Going for a Walk

I last saw my weight loss doctor [who is also my PCP, but we do the appointments separately; in-person for general visits and telehealth (normally) for weight loss--she's an internist, but she was my weight loss MD first before I asked her to be my PCP when mine retired after I'd gone to him for 20 years] about three weeks ago. I'd gained about 15 lbs. since last December, mainly, I think, from going back to Ozempic, which doesn't work as well for me as Mounjaro (due to insurance--neither Medicaid nor the qualified assisted Anthem health plan I had in May and June covered the latter), and 2) I went through a period where I was overeating and eating a lot of calorie-laden food after I left Shriners and especially while my roommate was out of state for three weeks.

I've been much better with my eating for the last month/month and a half, but my weight hasn't budged a bit. Part of it is water weight--I just blow up ankle-wise in the summer, and while compression hose help, I can't go up on my diuretic because it was what was making me so dizzy a couple of years ago, so they cut it back. So about 5-7 lbs is water weight, because when we had a cool spell, I suddenly lost some. I had, at one point, been 328 lbs and had lost down to 208 lbs. I'm about 223 lbs now.

Sigh. So until (and if) I get insurance that pays for Mounjaro (or unless it goes to generic early--apparently that is being petitioned as the patent expires overseas first, even though it doesn't here for several years), we decided I would try to walk about three times a week, starting for about 10 minutes a day. I promised to do it the next day and did, but then the heat wave of doom came, so I didn't.

Today, it's supposed to get to 90°F, but it was only 76°F about noon, so I decided to put on some sunscreen and a floppy sun hat (since it is also very sunny and nice outside) and go up the street and back. There is an incline at either end. The close-up is me before I went for a walk. The other is me after. It took about 15 minutes to do the circuit. It's a small step, but it's a start. With the inclines, it's a fair little walk. Next time, I should actually bring my inhaler. It did hurt my back a little, but it should be better in the long run. The knees did pretty well, though. The key will be doing this and doing more activity.

Of course, since I got back, I've been helping my friend do some things around the house that apparently, despite normally being fairly minor, wiped both of us out, and I just woke up from a 2-hour nap, and he's still asleep. So I did more activity and kept on going, then my little windup key just wound down entirely. We have to put a fan together later (I'm talking one of those big shop fans) for his bedroom, so it's good I got some rest. It wasn't hard to put the other one together, but there was lots of bending, and if I remember, my back was not happy, even though he had to hold the fan part because it's so heavy while I dealt with all the screws because I'm the mechanically inclined one. 🙂

I know, it's a silly hat. I've got one in purple, too, though. They're good against the sun.

How do you like my 'Censorship is so 1984' shirt from the ALA? It's new. Also, look how tall my tomato plant is!

It's a beautiful day

It is 73°F, the high for today, and with the house's windows open, I'm actually a bit cold. We haven't had air conditioning (except in my room) all summer, and it's been hot most of the time and unbearable at times, even with fans. Welcome to the American South.

But today is pleasant. It's headed towards autumn, it's sunny. The sun is dappling the trees. There's a gentle breeze. It's nice. Here is the view from my window...

Well, that could have gone better...

So I was really disappointed today. Seven years of keeping up with the 2024 eclipse, making sure I was off work, getting glasses and solar filters over a month ago, planning for things like sunscreen and a tripod, and researching settings that would allow me to take pictures on my cellphone--all gone to nought due to the weather. It was fairly clear this morning, but then it clouded up a little ahead of the eclipse and got worse while it was going on. A couple of hours after the thing was done, it was bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  First is the sky during the eclipse. Then is the sky afterwards, and the black with a tiny orange bit is the best I could do with the few seconds I had a couple of times to try to get a picture with my solar filter on. I did look up once (without the glasses) and caught a glance at the sun with the moon almost covering that was being filtered by the clouds, and that was beautiful. But otherwise, the whole thing was a dud. I would have liked to see totality, but I would have had to drive to Indiana or Paducah, and I have major driving anxiety, so I just couldn't do it, plus I hadn't prepared. Post-surgery, I thought I wouldn't be driving yet, as it's been just a bit over five weeks.

Cloudy, cloudy

After the eclipse was over

Well, I tried

So, there you have it. It did get fairly dark and windy, and the birds sang like it was morning. That was pretty nice.

Once I came in, I waited till the end looking for a break in the clouds to no avail. Then I just climbed into bed, threw a couple of pillows in frustration, and I was really upset. I realise now that it was my autism that basically had me hyperfocusing on the whole thing and then melting down when it didn't go to plan. I am still new to the concept of a meltdown, but it perfectly explains my behaviour at times of my life when I couldn't deal with stimuli, emotions, or especially frustration.

I did try to watch the NASA coverage and got to see this (I think it's from Maine, although I also saw the one from Kerrville, TX), but the running commentary over it just annoyed me to no end, so I only watched it on and off. Here's a snip of that:

I just wish I'd been able to see it in person. :( The next one I might see won't happen till I'm 78, in 2045. [There is one in 2044, but it'll just hit Canada and three northern Midwest states]. Here is the path in 2045:

I may have to live out of sheer spite to see a total solar eclipse, therefor, although I will have to travel to do so because while it goes coast-to-coast in the US, it does not go near Kentucky in terms of totality.

Here's hoping

*fingers crossed*

Poor FedEx

They've been trying to get a package to me since 2/27 but the weather keeps delaying it, and they keep pushing the delivery date back. It's saying it will be delivered today, now, but really? Look at the tracking. Sigh. The funny thing is it is of all things a cane flashlight (light that attaches to the cane so I can see when it's dark, like taking the trash out or going to the car at night). Keep trying FedEx, I think I'm going to need it. But a real ETA might be better. I do not hope to see it today. Tomorrow, maybe, if the weather between Indiana and Kentucky holds. Considering it came from Oregon originally, and with the snow and wind storms, they're doing what they can.

UPDATE: Apparently I needed to post about my package, and then I got this text:

Happy Equinox!

In the northern hemisphere, where I live, today is the first day of Spring and also Ostara.  For folks in the southern hemisphere, happy Autumn.  But I, for one, and just glad it'll be getting warmer soon.  It's supposed to be in the 50s today but get colder for the next couple.  The weather this weekend is supposed to be sunny, which is very good, as I have to move a piece of furniture.

As you know, the hospital I work at moved both in terms of model and location a couple of years ago, and we were recently given the opportunity to bid on items at the old place we'd like in a silent auction.  I bid on four items, including one I've been bugging materials management about for about five years.  I'm going to pick up the small stuff today and the big one on Sunday with the help of a friend with a truck.  Here's my loot:

It's purple! And a garden...

This was above my desk at the old building.  It's a Ray Harm print of an indigo bunting.

Yes, I still have VHS tapes.  This VHS/DVD player should help with that.

And finally, I got my card catalogue!!! Whoopee!

So we're getting ready for the funeral

I'm dressed and ready; YKWIA is shaving.  We have to be there in an hour.  It's cold outside, much cooler than yesterday (the high I think is supposed to be 39 degrees).  The crows have been taunting the dog; the starlings have been flying in a flock up and down in the yard.  It is very windy.

The kitten went into the bathroom during each of our showers.  He is careful not to get wet, but he likes to keep us company.  The cat is asleep on my bed, something he usually only gets to do on weekends after breakfast, as I keep my room closed so the kitten will not play with wires or orchid roots during the day.

Tomorrow I'll have to get up much earlier and go to work.  Today my backup is dealing with the stuff I normally do, and I'm grateful, as I need a break.

I just wish the break hadn't included Mrs Fore's passing.  She was such a lovely person.  I will miss her terribly.  I've only known her since April, but she was so good to us, and really rather adopted us both.

Okay, I have some final things to do before we go.  Hope you had a good Thanksgiving break (if you're in the US, anyway).  Otherwise, at least I hope you had a good weekend.

What a glorious day

It's a beautiful sunny Saturday, with the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window, which is nice, as the plants (and we) have had to endure several days of gloomy, rainy weather.  Our area actually moved trick-or-treat from Halloween to Tuesday due to inclement weather.  So the kids were out on a sunny evening that had mild temperatures and then the next day it was pouring and would have been terrible for them.  And since then there's been wind and rain.  So it's nice to see the sun.  Plus the kitten is playing with the sunbeams in the hall.

I slept 12 hours last night, even with being up in the middle of the night for about an hour.  It was good to get some rest.

Halloween was an absolute success.  Many of us dressed up in the hospital.  I got a co-worker who gets up at an ungodly 4 am each day so she can work out and get ready to call me at 4:30 am so I would have plenty of time to do the makeup, etc.  I left home at 6:30 am and arrived at UK's lot at 6:55, and at work about 7:10 am, so I was a little early, but not much, and there was time to chat with others, play a bit on the laptop I brought, and take pictures.  Thankfully, I was not the only person on the shuttle to wear a costume; Mr Incredible was there as well, although the guy lamented that the pyjamas that he was wearing (they were cheaper than the costumes with the muscles) had no pockets, and therefore he was carrying his phone, keys, and badge in his hands and had no idea what he would do with them during the day.  :) Welcome to the world of women, who rarely have pockets and if so, they're never deep for anything of note.

I had street clothes, the lightest I could find, as I knew I'd be hot, underneath mine, although they were polyester so that probably defeated the attempt at staying cool.  And I had no pockets.  But once I clocked in, I put my badge on my pants waistband so I'd have my keys and badge with me without ruining the effect of the costume.  Granted, the whole point is to ID someone, but I was more concerned with the fact that our badges unlock various areas of the hospital and I didn't want to get trapped anywhere. :)

Here are some pictures from that day:

At home, after finishing the makeup

In the break room

Up in our department

Also in the break room

So I think it went really well, it delighted the kids, and we had great fun.  Today I'm going to pack it away and take it, along with the summer clothes that have been sitting in my room in a couple of tubs, to storage.

I have a lot to do today:

1. First, get caffeinated and ready for the day.
2. Go to the pharmacy for YKWIA when he gets up.
3. Get gas for the car.
4. Drop off the summer clothes and the Maleficent costume at the storage unit.
5. Do a couple of shelves (dusting) in my room. I do two shelves every Saturday to keep all the books in the house clean, on a rotating basis.
6. Launder the bedding.
7. Go on a grocery run.
8. Do the game notes.  Last week we barely survived an evil witch and yes, I called it, Cthulhoid faeries.
9. Do some cooking.  We're making pumpkin beignets, among other things.
10. Straighten up my room.
11. Read more of The Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington.
12. Make bread.
13. Water the plants.
14. Watching more of 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' on Netflix; we've watched four episodes and it's really good.

What I do not plan to do is go anywhere near the University of Kentucky, the stadium--Kroger Field--or downtown.  There is a Kentucky-Georgia home football game that determines who goes to the Southeastern Conference tournament, and Kentucky is usually incredibly well, bad, at football, and a season where they've lost 1 out of 8 games is almost unheard of.  We are well known for our basketball programme, but football?  Anyway, the fans can be a little intense, which is why LEX 18 (the local NBC television station) posted this on their Facebook page:

I personally don't get the appeal of sports. I don't get that sort of fervour at all.  But hopefully, win or lose, it won't come down to that sort of thing.  Since the last major incident was a car being flipped on the street next to us at work, the police are using our gated lot as a staging area to keep order.

On the one hand...

It's warmer than the terrible Arctic cold we've been having. On the other hand, it's hovering around freezing and rain is coming, so it'll be rain, freezing rain, and snow, just in time for the morning commute. Humbug. At least my boss texted us and said she'd rather us be safe than absolutely on time, that she wouldn't count us tardy tomorrow if there were issues with the weather, and to drive carefully.

This weekend has been relaxing. Friday night YKWIA watched the Australian original cast of The Witches of Eastwick (the musical), and that was fun. I'd never read the book by John Updike or seen the movie with Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Susan Sarandon, so we rented that from Amazon this afternoon. I enjoyed both the movie and the musical.

We didn't play the game today because Brenda was ill. Here's hoping she's much better soon. I did get the notes finished on Saturday, and I ran some errands. YKWIA made a salad for tonight, to go with artichoke potato soup and leek risotto he made the night before. I made some herb bread tonight right before bed, this time with parsley, dill seed, caraway seed, sundried tomato, garlic, rosemary, onion, basil, green been peppers, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. It smells divine:

Baby, it's cold outside...

In case anyone missed it, Fayette County Schools are closed tomorrow due to extreme cold. High tomorrow should be 18 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas tonight and in the morning the low should be 5 or 6 degrees with wind chills to minus fifteen. Brrr. Stay warm. Dress in layers. Drip your faucets. Keep your gas tank fairly full - - all that stuff.

The cold continues...

It's supposed to be six degrees tonight (Fahrenheit) with a wind chill down to minus 15.  I went to the store on my way home tonight and it was so cold going out, as the wind had picked up.  We're not really getting the snow you see further South, just a few flakes here and there, and I'm thankful, as it's too cold for salt to do much good.  A lady on the UK shuttle was talking about a friend in Myrtle Beach freaking because they'd had a lot of bad weather.  When I lived there in 1972, we had an ice storm followed by seven inches of snow.  We wound up piling into a neighbour's recreational vehicle and driving to Garden City so that we could plug up at a K-Mart parking lot--all nine of us.  It was miserable.  So yes, it does happen, but rarely.

Today started a bit shaky.  I didn't get paid till about 9 am (it's usually there at midnight) due to the New Year's holiday, so I didn't get breakfast at the University of Kentucky Dining but rather ate some homemade bread that I'd brought for lunch.  But it all worked out.  It was a slower day, especially about mid-day, and we got a lot done on queues.  I showed one of our co-workers who helps out in her department how to do check out.  All in all, it was a pretty decent day.  I didn't get a shower this morning, mainly because I couldn't contemplate it as cold as it was, I wanted to save time, and also because my friend went to the bathroom and I didn't realise he was finished for ten minutes.  He said he told me, but I didn't hear.  Anyway, by that time I was past the window for the shower, but really, the idea of getting wet and then going out in this didn't appeal to me.  So my hair wasn't as nice, but really, I have thin, baby fine hair, so it pretty much never really does much of anything.  This afternoon they sent an e-mail out saying that we were going to rebuild the employee directory on the intranet, where employee photos are listed by department and name, so you get to know your co-workers.  We had it at the old place, and apparently, they took it down when they moved.  I was trying to show one of the new co-workers in our department who the care managers were, for example, and the doctors, and it wasn't up anymore.  Anyway, they sent out the e-mail stating that they were bringing it back and instead of having pictures from our badges (which are usually bad), they invited people to send in a favourite self-portrait, take one in our work area (for which they are giving a prize for best 'selfie'), or the public relations department will take one if we'd like.  So I looked through some pictures and didn't really like any of them, and decided to take a picture in my work area, even though I didn't feel like my best.  It came out pretty well, actually.  Here it is:

YKWIA says I always do this thing in portraits where I put my head out like a turtle.  He's right.  But this isn't too bad.  I could use some makeup, and the hair isn't as bouncy as usual, but they always say hair is easier to style when dirty.  Of course, I just combed it.  But anyway, that's what I sent in for my 'selfie'.

I did better with my blood sugar.  They've been running normal, but I haven't eaten much lately and yesterday it was hard to gauge how much insulin to take. I wound up testing my blood sugar AFTER lunch, and it was 56 or 58.  I downed quite a few glucose tablets, as that was all I had with me, and brought it back up.  But I was pretty shaky.  Today I dialled the insulin down, taking 55 units of Lantus this morning, I think, rather than the normal 70-80.  That definitely helped.  If I can come down on the two insulins, I think that would be a wonderful thing.

We ate some wonderful soup with egg and homemade bread along with a lentil salad for dinner, then shared an apple that Brenda left on Sunday for us to try--it's the Opal variety.  It was very good.  I found some 'lunchbox'-sized McIntoshes at Kroger and got some.  That is my favourite variety, and I hadn't seen any at Kroger in probably a good three or four years.

The cat and the dogs have been fed; I didn't leave the dogs out but a few minutes.  The night is not fit for man nor beast.  The cat's in his post-prandial cuddling phase.  He likes to curl up with us afterwards.  YKWIA is reading, and of course, he wants in his lap.  I think I'll go listen to some music in bed, and so he'll probably come in and climb up on me.

Tomorrow I have two doctors' appointments, with my psychiatrist at 8 am, which is pretty early, about the time I usually get to the University, but it's further away.  I have to take a shower before I go, either tonight or tomorrow morning. I think I'll try to do the latter and wake up earlier. My ophthalmologist and field of vision test are at 2 pm.  On the bright side, because I'm coming and going for appointments, my boss put in for me to have one of the five spaces in the back parking lot.  Yay.  They're doing a lottery for any spaces that aren't used on a daily basis, which is fun, too.  But tomorrow, I get one for its intended purpose.

So, I think I'm going to sign off here.  Have a good night.

Hello

So I'm at a friend's appointment, which usually lasts a couple of hours, and I brought my laptop with me to work on the game notes, because apparently at some point when we took a break and I was out of the room, the recorder stopped, and I wanted to make sure I got everything down before I forgot what happened. I also went online to change some settings on A's mail account, so that he can send/receive e-mails from the phone. All the settings on the actual phone look correct, so hopefully I've fixed it. He's at a meeting right now, so I can't test it.

It's cooler than last week, but still in the 50s today and it will be in the 60s tomorrow. The sun is beautiful, and it seems like spring even though last week we were in the high 70s and it was almost summery. Rain is in the forecast later in the week, but I don't think it'll last particularly long, so that's good.

I'm hungry. Lunch was not satisfying this afternoon at the cafeteria (I had a tuna sandwich), and I forgot to bring anything with me to eat over a YKWIA's when we're finished here, and we have a project to go through, so I may have to stop and get something on the way back. I did get word that my small refund is coming from the IRS soon, but it looks like I may be paying for a car starter with that, as the car is intermittently not starting. It is possible it's a key transponder gone bad, or even something else. I have a mechanic that I trust, but they're not open on weekends, and I don't know if I can really afford to take off more time at work. But I don't want to get stranded or spend too much money, either.

Okay, I should start on the notes, at least getting the audio transferred over, etc. Hope you've had a good day.

For some reason

Google Chrome has not been loading on my laptop when I try to get on the Internet, which is one reason I haven't blogged much lately. Instead I've had to blog on my phone, which has certain limits on using the Blogger mobile application, and the browser doesn't work at all for Blogger in terms of filling in the boxes, at least on Google Chrome. So...

In the time it took Chrome to come up and hang up, I used Microsoft Edge (which I don't like) to download and install Firefox. Now I'm online with no trouble. So it may have been a Chrome issue. Pity, I do like Chrome, but only if it works.

I was in scheduling yesterday and today, and both days were busy yet alright. Yesterday there was an appointment, too, and I went and got something for a friend at the pharmacy while he was at the doctor's office. Of course, there was something else to get today due to that visit. So I've been to the pharmacy, which is clear across town, but which we prefer to the big mega-pharmacies, twice in two days. After I delivered the item, I read through and proofread a document he wrote up, and then headed home. I'm behind on my cleaning venture, and tomorrow we have the pest control people coming in, so I need to have the kitchen and bathroom in good shape. Mainly I need to wash the handwashable dishes, take out the trash, and the recyclables, something I haven't done yet. Of course, after starting out warm this morning it's very cold outside and also very windy. We're supposed to get snow sometime overnight, maybe a dusting up to three inches. I'm not in scheduling tomorrow, but I expect there will be quite a few cancellations--they've been cancelling for two days already out of concern for the weather, even though it should be a mild snow, the ground is quite warm, and it will warm up in a day or two (60 degrees on Sunday). Spring seems to be around the corner (my allergies prove it), and that's great. We had a statewide tornado drill Tuesday to kick off the storm season, as well.

So it's been a busy week, so busy that yesterday I was in bed by 10 and still had trouble getting up this morning. The alarm went off at 6 am and I think I hit snooze several times till 8:10. Mind you, I need to be at work by 8:30. Fortunately I live very close to work. :)

There was something I saw today which was pretty cool, and has librarians across the country celebrating. President Obama has appointed (subject to Congressional approval, of course) a new Librarian of Congress. It's history-making because she would be the first woman, and she is black. But we're just happy that she's an actual librarian by training (it usually isn't, and the last Librarian was not, actually, a librarian by training). Her name is Carla Hayden:

Obama nominates African American woman to be Librarian of Congress

Hayden is the chief executive of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, a job she has had for 22 years. She drew praise and criticism for her decision to keep the library open during last year’s protests over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. As the head of the American Library Association in 2003-2004, Hayden took on U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft over measures in the Patriot Act that she considered an invasion of privacy. And she is credited with updating Pratt’s technology and launching programs to meet the community’s needs.

Anyway, yay. Let's hope she'll be confirmed, and that the Congress (and the Republicans who would like to obstruct just about anything the President tries to do in his last eleven months in office) aren't poopheads about it.

It's 60 degrees and stormy two days before Christmas

And I must say,  I'm enjoying the warmer temperatures.  It may get into the 70s this weekend.  I think we've had a handful of cold days this month.  Makes me wonder about February,  though.

It's amazing

how hungry you can get when you're told you can't eat for a few hours. Today I had a chest CT scan with contrast, and couldn't eat for four hours prior to the test. Fortunately, the imaging centre is very close to my apartment, so I came home and am having a peanut butter and fruit sandwich with some vegetarian baked beans, and plenty of water.

This has been a very rough week in terms of scheduling my friend's and my appointments so they don't interfere with my work. My relative is doing better, although still in the hospital; her husband texted a picture of her to me today, and that was nice. I now face a very difficult decision--do I drive an hour away to see her, visit, and then return, or do I take care of some things that have been on the back burner and basically regroup and get recharged while I have some time tomorrow? If I get up very early, I might be able to do both, but I think that would be pushing it. I haven't been taking care of myself very well of late, something I'm trying to get back to doing.

In the meantime I'm going to take a friend to get some furnace filters and leaf bags (in Lexington, leaves and other yard waste must go in either big paper bags or the Lenny (yes, we name our trash receptacles here, there's also Herbie and Rosie) container, which fills up pretty easily, although it is pretty large. I also going to try to do some laundry over there, as I missed it last Sunday and didn't manage to do it any of the rest of the week, either, and I'm kind of down to very little cool weather clothes--although it was fairly warm today, in the high 40s, low 50s.

I think I'm going to lie down for about a half-an-hour nap, then stop by the grocery store briefly and go over there. I should still be there before the friend I'm taking shopping gets home.

Epilogue of a sort (What, you wanted it in order?)

Today marks my somewhat annual trip to Chicago. I say somewhat because I actually came here in March this year, and so its twice in this calendar year, but that's merely coincidence because the fiscal year runs from May to April, so it's actually two fiscal years. My trips have varied: one was in the middle of December, one would have been November but I was hit by a car and unable to attend, then we didn't have one until a year around through to April, then we had one in March, now this one. And each time, on my trip to the windy city, the temperature is in the 40s during the day. There is a bit more wind this time than in the past, but generally it's been very steady, which is unusual. This trip is also sandwiched between unseasonably warm weather (it was in the 60s here yesterday) to snow (Saturday may have anywhere from flurries to 10 inches, depending on the model. Weird.)

As of 9 pm CST, I had been up 20 hours straight. I was so tired, and I've walked over 11,000 steps (that's over 5 miles for scale), and while thankfully I have ultra-comfortable shoes, my feet are a little swollen, tired, and hurt a bit. I put some of the Thann Aromatherapy Wood scent lotion from the hotel room onto my feet, raised it up, and then went to pains at first not to fall asleep because I wanted to blog, but finally decided that if I could just listen to some music for about 45 minutes with my feet up, I'd feel better, and if I fell asleep, that would have to be okay, too, so I set three alarms for tomorrow morning for 5 am and one for 10:30. I overshot that by about an hour, but hey, I'm awake (I got cold, as I'd fallen asleep on top of the bed covers), I carried this laptop through two airports, on a train, and on a bus, and by God I'm going to use it.

So let me start my day properly....

Wow--I slept till 11

But I feel much better. I also found something I was looking for, a paper prescription for a new medicine I've been taking as part of an introductory package and am now out of. So Monday I should be able to get it. It was in a basket of papers that are sort of an way to keep things off the table. But I also went through purses, wallets, and phone cases, and found five $1 bills in the search. Yay.

It is beautifully sunny outside after the rain of yesterday. My phone says it is 57 degrees, with a forecast for 60 today, so yes, we're definitely into autumn. But I'm ready for it, to be honest. Even yesterday, when I was wearing sandals, and the day before, when I was wearing capris, I was wondering just how long summer weather was going to last. I mean, it was 80-something the other day.

I am sitting here debating as to whether to colour my hair today. The stuff I got was something I bought months ago after reading a book about job hunting after age 40. But I haven't used it yet. I was looking at my grey, and there is ample evidence of it, but it is actually a pretty silver--it's the brown that has dulled over the years and doesn't have the highlights it once had. The stuff I have is the type where it washes out in 28 days, but if I put it on, I think it'll look flatter than what I have currently. Of course, I have so little hair, it may not matter, and it's got conditioners that would boost that. My hair is down to my shoulders, though not past, at the moment, but has been baby fine my entire life and pretty thin, too, and it's thinning more as I get older. It is a toasted almond, so a light brown close to my natural colour, a little more golden than the red I used to have.

I'm a month or so away from my trip to Chicago. Maybe I should wait until after then, just in case it comes out horribly. What would be nice is to get a haircut, but I can't do that till next week, money-wise, even though I normally just go to Supercuts.

Okay, time to get ready to do some things. and make the bed. Have a great Saturday.

Waiting to eat dinner

I take a medicine that requires me to wait fifteen to forty-five minutes before eating breakfast and dinner. The nice thing is that I was able to get groceries today and some essentials like deodorant and shampoo, which were running out. There wasn't much left in the pantry, except some popcorn and a big can of pasta sauce. :) I got some fruit and salad makings, too, so that should be good. I ate a very intensive vegetable-laden meal today after almost two weeks of peanut butter and bread, and my system totally balked. But hopefully it will do alright from now on. I was able to get some yeast and vital wheat gluten (the latter is for making whole wheat bread fluffier), salt, sugar, honey, oats--all the things I've been making bread from. I'm going to continue that as a way to save money. While I did eat at the work cafeteria today, I'm going to start doing that less and bring my lunches. I don't have much leeway with my bills, and I will still be behind, but I decided food and gas could not be skipped, and just tried to save wherever possible. I did get 50 cents off a gallon of gas at Kroger, so even though I was on my gas light again, it took $31 to fill the car. Yay!

Oops, I did mean to stop by the pharmacy and see if they had any left-handed braces I could wear at night. I have a right-handed one, and I used it last night, and it felt much better than the left upon waking. I woke up in the middle of the night with my left hand clenched in a fist; that can't be helping. I may go out again later, or try tomorrow. At least that's something I can get with my flexible spending card, I think.

Today was a catch-up day at work, since I was off yesterday, but I got all of Tuesday's and Wednesday's charges in and really worked my referral queue. Tomorrow I'll work on catching up on some other things. I also need to place a book order for the library before the end of the month and also one for our early literacy project. So perhaps that can be done tomorrow.

It's very pleasant outside today, sunny and cooler. After I eat I need to pay some bills and do some things around here, including taking the trash out that I just made from cleaning out the refrigerator to put new stuff in. I had to look up whether to put an uncut watermelon into the fridge or not (they keep better outside, so long as it's fairly cool). I found one that wasn't huge for a reasonable price. I must say my excursion to the Chinoe Kroger was very nice. They've been remodeling, and I think they're mostly finished--the carts were inside and they had real doors again. :) I love it because it's smaller than the one I live near, and go out of my way to stop by when I need anything.

Okay, I'm going to eat now and look at the news, something I've avoided doing all day.

I need caffeine

So, I slept till 10:45 am today after getting to sleep about 12:30 am. But still, a good amount of sleep. I got up, ate the last two breakfast sandwiches I had, and called my friends to see if I needed to come over at some point today for a project that we need to do together. I investigated it a little, and we could either order something online and it will take it up to a month to get here, or I could take him to another city in the state and get it within a couple of hours, and I'm off a day next week and could do it in between my two doctors' appointments, I think. It was all gloomy outside, and I hadn't heard back from them, so I went back to bed until A called me at about 1:45. I told him the options, and he'll get them to my other friend, who also asleep, as he'd had insomnia last night. So I decided I wasn't getting much of anything done, so I'd go in search of caffeine and also check the pool out.

The Coke machine in the laundry room was out of Diet anything, and since I had locked the apartment already and was unshowered and in just an old shirt and shorts, but otherwise presentable, I drove up to the Circle K nearby and got a couple of Diet Sunkist drinks and some ice. It should jump start me somewhat.

The pool was deserted. It's cloudy, and not as warm and muggy as I thought it was. The sun keeps trying to peek out, but fails for more than a few minutes, so I haven't decided on the pool. It's only 76 degrees and there are scattered showers popping up all over the radar map around us. In fact, all of the weather applications on my phone report rain for Lexington at the moment, so it may be raining nearby. Maybe later this afternoon.

With the Fourth on a Saturday, it's a little interesting. I'm off work. City offices, trash pickup, etc., are off. I've seen the mail run (I guess they'll be off tomorrow) and FedEx come by. [Yay, this moment, the sun totally broke through the clouds, although I don't know how long that will last!] I'm assuming the banks are on holiday today and tomorrow, as at least two people I know got paid early. [And now I hear thunder. :(]

A said he looked at the weather and while tomorrow may be cloudy, the chance of rain is highest after midnight, so the festivals, cookouts, and fireworks may just go off as planned. I usually go to the Festival downtown, and watch the parade (we're the only ones they allow, with our badges as proof). I'm not sure if I'll do that this year, as it depends on the weather, what my other activities are, and the like. But I definitely want to go watch the Idle Hour fireworks, and I can park at the hospital I work at and then just spread a blanket on the front lawn to watch.

Okay, I've had a couple of glasses of soda. I think it's beginning to kick in. The sun is still shining, and I can hear cicadas. A butterfly just went by the window. It might turn out to be a nice day after all.

I had a good day overall

but forgot to take my insulin at lunchtime, which made my blood sugar go way up and I felt v-e-r-y tired. Once I realised what I'd done, I checked my blood glucose, which was pretty high, took some insulin, got up and walked around, came back, turned my fan on, and put some peppy music on, and shortly thereafter I was able to concentrate enough to do my data entry. So every now and again I still do an oops on that, even with my phone telling me when to take my medicine. Now it's much better and I'm just having a light dinner of a peanut butter sandwich with spreadable fruit and some chips (and yes, I'm taking my insulin right now).

I feel a little more energised than normal after a day at work, so I think it may be a good day to work on the house for a bit. It's 70 degrees and trying to decide on sun or clouds, but at least for the first time in days it isn't actually raining. I think I'll put the windows up and air things out a bit.

Things I need to do:
1. Fill the large fish tank
2. Do dishes
3. Straigten up the living room
4. Clean the bathroom

That's pretty much it for now. I think that's doable. But first, since I'm still eating, I'm going to check for anything to blog about. :)