Monday, August 24, 2015

End of the Summer


In a few days, we will take our younger son up to Michigan State University for his freshman year of college.  Due to the distance,he won't be coming home as often as our daughters and older son. 

Katie was married a little over a week ago.  She and George returned from their honeymoon yesterday and dropped by to tell us about their trip.  It was lovely to see the so soon.  This week, she is planning on getting her former bedroom packed up.  We are forcing her to remove all her belongings from the house.  Not because we want every memory of her removed, but because other children want her bedroom and we are trying to have no storage in the basement. 

Well, almost no storage.  There will be one shelving unit for Christmas and camping items.  The house is so large that it would be easy for us to become hoarders without the house getting full of clutter.  We will only be here for another 3-5 years and we don't want to have ton of junk to sort through.

Madelyn is going to the public high school this upcoming school year.  She won't be graduating from the high school, because they won't accept homeschool classes without testing for every subject.  I'll issue her a diploma in the spring.  Our homeschool will be down to two students.  It should be an easier year because the younger two girls are only 20 months apart,  I'm planning on spending the first week or two taking the girls to various parks and getting our work done in the picnic pavilions, then having a picnic lunch and spending the afternoon hiking and playing on the various playgrounds. 

Mike is changing positions at work.  He will still be in sales, but will be a bedding specialist.  Due to changes within the company's pay structure, he should make more money with the change.  I hope it's a good move for him.  He dislikes many of the games that other sales associates play to steal commissions from other sale people.

My etsy shops are doing well.  I'm getting a steady income from them and enjoy the flexibility they provide. I'm planning ahead to create a couple of non-etsy shops after the holidays to increase my exposure on the internet and open other income avenues.  Mike has been really supportive throughout all this and is excited to see my hard work pay off.

Depression has been creeping back again.  It seems to be an on-going struggle for me.  Part of it may be hormones, but the "winter blahs" are now returning as early as August.  I'm working on eating highly nutritious foods and getting exercise each day.  I know that anti-depressants are available, but I really want them to be a last resort. 

I'll be adding a ton of photos and updates over the next few weeks and even have a few craft and cooking posts planned. 

5 comments:

KB said...

wow, you have a lot of changes happening in your family. Greetings from a fellow Karen.

Barb the Evil Genius said...

Two suggestions for your winter blahs: Vitamin D supplements, and a light box. Talk with your doctor about the Vitamin D. If a doctor recommends the light box, see if your insurance might help pay for it.

Karen said...

Greeting to you also KB. Thank for stopping by. It's always good to meet another Karen.


Barb, I've been taking a D vitamin, but haven't used a light box. Is it one of those things that are used for photographing things? How do they work?

Barb the Evil Genius said...

Karen, a light box puts out light that is closest to what you get from the sun, and gives you the same benefits. It's called a light box because it is not just a single light bulb; my light box screen is 16" x 12" and has long bulbs behind it. Mine stands on two legs. Basically you only need to sit in front of it in the morning for, I think about 10 minutes a day, and it provides you the mood benefits from the sun that you don't get during dark days. It has helped me very much in the past two years I've used it. I may start using it again already; the past two days have been overcast, and I've been feeling sluggish. The reason I brought up insurance is because they can be expensive. Cheaper ones that are seen in stores may not be as effective.

As far as Vitamin D, you might want to get a blood test to make sure that you are getting enough. Granted, Mr. BTEG does have a lot of health issues, but he is currently taking 70,000 units a week, under a doctor's supervision. Too much can be as bad for you as too little.

Karen said...

Thanks Barb!
I'll have Mike look at our insurance and see if it would be covered, when I see a doctor. Your additional information is greatly appreciated. Sometimes, I dream of living somewhere sunny year round, instead of the cloudy, grey Midwest.