The Sentimental Type

When we bought our house, the previous owners had a lot of kids. Like, 6 I think. Our yard is full of toys and toy parts. 

I'm not exaggerating. There are hundreds of tiny plastic toy pieces are all over the place yard, from legos, and cars, and hair clips. Mardi Gras beads, a couple of crocs/sandals. It is kind of unbelievable. Doug goes out and finds things, brings them in and puts them into my houseplants. There are little trucks, and rubber ducks (sounds like song lyrics there!) 

All left behind, forgotten, unwanted. Makes me really think that kids maybe don't need toys if 90% of the parts of them are going to be abandoned in the yard. Where are the rest of the toy? Did they move? And these 9 lego pieces are left behind? 

One of the other things they left behind are these cute round garden circle tiles that look as if they were made as part of a summer program or Vacation Bible School or something. We have four of them. I took a picture of one while planting the bulbs.

It kind of makes me sad. I wonder if mom just forgot they were there, or if she just to be honest was not fond of them? 

I have an incredible soft spot in my heart for kid art. I have boxes and boxes of stuff my kids painted and made over the years going back to early elementary school. I have saved everything Hen has drawn for me. My favorite is when he writes "Hi Christine,  it's me! Henry!" on things. Like I don't know this is from Hen.

I admired the little circles and I'm kind of happy they are here even if they were not made for me by my own kids. 

That's another piece of sentimentality for me, the bulbs. I thought about how I had planted a dozen or so bulbs that Doug's dad dug up for us back in 2015 and brought to us at Geoff's graduation. I put them in front of the porch at our last place in West Newbury, and I don't even know if they are still there since the house got rebuilt and refurbished. 

I hope they are. I hope very soon they pop their little heads up and the new homeowners or renters love them. I kind of wanted to go by and knock on the door and ask if I could dig them up. but I thought better of it. And I hope ours come up happy. It is supposed to get super cold tonight and I'm worried. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Toffee walk for 15 min, back home to finish on the treadmill, 30 min total/1.53 miles 10k+ by bedtime (slacker!!).

blood glucose:

7:30am: 119
4:30pm: 146
10pm: 186 

food & meds:

7:30am: jardiance+phentermine
11:45am: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
12:30pm: met+glip
2:45pm: apple w/pb 
6:30pm: steak marinaded by Geoff, slice of homemade beer bread; big salad
7:30pm: about 6 thin mints
8:15pm: met+glip
no alcohol

Not as much done

We started off this morning the usual way, coffee, toffee, tv, phone games. We had ordered a microwave to replace the one we've had for 8 years that started giving off wicked smells and some smoke (bye, you were used almost every day for 8 years, friend. Thank you for your service). 

The box sat in the living room for days (not weeks, just days) and I knew Geoff would need it before too long for dinner prep and snacks. We got her unpacked and on the counter. Counter got a deep clean. She's fancy. She makes music. I have a microwave that plays tunes. Hilarious. 

Then, I started to organize pots, and measured the front porch for the redwood table. 

Doug came out and looked at his tape measure on the ground - a placeholder/visual so he could see how big the table was edge to edge (58 inches). He said it wouldn't work, it was going to be too big. But I thought we could just try it. 

He got it pulled out of the car port, set it up, got the three benches, it fits. It looks good. 

So far, he likes it too. She needs a cleaning so the internet gave me some advice on how to properly clean redwood patio furniture. I'll look into doing that tomorrow. 

After futzing with the table, chilling out front, and talking about pots and stuff, I asked if we were going to buy flowers. 

He looked at me funny. "On a Sunday? Places are gonna be mobbed! No!" 

Well then, sir, when do we go get flowers if not a Saturday, when places are also going to be mobbed, or a Sunday when places are going to be mobbed? 

It started to feel like we weren't going to go out on an adventure or anything, so I said I was going to go on the treadmill. He said, "Well, no how about we go for a walk?" He suggested a revisit to Gathland where we went in November last year for a walk. I thought that sounded great, and I was ready to go. The dog was ready to go. Geoff was even going to come (shock).

And then he said he didn't feel well, and we did a pivot with him napping and me on the treadmill. After all. I think that's really why he didn't want to go buy flowers. Just not feeling well, and not feeling up to shenanigans at a nursery.

Geoff went and picked up milk, and a few other sundry items needed around the house. Toffee didn't get a walk, so I feel bad. If Geoff doesn't take her tomorrow, I'll get a loop in with her. 

Linda and I checked in for a long call, and then my phone died. Timing was right because dinner was ready. 

All told, not the most productive day ever but yeah, we did stuff. A balanced weekend, one could say. 

I have some pictures but they need explaining, so I'll just post this and save those for tomorrow. 

Digits! Below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill 32 min/2.19 mi. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 135
4:30pm: 91
10:30pm: 117 

food & meds:

8:45am: jardiance+phentermine
1pm: small zero carb wrap w/cream cheese and sliced turkey; met+glip
6:30pm: pasta primavera, 6 buffalo wings from the pizza parlor re-cooked on the grill
vodka+zero sugar lemonade
8:30pm: met+glip

Bulbs

When Doug went to his mom's in the fall, he brought home a gianormous box of daffodil bulbs that were dug up from his childhood home. He and his sister split them, and received a really good sized box full. 

They sat in the mud room all winter, waiting. I thought we should have planted them around Thanksgiving but we didn't. Then winter came. Then it has been super cold and stupid out there so we didn't. 

Doug opened the box and the daffodils were starting to sprout. We thought hey - if we don't get them into the ground, they do not stand a chance. They won't make it through spring in this box. 

First thing to happen was Doug took down the bird feeders. You know winter is over when those get put away. It makes me sad, because I love to sit and watch them but it's true - birds need to eat bugs all damn summer so don't feed 'em! Then we prepped the side gardens of the house. We wanted to split the bulbs up evenly between the left and right sides of the porch. I started on the side closest to the driveway. I had no idea what I was doing - I just grabbed a trowel, dug a hole, dropped a bunch in, rotated my butt, dug another hole. 

When I felt about half of the bulbs were in on that side I went to the other side. The plantings over there are different, we used google lens to determine what was growing and how to handle the dead stalks and flowers, and Doug cut things down and back, pulled out what looked to be a wooden baby gate that was trying to be a trellis for something to grow up, which never did.  

There was bark mulch on that side of the porch but not the other, so that was a little bit odd. And there was that stupid black landscaping fabric which I couldn't dig through, could not penetrate, did not want to deal with. We agreed okay, go around the side of the house and put some over there around the window wells (Geoff's bedroom and the storage room). And I still had bulbs left over, so I went back to the area I started with, and put the rest there. 

Doug went to Lowes and got some spray paint for these two huge planters we got 2 years ago from one of my co-workers when she was moving. He thought they could use some livening up, so. He spraypainted while I planted. 

He fixed the leg of the picnic table he brought back from his mom's. It broke in transit, and had been sitting in the car port since arriving. We got that all situated, and we're trying to decide where to keep it. I would like it on the front porch, he thinks it is too big. We'll tape measure and discuss tomorrow. 

He also swept the carport up, where the squirrels made a giant feast of the 8 boxes of black walnuts he had harvested, and then he never received the nutcracker he ordered in November (they canceled the order on him. We think it has to do with imports and tariffs). I was thankful he did that because it made me scream internally every time I walked past the disaster of shells and ripped boxes. I think there are still 2 boxes worth of walnuts back there - maybe he'll renew his vigor and get a nutcracker from somewhere that will fucking deliver one to us. 

Geoff went to the market, got stuff for burgers and he said "oh this was a great idea tonight," as he wolfed down his dinner. 

Tis the Season for grillin', babe. 

Oh, he gets SUPER mad at me when I call him babe. I asked why he was mad about that. He pointed at Doug and said that's your husband, call him Babe, not me!  I asked what he wanted me to call him. He said nothing. You don't have to call me anything. 

"Okay, shithead." 

Doug thought that was hilarious. 

We relaxed on the front porch for quite a while. She's coming along. 

While Doug was at Lowes I did my "mile" which was a mile and a half, and, because of all the shit tons of walking outside all day I went over 14k steps for the day. 

I hurt everywhere. 

Doug said "well, you were using limbs you don't use while running in a straight line on the treadmill," and this is true. My elbows. My lower back, shoulders, neck. Oooof. Today was a workout. 

Not sure what tomorrow's shenanigans are. I do want to get flowers for all the pots we have, do a bit of an audit over coffee while Doug watches the stupid morning news. Our realtor suggested a nursery in Pennsylvania, but they are not open on Sundays. And Doug said he didn't really feel like driving up there when plenty of people around here have plenty of flowers we can buy. 

So, we'll see. 

Took a ton of pictures today. Digits are below. 

Before we got started: 

Daffodil Party Time and Spraypaint Party Time

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.   Lots and lots of steps! Treadmill, 22 min/1.52 miles; 14k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 140
4:30pm: 128
9:30pm: 142 

food & meds:
7am: jardiance+phentermine
11:30am: 2 small brekkie burritos w/scrambled eggs, bacon, shredded cheddar on zero carb wraps
12pm: met+glip
6:30pm: one cheeseburger on bed of baby greens and tomatoes, w/bleu cheese dressing and a couple french fries
7:30pm: big piece of carrot cake (she's almost gone!)
8pm: met+glip
white wine

Chuck Norris Jokes

The man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Chuck Norris, has passed away. If you believe that. He didn't die, he got promoted to the Grim Reaper. This is all fake news - Death would not DARE. 

He was born the same year as my dad, and Doug's dad. Our dads would be 86 this year if they were still around. 

Hearing of his passing today, I was remembering a camping trip with Geoff and the Scouts. Chuck Norris jokes were very big with the Troop. They'd tell jokes and laugh and laugh, fall over laughing. 

A couple of the boys were rather on the young side of things so I asked "Do you guys know who Chuck Norris is? Have you seen any of his movies?" The older lads answered in the affirmative but one of the boys in Geoff's grade said "Wait, what? He's an actor?" 

I had to smile. "Yes! He is an actor and he's famous for kung fu movies and for kicking butt and taking names, and a hairy chest, and his Roundhouse kick." 

The boy said "Oh, I had no idea, I just thought the jokes were funny, like there's an actual guy that tough in the world." 

I guess I could see that, and then yes, even if you didn't know him the jokes would be hilarious if you were like 11. 

After that camping trip I said something to his dad about how his son could probably use a good Chuck Norris marathon and learn all about him. Dad agreed and said he'd bring the boy up to speed with a few good flicks. 

It was kind of fun to hearken back to those memories, and then see all the new Chuck Norris jokes flowing in on the internet in honor of his passing. 

Nothing else today, got a good treadmill run in which was nice. Didn't like the dinner I ordered so I compensated with one slice of pizza a big piece of carrot cake and a high blood glucose by bedtime. 

It'll come down tomorrow. 

Digits down there. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill 30 min/2.08 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 160
4:45pm: 100
10pm: 264 *see dinner

food & meds:
9am: jardiance+phentermine
protein shake in the coffee through the morning
1:45pm: bowl of salad w/tuna mayonnaise; met+glip
6:30pm: slice of pizza, big piece of carrot cake
8pm: met+glip
no alcohol

Maple Sausage and the Impromptu Brekkie

Since I ate very little for dinner last night and didn't snack on anything snacky around 8pm like I sometimes do, I woke up around 3am rather hungry. Blast. Damn. Argh. 

I went to the bathroom, and Doug had already gone downstairs at some point. Toffee has been sleeping up  in his face lately, and I guess it was too much, and too in the middle, and too taking over the bed for him so he was in the guest room. 

She had her head on his pillow. Total takeover. 

After I finished in the bathroom, I got back in my bed and put on a podcast. I was thinking about breakfast already. I knew we had a package of sausage links in the freezer so I was psyched to recall that. I don't usually make breakfast during the week but I knew I'd have to today. Protein shake mixed in my coffee over a 4 hour period (it works for me) wasn't going to cut it. 

Doug was already up when Toffee and I came down. I offered to make breakfast for him and he was excited for that. I opened the freezer and the sausage links were.... maple. flavored. 

I'm so not a fan. Not a fan of artificial maple "flavoring" in things. If I want maple in association with my sausages, it is syrup on a stack of pancakes and the sausages taking a direct hit. 

Blah. 

But I wanted sausages. Suck it up buttercup and get to making. Doug was game for breakfast too so I made him 2 eggs over hard. Our non-stick pan is nice but the flipping of eggs is literally impossible in that thing. I have to either find a different tool or develop better skills. 

Sausages sizzlin', eggs makin' it felt like a Saturday morning but I already should have been at work. 

For myself, I cut up 3 sausages, wilted a bunch of greens in a tiny bit of butter, 2 eggs, probably should have done 3 because of the surface area of the pan but. And a hefty amount of goat cheese mixed in. The sausages got dropped in there, and the omelet was a disaster in flipping but it was a delicious mess. 

Maybe I should do this more often. 

Geoff came upstairs and saw I was at work on my brekkie so I asked if he wanted something. He asked for scrambled. 

Now that works in this pan, really well. 3 eggs, a little milk, salt & pepper. boom. 

Everyone had a meal. Everyone had nice breakfast. The day got its big begin. Maybe I should do this more often. And the maple sausages were not the damn worst thing I've ever had. I survived.

I've also been thinking a lot about french toast or pancakes. I bought some Kodiak high-protein pancakes and those are in the freezer. Perhaps I'll break into those this weekend and give them a try. 

We had some carrots in the fridge that were in danger of not being too good for much longer. I had been threatening to make a carrot cake so. In between meetings I picked a recipe that claimed it was the most moist and delicious carrot cake recipe ever. 

It wasn't too complicated, except I didn't have crushed pineapple I had "tidbits" which were not the same. I should have kept some of the pineapple juice in the mix. It wasn't as crazy moist as the recipe told me it was going to be. A little dry. But. The only carrot cake I had in front of me today. 

I also cannot find my 9" round pans. I have no idea where they are so I just ordered another set. I found my springform pan, but that's not the right tool for carrot cake. Since I couldn't find the rounds, I used a big glass rectangle baking dish. So we had a SLAB of carrot cake. I'm not joking. 

I make a really simple/easy cream cheese frosting and the recipe I used made a lot of it. Probably good for if you had a layered carrot cake, or a million carrot cake muffins. Oooooo. I should have made muffins. 

There are days when, between Geoff and me, we basically dirty up every bowl and plate and mixing tool and whatever that we own. Today was one of those days and it wasn't even a weekend day. 

With Breakfast though, she felt like it. She really did. 

My blood sugar is a little elevated, I expected much worse than the reading I got at 10pm. And I'll try not to have carrot cake for breakfast. Although, tempting. 

No picture today, I have one but it is on my phone and the phone is over there and .... meh. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 30 min/2.10 mi. (would have kept going but i needed to get some more work done!) 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 130
4:30pm: 111
10pm: 163

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
9am: 2 egg "omelet" w/wilted greens, goat cheese, and 3 sausages
2pm: met+glip
6:45pm: roasted potatoes w/onion (not a lot); geoff's chicken in mushroom gravy slow cooker dealie (very very good)
8:30pm: large piece of carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting; met+glip
no alcohol 

The flora and the fauna and the Hoover

This morning, I let Toffee out after feeding her and I started the coffee. While the water was running into the pitcher I looked out to the yard and the tree line, and noticed a large brown lump. A tall lump. Curious. 

My vision is kind of shitty anymore, so I had on my readers for the in-close work of making the coffee and they don't do well with any sort of distance. I took them off, and still I couldn't tell what the thing was.

Until I looked next to it at the shiny beautiful green lump. 

Oh. Mallard Ducks! 

I poured the water into the coffeemaker and grabbed my phone and slid on my shitkicker shoes. It's freezing out so where's my jacket! Here's my jacket. 

Then I pondered .... where's Toffee? 

Coming to the back door, she was standing there like a statue. Perfectly still, tail up, looking. And they were looking back at her. 

When I stepped out on the porch it was like I granted her permission to jet. I wanted her to stay put so I could get a picture but nope - rocket launcher Toffee went flying out to the yard and the ducks took off. 

There were three, the male and female that I initially saw and another female off to the left. All three took flight, up over my yard and carport, quacking and fussing with disapproval. Toffee was then on total yard patrol. Not just her usual patrol but every inch of the property. How very dare they come and hang out in her yard! 

After Doug woke up, I told him about this event and he tilted his head to the side and said "How odd." Indeed. 

We don't have a pond. There is no nearby creek. I said I wondered if they had a nest in the tree line but that wouldn't make sense because there's nowhere to teach wee babies how to swim. We figured they most likely were just resting. Lord knows how many times in life I personally have just needed a place on a journey to plop down and rest. 

And they chose our yard. How odd indeed. 

We also have an orange cat that comes around. I have not seen her since before the winter. But she's back (I will assume she. I don't know). I caught a glimpse of her walking in front of the french doors in the mud room when I was doing my treadmilling the other day. And this morning she was walking around our cars, under the bird feeder. Doug hates outdoor cats because they kill birds. 

If you've never seen this from The Oatmeal, I suggest you go check it out. Informative infographic. 

But I like cats even if they are efficient little killing machines. I'm happy to see her back and around, the little orange monster. She's got some bravery if she's walking around in front of the french doors because that's where Toffee sits to monitor the squirrel situation by the bird feeders. 

And in other news, my bestie, my girl C, had to say goodbye to the goodest boy today and it brought me big sads. Hoover was 11, and he exceeded the "expected" life span of a big old English Bulldog. C has had a few of these guys over the years, but Hoo loved me. I was his couch buddy at camp. He very much enjoyed my company, and I his. I should go through my pictures and pull up some good ones. 

One of my fave Hoover memories was the night before I moved to Maryland. I had left the old place, and spent the night with C. She made me waffles and white russians at 11:30pm. Because she was worried that I had not eaten. She was right to worry. And you know you have a great friend when she whips out kitchen appliances and mixes cocktails for you after a grueling couple days. 

Hoover and her other dog Clara were THRILLED to see me. And I remember fondly at one point sitting on the loveseat in the kitchen, with Hoover next to me and Clara sitting on my feet while C cheffed things up. I still can't believe that was 2017. 

I'm going to miss the tank-sized marshmallow that Hoover was. I'll miss couch cuddles with coffee and Porch Life. 

I know she's heartbroken, and I think back on all the dogs that have wandered through my own life, I miss each and every one. Honestly. It stays with you, it sticks with you. That love and that bond. And it makes you a better person, no matter the circumstances. 

Thanks Hoo for being wonderful.  

I wasn't going to post this picture, because I am not pleased with the big round belly on me and it was literally first thing in the morning so one does look a mess, doesn't one? But. It's a reminder of where I was. And what a special wonderful time it always is at camp on the porch with dogs. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 25min/1.67 mi. Cut it short because of work messages. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 108
4:30pm: 167
10pm: 119

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
protein shake mixed with all my coffee through the morning
1:45pm: english muffin w/pb and low sugar jelly. Last of the potato salad (less than 1 cup) from the other night. met+glip
6pm: bowl of fettuccini w/meat sauce. Geoff didn't make a lot of sauce so I kept my pasta portion small. Thankfully
8:30pm: met+glip
no alcohol 

Sorry I'm late for work

I woke up early and got the coffee ready. Toffee came downstairs a few minutes later, her hearing is great especially with anything happening in "The Food Room" as we call it. And she says "oh! Breakfast!" So I got her fed, and outside. I did my morning routine things and heard her back on the porch ready to come in. She's so polite and quiet, I just hear her shake her head and her ears flap. 

Unlike my neighbors' dogs who bark incessantly. I'll bitch about that another day. 

She came in and ran to the loveseat, where I sit and work and stood there and stared at me until I came and sat down. She is a demanding taskmaster. Get to work Christine! And by work, we mean cuddling under a blanket!

It is chilly in here this morning, we went from mid 70s to the low 20s in about 12 hours. Her ears were cold, so I snuggled her into the fleecie and realized I probably should have grabbed the laptop first. Ope.

Well. It was super early, after all. I mean way too early to REALLY start working so. Let's snuggle. 

My coffee got cold. I had to pee. 

But.

I really didn't want to ruin this. 

I've said it before but I really wonder what her life was like before she was rescued by the humane society in DC. She snored peacefully, I drank coffee, I patted her head and ears. I enjoyed being her safe place. I wish all dogs had safe places. 

I had one meeting today with a very lovely client who is unfortunately the only person full time employed at his outfit. Everyone else is part time, or volunteer. So he does the lion's share of all the things. He made some catastrophic errors in one of the applications, so I showed him what he did, and how we are going to fix this. I say we, because I'm helping him divide and conquer and rebuild. 

My manager always tells me to not do things like this, it is their responsibility. But he actually won't be able to get it done. Not because I don't believe in him but because there are not enough hours in the day, week, month for this poor guy to do this. 

I'm just that way, I guess. 

I did take a break and hit the treadmill. I got my blood test results and my A1c is still 6. It was 6 in november and it is 6 today. 

I feel like since November, this should have dipped some? Maybe? especially with the running and nonsense like that. And the serious scaling back on the alcohol over the last 6 months. 

Meh? 

Well. I got it out of the way and I won't need to be retested for a while. My optimism glasses say "hey, at least it didn't go UP!, right?" 

Time for more cuddles. Lots to do tomorrow for work. Digits below my work delay machine. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill 30 min/2.12 mi; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:30am: 153
5pm: 130
10pm: 163

food & meds:
7:30am: jardiance+phentermine
8am: protein shake mixed in coffee 
11:30pm: small bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
1pm: met+glip
6:30pm: bowl of spicy rice w/ground beef (a geoff specialty)
7pm: ramekin of candied cashews
8:30pm: met+glip
no alcohol

Jesus on the Radio Day

Today was the big day for that client website launch. 10am my time, 9am theirs. I was anxious about this one because it was a very complicated site with a lot of nonsense. It went swimmingly, fast, wonderfully. Big victory. 

Before the site launch I realized there were a few things that I forgot to do for the client, so I whipped them together quickly. I'm sometimes amazed at what I can get done when I can focus, and panic. 

The rest of the day was busy with meetings and didn't get everything done. I was going to go get bloodwork done but a meeting got put on my calendar at 2pm so that kind of monkey wrenched everything. I couldn't leave here at 3 and get there on time. 

Plus, it was supposed to storm. And storm horribly. "Any second now" all day long. But then it didn't. We were supposed to get giant thunderstorms and hail and possible tornadoes. 

Tomorrow. I will make time in the morning before the meetings start. It's overdue. Well, as long as the interstate isn't iced over because ... temperatures are doing their temperature thing right now.

While Geoff was cooking dinner, I checked the radar and there was a break in the rain. Toffee was being a pest so I grabbed her, got the harness, and took her out for a walk. She did pretty good until she saw a cat, and then I could not get her to comply or walk for over a block. Stupid cat. It just sat there and looked at us. Gah. 

Got an upper body workout dealing with her. It wasn't as long a walk as I wanted so I ended up on the treadmill to make more time and steps and distance up. 

Our temperature went from the upper 70s all day with the storm and storm front weather, and at 10pm, it was snowing lightly and 34 degrees and falling. Tomorrow it isn't going to get over 35. And by Friday in the 60s, Saturday and Sunday 70. That time of year, I guess. 

Oh. Today is March 16th which is, of course, Jesus on the Radio day for Guster fans. Guster sends out a text to fans in honor of their own song on their day. It is cute that they are in on it with everyone. I love these guys. 

I was not awake at 5am, but I did wake up at 6:30am and laughed when I saw this. And I did. I listened to a couple different versions. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks. one with Toffee 25 min/1.25 mi. treadmill 20 min/1.31 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:30am: 163
4:14pm: 94
10pm: 177

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance+phentermine 
noon: protein shake (mixed in coffee)
2pm: met+glip
4:30pm: ramekin of candied cashews 
6:30pm: chicken penne fra diavlo
9pm: met+glip
no alcohol

a 5k inside

I was going to write today about how offensive Irish Car Bombs and Black & Tans are but I've taken a complete shellacking on social media for saying that those are both offensive. So I'll just keep my thoughts to myself here in my blog. 

But seriously, please don't. Don't do that if you own a bar or restaurant. Just don't.

Anyway, today I set out to do a half hour on the treadmill. Usually I'm able to get a little over 2 miles when I set that goal but today it was a different vibe. I was paying attention to the playlist and went past 30 minutes. Then my brain sometimes isn't happy if I try to stop on a time that isn't an increment of 5. So I had to go to 35 minutes. 

I was partway through a song at 35 minutes and my brain wouldn't let me stop partway through the song. So let's go to 40? maybe? 

At about 45 minutes, I looked at how far I'd gone, and it was 2.88 miles. 

Which screamed to me, you can... keep going to 3.1 miles which is 5k. 

There was a 5k in town yesterday, and I didn't want to sign up even though one of my community member challenge friends tried to encourage me. I told her I wasn't ready for a 5k. But here I was, pushing myself to go to 5k. and I did it.

I have never run this far or for this long, continuously, without stopping, and it felt like winning. 

I was making potato salad and prepping dinner, and Doug took Toffee to the dog park. I would have gone too, but boiling the eggs and cooking the bacon deserved attention. 

We grilled the last of the steak tips that Jess brought down at New Years, and now I'm sad. Now Jess has to come back and visit with more. 

All told it was a great day. Lots of fun. Big achievements. 

Tomorrow is a very full day. A very early client site launch and a ton of deliverables expected of me. And we're supposed to be pummeled with horrible storms in the afternoon. whee! Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 47.55 min/3.1 miles. 14k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 122
4:30pm: 136
9:30pm: 110

food & meds:
9am: jardiance+phentermine 
11:30am: asiago bagel w/ cream cheese and turkey
2:30pm: met+glip
5pm: some tasty home made potato salad, for tasting
6:30pm: steak tips and more home made potato salad
7pm: piece of cherry cheesecake
8pm: met+glip
white wine

A Day of Errands and Beers

I woke up at 7am, and had to pee. So, my rule is, if it is after like 6:30, you're up for the day friendo. Doug had gone to the guest room at some point, and so I came down with Toffee and did the usual morning things. Pee, make the coffee, let the dog out, drink the coffee, play the phone game. I was going to load the dishwasher but Doug was still asleep in the guest room so I kept it quiet. 

Around 11am I did load the dishwasher and made a bit of noise but he continued to sleep. I was kind of surprised. He never sleeps this late. Eventually, he came out and said that he was awake most of the night but eventually came down and fell asleep on the guest bed. And just ... slept all the sleeps. All of them.

I did the treadmill, and took a shower. He told me he wanted to go run errands and asked if I wanted to join, so, yes please. 

We went to Lowes and had fun. He needed silicone spray to lube the treadmill belt, and wanted some caulk and a sharp scraper dealie to remove the caulk currently in the tub. We also got some paint samples for the bathroom. 

Then over to the dutch market. It was pie day (3.14) today but we got a cherry cheesecake instead. The place was mobbed because they close at 4 and all the bargains are up for grabs when there is a little time left. 

I wanted to head into downtown to the better brewery to see the St. Patricks Shenanigans and music, but he wanted to drive north on Rte 11 and just see what was what. 

We went up to Greencastle, PA and then over to Waynesboro (edited, I had Wellsboro initially). I told him that I thought the Rough Edges Brewery was over here and sure enough we drove right past it. 

We turned around and went in, and I was surprised to see there wasn't a lot going on. No big shenanigans, music, green everywhere. 

The beer was good, late lunch wasn't that great but I was hungry, but again, the beer was good. It was fun being out. And we were surprised on the way home that this was only about 15 miles from our house. 

There is so much so close to our house that sometimes it is just wild. 

The friend I've made through the challenge walk did a 5k today and tried to talk me into it. I'm not ready. She said I am. I truly feel that I am not. And this morning was very cold and windy so I am glad I didn't go. Proud of her though.

Another time. Maybe. 

Here are some pictures. I liked the neon inside the Rough Edges Brewery. And the snowman above with Jesus on it especially entertained me. And the Turnips! sign made both me and Doug laugh really hard. TURNIPS! 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill for 20 min/1.43 mi. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 109
n/apm: n/a
9:30pm: 169

food & meds:
7am: jardiance+phentermine 
1pm: met+glip
2pm: bowl of chicken salad
5pm: beers and buffalo chicken flatbread (not that great)
7pm: slab of cherry cheesecake, met+glip