daily life

[Paz]

  So,what do you all do in your daily lives? Do you have a routine that you follow? Are there any funky little things[OCD type things, if you have OCD] that you have to do before you feel like your day is complete? Do you take vitamins and exercise?  And what do you all like to cook [and eat?]

 I was thinking it might be cool to talk about this stuff? Yesterday when we sat down for dinner I was wanting to take a pic of what we eat to show everyone what a typical meal for us is.....food looks so beautiful in the summertime, everything being so fresh & full of colour. And I was thinking about talking about certain little ritual type things that I do everyday.

 So, what do you all think? Is this something you would want to discuss? Who knows, maybe some of us do the same kinds of things due to Bipolar?

[Phyllis]

I'm afraid I'm pretty dull... The only thing that is really on a schedule here right now are the dogs... they go out before 10:30 a.m. to do their business and the eat dinner at 7 pm on the dot. But school starts at the end of August and a new schedule will begin.

As for what we eat... I'm sure not nearly has healthy as your family eats.  I do the shopping now  and I have been working on a lot of things like no high fructose corn syrup in our foods (baby steps, right?). I was very disappointed when I found out that V8 - Splash and V-8 Tea, and V-8 Blend juices has that crap in it! Same as oceanspray cranberry juices. I am also doing better at getting organic when I can.

So basically we do what we can with what we have. But we try to be smart about it. We didn't have a garden this year. Quite frankly it would have been a waste of time and money because it has been so hot, everything would have fried (like our herbs did).

I don't do anything strange that I simply *must* do. Although I do catch myself counting every now and again. Mostly when I am walking the neighborhood and going up and down stairs...

So, there ya have it. I'm pretty boring.

[goosemuffin]

We LOVE fresh fruits n veggies but everyone is usually so busy noone makes it to a farmer market daily. I have lost 11 lbs so far by following Weight Watchers. Basically portion control and watching everything that goes int my mouth (shut up perverts) and counting it. I drink a boatload of water. My kids do too. It is uaully in the 100+ here so we HAVE to stay hydrated.

We eat very very little red meat. My parents will have a steak occasionally and I'll opt for grilled chicken. When I do make burgers on the grill they are ground turkey.
Love fish and chicken and can get that grill like by using the little George Foreman. Lots of salads. I especially love spinach salads. I do have a problem with drinking my calories, so I only have diet whatever when I do have the occasional sodapop.

I started exercising hardcore today. I have to be somewhat active with the kids but today I walked at the park while the kdis played, which you all know is a huge step for me to take my heathens out in public. I'm trying this structure thing that everyone keeps talking about. Its noon 30 and they are napping (YAY) so I'm going to go find some foodage! Then do some kinect, that kicks my ass everytime.

[Paz]

 Goose, that's awesome news about your weight loss & routine. 

 This is how I live:

 Our son comes in & wakes us up everyday about 6:30am. I usually get up and make tea, open the drapes, turn on lights, etc. I get our son something to eat, and make his bed while I wait for tea to brew. I let the dog out, and then bring tea to DJ and we have our wake up talk. He usually lets the dog in, and then we go about our day, for him, he showers  has some fruit,& then starts work at his desk. I make our bed and check the news online, have some veggie juice or a piece of fruit, and after that I tidy up. I sweep everyday, I find it very zen, and during that time I talk....to myself, to our son, to the dog.....I just sort of ramble on about anything! I have to do this, it is just something that I do to relieve my mind. Sometimes I sing as well. After sweeping, I mop [not everyday, but every other] and after that I dust. Then I give our son a snack. I have to do these things in this order, otherwise I can't seem to do anything right. After my work is done, I try to stretch, sometimes yoga, sometimes exercises I learned in Physical Therapy. Then I shower, and we have lunch [and vitamins]. After lunch I make a list and then plan on our daily outing.....this usually includes an activity for our son or a Family hike, and then a trip to the market to get fresh food. We walk to market almost everyday, at least every other day. It is a way for me to get out and do something useful. Oh, BTW, before we leave the house I have to check lights and doors & windows at least 3x, sometimes 5x. Crazy ass shit, I know, but I have to do these things, it's just part of the weirdness that is me & my life. It's how I cope.
 We eat giant raw salads 2x per day, these usually consist of mixed greens like romaine, radicchio, arugula, beet greens, and the beets we put raw into the salad, they are sweet & delicious...also cucumber, celery, chopped green beans, jicama, onion, & radish. Sometimes I make chopped salads with raw broccoli, cauliflower, beets, celery, sweet bell peppers & onion, which is a marinated salad that I usually make after lunch so it will be nice & flavourful for dinner. We eat a lot of veggie ground, beans, pasta, veggies all kinds, cheese, yoghurt, hummus, organic chicken & fish. And fresh fruit. Lots.
 {I have to add that there is always a part of the day when I play with my little Ratdog, sometimes in the AM, sometimes in the afternoon when we get back from our outing. I love my Ratdog! He can be very snuggly}
 After dinner the kid gets a bath, we have quiet time, then stories, then bedtime for him. Then DJ & I chill out and talk & maybe watch something on TV or the computer. We usually have a nightcap, then go to bed. It's pretty boring, but I am weird, I do weird little things. What I am is what I am.

[Dreamline]

Awesome you guys.  I get up and am always hungry so I let my dog out and make a breakfast smoothie (almond milk, PB, raw whey, fiber, a raw egg), after that I go walk the dog or go to the gym or go sprinting.  After I shower I eat lunch (from scratch usually soething like fish or chicken and raw red peppers and hummis) then I surf the net for a few, tend to the organic garden, go to the store to get a few fresh food items, go to the farm for fresh eggs, I'll talk to my best friend and we go to the beach a lot, I usually have a protein snack or two during the day (I am a carnavore type metabolism) in the evening I make dinner (tonight was a big hamburger patty topped with mushrooms and guacamole and spinach on top) then I walk my dog and play with him.  Then I do mostly intellectual things or artistic things.  There is no order to what I do just a rythm!

[Paz]

 Thanks for all the responses, I was afraid that people might find this topic too dull. I am encouraged that you gals sort of follow a routine, all Docs say that it is important, and I agree. It gives one a sense of purpose. When you stay in the ward, there is uber-structure, everything is routine, when you get up, when you take meds, when you have activities, when you sleep. There is a reason for this, and they encourage you to keep up a routine when you get home. I find that it gives me purpose, there are things that I have to do [ I don't REALLY have to do the stuff, but I tell myself I do.]
 Believe me, if I wake up and things don't feel quite right [if I don't feel right] then the routine is switched around, DJ makes sure I take extra meds and that I get a chance to talk about my feelings...and sometimes I am just too sad or angry to talk, so he lets me be alone & he will make sure that our son is all taken care of. He will tell our son that I am not feeling well, that my brain injury is bothering me, and our son [Bless him!] is very sweet, he will usually play quietly and tell me that he's sorry I don't feel well, and he will help to take care of me. Precious little soul! Of course, I usually am in a mood, so I don't say much to him, just stuff like "thank you sweetheart, you are a good boy, don't worry about Mother, I will feel better soon". I feel like shit when this happens, but it's all part of living with this illness.
 Needless to say, on days like that I don't go crazy with the housework [unless totally manic, but then it's time for the strong drugs, and I only get a couple of things done [like laundry] before I need to lie down and rest] The house is usually spotless anyway[OCD, Anyone? LOL] so it doesn't matter if I miss a day. I will leave the house and go hike for a couple of hours, alone. I know DJ worries about me when I leave, but I take my cell so I can call & let him know how I am [& where I am]. I find that the physical exertion plus talking to myself [I do it all the time! It's probably really crazy of me to do, but I have to try & sort out my feelings, to figure out what set me off] really helps to get my mind calm. One thing that happens to me when I get upset is that my stomach just feels like it's in knots, and I have zero appetite. DJ will usually make me an Asian style soup [I eat soup a lot, mostly organic chicken broth, for the glucosamine, it helps my arthritis, as does exercising! Soup is a comfort food for me] with chicken broth, shiitake mushrooms, veggies, bok choy and noodles, it is about the only thing I can eat when I am "wound up". I sometimes just hide in the study when I return, but sometimes I just hang with our son & stay quiet while he plays with Lego, or we will watch a nature show on TV together, or Looney tunes on my laptop. Both of them are so good about just letting me be.....and that is huge.
 
 So, what about all of you? What about when you get upset? Honestly, sometimes when I "flip" I don't remember much, after a particularly upsetting moodswing DJ will tell me what I said/did.....sometimes I bang my head against the wall or against the ground if outside. One thing I always seem to recall is when I get any sort of edge to my voice, or an evil look in my eye, DJ is really quick to hustle me out of the room, away from our son so he doesn't see the ugliness. I really am grateful for DJ doing that because I truly feel that children don't want or need to see their parent wig out, this is why when I feel annoyance over some stupid little thing, I just walk away so our boy doesn't have see me that way. It's really fucking difficult to do, but I am getting much better at recognizing when I start to feel funny. I still need someone around to help, which sucks, but what can ya do?
 

[Dreamline]

When I wig out manic I have to get away and do something (this is also a preventative).  My family I live with is not much help but my dog is.  He is a big guy, 27 inches at the withers...strong in mind as well in physique.  No matter what I have done, he is not afraid of me and has the energy to keep up.  I know he knows I have an imbalance, so he never takes anything personal.  One time I kicked him so hard he fell over on his side but he just got up and follwed me with a ball in his mouth.  If I start yelling at somebody he distracts me (I never trained him to do it but he does).  He barks or jumps on me and tries to engage me into a game.  Yet he won't hesitate to protect me from anything...when walking he heels ignores everything but 2x he has potected me.  Once was 2am and 3 thugs aproached me next to this alley (they didn't see the dog).  He came out and stood in front of me, leaning foward, head up, ears back, tail stiff, defensive posture.  They sure did leave in a hurry.  The next time was the huge "pitbull" (A. Bulldog)...bigger than him.  I had never seen him so pissed before.  I have the most awesome dog in the world and he forces me to have some structure, I have to care for him everyday.  He is a very difficult dog to handle and that keeps me on my toes...once he busted a blood vessel in my hand....I was holding a kong toy and his high prey drive took over and he grabbed it and my hand!!!  He saved me when I was depressed and suicidal and I feel like I can't leave him ever.  He'll never leave my side and even after he passes away he will come back to me always.