Up Early Dog O'Clock

I went into the guest room last night because I was wide awake at 1:30am, and I wanted to put on a podcast, but Doug was super asleep and. Well. I didn't want to disturb him. Thankful that we have that space. When Doug wakes up I tell him it is okay if he starts a podcast and stays because, well, I'm awake too. 

Neither dog followed me, which is weird, one usually does. I fell asleep pretty quickly, and heard Doug get up a little before 7 and go to the bathroom. Both dogs decided to come find me. When Doug came out, they went to the bedroom with him, but promptly came back to me.

Because he got back in bed and they were READY TO BE UP! 

But. I was not ready. 

I tried to ignore them. They were both standing on the bed looking at me. Toffee gave these soft little plaintive sighs and moans. 

And then I had to pee, too. 

So once I had to pee, well. We're up. They went out, got fed, and.... then they went back to sleep with Doug. Nice. Thanks. I'm up. I contemplated going to the gym but I have never gone in the morning and I don't know how crowded it is? It is probably madness. So I made coffee instead and started doom scrolling on my phone, still not able to process some of the things the Gubbmint is doing these days, and shit that is coming out of people's mouths. 

It got to be 8:00 so I started working. There was a lot to do today, and I got right to it. A lot of meetings. One successful client meeting and another not quite as successful one. These were for the big project, and we are close to being done. So close. 

I thought about going to the gym since I got an unbelievably (for me) early start working, but it is pouring out and meh. I don't want to leave the house. 

Giving myself a break considering I've done indoor walks and ass kicking gym visits this week. 

I finished working after 8:30pm, after cleaning up from dinner. It is no wonder I'm working so late a lot because I am so an evening brained person, but, I also get super distracted during the day. 

Case in point: Earlier, I had a hysterical slack conversation with our new COO after he made a joke in a group channel about a very famous 90s band. He quoted a podcast I like called 60 songs that explain the 90s, so I had to direct message him and talk about the podcast. 

We then had a big discussion about all kinds of 90s bands, and I asked him how he felt about Barenaked Ladies as he's from Toronto. 

It was funny because I mentioned BNL to him and he replied "not me, standing in the line at Customs listening to When I Fall." which is the song Ed made me cry on. 

I looked back on my blog entries from back in the day and how many times I went to see them, with the great write ups of the shows, and how Ed Robertson made me cry for my 44th birthday. 

A freaking million years ago. 

Geoff did go to his gym. I thought about asking him to go buy dog food since we'll run out tomorrow morning, but with the rain I don't want to make him do it. We can do it tomorrow. 

Doug and I were going to meet a couple who used to live across the street from us in Massachusetts. They relocated to Bowie a couple years ago, and the wife is incredibly homesick and sad. But they all came down with the flu, including their high school aged daughter who was having a birthday party on Sunday. Such a drag... rescheduling for next week most likely. 

Here are my dogs. who sat on the bed. Expectantly. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no walk. 5300+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:30am: 150
4pm: 113
9:45pm: 184

food:

coffee/water
7:30am: Phentermine
10:45am: Metformin+Glipizide 
11:15am: pb&low sugar jelly on 647 wheat
4pm: bowl of plain greek yogurt, with blueberries & splenda
5:30pm: Metformin+Glipizide 
6pm: BBQ pulled pork (from Aldi) some coleslaw, a few waffle fries (high sugar content in the pulled pork)
9:30pm: jardiance

Medz

My doctor added two medications to my current meds list. While I'm not excited about taking MORE medication, I think I'm hopeful to add these. 

Phentermine is a weight loss drug. It's been on the market for longer than I've been alive. I asked her if it was related to Fen-Phen and she said not really - that was a combination drug and Phentermine was part of it. But F-P was discontinued. Phentermine has been around since 1960 or so, and there are two other drugs that we can try if we don't see progress with this. 

She asked for the digits that I keep here - she wants to review. I'm glad I keep the blog, I guess. Even though I get 200 hits a day and zero comments from you people, which makes me think AI is scraping the content to "learn" stuff. Whatever. 

Anyway. If you are reading go ahead and leave a comment. As Aaron Mahnke says "say hi. I like it when people say hi." 

I started it yesterday. She said I should see about 10 pounds of weight loss. Which may make me feel better, knowing there is progress. More progress.

There has been progress. And this isn't a weight loss blog per se (it's a Dog Puke Blog, a Guster Blog, to be honest). But exercising, losing some weight so exercising feels better, makes for more weight loss. And lowers the A1C. 

That is the goal. Getting the digit below 7, my friends. Right?

She also added glipizide, because I asked if the Metformin and Jardiance just weren't hacking it for me anymore. I asked her if I should only take the glipizide and she said no - add it into the routine. So I have to take it a half hour before eating. I've shifted my "schedule" so I'm taking the combo of Metformin+glipizide before lunch and a half hour before dinner. And moving Jardiance to the evening. 

That's the new plan. 

Today was an incredibly busy day. Being in the DC area it was also sad because of last night's plane crash at DCA. I don't have much to say about that but it sucks. And our current government is pointing at possible causes that have nothing to do with what happened, and it is just outrageous. That's. That's about it. 

Good news is Miss Toffee is on the mend. What we think happened is she ate some leaves in the yard, probably azaleas, and these are toxic to dogs. She checked every box on the symptoms list. I woke up this morning after sleeping with her, she didn't get sick all night. Relief. She drank a lot of water but I took the bowl up so she wouldn't over drink. She turned her nose up at breakfast but by noon she was stalking the bowl and the kitchen, so I fed her half a cup of kibbies. 

She had a slice of cheese when I gave Dahlia her meds, she enjoyed cookies after going out to the yard, and she ate dinner. They played together, and it feels like everything is right as rain.

Celebration! 

No picture today, digits below, glucose is .... notable! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Indoor walk, 15 min/.7 miles. took it easy today, 7500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 160
5pm: 124
11pm: 102 (!!)

food:

coffee/water
8:30am: phentermine 
10:45am: metformin+glipizide
12:30: turkey and havarti w/mayo on 647 wheat bread
5:45pm: metformin+glipizide
6:15pm: 6 homemade meatballs w/ sauce, shredded mozzarella 
7:45pm: jardiance

It's Smelly Up In Here

It's been a really rough 24 hours over here. 

Dahlia is doing so much better, and is so tolerant of her medication and me sticking it in her ear. I could not be more pleased with how that's going. 

Which of course means Toffee has to get sick. 

I mentioned yesterday she'd thrown up a bunch, starting on Monday night when she threw up in bed with Doug, and then a few times yesterday. She hasn't wanted to eat, she's thirsty as fuck.

Which.

Of course.

Of course means, she threw up at 3am in bed with me (note: I'd washed the sheets and comforter from the guest room yesterday after her Monday Night extravaganza), and it was all water.

All Water. 

I had gone into the guest room last night around 1am, since both dogs were on my side of the bed, and it was a little hot and crowded. Toffee eventually followed me and hopped up. I was happy to have her because I was fully worried about her. Dahlia came to see what was up but figured "score! I get that whole side of the bed to myself!" And she left.

Toffee just sat up for a long time, looking out the window like she was stoned as fuck and the neighbor house's driveway light was like, wow. This instead of being snuggled into my ass crack. Just ... looking out the window. She was falling asleep sitting up, rather cute. And I tried to encourage her to get horizontal. And she did finally lay down. 

I was lightly sleeping, listening for her. She makes this weird licking sound before she pukes, licking the inside of her mouth, so I was listening for that. It felt like we were in a good spot, no weird noises, and sleeping. I drifted off. When the noises started I jumped out of bed to grab her to get her to jump off the bed too, and go outside and. 

God. 

Everywhere. Water everywhere. She jumped down, got to the hallway, did it again. 

Dahlia came out of our room to investigate. Concerned but not helpful. I put them both outside, in a slight panic because water is grosser than solid food, to be honest. It was a lot to clean up. 

The bed was absolutely soaked, so I just stripped it down to the mattress cover. That was also soaked but, it doesn't soak through (thank God for mattress covers, why didn't I know how amazing these are so many years ago???) so I just left it there until this morning. I closed the bedroom door and walked away.

I slipped on my winter boots and put on my knee length winter coat. I didn't have yoga or pyjama pants on, so I'm out there in my underpants with the bottom two snaps done to hide me from the neighbors, God, and all the angels. 

I wanted to go out and get them and just didn't have time to find my dorm pants. Dahlia was barking and the last thing I want is this nincompoop waking up my neighbors at 4am. 

She came in quickly and willingly. Toffee was just standing in the yard, staring into the middle distance just like when she was on the guest bed. She didn't want to come in. She looked like I was going to beat her, she was scared, tail between her legs. I encouraged. I pleaded. I got the leash and looped it around her neck. Dahlia thought it was time to go for a walk when she saw that, so she ran around joyfully. 

Sorry honey. 4am is not the time to go for a walk in my underpants.

Eventually, Dahlia settled back into the bedroom but on my entire side of the bed. I went to the living room, to the couch. Toffee stood on all fours next to me, just... staring. 

Jesus, I've never seen a dog be sick like this? What the hell did she get herself into? What did she catch? What did she eat?

I slept on the couch, rather comfortably, with my hand on her back. After falling asleep standing up, she got up on the couch behind my legs and we both successfully went to sleep. The alarm came too early at 8am. 

This morning, she didn't want to eat, which is okay. I didn't really want her to eat either. I tried a 1/2 cup of dog food for her and she stood there and looked at it. She drank a little water but I stopped her from getting too much. 

Little did I know, Geoff had no idea this was going on and he filled the dish all the way when he came up for coffee, and I was in the bathroom.

Shit. She drank her fill, because of course she did. She feels horrible and I'm sure she's incredibly dehydrated.

At about 10:30am, I was getting the laundry from the guest room, it is so smelly. SO SMELLY! I was cringing and groaning the whole time. 

I heard a crack sound and then spewing. Just absolutely the worst noise. Splash. And again. Splash. Doug yelled "Oh No." and I threw the laundry on the floor to come around the back of the couch, where Toffee was standing in her kennel, thankfully, so most of the mess went onto the kennel dog bed. Some on the floor, I yoinked up a couple canvas bags I had on the floor back there with beading stuff (gotta get back on my bullshit). I found a small canvas bag with two books in it that I thought I left on an airplane last year. Yay! I can go back to reading that one book I wanted to finish. 

Doug took the dogs outside, and took the plastic floor of the kennel outside to wash it. So convenient that it can just be slid out. I gathered up the bedding, the dog bed, the sweatshirt that had fallen between the kennel and the couch, got everything downstairs. Cleaned the floor. 

All day today she's been by my side, scrunched up on the couch, just laying here with her eyes open. She's not sleeping, she just is. 

Doug reminded me that she did this once before, where she got "sick as a dog" as it were, but it was over in 24 hours. This is going on for some time now. If she has not rebounded by tomorrow I'm calling an audible, we're going to the vet. 

This is one way to jumpstart some house cleaning. But it is not one I recommend. Between little miss stinky ear and little miss pukey pants, my house does not smell good right now. sigh.

That was a lot of gross information. I will say tomorrow I'll write about new medication the doctor put me on. If you look at the digits, they're interesting. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Indoor walk, 26 min/1.16 mile walk; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:15am: 144
5pm: 114 (!!!)
10pm: 150

food:

coffee/water
noon: metformin, glipizide, phentermine (phentermine is supposed to be first thing in the morning, glipizied 1/2 hour before a meal 2x a day. This will change my medication schedule).
1pm: PBJ, low sugar strawberry jelly on 647 wheat bread
6:30pm: metformin, glipizide; small bowl of mac & cheese
8pm: jardiance

Doctors Day

We started today early with a doctor's appointment follow up for Dahlia. She's doing well, ear infection is healing great and a big hotspot that suddenly appeared is kind of dried up but scabby. She goes crazy scratching it and opens it up a bit so it gets bloody and weepy again. They shaved her neck to get all her super thick crazy fur out of the way, and we got it all exposed so we can heal it up. So we've got antibiotics and lotion. It should be gone in a few days. She's in great spirits and much better than last week. 

Toffee was puking a lot today, which is very unexpected. She threw up in the bed with Doug last night, and then horked three times after breakfast. 

She's been acting scared and skittish, I'm not sure what she got herself into or she caught. Tonight she has been curled up next to me shivering and shaking. 

She continues this way, we'll go to the vet in the morning. 

Dahlia is confused because she wants to roughhouse and play, and Toffee is not having any of that. My poor bean. Look at her, she's so pretty and I love her.

Then this afternoon, it was my turn. I had a doctor's appointment. With the A1C not going down, even though I feel like I'm doing very well with carbs and food, and exercise increasing, I expected a lecture from my doctor. 

She wasn't scoldy or lecturey about anything, which was a relief. She did note that since she's been seeing me I've gone from 220, to 208, to 202 (today) and she's pleased with the efforts I'm making. She heard my questions about whether or not the efficacy of the meds I'm on right now just aren't there. She said that she'd add another medication to add to the mix, and in 3 months we'll recheck the levels. She anticipates better results and possibly some weight loss too. I'm all for it.

Even if I'm mad and discouraged, she's optimistic. And that made me feel better. 

I had my PT/INR checked and I love the girls in the lab, they are hilarious. 

I was going to go to the gym right after but there was kind of an emergency thing happening at work, so I headed straight home. 

After dinner, because I didn't yesterday and I didn't after the doctor, I went to the gym. 

Linda and I had made this monster playlist to keep me entertained. I put it on shuffle, and had at it with great glee. Hole's "Violet" followed by Morris Day and the Time's "Jungle Love" cracked me up. "Square Hammer" by Ghost into The Decemberists "This is why we fight," ... simply excellent. I had to skip  Peter Gabriel and Cindy Lauper songs because they were too slow for my pace but that was okay. Great stuff to listen to. 

And after a half hour, I was done. Boom. 

The gym was packed at 7:15pm, and I had to bide my time waiting for a treadmill when I got there. And because I had people right next to me, I couldn't swing my arms around and air drum like I enjoy doing.  

I guess that is not the best time to go, eh? 

Well, all told that's the day here. Digits below, and a strange sight in traffic today.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.   Gym, treadmill with new fun playlist. 30 min/1.35 miles; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 167
4:30pm: 155
10:30pm: 144

food:

coffee/water
11am: english muffin w/pb
12:15pm: metformin
6pm: risotto, broccoli, chicken 
7pm: metformin+jardiance

Deliciousness of Cookies

Today, I was bored with food and did not want anything. But there are these two giant bags of christmas cookies on my dining room table. so. I ate about 6 of them. Big and small, all shapes. Delicious. 

I thought for sure my blood sugar would be well over 400, but it was nice and reasonable. 

After dinner I was going to go to the gym and try out my new playlist, but, Doug put on a really interesting documentary about two British journalists who's families are from India and Pakistan, about the Partition, and how their families have dealt with this. They both go visit where their families are from, and it is really well done. 

And then it was 10pm. 

Giving myself kind of a break today, I guess. 

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, and so does Dahlia. I took part of the day off to take care of both. Responsible human that I am. 

Here are two dogs enjoying the love seat where I usually sit and work. And getting along wonderfully. Digits, below!

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No exercise recorded. 6k steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 166
4:30pm: 169
10:30pm: 156

food:

coffee/water
noon: several christmas cookies (so many); metformin; english muffin w/tuna salad
3pm: protein shake
6:30pm: chicken cordon bleu, green beans
7pm: metformin+jardiance

Superb Owl

As you know, dear reader, I do enjoy football. All of my favorite teams were eliminated this year. The Patriots have been hopeless for a while yet. Steelers made it the furthest but ... well. Their end of season was less than stellar. So the playoffs today were Philly v. Washington, and KC vs. Buffalo. 

Gotta be honest, it's nice to not have a horse in the race and just watch for watching's sake. 

The matchup I was hoping to see was Buffalo and Washington.  

I like the Bills. I've felt super bad for them for so long. As a Red Sox fan, I know the joy of seeing the team FINALLY win. Finally. My mom will fight with people telling them that the Bills are "New York's Only Football Team," because the other two (Jets & Giants) play in New Jersey. So she'll fight you about it. She will. 

My heart was broken (as the hearts of anyone who saw it happen) when Damar Hamlin had his cardiac event on the field in 2023 against the Cincinnati Bengals. I'm so glad to see him playing, and the work he's doing on and off the field. I also was so proud of the Bengals fans for being so loving after it happened, and stepping up for him. 

I'm also happy for the Commanders this year because their shitty owner is gone, they got a new one, new management, a great Rookie quarterback. They're the local team, and everyone is hyped up. So it is cute to live here. I'm also happy they're not the Redskins anymore. And I'm very happy folks have stopped doing the tomahawk chop and indian war chants at the games. 

But both of these teams lost. We get the team who has fans who dress up like Native Americans, and I'm sick to death of the team and the girlfriend. And the other team's fans are actually worse, if you can believe it. They threw hoagies and snowballs at a guy playing Santa (it's true), and what some call a "rite of passage," they enjoy punching police horses (and policemen). Not super excited about that team, and, as a Steelers fan, well. No.

The Chiefs are on the quest for a "three-peat" and no other team in the NFL has done that, at least, I don't think so. Part of me thinks yeah, good luck and go get it. And another part of me longs for the fall. 

Sports is like that, innit? 

I'll still watch the superb owl though. I'll just be in it for the snacks.

Doug took Dahlia for a walk this afternoon. He came back and got Toffee to take her for a walk, too, I can't go with because it turns into a mess. They do not do well, both want to be with Doug, and my shoulder gets pulled out of the socket basically because they both pull so hard. And Doug is so much faster and ahead of me. So I opted for home duties. 

I roasted some chicken breasts to go into a soup Geoff has been planning and bought all the ingredients for. I threw that all together, and it was delicious. I ate too much bread but it was so good. Soup and bread is like that sometimes.

The only other thing is Linda and I built a spotify playlist for my gym visits. 2 hours of music, I won't get bored of it but I bet I'll skip over some songs. Linda contributed a lot of stuff I didn't know so we'll see if I enjoy it. 

Digits below this picture I forgot to share from the sushi restaurant. Semi-obsessed with these floating fish.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  mid-day indoor walk, easy pace (doing chores while doing walk) 15 min/.65  miles; 6200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 156
4pm: 143
10pm: 195

food:

coffee/water
11am: english muffin w/pb
noon: Metformin
4pm: pita crackers+hummus, 1 beer
6:30pm: soup, tomato base w/ chicken, peppers, onions, queso fresco; a couple pieces of warmed "farmhouse" bread from Lidl. 
7:15pm: metformin+jardiance

Saturday Sort Of Quietness

Dahlia woke me up with her barking, Doug was playing with her and she just wouldn't shut up. I was irritated from the get go. 

Eventually she stopped, and she settled in to snuggle with Doug and Toffee snuggled with me. Doug and I played games on our phones and just sat quietly together. 

She's a lovely doggo when she's not being annoying. If she was staying with us for good, it would be time for professional training because I would not be able to deal with her mouth. She's exhausting me with that.

There was a lot of good playtime too. She fetches and gives things back so you can throw them again. I absolutely love playing with her. 

Doug went to take a nap at about 2:30 so I went to the gym. Chatted with my sister for almost an hour while I walked the treadmill for 25 min, then the market for some things, gas in the car. When I got home I started dinner and realized that when Geoff works weekends, he's off at 5:30 and not 5, so I set everything aside to wait for him to get home. 

There wasn't much going on today so the gym is the most exciting thing. I started a spotify playlist to build songs to keep me entertained while on the treadmill, I have to figure out how to add Linda as a contributor. The instructions on the web lie. And I don't want to watch a video on how to do it. 

Makes me shake my fist at technology in anger. Anyway. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Gym/Treadmill; 40 min, 1.34 miles (additional: some of that was walking in the market, forgot to end the fitbit workout); 8500+ steps by bedtime (just didn't feel like pushing it to 10k before bed)

blood glucose:

8:30am: 184
4:45pm: 145
10pm: 164

food:

coffee/water
11am: last of the banana muffins; metformin
1pm: english muffin w/pb
6:30pm; Nachos. Chips w/meat, guac, queso, cheddar, refried beans
7pm: metformin+jardiance
white wine 

Spark and Burst

I've felt like a slug lately, most notably on work. Before the holiday I was pounding out communications and making meetings. The holidays hit, and now that we're on the other side of things into the new year I feel like I have no motivation to finish this project. My personal goal was to have this done by the end of January but I'll be lucky, at this pace, if we're done by the end of February. I need to get a spark and a burst to complete the task. 

But it is so on brand for me. Let's paint a room! Get the room painted in no time, drag feet on the trim. It is like I'm a really bad finish carpenter. I am good at the big bulk, but need someone to come in and do the spit and polish on the thing. 

Today I managed to email everyone who is still left to take care of on the project. I have a spreadsheet of customers to cross check for whether or not we need to do the transition that is needed done. Some already did it on their own long ago. 

It was a good and full work day. With a little spark and burst.

I checked out a little early, I needed to get more meds for Dahlia's ear. The bottle we got from the appointment the other day basically ran out, and I want to keep her on a healing track. She's got a mess on her neck that is gross and nasty, I thought it was run off from her ear but no. I soaked it in hydrogen peroxide tonight, and she is so tolerant of me poking and prodding. I am going to ask the vet if we can shave that spot, so I can actually ged medicine to the grossness. Our followup appointment is Tuesday morning. 

After the vet, I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill. I forgot my headphones, but was able to get some song choices on the speakers. Plus there was someone there who was picking the Who and Wu Tang, so it was all good. 

I even jogged a little bit. No lie, kids. I jogged. I started to get a sharp pain in my right hip, so I stopped and paced, then tried again. Gotta keep an eye on that. Or a feeling of pain, I guess. 

I was going to swing into the market after the gym. Geoff wants to make a soup, he's working this weekend and needs queso fresco for this recipe, and they sell it at Lidl. He couldn't find it at Giant. But the lines at Lidl were stupid and I wanted to get home to make dinner for tonight and keep working on some things. I will pledge to myself to go tomorrow to get what he needs. 

Digits below this picture of what my workday looked like when Dahlia was not barking in my FACE. Ignore the clutter and mess. Every day it gets tidied up. To no avail.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Gym/Treadmill 24 min/1.17 miles. 10,100+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 178
5pm: 150
10:30pm: 156

food:

coffee/water
11am: Turkey & Cheese quesadilla (2 small low-carb burrito wraps, grilled w/ shredded cheddar and sliced turkey). Metformin
6:30pm: cheese steak meat w/ american cheese and mushrooms. Pile of mixed greens for a salad, all mixed together.
7pm: metformin+jardiance
white wine (wasn't gonna but...) 

Choo Choo here comes the sushi train!

Today's Doug's birthday. It's a no fun time of year to have a birthday, this. For years, it would either blizzard on his birthday or it would be flu season at our house. I recall one year, maybe right after Geoff was born, him spending the entire birthday on the floor in the bathroom, hugging the toilet. 

It happens, January. 

Doug picked a sushi restaurant in Rockville where they have a continuous conveyor belt of food coming your way, and you can order menu items that come to you on a little train car. There is a robot that brings other food from the kitchen. It got mad because the chair next to me was not in the right spot and it detected it, and couldn't get through.

It was kind of funny. 

Our waiter was from Columbia, he's been in the US for 4 years, lived in Miami, met a girl, she needed to move to DC so he came with. He was darling. I asked him if he had to learn any Japanese to work at the restaurant and he said yes, to work with the chefs. But he is enjoying it, and has been here for two months.

We apologized for the weather. 

All told it was a great fun night. Blood sugar is a little high because I should have taken my pills with me, but, all told with the rice and the ice cream blobs, I'm not surprised. It'll come down overnight. Thanks, medicine.

Digits below. I didn't take a photo of the choo choo train but caught a little video. I'll try to figure out how to embed it, but, here's a link. I hope it works for folks I'm not friends with? Leave a comment if it does or does not! 

I'm super obsessed with the chopstick rests. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  indoor walk/run in place. 15 min/.8 miles (pretty good pace!); 7100+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 160
4:30pm: 136
10pm: 240 (see med time)

food:

coffee/water
11:30: BLT Salad (bacon, mixed greens, spinach, tomato, mayo)
noon: metformin
2:15pm: protein shake, celery w/pb
6:30pm: Sushi! mostly rolls w/rice and harmless things that don't freak me out. Miso Soup, 6 gyoza, some seaweed salad, 3 beers, 3 interesting little ice cream "balls"
8:45pm: metformin+jardiance

Damp January

Dahlia's ear is doing much better. She's so tolerant of me washing her ear and cleaning it up, and washing her neck because shit is oozing out of her ear. Twice a day. She does see me coming with the bowl and the wash cloth, so she runs to Doug who lovingly welcomes her into his protection, and consoles her while I do my thing. 

Today I was going to go to the gym but made dinner instead. 

I also wanted to note that the last 2 weeks I've been drinking a lot less. Realizing that I have no reason to have wine or a cocktail, I've semi-eliminated alcohol during the week. I went 7 days I think without having any. Saturday I went to see Tim play at a brewery. Sunday was DnD so it was wine. Monday was a no-work day, and I had wine. Aside from those 3 days in the last 2 weeks, it's been pretty steady to not have any alcohol.

A lot of people do "Dry January" when they don't drink at all. I've never done that, but this is the first stretch of time I've gone more than 2 days without something. 

Not bragging or anything, but wanted to just note it. Also hoping maybe possibly it helps with the A1C next time I get tested. Maybe.

Tomorrow's Doug's birthday so I'll probably have something when we go out. A little something. Maybe. 

That's about it. super boring. Just a lot of work. A lot. 

No picture, digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no gym. 5k by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 190
5pm: 154
10pm: 190

food:

coffee/water
11am: metformin. Apple w/pb
12:30pm: english muffin w/pb
6pm: small bowl of linguine w/meat sauce
7pm: Metformin+jardiance
8:30pm: sliced cheese, pepperoni, green olives

The Trooper Dog

Dahlia got to go to my vet today. When we woke up, she was shaking her head and goo was flying around the living room, and it was smelly. Basically, no. Not going to let this ride or work its way out. Nope.

They were able to get us in at 10am, I was shocked. I had just gotten email from my 10am meeting, asking to reschedule. They're in Atlanta and well, snow there is not a good thing and everything was closed down. We'll meet next week.

At the Vet's office, I explained her situation to them, my vet asked if we were fostering through an agency. I said no - it's more like we found a baby on the side of the street and took it in. That's kind of the level we're at. And we know nothing about the baby only it's a baby. She got it.

She weighs 72 pounds, which is a lot more than I thought she would. 

Doug's coworker was traveling yesterday when I texted her to ask if Dahlia had a vet, medical records, any medication she's on, anything. She's 3 so is there a history of ear infections? Is she spayed? What's her deal. She texted me back today, after the appointment, that she had spoken with her brother. Dahlia has never been to the vet. Ever. 

Not fixed, no vaccinations, nothing. Whelp. And she is not fixed either. Good to know. She told me that she read her brother the riot act, and she asked me to track what I'm spending. 

So, because I'm a good person, not only did we get the medicine for her ear (and the infection is starting in the other ear too) I got her vaccinated for a bunch of things, did bloodwork to test for heartworm, got a mousse for a rash she has on her back at the base of her tail. We did the full work up. $500 plus bucks but I'm assured this is the base level of care a kept dog should have. 

My vet and her staff were madly in love with Dahlia. Absolutely full of admiration and adoration. And she really loved them. I was happy we were there.

We got home and I washed her ear with antibacterial soap, and we put the medication in her ear. There was no fussing, no arguing, no trying to get away. A couple peeps and squeaks, I'm sure this is unpleasant for her but what a trooper she is. 

Because she's obviously not feeling well, she's not barking a lot, or going at it with Toffee. And Toffee is quite alright with this. She's concerned, and sniffing Dahl's ear and head. 

When I did the meds for her tonight Toffee was right there to supervise. It was darling.

Had a rather busy day overall even with the 10am meeting cancelation. There were other meetings and project work. And I was supposed to send some emails that I forgot to do (oops) but can tackle in the morning. 

Not bad for a Monday on a Tuesday. 

Digits below a sad dog at the vet (they're having new floors put in, hence the cardboard she's on...)

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk/gym today. 5k by bedtime 

blood glucose:

9am: 146
4:45pm: 176
10:15pm: 219 (see medication time)

food:

coffee/water
noon: pb&low sugar j on 647 bread; metformin
3pm: protein shake
6:30pm: stromboli, piece of chicken parm, mixed greens, tomato, red onion w/bleu cheese dressing
9:45pm: metformin+jardiance (wanted to take closer to bedtime instead of with dinner)

Doggo Therapy

A friend of mine who lives up in Baltimore came to visit today. We've been talking about her coming to meet Toffee for ... a year. Since we got her. When we ran into her on Saturday I brought it back up and she said she was free today. 

So were we. 

She came to visit and we had a blast. She loves dogs, and her old doggo boy passed away a year or so ago so she's been jonesing for some doggie time. 

She's especially interested in possibly adopting Dahlia, if that is an option. They got along wonderfully, and because she is not a stranger to us, well, playtime with Toffee can be a thing. We can make it happen. 

I think our time together brought joy to her heart. She lost her job last year right after buying a house, she's hurting and struggling. She has a very specific job/career and she's really not sure what to do next. 

Dogs fix that. 

Yesterday I noticed Dahlia's left ear was kinda gross. I thought it was bleeding, like Toffee bit her or something during the play fighting they do ... but it wasn't blood. It was oooooooze and gross. Coming right out of her ear. She has been shaking her head a lot, and I thought it was nothing. She didn't start doing it until Sunday so she's been here a few days and didn't come with it. 

Hmmmm. 

We wiped it down with some hot water and then later in the day Doug took her into the bathroom and used hydrogen peroxide to clean it up better. The last hot spot experience we had was with Kinger, way back in the day, when he ad one under his collar under his chin, and it was the worst. 

I texted Doug's co-worker to ask if she had a history of this or if she had a vet with medical records we could get. She said her brother didn't take her to the vet regularly. 

So, you mean, like, she's not up to date on rabies or other mandatory shots?

(note: I didn't ask this when we got her, and well, maybe I should have but. I was not thinking we'd need to get her some vet treatment). 

She told me to go ahead and take her to the vet if I thought it was a good idea. She was on her way to Florida and driving. 

Oh okay. 

So we cleaned her ear again tonight, and tomorrow morning we'll do it again. It is starting to get smelly so I'm going to call the vet first thing and see if we can bring her in. If not tomorrow, maybe Wednesday.  

I will say, she's so sweet. So gentle and not fighting with us. She is allowing us to rub and pour warm water onto her skin and a little hydrogen peroxide there to help with the infection. The poor thing. She really is lovely.

I know the guy had a stroke, but, you should have a vet and vaccines if you're going to have a dog. That's all. Minimum amount of effort. 

I did go to the gym today while The Pack (doug and 2 dogs) napped. I didn't walk as long as yesterday but, I went. My sister talked to me on the phone and kept me going when I wanted to give up. Just listening to her babble helps the time pass. 

There's a guy I see at the gym a lot, he's probably in his late 20, black, great hair, and he runs on the treadmill. RUNS. He set up next to me and before he kicked in I patted him on the shoulder and said "you go and GET IT!" I said I was impressed with watching him run a couple times this week and he laughed. 

"If I tried to run on these things I would fall down. Fall Right the hell down." 

Seriously, impressive.

Final thought,  I'm annoyed as heck that I have to work tomorrow. It is a busy day lined up, I'd like to skip my 4pm meeting but don't think I can. Garumph Harumph Meh.

Here are some happy pictures. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 9am by a minute. Gym: 25 minutes/1.14 miles. 8k steps by bedtime (couldn't push myself like last night to get to 10).

blood glucose:

10am: 146
5pm: 178
10:30pm: 188

food:

coffee/water
noon: metformin, english muffin w/pb
3pm: slab of banana bread
7pm: piece of chicken parm
8pm: banana muffin
8:30pm: metformin+jardiance
white wine (wasn't gonna drink today but. ya know).

On the Putting on of Hard Pants

Saturday night's entry didn't get published so here's the combo for Sat/Sun

Saturday:
During the pandemic, I celebrated Operation Yoga Pants daily. I didn't put on jeans or slacks or any kind of non-yoga related items for MONTHS. I sometimes wore shorts, or sweatpants, if the two pairs of yoga pants I owned were in the laundry. These are "soft pants." 

I heard someone refer to jeans/slacks as "hard pants" and that made me laugh.  The internet is full of good definitions of hard pants vs. soft pants. This link is from before the pandemic, so the terminology was out in the wild doing its thing. 

Hard pants don't necessarily mean you're doing hard work in said pants, and these are you clothing needs. It's more like,,, not pyjamas. Anything not soft and cozy, comfy and stretchy. 

I even have soft pants that are dress pants, from Betabrand, and I do love them. They're very butt flattering, and look good with boots. But I know in my heart, they're the same material as my yoga pants! 

My office is not a super dress up place, but when you go in, sometimes there are humans that frown upon you for wearing jeans. Or Guster T-shirts. Your girl does not care. 

Clothing may make the man, but, it doesn't matter in how I do my job better. I kick ass when I'm most comfortable. Everyone should work comfortably. 

Since the pandemic, my office has not required us to return to our physical office building. We're all set working from home. We get shit done. We do great work. No matter where we are sitting. No matter what we wear.

Sometimes on the weekends, Doug and I go do things and I gotta put on jeans to go out into the world. So I do. Begrudgingly. And it's okay. I survive wearing hard pants. 

This weekend we had no plans. We had no plans. No going anywhere hard pants are required. I did go to the gym, in the same yoga pants I've been wearing for days. To be honest, I looked just fine, if not better than some of the folks out there lifting weights and doing stuff. 

My friend Tim texted me while I was at the gym, and asked if I was planning on coming to see him play out tonight. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the gig. 

Sometimes I'm like "hell yes I'm so going to that," when things are announced, and then I get to the date and I'm like "oh man, I so do not want to do the thing."

In this case, I completely blanked on its existence. 

I asked Doug if he wanted to go and he looked at me like I had 3 heads. 

Football playoffs. No. I get it. 

Doug's all soft pants this weekend. I texted my friend S to ask if she was interested and she was all in. 

"You're motivating me to put pants on," she said.

"I hope they are hard pants," I said. 

So I put on my hard pants, after showering, of course. And we went. In the car we talked about other people we probably should have invited. At least 3 or 4 friends in the Baltimore area who could have come down to hang. I was happy we got us together to go. It is sometimes no simple feat. While we were sitting there with our phones trying to access the online ordering system and losing (stupid QC codes and shit) one of the friends we talked about walked in. 

She came solo, just to see our friend Tim play. She didn't want to but she made herself leave the house and go. She's going through a super rough time. Just bought her first house and then immediately got laid off. She has applied for over 100 jobs and is getting nowhere. She has had to borrow money from her family to keep from slipping on the mortgage. She's frustrated and sad. 

Leaving the house is hard. 

So there we were sitting. And she walks in. And it was a holy shit you've got to be kidding me moment. I apologized to her because I had wanted to invite her but didn't know if she'd be up to coming. 

She absolutely understood it, and said she probably would have said no if I reached out. But. She got her own motivation on to get herself out the door and ... kismet, as they say. 

It was so much fun. Tim is so good, and the other acts were good too. I could hear severe Wilco/Uncle Tupelo influences coming out of one of them. We had a blast. 

S posted to facebook last night a little pondering about "Say Yes." When someone reaches out, asks you to do a thing, try and say yes. There will be times where you will not want to do a thing, but. Do it. Get on your hard pants and go. 

Everyone laughed at the hard pants part, which made me smile. We've all pledged to try and do just that. 

You never know how much fun you may have. 

I got home (thankful for S&S for driving) and even though I only had 3 beers I felt like I was trashed. Maybe the lack of food, 6 buffalo wings just ain't gonna do it, I guess. I fell just short of 10k steps because I opted to slip into bed before 11. Was feeling dizzy and rather intoxicated so. Best to not stumble around the house for 300 more steps. 

Sunday:
For sure this is a soft pants day, friends. 

We're supposed to get anywhere from 1-9 inches of snow, depending on where the storm hits most. I think up county for us will get the most. If we get 1 inch, it'll be pretty and cover up all the fleh out there from the last storm. 

Bigger than that, it is supposed to get super cold here. In the DC area, they don't do well with snow, 'tis true. But cold is even worse. We were on a water use restriction a week or so ago because of so many water main breaks all over the region. And it'll probably happen again. 

I'm going to make french onion soup for dinner tonight, and I realized we don't have much else for say Monday or Tuesday so I may end up at the market for some things. 

This morning we all slept past 9 am. A rarity. Doug had gone into the guest room and both dogs went with him, which was nice for me because I had my whole side of the bed to myself, and as I felt super drunk and headachey when I went to bed, I was happy to not be encroached upon. Dahlia does a good job of staying down by my feet, Toffee gets right in my ass crack. And when both of them choose to be on my side of the bed, well, there's not a lot of room for my fat ass. 

I woke up with no appetite, no desire to eat. Usually I wake up and have a little coffee and then a late breakfast, y'all see what I eat. But today the concept of making something, or mixing up yogurt, or whatever, I was not interested. 

There was a snowstorm headed our way so at about 1:30, I went to the gym. Found a fun 90s workout mix to listen to, with Sir Mix A Lot, and Digital Underground. Fast pace, fun stuff. Old School, I think the kids would say.

It was getting stormier so I ran into Lidl for stuff for Monday and Tuesday dinner. Just in case we can't get out of the house again. The storm was a nothingburger - we got less than an inch of snow. But that's alright, we're just going to be experiencing some of the coldest temps this region has seen in forever. 

Digits below this pic of me and my Saturday night Hard Pants friends.

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Gym. Treadmill - 34 minutes, 1.34 miles. Got bored. 9700+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 177
5pm: 128
10:30pm: 210

food:

coffee/water
11:30am: metformin; cinnamon raisin english muffin, w/pb
2pm: protein shake
during the evening: 7pm: metformin+jardiance, 3 beers, 6 buffalo wings
10pm: bowl of chili 

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Gym treadmill, 34 minutes/1.36 miles; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:45am: 185
5pm: 177
10pm: 152

food:

coffee/water
(forgot lunchtime metformin. Oops)
3pm: protein shake
6:30pm: 2 bowls of french onion soup, one with large garlic toast and one without. 
7:30pm: metformin+jardiance
11pm: metformin (from lunch)
bottle of vinho verde

Putting Christmas Away

It has to happen. I have to put Christmas away. 

I was hoping to have some hour long time blocks in the middle of the work day but the past few weeks have had me not wanting to engage with anything, much less with ending the holidays. 

I haven't turned the lights on in a while, half the string of white lights hanging on the folding string blew out, so I've just.... left them. 

Packing up the angels, putting the tree away, goodbye sock monkeys, it's all a little sad and I don't like it. 

But we're past Epiphany. We're into the second half of January. I was remembering a colleague at a former job, Sandy, who passed away years ago and her memorial service was outstandingly wonderful. So much laughter and tears. The right balance. Her daughter got up and talked about how she kept her Christmas tree up one year until March. I hope it was artificial, to be honest, I don't know. And through her tears, her daughter said mom's reason was "It's so beautiful, I just can't bear to take it down." 

I have friends who pack everything up on 12/26. Boom, done. Gone. Others wait until Epiphany, Twelfth Night. But me, I think I am just lazy. 

But this weekend, it is time. And it is time to evaluate all the strings of lights. Be prepared for 2025's season.

Having this second dog is forcing us into some new routines. She's an early bird, whereas Toffee will happily stay in bed cuddled up like a croissant warming in the oven for hours, keeping the human sleeper happy as well. 

I ended up at the gym today after work, finally. I cut out at about 5pm, and did a mile on the treadmill. Circuit room had too many humans. Geoff made dinner (it was his day off today) so that helped me with timing. 

There's an app at the gym where you can pick songs that get played over the speakers. Sometimes the staff skips over anything that isn't "boots and pants and boots and pants and..." Today they let some wild stuff play. I had my headphones but saw this on the display, and thought to myself, Okay Boomer! Good workout choice!

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Gym treadmill, 24 min/1mile; 8200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 171
5pm: 136
11pm: 178

food:

coffee/water
11:15am: cinnamon raisin english muffin w/pb; metformin
2:30pm: protein shake
7pm: 2 cluck pucks w/american cheese, some waffle fries, metformin+jardiance
8:30pm: ramekin of mixed nuts

Voof and Woof

I had a 4pm meeting that should have finished in 1/2 hour. At 6pm we were still struggling to get the job done. Thankfully the client I was working with had a great sense of humor about the difficulties. I suggested we roll back the changes on what we were doing, and he insisted we push through. 

I ended up writing his General Manager an email to let her know he was wonderful to work with, and even though this was such a challenge I was so pleased to work with him. 

A lot of other people may have flipped out, or given up. And I felt he deserved some praise. 

Geoff went to the gym at 7 and didn't get back until after 8. Our other car is still covered in snow, I am going to ask the boy to clean it off tomorrow morning, so I don't have to be held hostage while he's out. I could have gone to the gym. I was in the mood. But no. By 9pm there's no desire to go. And, it started to snow right when he got home. So I was not interested in being on the roads around here even with flurries. 

Doug called his mom tonight and we talked to her for like 90 minutes. She had a lot to chat about. Weather, football, some lady she knows who's husband died, how she'd like to travel but she can't carry her suitcase. Asking about the kids. All that stuff. And she wanted to know all about how our Christmas went with Doug's aunt and cousin. 

The dogs had a super good day. 

Last night Doug woke up at some point, went to the guest room and he closed our bedroom door. Dahlia woke up and was anxious because he wasn't there. I think she is getting very attached to him. I tried to coax her back up into bed but she wasn't interested. I got up to open the door to let her out, 

In her frantic state she threw up, thankfully on the dog bed that no dogs use. I cleaned up, both dogs went to the bed with Doug. This morning I was up first so I fed them and they played. Then they napped. Then they played. Then more napping. 

It's a lovely life. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Didn't get to the gym, snowing. 5200+ steps by bedtime 

blood glucose:

8am: 160
5:30pm: 160
10:30pm: 143

food:

coffee/water
10:45am: ramekin of mac&cheese w/bacon
11:30am: Protein shake, metformin
12:30: bowl of BLT salad, extra B!
6:15pm: bowl of chicken sous vide w/a lime cilantro sauce, some white rice
6:45: metformin+jardiance 

Blinded By The Light

I had a light meeting day today, and my last ended at 3:30, so I decided to take a break for myself and go to the gym. And the market. We needed something for dinner, and why not do both. 

The gym was not super crowded, and the high school kids had not shown up yet. I remembered my headphones and pulled up an 80s rock workout mix. Some of the songs were too slow (Sweet Dreams Are Made of This is too slow for a 3mph treadmill setting). But there was a lot on there that was fun. 

While I was debating at about 20 min to keep going or end and go shopping the sun started to set outside the window and hit me in the eyeballs. The guy next to me and his wife both groaned audibly. We laughed a little bit and held our hands up and I got to 23 min (just over 1 mile) and decided to call it. 

I was home by 5:30 with my groceries and the dinner plan. We watched a three part documentary on Charles I and the Parliamentarians and it wasn't bad. A little dry and drawn out. But very interesting historian host and lots of cool London stuff. If we think the USA is in a weird time, that English civil war was bananas.

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Gym, 23 min/1.05 miles on the treadmill (got off because of the sun in my eyes) 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 171
5pm: 156
10pm: 171

food:

coffee/water/tea
10:30am: bowl of greek yogurt w/blueberries
11am: metformin
2pm: pbj on 647 bread
6pm: salmon w/small side salad (mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onion, goat cheese, bleu cheese dressing)
7pm: Metformin+jardiance

Late Night Gym

Not really super late but much later than I usually go. One car is still caked in snow/ice and Geoff has been going to the gym lately after dinner. Instead of at 8:30am. So if I want to go, I need to wait for him, or, dig the car out and well, Princess Chrissie is waiting for a warm day to melt all that ice away. I'm supremely lazy, I guess.

8:30pm at the gym things are still hopping. But the high school kids are gone. I did the treadmill and a bunch of people were in the circuit room so I came home. I still had some client emails to send, and a couple other things to check on, so I was happy to get back. 

Nothing much happened today. The dogs played super nice and fun and not as long as they have been. First thing in the morning is wilding time, around lunch/1pm, and then 4pm. There was plenty of sleeping. 

One thing they've been doing is just sitting really nice next to me while I'm on client calls. It's kind of cute. Here's a picture. digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 23 min/ 1 mile walk on treadmill at gym. 10 min in the house walk to push over 10k steps. 10,100 + steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 161
5pm: 126 (wow)
10:45pm: 188 or 215 depending on which finger we believe

food:

coffee/water
11am: bowl of greek yogurt w/blueberries. Metformin
2:30pm: protein shake
5:45pm: large bowl of rotini pasta w/ground italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, sauce
6:30pm: Metformin+jardiance

A1c update

Stupid fucking A1c went up instead of down. 

I know, I know, the holidays. I ate mashed potatoes. I had stuffing. Christmas Cookies. But I didn't actually think it'd go up. I thought it wouldn't go down. Ya know? And I could have done more, and better. 

My doctor's office called to have me come in for an appointment. I've asked in the past if there is other medication I can/should be on. She said our insurance doesn't cover it. So I want to know who to complain to or appeal to. I don't want to pay a ton of money out of pocket for something, but I do want the stupid number to go down. 

I have to up my game on some fronts like walking, and drinking less. It's dry January, so let's just say I'll be doing "damp" January and all the months going forward. Also we'll save some money as a result. 

Today was busy with meetings. And the dogs were really well behaved together for the most part, but they did have a hell of a wrasslin session and Toffee took a bite to the nose that caused some bleeding. They stop really well when I tell them that's enough. 

There were big naps. Toffee slept by me and Dahlia was on the other couch. Peaceable Kingdom. 

I don't have a picture for today and I don't want to screenshot the A1c chart because it pisses me off. Meh. I'm just grumpy right now and taking a pass on alcohol today on purpose, even though we have plenty in the house. You don't start drinking at 9:45pm. Although Doug just poured a cocktail, watching football.... not for me this late. 

digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no walk. 5600+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:45am: 171
4:30pm: 191
10:30pm: 177

food:

coffee/water/tea
10:30am: bowl of greek yogurt w/ blueberries, splenda
noon: celery w/pb; metformin
2pm: bowl of mixed nuts
3:45pm: 8 crackers w/pb
6pm: cheeseburger w/bacon and havarti, scoop of coleslaw and scoop of potato salad
7pm: metformin+jardiance

Getting out of my own way

Having these two dogs is chaos. They play hard, loud, and rough for a long time every morning. Dahlia barks in our faces, and we do not know what she wants. She's loud and annoying. I mean, she's cute and shit, and when she's not barking in my face I like her a lot, but. 

I have to figure her out. What the hell do you want, you noisy monster? 

Spending time with her makes me love and appreciate Toffee so damn much. She barks when WE are doing something like getting a leash out to let us know how psyched she is. She doesn't bark out in the yard. She doesn't bark for no reason. If she wants to go out, she stands next to the door and looks at us. Silently.

And she sleeps a lot. She has a lot of energy in tiny bursts and then is done. 

At one point today she was so over Dahlia's bullshit. She got up on the couch with me like "mom. please. Make her stop." 

I said, I feel you, girl, I feel you. 

Around 1pm, I also was over the bullshit and told Doug that I was going to get a nice loaf of crusty bread to go with the nice pork & bean soup he cheffed up, and also go to the gym. I'd been threatening to go to the gym for days. So. Why not? Gym is next to market. Do it. 

The Bills/Broncos game was on TV and by the time I got over to the gym it was the 2nd quarter. I watched that and in total, it was a half hour on the treadmill. The market was not crowded, I found the oaf of crusty bread that I wanted and thought, heck. I need some bloodwork done and the lab is now open on weekends. 

I went over, but didn't have my ID card for the insurance on me so the girl would not do the blood draw. 

"We're open until 5," she said. I told her I didn't think that I'd be back, because once I get back in the house, I'm back in the house. 

I got home, dropped the crusty bread off and said "ya know... Chris. Why? Why don't you just grab your insurance card and go back. It is a mile and a half away. Go. Do it." 

For those of you who know me well, you know that I can't get out of my own way sometimes. And I procrastinate, delay, obfuscate, and make excuses. 

I didn't make any new years resolutions but. Why don't I just say it now that I need to do a better job of just doing shit I need to do. 

I went back, with my card. The girl was surprised to see me back, and I told her yeah ... I need to do better. I need to not put things off that I can just do. Highlight of doing this on a Sunday is there was zero traffic on the huge main thoroughfare I have to deal with. No one else was there, so I was in and out. 

It was actually a real delight. 

Here are some pictures. Digits below. Ignore the dust under the table. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Gym treadmill, 30 min/1.39 miles; 10,300+steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 156
4:30pm: 182
9:30pm: 198

food:

coffee/water
11:30am: Metformin; bowl of mac & cheese w/chili & spicy queso added
5pm: high noon seltzer
5:30pm: bowl of pork & bean soup w/ crusty bread; metformin+jardiance
2 more high noon seltzers

Year over Year

Friday (I went to bed without finishing the entry) 

My colleague and I were talking about our fitbits. He said "I hate when it buzzes to remind me to do my steps," and I said, honey. That's to remind you to do your steps. 

I try to do my 250 per hour at the beginning of the hour so I won't forget and it won't buzz at me.  Sometimes that's not possible though. I schedule meetings 5 min. past the top of the hour and get up and move. But if someone calls a meeting and they don't do the 5 min. delay, then I'm racing to get the steps in. Luckily, sometimes I can just turn my camera and mic off, and do steps during the meeting.

I noticed that you can look at metrics not just for the day and week, but month by month and year to year so this is the readout of my stats.

2024: 7080 daily steps per day average. 2,591,372 steps total
2023: 5972 daily steps per day average. 2,179,854 steps total
2022: 2488 daily steps per day average. 908, 161 steps total *
2021: 2645 daily steps per day average. 965,338 steps total
2020: 2771 daily steps per day average. 1,014,011 steps total (thanks, pandemic)
2019: 5390 daily steps per day average. 1,967,352 steps total
2018: 4636 daily steps per day average. 1,692,262 steps total
2017: 3295 daily steps per day average. 1,202,556 steps total
2016: 3781 daily steps per day average. 1,383,990 steps total

*I was without a fitbit for 4 months in 2022. Jan-April. Not recalling why but I think the Fitbit 3 that I had died and I wasn't sure what to buy. 

So I've made improvements, and 2025 maybe I'll break 3 million steps in 2025! 

Dog update: Friday they were pretty mellow. Some tug-o-war and lots of outside play. My former manager came over for lunch and we had a great visit. They were unhinged and excited so I had to put Toffee in her kennel just so JW could breathe and not have 2 giant dogs in her face. We don't have a kennel for Dahlia, so she was free range, and after a couple minutes just settled down and cuddled next to JW while we drank tea. 

Last night for dinner, I roasted a chicken and I wanted mashed potatoes and stuffing, so we got mashed potatoes and stuffing. Because I wanted. 

When we went to bed, I actually tried to sleep in the bed with the fam (the fam = doug+dogs) Both dogs decided they needed to be on my side of the bed, Toffee in my ass crack and Dahlia's chin firmly on my lower legs, and her head weighs 9 tons. At one point I wanted to roll over onto my left side, Doug was snoring, I couldn't budge either dog, so .... I went to the guest room. 

I left the door open, and in about 20 seconds Toffee followed me. 20 seconds after that, Dahlia. Then Dahlia left. Then Toffee left. It was musical chairs for a lot of the night with them leaving and coming back. 

Saturday

Doug woke up at 6:30am, and fed them a full 90 minutes before they usually eat. That woke me up and I went to the bathroom, and then they were madhouse playing so I closed the bedroom door and went back to sleep. Eventually they settled down, and I did too. I got up at 8:45, thankful for that extra bit of sleep since the revolving door of dogs was a bit much last night. 

Geoff went to Target, and Doug had him buy the dogs these beef shank bones that are stuffed with some ... something. Toffee loves hers - and of course, no dog on earth can get all the stuffing out so this has kept her busy for a year. 

I gave them each their bones, and Toffee's thing is she'll take something to her kennel if she does not want Dahlia to have it. And Dahlia is smart enough to not go into the kennel with her. 

Dahlia stayed on the couch next to me, Toffee in her kennel, and for 2 solid hours it was chomp, scrape, chomp chomp. 

Then, it maybe got boring. Toffee came out and took Dahlia's bone to her kennel, I took one out and gave it to Dahlia, and this went on and on and on. They both finally went into the guest room where Doug went to "read" (aka - take a nap). 

When the pack woke up, I was going to go to the gym but Doug suggested we try and walk them together. It was cold but not windy, so we tried. I walked Toffee and he walked Dahlia. Both of them were a bit hype, and Toffee is really too strong for me to walk sometimes, especially on semi-icy surfaces. We tried to walk them side by side but they were zig zagging all over the sidewalk. We called it quits and were back in 15 minutes. I did not go to the gym, that was a workout on its own. 

Steelers lost to the Ravens and that was lame. Oh well. Anyway. Digits are below. 

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk. 6200+ steps by bedtime (took it easier than I have been, no 11pm 10 minute walk forced).

blood glucose:

7am: 160
5pm: 134
11pm: 186

food:

coffee/water
11:30: metformin; quesadilla on keto fajita wrap w/ cheese & bacon
1pm: a couple christmas cookies with tea
7pm: metformin, roast chicken w/mashed & stuffing, gravy
red wine & diet ginger ale

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.   15 min / .47 mile walk. 6400+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 192
4:30pm: 185
11pm: 181

food:

coffee/water
11:30am: peanut butter & jelly on 647 bread; metformin
noon-ish: 2 large christmas cookies
6pm: bowl of linguine w/meat sauce; 2 beers
7pm: Metformin+jardiance

Living In The Now

Today was busy. 

Last night I slept with Toffee in the guest room, Dahlia had taken up my entire side of the bed after I finished brushing my teeth and all. I assessed the situation, and figured it was not worth fussing to get into bed, so I closed the door to keep her in there. Toffee was actually passed out on the couch from all the evening's festivities, and eventually she came to the bedroom and found me. 

 I fell asleep around 1, I think. Doug got up to go to the bathroom at 6, and the dogs immediately started playing and carrying on but it was too early for that nonsense.,. Doug managed to get Toffee back to my bed, and took Dahlia in with him. 

We successfully all slept until 8 when I had to get up to pee. Then we were all up. Because fun was to be had. Brekkie time.

I fed them both separately. 

Toffee was fed first, and then I let her out. Dahlia came out to the kitchen next and inhaled her food. She must have been starving, we didn't feed her last night after we got home and I didn't realize it until I went to bed. I then let her out. They ran and played. Ran and played. Came inside and ran and played. Rough and tumble. Six whole hours.

They shed blood, but it didn't stop them and it wasn't violent. It was the right amount of rough play, the kind of play you hope your big huge tank of a dog can get to play and have another dog who isn't afraid to go at it. 

So much tug-o-war. So much. The ropes that Doug bought in 2023 when we adopted Toffee, or early 2024 are earning their keep, I tell ya. 

It was funny because Toffee's routine is cuddle in my lap and go back to sleep once I start working but that was not happening. No way. No. Effing. Way. She is getting a new routine.

I didn't have a meeting today until 12:30pm, so I could focus on keeping them busy and entertained. When my meeting started, it was still bananas crazy in here and there was barking (throw the ball for me woman!) and bumping into my lapdesk and just big dog-ness going on. I apologized for the chaos happening around me and luckily these were clients who were all about the big dogs. My 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, all same. "Oh hello. This is my foster pup. She's very high energy. She will be vocal during the meeting." 

Around 1pm, they both crashed out. Slept like champions. It was a relief. But the second I got up to do something like, oh, pee or get tea, Dahlia was up and following me. She has to be right on my hip at all times. 

And I forgot how messy Labradors can be. She basically has stuck her entire head in the water bowl, twice. ENTIRE HEAD! And then there's water everywhere. So I've used 4 towels to clean up after her, and did a load of laundry to be ready for the next swimming session.

So yeah, it has been busy.

The night before we went to pick her up, I was having sorrow and stress about getting her. I had an anxiety filled night with little or no sleep. Too much wine so I couldn't just drive to the gym and walk on the treadmill to try and diffuse the feelings. It wasn't because I didn't want another dog in the house, but because I was anthropomorphizing feelings about her and how she may feel. I was thinking (and feeling so sad) that we were on the edge of fucking up her life. 

Where is her "dad," her person? Why is she here? Who are these people? Where are her things? Where is her favorite stuffie? This other dog what the fuck?! What is happening!!!

What is happening, indeed?

I had big feelings on Tuesday night. I didn't know how to express them. I went to the Slack channel at my office for all the pets, it's the best channel. And my coworkers were so kind. I unloaded my feelings, and folks assured me it was going to be okay. 

Dogs live in the now. Dogs focus on where the food is going to be coming from. Now. Is the bed warm? Is there food? Is it scary? okay.  

She may wonder, miss her person, but she also will feel safe and comfortable. She will have someone to play with (and play hard). She hopefully will see her person again. We want her to see him again. and in the meantime, live in the now, dear Dahlia.

And maybe that's who I am saddest for, her person. 

I'm sad that a 53 year old man who lost his partner last year now is recovering from a stroke. I'm sad that his big beautiful boisterous black lab may be too much for him to handle when he is home. I'm sad about a lot of that. But we'll do our best and do our best to do our best. 

And play a lot of rope toys and fetch and .... all the things. 

So she had a good day. In the moment. 

Pictures, and digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 6pm by a couple steps because I was watching the news. 10 min/.47 mile indoor walk;  7500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 172
5pm: 131
10:30pm: 163

food:

coffee/water
11am: Metformin
11:30am: BLT Salad
5:30pm: two bowls of tuna casserole
7pm: Metformin+jardiance
red wine & diet ginger ale