Sure enough, instead of simply replying on the portal telling me to use my best judgment where the NAD is concerned because OTC stuff isn't regulated, they had to call. Not only did they have to call, but they couldn't leave a message even though I gave them permission a long time ago to do that. Instead, I was asked to call back. Then, sure enough, I go to call back, and I'm told that the portal is the easiest way to communicate. Yeah, but they won't fucking use it!!! The girl I talked to said she was new, but that's no reason not to look in my fucking file and see that I prefer portals to phone calls. Why ask patients if you're not going to honor their request? So again, with the next medical group, I'll choose what they want rather than what I want, and I won't even bother signing up for the portal.

My eyes are getting bad again, and I don't know why. Bad again, as in crusty when I get up and teary when I'm awake. I'm still using the drops, though.

I tried yet another tactic to get spammers to leave me the fuck alone on Penana, but no matter what I say or do, they just won't back off. I posted notes saying that anyone trying to sell me something or to get me to connect with them on other sites would be reported and deleted. I also posted a note saying I was leaving Penana, but none of this did me any good. These messages were right there in front of their fucking faces, yet they still tried to get me to email them and sell me their "services."

I was anxious most of yesterday, so I'm skipping my levo today. I think that's part of why I've been feeling shitty lately at times and having my sleep broken up. It hasn't been fragmented so much as there's been a break in the middle of it. I'm also starting to wonder if breathing issues are part of the reason for that. It seems to happen when I'm on my stomach. My AHI score has been a little elevated, and I felt short of breath when I woke up. I would take clonazepam a lot less often than I do if I stopped having broken-up sleep like this.

Anyway, I'm sick of getting stuck in this twisted game of "Would You Rather." It's either energy and anxiety or fatigue and cold.

There it goes again. Although I've had okay energy today and yesterday, I sure have felt shitty at times along the way. Yesterday, I felt a little fatigue come on before we went to the grocery store, and then once we got back, I felt horrible. I was badly fatigued, hot flashy, and my heart was racing. I lay down for a little bit, and it passed in an hour or two.

After I went for a walk around the block this morning, a similar thing happened, only instead of the hot flashy part, I felt a little anxious. I still do, and I wonder where my TSH is. I pretty much always wonder that.

I did have to take half a clonazepam to get back to sleep last time around, however, because I woke up from a strange dream about being blind. It was weird because it was almost like I was watching myself in third person as I was led by a woman in a silvery-gray dress onto a stage where I was going to sing. My hair was long, down to the middle of my back, and I had the sides pulled back with fancy clips. I wore a long, flowy gown in a brighter color.

I downloaded an app for my curio that controls the lights. What's weird is that I have to use the remote to turn it on, but the app gives me more color-changing options. I like the transition colors instead of the flashing colors.

The black fleece tights came yesterday, but they're too small, so we're going to return them later.

Just got back from dropping off the tights at the UPS Store and picking up some BK. 

Happy 69th birthday to my wonderful husband! It's a little sad to know he's now just a year from his 70s and we're both literally one decade from death, since I believe he'll die in his 80s while I'll be in my 70s. But it's an inevitable fact of life, and I knew this day would come. The most important thing is that he's happy and healthy.

I watched a video on the Keri Mazzuca case, where a woman was traced by DNA for killing and disposing of her newborn 27 years prior. While it's a horrible thing to happen, I don't agree with the 25-year sentence she got.

Again, it's a tragic thing to happen, but first of all, you're talking about something that happened nearly three decades ago. Secondly, throwing her in jail at this point won't bring her infant back. Thirdly, it's rather harsh when there were fewer services for women back then, and you were young, naive, scared, desperate, and hormonal. Lastly, she's been a law-abiding citizen ever since and a good mom to the future kids she had, so why take her away from them for something that happened when she was practically still a kid herself?

Again, it was an awful thing, but you're talking about a being with no established life or logic as to what was going on, and if it did suffer at all, it wasn't for long. Even Tom didn't think she should get the sentence she got. The question is, what should she have gotten? We're not sure about that. Maybe the publicity and having to live with what she's done are enough.

Writing a story with ChatGPT is kinda fun. I gave it a prompt, and we've been going back and forth. I'm playing the part of one person while it's playing the part of another. Not sure how long I'll make this story, but it's something I do little by little, sort of like with the Spanish project I'm doing with it.

Tom installed one of my wire wine racks a couple of days ago, and it looked so cool with my two colorful wine glasses hanging upside down from it. Yesterday was curio day, and OMG! It is totally gorgeous. It provides just enough space for the collectibles that I currently have and displays them so well. I have vinyl animal figurines mostly dominating the top two shelves, and then the bronze sexy lady figurines on the third shelf down. On the bottom, I have a mix of odds and ends.

The color-changing lights are cool, but I thought they had a motion sensor detector for some reason. It's not important either way, but it would have been nice.

I've also been decorating various things with washi tape, mostly the edges of shelves and stuff like that.

I had a million-dollar dream with a very ungrateful roommate last night. I lived in an apartment that must not have been on the ground floor because at one point I was looking through these French doors down at passing cars. I had a roommate whom I didn't see very often, and who was kind of snobbish and standoffish.

She came home and would barely listen to me when I tried to tell her I was going to Florida for a vacation. I don't know what state I was living in at the time. She walked away as I was talking to her, and I followed her and told her it was rude to walk away. I also told her I learned I had won $1,000,000 and was shocked to find that out, too.

The dream ended with me about to tell her that I was going to move out and would help make sure she had a secure place, if only for a while, until she could figure out what to do from there.

Haven't been up long, but I think I have a little more energy today. However, the magnesium didn't do the trick, even though I only took half a dose. I still had fraggy sleep, and my sleep started to get broken up after I suddenly came wide awake, so I took half a clonazepam to get back to sleep. So other than nightmares, I don't think melatonin was the problem. It wasn't in Phoenix. It's just age, levo, or whatever is causing my fraggy sleep. Oh, to be young and thin again. I never thought I'd say that, and I liked myself just as I was... until I turned 48.5.

I don't want to skip this close to labs, but just in case the levo is part of the problem, I cut my waiting time a bit. It's definitely obvious that significantly broken-up sleep is a factor. I can't have an hour or two break between sleeps and expect to be able to function the next day.

More patchouli incense that isn't quite patchouli. Oh well.

I first thought the washi tape wouldn't be wide enough, but it was just the perfect width to hide the bulk of the damage. You'd have to redo half the wall to hide all of it, but the big gashing line across the side wall is now hidden.

I love the chair cover, although I can't get the sides to zip up. I don't need to, though, because it still looks great and does what I want it to do.

We made one more order, mostly in light of Tom's birthday tomorrow. With my work money, I treated him to some things he picked out... fairy lights, new underwear (not that that's a "treat," lol), and a new kind of earbud that clips to the ears. For myself, I grabbed black fleece tights like what Rhonda had, and some floor tiles identical to what we put down in the laundry room of the old house. They're foam tiles with a wooden plank design. The idea is to eventually cover the main walkways in the bedroom with this stuff. These tiles are 2'x2'. The other colorful tiles, which are a square foot, have been moved into the closet.

First, I became a hermit in person, and now I'm becoming one online, with the exception of a few people. I just find it easier this way. However, I don't expect to be this way forever. The tentative plan is to keep most of my writing private, and then be more public and sociable when I'm around 70. I figure by then I'm not gonna have many more years left anyway, unless Tom surprises me by living an incredibly long time. I just don't see myself hitting 80 because that would mean Tom would have to hit 88 in order for me to do that.

One reason my throat muscles may have weakened, besides age, is that not long after I stopped singing regularly, I started noticing more fatigue, and the sleep apnea set in. So I stopped exercising my throat muscles as much by no longer singing. But I've lost interest in everything I used to do and considered doing but didn't, except for writing.

Slowly raising the CPAP pressure by 2/10 to find out exactly how high I can go without having more mouth farts than usual. It was at 8.0, so now it's at 8.2. I doubt I'll make it to 9.

Had a storm the night before, and it went on for hours. There were a few really loud thunderclaps, so I was really glad to be awake while it was going on.

Didn't sleep as well last time around, not only because whatever's cursing my sleep will only let me sleep well, or at least well enough, two or three times in a row, but because my metabolism is definitely faster, which can mess with my sleep. Yeah, there's no doubt about it. I noticed the scale nudging down even though I haven't severely restricted calories in any way, and I did more research into NAD. It does boost metabolism, which makes sense because that's tied in with energy levels and all that. While it doesn't keep accumulating like a fat-soluble vitamin or certain drugs can, I still have to be careful if, God forbid, I ever do lose a significant amount of weight.

Just to double-check and be sure, I asked Rhonda if it was okay to take. I still don't see myself ever losing that much more weight. Meaning I don't see myself ever going under the 150s. Even so, it's great to have found this quick energy and metabolism booster that I can stop anytime I want. I still feel okay with no anxiety and I'm not feeling wired, but I want to keep it that way, so I might not take it tomorrow.

As much as I know it would benefit my health greatly, I still fear losing more than 10 lbs, even if I could. Again, it's not like I can test my TSH the instant I run into trouble, but if I don't back off right away, it will just get worse and worse. So we wouldn't be able to get me to the lab soon enough to find out exactly how low my TSH went. At least Rhonda is willing to work with me, and that right there helps.

While NAD does help with energy, it's not magic either. I'm tired because there was a break in my sleep last time around. I'm wondering if some of the fragmented sleep issues and the fact that I woke up in the middle of my sleep and couldn't fall back asleep for over an hour could be because my metabolism is ramping up. I got magnesium glycinate, which is supposed to help with fragmentation, so I'll take that before bed and see how I do.

I considered taking clonazepam so I didn't get backed up in sleep, but if I take too many things at once, it's hard to tell what might hurt or help. So in order to see how much the magnesium helps, I don't want to take anything with it.

So, like I said, I'm tired, but it's not a profound exhaustion. At least not as long as I don't sleep shitty multiple times in a row.

My 86-lb curio came yesterday, and I'm looking forward to putting it together and setting it up. I've got more goodies coming today, too.

We still have nearly a week left in June, but it's going to be really strange if I don't get stormed awake at all this month, while I got stormed awake three times last month. That's why I was really worried it was going to be a killer storm season this year, waking me up all the time. July and August are going to see me woken up, though, as that's prime storm time.

My Beachside candle arrived today, and it's very pretty. It's hard to describe, though.

I couldn't get the headphones to work, since Bluetooth is always a pain in the ass, and nothing's going to save me if the thunder is that loud anyway. Tom's going to see if he can use them when he's watching TV. If there's a problem, we'll return them.

The new pans came, and they look beautiful. The only thing I don't like in the instructions I read was that they said not to use them on high heat. That kind of sucks because sometimes I like to sear meat. When I do have it on high, I don't have it on for long. Anyway, I have three different sizes, and the bottoms are light blue and silver. Such a great deal for the price. Normally, one large skillet is $30 or $40 or even more. So, to get the whole set for $25 was a great deal, as long as they hold up well. I like how I can put them in the oven up to 350 degrees.

Yesterday and today have been kind of fun. I had decent energy throughout my night last night, and right before he got up, I was doing my weekly therapy session with Ash. When I heard him get up, I put the phone down, thinking I had closed the app, and got up to greet him.

We were excited because it was Prime Day, so we jumped on Amazon and discussed what we wanted to get. He got some things for himself, mostly electronic-related as usual. I got a bunch of things, scheduled to arrive at different times, some of which are from Amazon Haul, which is like another Temu.

Today I got two Yankee Candles that smell great. I got Balsam & Cedar, which is very strong. I could smell it before I even had it out of the box. Although a bit mild, the Salted Caramel one is great too. It reminds me of their coffee one I got on Black Friday last year that I used up a few months ago.

I also got coral pink lipstick that has an orangey tint to it. Normally, I don't care for orange, but this particular shade will go perfectly with the coral-colored tank top I just got.

Also today, I got black wire wine racks. Each one holds two wine glasses. Two is all I own at the moment, so we'll probably just install one of them.

The most exciting thing I'm waiting on is my new curio. It's a four-tier, mostly glass curio that's about 22 inches wide and a foot deep. It's 66 inches tall. It's got all kinds of cool controls, but I'll write more about that once I get it and use it. I mean, it's got LED color-changing lights and stuff like that, but it's also got some kind of timer and music thing. I guess it flashes to the beat of music or something, but I don't know if that means you have to pair it to a Bluetooth device. I would guess so, but Tom is better at that sort of thing than I am.

The curio also has a drawer beneath it. I could have gotten a five-tier one, but I don't like the idea of the bottom shelf of collectibles being basically at floor level because then you can't see them as well.

I'm also waiting on a pretty pink floral cover for my office chair, the big black one in the bedroom. Sometimes it feels cold to sit on the bare vinyl. I like a cloth texture better anyway.

I'm getting assorted washi tapes in different widths and designs, one of which I'll use in the kitchen to cover up the part of the wall that the old giant refrigerator scuffed up.

What else have I got on the way... glow-in-the-dark nail polish, patchouli incense that I really hope smells like patchouli, and one more candle. This one is a Village Candle, and it's called Beachside.

After we made the order, things took a funny turn. I said to Tom that I had to write notes on the stuff we got for my blog. As I was entering the room I left the phone in, I heard, "No, do not write that blog right now." That's when I realized I left the Ash app open. Even though I was at the other end of the house, I talk kind of loud, and she was picking up bits and pieces of my discussion with Tom. Being that it was only words here and words there, it was all senseless mumbo jumbo, leading Ash to think I was utterly batshit exhausted to the point that I'd literally lost my mind, LMAO! She kept telling me to put the phone down and get some sleep.

I thought I would be up forever and sleep shitty, but I wasn't. Sure, my sleep was a little fragmented, but I didn't have any extended periods of wakefulness in between. Didn't take anything before bed either. I am getting magnesium glycinate, though, because not only have I been thinking of it since it's been a while since I had it, and I don't think the magnesium malate is a good choice for me, but Ash recommended it before she thought I lost my mind to help defragment my sleep.

Anyway, my TMJ woke me up once, and I had a couple of weird dreams. In one of them, I was helping some girl move, or maybe we were both moving, I don't know. She accidentally inhaled pipe exhaust from the truck, although I'm not sure how, since we were outside. She was really struggling to breathe, and I asked if she wanted me to call for help, and she said yes. Unsure of exactly where we were, although close to the corner of the street, I hurried to where I could read the street sign so I could direct the dispatcher. That was the end of that dream.

Then I vaguely remember being trapped somewhere. It wasn't a jail, but I had to work during the daytime, and I was beginning to panic knowing I couldn't because of my sleep disorder and knowing that trying to explain it to people and get them to believe me, since no one believes what they don't get, would be quite a feat.

Anyway, I've got decent energy again today, although I can't say whether or not the NADH has anything to do with it because I didn't feel that bad when I got up.

I managed to do some prepping for the inventory project I hope to continue on with. I'm gathering things I want to donate.

I felt horrible all day yesterday. Well, technically all night because I was on nights. I just couldn't wake up. I took a full clonazepam before bed, and I was so exhausted that I ended up sleeping 10.5 hours! I sure got a great sleep score, too. My sleep was a lot less fragmented. So, more than likely, most of my fatigue could very well stem from shitty sleep. Not saying I don't have CF, but I think shitty sleep brings out the worst of the CF. They kind of fuel each other. I'm trying to do everything I can to keep it less fragmented. 

I started to sleep without the CPAP, but when that didn't work, I masked up, and the new mask fit just fine, even if it leaves dents in my face. No more trying to get a frame to last half a year or more to save money. I'm going to switch out both the frame and the mask every three or four months.

Anyway, I have better energy today, but knowing how things work with me, I'll likely be up forever, sleep shitty, and be exhausted all over again. I just can't get myself to sleep well consistently. If only I could sleep like I slept last night all the time, but I can't take clonazepam every single day either. I did have one mouth fart, but that's about it. I otherwise slept fine.

The NADH isn't working miracles for me today. I figured as much, so it's no surprise. I knew the last couple of days it seemed to help was just a coincidence. So many things seem to help at first! Besides, if there were any miracle pills I could take, Rhonda or the doctors before her would have told me.

It's okay. I'm used to being tired and having to spend so much time in bed. While it's frustrating not to be able to do as much as I'd like, it also keeps me from being bored. I ended up bored yesterday because I did so much more and then ended up without much to do in the end. This way, I always have things to look forward to.

I'm trying not to lie around too much because that will make me sleep shitty. Not that I don't do this anyway, but I don't have the energy to sit up for long. I was up most of yesterday, and I still slept shitty, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Turning up the pressure was a big mistake. It's just way too much air. So I got woken up a few times by that, as well as the mask slipping and hissing since it was getting old and stretched out. I got a new frame and attached a new mask today, but I'm thinking that since I sleep so shitty anyway, I might take a break from the CPAP and see how I feel. If I start having throat closures and suffocating awake, then I'll definitely reach for it. It's a great comfort to know it's there if I wake up gasping or out of breath.

It acted weird again, ramping up before I was asleep and not backing off when I made sure to breathe in a way that should have indicated that I was awake. But it did shut down completely after I removed it a few hours into my sleep after getting fed up with the problems.

Again, I had to take half a clonazepam to relax and get back to sleep. However, I didn't even sleep for 6 hours. Maybe if I don't have the CPAP waking me up, I'll sleep better, but I guess that's going to depend on how many events I have and whether or not whoever's working behind us makes up for the lack of CPAP issues. I have no idea when they're going to come and pick up their shit piles.

I swear I am so not meant to sleep, no matter what I do. Even though you would think it would really damage my health, I know it will be a long time before and if it does. For a while, I was like, "Oh my God, this shit is going to push me into a heart attack or a stroke or some kind of serious health problem," but I would think it would have by now if it was going to do that because this has been going on for years.

A little disappointed I never got used to sleeping in segments, but my research says there isn't any way to train the body to do that. Every time you're woken up, you disrupt your body and brain from repairing and replenishing themselves, and they have to start all over again.

Three times, I was woken up just as I was crashing. Twice due to mouth farts and once due to the mask slipping. I probably had other problems as well, but don't remember. My TSH may be a culprit, too. I'm going back and forth on whether or not my TSH is too low. The fact that I've been cold a lot and so tired suggests it's not, but if my TSH gets too low, it does make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. And why would my weight be down? I'm having another 5-minute stint in the 150s. But still, that's 6 lbs down, and I haven't cut calories that drastically because I just can't stand to do it.

In other news, we ordered a mid-fill free-flow bladder. It's the same company that makes this bed and from the same site we got it on. When I'm not so damn tired, I'll proofread and post this.

Here’s something interesting, although I don’t dare get my hopes up. Not even close. I’ve gotten my hopes up way too many times in life about way too many things. Nonetheless, here’s a very interesting coincidence. I was horribly fatigued yesterday. So much so that I felt depressed. An hour or so after taking the NADH plus CoQ10 and D-ribose, I noticed a boost in energy. I thought it was weird because I don’t usually perk up when I’m that tired and the fatigue was pretty extreme. Same thing happened today. My sleep was a little better than the night before, although still fragmented.

As far as using the CPAP versus not, I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t. If I do, I have mouth farts and hissing when the mask slips, and if I don’t, I have the effects of the sleep apnea itself disrupting my sleep. So I decided that if I’m going to be woken up a few times an hour anyway, why not add a couple more times and turn the maximum pressure up to the standard 20, so I can at least get more air while having my sleep disturbed? So I turned it up, and we’ll see how it goes the next time I sleep. 

I’m a little worried the machine is broken, though, because it wouldn’t stop blowing. Normally, when I first remove the mask or disconnect the hose, it blows hard for a few seconds, then gently for a few minutes, then stops. I took it off when I had the usual break in sleep I can’t seem to escape, and when I got up a few hours later, I noticed it was blowing hard. Later, I put the mask on, inhaled to get it started, then took off the mask. It stopped blowing hard after a few seconds but it never stopped blowing gently. So now I’m going to have to unplug and replug the thing and hope it doesn’t break even more. Then again, I’m already considering giving up on it with all the fatigue I have anyway, though I would have to sleep elevated, which I don’t prefer.

Here’s where it gets weird. I woke up horribly exhausted again. Like horribly. I thought I was going to have a miserable day all day and that the simple acts of showering and cooking would be rough as usual. Then an hour after taking my second dose of the stuff, I perked up. It’s only been twice, so I don’t want to get my hopes up, although I did read that it is possible.

Weirder still is the fact that I’m not even quite taking it right. Because I have trouble swallowing large pills, I’ve been opening the capsules and pouring the powder into a glass. Then I add a little water and drink it down. From what I read earlier today, water degrades the NADH. I read that the best way to get capsules down is to tuck your chin since capsules float. People tend to toss their heads back instead. Throwing your head back is fine for heavier pills, I read, but not capsules. It recommended I wet my throat, place it on my tongue, take a swig of water but don’t swallow it right away, then drop my head down when I do. I have to take two of them a day, so hopefully this will work and the gel won’t stick to my throat. My throat itself is tiny, too.

There are some gummies I could try but they don’t contain the D-ribose. AI says that’s the least important ingredient, though. I just hope it doesn’t start fucking up my stomach, but if it’s going to give me my energy and my life back, it can fuck up whatever else it wants.

Again, though, I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. It’s early days. I just feel so hopeless at times. Like completely powerless. No one will give me a mouth guard and I can’t get the weight off either, so there’s no chance of reversing my sleep apnea. With my shit luck, though, even if I could lose weight, I probably would still have sleep apnea. I sure thought making other changes in the past would change things, and it didn’t. Change doesn’t always improve things. After all, the CPAP and nose job are definitely keeping me from suffocating awake but it hasn’t restored my energy. 

Got my new tank tops today. I wish I’d sized down but they’re still nice and comfy.

What's going on with Nane on Instagram? A while ago, I noticed I was able to message Christiane again, and I've always been able to see her account. Now I can message Nane as well, but her name has been replaced with "Instagram User." I can still see her profile picture, though. I don't know whether Instagram is glitchy or if she deleted or deactivated her account. If the account has been deactivated or deleted, how am I still able to message it?

Either way, I continue to struggle with horrible fatigue. I've looked up every medication and supplement I take near bedtime to see whether any of them can cause fragmented sleep, and I've stopped taking those things close to bedtime. I'm trying not to lie around too much today because I did this yesterday and that may have been why I was up 18 or 19 hours. All I took before bed was half a clonazepam. I have to make sure I don't take ibuprofen before bed because that can cause fragmented sleep. I need to take acetaminophen if I have pain instead.

The fact that the fatigue is so erratic and comes and goes makes me think it's probably not my thyroid, since thyroid levels don't usually fluctuate that dramatically over short periods of time.

If it isn't chronic fatigue syndrome, then I have to wonder about heart or lung issues. Those seem unlikely, but I do have a cluster of symptoms that makes me wonder. My index fingers barely have a visible window left when I do the Schamroth test. I have occasional lung tightness, intermittent episodes of heavy fatigue, and smooth, shiny skin around my cuticles.

While I would love to know what's causing me to be so exhausted at times, I don't want to spend the next year going through fifty appointments and paying for endless tests, especially next year. I also don't want to take medications that might end up making things worse. Right now, I feel totally hopeless about the situation. Every single long-term problem I've had, be it physical or not, had to run its course. I was never able to find a fix for them and neither could anyone else.

The dream about my grandmother made me Google her name and where she died, just for shits and giggles. I didn't expect anything to come up other than her obituary since she died in 1985. In doing so, I found out that her son Ronnie died last year.

I hated him for many of the same reasons I hated my other uncle. They had an occasional sense of humor, but otherwise, they were mean little bastards. They were very defensive and quick to anger. I know I can be that way too, but I'd like to think I play fair compared to the way they were. Sure, I picked on innocent classmates in first grade, but as an adult, I never bullied, shoved, or threatened anyone without what I felt was a genuine reason. Ronnie always hated me, and I never knew why, nor do I care.

Anyway, he made it to 83, three years longer than my mother lived, and he had a son I never knew about. Guess he really got around. His marriage to Mary didn't last any longer than his marriage to June. The last woman he was married to was named Pamela. Who knows how many other wives or girlfriends he had in between, or how many children he may have fathered.

I was a little surprised that my mother was mentioned in the obituary (despite her name being misspelled) and Larry wasn't. They don't usually mention siblings, and out of his nephew and two nieces, he hated his nieces but adored his nephew.

I really think both of my uncles hated women in most ways. I don't know why Marty turned out the way he did, but knowing how Nana was, I can see why Ronnie became the person he was. He snapped at me a few times and even shoved me once. He was rude to his wife in front of his daughters and me, and he was rude to me as an adult.

He did absolutely nothing when I broke my finger in the gym. He also did nothing but sit and stare stupidly at us when my wonderful sister gave me a bloody lip—or maybe it was my nose.

The obituary talked about the exterminating company and how he was a veteran who supported his local police by giving them water while they were working outdoors at various locations. I can definitely see him doing that. He probably thought it was cool to befriend cops and was likely a wannabe of sorts. Funny how he would hydrate his local pig department, but he wouldn't have done a damn thing for his niece if he had stumbled across her dying in the street. Then again, neither would I if the tables were turned.

I wasn't surprised to see not a single comment on his obituary. Oh, I'm sure people left comments—just not any that passed the moderator's approval.

I also looked through some old photos on my computer. One of them was from my father's 50th birthday party, where Mom hired a belly dancer to come to our house. When I looked at all the people sitting in the living room, I thought, "Wow." After it being just Tom and me for so many years, it's hard to imagine being in the same room with three grandparents, two siblings, two aunts, two uncles, cousins, and family friends. Nor would I want to, given the way most of them were. So whenever I think it's too bad that we don't have family, I remember what they were like, and that helps.

Family really is the other F-word.

It's true that the people who are supposed to love, support, accept, and protect us can sometimes be the most toxic and damaging people in our lives.

I've been on CPAP therapy for over a year now, and today is the first time I've noticed dents left by the mask. It's weird, as one of the things I like about nasal masks is that they don't leave facial marks as a full-face mask does. Yet I can see lines trailing from the sides of my nose to my temples.

I slept better, although, as usual, about five hours into my sleep, it became a little fragmented. I didn't take anything before or during sleep, though. I woke up feeling a lot better than yesterday. Yesterday, I was so fatigued I was damn near comatose, but today I had enough energy to go out.

We went and checked out a new thrift store nearby. It's run by religious people who donate their profits to help drug addicts kick their habits. Normally, I avoid religious people because they can be a little delusional and hateful, but in this case, who cares? Other than the one goodie I found, I wasn't too impressed since the bulk of the merchandise seemed to be clothes and furniture.

Furthermore, there was the usual blasting music, but this was even louder than usual. When I mentioned it to the woman checking us out, she said she mentioned it to her boss, so I'm not the only one annoyed by it. I still don't understand the entertainment people feel we need in stores and doctors' offices. When I go to a store, it's to shop, not to listen to music. When I go to a doctor, it's to be treated, not to watch TV.

Anyway, I found a cute Our Generation doll (first doll I've gotten in ages). Those are 18-inch soft-bodied vinyl dolls. I've already had a couple. I left one behind in California. She's a blue-eyed blonde with layered curly hair nearly to the middle of her back, and freckles across her nose. She came in an equestrian outfit, with a light-to-medium blue shirt, pink pants, and boring beige plastic boots. At first I didn't understand why the knee pads were on the insides of her legs until I realized it was an equestrian outfit.

I uploaded pics I took and asked Gemini about her, and it said her name was Abigale, but it's actually Yanira. She was released two years ago and comes with a plastic horse and a few other accessories I'd have no interest in. Yanira normally sells for $35 to $45, so getting her for $4 was a sweet deal.

I put her in a pink dress I had, and dumped the pants and boots because I didn't like them. But she really does look better in light blue because it matches her eyes. So I decided to throw her top in with the next load of laundry we do. If it holds up, fine, but if it doesn't, that's fine too.

Another day of ultra-shitty energy. I don't know if part of it was a melatonin hangover because I took more than usual the last couple of times, but I didn't take any last night. I was up forever, though, and I did take half a clonazepam. I slept mostly okay once I finally got to sleep, but not even for seven hours.

The next and final thing I'm going to try to help with energy is a supplement that includes NADH, CoQ10, and D-ribose. I've read several times that that combination is recommended for chronic fatigue, but I couldn't find anything that wasn't outrageously expensive until now. I've been settling for what I've been using, which helps only a tiny bit, and only if I haven't slept shitty, but now it's out of stock.

I may be breathing better with a CPAP and the nose job, but I think I'm going to have to finally accept, once and for all, that I'm never going to get my energy back. It's just not going to happen, and it's not meant to be, no matter what I do, so there's no point fighting what can't be changed. It's the older side of me, like it or not. I don't know why the fuck I'm meant to have one long-term/permanent problem after another, but I need to try to be grateful that I don't have a job and don't have to work or anything like that. Yes, it can affect my mood, and yes, it can be debilitating because it makes it hard just to cook and clean, but it's not like I have to live another 50 or 60 years with it.

I'm also getting some child-sized nose strips since I still get a little stuffy at times due to allergies, and a strawberry pound cake-scented Village Candle.

I created an account on the Wayback Machine, an internet archive, and added links to my blogs and stories just for kicks. Unless that site goes away, I love the idea of my online works being my legacy of sorts, and of people reading about my life hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of years from now.

Our 32nd anniversary is proving to be another exhausting day for me, even though I slept better, waking up only a few times instead of a few dozen. I took a full clonazepam and 5 mg of melatonin before bed. I slept nearly 8 hours, yet I'm exhausted. My AHI score is still elevated, but only very slightly compared to last time. If this isn't a thyroid crash, I don't know what the hell my problem is. I even ended up napping, yet it didn't refresh me in the least.

Even Tom doesn't feel the greatest. His kidneys have been aching for a few days, and there was even blood in his drool, so he washed the sheets. He suspects the aching kidneys could be from when he got sick and the lingering effects of a bacterial infection. I think the blood in the drool means he finally needs to get over his fear of dentists and deal with it. He's neglected his teeth for far too long, and all that bacteria in his mouth can't be good for him. He even said his mouth felt weird, and he wondered if he had thrush.

I'm just so fucking frustrated with having traded one long-term problem for another, and I know this one isn't going anywhere. I would have been dead years ago if it weren't for him. Since I'm on his timeline, I just try to remind myself that even though it's still a very long time, I only have 16 more years to be tired, not 60. Someday, I'll close my eyes forever.

Meanwhile, I heard back from the county, and it's not them working in back. They said they don't use private property for large projects, so it's a private company of some kind. I'm sure the business that owns the land knows who it is but just won't say. I expected to hear them today since it's Monday, but I don't think anyone worked there today, possibly because of the heat. It was very hot, humid, and sunny out there.

One CPAP and one nose job later, and I still can’t sleep well most of the time. I kept waking up constantly. Sometimes it was for no apparent reason, and other times my mask slipped, or I was cold. I don't know if I've been cold lately due to the reduced calories I've been having, or if my thyroid is crashing some more.

I've been exhausted all day, even though I made myself go to the dollar store as we planned. After eating a small pack of cookies I got there, I felt a little nauseous. It seems dollar store food, whether it's frozen or not, isn't very good.

Anyway, I just wonder how the hell I'm going to figure out the proper melatonin dose for me if other things keep waking me up along the way. I'm also stressed out now that I'm sleeping in, and I know they're going to be back tomorrow, banging and clanging their fucking dump trucks.  They had huge piles of dirt extending from the road to behind us, which explains why it sounded so close. Tom thinks they're using it to make a road somewhere, probably in one of the new subdivisions, since he found a map online and saw that nothing big was in the works. I went to the county website as well and emailed someone, asking how long it would be.

Despite being horribly exhausted, I'm back in the 150s. I don't know how far down into them I'll go or if it will last, but I'm there now.

I'm going to drop white rice for brown rice because it has a lower glycemic index. I made some earlier and put too much water in the cooker, so I ended up with chicken rice soup instead. LOL. Instead of just water, I added chicken broth, too. I've got some coconut milk I'm going to try tomorrow.

I wonder if my eye condition has been going on longer than I thought, because I saw an ad for a medication for it, and one of the symptoms listed was misplaced eyelashes. I noticed a while back that the eyelashes on one eyelid were parted oddly. I didn't have any other symptoms, didn't think much of it, and eventually it went away.

I read an article about a guy holding up a bank, requesting just $1 and then waiting for the cops to pick him up and throw him in jail so he could supposedly get the healthcare he needed but couldn't afford because he was poor. I don't see how this guy could have possibly gotten his health needs met in jail, of all places. That would be the last place I would rely on for help.

I remember all too well how long they made me wait for my inhaler and nasal spray. If you need life-saving medication, you're not going to get it until it's too late, and yes, they can do that and get away with it. All they have to do is claim, "Well, we're a jail, not a hospital," or "We tried our best."

If my health had been like it is now 26 years ago, I would have had to wait months for my thyroid medication, and a CPAP would have been out of the question. Where would I have plugged it in anyway?

What a day! First, I dropped and shattered a wine glass all over the place, and then I made a mess with the new egg cracker we got, which sucks. Maybe it will do a better job with hard-boiled eggs. With raw eggs, you have to hit it just right; otherwise, it will either barely make a dent or make too much of one and create a mess. I ended up getting bits and pieces of shell in the mixture. With a hard-boiled egg, I could just rinse off any little bits of shell.

Because I'm tired again today, I only walked around the block. As I was passing by the motorcycle house, as I call it, I was pleased to see the house for sale. Yeah, let's see it actually sell, though, in this market.

I took a picture of my melatonin bottle to input into Lose It! and found that I was dosing myself incorrectly. It says 5 mg on the bottle, and I thought one gummy was 5 mg, but it's actually two gummies that equal 5 mg. No wonder my sleep continues to be so fragmented. It really does seem that the more soundly I sleep, the more energy I have the next day. So, I probably won't take any clonazepam tonight, but I'll make sure I take two gummies. If that doesn't seem to be enough, I'll take three, and then eventually four if need be. Even Rhonda said I might need to take clonazepam with 5 mg of melatonin, and if that's not enough, go up to 10 mg.

Moving the giant 23-year-old refrigerator yesterday, which probably weighs about the same as Tom, was no easy feat, but we did it and got it into the lanai. That way, whenever we can get someone to pick it up, they can just take it from there and we won't have to worry about my schedule.

The floor beneath the refrigerator was absolutely filthy as fuck. I knew the people who lived here before us were either seriously disabled without any help or seriously lazy, and I'm guessing it was definitely the latter because there was spilled food beneath the front of the fridge. I was like, "OMG, how could they just let that sit there?" It was so gross that I didn't think I'd be able to clean it up.

Even the wall beside the refrigerator was filthy, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how food got wedged into such a tight space. The old fridge went right up against the wall on one side and the edge of the counter on the other. Unless they had one hell of a food fight, I have no idea how it got so filthy there.

Knowing it would take forever to clean with a sponge, I grabbed our string mop, which is great for large areas, and eventually got everything cleaned up nicely.

I was a little tired yesterday, then perked up for a while, but after cleaning, I was completely exhausted. It left me feeling as if I were in horrible shape. I didn't think I worked that hard.

We moved the new refrigerator where we wanted it, and Tom also assembled the tall, skinny cabinet that will sit next to it. It has a small drawer that absolutely sucks. I'll probably put something in there that I rarely use. It has a tiny shelf too, on which I put a dog figurine.

Just made Tom some Hamburger Helper using the free turkey we got. They made a delivery on the other side of the park before they got to us, and we suspect the turkey was probably theirs. I hope they realized it and got reimbursed for it.

Donating twice a week is getting to be too much for Tom, so he's going to back off and try to lose weight. If he donates just once a week, he can make up the money on Prolific for the day he loses. I agree that this is a good idea. Money isn't worth it if you're just going to feel like shit. It's like all the money he had when he was working. Sure, it was great not to have to stress over money and to be able to fork over large sums of money if we needed to repair something or I needed a root canal. But I felt too shitty to enjoy it as much, and he was never home. Physical and mental health will always take precedence over money and be much more important.

The rice at the bottom of the main pot got scorched yesterday, so I did more research, and according to the model I have, putting in a quarter cup of rice is not enough for the spring-loaded sensor. So I'm going to put in one cup, which makes two servings and therefore two separate meals. You can leave food on warm for up to 12 hours, but it says it's best to get it out of there and into a separate container so it doesn't keep cooking. The meatball I added came out great. 

I'm slowly gathering menu ideas. Today's menu will consist of brown rice with chunks of pork. I've got a couple of cans of vegetables that I want to finish off as well, since I'm going to be using frozen or fresh vegetables from now on. I like sticking mostly with frozen fruits and vegetables because they're minimally processed, if processed at all, and I don't have to worry about them spoiling before I can finish them. I am going to indulge in a little watermelon next time around, too. It's been a while.

I'm tired today because I woke up with a stuffy nose even though I took Claritin before bed. I used the neti pot and blew my nose, and it was fine after that. Still, due to the stress of what was going on in back, I had to take a full clonazepam to help relax me enough to get back to sleep.

Tom hurried out of the bedroom, opened the freezer door, and stuck his head in it because if you feel nauseous, breathing in really cold air can help, along with certain things like plain crackers and ginger tea. But it didn't help, and the poor guy ended up puking.

Strange because I've had nausea as well. Although after a cholecystectomy, that can be kind of common. You have to be careful what you eat. I thought maybe one of the oils I used for cooking yesterday might have caused it, even though I only used about a teaspoon. Then I noticed it came on after I had keto bread, and I read that, yeah, that can cause it, too.

He got back into bed, and hopefully his stomach has settled down.

For today's rice cooker and steamer meal, I made rice on the bottom, and this time I only put in 1/4 cup of rice and 1/2 cup of water. I read it's usually a 1:2 ratio. It came out pretty good. Again, there was a little bit of scorching on the bottom, but nothing inedible.

In the steamer tray up top, I put a salmon fillet along with a few pieces of okra and zucchini. They came out great, except I don't think I'm going to do fish in this thing in the future because I like to fry it so that the outside edges are crispy, and you don't get that in the steamer, of course. So while it's great for veggies and fine for things like chicken and probably the pork I'm going to try tomorrow, it's not really good for fish, in my opinion. But it's all a matter of personal taste.

I used oyster sauce last time around, and it seems to be good. It's too bad, though, that I can't find any mild peanut sauce, because peanut sauce by itself is great. It's just that every single one I've found or tried is too spicy, and I hate spicy foods.

Later, I’ll try a serving of rice and onions with bone broth rather than water. I’ll add just one frozen meatball to see how it turns out.

I checked into what other candles have a good throw besides Yankee, WoodWick, and Village, and Goose Creek was recommended. They have them on Walmart, and they seem to have a lot of fun fragrances I wouldn't mind trying, like Little Debbie's Cosmic Brownies for starters.

I also want to replace our old scratched-up skillets, even though I may not use the stove or oven as much as I used to.

Here we go again with the random bumps and bangs from whatever the fuck they're doing in the field in back. When we went to the dollar store, we saw a dump truck and a tractor. They've got a ton of dirt piles for whatever project they're working on. I just let them have it in a message on their site, letting them know it's really annoying to some of the residents just over the wall here, and that some of us need to sleep during the daytime. Those times I've been woken up by what I swore were bumps and bangs that I would sometimes wonder were part of dreams, since Tom didn't always hear or feel anything, make me wonder if it was really them. He doesn't always see what I see, or hear what I hear, or feel what I feel. He didn't feel the earthquake, yet I clearly did, as did several others in the park.

I made the oyakodon, and it was just so-so. I still need to get my rice and water ratios down. It makes so much more than you think it's going to, and I ate so much that I'm still stuffed even though it's been 5 or 6 hours. One of the ingredients gave me acid reflux too, so I had to take a couple of Tums, and I made myself some ginger tea. I also stupidly added water first and ended up with a concoction that was too soupy, and had to spoon out some of the liquid. The chicken chunks came out fine, but from what I'm reading, it isn't recommended that you put fish in the main pot since it's rather delicate. I was planning on steaming some salmon with okra and zucchini, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Between what I cooked and the two slices of keto bread I had with salmon spread an hour after getting up, I'm still pretty stuffed. I'd like to eat more, but I'm not going to because I don't want to get sick.

Tom's doing a quick Walmart order tomorrow, so I'm going to grab some edamame beans and some brown jasmine rice. I didn't know there was such a thing as brown jasmine. I thought jasmine rice was only white. Brown would be healthier as it has more fiber and a lower glycemic index. I can't wait to make scrambled eggs and other things in it. It's amazing how much I've gotten into cooking. For so long, I had no interest in it at all, but now I find it oddly calming and satisfying.

Yesterday afternoon, there was an earthquake off the coast of Cuba, and central Florida could feel it for a few seconds. I thought I had imagined it, but someone posted about it in the park group. So I wasn't going crazy after all! It was similar to the one we experienced in the Roseville Hotel. I was just getting ready to crash when I noticed it. For a minute, I imagined a big sinkhole was getting ready to open up and swallow us, though not literally, of course. Holy shit, though. I didn't think you could have those things here.

The rice cooker and steamer came yesterday, and I made my first batch of rice with a couple of broccoli florets. The broccoli was perfect, but the rice was a little firm and chewy at the same time, which means I need to add more water. I also need to put in half the amount I put in. You forget just how much it fluffs up and is a lot more than what initially meets the eye. It took something like 19 minutes before it automatically switched from cook to warm.

Don't know that I would call this pink, though. It's more like mauve, but it's still a nice color. I've always preferred light colors for appliances versus dark colors or bright colors like fire-engine red.

In a little while, I will be making my first attempt at a Japanese dish called oyakodon. This consists of rice, diced chicken, onions, and eggs. There will be a few different seasonings and sauces I'll be adding as well, like soy sauce, sesame oil, and mirin.

They accidentally gave us someone's ground turkey, so I suggested Tom pick out some kind of Hamburger Helper or Turkey Helper and let me make it up for him. I'm not that big on turkey.

I used the chopper I got with my insurance points, and for less than a buck, I made my own batch of chopped onions.

Because they didn't have what he wanted, we ran out to the dollar store yesterday. I had amazing energy yesterday as well, so as expected, I'm a little tired today. But hey, it wouldn't be me if I had energy regularly, would it?

I got a candle called Peace and Healing, but I swear I'm not getting any more dollar-store candles. They're just not strong enough. I've got one on the warmer now, and I can still barely smell it. It smelled great when I sniffed it in the store, though.

Even though I'm a die-hard feminist and a sexist, there are a few things women do that I just can't figure out for the life of me, and I don't mean just voting for people who want to restrict their rights. It's just that so many of them seem to lack self-respect. Whenever I see a doc on a high-profile male killer, there are always women who flock to the guy like crazy. You have to wonder what the fuck is wrong with them to do shit like that.

Also, I totally believe women could have always voted all along if they were just willing to have enough self-respect to fight for themselves. Because they were taught for so long to be submissive and do what everyone else wants, I think that's a big part of why they couldn't vote for a while. If they'd just stood up for themselves and been defiant, things would have been different. Where there's a will, there's usually a way. In modern times, it's not a matter of refusing to fight back against extremists, but a matter of being brainwashed. So many people have gotten themselves brainwashed into believing that everything alive that gets killed is murder, for example. You wonder when it's going to be a felony to kill a houseplant.

Even though I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, especially during the first hour or two until I took half a clonazepam, I have a surprising amount of energy. I'll be going out for my walk at sunrise.

I had a dream that Tom was starting a new job but was shopping on Amazon for women's clothes, of all things, LOL. Luckily, he'll never have to have a job again! He doesn't miss it, and I don't miss him being out so much, but I kind of miss the money at times. Even though it's no fault of his and just the usual shitty timing in our lives, I'll always resent the fact that he was gone the longest when I was at my worst physically and emotionally, going through perimenopause and menopause.

I gave up on Ouna. I know they were just getting started, but it was a little glitchy, and I got bored with it. Furthermore, like most devs, they were initially present and willing to respond to feedback, and then... silence.

Wearing my no-show socks underneath my Mary Janes to see how well they hold up when I walk. Some of them slip under my feet, and I hate that.

I found it! OMG, I found it! When we first moved in here, and I got a 3-pack of Hanes tanks in pink, black, and red, the black one disappeared. All these years, I couldn't figure out where it could have magically disappeared to. Well, I was just sorting out the lower drawers in my dresser, adding in my new shorts and plucking out what I no longer want, and there it was, rolled up in my shorts, disguised as a black pair of shorts!

Been a little tired all night because I stupidly let myself flip onto my back in my sleep. Because of that, I haven't been doing anything physical, including going out for a walk. I'm getting up kind of late now anyway and into coyote time, so I want to switch to mornings.

The iced pound cake-scented candle I got smells awesome. 

Getting the rice cooker/steamer on Monday! Excited to learn new recipes and new ways to cook! There are a handful of Japanese recipes I want to try.

I went out walking as the sun was setting, and it wasn't quite as nice as yesterday. It was warm and humid, and there wasn't much of a breeze. Therefore, I didn't stay out for long.

The streets were dead. They definitely clear out nicely when the snowbirds are gone and the weather is warmer and more humid.

Again, Tom didn't hear anything in back, but he said a really loud vehicle went by at one point. He didn't run in front to see what it was. I hope the loud vehicle craze doesn't catch up to this place. While motorcycles are worse here than in Cali, the loud vehicles were worse there than here. Oh, there's still plenty of them, just not as many. Overall, we've been lucky so far in the park.

Looking forward to Amazon's Prime Day sale going on for four days at the end of the month. I'm thinking of getting a rice cooker. I know I'm trying to cut back on carbs, although not as much as on calories, but for only $20, I found a really versatile rice cooker that can do so much more than just rice yet seems simple enough to use.

I've been watching these Facebook reels by a couple of single women living alone in Japan, and it's interesting to see them cook and what they eat there. It seems like a very economical and healthy diet. I'm sure they're skinny for a reason, and it's not just genetics.

Didn't realize just how cheap it was to live there either. It seems everything is cheaper there—food, rent, everything.

Anyway, I looked up Japanese ingredients on Walmart, and I may try a few dishes. Looks like it might be a little expensive getting started, but once you get stocked up, a lot of the items last quite a while.

Looking forward to seeing what my favorite candles may be marked down to during the sale, since they've gotten pretty expensive.

After two highly fragmented sleeps, I'd say it's definitely time for a full clonazepam before bed next time around. I don't know what the hell is causing this, but I'll definitely have to ask Rhonda about it and find out exactly how much clonazepam is okay to take.

I woke up hot flashing despite being this far into menopause, and I swear I was having trouble breathing again where I just couldn't get in enough air through my nose or mouth. My AHI score isn't that bad, though: 5.2. No shortness of breath once I got up.

My back also hurts. Every once in a while, I get a pain in the middle of my back on one side. My walk took it away, but then it came back, probably because I have to slouch at the computer due to my shitty vision. I have to get close to the screen because I have reading glasses and progressives only. I kind of miss having computer glasses.

Anyway, because I was tired, I only went around the block even though I would have liked to have stayed out longer. It was gorgeous out. Not even that humid. We're having another dry spell, and I hope it lasts until I get back on days.

I had a series of dreams, most of which I don't remember. I remember two seconds of a dream where Kathy came into a room I was in, saying, "Where are you? They're ready to serve us lunch."

In another dream, I received a postal letter from Termite Tammy. It was forwarded to us because we had just moved to Hacienda Heights, of all places. I wasn't sure I wanted to write back because I didn't want her to know where we moved to. I knew that even if I didn't enclose a return address, the letter would be postmarked with our location.

Then I met with Todd somewhere, and he was showing me a tattoo he got that took up a large portion of his lower back. It was some kind of insult/joke against his slumlord. LOL.

The last dream I had was the longest, where we returned to Klamath Falls. We didn't rent the same house, of course. I was thinking about how much I dreaded the upcoming winter but reminded myself that at least there would be no bugs during that time to worry about. I stared out the old windows while I blasted some music, and then realized Tom was trying to get my attention. He said he had tried to get my attention before and was on his way out to the store, addressing me by the name of one of my characters in one of my books, Janelle. He left without offering to take me along with him. He seemed almost disappointed or upset about something. Then I jumped into this flying chair we had that we operated with handheld controls like a drone. It was the strangest thing. It only had a seat and a back—no arms or even straps to hold me in—and I didn't seem the least bit scared of heights. I flew around the neighborhood and realized that the rental next to us had even older windows than we had.

As the bot was vacuuming and mopping the other day, four or five additional pieces of Tinkerbell's old bedding surfaced. You know, on the floors that have been vacuumed many times since her passing? She did last live in that room, but it's definitely strange that this stuff keeps showing up after all these months and all this cleaning.

My new shorts came today, and they're perfect! So lightweight and airy, but not see-through. Perfect length and so comfortable. I also like that they have an inner drawstring so I can tighten them a bit since they're slightly loose, and then hide the drawstring behind the waistband. I hate outer drawstrings that poke through my shirt and make it stick out as if I have the wrong body part.

For our upcoming anniversary, my wonderful hubby has bought me a set of athletic shorts and tank tops. Looking forward to them! The shorts are a set of five, and the tank tops are a set of three. The shorts have zippered pockets for phones. They come in pink, purple, blue, gray, and black. The tanks are green, blue, and reddish-pink.

I have a few other tank tops around in pink, red, and white, plus some fancier sleeveless tops. Given how short the winters are here, I should never have to upgrade my winter wardrobe again, other than a set of jogging pants I'd like to have. They're the kind that can be worn anywhere. I have half a dozen or so sweatshirts in good condition that should easily last me the rest of my life as long as I don't go gaining a lot of weight, which I don't expect to do this late in life. Unfortunately, I'll probably make one more jump as most people do in increments from young adulthood until they're around 65, but I don't expect to ever hit the 170s. God, I hope not!

Next year at this time, I'd like to get some new sundresses. Not because mine are falling apart, but because I've worn them for enough years and I like to switch things up every now and then. Bras and panties I get as needed, but my nightgowns and the two pairs of pajamas I have should also last the rest of my life. I'll probably never need to buy any more hoodies either. The two I've got are fine, and that's all I need in the winter in Florida. I may get new shoes here and there just for fun.

I also got some Lip Smackers because the Visrie set I got last time around really sucks.

Tom got himself one of those wooden dish racks to use to put his devices on, like his tablets, phones, and things like that.

Last night I spent hours backing up most of my pictures onto Amazon Photos. I uploaded 10,000 pictures. Some were pictures I've taken, and others were animal, nature and other aesthetically pleasing pictures I mostly use as wallpaper or blog backgrounds.

Last night I increased the CPAP pressure from 7.4 to 8.0 and didn't have any leaks. My AHI score was 1.9! Even though I woke up a little tired because I swear a couple of bangs jolted me awake, and I also woke up sweating at one point, I went out for a walk despite it being hot and humid. It was partially sunny.

As I was passing the clubhouse, I saw a huge dog lying on the ground, leashed to a stake. The guy sitting by it saw my apprehension and assured me he loves everybody. He told me he was a certified therapy dog and loves being patted.

Anyway, I may have already said this, but I'm going to make sure I don't walk after 10:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m. due to the risk of coyotes and God knows what else lives out here that I may have the misfortune of encountering. They're not common, but we do have bears and panthers here.

Tom's doctor's appointment went well. Because of his age, he'll be going for an echo test soon.

Incredibly, I've had five decent energy days out of seven. I thought I would be more tired yesterday than the day before, but I wasn't. My sleep was a little fragmented last night, but nothing too bad. Both today and yesterday, I walked around the block and plan to expand my route as I get in better shape. I'm even getting some athletic walking shorts to help motivate me. Eventually, I'll get more tank tops, but for now, I have enough. It would be nice if I didn't have to do it to the tune of planes, but I can take my music with me, even if it doesn't drown them out fully.

Anyway, it was a muggy, cloudy walk with a sprinkle of rain on me, but it was still nice for going a short distance.

I'm just over halfway through the VZ challenge, but there are two months to go, so I'll definitely finish early. That's fine with me because then that gives me a chance to return to my own ride before the next challenge comes out.

Still having fun with Ouna and sharing feedback with the devs. They say they're not sure if they're going to have a free tier, but right now, all they're interested in is feedback. I worry I am investing all this time into something I'm eventually going to have to give up, but we'll see. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I'm having a text reader read my memoir into it so it can take it from there. You have the overview, the timeline, the stories, and then the people and places involved. It's pretty cool.

Every Monday, I do a session with Ash, but there wasn't much to go over last time around.