Making Ready

So, Doug had a cold and then it went away very quickly. And now it — or something like — it is back. He's a sneezing wheezing coughing mess. I am hoping he does not give this to me. I feel pretty great, but I do not want to bring a cold up to my mom. That would suck for her. 

He took tomorrow off, I did not. I actually got a lot done today. We had a team meeting and I learned a lot about one of my colleague's workflow and doings. It's complicated. I'm glad I do not support his products. But it was a good time learning and we all had some good laughs and great insight. 

I slipped out after that meeting and hit the gym. Then, a 2:30pm meeting with my work son. We had some things to go over and he had some hot goss for me. I like when we can mix work and not work with incredible ease. 

Geoff made dinner in the slow cooker, and he started it at 11am, it finished around 6 and was actually pretty excellent. It was funny, he kept coming up and checking on it, stirring it, and I told him he really didn't have to do that. This recipe basically is "set and forget" like you'd go to your office for the whole day and when you get home - magic. Dinner is ready. He said it made him anxious, like what if it reduced too far and started to burn. I told him that wasn't possible, since he kind of doubled the gravy part of things (and I'm glad he did) on accident. 

I have a lot to do tomorrow. Get the guest room sheets done, finish vacuuming, and Doug needs to go to the market. Geoff went to two stores and could not find what Doug wanted for us for New Years Day dinner, so he's going to go out adventuring. I hope he can and isn't too too sick. The super nice grocery store closes at 4 tomorrow. 

And Jess and Dijon are on the way tomorrow. It looks like nasty possible weather tomorrow in NEPA, so I hope everything goes alright for them on their journey. 

I know now how my mom feels when she knows we are on the road. "Call me when you get there..." 

No picture today, but probably some tomorrow. 

Digits down below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Gym treadmill, 33 min/1.80mi (good phish song for a nice pace at the 29 minute mark kept me going) 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 129
4:45pm: 138
10:30pm: 130

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance
1:45pm: bowl of french onion soup mix w/ham (turned into real soup because Geoff didn't follow his recipe directions)
2pm: met+glip
3pm and 5pm: sugar free hot cocoa w/some peppermint mocha cold foam (with sugar)
6:30pm: a slow cooker pork chop/onion/gravy/mushroom recipe by Geoff, served over egg noodles but we should have had some mashed potatoes... it was excellent. One bowl (self control)
7pm: ramekin of mixed nuts
8:30pm: met+glip

Of the wind and the rain

I am looking forward to that treadmill arriving, especially on a day like today. Today we have 50-60 mph winds, intermittent rain. Miserable out there. I'm sitting here quietly in the living room listening to the wind chimes dance. 

My only meeting today was a check in with a colleague, and she canceled because there wasn't anything on her agenda. She is all business, we don't chit chat very much. I don't know much about her personally except little mentions or suggestions she gives off. So if there isn't anything business to talk about, we don't just meet and kee kee (as another colleague says we do when we have nothing work-wise to chat about). 

Unlike my work wife and work son, who I can talk to all day. My work wife is off all week this week (and was last week!) and I am pining for her just to shoot the shit. My work son and I have a meeting set for tomorrow afternoon, I booked an hour, some real work and some blah blah blah to book end it all. 

So I checked out of work for a while around 2, and went to the gym. It was very quiet there. I parked myself in front of the TVs showing Friends and Castle side by side. No politics and news for me! Because it was middle of the workday, I just took the half hour and didn't push it further even though I wanted to, and we weren't going to get to walk the dog today. 

Didn't talk to John today but got email that my packages are en route to him. the HP sauce will arrive tomorrow, Malt Vinegar Wednesday. I know we could have asked one of his college friends to stop and pick some up but HP is often not in the regular supermarkets, and I figured it was just better and faster if I ordered it for him. 

Oh - and Doug got our gas fireplace to work. He's been futzing with this for a week or so. I need him to do other things like caulk the bathtub but .... he wanted this to work before when we were in our super cold snap. At least, now she's running. And maybe tomorrow I can bring up the caulk. 

Jess arrives in about 48 hours, so there is stuff to do to get ready. Geoff did some of the grocery shopping but Doug will finish up what needs bought for the Traditional New Years Day feast. Doug took Wednesday and Friday off, I took off Friday. Ready for our little family visit and getting back together.

Digits below our fancy ass fireplace! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Gym treadmill 30 min/1.72 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8am: 118
4:45pm: 92
10pm: 128

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
9:45am: 2 christmas cookies
11:45am: bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger
1:30pm: met+glip
3:15pm: Atkins protein shake, some mixed nuts
5:30pm: ham & swiss noddle casserole (a la a Geoff recipe) with peppers and onions (realllllly good!) 
8:30pm: met+glip 

Willingly Walking

The forecast was for rain in the early afternoon so Doug and I opted to go out before noon and get a walk in. Initially I thought I'd go to the gym and do the treadmill but the weather was holding, and we both agreed it was a good time to go. 

He started to turn down a road and I said "ah no, go up another block or two," which long time friends would know that is not like me. Who wants to make a walk longer. Certainly not me! 

But I wanted a solid half hour today. I've been doing so well. Pat me on my back, folks. Hell yeah I'm willing to go further.

We went a two blocks down, turned right, and found ourselves behind the dog park. Oh, how lovely! This is a great way to go to the dog park! Duly noted!

One dog was in there and he came to the fence to see us, so we had to go in. It would not be fair to leave him hanging. I would gladly cut my walk short and make up for it on the way home, just so dogs can play.

His name is Mickey (like mouse, because he is black and white) and he and Toffee had such a good time together! His owner was super sweet, nice guy!

 Another dog showed up, his name is Guy and we've met him before. He doesn't play too much with the other dogs but he loves to chase a tennis ball, and Toffee runs next to him when he goes long. His owner uses a Flick-it, and Guy sometimes brings the ball back to people who do not have a Flick-it, like me or Doug. His owner yells OH MY GOD DON'T PICK THAT UP IT IS SLIMY AND DISGUSTING!!!! 

But we fear no slime. 

He's a border collie mix, has all those wonderful skills, is very smart, and when the ball is in the air, he's going to catch it. You better believe it. He is lovely.

Mickey and Guy left (with their humans) so we started our trek back home. We got to our corner and I told Doug I was going to add on another block for a little more distance, and he looked at me like I was insane.

I guess I am? What me? Willingly Walking? how crazy! 

I went beyond the one block, up to the main drag and back down. Again - no wind. Cold, very, well... for here (31 degrees!) and I was dressed for it and prepared for it. Just, no playlist to crank for inspiration or I would have kept going. 

This afternoon I spent some time texting with John (thankful for the stick of butter, thankful I got him extra HP sauce, thankful for the Christmas Cookies - he loved the cat with coconut whiskers). We watched the Steelers lose. That was disappointing but it is what it is. I texted a bit with our cousin Dave who is headed to visit Jan 6. I'll just miss him, he'll be gone by the time I get back from New England.

Then, I had to move some things around in the mud room because Geoff took a table that had a bunch of shit stacked on it, and the little shit that he is just dumped everything onto the floor. He too the table downstairs without asking us if he could take it. He wanted a side table for the couch down there, and I have a different one he can use that isn't the one he took. 

Doug was irritated but it really it doesn't matter he took it in the end. But. What does matter is he created work for me to do. Work that yeah, technically I had to do anyway but. Did I want to do it today? No. 

My one major goal for this holiday stretch was to do something with all the empty boxes I have stacked up downstairs. Collapse and store or recycle recycle recycle? We'll see what I decide to do. 

I ran out of wine. It was still light out and I thought I could go get more but. Geoff is done with his class and has nothing to do, so. I'll send his ass tomorrow. Buy your mom wine! And not just one box why don't you buy 4! so I don't run out !!!! ARRRRGGH !!!!

kidding. Sort of. I should have sent him out. Tomorrow is another day. 

All told, a good day overall except for the Steelers game. Boooooo. 

Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Walk to dog park 13 min/.69 mi,. walk home from dog park with a little extra, 26 min/1.34 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 125
4:45pm: 135 
10:30pm: 91

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11am: slice of cranberry orange loaf (someone had to eat it)
some wine
1pm: bowl of left over chicken alfredo w/spinach ravioli; met+glip
6:15pm: small roll w/ tiny meatballs and a slice of provolone cheese; white claw black cherry
7pm: some more meatballs with no roll
2 more white claws

Richmond Trip - Friday and Saturday

Writing on Sunday to get it posted and not inside the Sunday entry. 

Kind of mad I didn't take a picture of the cranberry orange bread. I'll be making this again. The glaze was spectacular. I took half the loaf to John, and a stick of butter, and a bunch of Christmas cookies from CCC 25.

Doug and I headed down to Richmond before noon on Friday. Initially I was worried about the freezing rain that was happening at our departure but that was not a problem. People were. 

I am beginning to loathe I-95 between DC and Richmond the way I hate the entire state of Connecticut. On paper, we've got a 3 hour trip from here, it should not take close to 6. I was the passenger princess and I was filled with such absolute rage. 

We ended up ditching 95 after one of the rest areas near Culpepper, I think, and taking back roads down to Ashland where our hotel was. 

It took us less time to get to our hotel than it would have if we stayed on the interstate. 

Goddamnit, where are all these fuckers going and why are they in my way and it doesn't matter what day of the week or time of day, it is always like this. Virginia, why are you like this? I hate you.

Doug picked a hotel 10 miles from where John's nursing home is, thinking ah that's nothing. Nope. It's a half hour/45 min away easy. We were starving by the time we got down there, and Doug picked a fish restaurant off the internet on the way down to the nursing home. Turns out it is a restaurant inside Bass Pro Shops. 

Alright. We're here. Okay. 

Dinner was decent but so salty - SO SALTY. But I will say I've never ever had a nicer waiter. Twenty thumbs up for this guy. Huge tip. He asked if I made a mistake, and he was 100% honest. 

Oh. No honey, we had a shitty day driving down here and you, my friend, you are worth it. Keep being you. 

We had promised John we'd grab him some food, as he was craving fish & chips or fish tacos. It was super late, and we did not want to go into Downtown Richmond because those were the restaurants he wanted something specific from. 

I'm nice, a very nice person, yes.... but at 7:50pm on a Friday night trying to go to the restaurants of his choice, your girl is not that nice. So I told him we had all day Saturday to bring him something. 

Another thing he wanted was a milkshake, since Doug suggested it. So there is also a fudge and ice cream shop conveniently located inside the Bass Pro Shops too. How convenient! Got him a raspberry milkshake, and he was very happy to get that. 

He said he can eat anything he wants, so people have been bringing him all sorts of snack foods and he has a stash of anything he could want to nosh on. But real meals make him very happy. And they do not serve milkshakes in the nursing home Add in my cranberry orange loaf and christmas cookies and he's got even more. 

We got there and went down to his room, and we hung out until about 9 or so. They lock up everything at 8pm so no visitors can come in, and you have ask to be let out when you want to go. They were surprised we were there when they came in to check on him. We took that as a sign to go. 

He's in really good spirits, frustrated by how the nursing home works and some of the nurses are Nazis. He repeatedly tells them not to tuck his sheets in, every damn day, multiple times a day, because he gets super hot and then he can't untuck the sheets and it makes him furious. 

He doesn't understand why they don't listen to him. I told him it is probably protocol, to keep people from falling out of their beds but he thinks they're just Nazis who do not listen. 

Short of kicking one of them in the face while they're doing it he feels like he has no repercussions. 

The room he is in is a double, and the other guy has dementia or something. He keeps coming over to go through his stuff and take things. He took John's wheelchair cushion (prescribed by hospice since he has no bone in his left hip at all, so he needs it to be comfortable). So John got very mad, managed to get himself into a regular chair with wheels on it next to his bed and push himself out into the hall since no one answers the call button ever so he could start screaming for help. 

He was full of gripes but also stories of the old days, from college, from Japan when he lived there, and history and all kinds of stuff. 

To be honest, it was a nice visit and I didn't leave furious at him. Which is good. This is very good.

If he didn't have an ostomy bag, and no bones in his hip, he could probably live at home as long as there were no stairs. But there is literally nowhere for him to go. So. Nursing home palliative care it is until the next major thing fails. He goes septic (Doug said the further you get from what he went through before Christmas the longer you will last and not go septic, so he was happy to see John as good as he is), or if his cancer just kicks into high gear and takes him down. 

Who knows how long. He is convinced that it will be months. Maybe he's right. Before Christmas I would have said no - he'll be gone in a week. But there you go. And here we are. 

Saturday morning Doug and I got up and ready, and went over to John's old neighborhood for a walking tour of The Fan. We discussed where we should go, Oregon Hill, Church Hill, Hollywood Cemetery, downtown.... and we opted for The Fan. It's a super pretty neighborhood, and folks really do up their decorations for Christmas. There are dogs everywhere, and at one house, there were these lovely Basset Hounds, one by the gate who wanted pats and scritches that I couldn't get a picture of, and another that was just basking in the sunshine. Glorious and photogenic.

Normally I would have taken 900 pictures, but I was playing Pokemon, and I cant switch from game to camera without the game restarting (my phone, she is stupid?) so I focused on walking and gawking instead of photojournalism.

We did over 2 miles, and headed over to the restaurant where John wanted fish & chips from - Penny Lane. 

It is directly across the street from the hotel I've stayed at a couple times in Richmond, but every time I've been there they have been closed. They were closed all week for the Christmas holidays and opened Saturday morning.

There was a soccer game on, Chelsea vs. Aston Villa (never heard of those guys!) and the bar was packed. We got the last 2 seater in the dining room, ordered our own fish & chips and got John an order to go. I had a hard time convincing the staff I wanted a lot of HP sauce and Malt Vinegar to go. Not just one little 2 ounce cup - give me more and I will pay for it. They... were stingy and a little weird. 

He's getting a care package of a bottle of each since he loves them so much. I had no idea how happy they'd make him. 

John considers himself a foodie, a fan of all the international food things. And to some extent yes he is. He loves to cook, and cook for others (sound familiar?) He used to call me and tell me how he was making seared scallops to put over a bed of parmesan orzo with spinach "because I think you are the only one who would appreciate this." 

Before he got really sick.

Before all of this. 

We took his food back to the nursing home, and he was absolutely thrilled. He said he's eaten three or four meals from the cafeteria there at all during his time. And this was sublime. He finished every last morsel. I could tell he was just overjoyed. 

It was about 2pm-ish when we got there, after our walk and time at the restaurant and eating our own meal, and we wanted to be on the road by 4pm at the latest. So the visits were both on the short side of things. I kind of feel like if I went by myself I would have visited there with him longer. There would not have been an hour long walking tour of Richmond. 

But it is exceptionally loving of my husband to want to come with me, to want to spend time with me, to find a walking tour for us to do so I can get my steps in (and boy, did I, and him too!). I'm forever thankful for him.

That, and he drove both ways. 

So on the way back, again, Goddamn you 95 and all the people on it. Fucking holy shit get out of my way. Why are you doing 50 in the far left lane, asshole. 

Your girl turns into a mass of fury on the road with these people. 

We got to Rte 17 in Fredricksburg and bailed to come north that way. Surprisingly, it takes you all the way to I-81, in freaking Winchester, and you have to drive through West Virginia all the way over there, but 80 miles an hour vs. looking at the back of someone's truck nuts and Trump stickers for a thousand miles - I'll take it.

It was dark on 17, I'd love to see it in the daylight. We'll go down that way sometime. 

We got home and Geoff had made dinner. Toffee was overjoyed to see us. And I love my house. I love my little house. I love coming home. 

I didn't accurately record the food and digits, but, we did well. I think my 4pm reading on Friday was 90, which made me happy. I did a walk before we left on Friday that was about 1.77 miles. And our walk about in Richmond was 2.23 miles. Good times.

My cousin David is heading down Jan. 6th-9th. I'll miss on connecting with him. I'm glad he's going down. Staying at a hotel less than a mile from where John is. 

Smart. 

Sunday entry coming up next. 

Christmas Day

Slacker Christmas was in full force for us today. We had a quiet no pressure day. I knew I was going to be making brekkie sammitches, so around 10am I got myself in gear and rocked that. I'm getting the whole process down pat. 

Geoff took Toffee for a walk, and Doug and I were just streaming Christmas music on the TV and chilling. 

When Geoff got back, he peeled the potatoes, Doug shredded them, and I built the scalloped potatoes for dinner. 

I timed everything poorly. I didn't realize the ham would need to cook for over 2 hours, and the potatoes were already done, basically. So I covered them up and kept them in the oven. The temp was at 250 so I figured they weren't going to burn or anything, in fact, they'd probably be super soft and tender. And they were. But I felt like the cheese part of things was over done. 

Anyway.

While the ham was cooking, we took Toffee to the dog park. Not a lot of dogs there, but we had a good time with the few who came and went. And then Doug said "you probably want to do your steps, so do you want to take a walk?"

Hell yeah. 

I had read that you can walk from this big park to another smaller park through the woods, and that park is actually a nice walk back to our house. I've wanted to try that out but I couldn't find the access trail and it felt like I was going into someone's backyard so I gave up. Doug said he knew where to go, so that's the route we took. 

It was remarkably shorter than I thought it would be, and now I know. It is part of a big 10 mile hiking/biking loop that intrigues me. Cool to know that it is so close to home. 

Back home, the ham still had about a half hour. We decided to skip the glaze, because that would add a whole extra half hour to the process and screw that, I want to eat. 

Football on the TV, dinner ready, aaaah. 

Doug and I talked about raised garden beds, because that's what I have always wanted and he priced things out and how much dirt we'd have to buy. 

"It breaks my heart to buy.... dirt. But what can you do?" he said. 

We plotted out the location for where they will go, bitched about squirrels, sat out at the patio for a while before our walk. 

I called my mom this morning and let her know I'm coming to visit. She was thrilled to hear that. Nice Christmas gift to give her. 

Doug and I are going to see John tomorrow. He texted me at 6am to wish me a happy Christmas, and I texted him back when I got up at 8. 

He's miserable, the food is some of the worst he's ever had, he says. He's only eaten 3 meals since he's been there. "I am probably going to starve to death before I go septic and die." 

Super. 

He said he's in a concentration camp, being tortured by Nazi Nurses who have absolutely no care or regard at all for any patient well being. 

He may be spot on but he also may be exaggerating. 

Doug had me ask him if he wanted food from the outside world. He said "John deserves a milkshake." 

He was thrilled. "I like how Doug thinks," he said. He told me he's craving fish & chips, or fish tacos, and told me where the best to get either of those is. 

So we're going to find a place to get him a milkshake, and decide if we're going fish taco or fish & chips buying before we go over to him.  

I asked if he likes baked goods because I've been meaning to bake a cranberry orange loaf or muffins or something. He said he loves that but asked me to bring "real butter, because whatever it is they give me here that they say is butter, is not butter." 

So that's our Christmas. Two miles of dog walking and baking and ham. Good times. 

Digits below. More tomorrow. Hope if you are reading this you had a nice holiday with your people. Leave a comment and let me know how things went (if you aren't an AI bot or something). Here's a picture of my very very sleepy dog. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Dog walk. to the dog park, 11 min/.52 mi. From the dog park home, 38 min/1.63 mi. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 135
4:45pm: 110 
11pm: 143

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
10:30am: egg mcmuffin at home
2pm: met+glip
5pm: Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans
kahlua and eggnog (not bad); white wine
7pm: some mixed nuts, not a lot
8:45pm: met+glip
white wine+ diet ginger ale

Christmas notes

It never fails. I probably can go back through the 20+ years of this blog and find at least 80% of the entries for Christmas and New Years coincide with Doug catching a cold. 

Which means, about 3-7 days later, I catch the cold. 

Which is not cool, I am thinking of going down to Richmond to see John this weekend, and Doug is sitting here in the living room where I work, coughing, hacking, complaining. Playing a game on his phone. Putting music on ("Am I allowed to listen to music?" he asks. sure - take your ass upstairs and get out of my space?)

I need to finish putting my office together. really and truly. Need to not be sitting here any longer. 

I feel fantastic right now. He's been unwell for two days and now has hit the "I am completely incapable" phase of having a cold. 

Must just say I'm tremendously relieved I do not have small children that I need to create The Magic Of Christmas for, because ... well. Ain't no magic gonna happen here this holiday. 

And longtime readers know we have a Slacker Christmas philosophy. We don't put a lot of effort in anyway, But I do feel like this is extra nothing. Doug blames Henry. "Henry probably brought a cold in here and gave it to me when he came in the living room yelling "Six Seven! Six Seven!" and then farting. A lot. I caught this from Henry's farts." 

Doug doesn't ever want anything for Christmas, usually we plan something together to do and spend our money on that. I want raised garden beds, probably 3, and we'll go shopping for those or order them online. Doug got the aforementioned treadmill, which is a gift to all 3 of us. I wanted to get Geoff some new PJ pants because his are trashed, but I never ordered any and didn't go to the store. I'll be sure to do that for him soon. 

Today I planned that trip to go up to Massachusetts. I'll be leaving here with Jess on the 3rd of January. And C is going to rescue me from my mom's on Friday.  I will fly home on Sunday the 11th, and stay with C for Fri/Sat night. 

A big project we've all been working on is to update aall our help documentation, and I finished mine today. Thank Goodness. Now I have to do a test plan for a new product and start writing documentation for that, and retire the help documents for the product it is replacing. Such incredible fun and joy. 

Anyway. No picture today. Digits below! Happy Christmas if you're reading this and celebrate in kind. 

 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Outside walk. 30 min, 1.7 mi. tried to jog but my knee hurt? 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 150
4:45pm: 110 
11pm: 111

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
1pm: english muffin w/pb & low sugar j
1:45pm: met+glip
5:30pm: shrimp and spaghetti in alfredo sauce
6pm: bowl of cashews; a few Lindor truffles
9:30pm: met+glip
white wine + diet ginger ale

Treadmill

Doug bought us a treadmill here for the house.

I mean, for those who have visited (all one of you) you know we have a lot of space for things. We get out, we walk, we have to walk the dog. Outside is fine. But when it is 11 degrees, or even 45 degrees and super windy, or 98 degrees and 90% humidity, this is not fun. It's a hassle to do the outside. 

Since we've gotten settled in here, I've been back to going to the gym, Geoff is going to start going now that his class is over.

But, a treadmill downstairs would be nice. 

He is a good shopper, picked out a good machine that is going to be delivered by maybe January 15th depending on like everything in the universe. And he is going to set it up. I'm okay with all that.

I can crush my 10k steps daily even with an outside walk or a go to the gym and use the exercise machines thing instead of the treadmill. And then use the treadmill at home. To be honest, it'll be nice for days like yesterday, where even though I did the big outside walk, by 8pm I was still 1500 steps down from the 10k goal. This means walking around inside or suiting back up and going outside again just to go up and down the block to finish up. 

Instead, I can just go downstairs and crush 10-15 min and be done with the goal. Instead of pacing around the main floor while Doug is trying to watch football.

The city we live in has an annual 100 miles in 100 days challenge. You sign up, use a website to upload your tracker stats (or, just track stuff on a piece of paper and submit it... honor system like). It is 10 bucks to join, 20 if you want the T-shirt and 25 if you do it with your dog and want the T-shirt and the dog reward, which sounds cute. So I did sign up, and ya know, will continue to rule at walking every day. Wish me luck. 

Jess is coming down on New Years Eve and will probably get here too late to go to the town shenanigans. They wrap things up at 8pm so people can get their kids home. Kind of bizarre this trend to do all the midnight things early just so kids can go to bed. 

That's okay though. Doubtful that Doug and I will go downtown (it's all free and at the baseball field) but if Jess would be here in time, I'd probably go. 

Thoughts are right now that I drive back with them (Dijon is coming too!) and go stay at my mom's for a while. I kind of want to keep an eye on the cousin situation, because if he's actively dying soon, maybe I'd want to go be with him. Maybe not. I don't know. Mom is more important.

Jess plans on going back Jan 3, so if I went with, I'd see about coming home the following weekend, the 10th or 11th. I'd just have to find my way to the Providence Airport. 

Geoff's 29th birthday (can you believe that shit?) is the 7th, so I want to ask him if he'd be offended if I'm not here for that. And of course, I need to talk to Doug to see what his thoughts are on this. Naturally. 

Around 1:30 I went to the gym. Very quiet at work, and I figured I'd seize the day. Back at home, Doug and I took a walk with Toffee, he was surprised I wanted to go but I knew I'd be shy of the 10k if I did not. 

Geoff made a really nice dinner but somehow broke the handle on the door to the oven. Doug will have to look at that tomorrow. Not sure how my son is always such a bull in a china shop sometimes. 

Didn't do much else. 

I started to plan the return trip from MA to here for after the new year. Watch this space. Doug asked me if we should go see John on Friday, stay over in Richmond. I haven't heard from him - he didn't respond to my text yesterday or today. So I texted Billy (his brother) to check in. So that will probably be happening. 

Nothing else to report, and no picture either! Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. treadmill at gym, 20 min/1.2 miles; walk with Doug and Toffee, 25 min/1.2 miles; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:45am: 115
4:30pm: 150 
9:45pm: 109

food & meds:
7:45am: phentermine+jardiance
8am: 2 tiny sugar cookies with my coffee
noon: small bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
2pm: apple w/pb, met+glip
6pm: chicken thighs in 2 zero carb tortilla wraps w/ cheddar and sour cream
8pm: mixed nuts
8:30pm: met+glip
a white claw; last of the wine. Not in the same glass.

Last Word Lou

I am not sure why this popped into my head today. Actually, yeah, I'm sure. 

My sister has/had a coworker who no matter what the context was, always had to have the last word. 

In an email she'd write "oh okay thank you." And he'd reply. There were dozens of instances where Lin would answer, be done with it, and he'd reply. So, she'd reply! Just to be a wise ass. And then he'd reply! 

Over and over. It always made me laugh. We called him Last Word Lou.

A lot of times, in my helpdesk ticketing system, I will write to someone and say "there's no need for you to reply, this is just me letting you know the issue is resolved."

And.

They'd reply. 

I'm dealing with someone like that right now, and it is making me chuckle but also pissing me right off. Bro. For Real. Honestly. Why you gotta write me back? Like, no. I said we're done here. Done. I even gave you the blessing and permission to NOT say anything back. But here you go replying. 

I don't mind if someone says "Thank You" when I close a ticket but to be honest you don't have to do that. 

Whenever they reply, it reopens the help ticket. And then I have to read it (to make sure they didn't just ask a tangential additional question) and then close it again. It's not a lot of work but it is honestly just the concept - don't write back, it's okay if you don't write back, oh my god you are creating work for me. Please Stop. 

So I just close tickets without saying anything lately. If they have a followup question after the release notes go out to update everyone, they'll notice the ticket is closed and then they can ask a question. 

People exhaust me.

Monday of a holiday week, things are very light. I did have two meetings today and both people who set them up apologized for "making us have to think about work" today. I laughed and said "but. We are at work and should think about work maybe?" 

Both meetings were productive and no apologies needed. They were great. 

I had several helpdesk tickets from clients I'd been waiting to hear back on for meetings. I said "Hey! I'm here Mon-Wed both holiday weeks" and they said "oh I'd rather not meet during this period. How is the second week of January?" 

That is pushing it, son. Second week? Wow. 

I did a bunch of stuff, and needed to go get bloodwork done. It's about 30 min. each way, and if you make an appointment online for the lab, you basically can go in any time before/near your appointment. I was a half hour early, literally 5 min, done. I made a 3:30 appointment, left at 2:50. got there pretty much right on time because traffic.

Coming home was a challenge - tons of traffic, possibly commuters? Maybe? I thought about swinging by the gym but because the traffic was so bad it ate up the margin I'd allotted myself, so I came home. 

I did a few more work things and at about 5:30pm decided I'd better get out there for a walk or I'd fall short. It was cold, but no wind so I love it when it is like this. The playlist was feeding me good stuff. Some Metallica, Billy Idol (Rebel Yell is a good running pace) and the Ghost cover version of "Jesus He Knows Me," which is very fast. also. Here's the official Ghost video and ... well. Christians may find offensive but I think Ghost sums up everything Genesis is getting at with this song. 

Great cover version. Do not watch if you are easily offended, mkay?

Digits below the blasphemy. heh.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 30 min outdoor walk/1.81 mi. note the distance. Some good jogging mixed in, felt good! 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 150
4:30pm: 115 
10pm: 153 (took it again at midnight, 74)

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
through the morning - mixed nuts because they're in the bowl here. 
1:30pm: roast beef, slice of tomato, 2 slices of Muenster cheese, mayo, toasted English muffin; Met+glip
6:30pm: two bowls of Geoff's nice beef fried rice w/egg, peas, corn, etc. 
white wine w/diet cranberry gingerale
nuts out of the bowl
9:15pm: met+glip

It's an Abomination! CCC 25 round up

Saturday morning came early. There were things that needed to be done that I'd procrastinated on like, oh, vacuuming? You know my struggles with this. 

I managed to get everything done that I needed to get done. Almost. The original plan was for everyone to be here at my house by 2. H and R managed to get here in time but SSH were running late. 

While the 2 girls were on their way here, Doug wanted to get poinsettias for our Christmas decorations, and offered to pick up some things I needed like m&ms for instance. He asked if I needed anything else, I gave him a small list and said "and if you see anything fun, feel free to get it."

"What kind of fun?" he asked standing there holding the shopping list and making kind of a curmudgeonly face.

"Oh you know, fun decorating shit and ideas. You know what fun is. You know how to have fun."

"No, I do not." 

He does though. He really does. 

In the morning he brought in a table from the car port for me to set our tree up on (with Geoff's help) and when he went to the store he brought back a ton of great stuff. One thing he got was shaved coconut, which we've never used on the cookies and it came in so handy. He brought back wine and kahlua and sodas and snack foods. Cheese and pepperoni for protein in between wee cookies and licking sugar off my fingers. 

I had told him I didn't feel like I had enough brushes and spready things for putting the icing on the cookies, so he found a sweet little set of tools that were beyond perfect for the task. 

R and H helped me cover the dining table with brown paper bags, Doug laughed a little like ... you don't need to protect the table. But the paper isn't for protecting the table - it is for ease of cleanup after the fact. 

This gets messy.

We put cookies and decorating stuff out on the table, got everything ready and waited for SSH to arrive. I wanted to wait until Hen got here because he loves mixing the colors but we couldn't wait. We set up some colors and ... well. Started decorating. 

The party was in full swing once SSH got here, and Hen didn't even say hello to me, he just went straight into decorating mode. I finally got a hug and a hi out of him, and we all just ... fell into our roles. 

I made a freaking ton of cookies. Geoff was right, you have enough cookies. Doug put on a Christmas playlist from Ryan Miller of Guster to entertain us while we were decorating. 

Seriously, he was the MVP last night. My tremendously introverted husband even came in to mingle for a while, which is unlike him. There was football on, so he and Geoff watched it, and we just ... made mayhem in the dining room. 

At one point, H told me that she had never done this before. She'd never decorated Christmas cookies. This was something no one had ever introduced her to. 

"I have a question. What happens to all these cookies? Do we get to keep some?"

Oh honey, yes. You take all your favorites home and you leave the ones you hate here, and we eat them for you. 

I tried to remember when the first time was that I decorated cookies. I know for a fact I never did growing up, that wasn't our family vibe. Maybe I just started doing it with our kids at some point? Maybe? Just like dyeing Easter eggs - I know we never did either of those things when we growing up, but we did it all the time with the kids when they were little. Both just became part of the thing we did for the holidays and for activities as a family. I could probably go back through this blog and find many different references to cookie decorating nights. Not quite as many cookies or as grand and epic as the past few years. 

I know I have done it just by myself. When we moved here to Maryland, I sat after thanksgiving dinner one year by myself and decorated a couple dozen cookies. Just as something quiet and unwindey to do. 

Anyway. So happy to introduce a fun holiday activity to her. She needed a fun day, it was a shitty year for her and her family has been less than kind. So surrounding her with colored confectioners sugar, boozy hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps and crushed candy canes on top, it was perfect.

Hen likes to make what he calls "Abominations" where usually a gingerbread man has  some sort of catastrophic decorating mess on him. He used a bunch of marshmallows to make a broken leg with bones sticking out of it, and blood. "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION!" he yells. A couple decapitated guys, weird cats with 11 eyes, all sorts of Abominations come out of his little designs. 

We ordered pizza, and I gave the delivery guy a handful of cookies and a big tip, which thrilled him. 

H was in the zone, she was decorating like a professional, and then made cookies of the Gusters, which was hilarious. She dressed them in clothing they've worn. Ryan Miller's pants, Brian's red shirt with the small white stripe, Adam's rose shouldered black cowboy shirt, Dave Butler's ginger beard, Luke's Canadian Tuxedo, and he's wearing his glasses and whistling. 

For someone who has never done this before... she killed it. Sara made the 'mingo and the tree. Credit where credit is due.

We did a cookie photo shoot, taking pictures of all our favorites, and of us together. I got the dishwasher loaded, knowing it would have to run two more times probably before everything was all cleaned up. 

Credit to Doug for taking the picture. 

It started getting late, and there were still many undecorated cookies, but everyone had at least an hour or so ride home. R and H offered to help me clean up, but I was kind of like "nah. I usually just leave it until the morning and deal with it then." 

Which is what I did. I felt like a truck hit me when I got in bed after midnight. So sore.  

In the morning today, I went downstairs, put on the coffee, fed the dog, let her out, and went and looked at the table. I laughed so hard. The freaking room was basically trashed. And I was so in love with it. 

It just felt like all the most fun that ever could be had at once was had last night. 

Cleanup would come, but first coffee. With homemade whipped cream, and a few tiny star cookies. 

Doug wanted to take a walk at the canal today but it was very windy. Okay temperature but you know your princess can't deal with the wind sometimes. I offered to stay here to clean while he went for the walk, and he opted to change plans. 

He and Geoff took Toffee to the dog park, and I cleaned, as promised. 

I stripped all the paper off the table, being careful to keep as much sugar and stuff rolled up inside. 

Since there are still cookies that need to be decorated, I kept the icing, and will freshen up what I can icing wise, or just make more, and finish up the bunch. 

I loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counters, drank more coffee, and I was getting ready to vacuum again when the boys came back. That can wait, I'll get to it later or tomorrow. 

Around 3:30 I decided to go to the gym, get that walk in. Did some running to some good songs, thought about pushing it past the half hour but wanted to call Linda and drive home before it got dark. 

Linda's birthday is today, and I always say she's my solstice baby who brings light back to all of us. Cue the sappy love music. But it is true. The only thing that would have made CCC 25 better would have been her being here. 

Geoff made dinner while I was at the gym. I loaded the dishwasher (we're a team) and we watched the Steelers almost lose their game after dominating the entire first half. Whew. 

Crawled to bed, very tired. More cookie pictures tomorrow, but I'll leave you with this one of Hen and me. Since I think every year we've posted one. Merry Christmas to the Abomination Maker!

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No measurable distance/walk but 12k+ steps by bedtime (almost 13k) 

blood glucose:

8:30am: 147
4pm: 123 
midnight: 132

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance+phentermine
1pm: met+glip
4pm: protein shake
through the course of the evening: mixed nuts, m&ms, cheddar cheese slices
7:30pm: buffalo chicken bites from the pizza place
9pm: met+glip
White wine+diet ginger ale

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Half hour on the treadmill, 1.71 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 129
5pm: 94 
10:30pm: 157

food & meds:
9:30am: phentermine+jardiance
coffee w/whipped cream and tiny star cookies
1:30pm: english muffin w/pb & low sugar j 
2:30pm: met+glip
cookies
5:30pm: baked ziti w/ meat sauce
cookies?
8pm: met+glip
9pm: several mixed nuts 
white wine and diet cranberry ginger ale

Flying Sheds and Unboxing

I was in a meeting this morning, on video, and one of my colleagues said "Chris, your face? Is everything okay?" 

Well. I personally am okay. But. 

Looking out our front window while we were talking, I watched our across the street neighbors' shed lift up off the ground maybe 4 or 5 feet, rotate and plop down at the edge of their driveway. About ten feet away from where it was standing. 

Not something you see every day, so that was a little wild. As of 10pm, it is still not in the right place. I'm not sure what kind of folks they are, if they need help moving her back into the right spot or not. 

It was a unique experience. 

Needless to say, our weather here starting at about 5 am was rather wicked. Even now, at this late hour, it is still a freight train of wind. At least the rain stopped about 9am. But our entire porch was soaked, so the wind just drove the water in towards the house. 

My realtor came by this afternoon with a gift for us. She had a personalized christmas ornament made for our first christmas here in the house. And she looked around when she came in, and said "oh.... did I make a mistake, do you celebrate Christmas?"

Because your girl has zero decorations up. Cookies were the priority! I told her we sure do, but, I hadn't gotten to decorate yet. To be honest, I'm still looking for the box/es with lights. 

She was relieved, and I think I detected maybe this was a mistake she'd made in the past. It never came up in our conversations when we were working together, but with our last name, we for sure could be Jewish (save for the giant blonde child we have). I for sure would have asked first, before making a nice gift like this, just to ... you know. Not make a huge gaffe. 

The ornament is lovely, and now I'm motivated to put the tree out. Which is in the shed (which is anchored and will not rise up and fly around the yard) according to Doug. A task for tomorrow. 

I'm a little irritated that it is in the shed, because I spent a giant amount of time this evening looking for it. I found the boxes with the ornaments and lights, but no tree. I'm glad I said something out loud to Doug because he couldn't figure out why I was bringing boxes back upstairs. I told him these are mostly books and knickknacks, and I want to put them out on shelves. And the Christmas stuff.

For a fact, I know that if I didn't do this there would be no Christmas spirit in this house. Doug can't be bothered. Never could. Not his thing. 

But I want the wee tree, and the wee angels. Still have to find that box. Jesus I thought I moved in such an organized fashion.

I unpacked a few boxes of books, put things on shelves, I've got stuff I still need to do, so I'll get to that all. 

My 3pm meeting canceled on me, which was fine. It meant that I could treat myself to running out to the gym. Killed a half hour, should have pushed it but I have to be a responsible adult and like... go back to work. 

Tomorrow, I have a lot to do to get ready. I was thinking about making boozy hot cocoa and homemade whipped cream for our grown up guests and no boozy for Hen. 

Here's a picture of the shed. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 31 min/1.63 miles; moving boxes around, 31 min/.72 mi. (notice the difference in distance. lol) 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 110
4:30pm: 117 
10:30pm: 119

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
10:30am: 2 slices of toasted amish cheese bread w/butter
2pm: met+glip
3pm: a couple reeses peanut butter santas
6pm: beef stew a la Geoff. 2 beers.
8pm: met+glip
9pm: pita chips and hummus

You have enough cookies

I had a busy day today and a late meeting that turned into a mutual bitch fest with someone, she had to unload, I was a willing ear. I'm not sure how I feel about her, she's a director level person and a little intense. But I think a lot of people don't respect her, or don't listen to her, or when she's holding firm and standing her ground on a decision, people do a round about and go behind her back to higher ups and then she gets her ass handed to her... when she is 100% right in the first place. 

She is the literal owner of one of the products that I support that we are rebuilding, and I think she really likes me (I mean, who would not) and I support her. I feel for her. 

It is super hard to be a woman in tech. 

While she and I were gabbing, Geoff made dinner. So it was all ready when I finished. That was a nice thing to realize. I thought he was going to go out to the market for an ingredient for this soup he made but he said "eh, it's only one ingredient. meh." I honor that decision. 

After I cleaned up from dinner, I got to baking the last batch of cookie dough. I make it the night before, split it into 4 piles and wrap it in cling wrap. At some point in the afternoon, I take out the blobs, let them come up to warmer but not fully thawed temps, and make cookies. 

At some point, I was putting cookies into containers, over and over, cookies.... cookies..... cookies. And I said to Geoff "do you think I should make more shapes? Do I need more trees or stars or ..."

"You have enough cookies," deadpan Geoff says to me. 

Yeah, you know, you're right, I do. I do. 

Tomorrow, I think I'll make some plain white frosting and decorate the snowflakes and mickey mouse faces. that way, they'll be solid/dry for decorating with colors (ie: black ears, etc). I have to figure out some container options for frosting. 

S told me that H has been talking about this for a week, with the level of excitement that he's going to Disney World or something. 

This is honestly on the level of going. to. Disney. for this kid. 

Can't wait. 

Here's a picture of hen from 2022. Can't wait to take more Saturday. 

Digits, below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  rather chilly/brisk walk. 30 min/1.62 mi. Fitbit measured me moving boxes around in the basement looking for christmas stuff, 17 min/.45 mi (I'll take a measured fitbit report!) 11k+ stepsby bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 101
4:15pm: 97 
11:45pm: 94

food & meds:
9am: jardiance+phentermine
9am: 2 slices of amish cheese bread toasted w/butter
1:45: met+glip (remembered today! lol)
2:15pm: atkins protein shake
4:15pm: one cat shaped sugar cookie (the leg, she was deformed...)
6:15pm: bowl of southwestern chicken soup a la Geoff, shredded cheese and left over nachos on top.
7pm: ramekin of cashews 
9pm: met+glip
vodka & diet tonic

Off to Virginia

Not me, but Doug. 

Doug works at a hospital in Virginia, it is about a 2 hour ride now where we've moved. And before the end of this year all employees were required to come in, get their picture taken, and get a brand new access key card/badge. He has procrastinated it a little bit, and this morning the procrastination continued but he finally did it. Very proud of him. 

Sidebar note: I woke up at 2am and ended up going to the guest room and listening to a podcast. May I highly recommend: The Constant, Holiday episodes 2 stories. This episode is a re-recording of two episodes that Mark released over the past couple years, re-recorded and remastered. The first story is in a poem format, similar to the night before Christmas about a horrible man who made airplanes that crashed and he scammed people all over but got away scot free. The second one is It's Wonderful, which is about It's A Wonderful Life and that starts at about 17 min. into the recording. Trust me. Go listen to it. Both are great but It's Wonderful is ... Wonderful. end sidebar.

When I woke up this morning, I went upstairs at 9:15am to do my blood sugar and take the morning meds, and he was there working. I told him I thought he had left and he said no - he had to get something done before leaving. He finally went at about 11am.

I had big plans. I got a shower, felt more awake and alive after a cruddy night's sleep. I did some work and instead of baking cookies or vacuuming, I decided to finish the bookshelf that has been semi-assembled on the dining table for weeks. 

Done. 

I got something done. And while I was finishing putting in the screws, Doug came back. I was disappointed, because the next thing I was going to do was vacuum. 

I'm going to make him go out on a solo walk with the dog before Saturday, so I can finally do the deed.

Our team had a meeting with our SVP today. We do this once a month, and she's very interesting, has all the hot goss on the things happening organizationally. 

I had my weekly check in with my manager, lots to talk about, lots to think about, and my January - June will be solely focused on this one product and all that needs to be done. Communications plan, QA Testing, Pilot groups with a few clients, Testing! Training! Oh my gosh we have to do training. 

It's going to be mental. 

Anyway. Geoff started to make dinner and I took myself for a walk. Fitbit just did a platform upgrade, and somehow it kept turning off the measurement. It was about 34 minutes but the device only recorded a 15 minute exercise as running. Not the walk at my usual pace, where it lets me run but not change the exercise type. I notice there's a new setting for Treadmill which means I'll be able to walk and run, so maybe I'll use that to go around the neighborhood. 

We watched the president "speak to the nation" and we yelled at the TV.

And I baked more cookies. What happens tomorrow? Placing books and things onto the brand new built bookshelf. More cookies (dough is made, and I'll be ready to make the last big round of different shapes). And then maybe I'm done? Who knows! I'm sometimes out of control with this cookie decorating nonsense.

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Took a 34 min walk, but my fitbit kept turning off. Measured 15 total minutes/.75 miles (but it was much much more)... 4240 steps in the 6pm-7pm hour, should be 1.77 miles based on my height/stride. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:15am: 119
4pm: 171 (due to forgetting my met/glip at the usual time of 1pm)
11:15pm: 103

food & meds:
9:15am: jardiance+phentermine
noon: bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger
4pm: met+glip
7pm: nacho chips w/ ground beef, avocado, salsa, sour cream
vodka & diet tonic
11:15pm: met+glip

Walk or Cookies or Both?

Today started with a very early meeting. Our developers for a product I support are in Europe, so it is 7 hours ahead of Eastern time. They end up working very late, but for this call we got an early start. Alright of a start for me but not one of our California design team members. 4am at his house. Ufff. 

I didn't shower before hand, just kind of rolled out of bed at 8, brushed my hair, washed my face so my eyebrows weren't sticking up all over the place. Enjoyed the meeting. I like our developers in Europe. They are earnest and kind. 

My 11am meeting with a client didn't happen because she forgot. I kind of love when that happens to be honest. It does not enrage me, like I'm sure some folks would be upset about it. It shows me she's human. And makes me love her.  

She told me that she accepted the meeting, a week ago, and then on a whim took today off. Because most people I know take the day off and still end up working, she was on a conference call with someone else when my "hey, are you coming to the meeting?" email got to her. She jumped into our zoom call, which I'd ended but I get an alert if someone joins (which is cool). We had a laugh, talked about how busy this time of year is and how scatterbrained she sometimes is. 

We rescheduled and I told her to take the rest of her dang diddly day OFF!  Rescheduled for tomorrow! 

This afternoon, I had a wide opening of mid-day time and thought about going to the gym and then the market but got deep in some stuff. I rolled out cookies and cut/baked them. Then it was too late for the gym and market so I kept working. 

Eventually did need to get to the market so I went on over. When I got back, made dinner (today was Geoff's last in person class for the semester with his final exam so dinner was my responsibility). After dinner, realizing I was about 3k steps short of the goal I took myself out. 

No wind, 30 degrees, playlist pumping. Let's go. 

When I got home I whipped up more cookie dough and set it into the fridge. Drank more wine. Talked to Linda. Texted with John. He's supposed to finally be transferred to a nursing facility tomorrow in Mechanicsville VA. He's not happy, but he's not super UNhappy. It isn't the worst place on earth. And I think he'll be happy to go from the big hospital. 

Baked cookies. Made more dough. Baked more cookies. It's a theme. It's a trend. 

Doug is going to the office tomorrow, he has a meeting and has to get a new ID badge because they're changing the system at the hospital. I'll see how much vacuuming I can get done while he's away! ha! 

Oh, and the image is from last night's football game viewing. Team Triscuit card carrying member here. Even though I try not. Still, working on kicking ass on that A1C situation with the occasional cracker.

digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  23 min/1.34 mi walk outside; 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 134
4:30pm: 102
10:45pm: 142

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance+phentermine
noon: low sugar yogurt w/granola bar
1:15pm: met+glip
6:30pm: bowl of spaghetti & mini meatballs (frozen ones) in sauce
red wine
9:45pm: met+glip
11pm: lump of portwine cheese spread (to get it out of the fridge)

Cookies Cookies Cookies!

It was a busy work day, several meetings. And I thought I had a 3pm meeting but it was at 4pm. Damn. If I had planned I could have gone to the gym with plenty of time to get back. 

But. 

I faced the reality that I'd need to walk outside no matter how cold because there was no way I was going to be able to walk a mile in the house here. 

I pre-loaded steps with an inside walk of 15 min, tried to go fast to get as many steps as possible in. At about 5pm, I opted to suit up and go on out. Doug said he wanted to go with, so we got Toffee ready and all of us headed out. 

He cut a corner and came back a block earlier than I wanted to. I thought about telling him I was going to do my full 1 plus mile walk but we stuck together. 

No wind, and it was perfect. 

Geoff was cheffing up dinner when we got back and he picked what sounded like it would be meh and he made it shine. It was so good. It didn't cross his mind to make rice or orzo to go with it, and that was fine, no carbs no problem. 

Once dinner was cleaned up and put away, I started in on cookie prep. Seeing as my friends are coming over for CCC '25 on Saturday, we need a pantload of cookies ready to decorate. Best get crackin'!!!

I got out my recipe - Four eggs? Oh. I thought it was two. I have .... four. Okay. I guess I make one batch to start and go to the market tomorrow. 

So we got a few made. Note to self - move the bottom rack in the oven up a skootch. No cookies burned, but they are brown on the bottom. 

I made 2 trays and put the rest of the dough away, time for football. In doing the cookies, I was overjoyed to have this extra area in the kitchen to work with. My old kitchen was painfully small, and I'd have to take everything off the counter top to do it so I'd do a lot at once. Gonna be great. 

Digits below pictures. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Indoor quick walk, 15 min/.81 mi. Toffee and Doug walk, 18 min/.94 mi; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 137
4:45pm: 134
10pm: 94

food & meds:
8:45am: jardiance
10:30am: 2 slices of amish cheese bread w/cream cheese
12:30pm: apple w/pb
1:30pm: met+glip
2pm: giant oatmeal cookie
6pm: chicken cacciatore: 2 chicken thighs, wine/tomato sauce, onions, carrots, mushrooms. Geoff killed it tonight! 
red wine
8:30pm: triscuits & port wine/almond cheese  

Cookies 2026 - It begins

Henry has given our cookie decorating event an official name. CCC. 

Christmas Cookies with Christine. 

So, it's officially a tradition. Not only is this year 4, but... it has a name. 

Today I was going to start mixing up the cookie dough, get it set aside, and start baking cookies every day this week. I only had 2 eggs though. So that'll happen tomorrow. I'll send Geoff to the store for more vanilla, and eggs, and m&ms for decorating trees and rudolph's nose. 

So instead of getting the sugar cookies baked, I opted to make oatmeal cookies. I also had the added joy of discovering that our milk jug was leaking. Geoff said he didn't drop it on the way into the house or anything but somehow, there was a leak that obviously wasn't an issue at the market or it would have leaked empty in the store. 

Doug suggested using one of the glass bottles we got from South Mountain Creamery. I thought they were gallon, or 3/4 gallon but they are half gallon. So I used one of our sports bottles for most of the remaining amount. There was about a half cup left, and that's exactly what I need for the oatmeal cookies. 

When I made them, I should have used the medium size cookie scoop. I used the biggest one, so the cookies were actually gigantic. But they were super tasty. 

Earlier today, I went to the gym before the football games even got started. I told myself to do a full half hour, and I did. I will say that if I push to 40 min I can probably hit 2 miles. If only my attention span would work! 

I ran a little bit, a few of the songs were bangers and ones that I enjoy jogging to. Felt like I got a good amount of steps and distance in. 

Doug had put the chicken wings into the oven, and they were heating up. He took a nap and I took them out to evaluate them. They were super flabby and gross, and I knew that I wasn't going to enjoy them. I feel like flabby chicken wings are a crime. They have to be good and crispy. Cooked long enough that you can strip the meat right off with one bite. These were not that. 

I spread them out on a sheet, to get them some space, put a little olive oil on them but still, that didn't crisp them up. 

Still, the ones I ate had good meat on them, and it didn't kill me to eat them. I just wouldn't suggest we ever buy these again. Some other offering from the BBQ guy at the Dutch Market. 

Then I had two giant oatmeal cookies for dinner. Didn't want to eat much else. 

Right now it is 16 degrees out and windy as heck. Hoping tomorrow is a little bit warmer and not as windy. Toffee struggled with the cold today!

Pictures below are ... One of my cookies broken in half, but it is the size of the plate. Then, miss Toffee all sleepy and cuddly on my lap, missing in this shot is the blanket she is swaddled in. And then Miss Dijon, also a cuddle pup wrapped in her blanket. Perfect place for doggies to be today! 

And digits below the pics.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 30 min/1.62 mi; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 142
5pm: 102
10pm: 150

food & meds:
9am: jardiance
10am: 2 slices of amish cheese bread, toasted w/butter
11am: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
1pm: met+glip
3:30pm: some chicken wings
6pm: 2 giant oatmeal cookies
white wine
9pm: met+glip

Errands and Beers and Walkies

We have weather headed our way tonight. Allegedly an inch or two of snow, but everyone acts like it is a snowpocalypse, even here in the mountains. It snow/rained a bit, last time I checked before writing this entry. We shall see what tomorrow is like! 

We may not get out of the house tomorrow. I'm glad we got a couple things done today. 

First up was bird seed. Doug put out our bird feeders and thought we had a big ole bag but there was no big ole bag. There is a "farm and family" store in the plaza up the street, and they have all kinds of things for your farm and your family. Including bird seed in many different styles. 

We have a bird feeder "hook" that's like a shepherd's hook - you can't quite see it out the window in the living room so we eyeballed a really taller one. He wanted to give this shorter one a test to see if birds even come by, or if the squirrels we are feeding our giant stash of walnuts to will eat it all up as a change of pace. The walnuts are a whole story in and of themselves... ugh. Anyway. 

Two bags hauled up and out the door. And I'll be going back for some good winter socks, soon. I didn't feel like poking around too much and burdening Doug because he had a bit of an agenda. I always shop better solo anyway. 

Next to a Dutch Market. They have everything from the local farms, and there is a BBQ joint in the back which was looking to get rid of as many chicken wings as they could. So a huge tray for 20 bucks. Perfect for football tomorrow. Oh, and cherry pie to go with the ice cream that we still have. 

We drove around a part of town we hadn't really been through, and found ourselves rolling up on the downtown brewery. Oh of course, yes please. We stopped in for a couple beers and chats but didn't stay long. Doug wanted to feed the birds. 

While he fed the birds, I took Toffee for a solid walk, not as long as I wanted but she was kind of a pest on the leash. Still, just about a mile, and I think it made her very happy. 

Geoff made dinner for us and got it started while I was out walking the dog. 

All told, a banner day. Tomorrow may not be as awesome outdoors-wise. But at least we have wings! 

Here are some brewery pictures! Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks - one inside while Doug was showering (because I didn't want to not get a walk in case we decided not to go anywhere) 23 min/.41 mi (slow - putting things away and tidying up while walking. Second walk with Toffee, 17 min/.9 mi. 11k+ by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 140
5pm: 153
10:30pm: 171

food & meds:
8:45am: jardiance (waiting for phentermine to arrive)
11:45am: english muffin w/pb & low sugar j
1pm: met+glip
2pm: 2 beers at the brewery
5:30pm: chicken parm w/some penne; big slab of cherry pie w/vanilla ice cream
2 more beers
9pm: Met+glip

Leftover Bonanza

Work was super slow, so a quick check on the weather indicated that it was cold (33 degrees) there was no wind (that I could feel in the backyard) so I set out to do a decent walk at 3pm-ish. It was much colder out than I thought, the wind was a little more windy than I thought when I evaluated things. 

Ugh. 

I didn't cut it down short even though I wanted to. Pushed through. The playlist was a little on the slower side so no running. Doug and Geoff took Toffee to the dog park, and because I knew I'd fall short on steps overall for the day. While they were gone, I did more inside steps, then went through the refrigerator to find all the leftovers. 

We have a lot of leftovers. 

Geoff's meals usually are to feed 4 people, sometimes we eat it all but sometimes there are leftovers. They go into the fridge, and well, sometimes they are forgotten.

But not tonight.

I ate 2 of the pork chops from the other night's meal. Doug had a bowl of turkey soup and some orzo pasta that was left over from his restaurant meal last weekend. Geoff had a bowl of chili and then some mashed potatoes under some chili, which never occurred to him. So he was blown away. It was kind of cute.

There are still leftovers. I think I'm going to make a shepherds pie with the potatoes, and some ground beef. I just need gravy. 

Tonight was our office holiday party. I didn't feel like going, 2 hours there and probably a hotel for the night. I wanted to be home here. I'm not in a festive or party mood. I have a little bit of regret but not really. Parties are nice though. Maybe next year. 

Not sure what we're doing this weekend. Allegedly we're getting snow on Saturday but right here, we are not expecting any accumulations. West of us they're getting a foot, east of us probably a couple inches. Kind of weird that we're in a possible no-zone. 

Not much else to say today. No picture digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 27 min walk outside/1.45 mi. no jog/run aspect, just straight up walking; 10 min inside, .56 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 153
4pm: 143
10pm: 170 (expected to be lower thanks to taking met+glip at the same time here).

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance (waiting for phentermine to arrive)
9:30am: atkins protein bar
12:30pm: bowl of tuna salad w/ some left over greens and cherry tomatoes
4pm: met+glip (forgot to take earlier. doh)
6pm: leftover pork chops, 3 pierogis, 
8pm: ramekin of cashews; orange juice and pineapple rum
10pm: met+glip

Not much of an entry today

 Only writing something for digits and then going to bed. So thankful for Geoff making dinner. Such a mensch.

zzzzzz goodnight.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 20 min/1.09 mi (cut short to get back to work); second walk, 15 min/.8 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:45am: 122
5pm: 116
11pm: 173

food & meds:
7:45am: jardiance (waiting for phentermine to arrive)
noon: BLT Salad
1pm: met+glip
6:30pm: pork chop & 4 pierogis in a very nice sauce from geoff.
white wine
vodka/orange juice
8:30pm: met+glip

Fancy Pants and Apple Pie

A few weeks ago I bought some winter weight exercise pants from Baleaf, because it is getting awfully cold out there. And I can't always go to the gym if I have a day stacked with meetings (like today). To actually get a walk/jog/dog time in I'm going to have to suck it up and go outside. 

To be honest, the other night I was out there and it was 27 degrees. I had on my regular yoga pants, which don't go all the way to my shoes. My whole body was really comfortable, no wind was blowing (this is a major plus) but my shins and feet were freezing. Your girl was okay.

I have LL Bean gloves where the fingers flip up and your finger tips can be out (good for the Pokemon playing or the playlist shuffling). A sweatshirt with a hood, my columbia sportswear jacket liner, I'm pretty good to go as long as there is no wind!

So these pants got their maiden voyage today in between meetings. Super comfy and warm, extra pockets, which is nice. I feel like they are too long but it is better than too short. I did a 20 min walk around the block, super comfortable and happy. Would have kept going, but had to get back for a meeting. Ten thumbs up for the pants.

Oh, and it was 40 degrees and no wind today. Perfect. I wished I'd gone out 30 min. earlier to pack in a good long walk but I had to get back for a meeting. I did end up going out after dinner for another quickie since I was about 1500 steps shy of my goal for the day. And it was still perfect out. Aaaah. 

Thanks Pants! 

Last night, if you recall, I had peeled those apples, and put them in the fridge for today. I intended to make the pie at noon but didn't get to it until about 4:45pm due to meetings (and the fact when I should have been getting the pie ready I went for that walk, but the walk was important). I used a recipe I found online for sour cream apple pie, or Pennsylvania Dutch apple pie. I had made something similar many times in the past with a different recipe, I think it also had cranberries in it. I lost that recipe, it was cut out of a newspaper in 1990! I usually fail at the streusel topping, but this one worked out AND included walnuts.  

It came out beautifully at around 6:30pm, and was still hot when we cut into it so the ice cream got melty and delicious. I am very happy with the recipe and the results. 

Geoff made a cheesy chicken alfredo thing for dinner. Heck it was tasty. We created so many dishes though, I had to run the dishwasher twice and there are still bowls in the sink for the morning... 

And, thank God for the dishwasher. That would have been about 10 sinks of dishes, drying, washing, drying.... forever. 

Pictures of pie. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 20 min walk/1.14 mi (no jogging or anything); 11 min/.59 mi.; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 111
4:45pm: 118
11pm: 188

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance
11:30am: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
1pm: met+glip
2pm: atkins snack bar
7pm: plate of chicken alfredo pasta
7:30pm: slice of damn fine pie, with a scoop of full sugar vanilla ice cream (sorry blood sugar!)
8pm: met+glip
white wine

Apple Pie Prep

My cousin as of this writing still has not been moved to his nursing home. Doug told me he should be thankful. The major hospital is a better place to be for right now. Be patient. He texted that they got him cleaned up and shaved, and sent a picture to us. It is stunning how much he looks like his mom since he's lost like 150 pounds over the past couple years.

Cancer is a hell of a weight loss plan. 

I asked him "did you get more snow? Maybe that's why they haven't moved you, to keep vehicles off the street." And he told me I'm probably right. 

Will check in with him tomorrow to see how things are going. 

This has nothing to do with John, but this morning I woke up in kind of a crappy mood. Kind of like, I do not want to do work, why am I going to work, blah, meh, feh, etc. 

It could be worse when it comes to work, I mean, my sister can tell ya... I chatted with my work wife and said I just wanted to bake pies and take a walk but it is 20 degrees and I hate peeling apples.

Why is life so unfair to us! hahaha.

Anyway. I went down, checked mail, decided I would work help documents. I read them. Didn't make a lot of adjustments or changes. And got distracted by helpdesk tickets. 

Next thing I knew it was time for a prep meeting for a presentation that one colleague has invited me to help with but another one is totally going to do what the person who invited me wanted me to do. I just had to laugh. Oh okay. Take all the work on yourself and I'll sit here and watch. 

I like that. To be actually honest, I like it. I will sit and smile on Zoom.

At around 2pm, help articles and tickets were boring me, Doug was napping, Geoff went to class, so I got in the car and went to the gym. It is kind of a long drive to get there, I wish they had a location closer. I looked at the YMCA and it is so stupid expensive that I said no way. This'll do. And I'll suck up the time in the car.

Half hour on the treadmill and the playlist didn't serve up any bangers. Some slower things, but still, enough for me to get over a mile and a half. Because I needed to get back to work, I didn't push to 40 min. This was enough and I felt happy for it. 

Back home and back to work. I lost track of time and completely forgot to feed the dog.  She waited for me to realize, without whining or crying. Sorry bean. I love you and how patient you are. 

I started dinner, Doug was still working so I got everything prepped and partly cooked, and waited on the pierogis because I wanted to have them ready closer to when Geoff got home. It worked out just right. 

Today, the freezer stopped making ice cubes and we aren't sure why. The refrigerator runs cold as hell, and the ice maker has always been a little rock star. Never empty. Just always so reliable. We'll look into it tomorrow. I'm sure there is a 20 minute video on the internet to tell me what to look for.

Good thing I didn't chuck the two reliable ice trays we have. That freezer will probably have frozen solid babies in no time, and I'll just keep refilling it all day. 

I did peel apples for apple pie, I just didn't feel like baking a whole ass apple pie at 10pm. They are in a ziploc bag in the very very cold refrigerator. Patiently waiting for me to turn them into a bomb ass pie tomorrow. 

thought about taking pictures of them but. Meh. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill trip, 30 min/1.68 mi (slower pace than yesterday). 10+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 123
4:30pm: 88
10:15pm: 116

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance
12:30pm: English muffin w/pb & low sugar j; handful of fritos
1:30pm: Met+glip 
4:45pm: ramekin of cashews
6:30pm: keilbasa, onions & peppers, 4 pierogi. white wine
8pm: met+glip

It's a birthday

 We interrupt our regularly scheduled bloggings for a little celebration. Today is my best bestie's birthday. And she's had a rough year with a lot of stuff going on in her little corner of the world. I actually put it in my google calendar this year, because I always know December but forget the actual date. 

Is it December 3? 5? 9? 12? when the hell is her birthday! 

So the alert went off on my phone at 6am. But magically, I knew before I went to bed that it was today and that made me smile. 

I want her to know how special she is. I don't think she knows how special she is. I don't think I could give her a gift that could reflect my love, adoration, and appreciation for her (I do have a little something to send her but keep forgetting to ship it! Note to self...). 

She's the kind of friend where you say you need something, it shows up on your front porch, delivered by the FedEx folks, the next day. She's constantly thoughtful and faithful to remembering things (much better than I am) and is a loving host when you come to visit. I'm wearing a pair of slippers she bought me one year that I came up to camp, because the forecast was for cold weather and camp is camp. So feet have to be protected. 

Somehow, she knows the perfect time to send a text or email, when the universe is beating down on my brain, I get a love note or an "Oh, hello" from her that brightens my day.  We can go a week without connecting but she's there. She's always there, and like the Temptations sang in "My Girl," I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. She is just that.

She tolerates my Guster obsession and was willing to join me for this show in Boston (photo from the meetup with GusFans before the show). While she isn't as into a lot of music as I am, she's a good go-along for the fun friend. Once, she told me after a Barenaked Ladies concert that she had more fun watching me watch them. 

It's that kind of acknowledgement of who I am that I love and appreciate. Doug would choose to not go to a show at all, which makes me sad, rather than come and watch me be deep in my joy. 

Through her job, I've learned so much about her field that when I see something relevant to it, I stop to talk to the person and I sound like I know what I'm talking about, thanks to her. 

I can turn to her with gripes and with happiness. Share my oys and joys as it were. 

There are few people on this earth I love this much. And she's in the top 5 hands down. And the four others are Linda, Doug, Jess, and Geoff. 

She is family, chosen family, and without her I'm often rudderless. 

Oh, and she always says "we need to get a good picture of us next time we see each other" but to be honest, this picture brings me so much joy. At a bar, in Fenway, with a shiny neon Baseball sign over our heads. How hilarious. It's perfect. It's us.

Happy Birthday Caroline. Wishing I could hang out with you right now, but soon. And soon and soon. I love you.