Gone Silent ... Again!

The past few days, I have fallen silent on my blog again. I was busy with other things, not because I had nothing to say. The past few days have been, to put it mildly,… intense. Not dramatic, not earth-shattering, but just those little things that are just enough to fill your head. And those things had little to do with each other, except that they both haunted my mind. One would ensure that I would sleep much better, and the other kept me awake. Contradictory, right?

Mindset!

Let's start with the latter, the mindset! I am quite proud of myself. Since I said that things had to change, I have started to approach things differently, and that has paid off. In ten days, I have lost almost five kilos. Without a dietitian, without shakes of twenty euros per pack, without pills that promise the moon, but empty your bank account. No complicated schedules or forbidden lists. Just… me. On my own. And the great thing is that I can do this. Here I have everything under control. Look, I have been struggling for years to create an income, but that has a reason; I do not have that entirely under my control. For that, I am dependent on others, among other things. That is different. But losing weight? That is something that you can only do yourself. No one else can do that for you, and that makes it a completely different story. If I do not change anything, then my weight and my body will not change either. So I gave myself a stern talking to, and told myself that I had to increase my water intake considerably, and also live according to the two B’s: Beweging & Bewust Eten. This is easy to remember in Dutch; in English, it translates to "Exercise and Conscious Eating. No more, no less. No panic if something goes differently one day, no rigid pattern. No forbidden food, just eat everything, eat a variety of food, but I watch what I eat carefully. And I don't look with guilt, but with attention. In addition, the daily exercise. Every day, no matter how small or simple it is.

Skipper and I

And that's where Skipper comes in. Of course, he was always walked several times a day. You know that if you have a dog. They have to go outside at least 4 times a day to be walked. We never walk him in the garden. Our garden is not a dog walking area. But we are now changing these walks to longer walks. Because even though he is not an easy dog ​​to walk with - his fears and insecurities play a role - he is still the perfect partner in this process. Every time we do go for a walk together, despite his nerves, despite the stimuli outside, we are another step closer to the ultimate goal, but we are also… connected. He and I. Together. With the rhythm of the day.

Take It As It Comes.

Some days our walks are short, other days they are a bit longer. Everything is fine, and when we have overcome another obstacle without him going completely crazy, we have achieved something again. I don't have to run or sweat in a gym - walking, breathing, and simply being in motion with Skipper is already a complete workout. And sometimes even an interval strength training. And that has made sure that I see that downward line on the scale graph, and that confirms to me that this works. Not because a number says so, but because I see it too. The centimeter also indicates less. And perhaps even more importantly, because it also works for Skipper, the way we approach it. Purely on condition, we can both do more, but by keeping an eye on what his stress level can handle, by paying attention to his fears and insecurities, and based on that, looking at when we can continue and how far we go, we both ultimately win. That's what I think I the most important of all.

^{Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash}

Mouse Stress

And then you would think, with more movement during the day, you sleep better at night. And that is normally the case, but this week it was a different story.

Lightning-Fast

When I was in the kitchen on Monday morning, I suddenly saw something move out of the corner of my eye. My eyes flew to the corner where I saw it, and there I suddenly saw a small, lightning-fast mouse shoot into the kitchen under a dresser. It's not like I immediately jumped a meter into the air, but my heart still missed a few beats in fright. Okay, we have a mouse inside, so set traps. Now you should know that we sleep on the same floor as where the kitchen and living room are. So that didn't give me a nice feeling that night, and as if the mouse sensed that, he decided to show himself to me very happily that evening when I was still looking at something new on my phone in bed. From under my bed, he shot in the other direction. Okay, mouse, now we have war! This is going too far ... But my night's sleep was already ruined because my brain didn't want to sleep anymore. The next day, I took even more measures, mopping the floors with vinegar, cutting lavender, and spreading lavender scent everywhere in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom, and as an extra, I also picked a handful of eucalyptus leaves, crushed them, and poured boiling water over them. Let that mixture soak for more than 4 hours and spray the eucalyptus water again. Mice hate all those smells. To make sure that the mouse didn't want to be near my bed anymore, I put a bowl of lavender/eucalyptus there.

My Partner Declared Me Half Crazy

When I was quietly sitting at my PC in the living room and my partner was busy in the kitchen, I suddenly saw that creature come around the corner and run under my partner's PC-cabinet. Okay, so a trap has to be set there, too. But that was a problem, my partner insists that those creatures must be caught alive and released, so the traps we have did not fit under the PC-cabinets. So I had to get traps for that the next day. At night, I slept even worse, and again I saw a mouse walking. This time, not near my bed, that line of lavender and eucalyptus, which luckily smelled nice to me, was indeed a line that the mouse did not want to cross. My partner had half declared me crazy by now. He had not seen a mouse. No, he was just snoring happily. He wondered if there was a mouse. But I knew better. I had seen it. I felt it. And I slept badly because of it. A mouse in the house? No thanks.

Finally!

Wednesday evening was the moment of truth. After two nights of bad sleep, I was finally tired enough to fall asleep. Even though my brain was still alert enough. And suddenly I woke up from such a superficial kind of sleep, by the sound of a mousetrap closing. I had to listen for a moment to be sure, but soon I heard the sound of a rattling mousetrap on the floor. The mouse was in it and wanted to get out. The relief of that moment made me shout a bit louder than necessary. "We have a mouse!" My partner had not heard anything, so he listened for a moment. He did not believe me at first, "He is quiet then". Almost immediately, the characteristic sound of a mouse kicking in its trap to get out sounded again. At that moment, my partner said with a sigh, "Okay, boy, I'm coming, you can go outside." He got up again and, as we had agreed, took the mouse to the woods. His face spoke volumes. But hey, a deal is a deal.

Not Completely At Ease Yet

And me? I slept a bit better that night, but I am not completely at ease yet, because I am not sure whether it was indeed one, or more. In any case, it is nice that it was confirmed: I am not crazy. I had seen it.

Let this be a blog about small disappearances. About kilos that disappear, and mice that are forced to disappear. And both feel good!

What helps you stay motivated when life throws tiny curveballs… or mice?