Thursday Night Post For Friday (since I left my laptop at school).

As you can see from the pictures things are coming along with the deck. However things have gone slightly downhill in terms of mud. They did haul away a ton but what is left they’re going to keep in case they need it for the surrounding areas of the cement as well as the retaining wall. I did talk to Nick today and we did run into a bit of a snag. He had hoped to use a beam that was in our deck but in inspecting it found that it was not in good shape so that will be an additional cost. This isn’t unexpected though and even with an additional cost I’m guessing it’s still gonna be cheaper than the other dude.

I think after this deck thing is done and the pools/spa is in I want to look into putting in a raised vegetable garden. I think that would be fun. Plus with the way prices are, growing my own might be the way to go. Jim asked me tonight if I thought we should buy some chickens. I think he was kidding but maybe not considering the price of eggs. I really would love chickens but it’s more work than I think I’m willing to put in.

I can’t tell you how happy I am it’s Friday. These kids are driving me nuts. I don’t know how I’m gonna get through to May when they’re already pushing my buttons and causing me to run screaming from the building and it’s only January.

Jim and I don’t really have any plans this weekend except to chill out as per usual. There isn’t any football to watch although we do need to go to shooters because we bought a square and we need to take a picture for when the Super Bowl is played. Wouldn’t that be sweet if we won some cash?

I’m actually writing this on Thursday night because I forgot my computer at school or at least I hope I did cause if I didn’t I don’t know where the fuck it is. But anyway I was gonna post when I got to school tomorrow but I was sitting here in bed thinking hey I could just dictate it into my iPad and then copy and paste it into my blog so why not just do that now? This all means that tomorrow morning I’m going to have an extra 15 minutes to sit on my ass at home. I think this might be the way I post every freaking day from now on. Why haven’t I thought of this before?

Dinner tonight being Friday because most of your probably reading this Friday rather than Thursday night anyway dinner tonight is gonna be some sort of chicken dish with broccoli and probably rice I’m not sure what kind of chicken I’ll make it but I’m sure it’ll be delicious.

Well that’s all I have. Time to get a move on or I’m sure it will be time to get a move on tomorrow morning which will be Friday because remember I’m dictating this to my iPad on Thursday night so anyway that’s all I’ve got…later. Happy weekend.

It's All Happening!

I came home yesterday to quite the disaster. I was nervous about what I'd find but wasn't expecting so much dug up dirt/mud. Apparently, Nick didn't realize that he'd have to dig so much to allow for the spa to be level with the deck. Additionally, we'll probably need a small retaining wall. All of this, however, is fine with me. I'm just excited to get it all started. I cut Nick a check so he could order the decking and he said it would probably be in next week which means he can start building it late next week. Today he's going to start putting in the new posts for the extension of the deck and start hauling the dirt. I'm hopeful this will all happen in a timely manner but I do know how things go. I'm going to try and have patience. 

Once I was in the backyard and walking it and experiencing all the mud, I decided we needed to fence off a portion where there is no construction for the dogs. Jim and I did that last night. I know the dogs aren't happy they don't have the run of the backyard but I can't have them traipsing through all that mess. They'll be fine. 

After the mayhem from every thing yesterday, I didn't end up cooking and instead Jim and I headed to Shooters for dinner. This means that the dinner I'd planned for yesterday will be today (polenta with sausage and beans). 

I jinxed myself regarding sleep and tossed and turned last night. That's okay because it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday and I can sleep this weekend. 

Another stitch came out yesterday. I think I only have one or maybe two more left. 

Oh, get this, the shit is starting to fly regarding the roundup of immigrants. Rumors are that ICE is going to "raid" Lakota schools this week. I'm not sure what they'll do but that shit is illegal. I'm hoping if the rumor proves true, they'll turn them away like they did in Chicago. Sadly when my school was asked about their protocol should the same happen to us, they revealed they have no plan. I mean, what the fuck? I'm not an admin and I was questioning how we would handle this. How is it that our administrators haven't thought about this!? Or maybe they have and their fucking racist assholes who don't give two shits about the rule of law. Stay tuned. I'm sure this will come up again. 

Okay, I'm running quite late. With the deck cut off from the dogs, I have to let them in and out of the garage (or Florida room) and they're still getting used to that and want me to stay out there with them. I'm sure that will get better. 

K - I'm out. Later!

Eggs

I dreamt about eggs last night. Specifically, the cost of eggs. So crazy. I went to Aldi a week or so ago and eggs there were $4.17. I mean, what the fuck!? And I get that it has some to do with the bird flu but before all that shit hit the fan, egg prices had skyrocketed. According to USA Today, the price of eggs went up 36.8% from 2023 to 2024. That isn't the bird flu. What happened to that fuck's vow that prices would go down if he became president? Another empty promise. All he's doing now is distract, distract, distract. Sending through executive orders and halting federal aid is just his way of making sure news stories don't focus on that which affect the poorer of his supporters, like grocery prices. This is just the beginning of what is sure to be a horrible (understatement) 4 years. 

Sorry, not sorry. I'm still not really watching the news but some stuff seeps through. I can't imagine how panicked I'd be if I were actually immersing myself in this barrel of shit that is the U.S. right now. 

Anyway, it good news, I slept like a baby rock last night. Although, just after I'd shut things down and began my journey to REM, my freaking phone rang! It was almost 9:00 which caused a stir of terror so of course I went to see who it was. It was Nick, the guy who is doing our deck and concrete. Obviously I didn't answer. I haven't listened to his message yet either but I will. What do you think? Is 9:00 too late? I mean, of course it's too late for me but I'm a loser. Is it too late for a non-loser? 

Today will be a nice and easy day because kids are working independently so I'll have time to get the piddly shit I've put on my list complete. I'll go to the grocery at my plan period. Speaking of which, dinner tonight will be Polenta with sausage and bean ragu. It's a yummy one. 

I just finished a book - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I gave it 5 stars. It was so good. I can totally see them making a movie out of it. One of those feel good movies. Speaking of which, I started watching a movie on Netflix too: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. It was a book I'd read and I'm really liking it. I'm only halfway through but so far so good. This means I've started a new book by an author I really like. It's called Mr. Drippy by Cecelia Ahern. She's an author I've read a lot of and listened to as well (really good audiobooks, Maggie). She wrote, P.S. I Love You, which was made into a movie with Hilary Swank (I actually didn't read that book). Anyway, good books all around.

Holy shit! I listened to my message from Nick today and he's going to start today! He said he's going to start readying things for the concrete and then possibly start tearing off the deck. This is so exciting! 

K - I'm out. Now I'm nervous. Later!

It's A Fox!!!

You know how things sometimes show up in your life and you just keep seeing them? Recently, that's been happening with foxes. Here's how it all started: 

Thursday into Friday I had a dream about a dead fox by my mailbox (I know...weird. I think that stemmed from a thought I'd had earlier in the day when I remembered a fox with mange that I'd seen last summer, tried to "save" and then smelled that it had most likely died.) The dream was just so vivid. Then as I was driving into work I was listening to my audiobook and the chapter I was in was all about a family that saved a trio of fox cubs. I thought, Huh, that's interesting. Then, as I walked into the library into school, the TVs are set to the upcoming art for our art show and the picture that's up when I walk in is a pencil drawing of a fox. 

After all that, I tell two of my ladies about these coincidences and move on with my day. Getting home, I got on the elliptical and continued watching the episode of The Pitt I was in the middle of. I'm watching and then suddenly, in one of the scenes, which takes place in an ER pedes room, the drawing on the wall is a Fox. What the heck. It happened again on Sunday while Jim and I were watching TV (which by the way was tuned into Fox because we were watching the football game) and even Jim said, "Muir, look." And on the TV was the word "Fox" (not the logo for the network...it was a commercial." 

So yesterday I'm at lunch and I'm telling the ladies about all this. They were all as amazed as I was. Fast forward to my walk with Scout and I get a series of texts so I pull my phone out and one of the ladies had sent this message, "Today a girl in my study skills class asked me to help her with her French report about an animal. Guess which animal she'd chosen to write about?" Yup, a fox! I mean...what the heck!? I'll continue to keep my eyes and ears open and let you know if anything else fox related pops up. 

In other news, my tooth hole is doing fine. However, without the tooth, the others that were surrounding it now feel ginormous. I feel like they grew an inch each. I'm sure that will just take some getting used to. My stitches continue fall out and that's annoying too. I think those are almost all out but there's one that's up against my cheek that pokes at me sometimes and it kind of hurts. 

School right now (knock on wood) is boring but I am okay with that. I'm trying to stay on top of things but sometimes I'm just so bored. I should just shut my mouth right now because something is going to pop up that's going to NOT be boring. Ugh. 

Dinner tonight: Chicken fritters, fries and green beans. 

Oh, I forgot. Jim's follow up CT appointment: Things are okay but he will need to go back in 3 months (rather than the typical 6) because some things popped up in his left lung. Here's what the scan said, "New/worsening subpleural groundglass nodules throughout the left lung to lesser degree the right middle and right upper lobe." They don't know yet if this is infection or what so they'll check again in May. He also has an MRI in February. 

BTW - when I was reading notes before he got home, I saw a weird snippet that said something along the line of "Today you saw Dr. Flora for malignant melanoma of the left eyelid." I said, "WHAT THE FUCK!?" So I called Jim who was in the parking lot and asked if all was well. He said it was (explained the above about the 3 month return) and then I told him about the note regarding his eye. He said, "Well, I need to go back in there and find out WTF?" So he did. Apparently, someone (some dumb mother fucker) clicked the wrong button. That's a good way to give someone a freaking heart attack. How about being a little more careful! 

K - best mosey as I'm running a little late since I had so much to talk about! Lucky you. Later!

Right As Rain

My tooth, or rather hole, feels pretty good. Every now and then I'll have a little twinge but nothing that even calls for ibuprofen or Tylenol. I'm still not eating on that side but I don't have to be as careful. Some of my stitches have started coming out which I guess is normal. The doc said they'd take up to 2 or 3 weeks to completely dissolve. I'm also allowed to use a straw again. I'm still pretty careful, however, you just never know.

The weekend was good except for the fact that both teams I wanted to win did not. Oh well. Saturday while Jim and I were out and about Lauren sent a text to see if we wanted to hang. We ended up going to I think 3 different breweries/bars. I was going to cook dinner but after all the drinking, I wasn't feeling. We ended up getting Chinese delivered and playing cards. It was fun, maybe too much fun and I even slept until about 7:15 yesterday. That never happens. 

Nothing much is happening at school. It should be a pretty chill week but unfortunately it's going to be a full one. Plus there's no snow in the forecast to give me any hope. Can't win 'em all. 

Dinner tonight: I pulled an eggplant gratin out of the freezer so I'll cook that up with a salad. 

Jim had a scan on Friday and has his follow up today. Fingers crossed that everything is good. 

And that's all I've got. I guess I'll finish getting ready and hit the road. Later!

Normally

Normally when my alarm goes off in the morning (even at 4:20), I immediately sit up, turn it off and hop out of bed. Today, however, I think it was chiming for a solid 20 seconds before I even heard it. I was sleeping so hard. I'm not sure why. I went to bed early (powered down my iPad before 8:00); I haven't taken a pain pill (other than Motrin and Tylenol) since Wednesday evening; I slept really well. I just think this tooth thing has worn me out. It's really not a big deal and it feels SOOOOO much better than Tuesday but, I don't know, it's just set me back a bit from my normal routine. 

Speaking of which, normally, on a Friday I would get on the elliptical in the morning. Today, however, after getting up at my normal time, I realized how groggy I was. Added to that I was in a good amount of pain (I didn't take any meds overnight even though they were due at midnight and at my bedside) I decided to forego my typical Friday morning exercise and just let my meds kick in. I really don't want to overdo anything and cause A) pain and B) dry sockets while I'm still in that 3-5 day healing window. If I feel good today after work I'll get on but I'm not going to stress about it. 

Normally I'd know what I was going to make for dinner but because I can't eat normally, I'm stumped about tonight. I might just do leftovers. I will say that last night's dinner was really satisfying. I decided to do baked potatoes with all the fixings. I had your typical butter and sour cream but also cooked up some bacon, shredded some cheese and then steamed some broccoli. I told Jim if that wasn't enough for him, he could heat up something additional in the fridge so he popped some of the beef stew in the microwave. While that was heating, he fixed up his potato and then said, "What was I thinking? This is plenty for me." So, I put his leftovers back in fridge. I'll have to do baked potatoes more often...they really were delicious. 

Normally, I'd really be jonesing for an after work cocktail on a Friday after not drinking all week but I haven't really missed it too much. There have been one or two times when I was like, "A glass of wine sure would be nice right now." However, I knew that may impede my healing so I powered through. That's not to say I'm not going to have a beer after work and probably some wine but it's felt good to steer clear. Hopefully, I'll continue that routine...it makes me feel so much better and sleep so much better when I don't drink during the week. Willpower! 

And that's about all I've got. It's now time for me to get in the shower. Since I didn't exercise this morning, I've flip-flopped my routine a bit. Ah shit, I just remembered we're on a Pep Rally schedule at school today. Dammit. Why the fuck are we having a random pep rally? So stupid. Oh well, guess it's a movie day. Later!

Trying To Adjust

I'm up and at 'em and happy that I've turned the corner in regard to the pain. I still have a little twinges at the wound but nothing that ibuprofen and Tylenol can't handle. I took my last 1/2 pill of Oxycodone last night with dinner. I don't think I'll need it again. 

Here are the things that are taking some getting used to: 

Brushing my teeth. First of all, I obviously can't use my electric brush which sucks. Not sure how long I'll have to use a soft bristle one but I'm trying to be very careful. Last thing I want is to get a dry socket. That happened when I got my wisdom teeth pulled and it was awful. Anyway, brushing and flossing takes extra long because I have to be so careful. 

Eating is a bitch and takes forever. I'm still on soup and soft foods and don't know how long that will last. I can only eat on one side of my mouth and you just don't realize how hard that is when you're trying to completely avoid anything touching a wound like mine. Tonight for dinner by the way will probably be a baked potato for me and maybe leftovers for Jimmy. We still have plenty. 

Not being able to use a straw is annoying (sipping from a straw can cause dry sockets). It makes drinking my morning smoothing hard. 

I'm bloated as hell. I'm attributing that to all the meds I'm taking: Antibiotics, the Oxy (no longer), 800 mg of Motrin and then Tylenol. I'll be happy when I can stop all of this. It will probably be Saturday based on the instructions. 

My back is killing me. Maybe that's because I literally laid in bed all day yesterday. Maybe it's because I haven't been allowed to exercise so no yoga. Who knows but it's annoying. 

Speaking of exercise, the instructions said nothing for at least 48 hours so today I slept in (didn't do my yoga) but I think today it'll be okay if I get on the recumbent. I'll see how that goes and maybe tomorrow morning I'll be good to go on my elliptical. We'll see. I don't want to push it. 

It's not that I'm happy to get back to work; I'd certainly prefer to be at home, but I will be happy to get back to a normal routine again. I have a ton to grade when I get to my desk today so that will keep me busy. I also need to call my financial planner so he can move the money needed for the spa and deck into my account. Speaking of which, we should have it ordered by next week which then puts us about 45 days out. Woot!

Okay well, like I said, I have a tone to do at school so I'd best get a move on. So nice that it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday! K - later!

Pain

Ugh...I'm in a lot of pain. There's nothing worse than mouth pain especially when you're hungry. Currently I'm trying to eat an omelet (soft food) but it's rough going. 

So the actual procedure went well or at least the doc said I did great. The lead up, however, was a little stressful. When I made the appointment in early January, I made the decision to have the extraction done with meds (valium). The way they made it sound the medication would be provided by them at the office. I would arrive at 10:00, take the medication, wait about an hour for it to kick in and then they'd start. When I walked back to the room, the nurse said, "Do you have your pills?" Obviously I didn't. She looked at my file and said there was a note that I would decide about the medication or not and that it looked like I never did. I said, "I decided at my last appointment which is why I have a 2-hour appointment rather than just an hour." They just never sent me a prescription. In the end, it was fine and they gave me laughing gas instead. I wasn't nervous and managed to remain calm. The worst part of the tooth pulling was hearing the tooth break and then when he was tugging really hard to pull the pieces out of the socket. Ugh. It's no wonder I'm in so much pain. Plus the doc said there was considerable infection, clear up into my sinus. Can’t believe that hadn’t turned into an issue  needless to say I’m now on antibiotics. 

With all that going on I called in for tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't take pain med; Tylenol and 800mg of Motrin would be all I need but not with this pain. They gave me Oxycodone and it seems to barely take the edge off. When I finish this (I'm typing this up Tuesday night), I'm going to make a chocolate shake and take it upstairs and lay in bed. 

Scout isn't a good nurse, I'll tell you that. He just went outside and came back in with a mouse popsicle. Just what I wanted to do right before I ate was to have to dispose of a dead, mangled, frozen rodent. 

K - I'm out. Fingers crossed I sleep somewhat okay and turn a corner when I get up in the morning. Later

Bye Bye Tooth!

I actually slept pretty well which is surprising. I figured I'd wake up with anxiety about getting my tooth pulled. Can't believe that didn't happen and that I slept well and nearly to the time my alarm was to go off (5:30). 

The plan for today: After I finish here, I'll get on the recumbent bike, then shower and wait around until 9:30 when we'll leave for the dentist. Because I chose to get doped up for my procedure (valium or the equivalent) they need me there an hour before the actual extraction. That will occur at 11:00 and I should be out of there by noon. I'm sure I won't be feeling much of anything at that point, I just hope that once the numbess wears off, it won't be awful. Jim plans on going to work after taking me home and I'm sure I'll just be chilling out. I'm hoping to be at work tomorrow but will have to play it by ear. 

Who knows what I'm going to be able to eat so I obviously won't be cooking today. I'll probably send Jim to the grocery while I'm in my procedure to get a few supplies for my smoothies and maybe some soup...just in case. Or maybe I'll pull something out of the freezer. 

I finished my paint-by-numbers. Isn't it pretty!? I really enjoyed doing it and am excited for my next one. I don't know what I'll do with it but I'll hang it somewhere.

It's still cold as shit here and tomorrow morning is supposed to be colder than today. I never took the boys for a walk because every time I asked Alexa or Echo what the temp was, it never got above 10 degrees. That's just too cold for Scout's (and Boo's) tootsies. Boo doesn't really care if he walks or not but Scout gets antsy. There were several bouts of chasing and wild playing in the house yesterday as a result. 

Watson's is coming out today to do a site survey so they can see how they'll bring in the spool (I'm calling it a spool which is a mix of spa and pool...I'm sure you could've figured that out). We don't need to be here though. 

Okay...time to check email at school and get my other shit done. Wish me luck today! Later~

Bullfrog S200!!!

So Jim and I went out on Saturday to look at hot tubs and in the end, we bought (well, put down a deposit) what you see at left. It's a pool and spa combined. Originally I thought to get a hot tub and a small pool but looking at this, it's everything I want and need. It has a swim-current system so I can do laps plus it has 6 seats and a lounge. It can and will be used year round and just like a typical hot tub it gets up to 104 degrees. There are a bunch of accessories that I can get to go with it too like the zero gravity net you see in the pic. Can't you just picture me there!?

On Wednesday, we're getting another estimate for our deck. It's a guy who was recommended by Watson's (that's where we got the pool) He also does concrete. Jim's calling an electrician today. Watson's will also come out to see the layout of our yard so they can see how they'll be able to get the pool in and placed. Once that's done, we'll order it which will take about 45 days to come in. I'm hoping that by March or April everything will be done but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I need to stay chill and just try and go with the flow on this one. It does, however, cause me to wake up in the middle of the night in a sort of panic. Typical Muir.

Beyond that, the weekend was pretty chill. Lots of hanging together and games. We watched lots of football and pretty much things went the way I wanted except for Kansas City. I did not want them to win but it was inevitable, no matter how good or bad they played what with the terrible one-sided officiating. 

I'm obviously off today for MLK but Jim's working. My plans are to do a big clean here and possibly go to Costco. It's so freaking cold, however, I might lose my gumption to go out. Who knows how long the boys will be able to stand it on their walk. We'll try though. I'll have to make Scout wear his coat. He always hems and haws when I put it on him but them is happy once we get going. Anyway, beyond that, I'm just going to chill. 

I'm not working tomorrow either since I'm getting my poor tooth pulled. I'm not too worried about that but of course it's a little scary. I hope I don't have too much pain after. I wonder if I'll be able to eat. I'm guess soft foods and not on the side of the extraction. I'm guessing too that I won't be allowed to exercise like I would in case of bleeding. Poor me. 

Dinner tonight: I'm not sure if Jim's working late or not. He might since he's taking most of the day off tomorrow (he'll probably go in after I finish at the dentist). If he's NOT working late, I'm going to make walnut chicken. If he is working late I'll just eat leftovers. I made a really yummy Irish stew last night plus spaghetti from Friday. 

And that's all I've got. Time to start cleaning the house and then I need to get on the elliptical and see if I've still got it in me to head to Costco. Later! 

Rough Friday

It's going to be a rough day for me. I woke up at midnight and basically tossed and turned until my alarm went off. Jim was snoring to beat the band but I'm not sure that he's the reason I couldn't get to sleep. Added to that, Boo woke up and barked at the door so I had to let him out and wait and wait and wait for him to return. Seems he was mostly interested in eating snow on the deck. Turkey. The good thing is (trying to look at the bright side) that it's Friday and I'm staring at a 4-day weekend! Woot. 

We had a guy come yesterday to price out our deck. I showed him my drawing and he's all in. I'll get an estimate in the next few days but I expect his estimate to be about $35,000. We'll see. That was about the cost that Larry told us for a composite. We're not going with Larry, mainly because he wouldn't be able to get to us until about August. This guy we saw yesterday estimated about a 6 week wait. I can do that. Bonus too, this guy does concrete so he could pour the concrete for the hot tub and pool and lounge area. Fingers crossed. 

With all that going on, Jim and I have a lot to do this weekend in preparation. We'll head to McCabe lumber to pick out the decking and railings. We're also going to start checking out hot tubs. Right now, Watson's has 50% off certain stock so we'll head there. Costco has some good prices too but I don't know if that's the way to go since there would be no installation and they'd just basically deliver to the end of the driveway. We'll see. I'm pretty dense about what needs to be done in terms of installing a hot tub...guess I know what I'll be doing today (research). 

Other than the above and I'm sure lunch out somewhere, we don't have plans for the weekend. I'm sure Jim will have to work Monday and it will be nice to have the house to myself. I need to do a big clean so maybe I'll throw Jim a bone and do it myself Monday. 

Dinner tonight: I was going to get take out (Jimmy wanted Chinese) but I'm thinking I just might cook. Maybe I'll pull some chicken cordon blue and have some rice and broccoli. 

And that's all I've got. Just a reminder that Monday and Tuesday I'll be sleeping in so my post will be a little later (Maggie). Have a great weekend! Later!

Proof Is In The Pudding

Last night, when I went to bed (after The Wheel) Jim decided to come as well. I knew right away this was not going to bode well for me. Normally when I head upstairs, Jim stays downstairs and falls asleep in front of the TV. He eventually comes up between 9:00 and 10:00. This works out perfectly because it gives me time to read and then fall asleep before he comes up and commences snoring. 

So after I tucked the boys in, I got in bed, and Jim's already there (I had to remind him to put on a Breathe Right strip...dumb butt). He isn't snoring yet but I can feel it coming. As I opened my app to read, it starts and not lightly either. I nudged and nudged and nudged and finally decided to illustrate what I've been dealing with so I recorded him. I got about 45 seconds of him sawing away the replayed it, which in turn, woke HIM up. He said, "That's not me." I said, "You're out of control. You need to roll over and reposition your head." He said, "I can't remove it from my shoulders!" I said, "I can probably take care of that for you." In the end, he rolled over, repositioned his head and that's pretty much the last time I heard him. Lucky for him. 

In other news, I started reading TKM yesterday and as I suspected, the kids seem to be enjoying it already. Of course there's always one or two kids who are assholes...it's just the nature of the beast. One kids said to me after we finished reading chapter 1, "How long is chapter 2?" Sighing I said, "I don't know...why don't you flip through the BOOK THAT'S IN YOUR HANDS, and count pages. But really, what does it matter?" I had another kid who, after we finished reading chapter 1 say, "Phew! That was long! Are all the chapters this long?" Yup...pretty much. Get used to it jerk and enjoy the story. Kids...can't live with them, pass the peanuts! (If you know Cheers, you know that quote.) 

Dinner tonight: I was going to make a Tex Mex Skillet but I'm not feeling it so instead I'm going to make spaghetti and a salad. Yummy. 

It's going to get above freezing today! And tomorrow, it's supposed to get into the 40s. Of course that means rain is moving in and I do not look forward to the sloppy mess that will be my backyard. Oh, and then next week we're getting air that's apparently coming from Siberia. It's going to be colder next week than it's been. Yikes.

Jim found a guy to come look at our deck and give us an estimate. He'll be here today at 4:00. I'm sure it's going to be an astronomical price. 

Okay, time to move on. Ooh, it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday and that means a 4-day weekend for me! Woot. Later!

P.S. I'm sitting here searching for a pic to put on my blog and Maggie texts me with "What's the deal". It's 6:12! Give me a minute!!! So impatient! 

Worst Sister-In-Law Ever

Happy belated birthday Susan!!! I'm such an asshole! I remembered on Monday (Maggie even sent me a text then) but when Tuesday rolled around...I forgot. Of all the people to forget! UGH! I hope you had a great and relaxing day! I love you! 

In other news, I now have only 3 IEPs left to write for the year! And the next IEP isn't due until March. Woot! I celebrate this now but I'm sure I'll get another student or two put onto my caseload. Actually, I think I've just had one added but I haven't been officially told and the paperwork etc. is still "pending." I did look her up and it looks like the IEP isn't due until next October. Of course if I have any sophomores who go to the career center next year, I'll have to do amendments but those are easy. I don't have any seniors on my caseload which is a bonus. I should probably knock on a giant block of wood. 

I made a good meal last night: Air fryer Greek chicken and potatoes. It was tasty but I'd probably reduce the salt in it...it was kind of salty. Dinner tonight will be Peach and mustard glazed pork chops...probably not everyone's cup of tea. I think it will be delicious but we'll see. I'll serve them with mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts. Yummy! I'm trying to make things right now that won't make leftovers since we're still working through what we have. 

I'm going to have to go to the grocery today during my plan period and it's going to be COLD! It's probably good for my car though to start it in the middle of my day in these frigid temps. 

I start reading To Kill a Mockingbird to the kids today. Thinking about how many times I've read this book, over the last 25 years, on a 4 year rotation, teaching 2 period per day, I've read this book, approximately 13 times? And it never gets old and I still cry at the end (and in the middle a couple times). I love it. I always worry the kids won't be as into it as I am but they always are. 

Not much else to talk about. I'm still maintain my tooth pain which is good. Slept pretty good last night although I did wake up about 9 minutes before my alarm went off today which was stupid. And that's it. Best mosey. Happy Wednesday. 

Avoidance

Last night before the Wheel, Jim and I were watching TV and at one point he turned it to the news. A story about the fires and dogs came up and I immediately said to Jim (who had the controller), "I don't want to see this!" So he turned it right away. I knew it was a feel good story but how feel good can it be when the fires are still roaring!? Then stories like that make me think of all the animals that didn't get saved. I just can't watch, just like I can't look at all the animals that are homeless that people post on FB. I just can't. 

Fast forward to 4:25 this morning. I'm watching the last few minutes of Early Today, drinking my coffee, minding my own business and of course the last story before the local news starts is the story I wanted to skip last night. I ended up watching it and of course it made me cry, for happiness, sure, but also for the reason listed above. It's too much. 

Then I come downstairs from my shower and I'm getting my protein shake ready and Jim comes in from the mudroom bawling. I'm like, "What the fuck? What's going on?! What's wrong!?" He just shakes his head and I say again, "WHAT!?" He points to the TV and says, "The fires. There was this story on the news about a guy reunited with his dogs." JAYSUS! After berating him for freaking me out, I said, "Yeah, I saw it and by the way, that was the story I didn't want to watch last night!" 

You will be happy to hear that I slept like a freaking baby last night. I was actually awoken by my alarm this morning. That hardly ever happens. I hope that continues. 

My scholarship meeting yesterday was a dud because the parent didn't show up. Stupid. I'm not going to have to await her phone call today so I can go over it with her. Just another pain in my ass but still really no big deal. Hopefully she calls like she said she would so we can chat, I can get her signature and get the damn paperwork off my desk. 

I do have another IEP today at 12:30. It's an in person meeting (stupid) and shouldn't be a bid deal. 

Dinner tonight: I was going to do a Greek chicken and potato meal in the air fryer but it calls for Greek seasoning which I swore I bought but now I can't find. I'll look again and if I can't find it and if I have the gumption I'll go to the store during my plan to get some.

I'm reading and listening to a good book. The one I'm reading is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Interesting and puts me in mind of the movie (so far but I'm early in the book) The Shape of Water. The difference is instead of a "mermaid" the book is focused on an octopus. The book I'm listening to is The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. I good "Who-dun-it". 

And that's all I've got. Jim just left (he needs to be at work at 6:30) so I need to make sure the boys get out one more time. Later!

I Hope I Make It

How am I going to get through a whole week of work?! Five days!? That's a lot! If I can get through this week, next week will only be a 3-day work week for me. Although, that's because I'm getting my tooth extracted next Tuesday and that's probably not going to be fun. Anyway, I hope this week is uneventful. I do have an IEP today and tomorrow and today's meeting is likely to annoy the shit out of me. It's for a scholarship student so someone I've never laid eyes on. Of course the info sent to me Friday from St. Ursula was pretty shitty. Very little actual information pertinent to her present levels. I wrote the IEP as best I could and then emailed the draft to the "team". To the St. Ursula chick I said, "Here's the draft, it's missing a fair amount of needed info but I'll be happy to type that in while you (YOU) go over the document in our meeting tomorrow." Asshole. 

Tooth update: Because I know you're all wondering how my tooth is doing (or maybe you don't give a shit), I've managed to avoid any pain for the last several days. I've been doing regiment of Tylenol and ibuprofen and that seems to have done the trick. Hopefully that will continue to be the case for the next week. 

The weekend was very chill. We essentially did nothing except hang, shovel snow Saturday, play games, watch football, enjoy the fireplace, and play cards with Doug and Lauren yesterday evening. Oh, and we did go to Shooters for a bit yesterday. It was a nice relaxing weekend. 

Ooh, one thing Jim and I did Saturday was to hang the mirror I got for Christmas. It's a full length mirror that I wanted in my dressing room so I could see and correct myself when doing yoga. Originally I thought to put it where my secretary was but then what would I do with my secretary. Then I realized it should go on the opposite wall where my framed PIB map was. We moved the PIB pic above the trundle bed and I must say it worked out perfectly. I did have to switch to where the front of my yoga mat is but that's okay. And bonus, I can now see the reflection of the TV in the PIB map. It's a win win in all ways. 

Dinner tonight will be chicken piccata with broccoli and mashers. Something easy and fairly light. 

And that's all I've got. I need to get to school a bit earlier than usual because I need to fix my assignments on Google Classroom. Since we didn't have school Friday I need to shift everything a day. Happy Monday! Later!

Best Work Week Ever

I could really get used to having a 2-day work week. I know it won't ever happen but what a great way to ease back into school. The roads are just fine right now (it's cold as hell, however) but later, around noon, things are going to hit the fan. Allegedly. A clipper will move through dropping 2-4 inches. Rather than risk a shit show by releasing early, many/most schools in the area called off last night. It made me so happy. Especially since I'd planned on calling off anyway and now I don't have to use a sick day. (Although with over 150 sick days, does it really matter?) It's going to be a good day! 

I will say the dogs are quite confused. They don't understand this routine or lack of routine that we've been in these last few days but I know they're happy to have me home. They aren't especially happy that they haven't gotten a solid walk in lately (Scout especially) but at least they've gotten a little something. They're not going to be happy when there's more snow on the snow come this afternoon. 

My plans today: After I finish this I'm going to get on the elliptical. Typically on a Friday I don't do yoga but we'll see...maybe a 15 minute hip-stretcher. My hips have been giving me fits lately. Talking to Maggie yesterday she realized that the cold really affects her ankle (more than rain) and it made me wonder if that's what's been going on with me. And then Jim came home with really achy hips as well. Hmm. 

Anyway, after I get my exercise on, it will hopefully be light enough to get the boys out for a little jaunt. Once done with that, it'll hopefully be 9ish and Aldi will be open. I need some staples so I figured I'd get out there before the snow starts. Jim said he's going to wrap up today around noon so once he gets home, maybe we'll play games and snuggle up with a fire. The Ohio State game is at 7:30 tonight and Jim will probably want to watch that. (I don't give a shit but I know other people do...I'll root for our "home" team.) 

I do need to do some work today. I have a scholarship IEP on Monday and the dumb fuck chick at St. Ursula who provided me with the information only got me the info yesterday. (IEP drafts should be sent at least a week ahead of time.) The info she did send sucks. She obviously knows nothing about special ed so I'm having to figure out what to write. I don't really give a shit since it's a scholarship IEP but it's a huge pain in my ass. 

Not sure what I'm going to do for dinner. I have a lot of leftovers in the fridge so I don't want to do anything to produce more. Maybe I'll pull a soup and make some grilled cheese. (Texted Jim about the soup and grilled cheese and he said, "That sounds excellent!") 

Ugh...I just thought about something. I'm just now getting over the soreness from shoveling Sunday and Monday and now I'm going to have to shovel again. Oh well...at least I'll close my rings today. 

K - I'm out. Time to do some stretching. Hope everyone has a safe weekend. Later!

More Of The Same

School was fine yesterday just the same old same old. My IEP went off without a hitch and even without having any set plans I managed to figure out something to do with the kids. Additionally, I got all my needed shit done. My progress reports are sent and plans for the rest of the week are done. I was staring at my computer a LOT yesterday but now that I have my blue light glasses, I never got a headache. We'll see if that continues. 

My tooth is slowly getting worse and worse I think. By January 21st, my liver might need replacing as well with all the ibuprofen I'm having to pop. I try to keep it to a minimum but that leaves me with me in pain after it's been too long since my last dose. While I was making dinner last night it started throbbing and I realized I hadn't taken anything since 4:30 AM. Ugh! I popped 3 and then of course by 2:00 AM, I was awoken with more throbbing. On the one hand, I dread having the extraction done but on the other it can't come too fast. 

And speaking of my tooth, I got the estimate yesterday for the whole shebang. {Drumroll please} $5,500 after all is said and done. Jaysus! Again, I'm just thankful that A) it isn't a front tooth and B) I have the funds to do this. 

I can't even with the fires in LA. Cullen is currently safe and not in the evacuation zone but that could change on a dime. He's actually gone south because the smoke is so overwhelming. It's just so sad and devastating. 

Dinner tonight: I think I'll do mahi mahi with cauliflower and brown butter along with some long grained wild rice. Something easy that will not produce leftovers. 

We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow and of course the timeline moved up so that it will start while I'm still at school. This makes me nervous and nuts. I hope that before the bulk of the snow falls, I'm home safe and sound, on my couch, in front of a roaring fire with what I'm sure will be a much needed glass of wine. 

The day should be easy. Oh, interestingly enough, I started a chapter in history on the "Age of Revolution" which starts with the American Revolution. When I went to my mailbox yesterday at the end of the day, I had my monthly set of Scholastic mags and guess what the cover said? "Six things you didn't know about the American Revolution"! 

Okay, time to move on. Later!

Dang It!

I was hoping for a 2-hour delay but it hasn't happened. I keep checking my email but there's nothing there. I just need to come to grip with reality and accept the fact that I have to go back to work. I really don't want to and you should see the sad looks Scout keeps giving me. It's like I'm betraying him. Compound my return to school with the fact that he hasn't had a walk since Sunday? It's understandable that he's a little bummed. I'll try to walk him up the street after school today but there's still so much snow, who knows how far we'll get. 

So I checked my calendar yesterday to see if there was anything I should prepare myself for and would you look at that? I have an IEP today at 10:00. Oops. Thankfully it's written, the draft was sent home and it's a Zoom meeting. Hopefully it won't take more than a half hour. 

We're supposed to get more snow Friday. Originally they said it would happen Friday evening into Saturday but now they're saying it will be in the afternoon, possibly starting around noon. This does not make me happy because I don't want to drive in it. We'll see how that goes. 

Fucking trump. I mean really? Why is he focusing in on stupid shit? Changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America? Making Canada a state? Taking over the Panama Canal and Greenland? Is this where our lawmakers should be centering their focus. Or even spending any time thinking about this? What about the supposed failing economy that EVERYONE was so worried about? Why isn't he talking about that? JAYSUS! This is why he sucks so fucking bad. He can't be a president and focus on the things that matter to the dumb fucks that voted for him. Distraction, distraction, distraction. Ugh! 

And just so you know, I'm still not watching any news by choice. Jim's watching it and I'm in the room. I try to ignore and not hear this shit but sometimes little (stupid) shit sneaks in. I need earmuffs. You know what really sucks? The Christmas movies are no more on the Hallmark channel. Normally (for the last couple months) while I'm getting ready upstairs I would have a movie on but now, it's either Monk or some stupid shit I don't care about. And NO! Christmas movies don't count as stupid shit. 

Dinner tonight: I think I'll do the Basil chicken in a coconut curry sauce. It's a good one. 

Okay...I can't listen to anymore of this shit that Jim's watching so I guess I'll go get ready. I may need some extra time on the road anyway. Plus I have NO idea what I'm doing today and I'm losing my plan for my IEP meeting. Oh well. Later!

Should vs. Won't

I'm on snow day #2 and it's lovely. This extended vacation is exactly what I needed to ease back into the 2nd semester of school. Jim went to work today (he just texted to say he made it safe and sound) so I'm enjoying having the house all to myself. The pups and I are pretty much buried in so they won't be getting a walk today, which is not good. I know Scout needs to poop but he won't go in the spaces out in the yard where I've shoveled a path. He wants so badly to run out into the yard to poop but he gets snow between his toes and then locks up and can't move. Ugh. I'm going to have to go back out and clear a bigger path. 

Okay, I just went out and cleared a larger path off the deck. I also saw that the boys have pooped and maybe Scout's reluctant because there's poop in the path. So, I cleared that out (I mean, who wants to poop in an unflushed toilet) and hopefully that will help the shituation. As Maggie stated, I may be getting a little more wiggity than need be here. 

My plans today: I've already done my yoga and after I finish this, I'll sip some coffee, put away my laundry and then get on the recumbent bike. I should do some school work but I have a feeling that I'm going to procrastinate and just won't. I mean, what kind of snow day would it be if I did work? Plus, who gives a shit? The kids won't care (and truthfully would be thrilled) that I'm completely unprepared for classes and really, it's all about the kids, right? We'll see how I feel after I do all my stuff. I do need to check my calendar because I can't remember if I have any meetings this week. Oops. 

I'm reading such a good book! It's called The Book of Murder: A Prosecutor's Journey Through Love and Death by Matt Murphy. He's a former prosecutor/district attorney where he served for 25 years in Orange County (17 years in the homicide unit). His book takes you through several memorable cases throughout his career and it's fascinating. You'd recognize many of the cases (the "Dirty John" case for one). Highly recommend. He's a great writer as well. And, if you're so inclined, he was interviewed on Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast which was got me wanting to read the book. 

Dinner tonight will be a skinny tuna noodle casserole. It's a good one. 

One thing about school that I'm looking forward to is getting back into my routine. Smoothies in the morning, a healthy lunch and then no drinking during the week (that's my goal). I've been so bad this past month and I need to turn it back around. I know I've gained weight and my psyche just can't take that. I get so down on myself. 

Okay, well, I need to get my shit together so I can lounge around the house for the majority of my snow day. Stay warm (we're looking at below 30 degree weather for at least the next week with windchills in the negatives for the rest of this week). Later! 

Extended Vacay

So far, I think we've probably gotten about 8 inches of snow and we'll get another 2-4 according to the local meteorologists. We're in a lull right now but there's a huge band that's about to settle over the area, around 7:00. After that clears out (around 3:00), the wind is supposed to kick up and the temps are going to plummet. Obviously I'm not at school today and I wonder if tomorrow is going to be possible. Interestingly, as I was shoveling the driveway last night, a plow went by but that hasn't happened since. There's no distinction of where the road is here. I'm not going anywhere farther than my driveway. 

They boys are not happy about the snow at this point because A) they know they're not going to get their walk and B) it's cold on their paws. Boo ran out this morning, peed and then ran right back inside. Scout has gone out twice but came right back in after doing his business. Normally, he likes to linger, sniff, check things out but he's not having it. 

Jeez, I haven't posted since last Thursday! Sorry about that but I was in Columbus Friday and then it was the weekend. The only real update I have is about my tooth. I went to the dentist on Friday morning and like I thought, I'll need to get my poor, stupid tooth pulled and then have an implant put in. This will take about 9 months, start to finish. I'm scheduled on January 21st to get the tooth extracted and I'm not looking forward to that. From that point, they'll work to rebuild the bone with titanium but it will take months. Thankfully though, this is something I can afford but even with insurance it's going to cost an arm and a leg. (Dental insurance sucks and really is a racket.) I feel bad for people who don't have the funds to deal with this type of issue. A single implant can cost from $3500 - $7000, depending on where the tooth is located. I'm thinking because my tooth is in the back of my mouth, it will be a bit cheaper. The front would require a temporary tooth but who knows? 

My time in Columbus was short but fun. We went to Easton so Eva could go shopping and so we could go to Teds for lunch. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and my bison meatloaf sandwich was better than I remembered. After that, we went home, watched football, had dinner and soaked in the hot tub. I was on the road Friday by 9:00 and home by 11:00. 

The weekend was pretty chill. Jim and I did got to the Wandering Monster brewery because they have duckpin bowling Saturday but came right home after and watched football. Yesterday we managed to get to Shooters before the White Death hit but other than that, we hunkered down. I made red wine braised short ribs last night which was delicious. 

Just a little note on the Bengals: I hate that Kansas City didn't play their starters, although I get it. This meant that Denver won handily and as a result the Bengals have been shut out of the playoffs. However, we need to be good through the WHOLE season, and not just the latter half. This has been an issue in the past and must be figured out. We can't contenders when we have to rely on other teams losing or winning to get us where we need to be. 

Plans for the day: After I finish this, I'll go do some yoga. I need to get back into my yoga routine because my body is certainly feeling it these last two weeks being off my normal schedule. I'll also get on the elliptical but that might have to wait until after I get the driveway shoveled. I'd like to get to that before the next round comes and I don't want Jim dealing with it. I keep having to remind him that he still has a wonky heart and he needs to be careful. Beyond that, I'll chill at home. Dinner will be leftovers because we have a ton. 

And that's it. I think I'll actually go do the driveway now before yoga. Happy Monday...fingers crossed I get another day tomorrow. Stay safe...later. 

Quick Trip

I decided to make another quick trip up to Columbus today. Really, I just need to get my bathing suit back that I left there last week. Ha! No real plans except Maggie said Eva wants to go shopping so we're headed to Easton which means, we'll be near Teds!!! I'm so excited! It's been a year since I've had their bison meatloaf sandwich! I can't wait! I'll be home tomorrow. (Hopefully the snow we're supposed to get overnight won't cramp my style.) 

Speaking of snow, we're possibly going to get a snow storm Sunday into Monday. As of right now, they're saying 5-8 inches overnight with 1-3 more during the day Monday. Now, I'm not mad about this at all because it would extend my vacation. However, Monday is my work day and I left a lot of stuff to do. I guess if I have school Tuesday, I'll just have to get shit done then. Ooh, wouldn't it be great if the powers that be moved our work day to Tuesday and had kids start Wednesday? That seems like the smart thing to do. 

Oh, I almost forgot! I was sitting at the bar yesterday and my phone rang. It was my dentist. Actually it was my dentist's partner. Though their office was closed, he'd gone in to deal with any messages left by patients and he heard/read mine. Anyway, I'm going in today at 9:00 for a 3-D x-ray. He thinks he knows what's going on (most likely I'll need to have this tooth pulled and an implant fitted) but the only way to know for sure is with a 3-D looksee. I won't have anything other than that done today (he might possibly adjust my bite) but at least something is being done. If I have to get an implant, he's their implant guy and I'm just glad I won't have to go somewhere else. 

Jim just said to me, "You have to tell me the trick to hard boiling eggs." It's no trick but boy after I told him my method and he repeated it back to me, wrong, twice, it sure felt like there was some rocket science involved. There's not, he just doesn't listen well. 

In other news, my pork and sauerkraut was delicious last night. While I was making it, Jim came in and said upon smelling it he was taken back in time to our early marriage when we would head south after Christmas to see Mom and Richard for New Years. 

We took Christmas down yesterday. As much as I love all the decorations and especially my tree, it's nice to get things back to normal. All that clutter starts to get to me. I ended up trashing my tree. Most of the lights no longer worked and I figure if I get rid of it now, it will force me to get a new one. Now I just need to remember to shop for one. I'd imagine that there will be some good deals right now. 

I finally finished the 2nd season of The Diplomat...so good! I'm now on to Black Doves with Keira Knightley. So far I really like it but I'm only a 1/2 hour into the first episode. 

Okay, well, time to get a move on. I need to finish packing and then hit the road. I hope to be in Columbus by 11ish. I don't think the dentist will take more than a half hour. Later!