Health for days journey – July 6th (Insomnia edition)

Hello everyone,

How are you this Thursday? I hope this week has been nice to you.

My American people, are you cured from your 4th of July hangover or/and food comma? I really hope so.

Remember a few days ago when I said I was sleeping so well? I think I have spoken too soon. The night before the last I couldn’t sleep at all and was extremely tired so I thought I would stay in bed longer and take a big nap. Didn’t happen. I couldn’t sleep during the night and no nap during the day. By dinner time I was so exhausted I took my pills and took one more, as my psychiatrist said I should when I’m not able to sleep. So I took an extra pill, went to bed at 9 p.m, which hadn’t happen since I was in high school, and immediately fell asleep. Until I woke up at 1 a.m and could no long longer sleep. I was really surprised. I had taken an extra pill. One is pretty strong, two are supposed to really make you rest. I have no idea what happen. So I spent another night tossing and turning and with awful back pain because of it and bothering poor Rui because he’s a light sleeper. Before living for work, he had to apply one of those hot plasters on my back (the ones that stick to your skin). I tried to sleep after he left with no success. At least my back is way better. I will have to call my doctor about the sleep issues, though.

Sorry about my sleepless rant, guys. You know I share everything with you. The house (especially kitchen and bathroom) is in such desperate need of a clean and I don’t have the energy because I haven’t slept in two days. I might force myself anyway. Unless I feel I can take a nap, then I will definitely sleep, before I go crazy lol

Anyway, let’s stop the complaining and be positive!

I’ve been so good with my diet and my water intake. 2 l most days, which is great and really good for me. I’ve been cutting carbs. Not giving up on them, I know I need them, just eating small amounts. I’ll add about 4 crackers to my lunch or eat some rice for dinner or a slice of bread. I’ve been cutting dairy, limiting myself to plain Greek yogurt and a little milk for my coffee sometimes. I’ve been cutting on coffee as well. I don’t eat a lot of meat (I never did, actually) and cut way back on sugar. I’m really happy about it because I never had it so easy when it comes to changing my eating habits. I mean, if I’m on my period, it’s just impossible. I could eat all day, the most random things. All of this to say that I’m proud of myself for this changes.

What else? Oh, remember I told you I wanted to be at 300 followers on Instagram by the end of July? Don’t think it’s going to happen. There’s those people who keep following and unfollowing, I’ve been at 279 or 281 several times and then I’m down again, currently at 276. At such pace, I’m sure I’ll get there in about… 2 years. People just follow to get a follow back but I don’t do that shit so, let them be jerks.

I’ve been lacking on my exercise. Unless you count household chores and the day that I went swimming. I’m also behind on my cleaning schedule and movie a day challenge but I’m fine with it. As long as I finish them by the end of the month.

My to-do list for today should be:

• Clean kitchen
• Clean bathroom
• Put the covers I recently washed back on the couch
• Listen to some music
• Do a little coloring
• Call Starbucks because they messed my gift card order
• Make a doctor’s appointment
• Text my psychiatrist
• Read for 30 minutes
• Do some gardening (but it’s super windy and kind of rainy so I don’t know)
• Watch Casablanca and Memento.

So, what about you? Busy day?

Have you watched these movies? Lover or hate or meh?

We’ll talk later, dear friends.

xx

Chey

 

Health for days journey – June 29th (Keep up the good work edition)

Good morning everyone. I hope you’re having a lovely Thursday.

Any complaints? I hope not.

Yesterday I ended up fill up the dishwasher, doing my yoga routine (which felt amazing), taking a nice shower and listening to some guided meditation. There was no night snacking, thankfully.

That being said, my main priorities for today are:

• Drink 2 l of water;
• Eat well – protein, 5 portions of fruits and veggies, avoid sugar and cut carbs to about 1/3 of what you use to eat;
• Take your meds on time;
• Walk 1112 steps, at least. I’ve downloaded a pedometer and that is the my goal, a higher number than yesterday.
• 10 minutes of guided meditation;
• 30 minutes of reading;
• 30 minutes of adult coloring;
• 20 minutes of yoga;
• 20 minutes of listening to music;
• Watch a movie;

 

And my tasks – non priorities, are:

• 1 and a half hours of gardening + half an hour of yard cleaning.
• I need to do a few loads of laundry; And put them away immediately, before they pile up; If it doesn’t rain.
• I really need to find a way to trick Rosa into giving her parasite medicine and cleaning her ears and teeth. I bet I won’t, she’s sneaky.
• Empty Betty and fill her up again;
• Clean all floors;
• Read and comment blogs;
• Clean kitchen;
• Cook dinner;

 

What else can you expect today?

• My Perfect Party Series on Life as Easy as.
• 2 posts on Instagram;
• 2 posts on twitter;
• 1 post on Facebook;
• A poll!! I haven last week);e 4 pairs of shows I was thinking on giving away. I’m not so sure now. You guys will help me decide if I keep them or donate them;
• Part II of my dress collection + skirts.
• An update tonight;

Have a wonderful day!!

Cheila

Health for days journey – June 28th (update)

Good evening dear friends,

It’s time to update you on my day and my to-do lists.

I need to start by telling you I had another allergic reaction. Oh yes. This time I was prepared and didn’t go to the hospital. I’ll take a proper allergy test soon. It was after taking my meds and my multivitamin, which is weird. Could it be the multivitamin? I’ve been taking the same meds for ages, I didn’t have any seeds today. The redness focused mainly on my face, ears and elbows. My left elbow was really bad. I have no idea what’s causing it. Is this similar to something you have seen?

My main priorities for today were:

• Drink 2 l of water; – I think I got about 1,5 l. But I’ll drink more today.
• Eat well – protein, 5 portions of fruits and veggies, avoid sugar and cut carbs to about 1/3 of what you use to eat; – Yes, I was good today.
• Take your meds on time; – Done;
• Take your multivitamin; – Done;
• Walk 1000 steps, at least. I’ve downloaded a pedometer and that is the first goal, just 1000. I plan on walking around my neighborhood until I reach my goal; – Rui and I went for a walk and I walked 1112 steps.
• 10 minutes of guided meditation; – Will do before bad.
• 30 minutes of reading; – Yes, read Harry Potter.
• 30 minutes of adult coloring; – I did.
• 20 minutes of yoga; – Will do now.
• 20 minutes of listening to music; – I did. Relaxing music.

 

And my tasks – non priorities, were:

• I really need to do some gardening. There are weeds to pull out, seeds to plant and plants that need to be trimmed (can I say that for plants?). I need to give them some fertilizer and water them. The garden also needs to be swiped a washed down with the hose and some bleach where Rosa usually poops; – I had forgotten the Portuguese soccer team was playing today, so I spent my gardening time watching the game. I obviously watered the plants.
• I need to do a few loads of laundry; And put them away immediately, before they pile up; – It rained a little so I didn’t touch it.
• I really need to find a way to trick Rosa into giving her parasite medicine and cleaning her ears and teeth. I bet I won’t, she’s sneaky. – Forgot about this one.
• Empty Betty and fill her up again; – Will do now, before yoga.
• Clean all floors; – I swiped the living room and kitchen. 
• Read and comment blogs; – I did, not as much as I wanted. I’m always behind.

 

What else can you expect today?

• My Perfect Party Series on Gracie from A Light In The Darkness; – Posted.
• 2 posts on Instagram; – Posted.
• 2 posts on twitter; – Posted one. 
• 1 post on Facebook; – My posts go there automatically. I didn’t write anything other than that.
• My “What’s Up Wednesday” post (didn’t happen last week); – Done.
• A poll!! I have 4 pairs of shows I was thinking on giving away. I’m not so sure now. tomorrow, I didn’t have time to take the pictures. You guys will help me decide if I keep them or donate them;
• An update tonight; – Here it is.

So I will post this, fill the washer up, do my yoga, have a shower, go to bed read and then listen to my guided meditation.

What I managed to do in 30 minutes. I suck. Can you see how many times I’ve painted outside the line?

This is what I listened on Spotify. Relax and Unwind.

A bit of my walking path

My shitty camera. 

See you guys tomorrow?

xx

Chey

 

 

 

Health for days journey – June 28th (Stop all the slacking edition)

Good morning everyone!!

I hope you’re all doing well. Has your week been good so far?

I’ve come to the realization that this health journey hasn’t been healthy at all. I’ve been doing this for months and I’m actually worse. Why? Because I’m not focused and that has to change. I need to take action or things will never get better.

That being said, my main priorities for today are:

• Drink 2 l of water;
• Eat well – protein, 5 portions of fruits and veggies, avoid sugar and cut carbs to about 1/3 of what you use to eat;
• Take your meds on time;
• Take your multivitamin;
• Walk 1000 steps, at least. I’ve downloaded a pedometer and that is the first goal, just 1000. I plan on walking around my neighborhood until I reach my goal;
• 10 minutes of guided meditation;
• 30 minutes of reading;
• 30 minutes of adult coloring;
• 20 minutes of yoga;
• 20 minutes of listening to music;

And my tasks – non priorities, are:

• I really need to do some gardening. There are weeds to pull out, seeds to plant and plants that need to be trimmed (can I say that for plants?). I need to give them some fertilizer and water them. The garden also needs to be swiped a washed down with the hose and some bleach where Rosa usually poops;
• I need to do a few loads of laundry; And put them away immediately, before they pile up;
• I really need to find a way to trick Rosa into giving her parasite medicine and cleaning her ears and teeth. I bet I won’t, she’s sneaky.
• Empty Betty and fill her up again;
• Clean all floors;
• Read and comment blogs;

What else can you expect today?

• My Perfect Party Series on Gracie from A Light In The Darkness;
• 2 posts on Instagram;
• 2 posts on twitter;
• 1 post on Facebook;
• My “What’s Up Wednesday” post (didn’t happen last week);
• A poll!! I have 4 pairs of shows I was thinking on giving away. I’m not so sure now. You guys will help me decide if I keep them or donate them;
• An update tonight;

And that’s all.

• What is up with your Wednesday?
• What are your priorities for today?

Thank you so much for reading.

Have a wonderful day.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Chey

 

General update + grocery shopping haul and meal plan

Hey guys,

I hope you had a nice weekend and that your Monday was short and sweet.

Let me tell you what I’ve been up too.

As you know, Mr.R went to his hometown to see his family on the weekend and I stayed home because I had a sore throat and did want to get sick, which I didn’t as it eventually went away.

What did I do being home alone?

Hung out with Rosa and nothing really interesting. I blogged, I did a Facebook, Instagram, Blog and twitter cleanup and I watched one and a half movies. Zodiac which I loved and half of Apolo 13. I love Tom Hanks so I’m sure I’m going to love it as soon as I get to it. Zodiac was good and even better because I’m actually fascinated by serial killers and love to read about them and watch documentaries. Am I the only one? Oh there are more weird thing that I watch. I love crime documentaries and… brace yourselves, live surgeries and autopsies. No I’m not a sociopath or Psychopath, I just really want to be a doctor and have no issues with blood, needles or watching anything really. I can stomach most things, unless they involve an animal. Then I have to look away and cry.

That’s pretty much what I did. Nothing especial. Oh and I slept and watered my garden.

Now the more interesting part (I think)

I decided to take pictures of our groceries (we just came from the store) and show you what we eat in about three weeks and our eating habits.

 

We bought:

Whole wheat pasta (macaroni) – 4 packs or 1 kg for 3,36€ It’s quite expensive when you compare it with regular pasta. We would have gotten the same amount for less than 1€, but I’m staying a way from processed food.

Ciabatta bread with seeds – (It’s whole wheat) – for 1,09€

Whole oats – instead of the flakes I used to get. As soon I realized there’s a healthier version I had to substitute) – 0,85€

Brown sugar – I’m obviously staying way from refined sugar and I don’t really trust stevia, so I’m only using brown sugar and organic raw honey as sweeteners – 250 g for 1,99€ which is expensive but I’m going to make it last as long as I can.

Peanuts – Rui likes to snack on them and so do I. They’re to mix with my almonds, hazelnuts and raisins. – 1,59€

3 different flavors of jello – (peach, orange and strawberry/passion fruit ) I like to eat as a snack because it’s sweet but not that bad for me, especially if I add a little more water than what is recommended, to dilute it. – 3,27€

Whole wheat crackers with salt – (the ones on your right, looking at the picture) because to add them to my lunch as carbs or eat them as a snack. – 1,49€ (I think they come with 14 packs)

Whole wheat crackers x 2 packs – I wouldn’t have bought if I had read the label before. They have high-fructose corn syrup and I run from it like the plague. That and aspartame are my NEVER EAT foods. – 1,30€

4 cans of tuna (in water and not vegetable oil) – we like to use it in salads or sandwiches and it is healthy. – 3,40€ (for almost 500 g)

1 can of chickpeas – We like them in salads as well. – 0,59€

2 cans of black beans – I didn’t eat beans before but I’m used to them now and sometimes used them as a meat substitute. 1,18€

2 cans of sweet corn – I absolutely love it in salads. – 0,98€

2 cans of sliced mushrooms –  (I do plan on not getting any canned foods, we’ll be getting frozen sweet corn and fresh mushrooms next time) – 1,58€

Fruits, veggies and dairy:

Bananas – 1,36,€ for 1,300 g or 6 bananas. I eat a banana every day.

Fuji apples (my favorite) – I eat one every day, usually. – 1,120 kg for 1,56€

Peaches – 900 g for 1,23€

(We have about 5 kg of oranges that Rui’s mom sent us, as well)

2 cartons for skimmed milk – I’m giving up on milk, but we bought just in case we need some or Rui wants some. – 9,94€

16 cups of plain Greek yogurt – I’m giving up on milk but keep eating plain Greek yogurt as a source of protein. – 3,29 €

Frozen baby carrots – one of my favorite things to add to my lunch and to have as a snack. I eat them frozen and it’s so refreshing. – 450 g for 0,89€

2 packs of flamengo cheese – regular and light, in case I want to have some, I have the light version for myself – 3,38€

1 pack of mortadella (with olives) – for Rui. – 0,89€

Fabric softener – 2,39€

Baby wipes – We use them in the bathroom. I’ve been thinking of not buying them anymore and just use soap and water to wash myself after I use the toilet. It worries how many we go through and how bad they are for the environment. – 2 packs for 2,14€

Q-tips – we are running out. – 0,49€

Paper napkins (recycled)  – 0,45€. I have been thing about switching them (although we always buy recycled) for fabric napkins. I could buy some fabric and sew a few.

2 recharges for those things you plug-in your socket so the mosquitoes don’t eat you alive at night. – 9,99€ (it comes with a new plug)

Those toilet things that release some detergent when you flush the toilet. These have bleach on them. I love using bleach as a toilet cleaner so. – 2 for 1,29€

Daily sanitary pads – I know I shouldn’t wear them as they don’t let your skin breathe and can cause infections down there, but I feel dirty without them. Do you girls wear them? (can we talk about this or is it offensive?) – 1,05€ (I buy the thong ones because I can wear them with all my panties. I do wear thongs but not every day as they are not good for you)

Dental sticks for Rosa – She doesn’t cooperate with us to brush her teeth so we do what we can – 1,99 €

What else did we get?

1 huge bag (20 kg) of dog food – 16,59€

So much fish:

White fish/hake – 1,850 g for 11,13 (it will enough for 10 portions)

Salmon – 400 g for 3,68€

Mullet snapper – 1,140 g for 9,11€

Some meat:

Turkey steaks – 4,40€

Turkey breast – 1,370 kg for 8,89€

Pork chops – 1,142 kg for 4,33€

And that is all. We already had some things at home: Some pork, cod-fish, frozen veggies, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, oats, one white cabbage, a huge bag of potatoes and onions my mother-in-law sent us and some other little things.

Our total: 115,45€ – which was cheap, actually, for the amount of stuff we got.

We think this could last us about 3 weeks and that we can meet our monthly grocery budget of 150€. We have  34, 95€ left in our budget and that is probably enough for when we run out of fruits and veggies or bread.

Next week we’ll probably have cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries for our garden.

I’m trying to eat plant based and eating my portions in fruits and vegetables. I’m also trying to stay away from sugars, processed foods and refined flours. We’re both focused on eating more fish or leaner meats.

Meal plan:

Tuesday, 27th – Tuna and black bean salad.

Wednesday, 28th – we’ll have enough leftovers.

Thursday – Turkey steaks with rice and cabbage.

Friday – Grilled salmon with boiled potatoes and a salad.