Baby Steps, Overcoming my Mood

I have been trying to trudge my way through whatever I'm going through. It is sort of like a mixed mood but more on the depression side. I do have some energy but can't stay focused on what I need to do and it seems in the past month with being sick everything has fallen apart. I'm also back to going to sleep early and getting up early. Where I was going to bed late and getting up at a normal time. It is so weird to look at the contrast of my moods and reflect on them.
I do know I'm getting better as I can make myself do some things around the house. I lack motivation all together and no one tells you how to regain it. It's either Just Do it or they can't understand why I don't and can let everything around me crumble. Well Just do it is great if I'm in any other mood than mixed or severe depression. In a mixed mood I just do what I want to do and lack the concentration of staying on task. Depression I do nothing and have a hard time feeding myself meals on top of it.
Yesterday, was a good day for me as I picked up some stuff around the house. I tell myself every time I get up pick up something and put it away or pick up ten things. It has been working. I got my laundry sorted to take to the laundry mat as clothes where storn all over and aren't anymore. I even gave all three dogs a haircut and clipped their nails. They look orderly and manicured. They where real good about it and are ready to stop dropping pounds of winter hair all over the place. It helps me and it helps them. I didn't clip them that short but tried to get the winter hair off and off the Brittany I just made him look like a Brittany instead of a wild haired mountain goat from the Himalayas . I still have some stripping off the hair off the back with the Golden Retrievers. Also, another nice brushing this week to get all the winter off of them. It would be easier to just take the three into the groomers but I'm trying to be a little more frugal and saved myself about 150.00. I have been doing there grooming for about a year now and I'm gradually getting better. The nice thing about screwing up it grows back.
I'm also getting cleaned up again everyday or putting on my work clothes for around the house. I have done that now for three days going on four. I have paraded around in my house clothes for to long now. I remember when I retired, I found no need to put on regular clothes and opted for lounge clothes . Real clothes everyday is what I need and a shower also even if I do messy work outside. I have found if I can't commit to little things such as regular clothes, brushing my teeth everyday , I'm not going to get the things done around the house and just watch tv. I certainly don't care what I look like when I'm depressed. So trudging back out of that hole I have to take care of every aspect even if it means getting cleaned up is all I do for that day and take care of my personal needs. If I get a couple things a day done it is better than nothing also. I have also been making a mental note in my head what I really need to get done first as everything seems so overwhelming. Chipping away at it in little chunks seems to be working and making myself feel better with cleaning up and healthy meals help also.
Now if it could get sunny today it would be a great start to my day as I'm looking forward to golfing again. It seems that I need something fun to do or even get out of this house.

Things that help a budget and time

I was sitting down thinking with a cup of coffee about how I was going to structure my day since I'm sort of out of my routine lately. I was also thinking about how I cope with domestic chores . I didn't used to cope with domestic chores at all at one time and hated anything domestic. I was either real domestic with my mood or very anti domestic. I thought I would share some of the things that helped me . One of the things that help me is cooking ahead when I feel better. I cook and freeze just about everything when I'm in a good mood in anticipation when Im going to be busy or in a bad mood. I feel eating healthy is a hard thing to do in society anymore . It seems like everyone is busy or something and doesn't have time to fix a healthy meal. I just try to do it ahead. An example , I ended up not cooking yesterday and had a pot of beans frozen in the freezer. All I had to do is defrost it and there was a base of a meal that I didn't have to think about and it was very good. I also have frozen spaghetti sauce for pasta in the freezer and some homemade chicken and noodle soup in there. I'm running low and think I will try to cook extra this week for when I don't feel like it which is a lot. Another thing you do is save when you cook ahead because you don't eat out another thing is generally the foods you freeze up are cheap on the budget. An example a pot of beans cost about 1.00 for probably 2 huge meals for a family or 8 meals for 2 people.

Making list before you go to the store helps from impulse buying and also stocking food makes you make less frequent trips to the store. I really don't like shopping when I'm in certain moods as I buy to much or Im so scattered I forget what Im there for in the first place. That is why I make a menu of the week and stick to it. I don't have to think except one time and that is planning it. Sometimes, I hate the planning more than the cooking.

Today, sense I put off the grocery store ,I will try to go for a short time because this is the last week-end that is going to be unseasonable warm for the week-end. I look forward to the sun in the sky and the warmish weather this part of Ontario is experiencing. I also look forward to next week where it will be cooler but sunny. I like just about any weather that has some sun in it. I want to start the routine of walking more before winter snow. I also want to inquire about the gym next week and get a exercise routine going on when the weather is to cool to walk and jog. I know walking and jogging really help me in many ways .
Back to coffee and more thinking about what I will do on such a nice day .