Tag: vacation

Staycation Wake Up

So, I wrote a staycation post back at the end of June about how stressed I was and how I really wanted and needed a vacation. I had never needed one so badly. I wrote about all the things I wanted and planned to do, but of course didn’t and mostly rested instead.

To give some perspective, in the last year or so, I have dealt with the remnants of covid crap, work stress, a lot of overtime, the death of my grandfather, the approval and purchase process of buying my own home, my dad having a heart attack and multiple heart related hospital visits, my parents getting covid and almost losing my dad, my middle son’s school schedule, a minor bout of covid (for the second time), demo of my upstairs to replace the flooring, every piece of which was defective and required ordering new stuff, and spending money I didn’t really have, a car accident and managing my depression and dealing with my son’s and preparing for my middle son to graduate and go off to college. There has been a lot going on.

I was enjoying my staycation, doing very little, when, On June 30th I woke up to a hell of a surprise. The right side of my face didn’t feel right, kind of like when you go to the dentist, get shot up with a bunch of Novacaine and your face starts to wake up. It felt cold and I couldn’t move my right side facial muscles. My first thought was Bell’s Palsy because my sister had it a few months prior, and my symptoms were the same. The scary part of that is that a stroke can start out with those symptoms. I didn’t think I had a stroke because other than the facial muscles, I felt okay. I did have pain behind my ear and experienced some mild dizziness when I tried to get out of bed that morning. My 18 year old was pretty concerned and insisted that I should go get it checked out. My co-workers/friends were also very concerned and told me to go to the doc. So, begrudgingly, I went.

I went to an urgent care type of clinic since they take walk-ins. The PA took one look at my face and told me she couldn’t diagnose me (don’t have the proper imaging equipment) and that I needed to go to the ER right away. She offered to call me an ambulance. I had driven there, and the hospital was about 2 miles away, so I opted to drive. When I arrived at the hospital, they were waiting for me and whisked me back to examine me and rule out a stroke. There was a team within about 2 minutes that went to work preparing me for an MRI. It was a little surreal to have that whirlwind of activity going on around me. The doc was pretty sure it was Bell’s Palsy but they did an MRI anyway just to be safe, and that confirmed the diagnosis. They immediately started me on prednisone, and I was able to go home.

I started researching Bell’s Palsy and found that stress can activate a dormant virus and the inflammation from that can mess with the facial nerve, causing temporary paralysis of one side of the face. It could take two weeks to start to see gradual improvement which is just about exactly how long it took. And gradual it has been. As the muscles started to work, I went through ear pain, pain behind the ear, and excruciating pain in my right eye. As the muscles start to communicate with the nerve again, it can create some “discomfort”. I felt like there was a sharp spike in my eye–it hurt to open it, it hurt to close it (I tried to hold it closed since the lid would not close yet) and eye drops wouldn’t touch the pain. I ended up having to call in sick at work–the only time in the process that I did. My facial muscles are still weak. It is most noticeable when I eat because I cann0t use my mouth and lip muscles the way I need to to clear the food from a fork or spoon, and I cannot whistle anymore. My hearing is like listening to someone speak through water. That is getting better, but it is not back to normal and may not ever be.

The whole experience was a bit of a wake-up call. My work/life balance was crap. I wasn’t taking care of myself the way I needed to. I have been tired all the time and I put on weight. I wasn’t taking my medication the way I needed to. So much was wrong, and it could have been so much worse. A stroke could have been devastating. Bell’s Palsy was certainly not comfortable, and it was definitely inconvenient, but I am thankful that is what it was. I can see how important taking care of myself really is and I have been taking some small steps to improve my situation–Eating better, eating less and moving more. I still love Coke Zero and that will take a lot more effort to ditch, but for now, I will keep taking small steps that benefit my health. I have a long way to go, but I am on my way.

May something, day whatever

So, at this point I have pretty much tossed the calendar. I don’t think I have completed any of my daily goals. I don’t think. I know I haven’t. And I don’t care. I can’t tell you what I have actually done other than paint tea sets and custom glass orders from my Etsy store, hang out with my kids, drive for Instacart and Uber Eats and relax.

I have only cooked dinner a few times. Take out is easier. I bought myself a stand mixer so that Aidan and I could make bread twice a week. Until today, I hadn’t even taken the mixer out of the box. No jewelry made. No art completed. Each of my rooms with organization on the agenda are in various stages of completion but none of them actually complete. I have read a book once, maybe twice (?). I have been in touch with friends pretty regularly.

In the last week or so, we haven’t gone anywhere or done much of anything. It has rained so much that we haven’t really been able to fish and several of the places that we wanted to visit are not open or have limited availability. For example, we wanted to visit a local opal mine where you can rent the proper equipment and go into a mine, break rocks and find opals. My kids have been talking about doing that for years, but the mine is not open to the public and what is available is rocks that you can purchase and sort of do the same thing. Same but not really. Being given a pile of rocks is not the same thing and kinda takes the purpose and fun out of it.

With restrictions finally starting to be lifted here in Idaho (ours were rather lax in the first place) I was able to get together with one of my besties and her fiance and have a game night. We played Cards Against Humanity, laughed a lot and made a lot of inappropriate jokes. We ate ice cream together and played some other games and it was amazing. I missed hugging my friend and getting together with the both of them. I love them. They are good humans and so much fun to be with. Lots of sarcasm, snark and dissing. I missed that so much.

I have about 10 days left on my leave of absence and I have very little to show for the time that has passed. We missed lots of opportunities to fish and do road trips because of the weather so we are going to try and fit as much of that into the last few days as we can. I will force myself to finish organizing something and clean. Something. As much as I want to get everything done, the inability to follow my own schedule has actually been a blessing. I am far more relaxed than I was. I am much more at peace with where I am and what might be coming. I am looking forward to returning to work and doing the job that I love. And getting an income again. I miss my work friends and helping people. I am ready to go back to my normal life. With a much lighter load on my shoulders. But, I still have 10 days and I need to fill them up.

From Vacation to Staycation Adventures

Breakthroughs always come at the end of a period of struggle. My last post was all about the most recent period of struggle and all the frustrations that went with it. The struggle didn’t stop there. Shortly after that post, my car, my nice new-ish car started having issues and I couldn’t continue to drive for Uber Eats and Postmates until it got fixed. Luckily I had purchased the extended warranty and thought it would at least be covered, but it was something that was not covered and I had to pay out of pocket.  No additional income and a necessary car repair meant that I had to accept defeat and cancel my vacation plans. We had planned to spend this weekend in Salt Lake City with my brother and his family and we were set to go to Lagoon and ride roller coasters.

With my car repaired and ready for the road again, things were looking up and then my (hopefully) last disaster struck. I woke up  one morning to find a warm refrigerator and freezer full of warm smelly food. Over $200 in food was rotten, wilted and gross. I had just spent the last of what money I had on food and the loss was somewhat devastating. I mean, I have two teenage boys that are bottomless pits of food consumption.  I emailed my property manager and they had a repairman out the next day. Repair was not cost effective so it had to be replaced. I went 6 days without a refrigerator and had to borrow my parents’ coolers to keep the bare minimum of cold items. I emailed my landlord and asked about the possibility to recoup some of the cost of loss of food through a reduction in rent—three times. He couldn’t even trouble himself  to respond. We are slowly recovering, but with everything that happened it has been a slow process.

Thankfully, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A nice raise and a bonus on the way have things looking up. I feel like I can breathe again and I can relax just a bit.

Without any real plans for my week of vacation, I wanted to come up with a way to enjoy my week with my kids. I came up with an idea, that, while not as exciting as rollercoasters or a plane trip to another city, it gives us something to look forward to. I decided that I would Uber and whatever I make each day will determine what we are able to do each afternoon. If it is a not so good day, we may go hiking or out for ice cream. If it is a good day, we may go to the Discovery Center or on a road trip to McCall. Everything is kind of up in the air and it is anybody’s guess what this week will entail.

Day one, Saturday: On Friday Nathan and I went out Ubering and didn’t do too bad for the length of time we were out. Funds are still limited, but we could still do something. We decided that we would visit the Boise Saturday Market. I have lived in Idaho for almost 22 years and I had never been. On the way, we stopped at Black Rock Coffee, someplace my 15 year old has wanted to try for months. The market was pretty cool and had all kinds of artisan made goods, fresh fruits and vegetables and so much food. The smell of food was absolutely intoxicating. I tried a donut from a gluten free booth called The Muscle Donut. A maple donut, something I haven’t had in forever. It was fairly light and very yummy. Not disappointed at all. We got to check out downtown Boise for a bit. I haven’t really done that since I worked in the downtown area about 20 years ago. I need to take more time to check out more of it because there are a lot of discoveries to be made. We checked out JUMP (Jack’s Urban Meeting Place) and that would be cool if there was anything actually going on, but I am guessing Saturdays are pretty quiet and maybe there is more activity during the week. After downtown Boise, the boys wanted to go to Middleton (the town we used to live in) and check out their favorite places and see what has changed.

Day Two, Sunday:  We didn’t make as much money on Saturday night as I had hoped, but we made a little. We decided to go to Cost Plus World Market, a store we all love. I bought each of us a drink and some candy. My drink of choice from Cost Plus is always Spezi, a German soda that combines cola with orange lemonade. I know it sounds funky, but it really is good. I absolutely fell in love with it when I lived in Germany. After Cost Plus we went to Albertson’s Market street. I know that sounds like an odd place to go, but my kids love going there and sampling all the fresh fruit, pastries and cheese we could never afford. The bakery has the prettiest cakes I have ever seen and it is like walking into an edible art gallery.  After Albertson’s we drove to the city of Kuna to a grocery store where one of the things we watch for are their “fill it fresh” bags where you can fill a bag with a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables to overflowing for $11. My kids love helping pick out the produce and we were going to purchase some mochi. We were unable to get the mochi, but we still have that in our plan for the week.

Day 3, Monday:  Today was a chill day. The youngest offspring woke up puking and continued all day. We didn’t go anywhere, but I did get some jewelry made while watching “The Office” on Netflix  for most of the day.

Day 4, Tuesday: Didn’t make much ubering today so funds were limited to what was left from Ubering Sunday night. I picked up the boys from school and we headed for Zoo Boise. When we got there, we found that we only had an hour to get through the whole zoo. Now, Zoo Boise is not very big, but to truly enjoy it you need longer than an hour, but we made the best of it. We were booking it through the zoo, but I think we managed to see just about everything there. My boys wanted to see the Boise Depot but it was closed so we decided to head toward Boise Fry Company for dinner. I LOVE Boise Fry Company. They have yummy burgers and the best gluten free bun I have had (thanks to Gluten Free Galaxy). And as yummy as their burgers are, their fries are even more amazing. They have a variety of potatoes (purple, russet, laurel, yellow, etc) in a variety of cuts (regular, homestyle, curly, string and po balls). We didn’t have the money to get a whole meal so we stuck to fries and in mine and my youngest’s case, po’ balls which are deep fried mashed potato balls. I liked them but not as much as regular fries. The rest of our night was spent chilling at home, and the kids working on homework.

Day 5, Wednesday: My sweet friend Melissa invited us to go with her and her daughters to a place called Circustrix, which is an indoor trampoline park. She had passes that were about to expire so my boys got to enjoy it without an additional cost to us. Score! That was amazing since I had only gotten 2 deliveries during the lunch rush (WTH?!) We weren’t meeting until around 6:45 pm so the boys and I had time to get a bite to eat before we met. There is a restaurant near the park that hasn’t been open for long that I had been dying to try. Gluten Free Galaxy’s brick and mortar location opened in August but I have had their food before since some of the local restaurants and grocery stores sell/use their products. They have the best gluten free hamburger bun I have ever had. My 15 year old is not super fond of gluten free food so he opted for Popeye’s chicken. My 13 year old and I decided to get two different options and split them so we both got to try more than one item. We ended up with pepperoni and olive pizza on their original crust (rice flour based I think instead of the keto/paleo option) and the turkey sliders. Both were delicious, but I definitely preferred the sliders: turkey, avocado and sprouts on the best gluten free bread I have ever eaten. After dinner, my boys got 90 minutes of jumping while I chatted it up with Melissa. By the end of the 90 minutes, my boys were exhausted and sweaty and had had a great time.

Day 6, Thursday:  Today’s adventure was the Boise Art Museum. I picked up my boys from their schools at 3pm. By the time we got snacks, drinks and gas and made it to the museum, we had one hour till closing, which is 5 pm. One of the featured artists was Stephanie Wilde and her work was featured in 5 galleries and tackled such subjects as the AIDS epidemic, corporate greed and the effect of climate change on the bee population. The imagery can get a bit dark, but the way it is done is truly beautiful. So many amazing details in each piece. In gallery one they had giant magnifying glasses which allow you to really look at all the details in each piece. She was definitely my favorite artist. Coming in second was Wally Dion, a member of the Yellow Quill First Nation. He combined non-traditional elements (circuits and paint) and created pieces in indigenous quilt patterns. The creative use of materials made for fascinating, textured pieces that beg to be touched. But DON’T!!! After the museum, we had dinner at Happy Teriyaki, an Asian fusion restaurant that offered tasty gluten free options that I haven’t eaten in years. And they don’t scrimp on the portions either. Yummy food and good prices.

Day 7, Friday: Today’s adventure was the Hyde Park Street Fair. This is an event I absolutely love. The folks that visit this event run the gamut from conservative church goers to free spirited hippies and everything in between. There are Artisans selling their wares such as jewelry, clothing (Woohoo tie dye!!!), carved wood and rocks and whimsical metal work. There are food vendors, tarot card readers, ghost hunters, conservation groups and political associations. There is live music from two different stages all day for 2 1/2 days (Friday is only 5 hours). The smell of the food was absolutely intoxicating.  My boys and I got some Dutch Bros. drinks (coffee/smoothies for those that aren’t familiar) and each of us picked something out to take home with us. I got an art print from Artsplosion, an artist I first saw at the Portland Saturday market. The artist actually remembered me! Her stuff is whimsical, fun, colorful and silly. And it is right up my alley. I wish I could’ve purchased more of her stuff–there was so much to love–but my budget was already stretched. Aidan got a stone pyramid that was made up of layers of different semiprecious stones. Nathan opted for something edible–the best licorice ever–and three semiprecious stones (he collects rocks and minerals).  I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, as always.

This vacation certainly didn’t go as planned. As in, really no vacation, but we were able to make the best of the situation and still have a lot of fun. I really wanted to do something special and we had been planning our trip for a year, but life had other plans. And we reaped some blessings as a result of multiple disasters. We went on everyday adventures, spent a lot of time together and those “everyday” adventures are things we all love and enjoy so it was a win in my book. We were forced to get creative and rework our idea of vacation and adventure.  This year has definitely taught me a bit about humility and gratitude and appreciation.