Upgrading My Memory

Lucy's bathtime

2010-06-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone gets wet.

2010-06-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

100 degrees means swim time!

Lucy in the wind

2010-05-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

View from the back

2010-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

The bluebonnet is the flower of Texas, and a really big deal in April. Such a big deal that traffic gets horrendous from site-seers. Cleverly, we picked a small, out-of-the-way route to see the flowers. So did 13,000 bicyclists in a charity race for multiple sclerosis. We saw a lot of black shiny shorts.

Eventually we escaped the race and found the bluebonnet...

...and other wildflowers. The air smelled like heaven.

It even smelled nice around the cows.

New Beginnings

2010-04-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

I quit my nanny job, moved, and got a job as a merchandiser at Target. It sounds more glamorous that it probably is, but basically I get to make things pretty. So that's what I've been doing.

Memory is improving.

Lucy is loving her new backyard and house with stairs.

Feeling Better

2010-03-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

Taking stuff I should take and eating stuff I should eat and other boring things. Lucy says I need to play more.

One of those being

2010-03-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

improving my health. Lack of motivation from stress and general yuckiness has made it nearly a month since posting. Now I make vitamins, probiotics, better food, doctor appointments and medicine a priority. No more bad choices.

It's My Birthday

2010-02-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

I'm 31. I've decided to think of it as a grown-up year and fill it with milestones.

O.O

2010-02-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

I love Pei Wei. I ate some for lunch today. And here it is advertising on my blog.

Things the kids I nanny say that I don't want to forget:
1. Kissing is gross.
2. Kissing is not gross.
3. My name in that adorable four-year old voice with an 'a' added on the front
4. I can carry Lucy. [me: Oh, but Lucy is heavy.] Yeah, but I'm heavy too. [36 lbs]
5. Pelicans deliver babies from God's workshop in the clouds. Girl babies, boy babies, hedgehog babies, porcupine babies...to people who are married and will be nice to them. But sometimes God can just zap a baby right into a lady's belly without the pelican.
6. Let's have a football race! [Shows how to catch and run with the ball]

Mo Money, Mo Problems

2010-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

So as soon as I get paid, the computer breaks and the car needs a brake light, oil change, and a tire check. I can't tell if that's good or bad luck.

Last night I did more lumosity focus gaming and today I did my usual 45 minutes on the bike and the weight machine circuit three times.

I love having a job that, when I think about it over the weekend, makes me smile.

They love me!

2010-02-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

I'm in nanny heaven.

Pooped

2010-02-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

Shepherding the vacuum is hard work.

Out of the blue

2010-02-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

I have a nannying job. I started today. I am so tired.

Paparazzi

2010-01-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

Still awake

2010-01-30T08:39:00.000-08:00

So Coke and exercise are kicking me hard this morning. I hardly slept the night before last either. Boo Coke.

Although...this morning I have devoured food and design blogs, met new friends for myself and my puppy at the park, and discovered that

It is so cold. I go to soak that away. And then drag Mom to look at pretty stores.

Back in the saddle

2010-01-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

So I've been feeling like total crap lately, up until about three hours ago. But enough excuses. I'm off diet sodas for good I hope. They seriously kill me. Tonight I had a regular Coke because otherwise I could not drag myself to the store to get Lucy her pee pads and food and treats. Back home, I still just wanted to pluck out my aching eyeballs and sleep for centuries but I was wanting to give the caffeine a chance, so I convinced Mom to go to the gym with me. 2 and 1/2 hours later, I felt cardio-ed, toned, stretched, strong, young, and happy! Yay for Coke! I chased Lucy around for good measure.

There's a screenie of the Memory Matrix game at Luminosity. Tonight my maximum tile count was 10! Improvement!

Memory Matrix

2010-01-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

This lumosity game is fun. A Tretris-like screen and you have to remember which blocks are colored. I could remember 9 tiles at a time once, but usually just 7.

I definitely need to know where my car and keys are.

By the way, if anyone gets the itch to try lumosity, please click it over there---->, where it's usually in one of the google ads since I mention it all the time. Thanks!

The Beach

2010-01-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Chasing waves, sticks and birds poops a doggie out.

This Lucy and That Lucy

2010-01-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

Lucy just asked for a treat. She looked at the jar on the counter, looked at me, licked her lips and spoke. Just another of the little things that make me want to give her a MENSA test. Oh, that dog. Here's a treat for us humans:

Lucy trying to eat my shirt, and generally being adorable.

On the memory front, I did 45 minutes on the bike again tonight, while watching Fifty First Dates. Which is pretty appropriate, being about a girl with memory loss. Here's a short clip:

Forgetful Lucy song

Love that movie. Was crying in the gym at the end.

Bleh

2010-01-21T22:40:00.000-08:00

It's day four of no exercise (physical or memory). And day one of the new medicine. I have slept the entire day and night almost. Gotta get back on track tomorrow.

Lucy has snuck outside twice and stolen a bag of pistachios off the kitchen counter. She is not starting off the year on Santa's good list.

Mind on my money

2010-01-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I left my wallet in the car, which caused some panic this morning. Of all things to forget; oy.

I'm just home from getting the new medicine and groceries and this from Target
(which is longer in person and looks better) because the air conditioning is broken (again). This is the third time in five months.

Drama Queen

2010-01-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Since I am a middle, and the label was funny, this bottle came home with me yesterday. Here's a review from www.vinesse.com:

"If you love drama this wine is the perfect match, with aromas of apples, pears, and a touch of lemongrass. See you in the gossip columns!"

The bottle is in the fridge with a 1/4 inch left in the bottom. I don't remember why. It was a delicious night.

Also, I critiqued some rap songs.

Rainbow Poop

2010-01-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Lucy had more than one reason to be sick yesterday. This morning she had the most festive poop I've ever seen: Crayola-polka-dotted. Yep, she ate crayons in addition to the pills. No, I didn't take a picture. But I was tempted.

So far today I have remembered to go to the doctor (medicine is switched! thinner me on the horizon), and...um...I've just forgotten what else I remembered.

One Sick Puppy

2010-01-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

I'm probably forgetting all kinds of things today because I'm worried about my puppy. She got into my anti-depressants this afternoon. They're all accounted for but some were chewed and broken, so she must have ingested some of the medicine inside. She is lethargic...not puppyish at all, and won't eat or drink.

Now she is next to me on an ottoman so I can pet her and keep her awake. Online advice was to watch her and don't let her slip into a coma. Although I really don't think she had enough for that to happen.

In the meantime, she's depressed...the medicine has the opposite effect on dogs than humans. Poorpoorpuppy.

Shake your memory-maker

2010-01-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

This screenie from lumosity shows how the game Lost in Migration helps my brain:

It's not a memory game exactly, but focus is important for memory-making. 100% accuracy, baby!

Hello, Oxygen

2010-01-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

I don't know how I turned into a couch potato. Before my twenties, I was always moving. As a toddler, I would run laps around the house until Mom made me stop because she was afraid I'd pass out. In high school, there was tennis and cross-country. College brought an abrupt and lasting halt to all that.

This dormancy can't be good for my memory, right?

Your brain is your tool for remembering, so you have to make sure the brain has enough oxygen and other nutrients. Daily physical activity is one way to increase the flow of these to your brain.

O. Thank you, www.memory-improvement-tips.com! By the way, I started using the gym in my apartment building last night. 45 minutes on the bike, which I repeated again this afternoon. Hello, oxygen.

Fun and Games

2010-01-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

www.lumosity.com is a fantastic site with tons of games for improving the brain. There are also assessment tests you can take and retake, and comparison charts to show your progress in different areas and how you compare to other players. I'm sad that my free trial is over, but there are still a few games that are free. I might join on the two-year plan for less than $6 a month. I love this site because the games are quick and addictive and I can complete a game in each category in very little time a day. Even the math games are fun...and I detest math.

Tonight I played Familiar Faces, which works on face/name recall, which I am notoriously awful at. It's a restaurant server game. You have to remember who ordered what and use their names when you interact with them. Wooo! Fun and memory enhancement at the same time!

Logic and memory are my worst categories. I rock at verbal games and flexibility. What about you?

I remembered to get a prescription filled today and pick up my new garage opener. I'll tell you what I forgot later when it comes to me.

Check it

2010-01-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

There are three beautiful check-marks in my planner! So even though I felt too crummy to write the last couple days, I did remember and do things.

My poor Lucy is finally going to heal from her spaying. All the sutures are gone. She was such a trooper...no crying at all, which made me want to cry myself. I'm getting over that though...this morning she has eaten a pencil. Other things she has eaten include: a chair leg, an air mattress, soap, and lots of tissues and paper. Her stomach amazes me.

O snap. Just forgot to take things out of the dryer before they shrink. Eeek.

Making notes

2010-01-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

This morning started off well: I forgot to take my head-pills. This caused impossible fatigue that kept me in bed until 5 pm after feeding and walking the definitely unforgettable Lucy.

Later, at Target, I remembered that I needed this:
and jeans, because the aforementioned medicine is making me fat. Which reminded me to make my first note in the new planner: Call Dr. Spencer (to get medicine switched).

Rubbing Lucy's tummy reminded me to make my second note: Vet (because a couple of her stitches from being spayed didn't get removed with the rest of them). Poor puppy.

What memory?

2010-01-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

In the shower just now, I remembered that I have a new pocket notebook and a new pocket weekly planner bought as mini gifts to myself the day before Christmas. They should be in use by now, but I forgot to make any resolutions for the new year.

So, hi. My name is unimportant, and I forget things. Like what I did yesterday, or where I was or which day of the week that was. I've always forgotten things like names and math, but for eleven years now, the things I forget have ballooned into a huge void. I don't know what happened back then to make my brain go crazy. I did party like it was 1999, because it was. Maybe that was it. But seriously, I was a good kid for the most part, so if I did have a memory, there wouldn't be many wild tales to tell you. I think.

Don't get me wrong. All that nothingness I see when I look back is not necessarily bad. Embarrassing moments? Don't remember them. Bad marriage? Fading fast. There is definitely an upside to a bad memory.

Whether my brain was not Y2K compatible or not, it's 2010 now and I am 30 and it seems like I should get serious about remembering things. A blog should help me track my progress and lapses, and keep me disciplined about exercising my brain. Couldn't hurt, right?