bagged up about 6 dozen bags with assorted candy items. 

I was happy to see Walmart had the "good" assortment of various chocolatey treats, peanut butter eggs, chocolate bunnies, and crunchy chocolate "coins".  Not Biblical at all, but people love candy and I love people. 

I spent about 1/3 of my "ready" on it.  I also got a bag of birdseed, when you see/hear the garden video you'll hear all the lovely birdsong.  We both enjoy, actually all 3 of us enjoy watching the birds.  Bubba loves to lie on my bed and look out the window at them. 

Later on, Ron paid for the birdseed.  A few basic household items, DID NOT buy any diet soda, and pretty depressed.  I was so craving Bad Things. 

I said to myself:  Eating sugar because I am depressed will only make it worse.  If it is a minimally processed or fresh fruit, you can eat it.  Nothing with sugar.  But a treat is permitted. 

I had to eat to take another lithium, anyway. 

I reminded myself how much I love (deliciously lowcarb, full-fat) cottage cheese.  I got a couple of tubs.  I can mix some of my canned no-sugar strawberry/pear preserves into them for a decadent dessert. 

Then it was time for Ronfood.  Ron loves processed food that he can heat and eat.  He likes the consistency.  I don't really know why.  He always raves about my cooking and loves to eat my food, but if I make him some and put it on the door of the freezer ('His" area) he won't eat it. 

[shrug]  So, I just said whatever.  Store brand chili?  OK.  One can each of bean and no bean.  He does avoid things with a lot of starch, or added sugar.  I won't bore you with all the details, but the man does love his 88 cent Banquet TV dinners.  I also encouraged him to buy some breaded, cooked, chicken patty items.  He really likes the garlic parmesan chicken nuggets.  He isn't a big eater (he spends all day in bed, pretty much), so he can eat a few when he's hungry. 

And *I* know he's getting some protien.   He doesn't eat any fruit or vegetables if he can help it, so I am happy to see the Banquet dinners have some veggies.  He does have a multivitamin, which he takes at will. 

We got him enough to last a couple of weeks.  I had plenty of stuff already.  I always feel rich when I have a big bag of shredded cheese in the fridge, and a couple pounds of cooked ground beef in the freezer.  Yum, yum.  Mix the two, throw in some tomato sauce, and a delicious meal. 

I have to look at my meal composition, because something like a salad with chicken, will make me really sick if I take my lithium.  It has to have a palm-sized portion of protien, some fat, and some density. 

Like, I can take lithium with a big spoonful of peanut butter and a glass of milk, but I wouldn't care to do it with just the milk.  {shrug}  I find it interesting, figuring it all out. 

While I was in the freezer section, I saw something that immediately appealed.  No-sugar-added mini icecream cones, "drumstick" style.  6 for about $3, in my budget.  I got them.  I ate one while waiting on our ride. 

I came home, had a small snack (I also got some no sugar added portioned applesauce - I can do that with lithium, and it's a good sweet fix), took my pills, wedged everything in the freezer, and ONE MORE ERRAND. 

Really important business: Ron wanted to get a cow hoof for the neighbor's dog, because "She has been good".  I'm OK with that.  She's not a bad dog.  I feel safe with her.  If she gets into our yard again and saw me, she would want me to pet her before she sat in Ron's lap, while licking his face.  She'd bark at the cat and chase him, but wouldn't eat him. 

I have wondered, for a while, how many people lived next door: I finally have a tally.  Yesterday they were all leaving for work together.  They do landscaping work (mow, weed-whack, etc).  My driver said they were illegal immigrants, but I'll say this, regardless of their status they worked a 12 hour day on a Saturday, they're quiet, and the kids seem happy, well fed, and clean. 

Anyway, 5 adult men.  2-3 adult women, and 3 kids.  In a 4 bedroom house.  Generally they are so quiet you'd swear it was vacant.  I like them the best of all the "neighbors" who've lived there. 

It was a rough ride to the petstore, though.  We rode so long I almost peed myself.  The driver was a young girl, about 18, and drove rather timidly.  A Houston driver has to be bold and aggressive.  CUT across 5 lanes of traffic and CAPTURE that on ramp.  CLAIM that lane.  Don't ask, TAKE IT. 

She wasn't there yet, but she was a much better driver than Ron or I would have been!  [laugh] 

We did have a good ride home.  I took a nap, woke up, called Dad. 

I thought it was pretty cute, he couldn't wait to get off the phone and help my nephew with his math homework.  Hopefully he is better at math than I was.  Dad was very much into verbal explanations, which didn't mesh too well my my strongly visual learning style. 

I can safely say, I have never needed algebra in real life.  I do a lot of division and percantages at work (what is the food cost, for 100 count at $4 a box?  What is the sales tax due if the machine made $100 and is 75% taxable sales?), so math did come in handy. 

Recently our manager asked us to email a food cost inventory, and I was able to quote most of them without any research.  He got his file right quick. 

I had considered eating breadfruit ever since I saw it at Foodtown.  Yesterday I bought one.  It was about a pound.  I prepared it while watching a horrible comet movie.  It was so vile I couldn't even bite it.  Just touching my tongue to it was awful.  It was like trying to eat one of those "magic eraser" sponges.  I put it all in the compost pile (I had broiled it, with no fat), along with a lemon that had turned the corner. 

Went to bed.  Up early today, went to Foodtown.  Settled my debt, found some of my favorite ground beef special at $1 a pound.  It's in the crockpot now with some garlic and tomato sauce.  The generic brand tomato sauce doesn't have any added sugar.   2 quarts of food, for $3.50 isn't bad.  I buy chopped garlic in huge jars for a few dollars, keep it in the fridge.  Yum. 

Pretty tired.  I was getting depressed again so I made a garden video.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, and it's changed a lot just in a month.  Yeah, I didn't mow the yard, it's a little messy, but you get the idea. 

The birds will be lovely, I bet.  They were talking away as I recorded the video.