days_unfolding

Woke up at 11 AM. Worked through my morning routine and fed myself and the fur kids. It’s good to see Zara hoover up every last scrap of her food.

Nap time. Dog wrestling time. Bella actually told Gracie “Enough!” I was surprised.

Did an Italian lesson on Pomospeak. It gets you speaking right away, which is good.

Had a nice nap. The dogs wanted to keep sleeping.

Did a French lesson on Pomospeak. It’s leading me into a grammar exercise. My plan is to do Pomospeak and flash cards during the week, and add grammar exercises on the weekends.

It’s getting dark earlier, steaming full speed ahead towards the shortest day of the year. Apparently, Daylight Saving Time ends next weekend.

I can’t find my vote-by-mail ballot. If I don’t find it this weekend, I’ll need to vote early provisionally. I remember getting it though. What did I do with it?

Interesting. My meals are starting to seem too large for me.

Aww. I bought food upstairs for Lily, and she ignored it to love me up instead. Now she’s eating.

I’m abandoning Turkish for now because it’s too hard to do along with other languages, and started German.

Oy. Someone left the front gate open a crack, and I missed it, but Gracie got out. I ran inside and grabbed a leash and went back out. Then I was following Gracie. She never went really far from me but wouldn’t let me close enough to grab her. Did I mention that I was still in my pajamas? Someone in a car saw Gracie and stopped. A young woman got out of the car to help me chase Gracie, and the guy in the car was following. The young woman saw Gracie between two cars in a driveway, and we went over there quickly. Gracie hid behind a couple of garbage cans. I positioned myself at one end of the garbage cans and the young woman at the other. I almost got her, but not quite. The young woman grabbed her and held her while I put a leash on her. The man and young woman decided to drive us back to my place so that Gracie wouldn’t pull the leash out of my hand or something. I thanked the young woman and the man profusely and got Gracie in the yard. Whew.

I need to review flashcards, open some packages, feed the fur kids their late-night snack, and crash.

Scanned the Bach piece for my singing teacher.

Fuck fuckity fuck. I overslept until 11 AM. My boss was out this morning though. I feel like crying.

Kamikaze cats are chasing each other.

Showered during lunch. Oops, I forgot that I wanted to do some laundry.

I’ve been spending a lot of money on Orthofeet shoes, but they’re so damn comfortable. The latest is that susandennis mentioned Orthofeet slippers, and I could use a pair of slippers. But I saw Orthofeet winter boots, and I REALLY could use that. So I bought them both. I need to get rid of my non-Orthofeet shoes. They have sandals too, but I want to lose weight on my ankles before getting a pair.

It just occurred to me that I could use my trekking poles for winter walking.

Submitted a grocery order.

I keep forgetting to drink water, so I installed a water reminder on my work computer. (I have one on my phone, but I don’t always look at the phone.)

I’m trying a new online planner at Monday.com. I’ll use it for a brain dump and to track progress. I need to see if they have a phone app. Yep. They have recurring tasks too. This should be helpful.

Had my first therapy appointment in a while. We talked about the trip and then a lot about GLP-1s. She recommended that I go for walks to help with the constipation. And eat more fiber. And drink more water. And eat raw veggies with a yogurt ranch dressing. (She’s sending me the recipe along with a link to a nutrition book that she really likes. I got the link and ordered the book.)

I’m feeling like studying languages after I feed the fur kids.

Zara is eating with gusto.

The people who gave the tour in Europe are posting their 2028 trips. There is a trip to Japan that I had been strongly considering before I signed up for the other trip. But it’s in March (?), so it would be shortly after the South Pacific cruise. I’m trying to keep my trips around a year apart. They also have a photo safari in Africa that I’m mulling over. But I had planned to go to Italy that year. Well, I have time to think it over. The fur kids would not be happy that I’m thinking of another trip.

I should add carrots and the ingredients for the ranch dressing to my shopping list. And maybe the ingredients for other snacks (done).

Woke up with my alarm at 8:30 AM. Gracie made sure that I got up. I really want a nap though.

I booked a massage and mani-pedi for my birthday. I should get some exfoliant and give my body a spa day too. Ordered some exfoliating body wash. And I have body oil.

Overslept my nap. Gracie and Bella pinned me down when I first got into bed and gave my face a thorough washing.

I made a Lean Cuisine pizza for lunch, and Bella tried to snatch it. I told her that she was a Bad Dog. She seemed unimpressed.

I received my Home Chef Tempo meals, but haven’t gotten outside to get them yet. One of the things that I ordered was egg bites, which seems like an easy thing to meal prep. Apparently, there are egg bite makers, so I ordered one from Mercari. I could have a breakfast of egg bites and a (bran?) muffin. The egg bites are 7 grams of protein each, so I’d need three of them per meal.

American Airlines is having a sale on trips to Australia, but I’m not going there before I retire. I want to save super-long-haul trips until then. (Says the person who will fly back from Tahiti next year.)

I’ve lost five pounds even though I’m constipated (known side effect). Excellent.

I had my makeup singing lesson (from two weeks ago). We started on the Schubert piece in German. The singing wasn’t hard; it was the language. I need to find a pronunciation guide for German. I said that I was studying three languages and I don’t think that I can add a fourth!

Goofball dogs are chasing each other. It’s cold out. Got the garbage out.

I got the Tempo meals in. They have some good snacks of apple slices, turkey sausage, and cheddar. But I could make that too. So my goals are to meal prep breakfasts and snacks, and eat packaged meals for lunch and dinner.

I need to give the fur kids their nighttime snacks and go to bed.

I studied some French in Jumpspeak. And Italian and Turkish. Turkish is hard.

Woke up around 6 AM, and tossed and turned until 6:30. Someone (Oliver?) opened Zara’s door, and she’s okay and wants breakfast. It’s cold (35F/2C).

Bella thinks that I got up too early.

Went back to sleep and slept until 12:30. Now everyone is up and wants food.

I thought that it was too cold to go out, but it’s 60F/16C now. I can cope with that.

We’re hearing thumps from upstairs. The dogs are going nuts.

I’m thinking of staying home except maybe running to the grocery store. I have plenty to do.

Everyone is fed. I think that I want to lie down for a while. Bella’s always up for a nap. Or she acts that way to be with me. The warm blankets feel good, but I can’t sleep. Maybe I should wrap a throw blanket around me. Bella is asleep on my feet.

I wrapped a blanket around me. It helps.

I went upstairs to scan the Bach piece for my singing teacher, only to find that the music wasn’t in my bag. I think that I spilled soda on it and left it in the car. I’ll go out to find it after I shower and get dressed. But! I found my Anki Italian flashcards in my email, and I downloaded them to my laptop, uploaded them to the Web, and downloaded them to my phone. Yay. The space heater feels good, so I might come back up to study languages and post to LJ/DW. Got the printer/scanner working.

I received my Earl Grey tea, so I’m not going to the grocery store today. It’s supposed to warm up during the week.

I’m trying to convince myself to shower when the bathroom is cold. I turned the dryer on to have toasty clothes.

Hmm, my Anki deck is missing images and sound files. I did Duolingo for Turkish. It’s getting hard.

Took a steamy hot shower and put on warm clothes. I want my hair to dry before going outside, so I’ll feed the cats and myself before taking the dogs out.

It’s a zoo in here. I was eating dinner, and Gracie was barking at Lily and Would. Not. Stop. Bella was jumping on my lap and licking me when I yelled at Gracie. Lily got off the kitchen table but is hanging around for food. Gracie chased Oliver down the stairs to upstairs (my home office). Right now, it’s quiet, and I have my fingers crossed that it will stay that way.

Gracie understands O-U-T. Just what I need, a dog who can spell. Gracie is smarter than Bella and more of a handful. Gracie runs around the house, literally. Bella will run with her in the front yard, then waits for Gracie to come back around. Goofball :)

I didn’t find the music in the car, but brought in the extra dog food from boarding. I found the music in the kitchen. I want to go to bed though, so I’ll scan the music tomorrow.

The Anki flashcards work on the laptop, so I guess that I’ll study Italian there.

Woke up with my alarm at 8:30 AM. I’m feeling chilled again. It’s 48F/9C. Crud, I forgot to add tea to my grocery order. Order from Amazon? Should I get an electric tea kettle? Ordered. Got my groceries in. And crud, I forgot to order floor cleaner even though I wrote it on the whiteboard on my refrigerator. I’ll need to run over to the local grocery store to get it. Maybe I’ll pick up some extra Earl Grey tea while I’m there. I’ll drink it, eventually.

I asked my boss if I can take my birthday (Nov. 12th) off. I want to get a massage and possibly replace the TV in my bedroom to watch movies.

Overslept my nap at lunchtime.

I see my cruise listed on Cruisebound’s Web site, but it’s not on American Airlines’ cruise site yet. Apparently it ends in Papeete, so I’ll need to look for an (expensive) flight back. It’ll take more than a day. I kind of would like to spend a day in Papeete, so I need to look for a hotel and maybe a tour.

Duolingo lost my work from yesterday. I hope that I’ve got it fixed. I also ordered Jumpspeak, which has all three languages that I’m learning.

My singing lesson went well. I told her that I dropped out of choir this semester, and she said that would give us time to work on solo repertoire. However. there is one Bach piece that the choir is doing that I want to work on. It’s in German and has runs in it. My teacher also brought up a German piece by Schubert that’s pretty. So I’ll be busy.

I’m tired. I need to feed the beasties and take the dogs out before going to bed. Plus I need to wash a stain out of my clothes.

Some idiot left the side gate open, and Bella and Gracie got out. Bella came in right away, but Gracie was prancing around. I thought that I would have to chase her, but she came back in the side gate, and I slammed it shut. The cold and damp weather probably helped.

I need to feed the beasties one more time and go to bed.

I looked into folding tricycles, and they say that you need an SUV to transport them. Suckage. I wonder if one would fit in the Kia?

I’m trying to read a magazine, but Lily lay down on top of it. Okay.

I think that I want to send in my Ancestry DNA kit and see what they say.

Overslept and woke up at 9:20 AM. I took my first Wegovy pill. We’ll see how this goes. So far, no side effects except a headache. Overslept my nap a little, but got up in time for my 1:00 meeting.

After my meetings, I emailed in sick with a headache and slept for 3.5 hours. It helped.

I have my sunset in Istanbul photo as my current Apple Watch face. It makes a good watch face.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the Wegovy pill because I do feel hungry. Maybe it needs multiple doses to kick in.

Had dinner. Fed the critters. Let the dogs out. I neither had a shower nor put out the recycling because I was moving slowly. I really want to go back to sleep. I’m still hungry.

I ordered the ibuprofen and some floor cleaner for delivery tomorrow. I canceled the order because some ibuprofen arrived from Amazon.

I saw an ad for a month in various places in Europe for people over 55. The places are Barcelona, Florence, and Istanbul. Hmm, that is more practical for me than longer trips with someone taking care of my pets. The Florence and Istanbul ones interest me. And they have language lessons.

Woke up with my alarm at 7:30 AM. Had a nice shower. I went for the longest time without a shower that I think that I’ve ever done before this shower. It’s nice to be clean.

It’s supposed to be hot today. I’m sitting in my kitchen in short sleeves and jeans, but I’m feeling cold right now.

Gracie is barking (at Oliver?) I called her “Miss Barko”.

Okay, I’m going to do online lessons for Italian, French, and Turkish. I have online sites for all of them. Eventually I’ll work with tutors, but not right now. I can work on vocabulary on my own.

Okay, I figured out what to grow on the sides of the driveway: heather. I had wanted lavender but it requires full sun. The driveway is shady.

My Internet access is fixed (again). I hope that it stays that way.

I have a sore throat and am really tired. I think that I’ll have to drop choir for this semester. Okay, sent an email to the choir director. I’m going to nap in a few minutes. I tried to oversleep my nap, but the dogs made it difficult. They wanted me to get up and let them outside!

Fed the fur faces. Time to go back to sleep.

Woke up at 5:30 AM to use the bathroom. Stayed up a little while, then went back to sleep. Overslept and woke up at 8:30 AM. So much for dropping off the electronics for recycling.

Had breakfast. I’m going to take a nap. Had a nice nap. Fed the fur faces and had lunch.

My dad says that he’s feeling old and has no stamina. I asked what his doctor said. Dad said that feeling old at 85 isn’t unusual. Something to look forward to, assuming that I live that long. It’s likely because my paternal grandmother’s family was long-lived. I look like her, so maybe I got her genes.

I’m not going to be able to call the car storage facility today because they close at 4 PM. I’ll call on Monday but might have to pay another month’s rent.

Hmm. I’m having IBS symptoms, so I’m wondering if I should stay home today. I should take a shower though. I want another nap first. Couldn’t sleep.

I need to submit a grocery order for tomorrow because I’m almost out of toilet paper (done). And I’m also almost out of soda.

I think that I needed a day where I didn’t do much. I picked up the fur faces as soon as I got back from Europe and then launched into work. I’ll go to bed early though. Well, maybe not.

In the process of feeding manic critters. Took the dogs out.

I’m pondering if I should learn Turkish because I like Istanbul so much. But I should work on my Italian and French first.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Got up for a little while, went back to sleep, and overslept. Exhaustion is starting to sink in. I can’t nap over lunch because I have a meeting with my new committee in the afternoon, and I need to shower and make myself presentable over lunch.

I took a long lunch and napped a little and showered. I’m feeling more together, though I think that I’ll be tired through the weekend (and I have stuff to do this weekend too). The adrenaline from the trip is wearing off.

I’m feeling ice-cold even though it’s fairly warm out. I threw on a hoodie. I feel like I’m getting a sore throat?

Napped after work and slept until 10:45 PM. I’m feeling hammered.

My Internet was out, but apparently they wanted a payment. I have Autopay, so I’m not sure what was going on. But I paid it.

Need to feed the cats and go back to bed.

Woke up with my alarm at 6:30 AM. Oliver was on my lap getting petted when Bella put her front paws on my lap and gave me a kiss. Jealousy…. I really want to go back to sleep, but I shouldn’t. I have stuff to do. Ordered food from Walmart.

Oliver wants Lily’s food. Sigh. I guess that I’m back :)

Back at work with tons of email to process.

Couldn’t sleep at lunchtime. I’m cold and need a sweatshirt. Threw on a hoodie. It’s a little early to turn on the heat.

Still jet-lagged. (Well, I was in Europe for three weeks.) I’m feeling tired now. The fur faces are tired too. Bella and Lily are dozing near me. I’m surprised that Lily is being so demonstrative. She’s a little tough to read, but apparently she missed me. (With Oliver, what you see is what you get. Zara is more like Lily.)

I need to do a lot of laundry (in process).

Oh good. Sundown is at 6:30 PM. I don’t want to take the dogs out before it gets dark because they’ll come in after dark, but I want to go to sleep really early. I’ll eat dinner and feed the fur faces right after work. I need to get up early to rearrange stuff for the AT&T guy coming tomorrow.

All of the fur faces are ravenous, even Zara. Did they pick at their food while I was gone? Gracie went after my food, which she doesn’t usually do.

I feel like I might be getting my post-trip cold. I hope not.

Bella is in fine fettle and stole some paper towels. My little sneak thief.

Took the dogs outside. Gracie was being typically manic. But it was getting cold outside. I’ll have to grab a jacket.

I’m going to sleep early and getting up early to move stuff for the AT&T guy.