Sunday Afternoon 5/29/2016

I’m feeling somewhat unfocused again today. I woke up yesterday morning and decided I was going to get my caffeine addiction under control. I have been overindulging in the past month or so and my ability to get a good night’s sleep was being severely compromised, and my schedule was all out of whack (staying up way too late at night, and sleeping way too late in the morning).

This was my caffeine schedule before yesterday: Two cups of coffee when I woke up (in my defense though, both Brett and I drink our coffee half-caffeinated), then approximately 12 – 24 ounces of ice tea, followed by another full cup of coffee in the afternoon, more iced tea at dinner and another half cup of coffee after dinner (I drank water in between). I was WIRED! I’d been staying up until between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., and not waking up until 10:00 or later in the morning, which was ridiculous. By the way, caffeine has absolutely no effect on Brett. He can drink coffee all day, finish a cup at 10:00 p.m. and be asleep by 10:10. I wish.

Anyway, yesterday I had one cup of coffee in the morning, which seemed to be enough to hold off the caffeine withdrawal headaches I was expecting, and drank water the rest of the day. I’m doing the same today, and will probably continue for one more day, and then may or may not add back in some iced tea on Tuesday. But, no matter what I have, I’m finished with having any caffeine past noon.

Because I wasn’t wired yesterday I took a couple of naps, so I still ended up staying awake until nearly midnight. I again slept until nearly 10:00 a.m. this morning though so I either needed the sleep or my caffeine addiction has screwed me up more than I realized.

This afternoon I am:

• Reading: I’m still working my way through Spark Joy, Marie Kondo’s second book. Some of it is a repeat from her first book, but I’m still picking up tips and thinking again if there are things I can get rid of.
• Listening to: Dogs barking, lots of birds singing and the girls chatting away about something in their room. They’ve been working together to get it cleaned up. It’s a very quiet Sunday around here though.
• Watching: Brett and I are thoroughly enjoying The Laura Mysteries and have several more episodes to go. Tonight though Brett and I are going to watch Saving Private Ryan.
• Cooking/baking: Brett made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast this morning (that I could eat – they contained egg but no dairy) – yum! We polished off all the leftovers yesterday, and this evening we’ll be enjoying vegetable lo mein, chicken potstickers, and chili shrimp.
• Happy I accomplished last week: Besides getting started on a caffeine reduction plan, I also finished up another photo book for my Mom this past week, focusing on WenYu’s graduation. I’ve also been working on cleaning out our freezer, and finally got all the stray bread crusts gathered together, toasted and turned into bread crumbs (a bigger project than it seems).
• Looking forward to next week: I am getting a week off from meal planning and cooking! YaYu will be cooking our evening meals all next week. She’s chosen some pretty ambitious items to prepare – wait until you see the menu on Tuesday! (Of course, I’ll still be on duty for dishwashing and other clean-up chores.)
• Thinking of good things that happened: We got back a $176 refund from Brett’s health care provider – it turned out our military insurance paid 100% of what Medicare didn’t cover, and we had overpaid. That refund will go along with us to Oahu next week! We also put $9.30 into our change/$1 bill jar. And, both girls are now done with the school year – we are officially on summer break! We have also been able to wear some of WenYu’s lei this week – we’re surprised (but happy) they’ve lasted this long.
• Thankful for: Tomorrow is a day to remember the men and woman of the service who gave their lives for our country. I am beyond grateful for the sacrifice of these men and women. I cannot even begin to imagine what they experienced or how they did what they had to do, and the conditions many served under. There will be no barbecues, sales or shopping here, just a quiet day of remembrance.
• Bonus question: What are your favorite inspirational quotes? I have three:

1. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude (Maya Angelou)
2. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time (Maya Angelou)
3. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. (William Hutchinson Murray)

That’s a wrap on what’s going on at Casa Aloha today other than we’re heading to the beach in a few minutes. How are you spending your weekend? How is your Sunday going?