Another new year!

I've decided to start posting on my blog again because I often find myself wanting to share something that I just don't feel is appropriate for social media. As a matter of fact, I'm really not liking social media much anymore and will probably only keep it for the ease of quick posts to keep up with my long-distance family. The funny thing is that I am sitting here trying to decide what to post about and there are a bazillion ideas running through my head ... welcome to my new world of ADHD - LOL! I finally decided to share a brief intro to topics I'll be focusing on this year here on my blog.

ADULT-DIAGNOSED ADHD

Finally figuring out that I have ADHD has been a tremendous weight off of my shoulders. I now understand myself so much better! I should have known I had it because both of my children have it and I'm pretty sure my dad has it, but females are underdiagnosed for ADHD. This graphic from an Instagram post really gave me pause as I identify with so many of them. However, I do not have #1 at all as I'm never late!

I am now taking Adderall and it has helped me so much! This time last year I was miserable, but my wonderful FNP listened to me and agreed to try medication. I still have "symptoms" of ADHD, especially procrastinating, but I'm now able to focus more and get through my to-do list in my daily planner and NO MORE AFTERNOON NAPS!! I also have anxiety, am empathic/sensitive & introverted ... I'll share more about that as well in future posts. 

SAVING MONEY/BUDGETING

I quit working when we had our first child, so learning how to budget our money, invest in a 401K and stretch a dollar became a bit of a game for me. We hardly ever pay full price for anything. My parents never seemed to worry about money. They pretty much bought whatever they wanted and budgeting or saving money or shopping sales just wasn't a thing in my household. I later learned that they used their credit cards for everything and pretty much carried a balance on them for most of their married life. So, I had to teach myself what to do and I am pretty proud of what Jim and I have achieved thus far in our life together!

RELATIONSHIPS & FRIENDSHIPS

In future posts, I'll share some good things that I have learned in almost 34 years of marriage. I also want to dive into a discussion on friendships. I really struggle with maintaining friendships. Oh, I have people in my life that I call friends and that I would do anything for and I know they would do anything for me if I needed their help. I truly value these people. But since my mom died in 2019, I haven't had anybody that I can call during the day just to chat or vent or whatever. I am lucky to be at home now, but my friends work and they have other things going on in their lives. So poor Jim has to listen to me now LOL! More on this topic coming up ...

HEALTHY LIVING

For the last 15 years or so, I've been trying to stay as healthy as I can so that I can age well. I have insulin resistance (pre-diabetes that WILL become diabetes some day), hypothyroidism, depression & anxiety, IBS and possibly fibromyalgia. I also deal with lots of food issues/sensitivities. I take medication for several of these issues. Eating is a chore for me - more on that soon. I was doing pretty well exercising regularly until Covid hit early 2020. I can't believe it's already 4 years and I haven't gotten back into a good routine. I did go back to Planet Fitness in 2022, but then I had gallbladder surgery that December and couldn't exercise for 2 months, so I fell off the bandwagon again. 

I did FINALLY, after like 10 years of trying, figure out how to eat WITHOUT exercising to lose weight. I lost around 17lbs in 2023 and I have about 10 more to go in 2024. So, my focus for this year is to get back to lifting weights, walking more, and finetuning my food choices for overall better health.

I'm sure that there will be other topics that I'll talk about as well, so who knows what you'll find posted next! I do not have a schedule set for posting, but I do plan to write about something each week. There is a button in the left sidebar where you can subscribe to my posts, if you wish. I look forward to sharing more about myself this year and I hope that you feel free to leave a comment, if you feel led, so that we can learn more about each other in 2024!