days_unfolding

Woke up at 6 AM and decided to go back to sleep. Overslept a little, and got into work a few minutes late because I needed to take a shower because I need to run to the bank at lunchtime. Mimi is happy that I'm working now because she wants LAP TIME!

Apparently Mimi understands the word "food". I asked her if she wanted food, and she jumped off my lap and started going downstairs. I knew that Zara understands it. Zara was pacing impatiently on the kitchen table.

I got Dad and Sue's Christmas card ready to send. It doesn't matter if my friend Lance's card gets there late, and I need to think about what to say to Lance. It's pretty pathetic that I have only two people to whom I send Christmas cards though. Actually, I got Lance's card written up and will send it at the same time as Dad's.

I'm also looking for a ten gallon fish tank to use for quarantine and sick fish. I found one that would work on Facebook Marketplace.

Over lunch, I got my new debit card and mailed the Christmas cards. On the way back, I saw a car with a bumper sticker, "Dog is my co-pilot". I'll have to get one when I get a dog.

I'm trying to figure out Christmas presents to me. Well, everything is a Christmas present to me :) One is the fish tank. I might also get a new orchid. And I'd like a Chinese money plant (pilea), but I'm wondering if it's too cold out to get one shipped?

Hmm, the Danville (30 minutes away) Humane Society has a corgi mix who likes cats and other dogs. She's kind of big (44 pounds I think) so she might be able to jump the fence though? I'm strongly thinking of getting a larger fence after I get the money from Mom's house, though I should probably wait until I get the garage put in because I want the garage outside the fence. Hmm, and another place has a bonded pair of two young black cats. They might be a little too young for our household though. I don't see Zara and Mimi putting up with kittens.

Ack! I'm getting emails that my old debit card isn't going through. Well, yeah, because it had to be closed. I suppose that it's better than not getting the emails, but having to reenter the new number in a bunch of places is a pain.

I need to run to the bank (again!) after work to get some $1 bills. I forgot earlier! I think after that, I'll go to Prairie Gardens to look at their orchids and other houseplants.

I tested my new debit card on Amazon. I bought a scratch-off world map and USA map. Now I think that I'll put them upstairs, taped onto the slanted ceiling. They also have a National Parks one, but I'm not really into National Parks, although there are some that I want to go to. (Great Smoky Mountains, I'm looking at you.)

Because it was a 20-minute drive to Prairie Gardens (long for Champaign-Urbana) and I needed to get gas, I went there first. I bought two orchids (they had only two colors, so I got them both), a birds-nest fern, and a peacock plant. (I was identifying plants with my plant app and then Googling if they were safe for cats.) If they had had a Christmas cactus, I would have bought one too, but they didn’t.

I also got a wreath for the front door, which was on sale. The cashier covered the houseplants with a plastic bag, which I was glad to see. Then I got the cash that I needed.

I passed a gyros place and my mouth was watering, so I think that I’ll door-dash some (ordered). They were good. But now I'm in a food coma. I'm going to go to bed and get up early to get the garbage out, do dishes, etc. Oh, I need to order some self-watering planters (ordered).

I was wrong about the yoga center's class; it's face-to-face AND online. I bought a pass to try it out. Two yoga classes a week would be good.

Woke up at 5:30 AM. Zara decided that it was too early and went back to sleep. Napped after breakfast. Overslept but still was on time for my singing lesson.

My singing lesson was great! I wanted to work on sight reading and so we did. She showed me a site to use to practice sight reading. I booked more lessons: piano next week and singing in January. Now Mimi is settled on my lap and I need to eat lunch. Such problems :)

Booked a massage at a different place in January. I had a massage therapist tell me that I needed monthly massages because of the tension in my neck, but I haven't kept up with them. (He was in Hawaii, so he wasn't just trying to upsell me.)

Hmm. I was eyeing a Road Scholar "women's trip" to Costa Rica in late 2016. If I want to go, I should book early to be sure that I get a single room. I put a deposit down.

Ack! I screwed up! I had the recital in my mind as 5 Central Time. No, it was 5 Eastern Time. So I missed it.

The Meijer shopper was great. I got my groceries in. I can't cook tomorrow because we have choir, but Tuesday, I need to get to chopping.

Oh crud. I have Italian tomorrow and have homework. I guess that I know what I'm doing now.

Ah crap. Someone got and tried to use my debit card number, so I need to go get a new card tomorrow.

I signed up for Dial-A-Carol at the University. I had thought that they could patch calls to us at home, but was a little cranky to learn that I had to go to a dorm on campus. I was more cranky because there was fog and I couldn't park where I wanted to, although I did find a spot.

But it was a blast! My favorite callers were the person calling from New Zealand, and the person who said when I was done singing, "You're real!" Some people asked for carols that I didn't know, although my mom's incessant playing of Christmas carols from Thanksgiving though Christmas paid off. I need to scramble to learn the Mariah Carey song because it's popular.

Okay, I finished my Italian homework. Time to go to bed.

Overslept a little but made it into the shower. Got the recycling out. I'm so sleepy. Scrambled at lunchtime to put makeup on because I needed to be on camera for a meeting. (I'll have to do so tomorrow too.)

Mimi is giving me the cat pep talk (“Get your shit together and feed me.”)

I’m having IBS symptoms. Not a fun day.

I found a Panama Canal cruise in 2026 that I like. It starts from Panama, transits the Canal, and then goes to the "ABC" islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao). It ends in Miami, which I'd also like to see. Maybe I should book it. Oh, apparently I didn't check the singles rate, and it's going to be too expensive. Maybe I do need to take Celebrity again. Sigh. It is much more reasonable. I'm also looking at Holland America. Oh wow. Holland America has a reduced fare one for March of next year. It's quite reasonable. It also stops in Puerto Vallarta, which I'd like to see. I'd have to skip the St. Lucia trip though. There also is a Bermuda cruise in 2026. It ends in San Juan, so I'd get a chance to see what I missed there. But do I want to book two cruises in one year?

Maybe next year I should go to St. Lucia and Italy? (No, see above.) I asked the St. Lucia guide if there would be time to go shopping in Castries (I think that there is a large market there), and she said, "Yes, there is free time". So I just need to decide whether to book it or not. Hmm. I'm looking at flights to St. Lucia and they have either short connections or very long connections. Chicago to St. Lucia is not a popular route for the airlines :) I’ll sleep on deciding but I think that I’m going to do it.

Okay, now I'm thinking: 2025: Panama Canal cruise and Italy (Amalfi Coast). 2026: St. Lucia and Italy (The Lake District). Or do I want to go to Paris in 2026?

Urgh. I need to get my Christmas cards out.

Some serious snow is coming down. Okay, it stopped with some accumulation, but not enough to have to dig out. Good. I have some errands to run, but I think that I will wait until daylight tomorrow.

I received a really cool-looking and cozy set of pajamas (you could wear them with people over). I can't link to it because it seems to have been taken down off the Web site. Here they are.

I also received a ton of my new diet cookbooks. I just realized that I don't have tape flags to mark recipes, but I have some Post-It notes. Well, I just found tape flags. There are some interesting recipes. I'm kind of looking forward to cooking and "eating clean". There are some dessert-types of food too, such as chia pudding and rice pudding and yogurt with toppings. And the recipes that I've looked at so far emphasize protein. (It's Prevention's 28-Day Get Lean Diet for Women Over 40. The Skinny Taste Cookbook looks less interesting. Oh well, I can sell any cookbooks that I'm not thrilled with.)

I have to go get cash so that I can buy things off of Facebook Marketplace.

Hmm. I didn’t find a sparkly top for caroling, but I found a black top with gold, blue, and purple splotches plus a black velvet blazer that I would wear with black pants. It’ll do.

Lay down and dozed for a few minutes, then woke up. I need to practice piano and work on the kitchen. Now I’m thinking eat something, practice piano, go to bed, and get up early to clean.

I’m looking at LGBTQ organizations to which to donate because the next four years are going to be hell.

Does anyone have a favorite discount or price-tracking Web site or extension? I have PayPal Honey, Capital One Shopping and CamelCamelCamel. And Rakuten for cash back. And eBay and Mercari to buy used things.

Eeep. 15 days until Christmas? Good thing that I don't have presents to buy, although I was going to donate some items to a local children's home. Need to look into it fast. The presents are due by the 13th, so I can't buy anything from Amazon, only Walmart. I'll go shopping at Walmart on Thursday and drop the gifts off at lunchtime on Friday. I should try Meijer too. Duh. I can have the items delivered to me (ordered)! That'll save a trip!

I have a boatload of things to do today. I need to make up some time at work. I need to practice piano and have my lesson. I need to get the garbage and recycling out and clean up the kitchen so that I can get someone in to look at the garbage disposal. And I have Italian tomorrow morning, so I should look over my notes.

And I want to text the house cleaner/organizer about some sessions. Done. She’ll come clean a week from tomorrow and we’re discussing the organizing. She’ll start the organizing after cleaning and will finish on Friday.

Had my piano lesson. It went well. I really like my teacher and I learn a lot from her.

Got the garbage out and a lot of the recycling, but I’ll need to finish the recycling tomorrow and clean the kitchen. Now I need to sit, so now I’ll work (done--it's funny how adept I've gotten at working with Mimi on my lap!)

Somewhere along the line, I need to find "something festive" to wear when we go caroling. Though caroling is a misnomer; we're doing some of the same songs as we did at the concert. I think that I have a sparkly top somewhere. If not, I have the purple dresses.

Now I need to do dishes and get to bed to get up early for Italian. Though I need to figure out what to talk about tomorrow (done).

17F when I went to sleep. Ack it’s cold, especially in the cold bathroom.

I’m getting hooked on The Big Bang Theory. Facebook decided that I would like it and showed me videos, which I watched, so it showed me more videos, etc. I’ll have to start actually watching episodes instead of highlights.

Stayed up way too late (Note to self: Stop that!) and overslept. I've stayed in pajamas (or what I call pajamas, yoga pants and a long-sleeved shirt) all day, and I'm not going to get dressed after work. I'll just throw on shoes to get the garbage out.

Had a busy morning at work meeting with a library to tweak the rules that they have for lending items.

My piano teacher is stressing about the recital and was asking when I'll have more lessons (after I get more money on Wednesday) and to practice the recital piece a lot. But actually, I picked a piece that I used to know well and it's going well. (But I will practice. Done.)

Hmm, the person with the table that I want hasn't responded yet. I also want to get the smart TV for upstairs from Facebook Marketplace. Luckily, that one is more local. And I found a lamp on Marketplace that I would like for the library. (Note to self: Get $75 total for all three.) Now I’m looking for a washable rug.

My dance card keeps filling up. I have an appointment with the orthopedist tomorrow along with an X-Ray, and therapy on Thursday.

It just occurred to me that I could use the exercise bike (if it's unburied in the library room) if I don't want to put a lot of weight on my bad foot. I should see if I can do that tonight and ease into exercise (done).

I checked into how much protein I should be eating and crap, I’m not eating nearly enough protein. When I put in a grocery order, I’ll get some protein shakes and protein powder. I should look into smoothies with fruit in them. I have the fancy Ninja blender that a friend gave my mom, so I should use it! I found some peanut butter protein powder on Amazon that I could mix with berries and soy milk. I think that I’ll start with building up protein and then get back to cooking. Maybe I should make salads too. Oooh, I found a recipe for an apple salad with raisins and walnuts and yogurt dressing. That sounds good and healthy. I also want to make gluten-free Snickerdoodles for a tasty treat to stop eating donuts.

I need to take the trash out, so I guess that I should comb my hair, though it’s dark out. Got the garbage out and now I’m thawing.

Went upstairs to print off my piano practice instructions and a missing music page, but now Mimi is settled on my lap! She, of course, wants me to stay upstairs at my computer. Okay, she finally jumped off.

I need to check whether there is an electrical outlet near the front door. (Nope.) Otherwise, I'll have to get battery-operated lights for outside.

Tried to reset the garbage disposal, but it didn’t work. I need to call a plumber.

My credit card went though finally. Yay. I bought tickets for the two concerts to which I wanted to go at the uni. And I bought a ton of food. I bought the ingredients for the Snickerdoodles and salad, plus some protein shakes and powder. And Christmas lights. I booked piano lessons, so my teacher should be happy.

Now I need to crash ASAP because I really need to get up on time tomorrow to take a shower. I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow.

I'm thinking of buying a small TV for upstairs after I get the check from my aunt's estate because I can get one for $100, and getting the old one fixed probably would cost that much. I'm expecting to hear that my toe is healed when I go to the doctor next week. I need to spend some treadmill time. And do exercises. I plan to start up yoga again after the 1st of the year. Actually, someone is selling a small smart TV for $30 on Facebook Marketplace.

Zara hates the smell of the Neutrogena lotion. She took one whiff and went to the other end of the bed. Maybe I’ll keep it in here and put it on right before I go to sleep.

Overslept. I used to charge my phone in my bed, which helped get me up. But now it's on my nightstand, and it isn't waking me up. I could set the obnoxious alarm with the bells, but Zara hates it, plus I don't want to get used to it and save it for occasions when I really need to get up. Hmm.

It's very quiet at work. Some people are off today and tomorrow.

Oops, I don't think that I got the mail yesterday (done).

Took a shower at lunch. I feel nice and clean. But the cold bathroom is getting cold. Maybe I need to put a space heater in there.

I am starving, but I'm trying to wait to eat. But I'm hungry. Maybe I should go to Walmart tonight and get a few things. I really would like a poke bowl, but it's expensive. I made a Lean Cuisine turkey dinner.

Hmm. Someone has put a white footstool on the curb in Urbana. I think that I'll slap some makeup on and go see if it's still there because it would go well with my white chair. Actually I think that I want both the white one and black one. The black one would be good when I cover the wingback chair in gray. And it would be nice to read with my feet up.

Hmm. Cunard has a New York to San Francisco cruise that does a full transit of the Panama Canal. I could tag on a couple of days in New York and San Francisco too. (I like to go to San Francisco every few years.) And I'd get to see a Cunard ship, which is supposed to be spectacular. It’s in January, so I’d need to go in 2026. Maybe I'll skip my New York trip at Christmas next year and go on the cruise.

I'm pondering going up to Chicago for a couple of days near Christmas. I could take the train up and stay in a hotel and see the windows. I haven't done that in a while. Downtown hotels are expensive though. Have some deep-dish pizza. I'd like to see the Titanic exhibit up there, but then I'd have to drive. (Well, no, I could take the L and bus.) Maybe I should stay at the motel near O'Hare and take the Blue Line downtown. I have some time to think about this trip. I asked my Chicago friends on Facebook for thoughts. Actually, there are some good prices downtown for the Black Friday sale, but I need to wait to book it.

The good news: I got one of the footstools. The other one was taken. The bad news: I shopped until I dropped at Walmart, but it said that my card couldn’t be processed. I called the number and I have credit, but I wasn’t able to speak to a representative because their office is closed. I might try a Walmart delivery later. Suckage. I know what I can do. I want a ticket to a concert at the uni. I’ll try that and see if it goes through. If yes, I’ll submit a Walmart order.

I’m feeling shaky and need to eat something (done).

I got the fresh sheets on the bed while Zara was drinking water. She came back, but stood in the doorway while I finished putting the sheets on. Yay! (She is not cooperative if she’s already on the bed.)

Okay, the credit card did not go through, so I need to call them tomorrow and say, "What the fuck?"

I got up in time for my Italian lesson. We did some listening exercises that were really hard. She also asked where I liked the culture on my cruise, and I said "Puerto Rico because the people are really nice".

Mimi is still being clingy. I had a nice nap with Zara. She comes trotting up when I lie down on the bed.

I found out how to get a brochure from Oceania Cruises, and they called me. Don't call me if you want to sell a cruise! I also requested a Cunard (QEII, Queen Mary, etc.) brochure. I also found a resort in Puerto Rico that's near the beach and Old San Juan. Expensive though.

I'd like to get icicle Christmas lights for my porch, but I don't have an outdoor outlet. I guess that I'll put lights in my windows then. And ask an electrician to put in an outdoor outlet. No, I found battery-operated lights on Amazon. Hmm. I want to put white lights around my windows, but most of them are 100 lights, and I need a smaller string.

There's a place that advertises on Facebook that has really cozy-looking pajamas. I might splurge for a pair or two for Christmas.

I've been feeling hungry earlier. I just realized that's because of the time change to the cruise. Plus having lots of food at my disposal. Hmm, I have enough money to get a pizza for dinner. Although I really didn't like the way that I looked on the cruise and need to lose weight.

I'm looking forward to the long weekend next week to get stuff done around here. I'm working in the first half of the week. (I drained my vacation days and need to build them up again.)

I want the Skinny Taste Fast and Slow cookbook.

I'm so tired of plowing through my email from when I was gone at work.

Perkins is offering Thanksgiving dinner. I might go there next week.

The pizza was delicious.

We now have tons of cat food (very important!) I also bought a cheaper electric razor because I'm tired of replacing my more expensive one. We'll see how it works.

Got the garbage out. My pet sitter threw out stuff that I needed. Sigh. She keeps on rearranging my stuff. She said that she’s OCD and needs to organize stuff, but she’d understand if I want another pet sitter. I don’t know. She’s really expensive too. I’m planning on getting the place more organized next week and over winter break.

Snuggled with Zara. I’m going to take a nap. Couldn’t sleep. I think that I’ll transfer my coats to the closet in my bedroom. Most of my hanging clothes are in the larger closet in the library room.

Got my bedside lamp set up, but I need an extension cord for it.

Hmm, maybe I could also plug my phone charger into it too. I can’t find my scarf hanger, so I ordered one.

I think that I’ll feed the cats and go to bed soon. I need to figure out what to do with my two carry-on bags. I only need one. And I should repot the trees this weekend because my pots are in my bedroom.

Oh, and I need to throw another load in the wash.

I was able to sleep in, so I woke up at 9AM. Bah. Took a nap after breakfast, didn't set an alarm, and woke up exactly when I would have woken up had I set an alarm.

It doesn't feel like Christmas. Well, I have a bunch of things to do on my mom's house. Paid some bills. I guess that our Christmas present is being able to be together. I missed the girls. Oh, and the house is a GREAT Christmas present!

Crap. I ordered a CD of Tony Bennett singing traditional Christmas songs, and apparently I never checked out on Amazon. I ordered it anyway so that I'll have it next year. So much for my music. I need to raid Mom's CDs and see if she had any Christmas music.

I'm looking at toilet paper racks for my bathroom in the new house. I'm thinking a freestanding one. There isn't a lot of wall space near the toilet.

Selected my BistroMD meals and updated my card. Took another nap. Ordered some of the paint for the new house. I got the big rooms (the living room and upstairs room plus my bedroom). I'll have to wait to order the rest of it.

Somehow it's gotten late, so I'm going to go to sleep. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.

I lay down "for a few minutes" before getting ready for bed and slept through until 5 AM.

I've been picking up individual Christmas cards because I only have a few people on my list. It just occurred to me that I need one for my friend Lance. (I did buy one with a flamingo on it saying something about avoiding snow (I don't remember the exact wording), so I might send him that one.

My pet sitter totally rocks! She'll take care of the girls through Thursday. I need to leave another good review for her on Care.com.

I finally got through my backlog of email at work. I had a meeting that was canceled, so I could have DoorDashed a poke bowl, but I already had made oatmeal. (I took a nap during my lunch hour.)

Silence from movers. I bet a lot of them take Thanksgiving week off.

I had the Dare to Dream class tonight, and we talked about failure. I tried to explain that I'm in the middle of a failure situation, but all she wanted to talk about was my Hawaii trip.

Ordered my poke bowl, which also came with miso soup. Oh, it was perfection. (Tuna, pineapple, mango, edamame, rice, with tempura crumbs and sesame seeds.) I need to have it again before I leave. Ironically, I didn't have one while I was in Hawaii.

I'm thinking about going to bed early again. I don't know what's with me.

I looked at crocs like susandennis mentioned because I want to start swimming again after the move. Apparently, crocs don't have wide widths. Oh well. No, they have a page of wide shoes. Maybe I'll try them. They don't have half-sizes though.

I overslept this morning. Suckage. Started laundry. Messaged a guy who wants to pick up my old manual treadmill.

Zara says that food is her love language :)

Headache, but I can't lie down. I'm writing Christmas cards while I'm waiting for the acetaminophen to kick in. My cards are done, even the one to my friend Lance in which I write a short recap of the year. I'd like to see Lance, but who knows when or if I'd take a road trip to Kansas City.

The treadmill guy says that he needs to get gas money and then he'll come over. Hmm, I wish that he'll get here soon because I think that I'll need more medium boxes (in storage). If I run out of medium boxes, I can pack books and the wardrobe boxes though.

I saw a super cute wool coat, but I don't really need it. I'll have to think about it. Hmm, I have a promo code, but it doesn't apply to items on sale. So it's expensive. And I'd need boots to wear with it, although I saw some used ones on eBay.

I forgot to say that my aunt's house is up for sale now. We'll see what happens. It doesn't look like her house anymore.

I sat down for a minute, and Mimi went, "Oooh, a warm lap." Cats, ruining productivity for thousands of years! Now she's "helping" me pack and is checking out the empty shelves in the kitchen. And now Zara is on my lap.

Treadmill guy is still waiting for his gas money. I'm going to take a short nap and then throw myself together to go get boxes and mail Christmas cards. I found more soup and some cookies, so I don't need to go to the store tonight.

Back with tons of boxes, and I mailed my Christmas cards.

Talked to Mom. Here's a new wrinkle: she can't get up off the couch. She's now sleeping in her chair so that she can get up. And she's having digestive problems. (She was talking to me on the toilet.) So she doesn't know if she'll be able to come out or not. She'll keep me posted. I did say that I could still come up on Friday of next week and come back on Monday because I need to pick up the girls on Tuesday.

Talking to her gets me agitated, but I need to get more done before I crash. Hmm, I'm yawning though. I just ordered Jimmy John's because I'm craving roast beef. It was good. Zara thought that it smelled good too and was reaching for it with her paw. Dream on, cat.

Oh what the hell. I'm going to bed. But I'm going to set a wake up call as well as my alarms to annoy myself into getting up early.