Cheating my way through dinner

April 18, 2012

I had a fantastic plan for last night’s dinner.  It was delicious and healthy and used up all of the starting-to-get-old veggies in the fridge.  But I was exhausted last night, so I made an omelet instead.  I hate omelets.

My top priority, in meals and most other things, is my health.  I’m also concerned about money, especially these days, since I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back to work, and there’s still no word on whether or not my long term disability claim will be approved by the insurance company.  Put those together, and it means I’m not eating out.  I live near a lot of restaurants, but take-out is a big no-no for both my health and my wallet.  So instead, I cook.

Cooking sounds like a great idea, right?  It’s healthy and cheap (or can be, depending on how you shop.)  The problem is, it takes energy, and since I live alone, I have to do all the cooking.  That’s why last night’s dinner ended up being an omelet.  That’s why I planned the healthy dinner again for tonight, but again it didn’t happen.

Those veggies in the fridge need to be eaten, but cutting them up just wasn’t going to happen today.  I still made the rice, but I skipped the fresh veggies and instead nuked some frozen ones.  Forget garlic and onion; that’s too much chopping and garlic powder works just fine.  Ok, it’s not as good, but it works!  I use dry beans now instead of canned (to avoid BPA and whatnot) and I cook them in large amounts and freeze them in individually portioned bags.  This works great, but when I thawed them, they didn’t have a ton of great flavor.  Enter garlic powder.  And throw them in a pan for a minute with some olive oil.  Add the veggies.  Splash in the gluten-free soy sauce.  And some rice.  Now let’s see: starch, protein, lots of veggies.  Good enough for me!

Luckily my standards aren’t too high.  I don’t need a 5 course meal.  I don’t need anything fancy.  I don’t even need anything that tastes amazing, just something that doesn’t taste bad.  And with minimal effort and very little energy expenditure, I made dinner!

Those veggies will just have to wait until tomorrow.  Tonight, I feasted on the easy version.  A toast to all of the dinner cheats out there!

If you have a great “easy” version of a meal that you want to share, please add it in the comments!  We can all help each other out with new ideas.

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If you can relate to this, please pass it along and share the camaraderie!  Let’s build the community!

Leave a Comment » | Educating, Expectations, Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Rants, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Breaking routines and pushing boundries

April 16, 2012

After many months at home, I finally got out of town this weekend.  Aside from being too short (as always) the trip couldn’t have been better.  The weather was fantastic, better than anything I’ve seen this time of year.  I had good company and a great atmosphere.  We ate healthy food and took many walks.  That last part was the most amazing part.

For many months I’ve been fighting fatigue.  I’d love to say that the fresh ocean air was enough to fix everything, but of course it wasn’t.  Still, it helped a lot.  Getting away helped.  Getting out of the city helped.  Being pushed to do more by someone else helped.  And somehow, yesterday, I actually walked 3 miles!  Now, I won’t pretend that I could do that every day.  And afterwards I was so exhausted that I took a nap (with the dog, who was even more worn out), something I haven’t been doing as much anymore.  Still, I walked 3 miles!

We stopped to rest a lot, and we didn’t walk very fast, but we made it.  One great part was the exercise.  Another great part was the fresh air and beautiful views.  But there was something even better: knowing that I was able to accomplish this.  The last 6 months have been so demoralizing that this long walk, even if it was just a one-time thing, was a reminder that in some way, at some time, I am still capable of it.

I don’t know when or if I’ll be able to do that again, but for now I know that this weekend, I was able to walk 3 miles.  This weekend I felt good.  No, it wasn’t perfect.  I had nausea and back pain and whatnot, but I walked 3 miles.  Whatever happens next won’t change that.

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Posted by chronicrants

Getting away at last

April 10, 2012

Peace.  I’m mostly looking forward to the peace.

I love living in the city.  I love being close to friends and activities.  I love being able to get places on public transportation.  I love the opportunities.  

But then there are the downsides.  There’s the ridiculously high cost of living.  There’s the noise and the crowds.  There’s the horrible traffic and lousy drivers.  There’s the lack of nature (in my neighborhood even more than in many others) and the constant bustle.

And that’s what makes this weekend especially great.  I get to keep living in the city, but spend 4 wonderful days away from it.  For a long weekend, I’ll get to take long walks, enjoy fresh air, gaze upon beautiful scenery, and revel in a lack of internet access (only because the place I’m going to doesn’t pay for internet, not because I’m going anyplace *that* remote.)  For several days I can enjoy nature and quiet and peace!

One of the downsides of my current health problems has been that I haven’t been traveling.  If my health had been better, I would have left town at least a few times in the last six months.  I would have visited a friend in western Massachusetts.  It’s a short drive, but I just don’t have the energy to do the trip and then keep up with her and her kids.  I would have gone to New York to visit family.  But that’s way too far for me right now.  I would have probably gone abroad, just because I hadn’t done it in a long time and I was saving up the vacation days at work so that I could go.  Instead, I haven’t left the area in the last six months and it’s really getting to me.  I used to leave town at least 8 or 10 times a year.  Some of the trips were large (Europe!) and some were small (a drive to visit the grandparents) but they always provided a change.  I could really use some change right now.

So at this moment I am counting down until I can get out of town.  It will be a bit tiring, but someone else is driving, and the place I’m going to will be very relaxing.  Plus, I’ll have the company of my favorite guy.  And in the end, I’m absolutely certain that it will be worth it.  I can hardly wait!

How do you handle travel or a lack thereof?  I’d love to know!

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If you can relate to this, please pass it along and share the camaraderie!  Thanks!

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Posted by chronicrants

Thankful for a better day

April 9, 2012

My definitions of a “good day” and a “bad day” have changed a lot over the years, and even over the last few months.  What I used to think was horrible I now consider to be pretty good.  But what hasn’t changed is how it feels to have a “good day.”

Today was a good day.  I didn’t do much by some standards, but I did a lot by mine.  I did laundry.  I paid bills.  I took a walk.  And I felt ok.  For me, this was good.  Not only was this a good day, but it wasn’t a bad day!  I’ve had a lot of pain and nausea over the past week.  Oh, and then there’s the fatigue, too.  Actually, I’ve had a lot more nausea than usual over the past several weeks and it was really getting to me.  But today I didn’t have any and it just felt so good!

I think it’s important to always appreciate what we have, but I know that can be hard.  It’s so much easier when there’s a stark contrast.  When one day sucks and the next isn’t horrible, it becomes clear how important the little health victory moments really are.

I don’t know what tomorrow will be, or next week, or next month.  I’m just glad today doesn’t suck.

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If you can relate to this, please pass it along and share the camaraderie!  Thanks!

Leave a Comment » | Expectations, Limitations, Pain, Raves, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

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