It was nice to be back to work today

We celebrated Mardi Gras with doughnuts and King Cake, and I've probably screwed up my weight loss by a couple of pounds today alone.  Tomorrow we're having a potluck to celebrate Valentine's Day and also our volunteer's birthday.  It being the day before payday, and with me having about sixteen cents in my account, and a slightly smaller cheque due to the lack of time off to cover everything (although it wasn't too bad--I was less than four hours short total, and it amounted to about $13 in pay after taxes, etc.), I suddenly realised last night that my best bet was to make bread.  So tonight I'm making two loaves--a wheat bread that is really good and completely vegan (one of my co-workers is a vegan), using applesauce or olive oil (I used applesauce) for the creaminess, and honey for the sweetener.  Later I'll try to make an herb bread as well.  We'll see how it goes.  I haven't made the whole wheat in a while.  I put together the dough conditioner just the other day.  I love the recipe and both the bread instructions and dough conditioner ingredients can be found at https://beanland.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/whole-wheat-bread-machine-recipe/.  The only difference is I use olive oil instead of canola, sometimes. I don't like canola oil, to be honest, and olive oil works fine.  But I used unsweetened applesauce this time.


So, with the bread making, I swept the floor in the kitchen and mopped it.  Of course, it's going to start raining soon, and it's supposed to rain for most of the week.  On Thursday I think the high is supposed to be 62.  In Lexington, we tend to have localised flooding, but up in the hilly areas to the east of us, schools have been closed and the flooding has been pretty bad.  So I wish we had a drier forecast, for their sakes, and for the sake of the kitchen floor.  But that's okay.

I am working this weekend for about four hours to help make up for the lost time, as well as Monday, which, as it is Presidents' Day, we are technically closed, but a few of us have permission to work on rescheduling the grids.  That way I won't have to use my very low personal time off.  My boss said she was able to use some of the extended illness bank for yesterday and part of Friday, so only part of Thursday wasn't covered.  But working will help offset the loss of personal time off, anyway.

After work today, I took a co-worker somewhere and she gave me a little money for gas, which was great, because I was on my gas light, and this should get me through to payday.

Now I'm listening to some music.  I may lie down on the heating pad for a little while.  It was great being back at work, but I am a little tired and my back is still hurting.  I think after that, I'll watch Netflix, maybe the next episode of 'Sherlock', because YKWIA is studying and reading tonight.  I think he was very happy to have me at work today. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day

This was shared by the University of Kentucky History Department on Facebook with the following comment: History Ruins Yet Another Holiday.

Heh Heh. Yep. I haven't celebrated Valentine's in years, but if you do, enjoy it (and maybe hold off on reading this till tomorrow).

Here are those interesting articles:

This is so cool--over 20 volumes of an Assyrian dictionary, worked on since 1921, and it's also available for free online. :) The language geek in me just wants to squeal in delight:

Dictionary of dead language complete after 90 years

Almost 90 experts from around the world took part, diligently recording and cross referencing their work on what ended up being almost two million index cards.

The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary is 21 volumes long and is encyclopaedic in its range. Whole volumes are dedicated to a single letter, and it comes complete with extensive references to original source material throughout.

-and-

Archaeologists Unearth New Dead Sea Scrolls Cave

Archaeologists have unearthed a new cave associated with the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, filled with ancient storage jars and lids off the Judean cliffside, marking the first successful excavation of its kind in 60 years.

Until Wednesday, researchers assumed only 11 caves contained scrolls. But the discovery of a twelfth cave cements a longstanding belief among archaeologists that looters stole the artifacts in the mid-1900s, referencing pick ax heads found deep inside a tunnel at the new cave's rear as proof.

Hidden along the cave's walls, excavators found numerous broken jars and lids. Among the other findings were fragments of scroll wrappings, leather and string

So sad that it was looted. They were probably hidden away in private collections or possibly destroyed, and that is a tragedy in either case.

Oh, by the way, I took a quiz on Yiddish words and their meanings. It didn't turn out too badly, for a goy:

100% -- You Would Make Your Jewish Family Proud. Ay yay yay!! Your family would be so proud of your Yiiddish! You totally grew up in a Jewish family and know all of the primary Jewish-isms! You've seen your share of big bar/bat mitzvahs bashes and you use these slang words very frequently. You are NEVER shlepping and we are very verklemptov over your score!! Congrats!

Also...just in time for Valentine's Day--

The Rude, Cruel, and Insulting 'Vinegar Valentines' of the Victorian Era

The Victorians had the 'polite insult' down to an absolute art. Reminds me of someone I know. :)

-and-

Apparently I should look for romance in Alabama--I love Byron's poetry. But no, I live in the state of couples' tattoos. Really, that's a thing?

Most Popular Valentine's Day Gift Searches Per State

And finally, this made my day yesterday...

“Donaeld The Unready” tweets as if Trump is a mad medieval king

“Make Mercia Great Again!” The new Twitter account Donaeld The Unready casts Trump as a medieval king, obsessed with draining the East Anglian fens, building shield walls and the bad monk Bede.

So sleepy after a long day

I:

1. Got up super early (5 am) to launder a comforter with dog vomit on it and it didn't actually come out, which was disappointing.
2. Blogged.
3. Worked.
4. Had PT. It was an interesting session, as two more exercises were added.
5. Looked up things for YKWIA.
6. Fell asleep rather than doing my book review.
7. Woke up and got rather cross with myself for doing so.
8. Blogged.
9. Will be going back to sleep and maybe getting up early tomorrow. There's really no point of trying to do anything right now.

Good night. Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, if you celebrate it.

I am actually up early and (gasp) doing (a load) of laundry!

I forgot it was Valentine's Day until I saw that Google doodle. :) My plans today include laundry, a doctor's appointment, and work. Very romantic, but better than having a mammogramme like I did last year. :) I've printed out my logbook for my blood sugars to show my doctor. I need to try to get back on a medicine I had for awhile for my ADD--my friend is noticing a pronounced difference in my attention. And I'm going to suggest I go back on metformin along with my insulin to bring my glucose down. We'll see how that flies.

So I've put in the load of laundry, gone through rain to do it, recorded my blood sugar, taken my meds, and eaten breakfast. That's a pretty decent way to start the day. Except the rain, but considering it was supposed to be a wintry mix, that's good. Wintry mix around here often means ice storms, and freezing rain is worse than snow, in my opinion.

I think I'll go put the clothes in the dryer and check the news. Hope your Valentine's Day is wonderful.

PS I guess the jeans are a lost cause as far as wearing them to work for jean's day. Oddly enough, the blood from the dog fight came out fine, but the mud was a different matter. But I'm not going to dry them and set in the stains. I can still wear them around the house and on Sundays. Still annoying, as they were my favourite pair. But hey, at least the dogs are fine and I didn't get hurt.

A Google doodle that really touched this romantic

Note the couples at the end, by the way. :)

In honour of Valentine's Day

Before match.com and other services, there was computer dating, which meant putting all your info into a computer at an agency, making a video for others to view, and hoping someone hot popped out. Here's a skit that shows you young folks what it was like:



Sadly, I never tried this method of dating. But Richard does remind me a little of an ex....

The problem with relaxing is you tend to think...

You know, I didn't mind being alone on Valentine's day until it occurred to me that it's been 20 years to the day since I celebrated it with anyone, and that was with someone I was about to marry but didn't love. I am suddenly sad. :( Still, I have hope for the future.

Whew!

Well, I've got the laundry and part of the living room done. I had just enough dryer sheets to do five loads, then trekked back with the giant hamper on my shoulder and the gym bag hanging from the other. I wish there were a laundry room in my building, but we don't have a basement or anything. I think I need a week off to really accomplish everything, but I'll try to work a little each morning evening and see if that will work. I did finally find that greeting card set I was going to send a sympathy card from, the one I pulled the living room apart in the first place looking for. It was on top of some books where I'd checked before, but couldn't see because it was right under the shelf and there's an overhang. Ugh.

It's been 7 hours and I'm not particularly hungry (I had a footlong tuna sandwich at Subway. Probably should have gone with the 6" but the footlong is cheaper and I knew I'd probably work it off in activity.) I'll probably wait an hour and have some cheese and crackers, something light.

I think I'll read a little, listen to some music, and wind down a bit. I may try to do dishes later tonight. I don't know. But I definitely need to gather the trash from the kitchen and bath and take the recyclables out by tomorrow morning. There's not much trash, I recycle so much, but there's some fruit leavings in the trash and those dratted fruit flies are still trying to plague me. I can't seem to get rid of all of them.

Later tonight I need to go out and give my monthly libation. Fortunately I still have some wine, a merlot instead of burgundy, but it will serve. Plus I put honey and some lavender flowers in it. :)

Okay, I'll probably post something later tonight but for right now I want to be away from the computer, not be cleaning, and just do something fun.

Hope you're having a good Valentine's Day. I haven't celebrated in years, but practically everyone else seems to be. Do something sweet for your sweetie.

How was your Valentine's Day?

Mine was okay. I even got a Valentine from one of the girls at work, a Harry Potter one. But you know what? It's really hard for me to even remember it's a special day. That's because I haven't celebrated it in 16 years, not being with anyone when it comes along.

I actually rather thought I had a chance this year, because I finally met someone with which I had a good bit of chemistry and who actually ignited my sex drive for the first time in years. But the cons outweighed the pros, and I had to let my head drive instead of my hormones this time. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but our issues are too similar and being together would only magnify them; there's a 15-year difference in our ages that would be an obstacle, too. Neither of us have time for any real relationship--it would have to have been a 'friends with benefits' sort of thing, and I have to admit, I want more that that. Plus, he smokes very occasionally--but that still counts, and as a rule smoking puts someone off my 'list', although I wouldn't say I wouldn't date someone trying to quit, at least. But really the issues and need for some good mental health care was the deal breaker. I still like talking to him, but it's like once I made up my mind, the door shut on the giddy way I felt when I was around him, just like that.

Funny, I lost my virginity on Valentine's, and I became engaged on Valentine's, too. (In retrospect, these were both terrible mistakes, but that had to do with my partner in those endeavours). So maybe Valentine's isn't all it's supposed to be. Maybe it's better to be alone than with the wrong person.

But I don't want to grow old waiting for the right one, either. Or at least some idea of 'right' that's so perfect it'll never be. Instead, I want to get to a point where I'm open to a relationship with someone who really cares about me, who loves me, who wants to be with me not because of some agenda, but because of love. I want someone I can be romantic with, someone I feel safe with, someone I love with all my heart. Surely there's got to be someone out there to fit the bill. I just have to find him or her.

Anyway, thanks for putting up with a little self-pity. I went home tonight after witnessing a couple of friends exchange gifts who really love one another, and I cried. I want that, too, but I'm not at a point where I know how to get it, although I do realise that I deserve better than I have had, and that's a start, I suppose. I have too much baggage from past relationships that I still need to work out, too. But I have hope, anyway, hope that I will be able to enjoy a relationship, and hope that I will find that special someone. And without hope, there's nothing but misery.

Happy Valentine's Day, and good night.

'Valentine's Day' by Linkin Park


Kind of fit my mood.