Another week in my exciting life :)

July 19th-I couldn't believe it when I woke up to an overcast day! Really? Southern California isn't resembling the weather of Hell today? The day had a nice overcast feel to it.

 I woke up once again in the middle of the night. I've emailed the psychiatrist about it a few times. He suggested that I try natural methods first. If they all fail, I need to let him know and he can prescribe an old antidepressant that seems to do the trick. I don't want to take that route, so I'll exhaust the natural methods first. I had a thought though and wonder if I'm doing this because I'm anxious. I say that because I ended up filling out the chart I mentioned from the book Feeling Good, and I immediately felt better and could sleep. I wonder if they're anxiety attacks?

 I also continued on with my cleaning. I'm now organizing paper in my bedroom. Craft supplies to donate to my church's Children's Ministry have a pile. I found my auto insurance cards too! Yippee! :)

 I took my medical group's online total health assessment again. I've improved pretty greatly in the six months since I've taken the quiz. (My score went up by 12 points.) I know my depression has improved substantially. So, my behaviors are improving, I guess. Weight loss is actually the big thing to still work on.

 I was sad to see a Facebook picture of my friends taking their long planned trip to the city in the Midwest where my dad was born. I had thought about visiting with them (and was invited) last year but don't have the funds to do so. Soon. :)

 Aaaaand... I took out the trash! Applause! Applause! :)

 I swam for 40 minutes in the evening-a combo of casual swimming and laps.

July 20th-Today was overcast in the morning but cleared up by mid day. I was happy to see this change in the weather!

 I watched church online again. Goal is to be back next week since it seems like I won't be infecting the world.

 It's always so amazing that my pastor tends to speak what I need. Things may not be what I want, but it's still working out...

 I then tried a really great trail in the hills of Whittier. Hellman Park Trail is great exercise. I spotted this trail once when driving around in Uptown Whittier (it has great old homes) and knew I had to try it. I hiked for 30 minutes.

The smoggy mound out in the distance is Catalina.

LA is in this direction. 

 I've decided that this trail will be good to hike once a week before I visit my parents. That way I'll get my exercise in.... 

I also had dinner with my parents. El Pollo Loco is awesome! I haven't spent time with them in person for a few weeks due to the MRSA issue...

July 21st- And, I'm sitting in hell again weather wise! I'm running the fan this year instead of air conditioning to keep costs down and am thinking about a ceiling fan to keep this going continually. 

 The city I grew up in made the local news when a body was found in the bushes in the back of an apartment complex behind a carport. This complex literally has a stream by it with shrubbery. I loved that feature when I dated a guy who lived there, but I guess it has its disadvantages.... :( 

 Another bad sleep night. I think I figured out the problem and find it's partially related to what I eat the night before. I can't handle salty stuff and had a good amount last night with the salad dressing we had. The salad with dinner also wasn't the healthiest. 

 I continued on with my cleaning and realized I needed to not leave the pile of paper I'm going through in a pile on the floor. A box is so much nicer and looks better to go through. And so, it's in a box.... 

I need to get rid of the book on the left. My now former neighbor (a Cuban) gave it to me...

 I swam for 30 minutes this evening. 

July 22nd- I had a better sleep night. May it continue! 

 It feels like Hell again today! Blech! 

 Today was my once a week job. She's a very nice elderly woman and treated me to McDonald's. This one looked like a cafe! I just had a small hamburger and a drink. I'm going to try not to say anything negative, but let's just say it's time for a full-time job.... 

 I continued on with my cleaning. The paper containment area is slowly but surely getting smaller. 

 I swam for roughly 30 minutes tonight. 

July 23rd-My dad's 79th birthday is today! Happy Birthday to him! 

 I'm beginning to wonder if the root of my depression is anxiety. I woke up again in the middle of the night and used the chart again to get to sleep. It worked.... 

 I also continued on with my cleaning. Still organizing that paper! I'm making a great deal of progress with it. My desk is looking a lot better. :) 

 And we went to El Cholo's for Dad's birthday dinner. Great as always. 

It's not a birthday without a sombrero! 

This was the work of my mother lighting the cake too soon. Don't ask.... 

I was explaining to my mom what a selfie was. :) 

 And I swam tonight for exercise. 

July 24th-One of my neighbors said it was 106 today. Blech! I think the weather really affected me.

 Who woke up twice in the middle of the night? Why yes, that would be me. I had Mexican food for dinner, so I think the salty food theory is probably accurate.

 I continued on with my paper containment cleaning. The trash also got taken out. I'm so proud of that! Lol

 I also realized how stressed out I got yesterday evening. I thought about it as I swam today. My neck felt stiff and sore as I did the side stroke last night. I had none of that today... So, I need to work on my relaxation skills.


July 25th- The humidity went down slightly, but the concrete by the pool was terrible to walk on without shoes.

 I only got up once in the middle of the night. Yaaay!

 Paper organizing continued. The box is getting less full! Some of it is just receipts that need to go into their proper place and other stuff is trash.

 My only drama for the day was losing my scrunchie at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. I haven't swam to the bottom of a deep end in a few years, so a teenager got it for me. My lungs need to work on that one. :) I've had this scrunchie since the '90s, dang it! :)

 I was sad chatting with my next door neighbor Shelly today. She has cancer and is feeling down because she feels as if she is just existing while being treated for cancer this past year and-a-half. Her treatment recently changed to a stronger chemo, which I'm sure is depressing her. I pray that this round is working as it should. She's wondering if she should go forward with treatment if things continue on like this forever.