Home and Gone Again

This entry covers Thursday and Friday and is technically published on Saturday ... early

Thursday night driving home it was a very interesting experience. 

I left the office at 5, about 3 hours later than I wanted. Being on a very full Metro was something I'd forgotten about. I got to the stop near where my car was parked and it was 98 degrees outside. I opted to walk over to the pub for some refreshment, and summon an Uber.

Remember lessons learned. Heed them. Obey them. 

It would be a 15 minute wait, so, I had a second drink and talked to the guy next to me about how cool the music was in the 80s when we were growing up. Whatever music system they had running was playing all our favorite childhood hits from ABBA to ZZ Top. INXS and A-ha. 

It was getting close to Uber time so I settled up the tab, left a giant tip, and hi-fived the dude at the bar who sang along to the Beastie Boys "Paul Revere" with me. 

The Uber and I met right on time (technology can be amazing) and I got in. I told him I felt like an idiot for calling him but he said in a very wonderful accent from wherever he was from "No! Do not feel shame! It is hot out. I've done so many half mile, one mile trips. People who usually walk to the market and back, all their things will be melted by the time they get home. No. It's no shame. Stay hydrated too!" 

Excellent advice, sir. One mile later, I'm putting stuff in my car and getting ready for the ride. It is 6:30pm. ETA to the house, 90 minutes. 

Except the weather had alternate plans for me. As I was driving to the north, to my left the sky was angry and ready to kick ass. To the right, sunshine, lollipops, puffy clouds, angel songs. And I needed to turn left. 

I got right to the rest area (and needed to pee, thanks to the G&Ts) and made it to and from the bathroom right before the sky unleashed the furies. Glad I was not trying to drive through that. I called Doug to let him know where I was (approximately 10 miles from my front door) and that I would be waiting it out for a little. He said it was done at our house, so it probably wouldn't be too long. 

Guster kept me company, and I kept the car running so the AC would keep me comfy and the defroster would keep it from getting too foggy in there. 

Back on the road, home, happy to see the dog, happy to see the fam, happy to watch hockey and sit and eat leftovers on my couch. 

Doug informed me that he and Geoff were going to be going up to see his mom next weekend. Oh, okay. I didn't remind him that I told him I was probably maybe going to go up to my mom's that weekend. Mostly because it has been about 6 months since he went there last, and it would be a very good thing for them to go up. Maybe see if she needs more help at the old house. She does want a new phone, and she said her tablet keeps overheating, so she wanted to maybe get something new. I told him to invest in an actual laptop for her.  

This morning, I didn't set an alarm. No one made noise, and I woke up organically at 9:15am. With my dog. I got up, futzed in the kitchen, futzed with laundry, and picked up the laptop to remind my team I was OOO today. Set my out of office, which I'd forgotten to do. And then I did helpdesk tickets, and a check in with my work son because he was not at the conference and we missed each other. And there was a lot of drama at his end which I wasn't looped in on. 

Glad to have been oblivious for a bit. 

I watered the garden and the indoor plants. Geoff went to the market and took my bank card so I hit the treadmill for a bit to make sure I keep up on steps. I hit the road to head to my friend's house in Baltimore about 2 hours later than I intended but. Made it by 6pm. We immediately headed to where the venue was, ate dinner, connected with S & H. 

I have said it before, and will again and again, Amythyst Kiah is a national treasure. What a fantastic show she gave us tonight. Before the show, I got a call from the venue. I'd asked if it was okay when I bought the tickets if an 11 year old was in attendance because there was no age guidance on the website. I never heard back. But they called to say they wanted to know the name of the 11 year old, so I told the woman that H had met Amythyst previously and told her he "played keys" so they gave her a note to see if she'd shout him out from the stage. And she did. Delightfully. 

The last two songs of the night H and I went to kind of the back and we danced, Empire of Love and Black Myself - anthems for a new age. 

We waited after and he got his CD signed and we took some pictures. And I asked the venue for copies of the poster, and they gave me four. 

There was another kid around H's age there, so I handed him a poster. He was thrilled and had her autograph it. 

When H talked to Amythyst, he specifically asked about her cat, and I think Amythyst was especially entertained by that. His name is Zuko (like from Avatar, the Last Airbender) and because he is Orange and Naughty. 

Gotta love it. 

We went out for more chinese food after the show because that was the only restaurant in the neighborhood still open after. And we had a mini dance party to some Guster songs when Hallie asked them to play something on their spotify or whatever service they had. 

Back at Hallie's very tired, very bedtime. Wondering if her orange cat will come see me. I left the door open for him.

Digits! Below.

Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  three measurable walks around DC, don't feel like digging out the details from the fitbit app. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 141
4:30pm: 153
10pm: 118

food & meds:

7am: jardiance + phentermine
9am: 2 frittatas (goat cheese! asparagus! sausage!) some hash browns
2pm: met+glip; roast beef & cheddar on whole wheat wrap w/ltm
6pm: 2 G&Ts
8:30pm: chicken thighs & some dirty rice; met+glip
1 beer

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  20 min/1.5 mi on the treadmill. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 124
4:15pm: 110
after midnight-ish: 146

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance + phentermine
12pm: small bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
1:15pm: met+glip
6:30pm: met+glip, chinese food; a couple beers
at the concert 2 beers
after the concert: more chinese food, 2 more beers

Conference Day 3

 Will include Thursday digits in an entry tomorrow but I just wanted to post that I got home safe, there were some hellacious storms across the region tonight and yeah, I pulled over and waited them out. 

My glucose monitor is upstairs and I have to remember all of what I ate etc, so that'll be part of tomorrow's post. 

I had a great trip. I love my co-workers. I love my work family. I love my projects and doing support. I liked going into the office for a couple of days but honestly I can live without doing it on a regualr basis. Happy to visit, don't want to live there.

Also, today is Jess' 34th birthday and I just wanted to think on how very much I love them and the good human they are. I'm so proud of the humans I brought into this world. 

Doug let me know that he and Geoff are going to visit his mom at the end of next week. I thought maybe I'd go visit my mom the end of next week but okay. He hasn't gone since November so do go. Do. Go. Go visit. 

I'm going to bed. More tomorrow. 

Conference Day 2

I massively overslept this morning. I had an alarm set for 7 and turned it off but thought I was resetting for 7:30. Woke up at 8:15. I had signed up for the early check-in desk slot, at 8am. 

Oops. I messaged the team and they told me they had it covered. Good. Nice. Okay. I jumped in the shower, had a bitch of a time cutting the tags off my dress that I wanted to wear, and almost came here with them on but finally succeeded without destroying my outfit. 

Today was a day filled with swag, and getting to meet some of my heroes. And finding out I'm someone's hero. 

Sometimes moments like this energize me and fill my sails. Overall these events are a giant drain on my social battery, but this felt fantastic and I needed it in order to get through today. 

At about 4pm the sky opened up. I was ready to go back to my hotel but swing into the grocery store for some hot bar stuff for dinner for myself. We have really good restaurants by the office, walking distance, but I knew I wasn't going to want to go to the hotel and go back again. 

After I left the office an older couple was coming towards me. I smiled, he smiled. She looked exhausted and he looked like he could go for days. Around the corner, I stopped in at the market and there was nothing good on the hot bar. So I walked around the corner to a restaurant that I've been to many times to have dinner solo. They were standing outside, he was looking at his phone, and she was leaning against the wall. 

So again, I smiled. She did smile back, while he was focused on the phone. I stood at the front counter and was completely ignored, so, I gave up and walked back out. They were about to walk in, and he said "oh, are they full, is there a wait?" 

I said, "no. I waited and they ignored me so I'm going elsewhere." 

"Oh," he said "Where's elsewhere. What's good around here?" 

My favorite game. I love when tourists ask me what to do. I loved this in Boston, and love it in DC. I told him about the brewery. "They have great beer, and really good food. You guys look beat, otherwise I'd send you another couple blocks up to the right to Union Market but you need to take a load off right now, am I right?" 

She smiled and nodded. 

"She's got a couple new hips and I've walked her a whole lot today, so you are absolutely right. Let's follow you to the brewery." 

He asked if I lived in the neighborhood, I said no, but my office is around the corner and I'm here for meetings.

"Are you a lawyer?" 

First time anyone has asked me that. Do I have lawyer vibes? I mean, I am wearing a dress and cute shoes. Maybe I could be a lawyer. "Nope. I do technical support." They're from Chicago and they're in town for the 50th anniversary of their friends in Virginia. They came a couple days early for some sight seeing. "We were here 40 years ago," he said. "She was pregnant with our first son. He'll be 39 next month." 

"It is a whole different city," she said.

We came in and I explained how ordering worked, and I asked well, what kind of beer do you like?

She said she didn't like beer, so I said they make craft cocktails, they have wine, not a big selection and tea, sweetened and unsweetened. He said "I like an IPA but only really Hazy IPA." Well then sir, have they got the beer for you! 

I ordered my beer and a burger, and leaned in to the beertender "I'm buying their first round, these people behind me. Don't tell 'em." 

He very cutely winked and me and said "I hear ya!" 

I turned around and told them to enjoy their time, and there was a table with 6 of my co-workers and I went over to join them. 

Didn't see them again before I left, but I do hope they enjoy their visit. And I like that he knew her needs after a long day of walking around. Get that woman a cocktail! 

It was a great day. 

Last day here tomorrow, I'm looking forward to home. As much as I love being here, I also love my house and my family and I'm very happy to be going home. 

Geoff sent me this today. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Three walks that were measured by the fitbit but i'm too lazy to look up how long / far. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 118
4:45pm: 103
11:15pm: 117

food & meds:

8am: jardiance + phentermine
9am: small little container of overnight oats w/berries and spinach? it wasn't bad but very small. one sausage pattie, 3 strips of bacon
12:30pm: some chicken and veggie teriyaki, lots of green beans
1:30pm: met+glip 
4:45pm: chocolate chip cookie & some trail mix
6:30pm: cheeseburger & some fries; 2 beers

Conference Day 1

I woke up about 20 minutes before my alarm. I had left the window shade up overnight, and the mood light on inside the shower. I should take some pictures in this room. I did take some down the lobby while getting steps.

It's a vibe. 

My cel phone dinged, and my work wife said she was getting off the train in downtown. I knew she had to go to Dunks to get some donuts for the team so she dumped her stuff off at the office and walked to me. 

I had wanted to do that gym thing, but here I was scrambling to get ready to run downstairs to get with her. 

We got our donuts and coffee, came back here to drop me off so I could get ready. Shower. That whole thing. 

I got to the office at 9:30 in time for our team meeting, and donuts. We headed to the lobby, and clients started to come in. Registration, chats, catch ups. A client from the Eastern Shore was especially happy to see me. This was the first big in-house conference she'd attended and we had a great time catching up. Her boss showed up and they were scheduled for a private tour of the building. 

More clients. More co-workers. 

Everyone went into a group session and I opted to sit at registration instead of going to the big group session. 

The day was kind of a blur. Lunch. Sessions. Chattings. And then Dinner and cocktail reception. 

I sat with a client from Kansas who I saw in the morning walking around with his wife and kids early. We had a great catch up and chat about how they drove all the way here in 2 days, the wife and kids were doing the absolute tourist thing while he was tied up with us. They are leaving Friday morning and driving to Santa Claus Indiana, there's a water park/holiday themed holiday destination and there is a german restaurant that, he's not kidding, he's driven 11 hours to get to and stayed at a hotel next door so he could eat there several times. 

I guess I'll put that on my "maybe let's go there" list. 

Around 7pm, my social battery was asking for me to check out of the scene, so I did. Back at the hotel, I realized I should have gone to the market and grabbed something, because I'd be hungry by like 8. Sadly, I did not. And by 10 pm I was mad at myself, but I didn't want to go walking around the neighborhood to the market. 

That's okay. 

In the morning, I'm supposed to head over early to meet with a client from Guam. They are here for the conference and having tech support problems. Considering that when it is 13 hours ahead of us there, having them in the same time zone is a joy. So I can tackle some of the issues and problems that they have, and have breakfast. Alarm is set. 

I didn't get a good picture, but, I am reminded of how I love this neighborhood in DC. I did see a man wearing a top hat walking 2 pitties down the street, and ... I resisted saying hello. 

Digits below some pictures from the hotel when I just went on my last steps of the night journey.

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 3pm because I was sitting chatting with a client and lost track of time. no measurable walk. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 110
5pm: 119
11:30pm: 154

food & meds:

8am: jardiance + phentermine
11am: 1 dunkin donut
12:30pm: turkey & bacon sandwich w/mustard and veggies; met+glip
two Coke Zero
6:30pm: tiny cheeseburger slider, a lot of buffalo chicken dip and crostinis. One beer 
7:30pm: met+glip
2 beers back at the hotel

Sometimes just call the Uber

I had big plans for this morning. 

I knew Doug had to be up early, so I was going to wake up same time do stuff blah blah blah. Good lord. It didn't happen. 

We both were up around 2 and went to the bathroom. He went to the guest room so I knew I wouldn't be hearing his alarm go off.. My alarm was set for 8:30 just in case I didn't wake up at the same time as Doug... and I didn't get up. I didn't hear him get up. I didn't hear him come upstairs to get his clothes, his laptop, anything. 

When my alarm went off at 8:30, I heard him close the front door and go. A half hour later I think than his original plan. 

Got my coffee and my dog and I went out to the patio. I answered some tickets, did some other work, attended scrum, and got to finishing my packing up. 

I got in the car a little after 12, realized I had forgotten to water the houseplants. That's okay, they'll be fine until I get back. sensitive little babies that they are, they're pretty tough. Made it to S's house a little before 2, and started to walk to the Metro. 

On paper, it said it is about a little over a mile. But, I kind of didn't go the most direct way and it ended up over a mile and a half. And it was hot. And I was dragging my wheely bag behind me. Regretting that I thought to myself "it's only a mile. I can do this it is only a mile!" 

When you don't go the route that is only a mile, and you accidentally put yourself another more than half a mile, Jesus. Don't do that to yourself. Call an Uber when you have your suitcase. 

I made it to the pub next to the metro, I had to pee. So I went in, used the bathroom and ordered a Gin & Tonic. I earned that. Sweating my ass off, finally cooling down in the AC, I ordered a second one. I deserved that one as well. 

Metro into town was super easy, hotel check in smooth. The hotel is cute, but the rooms are all really small. King bed but it is tucked up against the window, and if this was a room I had to share with Doug it would be a challenge. But solo, this is nice. 

There was a baby shower for one of my colleagues here at the office for this conference, so I ran over to connect with that. Some of my other teammates were also at that little gathering so we decided to head over to the brewery by the hotel, and we are all staying at the same hotel. 

I basically was feeling wiped out, opted to head back to the hotel instead of going to watch the Knicks game with the gang. They're texting me about how much fun they are having, and a "cute little DC rat ran through the outdoor beer garden." 

"He's so little, not like a New York City rat." 

Okay. Ha. 

I'm very happy I'm in my hotel. 

They have an iPad to control everything, change the lights and vibe, control the TV, put up the blinds, put down the blinds, all the fun stuff. 

Tomorrow, early start. I think I will do my best to get up and run in the gym. I packed my bathing suit but there is no pool. They do have a gym. If I'm able to motivate myself to go, that'll be a good thing. But even if I don't, I'll still get a lot of steps in, I am sure. 

Digits below this picture of the DC metro map. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  a couple measured walks but the big one was 35 min/1.56 mi. 15k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 129
4pm: 153
10pm: 143

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance + phentermine
11:45am: english muffin w/pb & low sugar j
noon: met+glip
3pm: 2 g&t
4:30pm: slice of baby shower cake
6pm: chicken fingers and 2 beers
8:30pm: met+glip

Farmer Chris the Chaos Gardener

The previous tenants had an RV that they parked in the yard, it killed all the grass, and left a wasteland. This spring, giant horse lettuces and thistles took over the spot. I didn't take a before picture of this for you so you can see what this was like, but. Let me tell ya - she was full.

We put out the 2 raised beds, which, by the way, are making great progress. But the rest of the area, oh my goodness. Doug has hit it with roundup, Geoff mowed it, and finally I got so sick of these shitty things that I decided to pull them up. Weed that shit. 

Now, I hate weeding. Absolutely hate it. But I was in a rather determined mood. Doug was napping, and I just put on the headphones, cranked up the Decemberists, and had at it. 

It took me 90 minutes to get this far. I had picked up gloves at ACE hardware, and I'm very very glad I did. Even with the gloves, i got a nasty blister on my palm, and on my thumb, and somehow managed to cut the back of my middle finger,  all on my right hand. If I didn't have these dumb cheap gloves, I probably would have given up after a few minutes.

This, dear hearts, was hard. These stupid things have deep ass roots, and they network together. I bent my trowel and after 90 minutes I said "why am I sitting on the ground using my trowel! I should get a shovel!" 

But the shovel was not helpful. The ground was too hard. And at that point I was too over it. I'm standing up, no longer on the ground, I'm out of here.

Honestly, this kind of task needs professional skills. Some dudes would have had that whole big ass rectangle cleared in a half hour. 

But I did the level set best a girl could do. And I got filthy doing it. Sometimes that's the fun part. 

Doug was on the treadmill when I came back inside, I sat on the porch drinking as much water as I could. He took a shower and headed to the market. While he was in the shower, I hit the treadmill, I think it was 15 minutes. I just knew that I had a lot of movement and activity but not a lot of actual steps all day. The 15 minute effort got me well into the 10k point well before bedtime. 

And then I showered. 

And it was a great shower. You know the feeling when you are just so dirty, and stinky, and just have dirt all under your finger nails. Scrubbing your skin and watching all the brown head down the drain. I laughed because yesterday I cleaned the shower so I ended up having to do it again. No worries. Clean showers rock.

Doug went to Aldi to get things Geoff forgot to get (and, also forgot to get a couple things Geoff forgot!) and made dinner. After dinner, I went out and sowed wildflower seeds, I mixed up a bunch of potting soil and two packets of seeds, and just threw them all over the cleared area. I poured 3 full watering cans of water on them. I said a blessing. 

Go little seeds, go! 

The packets say 43 days to sprouting which is a long time. I probably should have done this a month or so ago. 

But that's chaos gardening by Chris. It's been a while since we've been able to do any sort of gardening, chaotic or orderly. When we owned the house that we lost to the bank, we had a giant semi-circle in the driveway and Doug would order bags of wildflower seeds and just go out and huck'em into the island. Minimal work prepping the ground, maybe a hoe, some raking away of the pine needles. Expose the dirt and give her seeds. I feel like I need more seeds. Like do it the total Doug way from the island. He called it Darwinnian Gardening. Throw out seeds and let's see who makes it! 

While I was sowing the seeds he was mixing up a concoction. Green drinks are also the best drinks. 

Tomorrow, I have to go to the office. I'm already exhausted from even just thinking about it. Doug also has to go to his office but he's leaving at 8am because traffic. I'm going to leave around 11, drive to S's house, park my car and walk to the metro from her place. It is a little over a mile walk, so hey, I'll get my steps in!  I'm staying at a hotel near the office, and will be there until Thursday when I check out. I already miss my dog. And the maker of green or blue or pink drinks.

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. did a treadmill run, about a mile. Phone is upstairs so I'll edit for accuracy later. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:00am: 112
4:30pm: 112
10:15pm: 119

food & meds:

9am: jardiance + phentermine
11:30am: potato roll w/roast beef & 2 slices of colby jack
1pm: met+glip
6:45pm: one piece of french bread pizza w/pepperoni & mushroom
7:30pm: met+glip
some sort of green cocktail concoction by Doug

Rock you like a hurricane

Today was a helluva long day. I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 8:30am, which is when I usually start working, but after a few minutes of panic, I realized hey, it's Saturday. Alright! Okay! Alright! 

I had to pee so out of bed I got. Doug was already up and he and Toffee were on the couch doing the morning phone/cuddle thing. 

I farted around the house and he started farting around outside at 10. I took a shower, and realized the shower needed a scrubbing so I commenced to doing that. I got out of the shower and the toilet looked gross, so. I commenced to doing that cleaning thing. 

Pretty soon it was 10:50 and I knew I had to leave so I whipped up a quick lunch. Gotta eat something since I probably wasn't going to see food until after 2pm. 

Dout was washing the cars when I went out so I said "oh, okay? I was gonna take a car?"

He seemed confused even though we talked about me going 900 times. So. He rinsed off the car with air conditioning (the Mini needs some help and I refuse to drive her until she has AC). And I hit the road. I remembered that I needed gas.

Mind you.

Mind everyone. 

It is an hour and ..... 10, 15 minutes to where I'm going. Henry's band goes on at 12:15. I'm now not going to arrive until 12:30 if I'm lucky. 

I texted S to let her know and she said it was okay if I didn't come. But no. What kind of Auntie am I if I'm not coming down. 

"I will just be late so I know their sets go for like 45 min. I won't miss .... much?"

I got there at 12:29. 

Ha! 

I did miss his keyboard part on Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, but S was sure to record it for me. It was very very good.

We very much enjoyed cheering for all the kids, not just Hen. Pictures will be at the bottom. 

At the end of the show, Hen said "Well, it's pretty much tradition that we go out to eat after one of these shows!" S told me I didn't need to join but I wasn't going to miss out. Especially because his real blood auntie and his grandparents once again left and didn't join us. 

It is tradition. I love traditions.

Hen said he didn't want to go to the place we usually go to so I suggested we head to Brew Belly. Hen had not heard of it, and I said "I think you may like it." And he did. 

I ordered myself a cheesesteak, but shared it with him. S was objecting that his food was coming and he could wait, but my food was there and I wanted him to save me from the roll. 

"I'm a Breadaholic," he said to me, as he chowed down on 1/4 of the roll, with a bunch of the cheesesteak stuff on it. 

"Well my friend, once upon a time I was too." 

We had a grand time, yapping about all the things. I showed S's mom pictures of my dumb face from when I fell. S hadn't seen them since I didn't put them up on FB. Everyone was screaming. 

I have to say, it was kind of fun. Like, Look at me, I survived myself. 

I headed home, traffic was great, I was blasting Guster and missing my sister sitting in the passenger's seat to sing harmony with me. I'm always Ryan, she's always Adam. Gusther. 

As I approached my exit, there were the storms. Everything was sunny and beautiful back behind me, Frederick and Montgomery County. Shit this looks bad. Sing louder.

Getting off the highway, the road I come on to is a two way highway split down the middle. Trees were dancing, roadside signs were airborne. A tree landed on a woman's car where she was making a left by the Walgreens. I was in the far right lane, any other time I may have stopped but I saw the car behind her, the guys got out and ran to her. I knew she was in good hands. 

The traffic lights had no power. I wasn't sure if we were in a Derecho, I just knew I was a mile from my house and could make it no problem. And I did. 

Here I am, Rock you like a hurricane. That was one of the songs Hen's group played. They did a great job. 

Our power was out, Doug was napping and Geoff was sitting in the living room with Toffee, who was very happy to see me. 

About an hour later we got power back. Geoff made dinner and I left for a walk. I needed the steps so I leaned into it and headed out on a loop walk that I coulda extra looped but man I was feeling tired. 

Like I said, this was a long day. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Post-Thunderstorm walk. 30 min/1.51 mi; 10k+steps by midnight

blood glucose:

8:30am: 106
5:15pm: 143
10:30pm: 96

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance + phentermine
10:45am: left over chicken in cheese sauce
2:30pm: part of a cheesesteak, some poutine, 2 beers, met+glip
7pm: meatballs
9:15pm: met+glip
red wine+diet ginger ale

Buggy

Again, up very early. I suppose it is good and fine, because I actually slept through the night, which you know is odd for me. 

But at about 6:45, it was time to get all the way up instead of just thinking about trying to fall back asleep. 

I did my usual morning things, Dog came down to brekkie, I brewed coffee, and we went outside together.

 It was already warm at 7am, testimony of things to come. I walked over to the raised beds and things are looking well. 

Insert Bob Bencher's voice when he talks to his veggie garden:

Hello peppers, hello tomatoes. Hello cucumber that my dog stomped on. Are you doing okay today? Oh hello little lettuce thingies popping on up. Everyone is looking so nice!

I wandered over to the pansies in the planter and started to deadhead a few of them and ... weird? It looked like the bricks were MOVING but that is not possible. Closer look, with glasses on.

It.

It was ants. 

A million billion ants, all moving furiously into my planter. I looked at the wall, and it was covered. Ugh. 

The previous owners left a can of ant/roach spray for us.

 How polite? I guess this was a problem for them too? 

I went to the pantry, grabbed it, came back out and went absolutely scorched earth on these dudes. 

Absolute little motherfuckers but I am glad I saw them before they came inside.

We get bugs inside, too. I'm not sure how some of them get in, but, they are unwanted bugs that I slap with the nearest shoe. Fuckers. 

Doug is going to buy some diatomaceous earth to sprinkle everywhere. I have fond memories of his pappy spreading it all around their house in Florida to keep all the pests out. So we'll be getting some of our own as Doug becomes his grandfather. 

We had a really good day today. Every three weeks we have a big team meeting with the digital teams, and everyone gets 7 minutes to say what they did this "sprint" and what the next sprint is going to entail. My work son presents for his (and my!) team. And literally, "IT'S HAPPENING!" was the theme of his presentation with this clip from The Office.

 In in 2 weeks, we launch this new product. So everyone, STAY FUCKING CALM!!!! 

We had no other meetings today so it was a lot of help tickets and yapping with each other. He left early for a doctor's appointment, and to head to his parents' house for the weekend. So we did a Zoom and combed through some things that are resolved, I brought some new junk to his attention. We had a laugh.

Tomorrow, another School of Rock show, this time it is H on the Keys. It may be hot as hell out there, but I'm looking forward to going and supporting my little buddy. 

Digits below!  

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Quickie Treadmill run. 15 min/1 mile; Walk later in the day, solo, 25 min/1.27 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

6:45am: 154
4pm: 147
10:30pm: 95

food & meds:

6:45am: jardiance + phentermine
1:30pm: left over salad and chicken from dinner last night; met+glip
5:30pm: one cheeseburger, no bun, a few french fries, giant slab of tomato w/mayo
7:15pm: met+glip; mixed nuts at some point
red wine

Tell Your Friends

This morning, I found out my friend Kim's husband passed away Friday. I also found out a Guster Fan Friend also died. 

Another Guster fan friend just was released from the hospital after 13 days post-appendectomy and septic infection. Another Guster fan friend had spinal surgery. My friend Deb's boyfriend had an aortic valve replacement today, and, talking with my friend in Phoenix she tells me a college friend of ours is in a major NYC hospital with like, heart and lung failure. 

Damn. 

That's a lot for one day. I mean, 2 deaths and 4 major hospital thingies is an absolute lot. 

It puts me in my feels. 

Anyway. I woke up at 6am, was fully awake at 6 am, got up, had some Toffee Time with Coffee, or Coffee Time with Toffee. I went and watered the gardens, up front and out back. I got a shower, and I was all done before 9am. 

Getting up early has a good side. 

The bad side was that by 4pm I was absolutely ready for bed. 

I set up a marinade for chicken and tossed together a nice little salad with feta, tomato, and cucumber with a tzatziki sauce. I hit the treadmill after work but didn't get on soon enough to get a good amount of time in. So I grilled the chicken, ate the dinner and was pondering doing the rest of my steps (since I was 3k short for the day) before 8pm when all I really wanted was to get in bed. 

My friend Amy called from Phoenix. Know anyone looking to buy a house in Phoenix? She needs to sell her house so she can relocate here to the East. 

I put my ear buds in and went for that walk. We had a fantastic talk, and I'm looking forward to her moving here to the East where she will be about an hour and a half away. Fantastic. 

I missed the hockey. But. Connecting with a friend is important, because you never know. Someone may die unexpectedly, someone may need surgery and almost die, and someone else may be in a hospital, waiting for an organ. 

There is a song by a band called Dr. Dog called "Tell Your Friends," and the last line is "Tell all your friends you love them, you don't see them every day." 

So. 

I love you. 

Here's the video if you are interested. Thank you Eric Slick for this very interesting little piece of music. 

Digits. Below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  quick treadmill run before grilling 15 min/1.04 mi; walk while talking to Amy Reb, 25 min/1.2 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

6am: 137
4:30pm: 154
10pm: 218 (cookies?)

food & meds:

6am: jardiance + phentermine
9am: baby bel cheese
1pm: pb&j sandwich; met+glip
6:30pm: grilled greek chicken w/ feta, cuke, tomato salad in tzatziki sauce
7pm: several of the little cookies i made the other day (mistake?)
7:30pm: Met+Glip
no alcohol 

Mountain Meadows Massacre

We listen to a lot of podcasts, a lot of history based podcasts to be exact. Some of these are very good for putting me right to sleep. But sometimes we get one, and I listen to the whole thing, and I'm very awake as a result. Last night was one of those episodes.

When we went to bed last night the first podcast Doug pulled up was Dark History's episode about the Black Dog of Bungay. Very interesting but nothing new to me, I fell asleep rather quickly.  Doug sets the Spotify to turn off at the end of the episode. Which is okay, when I actually am asleep by the end of the episode. Sometimes, I'm still awake but I know he's asleep, so I won't start up another. 

At some point between 2 and 3am, Doug and I were both awake at the same time. I went down to the bathroom and he started another podcast. True Crime Historian is one we've listened to for years, and the latest episode concerns the Meadow Mountains Massacre. 

It isn't often that I hear a story or a podcast about a topic I know nothing about. But I'd never heard this or knew about it. A lot of history podcasts go over the same topics, over and over, but no one I knew had covered this one. 

And it got my attention. 

I listened to the full episode, and after it was done just ... laid there in the dark thinking about how horrible it was. The sky began to lighten, it was 6am. I got up. 

What an absolutely shitty thing. What a horrible atrocity. And like, I had no idea. 

The last time I learned about something super epic and horrible was the Tulsa Oklahoma Black Wall Street Massacre, which just marked its 105th anniversary. Again, no idea of this piece of history. 

There are things that have happened in this nation that a lot of people want to just simply cover over and forget. To "Make America Great Again," as it were we just focus on the good stuff! The COOL Stuff! Yay! Huzzah! Siss Boom Bah!

But to be honest, and let's get some real talk here, this nation has done a lot of super shitty things. These two examples, among many others, things perpetrated by our government and leaders all the way down to neighbor versus neighbor. 

In this 250th year of the country, where everyone (well, almost) is working hard to celebrate all the awesomeness of US (US. us) we can and should acknowledge the deviation from awesomeness straight into the realm of downright evil. 

I'm having a rough time with all this Make America Great Again business. Great for whom? Great when? Great when we didn't let black people drink from water fountains or sit at lunch counters in Woolworth's? When we denied children education because of their skin color? When we strung humans up in trees for crimes they didn't commit? 

What era was our "Great" era? 

Anyway. There is a lot to think about, and people get hackles up on both sides of any argument. I'll just say that I'm feeling the excitement of this. 

Not a super uplifting post, I will separate the digits from this and post this solo. You deserve a better post than me bemoaning history.