Well, I didn’t get the writing done that I wanted to last weekend.  It was a 3-day weekend, so I thought I could get two chapters done in Darwin & the Beast Collector.  I only managed one on Saturday and that was me pulling off three sections in one day.  That might have been my downfall.  On Sunday, I was exhausted and couldn’t really focus.  This has been an issue since last summer where I would do a heavy writing day and then be out of sorts the next day.  No idea why this happens since I’m not running around and I’m staying hydrated.  Sadly, this means my progress is going to be slower than expected.

Another factor might have been that I didn’t sleep well on Saturday night.  My sleep apnea reared its head pretty harshly alongside stress giving me messed up dreams.  This brought some fatigue carrying over from Sunday into Monday, which I used more for errands and chores.  Maybe my whole issue is time management since I have less to work with than my old, high productivity heydays.  We’ll see what I can pull off next weekend, which might only be one chapter.  It’s a big one though, so I’ll be happy to get it done.

Okay, a third factor might be that I downloaded ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge’ on the Nintendo Switch.  With the big life event going on, I thought I could use some video game distraction when I was feeling stressed.  It worked a little too well and I kept playing it for hours at a time.  Was it good for my overall productivity?  No.  Did it help with my mental state?  Probably.

The biggest thing going on this week was my son starting high school.  This took a lot of attention away from writing since I had to coordinate things with the ex-wife to get everything ready.  So much to figure out and juggle, especially since he’s always anxious about school years.  It’s tripled when it’s a new school.  Needless to say, we had some rough mornings made worse by him having to wake up much earlier than he’s used to.  It means less time to relax with cartoons and get ready for the day.  Hoping he gets the hang of it soon, but I barely function at 5:30 wake-ups.  Plus side, he aced his first quiz and his classes don’t seem that daunting.  Scariest one I’ve seen is Algebra 1, which is going to be bumpy at best.  Kids have to memorize perfect squares now?

My fight to improve my health is still going strong.  I think.  I’ve decided to have homemade chopped salads for lunches.  I make a big one Sunday night to cover 2-3 days and then make another Wednesday night to cover the rest of the week.  These were more filling than I expected, which might be why I was dozing off soon after.  This week, I had arugula, baby spinach, almond slivers, cashews, corn, chick peas, heart of palms, tomatoes, grilled chicken, black olives, and banana peppers.  Ended up doing a big shopping trip on Wednesday to stockpile a bunch of canned vegetables and other possible ingredients.  It all tastes good, which is a positive.  Really not sure about the overall healthiness of these, but it’s better than fast food and sandwiches.  More filling than only fruit too.

Nothing else really occurred here.  I get my home sleep apnea test next weekend, which means I’ll be one step closer to solving that issue.  Cardiologist said my heart was fine, but cholesterol is a problem as usual.  That should be changing with the dietary shift to more fruits and vegetables.  If not then I no longer have any clue how the human body works and assume all dietary advice is bunk.

This coming week should be more of the same, but with fewer appointments.  It does end with Rosh Hashana, which means I won’t be writing Friday night.  This is why I assume I’ll only get one chapter done.  I’ll use the other nights of the week to get November blog posts taken care of.  Not going to get ambitious and try for a chapter section when I should be focusing more on sleep.

Speaking of blogging, I’m not really sure what to do on Sundays.  It’s always been a hodgepodge day where I had memes, random thoughts, and animal posts.  Tomorrow is about apple picking even though the trip triggering the post is canceled.  I’m too lazy to change the post to that too.  Anyway, I’m looking at animals, but I don’t know if I can do enough research on them to make it worthwhile.  Thought about doing national days, but the next couple Sundays don’t have anything exciting.  Wish I had a new blog post idea to tinker with, but nothing is coming to mind.  Still trying to maintain my blogging streak, which is at 2,647.  Kind of a sad victory, but it’s all I have some days.

Goals of the week?

1. Rest up for work.
2. Spend time with son when not resting.
3. Help son with high school.
4. Write one chapter of Darwin & the Beast Collector.
5. Work on November blog posts.
6. Exercise and eat salads.
7. Sleep apnea test.
8. Puzzle time to relax.