Realizing we are past solstice

It was a hugely busy work day, I am supposed to be going over help documentation and every thing today was a total distraction. Got a lot done but not what I needed to get done. Around 9pm I picked up the laptop to look at the list and just could not bring myself to do that work. I have an incredibly light meeting day tomorrow. Hopefully no one will ask me questions about anomalies in a client's program schedule that happened over the weekend that we cannot recreate, or replacing a .php podcast URL with an rss feed - how is that done? Heck. I didn't even know you could us a php thingie to podcast off of. There's something wrong/fishy with that question but I spent a good hour with another person trying to tease it all apart. 

The entire morning was consumed by this site launch we were supposed to do today, but somehow there were some last minute issues (a remigration of content, copied over stuff the client and my friend B had done, so.... ugh) we made the decision to push the launch to Wednesday. We don't do too many of these, but the ones we do are time consuming and a lot of it is on B, especially with content migrations. There should be a whole different team to do that. But we do it, and do the absolute best. This client is a challenge though, and I really don't want for it to go badly. 

We made the right decision. 

Talked to Jess for about an hour, it's always nice to hear from them and we had some good laughs. I was exceptionally jealous of the lunch they went and picked up. If we're in Pizza Jail, we're also in Calzone Jail. 

Doug and I talked to our buyers broker after 3pm, and she said it does feel weird what happened with the house but anything could happen. And we can find something else but she's going to keep on this situation if anything new develops. She (the listing agent) has not answered the question "do you want a backup offer," so this may be some sort of inside / family deal and they don't want a counter. Fishy? I don't know. I don't really know all the details of what is happening with her and my buyers broker doesn't either. 

Still, rather frustrating. 

I did a big indoor walk around 5:30pm while Doug was out with Toffee. I was going to do 15 min but went a full half hour. It just worked out that way and I was in the mood. 

Then I needed some pokemon action, so I walked up the street around 8pm. I had waited all day for some good thunderstorms and it never happened, so I watered the plants and went. I didn't turn it into the full mile loop, because it was so hot and gross. Luckily the early 30 min walk was good to get me a lot of steps there and I didn't have to worr about a long walk in the evening. So hot and gross. 

It is still light around 9pm but soon it isn't going to be. We're on the downhill slide to darkness and within 5 weeks, 9pm will be all the way dark. 

Kind of depressing to realize that.

Not much else to report. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  2 walks. One inside for 30 min. 1.31 miles; short pokemon walk 15 min, .6 miles  10k+ steps by bedtime 

blood glucose:
8:45am: 154
5pm: 165
11pm: 142

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
9am: entenmann's chocolate donut
11:30am: greek yogurt, granola bar, blackberries
2pm: met+glip
3pm: some roast beef 
6pm: some fries, 3 bratwursts
10:15pm: met+glip
white wine & diet ginger ale

The Angry Day

Sunday morning I was up early with little sleep. I was sad about the house situation and losing out. Maybe I should have just done what C suggested and make an offer sight unseen. 

I also got a monstrous charlie horse in my right leg at about 3am. I tried to walk it off, stretch, drink a lot of extra water, it eventually subsided. It was behind my knee, my hamstring was so tight. I was so close to getting in a hot shower to hit it to help but eventually I was comfortable enough to go back to bed, and eventually sleep.

Because it was so early, Toffee and I had some good cuddle time while my phone did an Android update of some sort. I hate it. They changed the size of things and put many of my apps into Dark Mode. And some of my settings just disappeared. Thanks, Android. Super helpful. 

Doug slept in, and he seemed to be in a good mood at first but progressively got rather grumpy to the point where I said "why are you being so incredibly rude to ME." He told me after he had breakfast that his stomach hurt. So what. Take that out on me? No. Stop. I went out to water the garden, everything was looking wilty. I thought it rained here yesterday (it sure did out in Western Virginia) so I didn't water yesterday, but I guess we got ripped off here in the DC area. 

He told me he's pissed about the house, and feels like we should have gone out on Friday to see it. 

He suspects we basically got chumped by the listing agent, who he sees is playing Mean Girls games with our buyer's broker, and it's bullshit that she "didn't realize" T was taking us to the house after she showed it to someone and took their offer. She doesn't want to share her commission with a buyer's broker. So she's not responding to the texts and won't tell us.  

I said we can't know that (but ... I mean. Not a bad theory, but) and anything can happen. Also, it's Sunday and maybe she's busy with family and things. 

He doubts that is true. He is thinking the absolute worst dirty dog dealing situation. 

If T can hear back from the listing agent with info on what the offer was, and if we can counter, we'll see what comes. That did not make him happy. He pulled up the listing and was so pissed to see "under contract" on the picture. And then continued to be mad. 

T sent us some other listings. And he's even more pissed she continues to send us listings in HOAs up the side of a mountain 23 minutes outside of town, where they charge you $300 a month for mowing a field near the clubhouse we will never use. And she sent a listing for a townhouse and that isn't what we want and he was frustrated saying "she doesn't get it" but she really does ... she's just trying to be helpful and he does not have to look at them or respond. I had to listen to him rant. And be short with me. So I just went in the kitchen and fussed with things. 

Oh my god. 

He is also mad because he is helping his aunt and cousin fill out an online application for a rental. She's arguing with him that the rental company is "being mean" to her by making her do this. Why do they need a copy of my drivers license front and back. Why do they need a bank statement. "I went to the bank and asked for that and they told me they didn't know what I was talking about." They didn't know what your bank statement was? C'mon, man. 

And his cousin hasn't got paystubs or a W2. Doug called him today to talk him through how to take a picture of something (ie: the bank statement, or the drivers license) and send it to him as an attachment. We will print it as a PDF and attach it to the online application. He (the cousin) said he doesn't know how to do that. Doug repeatedly explained how to take a picture and attach it to a text. 

Doug is extra furious that they cannot even adult enough to find themselves some documentation, and get it to the rental agent. He signed up for the rental portal for them. He logged into her Social Security account to get a statement. He did this that and the other thing, and he just does not understand why they are so epically incapable of self-care. 

That was before noon and by 6pm he still had not sent us anything. 

"I'm going to have to go over there myself and do this, aren't I?" he said to me. And then he went to take the dog for a walk, even though it is 95 degrees and 90% humidity because he's just so angry. 

I thought about the gym, and my foot was hurting a lot today. I've done a lot over the past few days. So I just walked inside the house while he walked Toffee. I need to get back into a more steps situation but the treadmill just sounds horrible to me right now. I tried to take a nap, but couldn't turn my brain off. 

After dinner, I did go out for a pokemon walk, and it started to rain so I turned around and came back instead of going the full mile around. Got home just in time. I was 900 steps shy of 10k at 11pm so I went back out for a quick walk down the other end of the street to the other pokemon things, hit the goal and felt pretty good. 

Doug never did go over to his aunt's house to get what's needed. I don't know if he's going to do it tomorrow or whatever. His fuse is short, and he may just tell them they're on their own. 

He pulled up a house we had considered and were going to look at before The Dream House came on the market. He thinks we should take a stab at this one. The price is right, it's in the town I like the best and would want to live in, It needs a few things, like a couple doors that have to be replaced because they're all messed up (how do people mess up doors?) Nice level yard. Privacy for Geoff and we wouldn't have to put a bathroom downstairs. It works. It could be good. We'll sleep on it. 

Watch it go under contract overnight. lolz. 

Tomorrow's a new day. And a short week so I'm absolutely thrilled to cram everything into 4 days instead of 5. 

No picture, almost took one of Toffee in the back yard but she was too fast. She loves to run! Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Two walks. One in the house for 20 min, .94 mile; then outside but cut short, 15 min, .68 mile. And one more but I didn't measure time & distance. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8am: 154
4:45pm: 116
11pm: 105

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
12:30pm: egg mcmuffin at home, with bacon and cheddar
2pm: some tuna salad (doug had a sandwich and there was leftover in the bowl); met+glip
6:30pm: nachos w/ cheese and spicy ground beef, sour cream & avocado salsa
8pm: finished the beef (not really enough to put in for left overs)
9pm: met+glip 

The Busiest of Saturdays

This is Saturday's post, I had no energy to share late last night. 

We got beat out on the offer on the dream house. Our realtor called us last night at 10:30pm. More on that below. 

Saturday early afternoon,  we went over to my work wife's kid's 8th birthday party. It was at an indoor trampoline park, we didn't get a lot of time with him, just enough for quick catching up and chatting for a minute. It was wonderful to spend time with R and her husband, mom, brother, and see A interacting with his friends. She doesn't like pictures of him on the internet so here are the cookies she had custom made for his Baseball Themed party. 

We hit the road to head out west to meet up with our buyer's broker to look at the one house so far we love. Amazing price, too good to be true? But we had to see it. 

Interstate 495 to 66 between the Maryland border and the Manassas area is always a shit show, like a goddamn Mad Max movie, and it is terrifying. I was so relieved to get into the open beyond Gainesville, so many cars disappear, and the ride gets so pleasant. The clouds were putting on quite a show for us, it was lovely and refreshing. 

We made it to the showing on time (thanks to Doug's quick driving skills) and our buyer's broker is adorable. She brought her husband who is a handyman, because she wanted his opinion on the "bones" of this house. 

The house is adorable, basically perfect. It is a little close to a busy intersection but not IN the intersection, but incredibly easy access to getting to the highways (66 and 81). 

There are some concerns with the property like the shared driveway with the neighbor but it can easily be rectified either by putting in a new driveway closer to the house, or widening the current driveway. 

I can see me backing up into his car while trying to get out. I'm not concerned about snow removal, the boys are good at it, and if the neighbor already has a plow guy we'll happily share the cost. 

I'd like to see a full finished bathroom in the basement, there is already a shower head and drain, but no toilet hookup. There was one previously that the utility sink drains into. 

D (the buyer's broker's husband) and I measured out where a would be, and it would fit, and be great. Washer dryer hookup in the basement is ready to roll, brand new, lovely. The only thing missing would be a window in the bathroom and I'm okay with that. He doesn't have a window right now. Just an excellent exhaust fan (unlike what he has now) would be mandatory.

D and I talked about whacking a wall out between the dining room and kitchen, spreading the kitchen out into the dining room, moving the fridge and putting the cabinets from the whack out onto the wall in the dining room. Kitchen island, with still plenty of room for a dining table and eat-in kitchen. It has the space for it. Doug already disagrees but I see this as a huge win if it is done.

The only weird thing to me is that we'd never use the front door. He called it the Trick or Treaters' or Jehovah's Witnesses door - the only people who would ever use it would be people who don't usually come to the front. Maybe Amazon packages. Maybe.

Landscaping out front - the house has a hilly front, a dramatic slope. Difficult to mow. Doug said he'd put in low evergreen cover or pachysandra because then you never have to do anything with it. I said that'd be nice on one side but on the other I'd love a 3 level terraced set up with perennials and then sow wild flower seeds into the boxes - it'd be beautiful, and would never have to be mowed either. 

We had really good vibes on this house. 

I could see my plants in the upstairs bathroom, office in this room, guest bed in that room, Geoff's space would need work like I said, but he'd have the capability to have kind of a living room area and his bedroom. And it isn't a "we can't move in if this is not done. 

And let's not forget the screened in porch for porch life. 

I stood out there on the porch as a thunderstorm rolled in, imagined the patio furniture, the little tiny table lamps, the candles, and just really felt happy. 

And putting in a fence to keep Toffee safe, we know exactly where that would go. 

We went to look at a second house in another town. It still had a lot of the owners' stuff in it. And it is a confusing layout. We are not sure what happens in this house. There is a large living room with a grand piano in it, then you walk into a formal dining room, there's kind of this weird interior room with a freezer, more cabinets, and a countertop (and a way back into the living room). The tiniest closet of a 1/2 bath is over there too. 

There's a large eat in kitchen, kind of pretty but the cabinets need new drawers and doors. A den, and a wall dividing them. 

And the wrap around 3 season porch in the back is fantastic. 

It's a split level house, so off the main livingroom there are two staircases, one up and one down. The one down goes to what could be an official apartment. It used to be a garage. Large living room with built in shelving everywhere, window seat with room for a small tv (we wouldn't put one there but they have one). The bedroom down there is huge and it has its own bathroom of decent size but nothing overwhelming). Laundry, and a utility room, tight quarters in that area, and an exit to the back yard. 

The other split level staircase goes up to three bedrooms, one good sized and the other two small. Nice full bathroom with brand new walk in shower. 

The mystery room in the middle of the house, wow. that could be a giant wonderful bathroom if you whack out a wall and close it off from the kitchen/dining area. Soaking tub and separate shower. Upstairs washer/dryer even, with the cabinets and marble counter top too. I see that potential. 

And the yard. The view from the yard is amazing, right over to the mountains. Large, level, flat, beautiful. Excellent shed, lovely garden, really nice. 

We spent a lot more time in this second house than the first one, but I feel like it needs so much work to make it ours, and it would be huge. Way huge, once Geoff moves out. Someday. 

Still. Seeing potential in that possibility. 

We told our realtor we wanted to make an offer on First Perfect Dream House, she said she'd reach out to the listing broker and let her know and start writing up the contract. 

Dinner. We needed dinner. We headed over to the brewery in Strasburg because it was closest and we enjoyed our stop in there last time we were in town. I felt much better after we ate, I had neglected to take my meds at 2-3 pm the way I usually do so it was time to feel super sick and shaky. Not sure how much of it was blood sugar and how much of it was anxiety. A little of column A, a little column B.

The place was packed! It's sunny out on a Saturday night, and this place was hopping. 

Buffalo fingers, a couple beers, and 7pm music. Robbie Limon was the performer, acoustic solo performance of all your favorite hits from Johnny Cash to America to David Bowie. He even did "Take On Me by A-ha, and hit the high note for "in a day or twooooooooo." Impressive. 

Doug insisted we have a slice of cheesecake to celebrate. Full of good feelings and some joy, it was a happy moment. Yes please. And yes, it was so good.

We headed home and I talked to my cousin John for quite a while. He had called me twice while we were looking at houses and texted, so I felt like it was urgent. He was in his feelings, not in the hospital, and that was a relief. 

He's giving away all his stuff as he's getting ready to face a cancer battle. He has a lot of thoughts and feelings, and cried a little. He says the weirdest things sometimes. Like he is getting a visit from a former co-worker at a restaurant, she's an "older black lady," he always has to mention someone's skin color. He feels he can cry with her, she'll be compassionate "like they usually are." He can't cry or be emotional with his Fraternity Brothers, all of whom seem to be stepping up to help him in his time of need, far more than family are doing (hi. What am I doing?) because "they expect me to be strong at this time." 

Dude, c'mon. You sound like a low rent version of a William Faulkner novel. 

Anyway. I'm going down there in a week so I can go to his Oncology consult in person with him, "because a person should not have to do this alone." This is true. And for as weird as he is, and as differing of opinion we have, he should not have to go see his Oncologist to talk about the depth and breadth of his cancer treatment options. 

When I was telling him about where we are looking for a house, he asked how far from Luray it is, which isn't that far. He said years ago he wanted to stop on a road trip with his friends at Cooters. There is a replica of The General Lee there, and he wanted to stop and see it. Not to stop at the restaurant and eat or anything, just see the car. Photo op. Roadside attraction. 

The driver did not want to stop because "she wants to believe that it didn't happen."

"That what didn't happen?" I asked, "'The Dukes of Hazard?'"

"No," he replied. "The Conflict."

Ohhhhhhhh. The Conflict! Yes. Let's pretend it never happened but also, The Dukes Of Hazard isn't a show that glorifies the conflict. It has a confederate flag on top of a car, and it about southern people and short shorts, and Uncle Jesse, and bad sheriffs. And Cooter. 

"Well," I said, "When I get back from Maine in mid-August, I'll come get you. We'll go to Cooter's. We'll have a meal, I'll get your picture with the General." He was very thankful to hear that. 

We were almost home when our Buyer's Broker called. Her initial is T. It was late, so I was surprised. I thought maybe she wanted to let me know she sent me the contract to look over.

"I've got bad news and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I didn't let you know."

I answered "oh no. Someone beat us to it."

Yes. 

She called the listing broker after we parted ways, and the listing broker said "Oh, I didn't know you were showing the house today." T said, "well, you gave me the key code in a text the other day, and I told you I was bringing people over on Saturday afternoon." 

"Someone made an offer this morning. I showed the house at 10am, and they offered on the spot."

Shoot. 

So.

I told her, "we'd like to counter. I don't want to get into a pissing match of a bidding war but at least, can we counter offer if we know what they offered?" 

Doug said he's happy to enter a bidding war. 

She said she'd find out what the offer is, and let me know. As of 11am Sunday, the listing agent has not replied to her but she'll keep us posted. This morning she and I had a nice chat, she's frustrated that the listing agent has not answered her question. But I told her hey - if it isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be.

 But this house is "the bar," against which any future listings should be measured. It's our vibe, it's our jam, and now you know. 

"I figured that out within the first 10 minutes of being in the house with you, before we went up to the bedroom to look at it. I will hopefully find that next most perfect if this one does not work out."

Publishing this now, saving the Sunday entry for later tonight. 

Saturday digits

exercise: 10/12 hours.  

blood glucose:
10am: x 158
n/a pm: missed due to house hunting
11pm: 138

food & meds:
10am: phentermine+jardiance
11am: english muffin w/pb and bonnie maman's
6pm: met+glip
6:30pm: boneless buffalo fingers; 2 beers
10:30pm: met+glip

TGI.... what day is it?

Having Monday off messed with my head. I absolutely thought today was Thursday until a meeting that happens every three weeks called Sprint Review. Thankfully I caught on by lunchtime and figured it all out. We're under a time crunch for some work to be done on the site that is launching Monday. Usually sites launch on Not Monday and also Not Friday, so we were scrambling around 6pm to do some spit and polish. My boss is going on vacation (technically he already should have been logged off and gone) and he was contributing a lot to the work. He saved me from some serious scrambling by the end, and I won't have to sweat it on Monday. Boom like that.

It rained most of the day but the heat broke, and that was nice. After dinner, I managed to squeeze in a pokemon walk, it had stopped raining and was just a little misty and humid. By the time I was approaching the house the misty was turning into a steady drippy, and I was happy to get back inside. I had been tempted to add another block or so to the party to get to a full solid half hour. 

Body is feeling pretty good, and was willing to stick with it except for the rain. I didn't want to go to the gym because after 4pm it gets super crowded even on a Friday night! 

Tomorrow we've got a huge and busy day. We're going to my work wife's son's 8th birthday party (is he my son too if she's my work wife?) It's at a trampoline park and we're mostly going so R won't lose her mind and can socialize with people she loves. We have to bail early though - we're driving out west to visit houses with our realtor, and it is a 2 hour drive from where the party is, and I hate being late. We'll have some good social time, hugs and kisses, hand off the present, and leave before the cupcakes (he doesn't like cake but he loves cupcakes). 

I'm super excited about one of these houses. It checks ALL the boxes except one - fenced in yard. But we can get that done. it has 3/4 an acre of land, a cute as fuck front, screened in porch and Sunroom. 2 full baths (there isn't one in the basement but we can look into what that would entail. A water pump for the toilet/drains/whatever. I think we have that already in the basement here for Geoff's toilet. 

Wish us luck, okay?

Right now, Doug's on the phone with his aunt. He tried calling her all evening and she just now finally answered. 

She hired a rental agent, very close to where we're moving (effing damnit to hell) and they found a house rental for her who will accept her, the cat, her son, and wants her to pay a year's rent up front. 

Which she thinks is "mean." But lady - you sold your house. You did this to yourself. You did not have to do this. You have basically a negative credit score. Pay a year up front and shut up and thank your lucky stars someone is going to rent to you because to be honest, I would not.

She and Doug's cousin went out to see it today. There is a WHOLE story about that but I'll keep it.  The rental agent asked her to  her to fill out the online application and provide attachments of documents, but she has no internet access. The rental agent has Doug's phone number so she called him today to ask for his assistance in helping her get this together ASAP.

He's doing it for her. She needs a letter from her pension bureau and social security, permission to run her CORI report, oh and his cousin has to do this too, and provide his W2s which he does not have. 

So while he's on the phone dealing with that drama, I'm taking a ZZZquillll and going to bed. 

My husband is a saint.

Alright. Digits below, no picture, bedtime. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 23 min. walk, 1.01 miles. 7200+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:
8:45am: 122
4:30pm: 122
10:30pm: 190 *

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
12:15pm: pb& low sugar j on 647 italian bread
4:30pm: met+glip (forgot to take around 2-3pm) 
6:30: bowl of rotini w/cheese and sausage
*10:30pm: met+glip (note the blood sugar, waited until 10:30pm to take the medication because I forgot to take the first dose earlier in the day)
no wine/alcohol

Two Walk Thursday

I promised to be a little more interesting today compared to yesterday, didn't I my dear. 

This morning, Doug and the dog were up at about 7 and my alarm was set for 8:15. I wanted some extra sleep so I ignored them. Toffee got back in bed with me and we did a big snuggle. Her snoring was so comforting. 

I heard Geoff come back from the gym. Back from the gym is usually 9:30am.

9:30. 

Uh. 

I looked at my phone and the alarm was set for PM not AM.  Good job. I'm now a half hour late for a meeting. Ha. 

I jumped on, no camera, got my coffee, found out I missed absolutely nothing and there is a miro board for me to review with the work timeline. Thumb's up from me. I never did shower, but lately I've been pinning my bangs back and leaving my hair down. It looks alright? clean enough? not filthy, greasy, it's the new me I guess. 

Most importantly, this afternoon a new house came on the market in one of the towns we like, and it is basically perfect. Doug was in a big meeting, and so I waited for him to come upstairs to show him. 

But that didn't stop me from immediately sharing with C first and my email was "Please look at this house and tell me what is wrong with it."  

She said, I think jokingly, "I'd put an offer in sight unseen on that place... now." Lots of OMG yes. And I was so happy she felt the same as I did. That giddy "what the hell is this perfect thing doing right in my face!"

Doug came upstairs and was equally enthusiastic about it so we called our buyer's broker. We are seeing it on Saturday. Doug wanted to drive out tomorrow but I can't take another day off this week in good conscience. One co-worker is moving and another is at a conference. Saturday it is. 

There are things the place needs done to it, I'm thinking of a third bathroom in the basement for Geoff (he could shower on the first floor but he deserves the privacy of his own en suite. And when he doesn't live with us, amazing guest area with private bath. The yard needs fenced. Somehow we do not know where the "main floor washer/dryer" is hiding. Shared driveway with the neighbors so, a relationship has to happen for when it snows. 

It has a beautiful Sunroom, and a screened in porch, the yard is big and pretty, easy access to main roads without being on a main road, not up the side of a mountain on a serpentine gravel and dirt road, not in an HOA with tons of dumb rules. 

And, I think for the price, it's perfect in so many ways. And we can work with whatever needs worked with.

We were supposed to go see 5 places on Sunday. We may ... not? If this place is just right, we'll make an offer. We'll schedule the home inspection, we'll go for it.

I have liked the look of a lot of houses, and the first house we saw when we were testing out the town was my very favorite but we were very not ready to offer on anything yet and it sold. This is the next most best. 

To be honest, there's another town nearby that I like a whole lot more because it has more in it (like more than one grocery store, and a planet fitness, and a bitchin' downtown) but this is the next best town, and closer to the mountains and stuff. I dig it. It's good. 

Then. More work and more life!

I had a lot of meetings including one with a very challenging client moving onto our product and in the past he's pitted one of my work besties against me, and me against him, saying "Well C promised me this," or "B said it was going to cost this but now you're saying this." 

Nope. We talk about you behind your back and we know your games, sir. 

We're watching you. I asked my boss to come on this call, just to be there. He was absolutely overjoyed with how well B and I work together. The client asked how to do a thing, I explained it while B demoed it, in perfect coordinated time. 

After the meeting I messaged him and told him how much I love working with him. He's 30 years old which is HILARIOUS because he is right between Jess and Geoff in age. He could be my kid. In a meeting, a new employee asked what I was like (I was not at that meeting) and he said "she's got amazing mom energy, is super smart, always has your back, and is my best friend at work." A few people laughed and one said "yeah, that is absolutely accurate."

It's that kind of relationship that makes me happy to show up every day. 

Doug took Toffee for a walk at about 4:30 and I decided to test the legs out, walk in the house. I did a solid 20 min. walk and felt really good. Geoff and I cooked dinner together and after we ate, I decided to go on a Pokemon walk. 

We were between dry thunderstorms, absolutely no rain but tons of thunder and lightning tonight. Doug's mom called, and I figured I'd give him the space to talk to her without me eavesdropping. 

I ended up doing the full up and down loop and going for the the mile in 22 minutes. The short walk is a 12 minute up an back to one pokestop. The full loop is 20 min give or take with three pokestops. Up the street, back down the street and pass the house, to the stop sign, turn around and come back. A nice mile. So convenient. 

I'm a little stiff and sore right now, but happy to report that I'm not crying, in agony, or otherwise messed up. 

The toes felt good in the hiking sandals, the right hip always hurts but does not hurt extra bad or anything. Right shoulder and arm are sore but you don't use those in walking. I call this a victory. 

And at 82 degrees, it actually felt nice compared to two days ago when it was honest to God 105 out there.

Alrighty then, off to bed. Excited that tomorrow is Friday. I'm working on a couple heads down things and I have afternoon meetings but my 9am to 1pm are free and clear. Digits below.  

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks. 20 min/.87 mile and 22 min/1.03 miles  9200+ steps by bedtime (couldn't push it tonight)

blood glucose:
9:30am: 144
5pm: 110
11pm: 142 

food & meds:
9:30am: phentermine+jardiance
9:45am: 2 baby bell cheeses
12:45: last of yesterday's mac & cheese
1:30pm: met+glip
6pm: a pasta alfredo w/chicken dish that Geoff cheffed up (I helped a little)
2 glasses of wine w/diet ginger ale 
8pm: mixed nuts
11pm: met+glip (should have taken after my walk but forgot)

Hades in my Town

 It is so hot out. I'll just say that I love my central air conditioning and leave it at that. I only left the house to pick Geoff up at work so he would not have to walk home through the vestibule of hell. Hilariously my car was finally cooled off on the inside by the time we got home. 

Doug was going to take a walk, yesterday was hotter than today but there was a breeze at least. Today no breeze. Promises of thunderstorms did not pan out. Lying liars telling lies. It is over 80 degrees as I write this, just shy of 11pm. I feel for anyone working outside, or living outside. Saying special prayers in my heart for them. 

Nothing really to write about except bitching on the heat. Just recording a post for the digits. More interesting life tomorrow ... maybe.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk. 5400+ steps by bedtime. Need a walk soon...

blood glucose:
8:45am: 114
4:30pm: 140
10:30pm: 119 

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11:15am: small bowl of mac & cheese w/chorizo
1pm: met+glip
2:30pm: plain greek yogurt, granola bars crushed up, blackberries, splash of splenda
6:30: cheeseburger over bed of spinach w/tomatoes and bleu cheese dressing
8pm: bowl of mixed nuts w/a few chocolate chips thrown in
9pm: met+glip

Mandatory Easy Taking

I had a rotten night's sleep. Toffee wanted to be super close to me, and I couldn't roll over, couldn't stretch my legs. If I did manage to roll over, my right shoulder and upper back just screamed and rebelled. I drank a lot of water when I got home, so I had to pee a lot. Getting out of bed was a challenge. The bed is low. So I had to hold on to something to pull myself up. 

I went into the guest room at about 4am. Toffee came with, and I love her so much but fucking hell, dog... give me an inch of space. She rested her chin on my left knee and I almost screamed. 

At 8am I messaged my team and said I was going to continue to sleep. Unsetting the alarm fully I just let my body decided when it was time to get up. And at about 9:30 we needed to get up to pee. Mission accomplished - a little extra rest. 

My coworkers asked me why I have not gone to urgent care. I kind of feel like it'd be a pointless waste of time. Nothing is broken, well, maybe my last 2 toes on my right foot but they can't really DO anything with that. You just have to ride that out. The back, elbows, forearm, shoulder, knees all will eventually stop hurting. 

The only thing I would want is something stronger than Tylenol to take, and they don't just give out tramadol for bumps and bruises. 

Your girl's gonna tough it out. 

Geoff made pancakes this morning and had three small ones left over so I helped myself to them. Probably should have skipped them, but they looked so perfect and good. I went to work and got somethings done but felt so tired I tapped out and took a 2 hour nap. Geoff grilled dinner for us (thank you buddy) and I spent the evening just relaxing. 

Expect my fitbit stats to be super low for the next few days. Doug took Toffee for a walk even though it was so hot because she was demanding it. I did an indoor walk for just 10 minutes at a slow pace before dinner. Just enough. 

No picture, more tomorrow.

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours. Skipped 9am hour, slept through 4pm. took an indoor 10 min. walk while Doug took Toffee for a stroll, .45 mi. 4500+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:
10:45am: 111
4:30pm: 86
10:30pm: 140 

food & meds:
10:45am: phentermine+jardiance
10:45am: 3 chocolate chip pancakes (small. geoff leftovers from his breakfast)
2pm: met+glip
5pm: entenmann's chocolate donut
6:30pm: 2 big steak tips, a lot of salad, bleu cheese
8pm: ramekin of mixed nuts 
10pm: met+glip

Just Say Hello To The Ground

Was the universe mad at me for the amount of lecturing I gave my mother about falling? 

Maybe.

This morning I woke up on the early side of things. C and her other house guest B and the painter were all downstairs. I could hear talking, the dogs were barking a little. Nothing disruptive. It was actually very nice to just be in bed listening to the life of camp. But I had to pee. 

I got up, went to the bathroom, picked up the laptop and phone and started down the stairs. 

C's cabin has some steps that go down, a little landing, a couple more steps, another landing, and then 7 steps down to the main floor. There is a big window at the turn and I was taken by how beautiful the sunlight was through the trees. 

And I missed the step going from landing 1 to landing 2. Completely missed it. Hence, here comes the fall. 

I think I hit the wall, but somehow pivoted 90 degrees so my back was facing the stairs going down. I then started the down descent. Flat on my back, head first, facing the ceiling. I can clearly see the ceiling in my memory. 

Though I probably could have grabbed a baluster on the staircase railing, I didn't. I was holding the laptop to my chest, protecting it from getting wrecked. By the time I realized I should be trying to stop myself, I was already downstairs, at the foot of the stairs, on my back. 

C and B both were at me in a second telling me not to move, and then to move things slowly. Both arms, both legs, lift my head, okay. Nothing broken nothing bleeding. I laid there for a while, kind of stunned and not sure of what the hell just happened. They got me a pillow. C made me coffee (priorities!) Hoover dog (the English Bulldog) came and sat on me. Ginny the Frenchie came to sniff my eyeballs and brought me a toy. 

I slowly got up, my right knee was uncooperative for a while, unwilling to support my weight, so I sat on the bottom step and waited for it to be willing. I could feel where all the bruises were going to be: back of my right arm and hand, both knees, right shoulder, my right foot, my entire back and butt. My last two toes hurt the most. Don't toes always hurt the most? 

Shaken up a bit I got to the couch. Ice packs pulled out of the freezer, wrapped in towels, pressed against important spots. C got some first aid stuff out, and covered up my skinned knee with neosporin and placed bandages over the spots where I dragged the knee across the wall. 

Well cared for, coffee in hand, making jokes, the way we do. 

Not the way I thought I'd start the day. I knew C was off to work, B had a doctor's appointment, it was early enough that I thought I'd walk to the mailbox and back and knock the exercise out of the park before it got too hot. Nope. 

I was actually disappointed C did not take a picture of me on the floor, with the two dogs basically all over me but she was somewhat traumatized by what just happened. So she got a shot of me on the couch after she doctored me up. 

I want everyone to know that I kept that laptop perfectly safe. Priorities! 

Resuming normalcy, I did work, and enjoyed the interior of the house. Porch life wasn't happening because it was already so hot. B's three schnauzers came to sit in the living room with me, very sweet. 

Jess and I were going to meet for lunch but C had the car key in her purse. Oops. Instead, Jess came here and chilled with me for an hour. I miss them already. 

C got me to the airport early, forever thankful for the ride. Because I hurt so much, and my fitbit was just about dead, I had no desire to walk laps in the airport. So I had some late-ish lunch at the Sam Adams bar, a quesadilla and a couple beers hit the spot and headed to my gate. Uneventful half empty flight, such a relief. 

Doug was stuck in traffic but eventually made it to me and picked me up. We went to dinner and talked about how poorly behaved my mom was and how extra his Aunt is being, he had to have a severe come to Jesus lecture with her while we sat in the parking lot before we came home. 

Essentially she is not listening to him. What else is new. And he kind of laid down the law with her very bluntly and clearly about some of the nonsense she's pulling. She's supposed to be putting her name on a list for the senior housing but she's hired a realtor to help her find a house out in western Virginia (oh no. please no). 

Happy to get home, and my dog lost her mind when she saw me. I'm so sore, hoping for a good night's sleep. I have one tramadol from a medical procedure a few years ago which may still be good and I will probably take it. See how I feel tomorrow and if I need to go to the doctor. Ugh. 

Pictures from the airport, and digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. No walk today, Fitbit died around 8pm, so missed the last hour of the day. 6k steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:
7:45am: 106
n/a pm: on the plane
10pm: 208 (retesting since met+glip at the same time)

food & meds:
7:45am: phentermine+jardiance
1:30pm: peanut butter & crackers
3:30pm: met+glip; chicken quesadilla, guacamole, 2 beers 
8pm: cheeseburger, a couple fries, 1 beer
10pm: met+glip

Hang out, do nothing, do some things, do nothing

Saturday

We goofed off this morning and eventually made our way to mom's. We took pictures of the shed, and evaluated some things that need done around the yard. We took pictures of neighbor sheds and no one called the cops on us for trespassing and being creepy. 

Mom asked us to do some yard work and we decided we'd do it Sunday when we came back. Lin was also supposed to give her a pedicure because her feet are totally ratchet. 

We opted to postpone that until Sunday as well. We went to the hotel pool and had an absolute blast. The water was kind of cold, but once a body is in the water it is lovely. 

After pool we got cleaned up to go down to the bar. There was a Celebration of Life for someone happening, and I think the requisite attire for attending was Red Sox clothing and hats. We talked to the man who was best man at the wedding, he saw us looking at the photo board and came over to say "A hell of a man he was. What a great friend."

We didn't know the decedent, but happily engaged in chat with the guy. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. May his memory be a blessing.

At the bar, we drank a lot of wine. I drank too much wine on an empty stomach. Really dumb idea. We asked the bartender for chicken fingers like the night before and he said the fryer was not working. We could have pizza? With hindsight, we should have ordered some but I said "eh. I'll eat cheese and crackers and nuts when we go back to the room."

At the bar we met some nice people, we sang along to the songs. We watched people dancing inside and outside. And we shut the place down. I stumbled to the room while Linda continued to chat with folks, and I basically thought I was going to die. I did end up finishing 1500 steps to get to 10k. So you can be proud of me.

Finally did eat some cheese and crackers. Took my blood sugar and was pleasantly surprised it was not 900. 

Lin came to the room and gave me a back rub. She's very good at locating knots and working them. If it didn't start to hurt her hands so much she'd make an excellent massage therapist or kinesthesiologist (If I spelled that right?) 

Sleep. Sleep was very welcome. Sleep. 

Sunday

I hate having a hangover. Regretted that last glass of wine, regretted not ordering dinner, regretted my life.

 We checked out of the hotel and headed to mom's. We stopped for Gatorade zero (honestly, the greatest creation ever for hangover relief and altitude sickness!) and some milk for her coffee.

Way too hot to do yard work, and it had just rained so using the leaf blower on things that were patted down and damp would be twice the amount of work. Using a rake would be death for me. So I let he know I wasn't going to do it. She was alright with that.

Lin wanted mom to take a shower, it's probably been months since she has. She washes her hair in the kitchen sink and thinks that is sufficient bathing. She agreed on Saturday that she'd shower when we got there on Sunday. She reneged and just wanted Linda to do the pedicure. 

Linda said it is pointless to fight with her, resigned to just do the pedi. Mom has a friend who comes to check on her and do light housework, and this woman will have screaming fights with mom when mom isn't doing what she's supposed to do, like eat. Or bathe. Or do her laundry. Basically anything that D tells her she needs to do.

It is frustrating yes but having actual screaming fights with each other and then not speak to each other for a while is not the best. Just. Let the old bag be like she is because she's not going to change. She is just not going to change.

She told us that she fell down this morning. "Thank goodness the bed was right there because I fell back on it." 

Um.

What happens when you fall outside the bathroom door, where there isn't a bed to catch you and you break both your wrists because you tried to stop your fall? Or you fall in the living room and the couch isn't right there to catch you, and you hit your head on the corner of the coffee table?

She has a walker. She needs to keep it right by her bedside for first thing in the morning or middle of the night times when she gets a little dizzy. She needs to sit up in bed, put her feet down, and wait a minute before standing up.

She has a safety alert medallion but she refuses to wear it. She said the button is too hard to press (it is not, she just wants to argue about it). When we talk to her about this, and tell her she really needs to start wearing it for the love of God, she sticks out her tongue or rolls her eyes and makes faces, or, gives us the finger. 

Fucking juvenile behavior there, lady. 

I told her, you tell us these things and crow and beam, like you are proud of yourself for falling and getting back up. And yes, you should be proud for getting back up. That's great. You got back up. But holy shit one day you will not be able to. If you have had a fight with D and she's mad at you and isn't coming to check on you, how long will you be on the floor in the hall or kitchen or bleeding out in the living room. Please stop being this way. Please stop being so stubborn. 

"My father was stubborn," she tells me.

That's nice. 

He's been dead since before I was born. Don't be like him. Just try and do the minimum required work to stay safe and healthy. Bathe, so you don't get some sort of bacteria on your skin and then bump your hand on something, break the skin, and end up with an infection. Or a UTI because you ain't cleaned your choochie for a long time. Wear the Blip Blip (our affectionate name for it) even if you never, ever, ever need it. 

And yes, word for word, we've both said all of these things to her. All of them. And we get the derisive facial expressions and single finger salute in return. 

She is one fall away from breaking another hip, or her wrists, and ... that's it. 

Anyway. 

Linda started the pedicure a little before 2pm. We joked that she needed a Brillo pad for the bottoms of the feet, and a hazmat suit. We joke, but seriously, she's a saint for doing this and I love her. 

I organized my stuff and made sure my laptop was fully charged for tomorrow (I forgot my charger so I used Linda's). I resigned myself to begin the trip north, having accomplished nothing really big on this visit. 

Except for fun pool time with my sister. That was the highlight. And I'll cherish that as the best part of the time here. 

Jess asked me to stop at their place and let Dijon out since they were in Rhode Island for fun with their friends. I got to the house just before 5, and it was too hot for a good walk so we just toodled about the yard. I needed to check into my flight, so I sat on the couch with the pup and cuddled for a bit. 

Southwest check in done, dog time complete, off to C's house. 

Another good friend of ours was visiting her, and it was nice to see her and her beautiful dog. C and I then went out for Chinese food, got caught up on the last 3 days. Mom, my cousin, her mom, a house she's got an apartment in that is being redone, ripped to the studs and rebuilt. 

It felt good to talk to someone who didn't make faces at me or give me the finger. What a relief. 

I noticed that I only had 4500 steps so far for the day so she suggested a walk. She came with me and we covered a lot of ground in the camp in 37 minutes. Further than I think I would have gone by myself. Dark, quiet, some cottages occupied but most not. Some kids on bikes and dog walkers. A glass of wine and then bed. 

Tomorrow I think it is lunch with Jess. Then off to C's job so she can drive me to the airport, and then home. 

I wish I got more done around mom's but it was hot and difficult. Happy to be heading home. 

Digits below. 

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 18 minute beach walk, .82 miles. end of night finisher, 10 min/.42 miles 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9am: 111
5pm: 175
11pm: 25

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
1:30pm: met+glip; fried chicken sandwich w/fries and coleslaw
wine at the pool

Times become a blur...
no dinner (big mistake) 
wine at the bar listening to the band, some Korean dry rub BBQ ribs
met+glip
11pm: cheese and crackers

Sunday digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 7pm because we were eating dinner. Good walk with C, 37 min/1.71 miles; 9000+ steps by bedtime (could not force myself to do the last 1000 steps. so tired!)

blood glucose:
9am: 110
6xpm: 99
10:30pm: 188

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
3pm: met+glip; 5 crackers
7pm: chinese food, General Tso's chicken, dumplings, spicy green beans, scorpion bowl for 2 shared w/C. 
10pm: Met+glip

Surprise!

(Friday's entry - internet at hotel was flaky so posting at mom's on Saturday) 

Lin and I stayed up drinking wine and looking at houses until after 2am. 

8am came so soon. Let's just say that. A little coffee, a walk outside, gets the body going. At 9am it was already so hot, and I didn't want to work outside so I stayed put in the hotel and did my tasks. Lin went to mom's and I drove to her restaurant to surprise her. 

I got in there a few minutes early and yeah, she was surprised. It got a lot of laughs from the regulars around the bar and the bartender, everyone. 

We sat at her corner of the bar. She's lost more weight, she seems a bit vacant sometimes. Her little restaurant isn't closing, it turns out. Which is great. Getting the lowdown from the bartender was a relief. They'll remodel and do things overnight. So she'll be able to keep coming. Thing is, she'll probably hate the menu and complain about the food and never go back. 

She got a tuna boat (New England, shout out, if you know you know... ) and only ate about half of it before I started giving her shit for not eating. She got mouthy with me. She's not hungry. 

You need to eat even if you are not hungry, please. 

We finished up, came back to the house. I had two meetings, one went great and one started but we decided to reschedule for Tuesday. We headed back to the hotel and the place was hopping. A wedding party, some guy playing blues guitar with a harmonica player and they were just not good but they drew in a big crowd. 

The night was lovely, we sat outside and decided to order from the little restaurant at the hotel. Not a wide variety of choices but the chicken fingers were good, and the fries too plentiful but tasty. 

Both of us were ready for bed at 10. Compared to Thursday night when we stayed up forever. 

Saturday's plan is hang out with mom, and basically attempt to either get in the pool or take a decent walk.

Some pictures, and digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no real exercise, did a 15 min walk all around the hotel .71 miles; 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8am: 94
n/a at mom's
10pm: 175

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
9am: piece of apple danish
1:30pm: scallops, green beans, coleslaw; metformin (no glip, missing from my bag)
7pm: glip ( solo ) Mixed nuts
8:30pm: chicken tenders and some french fries, wine w/diet cranberry
10pm: met+glip

Porch Life to Beach Life

I got to sleep after 2am, C's little Frenchie slept with me. She's my favorite little gargoyle. She's hilarious because she likes to nest between my legs, not behind my knees. 

Yellow room - so comfy. Happy to have been rescued and brought upstairs. So happy C came downstairs and rescued me and I didn't have to think about where I'd poop at 4am.  

Because seriously, I was thinking about where was I going to poop if I indeed had to poop.

At around 7am, Ginny got up when the Big Dog came into the bedroom to check on me. I put her down on the floor, went to the bathroom, got back in bed until a little after 9. 

Coffee and conversation on the porch with the ladies. Porch life is so nice. Even in the heat.

C's houseguest is a realtor, so we talked a lot about houses, and mortgages. Jess and I checked in with each other to arrange lunch. Linda had hit the road and sent her estimated arrival time to Plymouth.  

We had lunch with Jess, and then C and I spent another few hours just chatting and it was lovely. Repeatedly I thought "I should go and meet up with Linda now." But. Porch life and C. 

I watched hummingbirds at the feeders, too fast to photograph, but so lovely. And C's plant table is always a favorite to visit. 

Around 6:30pm, I figured it was time to go. My sister had been to mom's and surprised her. Tomorrow we surprise her with me showing up. Should be delightful. 

I got to the hotel around 8:45. We went to the front desk to ask when the restaurant here closes, and the guy says 10pm. Kitchen closes at 9:45. Score. 

Lies.

They close at 9. so we missed out on getting a meal. Neither of us wanted to door dash or grub hub. In fact, I looked up grub hub and only Wendys, BK, and Taco bell deliver here so we ate nuts, ate the last of my crackers from C (thank you!) and drank wine. 

We tried to log into the wifi and it didn't work. While silently cursing everything my sister went to the front desk to report the problem and they rebooted the router and it worked. Okay. Yay. We can work in the morning now. Hurrah. 

Lin took this shot of the sunset before I got here and I had to share it. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. 10 min. walk around the hotel area, .46 miles. I could have done more but. 8k steps by bedtime; 

blood glucose:
9:15am: 130
n/a - too late for reading and then in the car 
11am: 144

food & meds:
9:15am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45: Triscuit & cheddah 
12:30pm: met+glip
2pm: big giant salad w/goat cheese fritters and grilled chicken
9pm: nuts, 4 peanut butter crackers (restaurant was closed for the night at 9pm) 
wine+diet cranberry juice
11:15pm: met+glip

Late Flight to Porch Life

(This is Wednesday's entry)

Because every single flight to New England in June on a Wednesday night is booked, unless you want to pay for the Business Class seats (which are not any different than the other seats on Southwest) I booked the last flight out tonight. 

I didn't want to impose on Doug for tomorrow, when he's working and I'm not, to have him schlep me to the airport. I know he would, I just didn't want to do that imposition. 

If my flight is canceled tonight, he'll have to come back and get me. There's no flight to be bumped to until the following day. 

I have all day tomorrow to play with. This was my intention. Get up there, late side of things sure, and then have all day for coffee and chill with C on the porch with Porch Life and Dogs. It's been too stinking long. 

Honestly I think I haven't been up there since last year's Guster fest in Portland. Is that true? What's wrong with me. 

Doug went to his aunt's house today to help with whatever he can/could. Allegedly, they have to be out of their condo tomorrow. They have nowhere to go. They have not thought this out very well. His cousin called him on Sunday and wanted to know if he has a video camera or if his cel phone takes good video. He wouldn't tell Doug why he needed it, super cagey, absolutely on brand. 

Doug's cousin is all "I don't know" about where he's going to go, and his aunt said she's not taking him with her anywhere, he's on his own. Exceptionally dysfunctional for so many years and now I guess that's just what you do. You pack up and leave your 55 year old on-the-spectrum son and do whatever. 

I asked him before he left, "you are going to be home in time to take me to the airport, aren't you?" He said yes. 

I worked pretty hard all day, lots of meetings and little tasks. It started pouring with thunder and lightning at 2pm and again at 6pm. I do have to say I'm so proud of Toffee because none of it bothers her. 

I worked through my lunch because I stupidly set up a meeting with a station at noon, and it went forever. So I did a half hour of indoor walking (since it was pouring, oh, and 90 degrees with 90% humidity) and started to pack. I started to actually pack on Sunday night but had laundry and other things that needed to be done, so got it all finished up, zipped up, and out onto the couch. I decided not to check a bag but take my small red LL Bean bag as a carry on, 

Doug got home in time to eat dinner and take me to the airport, made it in plenty of time even with all the thunder and lightning. Got two glasses of wine at the bar and headed into the gate. 

On time, on time, on time, amazing. Then, bad news. No crew was available to fly us. Our onboarding and departure were put on stand by... 

We left after 10:30, a full hour later, when the crew finally arrived. I was so worried they'd time-out and not be able to leave at all.

Part of me wanted to go home. I had all day Thursday to futz with and fly, but ... here we were. 

We finally got off the ground, landed at 11:59 pm. Jess was there to get me and we stopped for gas, and went to C's. 

Coming onto the porch, I set my bag down and the door into the house was locked (oh no). C's got a house guest here for most of the summer and it seems she forgot that I was coming. Her 3 dogs were barking a lot, and I thought for sure she'd come out to see what was happening but she did not. 

That's okay - I was alright sleeping on the porch if need be. It was well after 1am, I peed at the airport, I could make it through the night no problem.

But oh no, what if I have to poop? Hmmm. 

I tested my blood, I opened my bag to get a t-shirt and shorts. C came downstairs to let her dogs out and was surprised to see me. 

Surprise! 

She saved me, we went upstairs, I got the Frenchie and we got in bed. Hurrah. 

I did cave and get a cinnabon, because sitting there for almost 2 hours with the gorgeous stench wafting at me. Didn't impact my blood sugar too badly in the end. 

On the way to the airport, Mister Sun made a Rainbow.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 1/2 hour indoor walk between meetings, 1.61 miles; 10k+ steps by end of day, with a jump start on Thursday with the steps after midnight. 

blood glucose:
9am: 98
5pm: 89
1am: 153

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11:15am: chicken salad w/walnuts & grapes
1:45pm: met+glip
5:30pm: granola bar w/pb and chocolate
6pm: full sugar yogurt w/another granola bar 
9:30pm:met+glip; cinnabon

A quickie trip

I have been talking for months about going up to see mom. I was supposed to go at Christmas and couldn't get out of my own way. And then all of a sudden, it's June. 

The logistics about getting to her are complicated. For this trip, I'm flying to NH to spend the night with C, borrow a car (renting a car is more than the flight), and then fly home on Monday night after spending the day on Sunday with Jess and their friend Catie, and heading back to C for some quality fellowship. 

Driving is a lot, it can be 10 hours. And I don't like going alone, and I worry about a car breaking down somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. 

I've procrastinated, delayed, and had a lot of other things happening on the weekend. But now we have reason.

Mom's favorite watering hole (where she doesn't get watered but we do) is closing. Horribly sad fact, this local foodrinkery was sold and the new owners are going to refactor it and reopen it. It probably won't be the same in any way and we don't know if any of the staff are going to be hired back. It's probably going to be some sort of fancy gastropub that this part of town does not need, and it may fail miserably. They'll stop serving the scallops that I love. The bar pie pizzas that we adore will be gone. And let's not even talk about the chicken parm.

Initially rumors were that it was going to close June 20th. Then June 30. No one is quite sure. The staff aren't even sure when their last day is the last thing I heard.

Linda and I talked about it and we decided we just had to go visit. 

The staff at this restaurant have kept a keen eye on my parents for many years, and since dad passed away (coming up on 2 years now) they've reached out if mom isn't doing well, isn't eating, isn't showing up. 

It's kind of like if my mom was active in a church, the church ladies would make sure she's eating or help her if she needs something like a ride to the doctor or an errand run. She doesn't go to church but for sure she's been lucky to find her community in these folks. 

We love them, we respect them, and we'll miss them. Until we know where they end up.

Linda and I were joking about "where's she going to eat now?" but the joke isn't really a joke. It's an actual concern. She does not cook, she'll exist on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Sara Lee bread, coffee, and Lemon Loaf from Shaws. 

She won't starve to death, I'm sure of it. But she's losing her church, her community. It's bigger than just a restaurant closing. This is her connection to the outside world. This is a reason to leave the house three days a week.

I'll get the scallops. Of course I will. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks. Doug & I took Toffee for a walk (humid, hot, stupid, ugh) 35 min/1.48miles. Then to make sure I got 10k, another walk, 30 min/1.11 miles; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8:15am: 123
5pm: 117
11:30pm: 97

food & meds:
8:15am: phentermine+jardiance
12:30pm: met+glip
1:15pm: BLT salad w/mixed field greens instead of plain L.
6:30pm: 2 nice sausages w/coleslaw
white wine
8pm-9:30pm: a bunch of cashews
10pm: met+glip

just the digits today

Did not realize it was so late. Doug and I looked at houses online for a long time and then it was 11:30. Fell short of 10k steps, even with 2 decent walks. 

And because we were looking at houses, I forgot to take my after dinner met+glip. oops. So distracted. 

A real entry tomorrow! Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 2 walks. one inside between meetings, 15 min, .72 miles. And a solo walk in the rain, dog did not want to go out and I didn't want to go to the gym. Should have... I wouldn't have missed 10k. 20 min/1.02 mi. 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9:15am: 149
5pm: 117
11:30pm: 133

food & meds:
9:15am: phentermine+jardiance
10:45am: english muffin w/pb
2pm: met+glip
2:45pm: chobani zero sugar w/one granola bar crushed up
6pm: piece of chicken parm w/small amount of penne pasta
8:30pm: ramekin of cashews
11:30pm: met+glip

Missing them already

We had a lazy start to the day, and knowing how long it takes to get back up to where they live, I gently encouraged Jess' departure without shoving them out the door. 

Would you like an egg mcmuffin before you leave?
We should take the dogs for a walk together .... before you leave. 
We're just standing in the front yard talking,  your stuff is in the car, maybe....?? you should leave?

I know their feelings - it is a long fucking drive. We would often feel like "oh man... do we have to?" when leaving Doug's parents' for the 12 hour ride WITH SMALL CHILDREN back in the day. The procrastination is strong. Very difficult to get motivated to undertake the task. 

More now that I am older, I'm ready to get on the road and mad if we're an hour later than our imagined departure. I thought Jess would leave by 9 but it was close to noon when they departed.

Before they left, our neighbor brought the Meg over again and they played so hard. It was 20 degrees cooler today than yesterday, so the dogs had all their energy and it was awesome. Meg got a little overwhelmed because Dijon kept barking at her, and she didn't know what to do. And Toffee just wanted to tackle and rawr rough play. So R didn't stay too too long but just enough. 

We drove to Baltimore to get my card from the restaurant where it has been hanging out for a week. Then we went to Monument City Brewing since we were in Baltimore. When in Rome. 

We brought Toffee and she was so good. SO GOOD! so many people came by to pat her and say hello. Other dogs came into the brewery - and she whined and grumbled some but settled down nicely after a bit. What a relief. I think getting all that energy out with Meg and Dijon in the yard was a good idea.

The trip home was a bit wacky. Baltimore has a lot of one way streets and if you don't listen to your wife, or, if the GPS says "In one thousand feet" but you turn in 30 feet because you're super bad at measuring, you end up all sorts of turned around. And there was a baseball game at Camden Yards today, so, ha. We ended up going all around the Casino area, way out of the area we wanted to be. Eventually we made it home, Doug took a monster nap. I went to the gym. 

No one was at the gym, and I loved it. 

Market for some salad stuff and macaroni salad, and things to plan for this week... and then I grilled dinner. 

Jess texted me at about 10-ish saying they'd made it to Massachusetts, ETA to their bed was 11:30. My mom always demands we call and let her know when we make it home when we travel. "I worry."

And I get it.

I worry too. 

Digits below some dog pictures. 50 shots taken today and I only have one good one of the two of them together. Dijon is blurry in both shots because she wouldn't quite stay still. 

Thank God for digital photography. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks, one with jess and dogs, 17 min/.73 miles and then treadmill, 21 min/1.05 miles 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9:30am: 163
5pm: 147
10:30pm: 164

food & meds:
9:30am: phentermine, jardiance
10:45am: brekkie sammitch, egg bacon cheese on english muffin
2:30pm: met+glip
2 beers at brewery
6:45pm: steak tips, lettuce/tomato salad, a little macaroni salad
2 more beers
9pm: met+glip

Conveyor Belt Sushi Night

We did a lot of hanging around today. We talked about running up to Baltimore for my credit card (left at the restaurant last Sunday) but I remembered today was Pride March Baltimore + No Kings protest. Lots of road closures, I didn't think we'd get near the place.

We'll go tomorrow. Someone other than me will hopefully drive. I'll run in and retrieve my card. Boom. Like. That. 

Doug and Jess both went to nap so I went to the gym. I too wished to nap but I didn't want to waste the time I could be getting steps. No one was at the gym, so that was super nice. I had the power of the playlist and a solid jog and fast walk for 30 whole minutes. 

I didn't stop at the market to get anything for dinner. I got home and the temp had dropped a bit, so Doug and Jess were out in the yard with the dogs. We decided to go to the Uzu Revolving Sushi joint where we did Doug's birthday this year. 

Doug and Jess sat right by the conveyor belt, and yoinked plate after plate. Jess would offer me things but ... no eel thank you .Oh, I only like scallops if they are cooked. So i stuck to some sashimi with salmon or shrimp, and little rolls with avocado, rice, cucumber, seaweed. 

My blood sugar hates me tonight as a result. Stupid rice. I love you. 

We had a nice night out. Geoff again babysat dogs for us. He was not interested in sushi, and he is working in the morning so he didn't want to be out late. Late for him is 8pm on work nights. 

Jess heads home tomorrow and I'm missing them already. Dijon and Toffee had a blast together. Looking forward to next visit. 

Now to plan our trip for operation rescue Cap One card in Charm City. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.   Treadmill, 30 min/1.74 miles; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9:30am: 144
5pm: 148
10:30pm: 261* (see timing of meds+dinner

food & meds:
9:30am: phentermine, jardiance
1pm: zero sugar yogurt w/ granola bar
2pm: met+glip
8pm: sushi. lots of little rolls but more importantly, lots of rice. Miso soup. 3 gyoza, 2 beers
9:30pm: met+glip

A Night at the Theatre!

I worked this morning, then went to the doctors for some blood work. Jess had brought us some steak tips from Market Basket because of course, no one in Maryland knows what those are!! We've been here for so many years, and ... dying without them. Bless them for freezing them and driving them down in the cooler. 

Meg Dog from up the street came to visit and we had a raucous romp with three dogs for five minutes. Then they were beat. It was so hot, well over 90. A breeze was helping though, so we had a nice visit and some wine.  I grilled a pack of steak tips so we could eat before leaving for the show. 

Jess wanted to see the Folger Shakespeare Company performance of Twelfth Night, and it's been a while since I've seen some Shakespeare. Last time was The Tempest and it was a great steampunk interpretation with real magic acts designed by Teller of Penn & Teller. 

We took the metro into town and walked from Union Station. Jess said they thought there was a closer Metro station but it's on a different line and the amount of time we'd spend changing trains was dumb. So it was a good fast walk (we were almost late). 

This interpretation bordered on a bit more S&M and they leaned super hard into the Trans themes with Viola dressing as a man and becoming Cesario, and the concepts of moving in and out of different worlds from gender to poor/wealthy folks. 

There was original music, cover songs woven in, and kind of a Prince or Adam Ant vibe (Sebastian had the Prince icon on his T-shirt) Feste the Fool was fantastic. Malvolio reminded me a little of a much taller Tom Holland in a way. Duke Orsino is played by a woman and they were spectacular.  

And they had fantastic "twins" in the actors of Viola and Sebastian. They had a real unique closeness in appearance, which makes the play make so much more sense. 

While we were watching the play phones in the audience went off with an emergency alert. Flash flood warnings! My phone was all the way silenced, but I saw the screen turn on in my purse. 

When the play finished, we headed out and it was obvious that it rained, but it was over. Walk back to Union so another good walk, but a little shorter somehow, and not as fast. 

Back home, dehydrated, wiped out, blisters on my feet from wearing shoes I had not broken in and walking 2 miles in them. It's bed time. Digits below and more shenanigans tomorrow!

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours.   Missed 3pm but not sure how? Missed 8pm because theatre! 2 walks, from Union Station to Shakespeare 28 min/1.15 mi. From Shakespeare to Union Station 24 min/.96 mi. 12k+ steps by midnight

blood glucose:
7am: 89
5pm: 141
11:45pm: 144

food & meds:
7am: phentermine, jardiance
11:30am: bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger and salsa
noon: met+glip
2:30pm: chobani zero sugar yogurt w/ a granola bar crushed in it
5:30pm: 2 big steak tips over a nice salad, bleu cheese, scoop of potato salad
white wine
2 small pieces of cheesecake (one plain, one blueberry)
9pm: met+glip

A day of three cheeseburgers and two dogs

For lunch today, I was in a rush and pulled a plastic bag out of the fridge that had 2 left over cheeseburgers from the other night. Microwave, eat. 

After work, Doug had gone to the market and got grillables. Burgers, of course. So I had another burger for dinner, weirdly enough. I didn't make a salad or do anything good, just. Burgers. 

It reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Milhouse's dad says he doesn't like the idea of Milhouse having two spaghetti meals in one day. And I had to laugh.

Jess arrived a little before 7, which was a good timeWhen Jess got here, the dogs got bitey and growley with each other right out the gate. I was worried about that. Toffee was super welcoming when Dahlia came here, and she plays so well with others, but wow. This introduction was rough. 

So we leashed them up, and took them out to walk. 

Toffee was very interested in sniffing all of Dijon, Di was interested in sniffing all of my neighborhood. No more biting but definitely some pushing and shoving. We hung out in the yard while Doug grilled and they ran around and had fun. 

Inside, they settled down and we ate our burgers. There was a little jelly girl time when someone was on a couch next to a human, and someone else wanted to be next to that human. A lot of ice cubes were eaten. 

And then, all out crazy time dog face fight tug-o-war wackiness kicked in. For hours. Reminiscent of the Dahlia Days, it was crazy town in here. And I loved it. 

I told Doug I missed it, he said he didn't miss it but he was happy it was happening and they were getting along so well. 

11:15pm, Toffee is on the floor, Dijon is next to me on the couch wiped out. 

Truly a ton of joy. 

So happy. Happy to have the Jess here, the dog here, the family all together. Looking forward to this good weekend.

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  3 short walks. First, 15 min. indoor walk, .73 miles. Then Jess arrived and we took the dogs for a walk together, 19 min/.72 mi. Finally, pokemon walk, 12min/.51 miles. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8am: 125
5pm: 121
11:45pm: 72

food & meds:
8:15am: phentermine, jardiance
12:30pm: met+glip
1:15pm: 2 left over cheeseburgers w/no buns
7pm: cheeseburger w/a lil'bit of potato salad
8:30pm: ramekin of mixed nuts, met+glip
white wine + diet ginger ale