Friday Five - Ants, Jet Lag & New Habits
It looks like we are finally out of the heat dome that descended here last week. I've missed sleeping with open windows, but have learned that I can make do with AC at 76, and our ceiling fan. And in quite the turn of events, it looks like we have a tropical storm coming in over the weekend. Wild times here in Southern California!
Friday Five
1. I successfully eradicated house ants all on my own. We returned from our recent trip to find small groups of ant scouts in a few places around the house. One trip to the hardware store and 10 liquid traps set out later, and the small groupings of scouts turned into a full on traffic jam of ants. Online research indicated that was exactly what was supposed to happen, and to leave them be so they could take the liquid bait back to the colony, but boy was it hard to do!
However, in the morning they were all gone. Completely eradicated, so yeah us in that we managed to handle the issue without having to call in a pest control company.
These are the liquid bait traps we used. They get excellent reviews online.
2. I have struggled the entire week to overcome jet lag. Who are you people that adjust quickly thru jet lag? I want to be you! 😄
Currently, one week after our return from an eight hour time difference, I'm sleeping from approximately 8:30 PM to 3:30 AM. My goal for tonight is to manage to stay awake until 9:00 PM and then sleep until 4:00 AM. Wish me luck!
3. My mom and sister-in-law are so excited about their first-ever cruise that they are already packed, even though it's still some weeks away. Which I'm finding beyond adorable. And no time zone changes on this upcoming trip, just saying!
4. I had so much fun buying British Isles souvenir goodies to give away that I think I got a bit carried away. Not to mention we brought only carry-on, so space was tight to begin with. But we somehow managed. Basically I laid everything out in a shallow layer at the bottom of our suitcases, which took up hardly any room. Plus, we each left a pair of shoes behind at the end of the trip that were near the end of their respective tread-lives, and that took care of any remaining space issues.
5. My new eating habits are increasingly habits that I don't need to give thought to. I am a big fan of self-help writer Gretchin Rubin, and one of my biggest 'aha's' after reading her book about forming new habits, Better Than Before, is that once something becomes a habit, it no longer requires significant brain energy. It's now a habit - you just do it without really having to think or exert extra will power. Similar to brushing teeth - most of us don't have to fight or force ourselves to brush our teeth, we do it pretty much without thinking.
And that, thankfully, is just about where I'm at currently with both continuing to avoid sugary foods, and with my post-weight loss modified eating. I am close to 100% of both changes being hard wired, non-thinking habits, which is just so great. And such a relief to be able to divert my energies elsewhere going forward. I do still plan out my daily meals, but that takes just a few minutes of my morning, and very little thinking compared to when I first began this life change process in the spring of 2025.
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Otherwise, we have a fun weekend planned, and I hope yours is full of good things as well!
The ant thing is where we are as well - the heat of the last week or so has brought them back into the house. We use those ant traps all the time. They do get rid of the group (and yes, it's so gross to have to watch them swarm the bait & walk back out in long trails back to the nest or whatever), but we find that another group is right behind them a few weeks later. Our neighborhood in general has a ton of ants, so we keep those bait traps at our house regularly.
ReplyDeleteAnd, awesome news that you are finding your modified eating to be a new lifestyle/habit that feels natural! - Hawaii Planner
Yes, gross is the absolutely correct word for what happens before the poison works! But I am very relieved to have an immediate eradication device on hand should there be a re-occurrence.
DeleteThe first 12 months of working to change my eating behaviors in order to first lose ,and then maintainm my 25 pound weight loss was considerable, as I blogged about extensively. To now be beyond that Herculean effort, and for the food noise to have finally, finally retreated, feels a bit miraculous. Change can happen, but never would I have imagined it would be so very hard or take so long. And thus added motivation to stay the course - I wish to never have to go through either change (cutting sugar and losing weight) again.
Welcome back! I hope that jet lag soon eases. It’s so horrible to be wide awake when everyone else is asleep!
ReplyDeleteYou chose good brands for your gifts, I love that shortbread ☺️
I don’t like having ants in the house and leaving them to take the bait to the nest is so hard to do!
Were it not for that pesky jet lag, I'd travel to different time zones a lot more often! And I'm happy to hear that we did good with our souvenir brand choices! Those souvenir stores in both Scotland and Ireland were so darn cute, it was a struggle to buy only what would fit in our carry-ons!
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