Day 13 - Chaos and Order

Ok, I'll admit, yesterday's blog was long and felt a bit preachy to me as I reread it today. Not sure where it came from (I blame my fingers), but hopefully tonight's chapter will be an easier read. As today was far from boring, I don't think it will be a problem. :)

As days go, today wasn't very different; just a little chaotic. Nothing seemed to work as planned. But if it wasn't for days like this, you wouldn't know just how great other days are.

My day started at 12:30pm. Yes, I know that's pretty late in the day. I'd had a feeling last night that I should set my alarm clock. But did I? Nooooooo, of course not. Bah! This is what I get for not heeding the little voice in my head. It's like having a second mother sometimes, I swear! So, I got up, stumbled quickly to the kitchen and decided to skip breakfast. I went straight to lunch and made myself the homemade fried rice that I've been craving for two days now. It's more of a sweet-n-sour meets fried rice recipe, but it makes a lot and is full of yummy goodness! I cut up some green bell pepper, scallions, tomato, and fresh pineapple (total - about 2c or so). Sauteed the mix until heated through and roasted. Added some low-sodium soy and teriyaki sauces. Stirred in 1c leftover rice from the Chinese takeout we had a few days ago, then scrambled an egg right in the middle until cooked through. Pile into a bowl, drizzle 1TBS pre-made sweet-n-sour sauce, grab a cold drink (2c water with Crystal Lite tea) and time to eat! Boy, did that hit the spot.

I figured with a good meal out of the way, it was family time, then the gym, then dinner and game night. Well... didn't exactly happen that way.

For some reason, I felt the urge to check my list of blogs and read them right then instead of at night. I think it was because the weather. I'm not sure about you, but I -LOVE- to read, especially when the skies are dark and the weather rainy. All I want to do is curl up with a great book/story and just read, read, read. Quiet, undisturbed, snuggled under my favorite comforter. Hi, my name is Bookworm and I love to read. (Everyone now... "Hi Bookworm.") So, I read my blog list early while the rain starts to come down pretty heavily. When I was done, I headed downstairs to the "Man Cave" to talk to the hubby. If I only knew what was coming next...

The "Man Cave" is (generally) my hubby's domain. He controls what furniture is there, where it goes, what decor is allowed there, and when it gets cleaned. Our computers are there as well as his bar, an entertainment center/TV viewing space, some bookcases, and general storage. The rest of us are "allowed" downstairs as long as we respect the "Man Cave" concept. I'm good with that. He needs a space to call his own, even if it's not fully his own.

So hubby and I are sitting downstairs when I start hearing water pouring. As the laundry room is downstairs as well (and running), I don't think anything of it... until I see the waterfall along the side wall near the tv area. Water is starting to pour out from behind a window! I splutter out some semblance of "Water... window... ack!!" and spring into action, unplugging everything out from the wall (right where the water is pouring down on), moving the couch, shoving a nearby towel into the window, and calling for my mom to come get our son (who was with us). Everything started happening so fast, but we knew we needed to move quickly. The rate of water coming in was increasing. A couple of blankets were shoved into the window sill to try and staunch the water flow as Scott headed to the garage to grab the carpet cleaner. My mom took our son upstairs (he's a bit freaked out at the situation) as I watch water rising up in front of the window... 1 inch... 2 inches. "Where the hell is this water coming from?!" I think. Then, as hubby is frantically trying to stay ahead of the stream, I figure out what I need to do. I head outside with a pitcher to start bailing.

Quick description... The windows in the basement are sunk down about 1/2 into the ground. The ground is kept off the window by a half-circle metal drum sunk to the level of the window. This allows light to still get in and keeps the soil from piling up around the window. At this point, the alcove is filling with water at an alarming rate and sending a stream through a small crack in the window's frame into our basement. If we hadn't been down there to notice, our basement (and everything in it) would have been ruined. Been there, done that before. Thank God we were there!

So I head outside, in my creme-colored PJs, with a pitcher and find the alcove turned into a pool. I get down on my knees into the mud and start bailing water as fast as I can. I quickly realize there has to be a source besides the rain and look around. Turns out the extension on the downspout nearby has come off and the water coming down through the gutters is just pooling alongside the house, into the alcove, and into the basement. Easily fixed!

After reattaching the downspout extension and bailing out enough water to lower the level to below the window line, I head back inside.

Soaked, muddy, tired. Yeah, I earned some exercise points today. Scott cleaned up the rest of the water and set some fans up to dry the space. Nothing was damaged and the area is by now almost completely dry. We'll be replacing the downspouts and clamps very soon!

Before this journey, I'd probably say I'd had enough exercise for one day and let myself go. Not now! After getting cleaned up, I put my exercise bag together, had a quick snack of a banana and some sugar free ice cream, and headed to the gym. I have rolls to lose, flooding or not.

Got to the gym thinking I had a little over an hour before they closed. Turns out I had less than 10 minutes! Again, before-me would have said "Nevermind" and walked away. Nope, not today-me. I went inside, jumped on a treadmill and ran for 5 minutes. Yes, me. I ran! Well, it was more like run for 2.5 minutes, walk for 1.5 minutes, run for 1 minute, but I RAN!!

This is highly significant for me as having the ability to run has been a driving motivation in not giving up. I want to run again like I did as a child; Like I did in middle school (I was in track and field). I haven't felt remotely comfortable running since freshmen year in high school in 1987. Of all the milestones on this journey, the ability to run at will is at the top; above shopping, wearing skinny clothes, fitting into seats, or being showered with complements. I want to run!

So, what I did in those 5 minutes at the gym was huge for me. I ran, and even more so, I ran on a treadmill in public! I hate the idea of doing that as I swear I sound like a herd of elephants when I do. Today, I didn't care. I had 5 minutes and I wanted to make the most of it. I think I did just that. :)

I didn't let myself off the hook when I left the gym though. I stopped at the local community college and walked the bike path around the campus, pushing myself to get a great workout. One good lap is around 1 - 1.5 miles. Add that to the 1/2 mile at the gym and the hour grocery trip I took after-wards, plus my day-to-day stair climbing and the flood emergency, my pedometer says that I made four miles today. Not too shabby.

Food-wise, I finished my daily points and used up 5.5 of the 6 activity points I earned today. It was a fight to do so after I caved at the grocery store and had some inari sushi (one of my favs!!!). This store has the best sushi outside of a good sushi bar and -never- has inari available.

For reference, Inari is fried & sweetened tofu shaped into tiny pita-like pockets and stuffed with sushi rice. Usually, it's served plain; no veggies or fish. These had a little sprinkle of spicy cocktail shrimp on top for flavor. Due to the way it's made and served, inari is one of the most points-expensive types of sushi (2 points per piece). The container, while one of the cheapest offered price-wise, had 5 pieces in it. Yep, 10 points gone in minutes. Worth it? Yep, but as a rare treat only.

After the sushi indulgence, I only had 5 points for dinner and with all of the good munchies available at game this evening, it was tough. But I stayed the course and won. Took 3+ cups of veggies with fat free dip, 1/2 slice (1/12) of pizza, 1oz Kettle chips, several glasses of diet soda, and a Weight Watchers Caramel Latte smoothie with almond milk to do it. But, in the end, I stuck to my plan and made it through another day. Whew, glad it's done!

The lesson for today? To quote the movie 'Galaxy Quest': "Never give up! Never surrender!" And that's good advice anytime. :)

~H