OCMD weekend

Doug and I hit the road for Ocean City at about noon. Every time we come down here, he forgets just how far away it is. At one point, I think we were north of Cambridge MD and he said "we're almost there, right?" And I said the GPS says we still have two hours. 

"Oh my God," he said, "Remind me not to do this again for another .... six months." 

Now that we live much further away than we used to, it was an extra hour of travel. 

We went straight to Assateague, bypassing the hotel so we could get in some pony gawking before sunset. And the ponies were there, showing off. Looking good. Hi ponies. 

It was super nice to see the ocean. We took a walk on the beach, no ponies were on the beach but there was plenty of evidence of them being there, if you know what I mean. 

Dinner was needed and we were on our way to the hotel when we saw the Shrimp Boat restaurant. "Do you think they serve beer?" Doug asks me as he whips into a parking lot to reverse direction. 

Narrator voice: They do. 

Dinner was great. They serve their shrimp head on, which is ... freaky and gross looking but the waitress said it makes the shrimp tastier and sweeter. She was a delightful human, and I am glad we stopped there.

We checked into the hotel, and took a good walk on the boardwalk, ate ice cream, gawked at the sights to see. The boardwalk was wild - tons of people, lots of action and activities. Many, many dogs to pet. 

The hotel that Doug picked is at the southern/middle end of Ocean City. First Avenue and Baltimore. Previously, we'd stayed way up north around 26th street. It's a long walk from here to the end. We covered a lot of ground but not the whole thing top to bottom to back again. 

Still, more steps yesterday than I've had in a long time. 

Yesterday there was a classic car cruise, it was also supposed to go through Sunday but the weather had them end things yesterday. There were some cool cars to gawk at, like ponies, but I have to say these guys, or girls, or whatever, are the noisiest bunch of motherfuckers on EARTH. 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of a gorgeous classic car. But I do not understand/comprehend the engine revving, backfiring, going up and down and up and down and up and down the strip, peeling out, and acting the fool that went on and on for HOURS yesterday. I think I fell asleep sometime after 1am, and they were still out there driving up and down. 

Part of me wondered ... when is there going to be an accident (because we almost saw a couple) or, when are the cops gonna roll up on some of these shitbirds. 

With the cost of gas alone, I do not understand why anyone would want to do that for 7 or 8 hours. 

A big storm went up the middle of the country and the coast over here got some embedded bands of nonsense riding up. While we were driving in on Saturday, most everyone was going out (except all the aforementioned dudes and their cars that were still driving all over the place). 

Sunday morning, this place was a ghost town. We had a hard time finding a parking spot in our hotel lot on Saturday night, but this morning, we were the only car. 

I was hungry, so I walked the block and a half up to the convenience store that we got beer at on Saturday night to get brekkie sammitches for us. Pouring rain, but it was worth it. Delicious, and perfect. 

Our plan was to head up to Buxy's Salty Dog to watch the Steelers game at 1. 

Little did we know that really, for a 1pm game, they open at 8am and the place is PACKED by 10. We managed to get a little bit of a counter spot, and there were plenty of TV screens everywhere so we had no problem seeing the game. 

And the Steelers won. And our boy Pat Freiermuth kicked ass. 

I make friends everywhere I go, Doug thinks it is amusing but. Also he's kind of like .... girl please. 

It was no different today. There were two tables by us, a bunch of ladies from Pittsburgh all there on a girls' weekend (sisters and sisters in law) and they were hilarious. There's a DJ that plays interstitial music during TV commercials and he was playing all kinds of stuff, and the ladies were all dancing, we were hi-5'ing and singing songs. 

We had a great time. I just wish they'd made the buffalo wings the way I asked for. 

We took another boardwalk stroll, Doug went down to the water and I didn't want to get my sneakers all full of sand so I stayed up on the boardwalk. We bought some chocolate, came back to the hotel and Doug took a monster nap. I did not. 

At the time of this writing, it is 9pm, I'm starving but just eating smartfood because I don't want to get dinner this late. I hope we get something yummy and fun in the morning before we head out of town. 

Digits below. I need some Steelers gear. The closest thing I have is this good Steelers Yellow Guster shirt. I felt out of place but no one kicked my butt. 

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Started with a 20 min/1.47 mi. run before we left but got tons of walking on the boardwalk and all over. 17k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: x
5pm: 121
10pm: 105 

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
11:30am: last of the tuna casserole
1pm: met+glip
4pm: new meds
6pm: shrimp boil, broiled scallops & crab cake, mashed potatoes, green beans; beers
7pm: met+glip
9pm: chocolate soft serve custard w/sprinkles

Sunday digits

exercise: x/12 hours. Did a 20 min/1.42 mi run on the hotel treadmill before we headed out for the day. Boardwalk time, 15 min/.5m. 11k+ by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 105
xpm: n/a skipped 4pm-ish reading
9:30pm: 83  

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
10:30am: 2 brekkie sammitches w/ egg cheese, bacon, sausage
2pm: met+glip
during the football game: beers, buffalo wings, cheesesteak egg rolls
No new meds at 3pm (forgot to bring)
5pm: some chocolate cashew/almond bark
6:30pm: met+glip
beer
8-9pm: a lot of smartfood, some chocolate cashew bark

Boy Update

 I wanted to mention a bit about Geoff and the semester. He seems to be doing great. One week he did not make his hotel reservation for staying down in Virginia, so he drove home on that Thursday night just to turn around and go back early the next morning. 

He said he didn't want to be "hemorrhaging money" by paying for the hotel every week. I told him that's stupid, you have so much money in the bank, you can do this. So he made sure to make the reservation. It's just ... smart. But sometimes he doesn't get smart. 

I love that he wants to be home, that actually makes me happy, that he loves it here and misses Toffee and loves making dinner. But he also needs to love the logical things in life like commuting sucks, wear and tear on the car is shitty, give yourself the grace of not having to have a stressful couple days. 

One of the big things I wanted him to do is establish credit so when he goes to find an apartment or something, he will have a credit history. A few months ago, I set him up on my Capital One card as an authorized user, and after a while, he started to get offers from other credit card companies to sign up. 

So he signed up for his own Capital One card and was approved. 

And he signed up for a credit checking thingie, to find out what his credit rating is and ... he's got a 750 credit rating, but the note on the account said "your credit history is very young" which is true. But. No one should reject him for anything. 

He uses our account to book the hotel room and immediately pays for it out of his checking account. He has used his account to buy gas, and shop online for some things. He told me he pays that off immediately too. 

Good behaviours. Love to see it. Because we may have to start looking for a place for him for January, maybe? 

I asked him when registration for spring semester is, and he didn't seem to know so I looked it up for him. October 26. Let's get that figured out so we know what happens when classes begin January 19.

I do miss him when he isn't here. But I'm looking forward to him being successful and thriving. This has been a long journey. 

Don't get me wrong, I know other friends who have kids who have had horrible journeys. Drug, alcohol addition, suicide, depression, domestic violence situations, kids and then more kids when they weren't really ready for the first kid. 

I feel like it is such a hard world for this next generation. And what's to come for the one after the millennials and Gen-z? One of my favorite "satire" publications is McSweeney's Internet Tendency. They write a lot of satire that is veiled reality satire. Here's one from last July that lives in my head rent free. 

You dream about buying a second home, but that would require owning a first. Instead, you spend three weeks designing and building a “luxury” treehouse in the park across from your apartment. The city declares it a threat to public safety, tears it down, and fines you.

The entire thing is somewhat ridiculous but. True. 

Anyway. This was supposed to have published on Friday or Saturday. I'm doing a writeup of the weekend in another post. 

No digits on this one. Just... the boy update.

Plant Parenthood

It was plant watering time today, and I took some lunch hour-ish time to walk the plants over to the kitchen sink. 

Farmer Chris moves operations indoors this time of year. 

Most of my plant pots have drain holes in the bottom and I don't have little water trays for some of them so it is just easier to walk all of the babies over, line them up, and then fill the sink with them. And give 'em all a good drink and let them drain/rest on a towel in the kitchen. Then, I get to clean the kitchen counter top. It is a win win. 

I noticed one spider plant was looking kind of weird, and thought maybe she needed a new pot. I looked around on the back porch and found a pot that was a little bigger than where she was, and transplanted her. 

Evidence that she had outgrown her space here, with all the roots just coiled all around in the image at the bottom of the post. 

Once everyone was watered and happy, I took the pots that are now too small for any friends and set them aside. I'm trying to propagate some jade leaves? and some burro tail thingies, and those are laid out in soil in their own little pots. Not sure if they'll take. 

My monstera is in for the season, I do not think we'll have another big hot day or stretch of days where she can hang out on the patio. She's come along so well over this last (almost!) year. 

I had placed her in the front window for all the good sun, and noticed one of her leaves was horribly brown in the center. It had been resting against the glass window and I guess maybe the glass was too warm and toasted it? Oops. Moved her back to avoid that. 

So all the plants are watered and happy. The money tree is making new leafs and it makes me smile. I was worried about her when we moved that she was not doing well. Many snake plants and spider plants and weird plants that I don't know their names. They're all my little covid hobby project jungle. 

Because this is a Friday before a holiday weekend, not a lot was going on. I didn't have a lot of new/fresh tickets and the tickets I was waiting for a response on, I wasn't getting a response. I'm supposed to review some work the developers did on bug fixes and I couldn't log into our Jira/ticket portal that they use, so maybe I'll look at that .... eventually? Thought about doing it tonight but... meh. 

They don't have a holiday Monday so, I kind of want to be able to reply to them. I hate when I have to wait on people and I know people hate when they have to wait on me. 

So yeah, quiet day so I decided to bake cookies. I mad the "pan banging" peanut butter cookies and they came out dry and gross? I was super disappointed. Maybe it was because I used the smaller scoop, or something, I don't know. Doug said they taste fine but you need a glass of milk with and that just makes them better. 

I made up for it by also making his favorite Oatmeal cookies. I put a pecan in the center of each one. Super cute like that. 

Geoff got home super late, much later than usual so he and Doug jetted off to go pick our other car up at the shop. I ordered from the pizza place and Geoff picked it up after he left the garage. 

I took Toffee for a walk, she was super hype to go when they were leaving so I passed on the treadmill and we hit the road to take care of her needs. And my needs truthfully. We did a super long walk, super long, I added on blocks where I usually would just turn left to come home. I could have kept going. But I knew dinner was waiting for me. She was a trooper! 

So I usually get buffalo chicken bites from this pizza joint, and I put them over a bed of greens. They didn't give me buffalo sauce on these but maybe they were general tso's or some hot and sour something sauce? It was DELICIOUS but it did a job to my blood sugar. Did not expect the reading I got at 11. 

Please no one freak out. C I'm looking at you. It'll come down overnight. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Toffee walk, 43 min/2.25 mi. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:15am: 138
4:30pm: 130
11pm: 278 

food & meds:

9:15am: jardiance & new meds
9:30am: last 2 heel pieces from another sourdough loaf
12pm: Everything bagel w/plain cream cheese and the last of the sliced turkey (not enough, never enough...) 
1pm: met+glip
3pm: new meds
4:30pm: a dry ass peanut butter cookie and a delicious oatmeal cookie
7pm: chicken bites that were maybe in some sort of super sweet but hella spicy sauce that wasn't buffalo, over a bed of greens, bleu cheese dressing, 2 beers
8pm: met+glip

Heels

This is not about footwear. 

In our house, both Doug and Geoff will pass on eating the heels of a loaf of bread. Do you call them something other than heels? What is your local, regional, or cultural vernacular? 

We've always called them heels. But a recent discussion reveals that people call them the "butt" or the "ends," which is funny. Ends make sense but isn't very interesting. But "butt?" A loaf would have two butts. Which is weird. Unless you think of them as two butt cheeks. 

But I digress. 

This morning I opened the cabinet just to see what is there, and was sad Geoff forgot to buy English muffins when he ran over the store the other day. Geoff is off to school today and stays at his hotel dealie overnight on Thursday. And he has our new car, and our other car is in the shop getting work done. So I didn't have wheels to go get ... anything.   

There were three bags of bread of just the heel slices. 

And literally, they'll end up in the trash or I'll give them to Toffee. I don't usually eat the full carb bread that the guys get. 

But the Aldi everything seasoned sourdough bread, friends, that's a weakness of mine. 

The heels on that loaf are always small, because the loaf is oval shaped. Everyone likes the middle pieces because that makes a nice big sandwich, and the slices closer to the ends of the loaf, those always go last. 

This morning, I did it. I took the bag out that had heels in it. I made myself some sourdough toast, and it was delightful. And there is another bag in there with 2 heels. 

Tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow. 

Not sure why but wow today I was just hungry. I can usually get through most of the work day with minimal munchings but I just felt peckish all day. I tried not to give in to temptation. After I took my blood sugar at 4:30, I did have a bowl of granola and yogurt. I need to finish eating this granola because Doug and Geoff aren't eating it either. And I made a lot. 

Linda and I chatted and I actually ran on the treadmill while she and I were talking. I was mostly listening and chiming in with "yeah, fuck that. guy." "No, he can drop dead and rot in hell." "You need a new job." "I am not happy about your life right now. 

Mostly a listener but also, chiming in with my disdain and dissatisfaction about her work situation. 

After the run, at around 6pm I told Doug I was not hungry for dinner. See aforementioned yogurt and granola.

He said he wasn't hungry either, so I took Toffee for a walk. When I got back he was eating a big bowl of left over egg noodles from dinner last night. Which disappointedd me. I wanted to make that into a tuna casserole. Thankfully, he left just enough for me to make a 2 person portion, and ate my part. I can finish the rest tomorrow. 

I'm super excited because we have a three day weekend, so I think we're going somewhere? Initial thoughts are Ocean City, but we're going to watch the weather. We could end up going to Doug's mom's. 

And it all hinges upon whether or not our car (the one we've had, not the one we just bought) is out of the shop tomorrow. 

Things are still ... being worked out planning wise. 

Here's a picture of a dinosaur witch holding a pumpkin in its mouth inflatable from my neighborhood. It scared my dog.

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill run, 15 min/1.08 mi; toffee walk 23 min/.98 mi. 11k+ by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:15am: 115
4:30pm: 30
10:30pm: 130 

food & meds:

9:15am: jardiance & new meds
9:30am: small serving of apple blueberry cobbler
10:15am: two slices of sourdough toast (heels of the bread, no one else will eat them)
12:30: met+glip
2:30pm: some chicken salad made w/grilled chicken thighs from fajitas the other day, mayo & cream cheese
4pm: new meds
4:45pm: bowl of granola and Oikos triple zero berry yogurt
6:45pm: met+glip
8pm: small bowl of tuna noodle casserole
vodka & low sugar fruit punch

Smelly Good

Yesterday's DNS adventures continued today with a zoom conference call with four people from the client end of things, my sysadmin the superhero. My work son was there, camera off. He got his covid booster AND flu shot yesterday so he was feeling like shit and horizontal. My boss was willing to jump into the call if he was needed. I didn't want to tap him in.

After a half hour of weighing pros and cons, where yesterday we ended up crashing their site we didn't want to do that again, we decided we'd take a leap of faith with Vick on the call and do the DNS changes we had to do and hope we didn't lose the site. We were only making an addition to the record, not changing a record. 

Nothing should break. 

When Vick is on the call, and confident in a situation, that helps me feel super confident. I was encouraging and loving. Honoring their anxiety but also assuring them we could have an instant roll back if need be. 

I ended up quoting Jesus Jones and I said, "Right here, right now, there is no other place I wanna be." 

Let's do it. 

They laughed and agreed. 

I also quoted Guster and said "Be calm, be brave, it'll be okay." Because you can't get through anything scary without that line. 

So we jumped into the fog and we did it. 

It worked. Everything worked. Say Hallelujah. I would love to share what we did but I don't want to post their website. 

Not for nothing, I'll be completely honest... I was absolutely stressed by this.  After the call I blew off steam by whipping up an apple blueberry cobbler that I've been contemplating making. Stress baking is my superpower.

Geoff had set up the slow cooker before leaving for work, so the chicken was simmering away and the cobbler was a-baking. Damn my house just smelled like autumn personified, except it was like 80 degrees and a bit oppressive. But still ... smelly good.

We're in those in between days right now. 

My work son ended up going to bed right after the call. Can't say as I blame him. I need to do the same, but I'm so reluctant to do them both at the same time. I have done it before with no difficulties, but. Hmmm.

After dinner it was Toffee walk time. And Doug decided to come with us. We got partway through the walk and he said he had to head home, and patted his belly. 

Oh honey, yes. I know the feeling. I was going to go back with him but I took the leash and continued on our way. He told me he made it back "just in time," and was "incredibly glad" he decided to head home. 

Good on him. 

Toffee and I went on our semi-usual route, there was another dog being walked ahead of us, and we were going to catch up if we continued on that direction so I turned left two blocks early to head back. We still managed a solid half hour. That's all that matters. 

I didn't take an anxiety baking picture, I should have. So ... digits below! 

 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Toffee walk, 30 min/1.38 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 118
4:30pm: 138
11pm: 125 

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
9am: donut from last night
12:30pm: cinnamon raisin bagel with a lot of pb
1pm: met+glip
3pm: new meds
6:30pm: slow cooker teriyaki pulled chicken w/pineapple; apple blueberry cobbler w/no sugar ice cream
7pm: met+glip
no wine/alcohol

Just to check out the late night donut shop

The title of this entry is a nod to Barenaked Ladies. 

"Drove downtown in the rain, 9:30 on a Tuesday night
Just to check out the late night record donut shop..."

Miss Toffee woke me up at about 3am. She had gotten off the bed, which happens sometimes when she's asleep and I roll over and I shove her off because I'm trying to roll over and she won't get out of my way. 

 She was walking around our bedroom, pacing, whining. Then she came and stood next to my face and whimpered very softly but just loudly enough to wake up yours truly. 

I encouraged her to come back to bed, but she continued to pace. She was having none of it.

Well. I did go to bed very early last night, and maybe Doug assumed I had let her out before, but didn't. 

I got up and she ran around like crazy. We went down the stairs and she ran right to the back door. No barking, no noise, just a very clear non-verbal cue to say "OMG woman, let me out." 

I am super proud of her. Miss Toffee is a very very good bean. 

Today at work we had a lot of undue and unexpected stress. 

A client is having problems with their website DNS. For those who do not know, DNS is Domain Name Server/Service. And everyone has a DNS registrar (usually, for most, GoDaddy or Network Solutions). Then you have a DNS host. That can be GoDaddy or Network Solutions, or, it can be another company. 

If there is a problem with the DNS host and the "zone" records that go into that host (C Name, A record, MX record for e-mail, etc)  we end up having to help them fix it. And sometimes, it just does not go well and it is lumpy. And I call in our own Sysadmin (my superhero Vick) to help. And when HE can't fix it you know it is hairy.

I had scheduled myself some blood work that I should have done last week, and today was supposed to be easy peasy. But no. Things were lumpy but lord, I needed to keep this appointment. Our car was scheduled to go into the shop tonight due to a check engine light. Geoff wasn't back by 3, when I wanted to leave with the other car so I was stressing out. And trying to help fix this DNS kerfuffle. 

Geoff got home a half hour after I'd hoped he would, so I was able to go get the blood work done, but, that meant getting stuck in commuting traffic on the way back. 

In my heart of hearts, friends, my plan was to go get the blood work done and maybe do a little solo walk around town, or in the woods, or whatever. But everything else getting .... lumpy, did not help my case and I rushed back.

After I got home, Geoff was resting (and he usually makes supper) so I made chicken parm for dinner. After we ate, Doug took Geoff to drop the car off (2 cars over, one car back) but the plan was to stop at the late night donut shop that is only open to the public from 7pm-midnight. 

Yeah. I think I've mentioned this donut thing before.

The fact that this little shop of night time delightful treats is so close to our house, and we are not over there EVERY day, is a testament to our self control (and the fact I cannot see at night to drive most of the time). 

Geoff had never been there in the whole year we've lived here (surprisingly!) so Doug wanted to initiate him. They came back with a half dozen delightful treats. I was out with Toffee on a (longer than usual) walk, so what a joy to see the box when I got home. 

After all the lumpy things, this was such a joy to have.

The donut of the month is a s'mores donut, and oh my gosh she is so good. They got a nice assortment of jelly filled and a solid chocolate cake donut, and a couple apple pie ones but I wish they got all s'mores. 

Actually, I'm relieved they didn't because I would eat 3 of them by myself. 

What a treat. 

Digits below. Come visit us, eat donuts.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Toffee walk, 37 min/1.7 mi; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 134
xpm: n/a missed the reading time
10:15pm: 66 (? tested 4 times) 

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
12:30pm: tuna melt, 2 slices of cheddar, 2 slices of bacon, sourdough bread
12:45pm: met+glip 
3pm: new meds
6:30pm: 1/2 piece of chicken parm
7pm: met+glip
9pm: 2 donuts
red wine

MonMeh

I woke up around 4am, Geoff was in the shower and I had to use the bathroom, so I headed down to the basement. Thankful for him keeping it cleaner than he did his old bathroom at the other house. Toffee followed me downstairs and paced and paced, it was very confusing for her to have me be down there. 

She survived. We came back up and I got in the guest bed.  What I wanted more than anything was some prilosec, because I had tremendous heartburn and acid reflux.

In fact, I got a little nervous that it was going to be like an abdominal blockage again like a few weeks ago, but, I was successfully pooping which meant hey... things are moving! The doctor had told me it is really great when your belly is making all those gurgling sounds because that means the factory is doing its thing. 

Yeah, but does it have to be so noisy sometimes? 

Anyway, he got out of the bathroom and I went in and got the prilosec I needed. I drank a glass of water and felt really gross, like the water and my dinner were all just sloshing around inside my belly. Gross. 

I wondered if the new meds are supposed to make me feel sick if I over eat (and yeah, I kind of did thanks to mashed potatoes) so I ate a lot less this evening. 

Still have not lost any weight on this concoction. Bout to give up on it.

Anyway, I woke up repeatedly to go to the bathroom, never truly fell all the way back asleep. I dragged my ass out of bed around 9:30 because I thought I had a 10am meeting. no. 11am! Alright. 

I got a lot of work done, and we had a good team meeting with our entire department today and it was incredibly informative and worthwhile. Sometimes, these meetings are not really worthwhile. I got a lot out of it today. I dragged ass all day and thought about just packing it in.

I made a meeting with someone at 4:30pm, she's in Mountain time zone, and we had missed each other repeatedly over the last two weeks. She does volunteer work at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, and she told me all about it, and how fun it is and she demands that I come next year. 

Well alright! I'll pencil that in!

We talked for 90 minutes. 

My job is like that sometimes. "I think we only need 5 minutes for me to show you the problem I'm having with the software..." It just turns into a whole thing. Sometimes people love to talk and I love to talk, and we just .... talked. It was great.

After that, I answered another help ticket that came in when I was getting on that call and it was urgent but nothing I could help with until tomorrow when my work son gets back from being out for the long weekend. 

I got on the treadmill and pushed myself to 30 minutes because I sure the hell did not feel like a Toffee walk. She was disappointed. She kept sitting there eyeballing me and moaning. 

Sorry bubba girl, maybe tomorrow. 

It is 9pm, and I am going to bed. A full hour or more earlier than usual. I just can't hang.Truly hoping for a good night of sleep tonight. I ate a really small bowl of dinner, even though it was crazy delicious. Geoff sure knows his way around a recipie. 

No picture today, Just digits. Hopefully more fun tomorrow. I do have to go get blood work done, so, mayhaps I'll stop and look at something or take the long way home and treat myself to a vista.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill Run, 30 min/2.1 mi; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 117
4:15pm: 135
9pm: 144 (*note time I took met+glip and pasta for dinner, not too high but higher than it has been)

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
11am: slice of multigrain seeded bread w/pb
12:45: turkey and cheddar on 647 bread; met+glip
3:45pm: new meds
4:15pm: atkins peanut bar snack
7pm: rigatoni w/pancetta and olives a la Geoff
8pm: met+glip
no wine/alcohol

Change of plans to change of plans

H's outdoor rock show was canceled today, and I was kind of thankful for that. I didn't feel like making the schlep. Sad to miss it though, he's got a lot of songs he's playing on, and he really is so good. A disappointment but also a relief to not travel.

S suggested we still get together since our friend V was in town too. I suggested we meet up in Frederick which is a doable distance between the two of us. And it is fun. Frederick is fun. 

We agreed on a time, and she ended up emailing around 2pm to let me know that V (who is staying with her this weekend) was actually flying out to go back home tonight instead of tomorrow like she thought. And our agreed upon meeting time was too late. So we had to cancel the meet up. 

That honestly bummed me out because if I knew he was flying out tonight, I actually would have driven all the way down there to see 'em. 

Oh well. 

Also I decided I'd just schedule my blood work, which I was going to get done at the 24 hour lab after out Frederick meetup, for Tuesday afternoon, when I literally have zero meetings. I blocked off my schedule at 3pm so I can go make the trek. 

It was indeed pouring out all day, so good call by the music school on postponing the show. Unfortunately, I think the rain date is next Saturday and Doug and I were planning on a little weekend trip away that weekend. Ocean City, MD? Doug's mom? Rehoboth, DE? Not sure yet. The nice thing about being this far south is that these October Weekends are still good for fun if we want to head to the ocean. 

Geoff went to the market to get stuff for the next couple dinners, and initially I had told him to plan something for him and dad since I was probably not going to be here for noms. Seeing that I ended up being here, it was meatloaf double beatloaf, I love meatloaf. 

But really, I love mashed potatoes and gravy and that's what the goal was with this dinner. Sometimes you just gotta give in to the comfort food of choice. And I didn't overdo it. There were leftovers of the taters, which surprised me considering both Doug and Geoff had seconds. 

Sometimes 6 russet potatoes go a long, long way. 

The rain let up around 7pm, mostly just a gentle mist which didn't annoy Toffee. Usually she will not go out at all if it is raining, but she's been looking forward to a good walk in the evenings lately. I've been trying to walk her every night, and as it is all the way dark at 7-ish, I am thankful for street lights. I called Linda and we had a yap while I walked, and then continued with the yap after I got back. 

Not the day I set out to have but it was a day. 

Doug and I keep having unspoken disagreements on the little monkey I bought yesterday. He is smol, and it took Doug a while to find him where I placed him on the shelf at the foot of the stairs. 

He can sit on his butt, which is how Doug keeps positioning him. But when I saw him at the shop, he was in repose on his side and I liked that. So I keep setting him back in this position, Doug keeps sitting him up.  

So far today, he's been repositioned 4 times. 

Heh. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run, 20 min/1.46 mi; Toffee walk and Linda talk, 23 min/1.02 mi; 13k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:45am: 127
4:45pm: 155
10:15pm: 110

food & meds:

9:45am: jardiance & new meds
10:30am: english muffin w/pb & wild berry preserves
2pm: met+glip
4pm: handful of pretzel m&ms ; new meds
6:30pm: meatloaf, mashed potatoes & gravy, mixed veggies
7pm: met+glip
white wine & diet ginger ale

The Antique Store

There is a very nice antique store in town, almost up in Pennsylvania to be honest. They aren't open regularly, usually just one weekend a month and I've been dying to go visit. But every time they are open, I'm away. Just hasn't worked out. 

Until today. 

I took the new car on a solo spin, Doug connected my phone to the bluetooth so I could crank some tunes and I went for the Avett Brothers for my drive through the corn fields and the meadows. Great choice. 

No one was there when I arrived, so I went in and met the folks who run the place. They are delightful, and I cannot stress that enough. They are retired and they run this outfit with love and care and attention, and they've been at it for over 40 years. 

I mentioned that I'd been trying to head their way for months and months but they are only open the one weekend a month, and she said that as the holidays approach they'll be open more frequently. Most notably because the building is impossible to cool down in the summer months and as it gets colder, they can be open more often. 

It is an old mill building, and the man told me that the water wheel out back was lit up, but I didn't see it, so I'll have to go again, I guess. 

Doug didn't want to come with me, which was a bummer, because I know he would enjoy this. It is a vibe and a half. Really good quality stuff, 

No photos are allowed inside. She explained that people sometimes come in, take pictures and then post them on their own antique shop web pages and social media like ... it's their stuff. So she said nope. That's it. Nope nope no pictures. 

And I'm very glad I asked first. 

I did take some outside pictures, though (below) with permission, I bought a little china thing to set beads in for when I get back on my bracelet makin' bullshit (very soon. I feel the need), and a monkey. I should take a picture of the monkey. Can't resist a monkey.

Bonus, he's an electrician, and we have two antique lamps that Doug's mom made us take gave us, and I have my dad's bowling pin lamp that needs to be fixed. He said he'd love to help. 

Overall, a good day. Doug mowed the lawn and I got a run on the treadmill in. Then after dinner, I took Toffee for a nice walk. When there aren't distractions, she's a delight to walk. We had a great time. 

Tomorrow is H's rock show down in Montgomery County, part of me wants it to get rained out. Part of me loves the idea of going. And another part of me knows I have to get some blood work done, so the lab that is open weekends is down there. Well. Gotta do it. Seeing as today's predicted "wash out" never materialized, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill Run 20 min/1.48 mi; Toffee Walk, 30 min/1.36 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 115
4:30pm: 115
10:30pm: 121

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
11:30am: bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger
1pm: met+glip
3:30pm: new meds
6:30pm: jambalaya rice w/shrimp, chicken, pork loin (the last 2 leftover and diced into the rice for more protein)
8:30pm: met+glip
wine w/zero sugar cran and seltzer water

Where are our Friday Vibes?

I thought today I was just going to skate through. 

Did my 360 reviews, I had two left to do and one was for my boss. So I wanted to be careful and calculated, honest but also not like sucking up to him or anything. I think we have an understood mutual admiration. 

After all, he does take selfies with Ryan Miller from Guster when he sees him out and about in Burlington VT. Thoughtful. 

All my meetings got canceled, One was because the client was at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, and thought she'd be back in time for our call but she got stuck in traffic. And didn't have my number or remember my email, or know how to get in touch with me. We rescheduled. 

The second was with another client, and he was 15 minutes late. But we met, figured the thing out, did a big hi-5 on zoom, and that was awesome. 

One of my teammates and I have a standing Friday 1:1, but we have not met for the last 5 weeks. I canceled on her last week, she did this week. We have to get out of that pattern. But I told her it was fine because one of the reviews I had to write was hers. I did not say "she's not good at keeping a meeeting schedule." Because I'm not either.

Doug and I ran out to the UPS store to get a thing notarized so he can move all his money out of a languishing retirement account from a job he left 10 years ago. But I'm the beneficiary on it, so I had to be informed it was moving, AND sign off on it with a notary witness. Done and dusted at 3:30pm. 

Around 4:30 I was done with my reviews, I marinated the chicken thighs (and drank the half of a beer that didn't go into the marinade). I took my blood sugar, came back down and put on my sneakers. I was headed for the treadmill. 

An urgent "OMG the deadline is MONDAY for this thing you don't manage but I need your help!" ticket came in, so I helped with that. Score a victory for us! Another colleague on my team said there was a problem with a client's publication, and asked me to help find someone to reach out to there. So I did, we emailed, no one got back to us but I checked at 10pm and the issue was resolved. 

And then something else unexpected happened? I can't remember what that was. My colleague who reached out to me on the problem with the client website thanked me for helping her after 5:30 on a Friday afternoon. I said, the last hour and a half was more work than I did all day! She agreed and said "Where are our Friday vibes!? We should be enjoying the afternoon and kicking off easy." 

I KNOW! 

My sneakers were still on, I thought about the treadmill. I cooked dinner instead. 

After dinner, I realized I was not even half way through 10k steps, so I sighed, got the dog leashed, took her for a walk. She did really well, once she pooped and got it over with. I was able to walk with a slack leash, she stayed right next to me. I thought about adding an extra block, but, we headed back to the house. A solid half hour walk is great. 

Doug and I were watching tv and at 8:30 I said "damn. I still need 2000 steps." 

So I got the sneakers back on, and went back out. I kind of know how far a walk I need to take for 2000 steps, so I tacked on an extra small detour to put even more steps onto the measurement. I was at 10k before I even got back to the house. 

Friday vibes, I guess they are going on a walkabout. 

Tomorrow and Sunday may be cold and rainy. Fall-like weather. Doug is hoping to get the lawn mowed, but I'm not sure that will be possible if what happens happens. And then Sunday is football day in America so he will most likely not mow then, because it is a religious holiday, every week. Don't ya know. 

On Sunday I'm supposed to go see H in his school of rock concert. It is supposed to be outside, and they'll make a decision the night before whether or not to have it. So I may or may not be driving an hour and 15 minutes to go see my 11 year old best friend "play the keys." We'll see what happens. Part of me hopes it gets rained out. I sort of want to be here and maybe feel like getting some things done while Doug watches football. And hey, maybe I'll get that run in! 

I don't have a picture. So. Digits below!

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. two walks, one with toffee, 32 min/1.5 mi; solo, 20 min/.96 mi. 10k+ by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 116
4:30pm: 105
10pm: 135

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
10am: freezer breakfast burrito with extra shredded cheddar and salsa
1pm: met+glip
3pm: new meds
4:30pm: 2 pieces of celery w/pb, 1/2 a beer
6:15pm: 2 zero carb fajita wraps w/grilled chicken thighs, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, 1 beer
7:45pm: met+glip