Almost like grown ups

Quite some time back, in the Phineas years, we got a new bed. We started out with a queen mattress and it wasn't ... right? It was too small. So within the window of opportunity, we traded her in for a split king. 

Friends, I can't remember if I have told you, but split kings suck. Honestly. We always had this gap between our sides, and stuff fell down in there. We bought a "filler" and that would slide all the way down... And then we'd have a gap but not as deep a gap. 

Miss Toffee was never happy in the middle of the bed, so she had to be up one of our asses at all times. I tried. So hard. Soft pillows, blankets, in the middle so she could be on them. Nope. 

So I basically decided we needed an enclosure to unify East and West Germany ... Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! 

A month or so back, I went to target. I bought one, marketed as an allergen protector that you can unzip the top and wash it, but the bottom stays wrapped around the bottom of the mattress. Pretty smart. There were a bunch of fancier online companies, I almost bought something along those lines but dude, 300 bucks? nnnnnope! nope. no. For 90 bucks, I got what I needed/wanted.

But then, we didn't do anything with it. 

Today, I asked Doug if he'd help me because honestly, the half a king mattress weighs so much that I honestly could not do this myself. 

He agreed. 

And today, we have a united bed. Very happy. Very very happy. Have not slept in it yet, but ... she's put together and waiting for us. 

Finally. 

I also went to target today and got a bunch of stuff. Forgot a couple things but I think I can get those at Weis. I also went over to Michaels, because at Target, I bought an Ikea Style 4x2 cube bookshelf unit. And i wanted a bulletin board to stick a mess of Guster stuff on. Target didn't sell those. Michaels doesn't either, but, they have a kind of poster board that is bulletin board-ish, and a frame. I bought those. And more glue sticks for my glue gun, and some pretty glass beads that I can glue around the frame. 

It is hilarious to me, that I have dragged my feet on getting my office put together because I need a "trophy case" to display all my fun shit. Literally cannot bring myself to get organized down there until I have ... art. 

I was kicking myself for not bringing a couple posters to size them up for frames. I guess Michael's is more expensive than you expect... but they do a good job. I was impressed with what a friend of mine had done with hers. 

Anyway. 

Back home, I emptied another box that was in our bedroom, found a bunch of damn good treasures to put on my new bookshelves, organized all my stickers and pins, my 5k medal and bib number, some fun stuff from work. There's more stuff downstairs, it's been sitting down there waiting for me. 

Now that my brain is engaged with this project, I literally feel like not working tomorrow or another day this week and getting this all done. 

Finally. 

Geoff doesn't have work tomorrow because of a data breach at one of the stores he was supposed to go through. That's awesome. The stores are still open, but for some reason they can't do this inventory dealie. So he'll be around tomorrow. I may get him to sherpa stuff up and down the stairs for me. Or clean his bathroom. Ha. 

After the bed was built, dinner was ready but I wasn't hungry. I had skipped the afternoon meds since I was at Target when I'd usually take them, and, I was about 2 hours behind when I would on a "regular" day. Doug took Toffee for a walk, and I loafed around. 

Since I walked a lot at Target and Michael's, I only needed about 1k worth of steps to hit 10. I regretted not going with Doug and Toffee. I hit the treadmill to finish that up, and then some. 

So thrilling. 

I also bought brand new sheets too. I didn't get a comforter yet, I'm not sure what color I want, and, comforters are tricky. I sleep super hot - so I don't want anything heavy. Doug mostly sleeps on top of the covers, weirdo that he is. 

But at least we have a nicely made bed now. And soon, I'll have a nicely made office. Hopefully sooner than later. 

Digits below our "grown up bed." 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. slept through 9am. 15 min treadmill run, 1.05 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose: 

10:30am: 140
5:30pm: 130
10:30pm: 137

food & meds:

10:30am: jardiance & new meds
noon: 2 egg mcmuffins (I only wanted one but Geoff didn't want one... so I had to eat it) 
3pm: met+glip
skipped new meds, timing wise it wasn't smart
6:30pm: small piece of french bread pizza
8:45pm: met+glip
no wine/alcohol

Cold and Windy

Dudes, it was freeeeeeezing today. Absolutely freezing. I went out with Doug to do yardwork and came back in and put on "hard pants." Yinz know about hard pants vs. soft pants right? Soft pants are yoga pants, PJs, sweatpants, dorm pants. Hard pants are pants you wear to work or out to dinner, or just generally out in public if you're so inclined. 

Yoga pants will do just like, going to the market. But I'm not one to wear PJ pants with puppies and kittens or Christmas ornaments.... in July. The way I've seen some humans act. 

I have at least a little bit of standards. Ya know?

Outside, I was not very helpful. We allegedly are getting a freeze tonight, and we talked about bringing in the planters, but I need a waterproof thingie to put them in so we can water them as they over winter.

I know I need some things from Target or Walmart, like dog food (Geoff was right, we're down further than I thought). So maybe I'll take myself out for errands tomorrow. Get some things. 

This morning I took a good hard sleep-in. Cuddled in the guest room with the dog, I turned my alarm off when it sounded at 9. Usually I like to be up by 9 on the weekend.

I got up just in time to do the 9am steps. Yay me. Ha. I hate missing an hour, if I can help it. Sleeping in does throw the meds/food schedule out of whack a bit so I had to bump everything back by about 90 min to 2 hours... It's the routine, not the time, that matters.

Doug took a nap and I hit the treadmill. I knew I was NOT going to make a trip out tonight with Toffee, sorry girl. Just ... not ready for cold. Oh, and it is windy as hell. Not conducive for walkies. She seems to understand. 

After my treadmill and shower, Jess and I had a yap. Caught up on some things. I could hear Doug talking too and I thought he was chatting with Geoff but no - his mom called (and woke him up from the nap). So we each had family catch up time. 

Jess and I are plotting their thanksgiving trek here, what day/date here and what day/date back. It is good to yap on such things. 

I unpacked a box. Yes. We have two boxes sitting in our bedroom so I decided I'd go at it. I know one of those boxes is shit for my office that I still have not set up (dudes, for sure... gonna do it. Soon. Soon). 

the other box was .... ties. All ties. A giant moving box full of ties. 

Good lort. 

When Doug's dad passed, his mom gave Doug all his ties. I think she offered some to Doug's nephew and brother in law, they took a cursory few. 

But she gave the rest to Doug. 

They need to be organized, but I put them all on 2 hangers and put them in our closet. Then I found another box of ties in the closet on the floor. 

For the love of all that is good and pure, please, no one on earth ever buy my husband another tie. Promise me. 

Digits below. Ties, and the cute cuddle dog.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 30 min/2.25 mi. No toffee walk. 10k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose: 

10am: 120
5pm: 156
10:30pm: 144

food & meds:

10am: jardiance & new meds
1pm: turkey & bacon cheddar quesadilla in my panini press. yay! 
2pm: met+glip
6:30pm: chili, w/fritos, cheddar, sour cream; white wine+diet ginger ale
after dinner while cleaning up, 4 oreo cookies
8pm: met+glip

Naps

I felt low key crummy all day today. I was going to hit the treadmill at 1 since my 1pm meeting was canceled, but then I said.... meh. Instead I made chicken salad with diced apples and walnut. Normally I like little red grapes cut in half, but since it is fall, it just felt autumnal. 

My 3pm with my work son was fun, and I did some needed things after. Then did the treadmill but felt fat and slow and like my belly was full.

And it was. I had more than a normal serving of that chicken salad, and it was later than I usually have lunch-ish. Much closer to dinner so I knew I wasn't going to be too hungry for that. 

I thought okay, did a less than stellar go on the treadmill, let's take Toffee for a walk after we check emails and whatnot. 

Everything outside got super dark, very fast, and very spooky looking. Then the rain hit. 

Well. 

I guess we are not taking Toffee for a walk. She will melt if she gets a drop of rain on her and that's a lot of drops of rain. 

Instead, I went to take a nap. Or, I should say I tried to take a nap. 

Dear readers, I used to be the queen of naps. I could just flop down and sleep and sleep. Any time, day or night, no amount of coffee gonna keep me from gettin them delightful ZzzzZZZs. 

Lately not so much. Doug naps every single day around 4pm and I hate him because I'm jealous. So I knew he was napping upstairs. And I went into the guest room. Toffee came with me. We listened to the rain bombarding my neighbor's AC unit. It was almost musical.

Geoff was going to run to the market because I had a little shopping list, and he wanted to go to Target because we only have 6 days worth of dog food and 3 rolls of paper towel. So that's dangerously low supply! 

But he took one look outside and said "Bruh." I heard him and laughed a little. I said "Bruh, I know. Look at that nonsense." 

Luckily we had stuff for two or three meals in the house. He could have made chicken parm but it was close to 6 at that point and that is easily a one hour process. Instead, he made a box of mac & cheese with bacon. Not what I personally wanted but. He made it, I'll eat it. Thank you. And I didn't fall asleep. Between him bumping around in the kitchen, that pounding on the AC unit, and the fact I just can't fall asleep in the day anymore. I got up out of the bed at around 6:30 when he yelled "Okay, it's ready."

I told Doug when he came downstairs about how I just felt gross and he said, "NOT THIS AGAIN!?" 

Not, "Oh honey I'm so very sorry you have a tummy ache. Here, let me rub your back and make you tea." 

No. None of that.

I looked at him and I was like ugh fuck you "No, I pooped yesterday and today so things are going through the Hormuz Strait, I just think I ate way too much chicken salad for lunch."

"It was exceptionally good." He nodded. 

Yes, it really was. And we have a bunch for this weekend. 

Around 9pm, I realized I was way behind on the steps since I did the lackluster treadmill performance. It had stopped raining, and it felt cool but not sweatshirt cool, so I grabbed a long sleeved t-shirt, put on my shoes and got the dog ready. 

I took her on a longer route. Seeing as 9pm is advanced darkness, we don't go through the park, and walking up on the road to the east there isn't a sidewalk. So we stuck to well lit roads, and it worked out nicely to get more than a mile in. 

Got all the steps I needed. 

Tomorrow, cold but sunny. We have absolutely nothing planned. Let's see what we get into. 

Digits below, and I'm back-dating this post to Friday since it is now well after midnight. 

How I'm still awake, I have no idea.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill run, 15 min/1.07 mi; Toffee walk, 40 min/1.75 mi; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 140
4:45pm: 118
11:30pm: 160 (*see meds below)

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
9:30am: the last 2 toll house cookies w/coffee 
1:45pm: met+glip; big bowl of chicken salad w/walnuts & diced apples
3:45pm: new meds
6:30pm: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
11pm: met+glip (oops. Forgot to take after dinner)

Soup Szn

After a couple of 80+ days we are socked in with drizzle and foggy weather.

Work was incredibly busy, so much so that I forgot to eat a lunch. My 1pm check in with the work wife came and we both talked about how we hadn't eaten because busy. 

She was making "breakfast for dinner" mostly because they didn't have anything else in the house and tomorrow night is pizza night, and Saturday is shopping. I said we have plenty of food I just don't feel like making it. 

I thought about making chicken salad, but basically it got to be too late to get it started. Tomorrow? Maybe. 

We talked about all the soup we wanna make, and oatmeal cookies and cinnamon smells floating around the house. 

I think I'm ready for that. Flannel shirts and actual shoes? Maybe? 

Geoff got home before 2:30, the joys of the Thursday not doing hotel due to midterm tests. He will go down to school again tomorrow, and will stop and pick stuff up that I want for a nice roast chicken dinner this weekend. 

The rain and drear let up around 6, and while I did do a treadmill run at lunchtime, I figured miss Toffee would want to get her walk in too. If it was raining, she would have noped right back into the house, but the rain had stopped, and in fact, the street and sidewalks were dry so I talked to Linda while we went for our stroll. 

I'm not sure what the baseball league is that is playing at the park by our house but they had a game tonight, the big lights all blazing and the PA system cranking out play by play and music. It's kind of nice to have in the neighborhood. There was literally no action there all summer so it's nice to see it happening. In .... October. 

For dinner tonight, we opted for leftovers. Gotta get some things out of the way in the fridge. 

Not sure what shenanigans we're up to this weekend. It is supposed to be raining on Saturday, sunny on Sunday, but cold both days. I think it isn't supposed to get above 60! 

Digits below me wearing a sweatshirt for the first time in a hot second, a literal hot second. Because. It's been hot. But tonight I could see my breath while sitting out. Things are getting serious.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill run, 30 min/2.15 mi. Toffee walk, 25 min/1.09 mi; 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:45am: 130
4pm: 125
10:30pm: 135

food & meds:

8:45am: jardiance & new meds
9am: 2 toll house cookies w/coffee
1:30pm: met+glip
2:45pm: apple w/pb
4pm: big bowl of kettle corn; new meds
8:30pm: met+glip
vodka w/ zero sugar lemonade drink mix
10pm: pita chips w/hummus

Cookie Cookie Cookie Cookie

I think I jinxed myself by being all braggy about getting a great night's sleep the other night. Last night sucked. I could not fall asleep. Doug had put on a podcast and when it finished I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sometimes that happens! This was a podcast about the Scandinavian crusades and crusaders, which I knew nothing about. Learning all about their role in the major crusades and their own crusades that they waged, well. That was super interesting. 

Then it was 2 am. 

So I went down to the guest room, Geoff came up to get ready for work and I heard him drop something in the kitchen and swear loudly. 3:30am. Okay thanks. 

He ended up dropping the container that we pour water into the coffeemaker, and did a piss poor job cleaning up after himself. When I went out into the kitchen at 8:45am, he had wiped things up with a kitchen towel instead of paper towel, and the kitchen towel was just ... soaked and sitting on the floor. 

He received a lecture when he got home.

So overall, I think 6 total hours of sleep but none of it in a row. Feh. Meh. Buh. Gross.

During a very long meeting today, me and my ear buds walked around the kitchen, baked cookies, loaded the dishwasher, got a lot of stuff done. Sometimes, all I need to do is be there to listen. And when I did need to talk, I walked back over to my laptop, unmuted, said my peace or is it piece? and I went back to futzing around the kitchen. 

I wanted toll house cookies, and I always make the recipe on the bag but I use 3 sticks of butter instead of 2. They just spread out so nicely and taste really good. And Doug loves them this way too. I smashed the walnuts because I had big huge walnut halves and wanted them smaller, but pulverizing them, wow - that tastes great in a cookie I tell ya. 

Geoff got home in time to start dinner. I was about to do it and he indicated that he wanted to. I asked if he was sure, he was, and I got on the treadmill. 

I've been having a hard time with the attention span while walking or running, but today I got to 20 minutes and just went to 30. Thought about 45 for a 5k total but. Dinner was ready. And I did have some more stuff to do. 

After dinner, Toffee stood there looking at me like "oh, okay? you're done with foods? Would we like to walkies?" 

She's growing very accustomed to this, and I have to admit she's doing really well when I take her. I didn't go as far as I have been going but we still did get a long way. We met a lady unloading her groceries from her car and Toffee had to say hello. The lady seemed thrilled to give pats and ask questions. 

There is a dog on the street that we walked down and I always forget he/she is there. They keep the front door open, and have a glass full size screen door. The dog jumps against it and loses its mind. Toffee gets all "whiney whiney whine" and I make her keep going. I get a little freaked out that one day that door is going to give way, and that dog is going to come out, and I do not know what will happen. 

I don't know. They probably know their dog well? And the storm door is super secure? maybe? I hope so. I mean, it's a big beautiful dog. But it does give me some anxiety. 

I have one meeting tomorrow with my work-wife. She's been super down in the dumps and she gets a little awkward when she is in her bad feelings and doesn't communicate well. We were supposed to have a check-in a week and a half ago, but she ghosted. I texted her this weekend to say hello and remind her that we didn't have our check in, so she put time on the calendar. 

"I hate it when all I am doing is complaining and you don't need to deal with me when I'm like that."

Girl. 

Are we not frenz? Are we not "bae" with each other? I'm here for you. Complain. 

I'm looking forward to our time together and I wish I was giving her cookies. 

Not much else to report. I just loaded the dishwasher at 11pm at night. I hate going to bed and leaving it running but... I do love a tidy kitchen in the morning. 

Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill, 30 min/2.17 mi. Toffee walk 26 min/1.1 mi; 13k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 104
4:15pm: 163
11pm: 83

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
11:30am: english muffin w/pb & cherry preserves
1:30pm: met+glip
2:30pm: one toll house chocolate chip cookie
4pm: new meds
6pm: two more toll house chocolate chip cookies
6:30pm: small bowl of baked ziti w/meat sauce
7:30pm: met+glip
white wine+diet ginger ale

Pictures as Promised

Okay so I shared ponies, football, boardwalk, and pancakes.  Trying to remember what's left to share that hasn't been shared. I'm sure I'm forgetting things. 

It doesn't happen often but I totally slept all the way through the night by some sort of miracle. Normally, I wake up to pee between 2-4am, but slept the whole way through. I didn't hear Doug get up, go downstairs, etc. My alarm went off at 8, and he was already working. Toffee was curled up next to me having post-brekkie naptime. 

Miracle upon miracles when a full straight through the night sleeping thing happens. 

Work today was a "Monday on a Tuesday" situation, and it was busy. We have a small team meeting on Tuesdays and that was actually a lot of fun. I love my little team. We had to let go a part time contractor position, his last day is Oct 22? or so? I'm going to miss him so much. 

I got on the treadmill in the 4pm hour, earlier than usual but I just felt the need to squeeze it in. Then no one wanted to go to the market (no one meaning Doug) and Geoff wasn't home yet, so I went over.

We have a couple different markets. We have Lidl and Aldi, both of which I hate the meat from there so if I want any meat we have to pick it up at Weis or Martins. Martins is in the Stop & Shop family of stores (Giant also, but we don't have one here), and Martins is super expensive and a little out of the way. Target is for the sundries like PT/TP, pharmacy stuff (reminds me, I'm out of potassium & magnesium as of this weekend), detergent for the washer and the dishwasher, they have diet soda usually on sale whereas Aldi does not carry diet soda. So I get the ginger ale or the diet tonic at Target. 

For ease of access (and because the beer and wine store is next door) I went to Weis, and got a lot of pantry staples that I normally would maybe get at Aldi or Target. But.  I was there. So I bought. And I spent a hell of a lot of money, and we now have stuff for 3 meals, and oreo cookies. and pumpkin in a can so I can make a pie. And Doug likes their ice cream. 

I hate going to three different stores just to get the shit we need. So yeah, spent more but... worth it? 

I didn't take Toffee for a walk, I should have, it got to be about 10 and I thought better of it. Today it got over 80 degrees so momma monstera went back out on the patio to enjoy the warmth. Tomorrow it is supposed to do the same, then it'll crash by 20 degrees by Thursday. False Summer, False Fall. 

Alright, it is bedtime. Your girl is tired! 

Digits below the pics! 

Small Doug, Big Ocean

Ocean Gallery on the Boardwalk, very ... interesting exterior.
In all the years I've gone to Ocean City, this place is never open.
Even though they have a sign that says they are open year round...
We just keep missing each other timing wise, I guess!

A very favorite Guster song is "Lost At Sea," 
my friend Henry says that this song is "very much like a Beatles song in the chord progression
and the way they end it."

He told me this when he was 9. Listen for yourself! 

I love me a bathroom mirror covered in beer stickers at a brewery,
especially when some of them are Maryland Favorites.

One of the featured bits of art in the expanded restaurant at RAR

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run, 20 min, 1.34 mi; long walk in the grocery store shopping and stuff, 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:15am: 131
4:15pm: 110
11pm: 121  

food & meds:

8:15am: jardiance & new meds
12:15pm: big scoopin' helpin' of tuna salad on top of mixed baby greens (gotta use 'em before they go bad)
1pm: met+glip
3pm: new meds
4:15pm: pb&cherry preserves on 647 bread
7pm: nachos w/ ground beef, cheesed chips, sour cream, guac, pico, refried beans (i was all about the toppings) 
8pm: met+glip
white wine+diet ginger ale

Bye Bye for now Ocean City

We checked out of our hotel at 11 and strolled over to a little breakfast spot called Sharky's Grill. Highly recommended by the hotel front desk, and, a block away. Did not disappoint. I had been wanting some pancakes, every once in a while that comes up where your girl would like a pancake. Or ... three. And my blood sugar was exceptionally good recently so I figured with protein, we can pancake as a treat. 

After breakfast we took one more stroll on the boardwalk, the wind was wicked, and it was much cooler than the other day when it was rather tropical. We shopped for sweatshirts, I patted dogs, we walked up a street we hadn't gone on before and realized the three restaurants right there would have been a good late-ish dinner last night instead of a bag of smartfood. Note to self. Next time we go to Fat Daddy's or something. 

On the way home, we stopped in Cambridge MD to visit one of my clients. She was recently promoted to President and General Manager of their outfit so hell yeah I'm stopping to see her! We had a great little visit, and I always feel a little bad when I make Doug humor me with a side quest, but, he seemed to really like her and the office, and they are located literally right next door to one of our favorite breweries, RAR.  

A quick stop in there for a couple beers and a look-about, they've expanded the taproom to more than twice the size, it's really nice. We got some take away beers, and began the 3 hour trek home. 

Doug also humored me by playing the Avett Brothers the whole way home. I usually don't have a problem with his Spotify mixes or ska, or like, why's he on a Linda Ronstadt kick sometimes. I really wanted to hear something that made me happy. 

He played the playlist of their songs that the musical Swept Away was centered around, and it is so fun to listen to all those songs off many different albums, and the storyline that runs right through. 

"Why do these guys write so many songs about being old and dying," he said.

"Well, you ARE playing a playlist of thematically connected songs about 4 dudes who end up in a shipwreck and they have to partake in the custom of the sea. Not all of their songs are about being old and dying."

We got home, Geoff had dinner almost ready. Toffee lost her mind, as usual, when we get back. I took her for a good walk because I felt fat and lazy from sitting in the car for 3 hours without stopping. 

Digits below my pancakes. I have more pictures, I'll save them for tomorrow.

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours. Lost 2 hours in the car. 20 min boardwalk stroll w/doug for .8 mi. Toffee walk after dinner 30 min/1.32. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 105
xpm: n/a skipped because car ride
10:15pm: 122  

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
noon: 3 pancakes, 3 sausage links, 3 scrambled eggs at a nice brekkie spot before leaving town; met+glip
3pm: new meds, 2 beers at RAR brewing
6:30pm: chicken and rice by Geoff; met+glip

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: 12/12 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