Updated Referral List

 

I haven't done this in awhile- put all my referrals for you to get coupons. Some sites have changed- for instance, Tradsey has become Vestiaire Collective, and I don't think they even have a referral program. Ebates became Rakuten, so on and so forth.

If you sign up for things with a referral, generally you get some kind of discount. So I'm putting all mine in one place in case you like discounts and coupons. 

Save with Capital One. Sign up with my referral link and start getting money back every time you purchase something. It's sort of like Rakuten but I don't even know how I've racked up like $50 on there. I get a pop up whenever I go to buy something, which is great because sometimes it's something that Rakuten wasn't going to give me anything back on. You can redeem the money for gift cards from many popular stores. 

Aspire - If you're thinking of getting filler like Restylane or a neurotoxin like Dysport (alternative to Botox) - you sign up for a rewards program and get points for your next services. Points equal money off.

Fetch - You have to put this app on your phone, it's like Ibotta - where you get money just for letting them be in your business and knowing what you purchase. I don't care if anyone knows what kind of cereal or laundry detergent I buy. Just like with Rakuten (see below), it really is free money. It can take awhile to build up, but it does. I never shop without using these kind of apps and any kind of cash back is nice. They're all legit. With Fetch, you just snap a pic of your receipt after any shop and you get points. The points turn into money. And they take old receipts too. I found a bunch of Shop Rite and Stop and Shop receipts in my car and they took them. 

Cord Blood Registry - Before E was born, we were inundated with information about storing his umbilical cord blood with stem cells. We did it, just in case. It's expensive though. If you use my referral you get $100-$200 off. Now, I don't know many people having babies these days, but it was a lot cheaper when I first started with it, so any money off is going to be helpful.

From the CBR website: Your baby's umbilical cord is made up of tissue and contains blood. Both cord blood and cord tissue are rich sources of powerful stem cells being researched for their ability to act like our body’s own personal repair kit and may be able to help our bodies heal in new ways. Plus, cord blood stem cells are currently used in transplant medicine to regenerate healthy blood and immune systems. Your baby isn't the only one who may benefit from having access to preserved newborn stem cells. The cells can potentially be used by siblings and parents, too. In many cord blood treatments, stem cells from a matched family member are preferred.

Mercari - Especially good for holiday shopping or trying to find that needle in a haystack thing you've been looking for. You get up to $30 in savings when you sign up with a referral. 

Poshmark - Great for buying and selling. I believe you get a free $10 when you sign up with a referral. You have to sign up in the app and use my closet name - AVENUEPOSH. Just go to your app store or whatever you buy apps on with an android device and get the app. 

Posher VA  - if you sell on Poshmark and want a Virtual Assistant, this is the best service I've found. Get money off with my link.

Rakuten - This one, I don't know why everyone isn't already using this, but it's literally free money- both in-store and out. Sometimes, I get a notification that I got money back and I didn't even know I was using Rakuten. For example, in-store, or with food delivery or something. You put all your credit cards numbers in any time it detects you've used one of those cards in-store, you get money back. But, I check it before I make any purchase online. You have to make sure you've clicked it before you make the purchase, but I have it as an add-on extension on my laptop, so if I go on a site they are connected to, the pop up will come up to click on it. Even my little eBay purchases- it's usually only 1% back, but it adds up. I just bought from Nike and it was 8% cash back. Totally worth it. It's also how I gauge if a website is legit. If they're doing cashback on Rakuten, I feel like they're legit. 

Honey  - Another free money site for when you shop online. Some places use Rakuten, some use Honey (which is now partnered with PayPal). Sometimes they use both. Rakuten won't let you use another cash back service when using theirs so I hit Rakuten first, then if Honey comes up with coupon codes I let it run, Rakuten says it's disconnected, and after Honey puts in the coupon codes, I'll hit the Rakuten button again. Sometimes Honey has coupon codes that Rakuten doesn't. That's my way around using both. But now, Honey will ask you if you want to apply your points to a PayPal purchase, which is great.

Coach Outlet - You get $10 if you sign up with my referral on their site. 

RueLaLa - Discount fashion and home goods site. Great deals. You get $10 for signing up with my link.

Name Bubbles - For all your label needs. I use these for camp, school, everything. I just ordered extra small labels for shoes. 

Noom - It's a weight loss app to help you with the whole mind/body/spirit thing.

Factor Food - I just started this food delivery service. I'll update more but this is a big coupon from them if you're interested in healthy food delivery. See my entry about Factor to read all about my meals.

Mixbook - I made the nicest Bar Mitzvah photo album from this company. I can't rave enough about it. I even made a mini-book of it for E to bring to camp to show his friends. I love all the choices for sizes and it was easy to make. I had to use Shutterfly to make a book recently or lose 14 years worth of photos - they are now making you buy something every eighteen months or lose your account. What a mess. It wasn't user friendly and it cost SO MUCH MORE than Mixbook. I should just see if I can download all my photos from Shutterfly and put them on an external hard drive. However, I already had one huge external hard drive get corrupted so I don't trust them.

Evidation - It's a health site where you earn points that turn into money or gift cards by answering health questions. Getting points is slow but I've earned many $10 over time. I go to it when I remember. I just earned like 800 points this morning for answering some demographic questions. It's not fast, but it's still free money and I'll take it. It's nice getting a little $10 gift every now and again.

ThredUp - it's another secondhand clothing site. Use my link to sign up, you get $10 to shop. Some things are really inexpensive- like I'm looking for a certain kind of Gap tank top they don't make anymore. Right now, cropped is in, and I'm not 15 yrs old or a hundred pounds. So I'd like a tank that covers a little more skin. That's what a site like ThredUp is for. Or, of course, name brand designer stuff, but I'm not looking for that kind of thing to go on my treadmill in the house. 

Swim Outlet - you get 20% off your first order with my link instead of the usual 10% for signing up for emails. They have really good prices so it's worth it. I joined their membership which is only $4.99 a year- totally worth it for me because E loses at least one pair of goggles a season and those Speedo Vanquishers are not cheap.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but if I come up with more, I will update.

JSU Glen Rock Support

 

To purchase apparel from the fundraiser- CLICK HERE

 To donate directly to the FIDF - CLICK HERE

 

No Joy of Cooking

 

We all know that I don't really cook. However, since being on Wegovy, there is just no joy in food. Period. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It's just really weird. It feels weird and a little sad. Not sad enough to stop the injections, but you really have to learn to have a new relationship with food.

All this time, my whole life, food ruled my brain. It was- what was I going to eat, when, how much. I have never been a foodie, as in, I have a child's palate. I don't eat spicy, exotic, fusion, or anything remotely even interesting. I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches my entire school career. I love vodka sauce. Garlic knots. Pizza. You get the idea. 

Now, food rules my brain, but in a different way. By the time it's like one or two o'clock, I think to myself that I have to find something to eat. Nothing seems appealing. Every now and again, something sounds good and I jump on it, but there's no guarantee that it isn't going to turn on me halfway through. It doesn't make me sick or anything, but the thought of it is just gross and I have to throw it away. 

So far, pizza has been okay, but not all pizza. I used to LOVE the chicken parm pizza from this certain local place. I don't know what happened, but I was eating a slice and halfway through it turned. Had to throw it out and now the thought of it is gross to me. From the same place, I love their Hawaiian pizza and luckily, that hasn't turned. Wonton soup also seems to work for me. Wonton soup, an egg roll, and pork fried rice is a perfect meal. Except I can't finish the soup and I can only take a few bites of the rice. But it tastes good. 

The weight is melting off though. I haven't seen this weight since around my fortieth birthday. My body looks different than when I was thirty or forty, but I'll still take it. I don't actually notice the weight gone when I look in the mirror, naked, before jumping in the shower. It's more that I have a few articles of clothing I keep to try on and that's my barometer of my weight. They fit now and I couldn't even get them on a few months ago. 

I do miss enjoying the limited number of food items I did eat before though. I used to LOVE and look forward to garlic knots with vodka sauce. I don't even think to get them now and I don't even know if I could even eat them if I did. I like being thin better, but it just feels so strange to be so ambivalent about food. 

My friend Kate said maybe that's how we're really supposed to be- ambivalent about food. We overeat because it tastes good and we don't have self control, but maybe that's not how our bodies are designed to work. So, these drugs work by making our bodies do what they're really supposed to do. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can tell you it was definitely hard to change the mindset of thinking I want something, mentally, but then getting it and not actually being able to eat it because of no physical desire. 

I normally eat dessert every night. Some kind of cookie, cupcake, brownie, whatever. I was on a Chipwich kick for awhile or Skinny Cow ice cream cones. I've ALWAYS looked forward to dessert. Now, I think I want it, but I'm not sure what I want, and then it never seems to taste as good as it did, or I thought it would. I also can't finish what once seemed like a small portion. Prior to Wegovy, if I had a cupcake, I'd still be looking to eat something else after. Even if it was chips. I can't remember the last time I wanted or ate chips. 

That's really about it. I'm still learning how to navigate this new relationship to food. I decided to stay at 1mg for a second month instead of going up to the next dose of 1.7 because it seems to be doing it's job, I haven't felt nauseated since the first or second week of the 1mg, so I seem to be at a good spot with the current dosage. People keep asking me how long I plan to be on it. I don't have an answer. I'll see how it goes. If insurance continues to pay, I'll continue to be on it. I don't have a problem giving myself the injections and I don't feel like I'm having any adverse effects. I don't necessarily have a goal weight. It's not just about weight though- I've really lessened the amount of candy I eat these days. I used to be able to polish off a bag of gummy bears or whatever and now it's a handful here and there, then I'm done. It feels good. I'll take it!

Welcome Home 2023: Maine back to NJ

 

The OG's, waiting for the White Plains bus to go to camp!

I always write what is basically a love letter to Camp Wekeela at some point when E gets back. I've been too busy to really do anything since he's been back. Instead of just a love letter for a great summer, I want to talk about the mental break with him gone vs him coming home. 

Before he comes home, everyone asks if we're excited for him to come home. Anyone we see after he's arrived back at the nest, asks if we're so happy he's back. The answer is always that it's more complicated than that. What the answer really comes down to is that we'd love to see him, hug him, and catch up, but then we'd like to send him back. 

What? That's horrible! No, no it isn't. It's that for just under seven weeks, he is happy, living his best life, safe, fed, no access to electronics or social media, trying new things, going on trips, and it has nothing to do with us (parents). We can only guess what's going on from photos and a few sporadic letters, but we know it's all good.

You don't realize how much space, energy and time, in your head, your kid takes up until they go away, just for this short stint of time, while they are still supervised. It's different than college where they can do whatever they want and that usually involves alcohol and sex. That is decidedly NOT a mental break. 

When they're a teen and go to camp, you get this beautiful, much needed, mental vacation. Their emotions are so big, perception can be way off, the way they think can be exhausting for parents. It's great to have a kid that's a talker, a sharer. Trust me, I love having the kid who likes to verbally purge and tells us things other kids his age don't usually share with their parents. The flip side of that though, is a lot of talking, a lot of over thinking on his part and ours, and being genuinely surprised and sometimes equal parts annoyed at his hyper sensitivity. 

I know when he's at camp, he's learning valuable life lessons. He's figuring out how to live with other people, in a small area, helping keep that area clean, and keeping himself clean. He's experimenting with how to talk to girls, upping his rizz, and doing all the age appropriate things. He's not being called the f word that rhymes with maggot because he's a musician/actor instead of playing on the lacrosse, football, or soccer teams at school. He's achieved and maintained longstanding, meaningful friendships that have spanned five summers and four school years. 

He comes home and we're all back to all the "w's" - who, what, when, where, why. And the "how". What is your plan for today? Where are you going, who are you going with, what time are you going and when do you plan to be back? Why are you dressed like that, it's summer. How are you getting there and how are you getting home? Did you eat? Was there anything that resembles real food that you ingested today? It's almost one o'clock in the afternoon- do I wake you or let you sleep? There are probably more but I got tired just thinking about this paragraph. You get the idea. It's exhausting. For example, today, B said E got out of bed around noon, then went out with friends. I've seen him for about ten minutes in between coming home from being out to going out again.

For B and I, we're back to checking the cell phone. Having to read mind-numbing texts, seeing who is snapping, and making sure there is nothing that needs further discussion. I love having a little over six weeks not having to even look in the direction of a phone that isn't my own. 

Yes. Is this all just part of parenting? Is this what we signed up for? I don't know. I certainly didn't think about reading someone else's texts or checking group texts in 2009. All I was thinking about then was who was going to win American Idol and making sure I napped when he did.

It's funny. When I talk about sleepaway camp and Wekeela to other moms who aren't camp moms, they talk about their ten or eleven year old being young to go. That maybe they'll send them in a year or so. Meanwhile, if I had a time machine, I would go back and send him earlier than I did. He started in 2019, going into fifth grade. I go up there, chaperoning the bus, and I see those little six year olds, getting their first taste of freedom, which turns into a level of confidence you can only achieve from living your best life at a place like that. Not having their brains altered by sitting on screens for hours, away from mom and dad, doing all the new things, having something special, separate from their parents. I see them being loved on by their counselors, climbing them like trees, laughing, making jokes, learning how to do stuff for themselves. It's actually pretty darn amazing.

Is it necessary to start overnight camp so young? No. Of course not. While they don't need it- as there are so many more options, for day camps, the younger they are. Except, once they're in, at their special place, they're IN. They're always building relationships that only get stronger as the summers go on. So when they're in that tween and teen stage, camp becomes their refuge from all the drama and chaos that goes on during the school year. It's their home away from home. Then, when they really NEED camp, when there is nothing good that comes from hanging around their hometown doing a lot of sleeping, hanging out, playing video games, texting, Snapchatting, and lot of nothing productive, they have camp to look forward to and keep them from mindless stupidity and impulsive trouble-making.

I see the all the counselors who got their ten year Wekeela jackets, exchanging knowing looks of pride in getting to that prize. I'm jealous. I'm jealous of the kids whose parents sent them earlier than I sent E. If I only knew what Wekeela would do for E, I would've wanted him to be there all that time. Kids today, without going to overnight camp, will never know what it is to have time away from technology devices. E says to us- "I wish I grew up in your time. It seems so much easier without phones, texting, and social media". He has to have it all to be social, and he IS very social. But that doesn't mean he has to like it. 

Kids today barely have any autonomous time away from their parents. Gone are the days of just roaming around without being tracked or forbidden, trying to get lost, just to see if you could make your way back home. At least at camp, they're learning how to speak to people and resolve conflict, face to face, without having mommy intervene. They learn how to ask for what they want, advocate for themselves, without having a parent speak for them. They're making friends on their own, without parental social engineering. These are all super important life lessons. 

E has one last summer as a camper. It's definitely on the later side to still be the camper. Most kids will probably be working next summer. He'll be fifteen. And he can work. But I can't steal from him that last chance to be a kid. He came home saying that this was the best summer so far, equal to his first summer, which was magical. The bunk was closer, better behaved, cleaner, and more mature than ever before. It was a bit of a smaller group, having finally weeded out the few poorly mannered interlopers who had come from other camps during that covid summer and may have stayed another summer or two. They all jelled and there was really very little conflict to resolve. Next year they'll be the seniors, the big machers. And we wish them the best summer ever...

 

Act NOW

 

Most of you have been reading for years know E has been a part of Actor's Technique NY since he was around four years old. He hasn't always consistently taken classes, but he started in the Tots class - which is for 4-6 yr olds doing improvisation. He took that a few semesters in a row. Then he moved on to the Kids and Teen level classes which is a three class option on a Saturday or Sunday. They are willing to work with you on how many classes you want to take in a day though. I remember when E was doing it, I had to leave NYC by around three o'clock to be able to get home with relatively no traffic. I will say that I live in Glen Rock, NJ and on Saturdays and Sundays at around ten o'clock in the morning, it only took me about thirty minutes to get me to where ATNY has their classes and maybe forty minutes to get home in the three o'clock hour. I'd use the Park Whiz app to get a good deal on a garage for like six hours and I'd walk around the city while he was in class. It was actually pretty great.

 

He did those classes and loved them. He met new people, gained skills in improvisation, on-camera, monologues, audition preparation, commercial acting, etc. Now, because of being on a competitive swim team and meets on weekends, he doesn't have time for the weekend classes. He still remains connected to ATNY though. He has been doing ATNY's cabaret nights which usually feature around 16-20 performances of all singing genres, approximately every three or four months. He's participated in other workshops too. He did a virtual American Idol style workshop which was a lot of fun. 

HOWEVER, ATNY has come to NJ for both on camera/film/tv/audition preparation classes and full length productions. E was just in their off-broadway production of Mean Girls. There were a few casts- I think there were three in NYC and two casts in NJ. In NJ, they practiced in Ridgewood in HeART in Motion and their final performances were in the John Cullum Theatre, American Theatre for Actors in NYC. It was really cool to perform on a real NYC theater like that. ATNY just announced they're doing Newsies in the fall, which is one of our personal favorites, as E played Jack Kelly in a local theatre production of that in the fall of 2022. This time there will be casts in NYC, NJ, and CT! These productions are being directed and choreographed by a Tony winning team of current Broadway professionals.

There is more info on the ATNY site HERE but below is the general info for auditions and commitment: 

 

*Virtual Auditions: (Pick 1 day)

(1) Wednesday, August 30th (4pm – 7pm) or

(2) Wednesday, September 6th (4pm – 7pm) or

(3) Thursday, September 7th (4pm – 6pm)

*Once You audition, you may leave the Zoom. If you cannot audition during these virtual times, please send ATNY a video clip for consideration. We can invite you to callbacks if selected.

In-Person Callbacks – Pearl Studios, 519 8th Ave. 12 Fl, NYC

Saturday, September 9^th &/or

Sunday, September 10th

Final Cast selections will be made within a few days of callbacks.

REHEARSAL DATES:

October through December 2023 – NY & CT, Saturday and Sunday afternoons; NJ, Friday (after school) & Sunday afternoons.  Only actors who are rehearsing scenes that day will be called for that day.  Conflict Sheets will be provided and honored.  All Holidays off.

Performance Dates/Tech Week:

New York City-based cast: Jan. 6^th, 7^th 

New Jersey-based cast: Jan. 13^th, 14^th

Connecticut-based cast: Jan. 20^th, 21^st

*Tech week encompasses 4 days before performance weekend, approx, 4pm – 8pm.

Audition Requirements:

• All roles open, ages 7 to 18. (If 19 or over, please contact us to discuss.)
• Must provide headshot and resume, online is fine.
• Prepare 32 bars of a standard contemporary or classic musical theatre or song. Pop ok.
• Track or a cappella ok (online only). Accompanist provided at Callbacks.
• May be asked to stay and dance.  All levels encouraged.
• CANNOT MAKE VIRTUAL AUDITIONS? Please email us an initial audition tape for consideration.
  

And don't forget to check out the on camera/film/tv/audition prep classes being offered this fall in Glen Rock in the Gary Stevens Tae Kwon Do studio at 175 Rock Road, Glen Rock NJ 07452. I love that ATNY has come to NJ. As E gets older and commitments with swim and school get more intense, it's hard for us to get into the city. But he can still stay connected to Todd and the ATNY family by being able to do things right in our backyard.  

**If you're still looking for something for August, there may still be room in their week long Mean Girls camp. E is helping out with that one since he played Aaron in the full length spring production!

New Hair Don't Care

 

After Don did my hair 6/30/23

 I actually do care about my hair. I just didn't know I cared so much. I've been going to Don for, I think, like 25+ years (he calls himself Donny, but I was introduced as Don and that's I roll) to get my hair done. From the giant curls to what I started calling movie star hair during my time on reality tv in the early 2000s. I have proof of that hair back on the Iyanla Van Zant show which I think was in 2002. 

I've had highlights, lowlights, blue hair, magenta hair. I've had long, past the shoulder hair, for most of my life, but there was a stint in like 2012 when I went for that magenta bob. It wasn't a short bob but it was significantly shorter than I've ever gone. I liked it. B wasn't really a fan. He liked the color, just not the shorter hair. 

 

2012 Magenta bob

 

Gray had been coming in, but it really was a slow process. I'd also almost always had some kind of blond highlights, so I don't know- I didn't really see it. It certainly wasn't, and still isn't the kind of gray where, if I don't get it colored, it's like, a gray part. It's more like, gray highlights, and more and more of them as time goes on. There are more of them in the front and they come in faster. 

I always got my hair done every four months. Then I started going every three months. About a year ago- maybe last September, I started doing just a single process to cover the gray. I went darker than my usual blond-ish highlighted summer hair. I didn't LOVE it, not because it was done correctly or it was a bad color- it was just boring. I didn't HATE it either. I just was sort of resigned to this being my hair now, because it was just too expensive for me to cover the gray and do highlights. I was having to come in more like every eight weeks just to cover the gray. 

Before Don did my Balayage 6/30/23

 

I work from home now. I felt like- ok, what's the big deal, no one sees me really. Especially in the winter. I just happened to be scheduled for the beginning of June for my cut and color. Don saw me and he was like- Listen. Your hair needs to be blond and gorge. This isn't you. Let me do a balayage. 

Like I said, I know Don forever. I consider him a friend. I trust him. Summer was coming. I didn't want to be dark brown for the summer. We made me an appointment for a few weeks later. He wanted to do it separately from my gray and haircut. 

What he did was a teased balayage. He was literally teasing it, and then doing whatever else is done. It's for diffusing the roots for an overall lighter color but a softer grow out. Can't argue with that. Sounds good to me. 

When it was done, it looked awesome. I didn't write this right away because I wanted to see how it would look in a few weeks. I actually had it done June 30. It's now July 27, so it's been almost a month. Usually, after I've been out in the sun, in the chlorine, not really taking care of it, the color can change a little. But this actually looks better now. It looked great that day, but what I am really impressed with, is that even the gray around and/or interspersed in my hairline isn't as pronounced. You really don't notice it. 

I've been styling my hair with the Beach Waver S1.25 curling iron, which is another story- it's the best thing I've ever used on my hair. That is saying a lot because it's really the only styling tool I've used consistently, aside from a flat iron. I don't use the flat iron anymore. Just the Beach Waver because it's so quick and easy. I can do my whole head of past the shoulder hair in like ten minutes. The pics I have here of of Don styling my hair, but I'll add pics of my hair currently having styled it myself and I get compliments every time I do my hair. My point, though, is that I WANT to style my hair, because whatever Don did, you can REALLY see it when it's styled. 

It's hard to feel pretty when you're pushing fifty and can't afford plastic surgery. If you can just feel good about your hair, it's pretty nice. I am LOVING this hair. I haven't felt like this in quite awhile. I forgot how important it is to be able to love your hair. You don't get this feeling just covering grays or box dying your own hair. Sometimes, you need that little pick me up of a great, skin complimenting, hair color. 

Don is always moving and shaking, he always has plans. These days, he's in New Milford and here's his info to make an appointment. Hair By Donny - it's awesome to be able to book things online. I wish every place had this kind of system, including doctors. Go see him and let him make you movie star hair - everyone needs movie star hair every now and again!

My more natural hair color in 95/96/97 just for fun. It was boring.

 

New photo a month after initial balayage 7-28-23

Wegovy Update: 8.5 weeks

 

I'm in the third month of Wegovy. I upped my dose to 0.5 from the original 0.25 at five weeks. Every four weeks you go up in the dosage until you reach the maximum. It goes 0.25, 0.5, 1mg, 1.7, then 2.4 is the maximum. HOWEVER, there is a shortage, which I didn't know about when I started. The 0.25 and the 0.5 wasn't difficult for me to get so I had no idea what's been going on. I kept checking my CVS app and it still said out of stock. I asked for the prescription to be called in a week before I actually needed it. 

The 1mg has been on back order since June 15th at my CVS and any in the immediate vicinity. I went a week and a half without taking it. I thought it would at least be in by the time I was about due for the second injection. Nope. 

I got a tip that a pharmacy about twenty minutes or so from my house would most likely have it. I drove there to at least set up my information- give my insurance, all that. I wanted to find out in person if they had it before I had my doctor's office call it in. I didn't want to be stuck with another pharmacy, this time, far away, where I couldn't get it either. Long story short, they didn't have the 1mg, but they had the 0.5. I was able to get that for another four weeks. They expect to get another shipment soon, hopefully.

By the time I was able to get medication, I'd been off it for almost two weeks. I would've been nervous after almost two weeks to move up to the 1mg because you never know how you're going to react to the next dose- of anything. I wasn't too upset, at that point, to at least stay at the same dosage I'd already been on. I also would rather have something than nothing. 

I also emailed Novo Nordisk to let them know how negligent it is to have people who have started a treatment not be able to get their medications. It doesn't matter what the medication is, they are the ones paying for commercials every five minutes on network television. The bigger issue is that medication shouldn't be marketed to people like you can just choose to be on it. You can bring up a medication you see advertised to your doctor, and your doctor may feel like you're a great candidate, but that doesn't mean your insurance will pay or that it will even be in stock! Novo Nordisk just sent me a generic email back, basically saying - we're trying but talk to your provider about what course of action to take. They don't care.

Here's the skinny on how it works-

You get a box of four needle pens that are prefilled. They stay in the refrigerator until you use them. Every week on the same day you do your injection. It's really easy and doesn't hurt. 

I was tired the first four weeks. I didn't know that was a side effect, but a friend of mine mentioned feeling exhausted. Then, an acquaintance told B that his wife is on it and she is really tired all the time. For me, it's not unbearable, it's just annoying. It's like, no matter how much sleep I get, I'm still really tired in the morning. 

Let me try to explain how food feels these days. It's really weird. It's like, nothing is...really, GOOD. It actually feels a lot like when I was pregnant.

Prior to taking Wegovy, I really looked forward to eating certain things. Or eating at all. Bread and butter especially. That's one of my favorite things. We normally go out for a "nice" dinner every weekend. Nice, meaning, not a Factor meal in the house. Someone serves us somewhere, usually our local pub. Now, on Wegovy, I really don't care about dinner. I feel hungry but then nothing seems appealing. A few Saturday evenings ago, I would've normally been super hungry by the time we went out. I'd have wanted a "real" dinner- like a salmon meal. With rolls. B asked me where I wanted to eat and nothing seemed appetizing. 

I'd actually had Tito's Burrito's tacos like six months ago or something, for the first time. I remembered they were good. I suggested going there. It would be much cheaper than one of the typical meals we would've eaten had I not been on this shot. B was surprised but he doesn't care about a fancy meal so he was all about it. I ordered three tacos. I ate one and a half and gave the rest to B. I wasn't that into it, and I really couldn't finish the second one, nevermind the third. 

It's hard to even explain the feeling. I LOVE candy. In my mind, I still want certain things. I have my favorite blue raspberry licorice in the house. Normally, I have to really stop myself at like four pieces- I can totally eat six and they're not small. I would have to put the bag far away from me so I wouldn't be able to eat anymore. I've had a bag of them for over a month and the thought of eating another one is kind of gross. 

I've never had this feeling before, where my body signals me that I'm full and I just stop eating. Not only do I stop, thinking about food is kind of nauseating. I don't know if this feeling lasts, but it's good for me. I've always had trouble with willpower and now, it's a non-issue.

My life revolved around food and what I'd be eating. Not as a foodie or anything, but just being hungry, thinking about what I might eat next, eating things because they taste good versus being genuinely hungry. When we have dinner with friends, I don't really care what kind of food or what time we'll be eating. Before Wegovy, I was all about the what, when, where of it all. Now, I can take or leave any of it and just really don't care. 

I miss liking food but I don't miss thinking about it or trying to regulate it. I'm definitely eating way less of whatever serving I get. With cereal, I measure out my cereal in a one cup measuring cup. I use to make it a heaping one cup. These days, I'm at a cup or under and I usually don't want to finish.

I haven't had any other major side effects. I have migraines to begin with. I think I had a bad headache the first week. I definitely had a major migraine the day after I upped the dosage. I don't know if it was my normal headache or if it had to do with the shot. I feel less nauseous these days than I did in the beginning but that could be because my body is used to being on the 0.5mg dose for two months instead of going up to the 1mg. I don't know and won't know for at least another three weeks, assuming I'll be able to get the 1mg when it's time for that.

 It's been about eight and a half weeks, I think, that I've been on it and I'm down approximately sixteen pounds- which I didn't realize until I just typed that. I'd been struggling for so long and still gaining, so this is a giant relief. Am I "skinny"? No. I've had a kid. My body is that of an almost fifty year old woman who had a kid. But I'm back to where I was during Covid quarantine. My old clothes fit. I'll take it.

I would definitely recommend trying it if your doctor prescribes it, and you don't have any preexisting conditions or family history that give you a higher probability of dangerous side effects. The only issue is being able to get it. So if you do get a doctor who will prescribe it, I'd ask for a physical prescription. That way, you can take it to whatever pharmacy has it in stock.

Luda's Dumplings

 

It's great to know people who make good stuff. I happen to know the family that makes Luda's Dumplings. It's Eugene and Masha Tulman- they're E's friend's parents. Luda was Eugene's mom, who passed away. After doing other jobs to support her children, she started making dumplings in her apartment when they moved to Sheepshead Bay, NY, from Russia. Word of mouth spread and she made it into a small business. Eugene helped make them as a kid and he wanted to keep the culture of food he grew up with alive, especially for his kids. From that, Luda's Dumplings was born into the current state it exists. 

I was really excited to try their offerings of pork, chicken, and potato dumplings they just started delivering locally.  Although, I did just watch a video on their Facebook page that mentioned "sweet cheese" that was super intriguing to me. Maybe those will come in time. The current dumpling offerings are: 

100% Organic dumplings made of ingredients you know and love

Sugar

Artificial flavors

Additives

MSG

GMO

 

I feel like as busy parents, we all struggle to feed our families quickly yet still healthy. You can feel good about serving these. 

These are a must have, especially if you're a quick meal kind of family. We all know I don't cook. I have no desire to cook, nor do I have the time. I tend to buy a lot of premade meals from the supermarket. Well, right now, I'm eating Factor meals but B and E do need to eat also. I was stoked when I received my dumplings because they seemed easy and fast enough to make. B makes his own dinner and really, E could make these too. 

The first ones I made was the chicken. I think it took like five minutes after getting the water to a boil. Can't beat that. I was immediately impressed, as they're REALLY flavorful. I don't know why I was surprised but I don't know- I eat a lot of frozen food. I don't typically find frozen food to be so full of flavor. 

They actually didn't need anything on them, but I followed the directions on the side of the bag and it said you could put some butter on them. I think they would've been good with some kind of pasta sauce on them too because they don't seem much different than raviolis. In their video Eugene said something about sour cream. I assume that would be the Russian way to eat them. I feel like they're pretty versatile. There are a lot of ways you can enjoy them.

We didn't get to try the others yet because we've been on a crazy schedule. However, I look forward to trying the rest. B is most excited about the potato, and I'm looking forward to pork. I love that there are a variety of flavors, they're easy to make, and we love to support friends and friends who have local businesses. 

They ship frozen and stay in the freezer until you're ready to make them. 

This is their website- Luda's Dumplings where you can order.

Little Softies

 

It's no secret that I spend a lot of time on Facebook. I read a lot of the questions, comments, and complaints in the Bergen County Moms group. Right now, the major topic of complaint is the NJSLA, a standardized test given to middle and high school kids. 

When we were kids, we had the CAT test, some other standardized test. I remember it, I think I probably liked it because it changed up the regular school schedule, but that's all I remember. I wasn't a good student. I was okay. I had an undiagnosed learning disability. Math was impossible. But I didn't have any test anxiety to take the CAT test. It was just something you did. My parents didn't talk about it, talk to me about it, and if anyone opted their kid out, I didn't know about it. Parents didn't "opt out" in the 80's. It never even came up. I don't think parents even knew they had options. It was- this is when the test are... and no one questioned it. 

Now? Oh. My. God. You'd think the schools were asking kids to parade down the halls naked with their grades tattooed on them. Every other post is about how to opt a kid out, whether you can opt them out, the kid has test anxiety, kid is a mess worrying about the test. Today I saw someone, anonymous of course, because no one can seem to admit that they're coddling the living shit out of their kid, she wanted to know if other schools besides the one her kids attend, were still giving tests, quizzes, and homework during testing week. Why, because her sixth grader doesn't have extra work and her seventh grader does, and it doesn't seem fair. 

Are you kidding me? It isn't fair? Life isn't fair! 

I'm not saying the 80s or my parents were the bastion of perfect parenting, for sure. It was just different though. School was...trusted. If there was a standardized test, there was a test. No one was questioning the anxiety the test might provoke in a kid. There was no internet to do their own research. There were no groups thinking they know more than teachers. I also don't think kids had as much anxiety. Parents didn't discuss this stuff like they do now. They didn't crowd source whether kids should be opted out. Anxiety wasn't discussed to the level it is discussed. If I had to guess, I'd say my mom didn't know when the test was, nor would there ever be any instance she'd even consider opting me out.

Is anxiety and school/test anxiety real? Sure. Are there a lot of kids with anxiety? Yes. I've seen it. I know it exists. I just wonder in some cases, it is a chicken or egg situation. People are worried that hearing a lot of talk about LGBTQIA issues and stories will turn a kid gay (it won't), but don't think twice about talking about anxiety in front of kids. To me, it's like if you talk about the symptoms of any disease or syndrome long enough in front of a person with a certain way of thinking, they start feeling like they have it. Parents don't seem to be careful at all about what they talk about in front of children- I've definitely seen that. I've been in circles at school or on a playground, hearing them talk about their kid having anxiety about this or that, fully within earshot. I wonder sometimes if the kid really has all this anxiety or if they just have been led to believe they do. I definitely think it can be self-fulfilling prophecy.

Even if kids do have anxiety, they don't have to be coddled and bubble wrapped from gaining any coping skills. Our kids have very little adversity these days, because parents are SO involved. Overly involved. In the wrong things. In things that actually keep their kids from growing as humans. These kids have no life experiences. Opting them out of a test? A test that doesn't mean anything? These standardized test scores mean NOTHING for the kids. They aren't the SAT or ACT. They don't count individually toward getting into any class or college. They're basically to test the teachers, to see if the teachers are doing their job teaching whatever material is on the test.

Personally, if people are so worried about anxiety, I don't know why they don't just tell their kids that the test doesn't mean anything, they should do their best, but if they don't know the material, it's not a big deal and to move on. I'm sure there are parents that do that and the kid still feels nervous, but it's the parents job to teach them how to handle the anxiety. If the anxiety is extreme then it's time to see a professional and/or talk about some kind of medication. Those are not the cases I'm talking about.

My son has Tourette's. He has a 504 because of that diagnoses. He likes the test. Well, he doesn't like the TEST itself, but he likes the disruption of the day. It changes the regular schedule and it either eliminates classes that day or makes them shorter. We've never put any emphasis on the test in our home. We never told him he needs to do well on it or even that he should try hard. We never really talked about it at all because it's such a non-issue. He's never seen his scores either. He's never asked and we never thought it was important to tell him.

I also never thought about whether he should or shouldn't have other homework, tests, or quizzes in his regular classes. His other classes have nothing to do with the standarized test. The test is based on what they already know. He hasn't been studying for it. There was nothing to study. To me, it's totally irrelevant to the rest of school. It's mid-May. The teachers have material that needs to be completed by the end of the year. I can't imagine there is time for them to have no tests, quizzes, or homework just because of a standardized test. 

The amount of bellyaching from moms about this test is baffling. Everyone has to do what's best or what they think is best for their kid. I just don't get the constant crowdsourcing. The amount of moms talking about opting out and having kids with anxiety is way over the top. This behavior shouldn't be the norm. To me, school is my son's job. He has to do whatever they want him to do. Do I think Algebra is necessary? No! Not for him. But he still has to try his best and do the work. School is his job. Getting through Algebra, which is really hard for him, the ONLY class that is really hard for him, is adversity. Getting through it, is going to give him confidence, even subconsciously, because he didn't think he'd be able to do it. You can't opt them out of life and getting thrown curve balls on the regular.

If you're that adamant that the NJSLA is just too stress inducing for little Amy, then opt her out, feel good about it, and own it. I just question how much you're going to try to opt out little Amy, who becomes big Amy, for the rest of her academic career. Are you going to call the teachers or the Dean at college to try to opt Amy out of her college tests? Is Amy going to be able to take any tests without anxiety because she never had to take them before? What happens when Amy tries to get a job? What if she has to take some kind of test for her job? Is Amy going to be able to do it? 

I guess you could say I'm being dramatic, but I don't think I am. I've seen, with my own eyes, freshman in college who couldn't pick out an outfit or what to eat for dinner without calling mom on their cell. I've seen kids woefully unprepared for the rigors of college and just daily living because they have no life experience, no adversity, to draw on where they gained any coping skills. I'm not even talking about not knowing how to do laundry or other chores. I'm talking about the emotional wherewithal to get through difficult situations. If you let a kid opt out or quit everything, how do you think they're going to handle things as an adult? 

A standardized test, to me, seems like a cakewalk compared to actual adversity. How about teaching your kid how to deal with anxiety- breathing techniques, journaling, therapy, exercise, and whatever, instead of just pulling them out of the situation. Get them a therapist to deal with anxiety. Find YouTubers or TikTokers who talk about coping with anxiety. Just don't pull any and/or all adversity from their lives without trying to cope first. If they can't get through a standardized test that doesn't mean anything, how are they going to deal with the things that come down the pike that DO actually mean something?? 

No one wants to see their kids upset or anxiety ridden. There just seems to be a really high number of kids with anxiety these days and I just have to wonder where that comes from. It can't be that we're all so incredibly enlightened that we are hyper tuned in to every case. I think anxiety has also become a bit of a buzzword that parents use to describe run of the mill nervousness. Is it possible that anxiety come from never being able to solve their own problems? Parents need to start thinking that maybe the anxiety comes from not having the confidence that they can solve their own problems because they never get the chance. Kids need the opportunity to work THROUGH their feelings, through their problems, not just ignore them because mom can erase them. Otherwise, we're going to have a world full of twenty-somethings that are paralyzed by fear of messing up, doing nothing, because they don't know what they'll do if stuff goes sideways. 

Our kids are often much more capable than we give them credit for.

Early Wegovy Report and Thoughts

 

I've started this entry at a little after midnight on Thursday night, but I'm going to keep it going a little bit before posting. I just want to update, after a little bit of time, about the first few days on Wegovy. 

When I got up on Thursday, around 6:30a, I didn't feel any significant difference. I felt normal, and even a little hungry, which I didn't think I would. I went through my normal routine, getting E some breakfast before school, etc. I had to take him to school, which B usually does, and came home around 7:45a. I felt tired but I'm usually tired in the morning. My friend was coming over to walk with me at 10a, so I did some work on my laptop, I wrote the first entry about all this, and then it was time for her to come over. 

She got to me at around 10:15 and we walked about three and a quarter miles. I was up to a little over ten thousand steps by the time we were done at about 11:40a. I did work until about 12:15p and then I was hungry. I was a little disappointed because I usually don't get hungry until around 1p. I had this idea that I wasn't going to think about food as much. Instead I was still obsessing. I made two scrambled eggs. 

You'd have to know my food habits to understand that this wasn't any kind of limited meal. I have a thing where I don't really know what to eat during the day. Sometimes I have a small bowl of Raisin Bran, but other times, I just have a Zone Bar because I don't want to make anything, I'm not really hungry during the day, and everything seems like a hassle. Sometimes, because food is her love language, my friend Alex makes food for me that I call walking or car food. Food on the go, basically. Stuff I can eat while walking or driving. I'm like her other child even though I'm older. For me to make eggs, and just eat that- well, that was like a gourmet event. 

After that, at around 12:45p, I actually wasn't really hungry. I had to do work, go to walk to the post office and back, and I knew I had to pick E and his friend up from school at about 2:30p, so I had to really hop to it. By the time I got the boys home it was 3:10p. I did some stuff, but I was REALLY tired. This happens to me sometimes though normally, so I didn't know if it was the Wegovy or just the weather. It was gray and kind of gross. At 3:36p I went to lay on the couch and I fell asleep until about 4:30p. I woke up with a wicked headache. Again though, I'm not sure if that was Wegovy or my normal migraine. 

Once I was awake, I was just watching TV for awhile, until I heard the tutor was leaving. I went to say hello and make sure he got his money. We talked for a little bit, he left, then E's friend left and that left E and I to eat dinner around 5:45p. 

I'm eating Factor meals- which are a step up from Lean Cuisine or Jenny Craig. It's still portion control though. One side of the container is the entree and the other side is the vegetable. This was grilled chicken Parmesan and broccoli with something on it (I don't know what was on it). This is where it got interesting. 

I normally eat the whole thing, like scarf it all down because I'm starving. I also normally would eat a roll and butter with it if I have rolls. E and I watch General Hospital while we eat. I guess I was paying attention more to the show and didn't see all the broccoli, but I didn't finish it. Then when I realized I didn't finish it, I didn't really want it. I didn't get a roll, even though they were there. I didn't miss it either. I just was kind of ambivalent. Whatever I ate felt like enough. 

At 6:30p, E went downstairs to do homework and I went to the sunroom to sit and watch TV. B wasn't around because he had stuff to do for work down by Rutgers. I didn't know when he was coming home. I had a Skinny Cow ice cream cone. I usually don't feel like that's enough. B didn't come home until nine o'clock. Normally by that time, I would've been looking for something else to eat. Maybe out of hunger, maybe out of habit. The urge to forage for food wasn't as strong as the laziness to continue to sit on the couch. 

We went up to the bedroom around 10:30p. I have candy here. I did want the candy, I thought. I just got an Amazon Subscribe and Save delivery with blue raspberry licorice. Usually I have to slap my own hand away after eating like six of them, which are decent sized twists. Thicker than a Twizzler. I had three and truthfully, I feel a little grossed out. I went and brushed my teeth right after thinking that would stop me even if I didn't have willpower, but it's now 12:30a and I don't even want them. 

I now know two people who have been on Wegovy and I spoke to both tonight. One said she lost twelve pounds right away, was on it about a year, and lost a total of twenty-five. Then it stopped working. I didn't read about that happening, so I will have to do more research on that. I need to know what you do if it just stops working at the highest dosage. She also said she was tired all the time. I'm also taking Provitalize, an over the counter vitamin/supplement to help combat the effects of pre/menopause. I can't get a good read online whether it's a scam or not, but maybe that will help with fatigue. I don't know. 

I'm going to sleep now and will continue this on Friday at some point. 

Friday: I felt fine, a little less hungry in the morning. But I did NOT sleep well. I don't know if it had to do with Wegovy or not. I was hot. I also had something irrelevant to this conversation on my mind so I don't know if that contributed to my lack of sleep. I only slept four hours and twelve minutes and I think Fitbit told me I only had eighteen minutes of deep or restorative sleep. 

I went back to sleep at 8a until around 9:30a. I had to get up because I had stuff to do. Around 1p, my stomach was bothering me a little. I had some Raisin Bran but it didn't sit right. I walked to the post office, and didn't feel great but it went away before 2:30p, when I went to pick E up from school. I felt fine after that for the rest of the day and evening. 

I had to take E somewhere from about 4p until 8p. I had one Zone bar and it was fine. I wasn't starving when we left the event at around 7:45p. I told E we could stop at Wendy's. It's the only fast food he's ever eaten because B and I don't eat fast food. But, when in need or craving, a Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich will hit the spot. It's my go-to. EXCEPT, that who knew, about twenty days ago or so, WENDY'S DISCONTINUED THE GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH. Don't they know you're supposed to ADD to the menu, not subtract the stuff people LIKE. They traded it out for a chicken ranch wrap. Nobody wants that!

Anyway, I opted out of getting anything. I think if I wasn't on Wegovy, I would've caved and just got a burger. I was more annoyed than hungry at that point and figured I'd eat a Factor meal when I got home. Which, I did, put a Factor meal in the microwave, only to pull it out and see that all the shrimp was missing from my shrimp meal. WTF. I made another meal at that point but I didn't even finish it. 

I had gotten a really small cupcake at a bakery near the event I was at with E. I ate that for dessert. I got a cookie too but I tasted it, it wasn't good, I threw it out and didn't care. I'm in bed now, at 11:46p. I did eat three licorice twists since I got in bed at around 10p. But now I feel really full and wouldn't eat another one. 

All in all, it's been a fine full forty-eight hours. I do have a bit of dull headache, that I've had since Thursday, which I took Excedrin Extra Strength for at around 4p. It's not bad enough now to do anything about but it's there. 

Saturday, around 2:30p. I feel fine. I don't feel hungry but just had two scrambled eggs because I know I'm supposed to eat during the day whether I'm hungry or not. B had a bowl of cheerios with banana and when I walked into the room he'd eaten it, it smelled really potent and kind of grossed me out. Normally I might smell it, but I wouldn't have noticed the way I did today. 

Saturday evening- dinner with friends. Ordered Italian. I ordered lobster ravioli in vodka sauce and garlic knots. They didn't really have any healthy options. We didn't order until 7p and the food didn't get there until maybe 8:15p. I didn't care. Normally, I'd have been ready to eat my own arm by that time. I had some Tostitos that my friend put out, but not many. I ate half my ravioli- let's say- three out of six. I had two garlic knots out of five. Granted, these were much bigger garlic knots than standard, but I still would've had more if I wasn't on Wegovy. I couldn't eat another bite. I also would've probably had some kind of salad or appetizer but I didn't order one. 

My friend had brownies, strawberries, and whipped cream for dessert. Normally, I would've had one brownie but wanted another- I might have even had a half of a second one. It took me way longer to eat the one and there was no way I could've eaten another one. I had a few strawberries but definitely less than I would have had. 

Sunday: I got up late, at about 9:40a. I had a headache. That is not unusual at all as I just finished the blue pills of Lo Loestrin, laying in bed too long hurts my back and can give me a headache, and it's been raining for almost forty-eight hours. I felt a little nauseous since I got up, but that could also be taking Excedrin on an empty stomach. It's 2:20p and I just ate about a cup of Raisin Bran. I actually threw some of it away. I don't like when there are no raisins left on any day, but I don't know, I was kind of grossed out by the remainder so I just threw it away. 

My takeaway from this week is that food is just....less enjoyable. It doesn't taste bad. It just isn't as appetizing. I asked one of the women I know who were on it but are on a break right now, if she still enjoyed food. She said yes. My feeling is that I want the food when I'm ordering it, or heating it up, it's just when I'm eating it, I'm not thinking, oh yeah, this is hitting the spot!, as I'm eating it. I'm eating it, and it tastes good, but I just don't care about it, and if I get distracted, as I often do, I just stop eating. That's never happened before. With my Factor meals, because it's supposed to help with portion control, obviously, because it's a portioned meal made for you that way, I was scraping the sides to get every bit. Now, it's just not like that. I eat the main meal, eat some of the vegetables, and throw it away. 

I've been tired. I think a little more than usual. But again, I don't know because it's also been raining, I hadn't been sleeping well, and the weather has SUCKED. Most people feel tired when it's rainy and cold. My one friend said she had a lot of fatigue on Wegovy so that might be the culprit. 

That's about it. I'm going to stop here because no one needs a play by play. I'll update again when I have something to tell!

No Spring Chicken

 

No one I knew was really talking about aging seriously, but then again, who do I really talk to that much where I'd be having any serious conversation about that? B and I get up every day with our aches and pains and just kind of joke through it. Stuff was getting real though when I got these beautiful new comforters for the bed - two separate because while B and I sleep in the same bed, we don't share our blanket. I spent a little more this time because our comforters were almost sixteen years old and from sending them to the cleaners, they weren't holding up well anymore. 

Well. I'm inching closer to fifty and I was starting to feel like it was Africa hot in the bed every night. I started opening windows, with the fan on, and I started waking up in the middle of the night, sweating. One night, I grabbed one of E's old bed-in-a-bag cheap $25 comforters that he used for his first year of camp. It was light as a feather and felt like heaven. 

As far as exercise- I don't go to a gym but I walk every single day. I barely even drive. I don't go on the treadmill like I used to for an hour or hour and a half a day, but I do get up to anywhere from twelve thousand to twenty-something steps a day. It's not like I'm sedentary. I also barely eat during the day. Yeah, yeah, I know that you still have to eat. I'm busy and it takes awhile to jumpstart my eating during the day. I'm not trying to starve- I just don't think about it first thing.

I started getting Factor meal delivery to manage my dinner portions and not have to deal with dinner for myself. I can get out of control if left to my own devices. Had Jenny Craig not closed my closest center, and then continuously discontinued my favorite meals, I probably would've stuck with it forever. It was SO easy. I get Factor meals for dinner and maybe eat some Raisin Bran at some point during the day and/or a Zone Bar. I don't really snack during the day. I do, often, have brown bread (The Cheesecake Factory rolls) and butter with my Factor meal and I do have dessert every night. Usually a big cookie and milk. Then, I do eat candy in bed. Like, sugar candy- gummies of some kind. Gummy bears, blue raspberry licorice. or whatever. 

It's not like I'm sitting around on my ass eating bon bons all day. I'm active. I feel like I have to be able to live a little and enjoy some cookies or some candy. I didn't even gain weight during the pandemic. I lost weight. I wasn't having to get up so early, pack a bag of food for work, so I was just naturally eating less. Something about the past year inching toward forty-nine though, I am just gaining weight. I thought it must be pre-menopause kind of stuff. 

I saw a post on my local moms group the other night about this. So many women I know were coming out of the woodwork with the same issues, complaints, aches, pains and weight gain. I was like, okay, it isn't just me. There were so many books, life coaches, websites, webinars, that were recommended, that while I know people meant well, it was too overwhelming. Honestly, I also have the attention span of a fruit fly and I don't want to read a book or watch a webinar. I know myself, what I'm willing to do and my level of participation.

Of course I've seen all the chatter on TV and online about Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. Who wouldn't be curious. I didn't know if I'd be able to get it because of insurance. Last time I went to the doctor, in November 2022, which I wrote about, she told me my BMI was higher than she'd like but I didn't have diabetes or anything. I'm one of those people who fall into the zone of holding on to extra weight but not enough to qualify me for anything, or so I assumed.

I did a little research on the three wonder drugs that all the Real Housewives seem to be on. I messaged my doctor and asked if I could have a scrip for Mounjaro. She said she'd put it in but it would be likely my insurance would deny. They did. There is no rhyme or reason to what they approve and deny. She then put in a scrip for Wegovy, which is Ozempic for people who don't have diabetes and just want it for weight loss. Surprise of all surprises, it was approved!

It was approved, but of course CVS was out of it on Tuesday. I was on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I wanted to do it it but there was definitely a bit of nerves. Now I had to psych myself up to do self-injections? What, now? 

CVS texted me yesterday, Wednesday, and said my Wegovy was in. Alrighty. I messaged someone I know who has been on it and she gave me some tips. She told me she takes it at night in case there is nausea, she'd sleep through it. I figured I'd try the same thing. 

I went to CVS and picked up my box of four needle pens. I read the directions. I waited until midnight - not for any reason except for that being a normal time I go to sleep. I went into the bathroom, wiped an area on my belly with an alcohol swab and followed the directions for injection. 

It wasn't hard and it didn't hurt- just a small pinch. Of course I was like, omg, I think I might feel nauseous. I don't think I really did though. I just went to sleep. I was really tired. 

This morning, it's almost nine o'clock and I feel fine. I don't feel hungry but I never do in the morning. I'm a little afraid to drink my Crystal Light because it has fake sugar in it. The person I spoke to who is also on Wegovy said I'd probably feel crappy and maybe have gastrointestinal issues if I had too much. I guess that's how you make better food and drink decisions while on this to aid the weight loss - out of fear. Good, old fashioned fear of throwing up or worse. 

I'm going to chronicle my use here for anyone interested. I want to lose about twenty five pounds in total. I see people online in my Bergen County Moms group who get crazy when someone asks about going on any of these three drugs. There is so much judgement- I don't know if it's out of jealousy, fear of doing it themselves, not being able to do it because of pre-existing conditions, being in the MLM diet biz- I have no idea. But there are definitely haters. There's a lot of the following when it gets brought up:

You'll have to be on it for the rest of your life, if you go off it you'll gain it all back, do it with diet and exercise, talk to this MLM bullshit coach and do xyz expensive program instead, you don't know what could happen, do intermittent fasting instead, you don't know what the side effects will be down the road, etc etc etc. I saw someone I know say something negative and my first thought was - Bitch, you're maybe a size 4 and you've never had an extra pound in your life. You're the same size now you were in high school. YOU. DON'T. KNOW.

Some of us are willing to try stuff and see what happens. I'm one of those people. For those of us that weight has always been an issue- we're in a club we don't want to be in. Some of us ruined our metabolism in the 80's/90's/00's with over the counter weight loss drugs - like Kelly Taylor on 90210. Stackers, Hydroxycut, and I can't remember the other big one when I was in college or just after. And then with Phentermine and other prescriptions, yo-yo dieting, starving, and worse. Some of us need some extra help now, especially in the pre-menopause stage of life. 

I'm always game to try something. I told the good, bad, and ugly all about my mommy makeover sessions about five or so years ago. I'll do the same here. Hopefully there won't be too much bad or ugly. I'll let you know.... 

What Are We Watching on the Telly

 

We've been watching A LOT of TV over here. I've been watching stuff on my own, B and I are watching stuff, E and I are watching. It's a digital love fest of streaming and cable. I thought I should bring some of what we're watching in here and do some recommending. Now, we never like what everyone else likes, so maybe you haven't seen some of these because we're not watching Yellowstone, Yellowjackets, anything with dragons, or whatever everyone else is talking about. We also tried Severance but didn't get more than episode or two in. It's REALLY slow. I also tried The Office for the first time recently and I didn't get past episode two.

I don't even know how I found As We See It but I think I was googling new series to watch and it came up that the creator was Jason Katims of Friday Night Lights, so I was all about watching whatever he was doing. What a fantastic show. It's already not renewed for a second season, which I think is pretty messed up, seeing it's one of the very few, if not only scripted series currently about Quarterlifers on the spectrum. It follows their day to day lives with their life coach, from trying to just pass as typical, have relationships, work at jobs, deal with their family, etc. It's funny, sweet, sad, thought provoking, and endearing. You can find it on Amazon Prime. 

Another one we both thought was great is  Fleishman is in Trouble. Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody, Claire Danes. That's some cast. This limited series is based on a book so apparently it follows said book. I didn't read the book or even know about it. It's about marriage, affairs, divorce, losing who you were before marriage. It's about dating after divorce, dating in a tech world, careers, keeping up with the Jones', and materialism. It's also about enduring friendship and hearing both sides of the story. If you're Jewish, it's very comforting to identify with the main characters for once, but it's for anyone. You can find it on Hulu. 

If you're looking for lighter viewing fare and want some comedy, please check out two Mindy Kaling created delights, The Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever. I'm not sure which one is funnier, as they're both hysterical. Both feature a diverse cast, lots of sexual innuendo or situations, and lots of funny women. Never Have I Ever takes place in high school and obviously, Sex Lives of College Girls takes place in college. We started with Never Have I Ever when we ran out of stuff to watch some time in the summer. We just picked it out of the blue. So glad we didn't miss it. When we were done with that, we went to the college girls and then we started The Mindy Project, because - why not? You can find Never Have I Ever on Netflix and The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max.  

We also watched Hacks over the summer which was fantastic. Jean Smart and Hannah Ainbender are amazing as an almost washed up comedian and a young impulsive messy comedy writer. They were paired by their mutual agent to revive the flailing career of Jean Smart's character. I would be remiss if I did not mention Megan Stalter as the kooky nepo-baby assistant to the agent. Laughs, tears, it's all in there.

Emily in Paris I'm giving it a mention in case you haven't given it a whirl. It's cute, it give off Sex and the City fashion vibes and moves quickly. Do you have to suspend some disbelief that Emily is pretty much the only ad executive in the entire Paris area with any genius ideas in her head, but it's mindless and fun. 

We are in the second season of Loudermilk, which is not for the easily offended. I found it from seeing a Reel on Facebook with a hysterical clip of Ron Livingston and a barista with vocal fry. I posted the clip to my Facebook page and someone mentioned it being from a show. Of course that piqued my interest so I went looking and we started watching. It's super funny but also, like I said, for a certain audience that enjoys a different kind of humor. It follows Ron Livingston as Loudermilk, a guy in recovery after getting in a terrible car wreck with his now ex-wife, where he drunk driving. He leads a recovery group like an AA type of thing and it's about all the people involved in the group. 

One show we just started watching is Will Trent. E and I kept seeing commercials for it during General Hospital or something so I thought we'd try it out. It's pretty good so far. It's about a special agent who knows his way around a crime scene like none other. I can't say much more about it because we're only three episodes in, but we like it so far. You can find it Tuesday nights on ABC or on Hulu. 

The White Lotus was good but, unlike seemingly everyone else, we thought season one was better than season two. I mean, Connie Britton. The characters in season one were hateful, but there was just more humor in it. Murray Bartlett who played Armond in the first season was great. He was just funnier than the woman who basically took his spot in the second season. Also, it's really hard with subtitles, of which the second season had a lot. I think another major difference between season one and two was that you knew the intentions of the season one characters. I felt like there were a lot more of did they/didn't they going on with the second season group. It was confusing and left more to the imagination. I don't want to imagine. I want to know. It was still good, just slower too than the first.

I have also been accused of being a huge Marshmallow, as rabid fans of Veronica Mars are called. Imagine my surprise at finding a FOURTH season that I didn't know existed. Veronica Mars started in 2004 and concluded with a third season that finished in 2007. There was a crowd funded movie in 2014 and I thought that was it. Then, I found, what I call, the lost season. A fourth season was released in 2019 and I found that little eight episode gem about a month ago. I watched it in two days. It was chock full of old references, cameos of old faces, and that familiar Veronica/Logan banter. I'd say it was great except the last episode...I don't want to say any more, if you're a Marshmallow who hasn't seen that last season.  

People in the mom groups on Facebook and other message boards I'm on are always asking for stuff to watch with their tweens and teens. I can't say the ones we watch here are particularly age appropriate, but I'll say this- Felicity is free on Amazon Prime. The OC is also free on Prime. B and I watched two seasons of Outer Banks on Netflix and B would've liked to watch the third season but I really did not like that show at all. Too much on the run, misunderstandings like likes of Three's Company, and too much suspending disbelief.

B and I are watching Ginny & Georgia right now. We're about six episodes in, and it's good. There's humor with a dark underbelly. It's hard to watch as a parent though, kind of like Euphoria, which we also stopped mid first season. I'm going to stick out Ginny & Georgia, which is about a single mom with a dark past who had her daughter, Ginny, when she was fifteen. Ginny is insecure, biracial, and is finding friends and popularity, and mom has some sinister secrets she's keeping while trying to give Ginny and her little brother a nice life. It's hard to watch the teens drinking, doing drugs, taking and sending sexy selfies, doing things out of teen insecurity. You know, secondary embarrassment when the fifteen year old girl is sending the selfie in her bra because her friend told her she looks hot and too hot not to send. 

Next on tap, totally an opposite of G&G, is season two of Hunters. Al Pacino, Logan Lerman, and the rest of that cast is excellent. It's WWII Nazi stuff but in a totally different way. You think it would be a downer, all that antisemitism, murder, etc. But it's such a crazy, compelling story. After the last episode in the first season, I'm really interested to see where it goes for this new and final season. 

Ok, so that's it I think. Just wanted to put those out there in case anyone is at a loss for something to watch. E and I are caught up on General Hospital for the first time in years so that leaves me with a lot more TV time to discover new things or rewatch an old fave...