It's so awkward, you guys

I'm watching "The White Lotus," season two, and I continue to be amazed by how awkward this show can make you feel. I am not a fan of peripheral, second-hand embarrassment, but inexplicably, I am drawn to this show. The first season was surprising and weird in the best ways, and I'm watching this second season because I'm hoping that it will be as surprisingly weird. I do so very much love Jennifer Coolidge and Aubrey Plaza. I'm four episodes in, and probably, definitely will finish it tomorrow.

    So that'll be my January binge, and I need to get into my book for the month, too. I'd be nervous about the reading before the end of the month, but I'm flying to California this weekend, so a plane ride is just the thing to get a book read. I will though, in a bid to hedge my bets, select the shorter book.

The Birthday Week has begun

Day One: Saturday ~ I hung out all morning, and messed around with my house, picking up stuff, moving stuff, just generally futzing around with things. Brian had a golf date, so Sydney and I drove over to Portillos for hamburgers. I spent my afternoon doing random chores and whatnot, and watching football. Honestly, it couldn't have been a better day. So quiet and calm.

Day Two: Sunday ~ This morning started off relatively quiet too, with rain falling outside and wrapped up in cozy bed covers. On today's agenda was the movies: "Plane," starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter. Brian decided to hit balls once the rain stopped, so Sydney, Bailey and I were on our own for the movie. Sydney and I shared our popcorn, as we do, but we still picked up a Party Bag of popcorn on our way out of the theater to snack on for the rest of the week. The movie itself was enjoyable; the exact kind of film that Gerard Butler does so well. After we dropped Bailey off at home, I picked up Brian and we hit Costco, though this stop was *not* on my Birthday Week to-do list. I don't like going to Costco when there's not much money to spend, but we had a small list, and the visit itself wasn't as bad as it could have been. Back at home, we ate our lunch and watched more football. I probably should have started reading my book, but the cloudy skies, cooler afternoon and entertaining game play on the TV kept me occupied. Brian baked a pizza for dinner that we bought at Costco that was surprisingly delicious. I finished up my Portillo's strawberry shortcake for dessert, and had a piece of See's candy for my bedtime snack. It was a great Sunday.

I turn 50 in three days. The countdown continues.

I'll trade you my time, for my time

So I may have made a deal with the devil, but I did something that, ostensibly, will make my 2023 a better year than it may have been. At my work, because I only have two weeks of vacation for the calendar year, I traded all my upcoming overtime comp days for additional vacation days to be used at my discretion.

    After next week, which I took off to celebrate turning 50 while NOT working, I will have used up half of my allotted vacation days. But still, having made that deal, I'm pretty sure that, even though someone who is a department head and has been at a company for more than seven years should have double that 10 days of PTO, I will come out ahead of the game. I actually think that I already was getting more than my 10 days the last couple years, but now it's somewhat official that I will be in better shape regarding vacation days. Also, I told them that if my days became too numerous, they could just not pay me for them.

    I explained that I wasn't going to miss any of my friends' birthdays, and that I still wanted to have my days for Sydney's breaks, too. I didn't care how it worked out, but I was not going to miss out on anything in 2023. So, pay me for them, don't pay me for them. Consider them comp days or just generously look the other way. But I will take my days as I want.

My 50 Best Things in My 50 Years

So I'm gonna be 50 years old next week. I'm processing this very slowly, and thoughtfully, and I can say that it's a very unexcited way, too. But even then, I still recognize the weight of the number, the victory in the number, and how big of a deal this is/should/can be. I don't have anything super big or major planned. I've taken the whole week off work, and Mom is flying out to spend some days with me. I want to hang out, chill and do whatever, and not work, and eat awesome things and watch movies.

    I've been thinking lately about random things in lists of 50. Do I have "50 Bits of Wisdom"? No. "50 Lessons Learned." Why start now? And will that be interesting?

    Oh, I just had a thought: "My 50 Best Things in My 50 Years." My goodness, can I come up with 50 Best Things? I expect I can. This sounds like a challenge I have given myself, and before I think better of it, I will accept this challenge. I won't give myself a time frame to complete this challenge, except to say that I'll hope to have it done before I turn 51. Honestly, it shouldn't be too hard, but we'll see as we get up in number. Best Things will be whatever I want them to be. It's my birthday. In no particular order, though I'm going to start with 1.

    1. Reading. In general, reading is one of my most favorite things to do in the world. I remember vividly the first book I read that made me cry the most ("Where the Red Fern Grows," Wilson Rawls); the first book I read that taught me about adulthood ("Lucky," Jackie Collins); and the first book that blew my mind ("And Then There Were None," Agatha Christie). The first Anne Rice book I read was "The Tale of the Body Thief." I had to find all her previous books after that and start from the beginning, but since then I have read everything that she's written. Same with "The Sands of Time" by Sidney Sheldon. And "The Mummy Case" by Elizabeth Peters. It hurts my heart to note that all those authors have died, but their impact on me as a reader is unquantifiable. Through their words, I fell in love with books of all genres written by many authors. Every room in my house has a pile of books in it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Of all things I am at this point in my life, I am very proud to say that I am a bookworm, bibliophile, regular patron at the library, and happy reader. Reading books makes me happy.

Spend the money; the candy is better

Every day, I gift myself a single piece of See's candy as a reward for getting through my day. When I visit Mom, we always end up at See's, and I always am bringing a bunch of candy back with me. Obviously, many last infusion of candy happened at Christmas. I got a pound of candy, a specially mixed box just for me, as well as more here or there.

    Anyway, today I ate a piece of Dark California Brittle. I think that candy may have taken over the top spot as my favorite candy from See's, which may or may not be blasphemy. I still love my Scotchmallows and Molasses Chips so much, and those three candies as a collection are the best ever.

    It's that time of year though when people buy the heart-shaped candy boxes at random stores. Here's my advice to you all out there: Always buy See's. It's way better.

It's all about the Star Trek, or is it

I set us up with another streaming subscription yesterday. These streamers are driving me crazy because really, I want everyone's everything on one platform. You know, like how cable television used to be. But no, I need to have a subscription to Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Peacock and Hulu. What's missing? The service I subscribed to yesterday: Paramount+.

    Let's say that I fell victim to advertising and football. The CBS channels and their games advertise for Paramount+. I'd already been missing "Inside the NFL," which moved to Paramount+ last year or the year before. And while I don't care for many of the shows there (unpopular opinion: I have no interest in "Yellowstone"), but just the one or two that intrigued me, and that "Top Gun: Maverick" is streaming there, was enough to get me on board. I hate that I did it, though. I feel like I should be just a bit discerning? I can't subscribe to everything, but it looks like I may end up trying to.

    We always think, "What's another $9.99 per month? I won't even notice when it's taken..." But damn it, I think maybe I'm spending more than $50 a month on streamers. That's a lot, and a hit to the entertainment budget. I probably won't cancel it, but I might... after a fashion.

And not even a winning record to show for it

I hate it very much when my team loses and I have to admit that I'm going into the post-season with no one to cheer for, but so many teams to cheer against. Most times I watch a game and want teams to lose more than I ever want them to win.

    My list of ire is not long, but it is distinguished. Most teams I want to lose because they're in our division and have kicked our butts once or twice during the season. Others I like to see lose because they've beat us before in big games, like the Eagles and Giants. Some are led by players that bug me, and I just really like to see those particular players lose (*cough*Aaron Rodgers*cough*).

    Brian says I am a hateful football fan, but really I am a passionate football fan. If we don't win, no one wins. As it should be.

    But on the up side, with football season moving into the playoffs, my NFL Sunday Ticket is no longer a part of my DirecTV bill. Time to count the savings until August.

2023 already is shaping up to be a handful

Hello! And Happy New Year!

What am I doing? Oh, you know, just living life one day at a time and one inconvenience at a time. Time to bring it on, 2023! You've been a little bitchy so far, but let's see what happens next.

EXPECTATION 1: Save some money; bulk up the accounts. Last year's first goal was to pay off my American Express card. I did that. Of course, travel and some Christmas kept it from staying a zero balance, but I'm working on it again. What I want to do is save some money for the kid's college fund and get that to a decent number.

EXPECTATION 2: Read one book, watch one movie, binge one show per month. I excelled at this particular item last year, and found it to be remarkably motivating. Short of a book in October I think, I accomplished it. I enjoy this task, and will be continuing it in 2023.

EXPECTATION 3: I completely bailed on writing any Mystic & Boysen books last year. It was a matter of self-care, really, as I felt some intense pressure on myself to get them done. I'd like to write them this year, but if I don't, I'll be okay with that.

EXPECTATION 4: Clean out/purge the stuff, including but not limited to bathroom closet, office storage cart, hallway cabinet, Brian's closet, garage, office stuff. I did well on my cleanse last year, but some carried over, and I'm renewing my desire to clean it all out.

EXPECTATION 5: Hit the trail again. I probably won't do this, but I like the idea of walking the trail again. I certainly can use the exercise, and it would be lovely to make a morning out of it. Brian is spending his weekend mornings at the driving range, so unfortunately, he's a no-go for a walking partner. Power up the pods, I guess! Also, the at-home yoga situation definitely needs to be reinstated.

EXPECTATION 6: Maybe today, January 6, will be the catalyst for blogging more. I'm excited to report that I'm wearing a compression glove, and it seems to be working quite well. I have one for work that is good, and for whatever reason I never had one for home, so I ordered one yesterday. It arrived this afternoon, and we'll see how it goes. I just dropped the laptop down to the bed level too, so maybe that'll help, as well.

EXPECTATION 7: I'm pleased with my job right now, and even though I don't have any upward mobility at this particular position, I'm happy within it. I'm a department head and enjoying that, as well as the department head paycheck. I kind of tried the greeting card company side hustle, but I didn't really do any or much with it. Maybe I'll try that one again. But I'll continue doing well at my job.

EXPECTATION 8: Of course, get back on the Weight Watchers and lose some excess weight. I don't have a lot to lose to hit my goal, and if I stick to it I probably could hit the goal in three months, but that is unlikely because I enjoy eating yummy things. But let's try it anyway.

EXPECTATION 9: Brian wants to start exercising together. But come on,  that probably won't happen.

EXPECTATION 10: My friends and I all are turning 50 this year, and I have sworn that I won't miss anyone's party. I'm not having a party of my own, just an awesomely quiet and chill week, but I'm not missing anyone else's.

Yes, I tried it; no, I didn't like it

So Sydney and I pulled the King Cake out of the plastic bag, placed it on a small platter, scraped out the now-hardened frosting, and spread it onto the cake as best I could. I microwaved it just a little bit to see if the frosting would melt again and look better, but no. That's it to the left there. The frosting looks all jacked because the sprinkles melted and I used a knife to spread it. You'll see that we cut out a small slice and ate it. Yes, I ate a couple bites. No, I did not like it.

    When I find a local bakery for my King Cake next year, I will request a cake minus the almond extract, because I got a brief sense of the flavor without that ingredient, and it was intriguing. So will a self-respecting King Cake baker make one without the extract? We shall see!

    What else? There'a work order in to get my a/c fixed, so that good. Sydney's glasses hung weird on her face today and she got a headache because of it. Also there was a car fire in the school parking lot of which she was very excited to record and send me videos. I'm all, "Child! Cars on fire explode! Also, GET TO CLASS."

All the dumb things happening

So here's an interesting development: Our air conditioner is acting suspect. It's not blowing cold air today, and the thermostat is not looking right. And it was 85 degrees today and is supposed to get to 86 tomorrow. We have no time or patience for this nonsense.

    I'm reminded that a couple years ago the a/c maintenance visit showed that the unit wasn't working exactly right and maybe could have a problem at some point, and that the home warranty will not fix the unit until it it misbehaves and stops working. So here I am hoping that this potential breakdown happens in March instead of July.

    Another development: Sydney's glasses broke this afternoon. The real bother is that I've had a pair of replacement/extra glasses for her in my shopping cart on Zenni for no less than six months, and just never got around to ordering them. And now my kid has to walk around the planet with taped-up glasses for eight to 12 days because I paid for expedited shipping. Seriously, this is so frustrating to me. I had the plan and the solution, and I didn't act. Damn it.

    Another development: our Mardi Gras King Cake arrived with all the frosting melted and globbed on the sides; and having been bounced around in a FedEx box with no padding or buffer; and to top it off, it reeks of almond extract, which I hate. Thinking I'll zip an email to the bakery, because I can't fathom a lack of packing materials, and how they expect their cakes to arrive to any customer in any kind of shape with that oversight. What this experience did do, and what I should have done last week and certainly will do next year, is do an internet search for King Cakes in Phoenix. Yes, there are bakeries here that do them, and I may or may not order one for this belated Mardi Gras celebration. Pics or it didn't happen: top left.

Marching into March, as you do

Hey everyone! Happy March!

    It's been a very busy January and February, and the rest of the year also will be busy, but shit is afoot.

    First and foremost, we have a new four-legged member of the family, Molly. She's a 2-year-old Lhasa Apso who we rescued from a breeder, and she has definitely added a new personality and dynamic to the household. It's been an adjustment, and will continue to be for a while still, but she's finding her place in the pack and we're all getting used to another heartbeat in the house.

    Add that puppy situation to Elliot needing bladder stone removal surgery, and Cooper's allergies and a skin infection, and I have had it up to here with vet appointments, charges and bills.  But now, maybe, things have calmed down for a bit. I can hope anyway. Molly gets her spay the end of April, and there's still the maintenance stuff, but I think all the urgent, unplanned stuff is done. *fingers crossed*

    Also, I've started working full-time again. And I've started a new job at the office, which, happily, means more money, too. So I'm starting too see a light at the end of my financial tunnel, and it's exciting to know that I am the one that'll be able to work us out of this hole. American Express should be a thing of the past sometime in June, and then I can start saving more for my future Jetta and Sydney's college. The money also means that there'll still be more for all the fun stuff I like to do.

    Anyway, the new job is an intense and stressful one, so there will be some collateral damage to perhaps my blood pressure, but as of now, I'm doing okay. This month's avatar is me as a referee, which is similar to my new office job, so it's fitting.

An ITEM! list for this 6th day of January

ITEM!: We finished the Tobey Maguire Spider-Mans yesterday, and today, we watched the first of the Andrew Garfield movies, "The Amazing Spider-Man." It was, to be honest, much better than I remembered. Or at least, still much better than the Maguire movies. Granted, in my eyes, there's really no room but up from there, but this movie was entertaining and well done. The graphics were better, as expected, and the visual quality of the picture was deeper and more detailed. I'm dreading tomorrow's movie, because I know how it ends, but today was a pleasant remembrance.

    ITEM!: We're also comfortably in the midst of watching "The Witcher," and have finished five episodes.

    ITEM!: I managed to get Sydney an appointment for her booster in a few days, and once that's taken care of, I'll feel better again. I hate that we all have an extra level of protection that she doesn't have yet. But that'll change soon, and in well enough time before we venture into another amusement park in Southern California. Yes, plans are afoot for spring break.

    ITEM!: I agreed to Panda Express for lunch tomorrow, and I find that I'm actually kinda looking forward to it. I'm thinking orange chicken, for sure, maybe fried rice, and perhaps some cream cheese rangoon. If not the rangoon, maybe spring rolls, if they have them. It's an opportunity ripe with options.

Our home is a testing site now

So Brian took his first at-home COVID test tonight, as he's had some members of his office staff test positive, and he's negative. I hate this damn virus, for sure. I'm confident and feeling good about our vaccinated status ... up until the damn virus gets too close. And possibly being in my house is way too close.

    It stressed me out, and I was very relieved to have his test come back negative. I knew if he was negative, I would be too, since he's the only close contact we've had lately. So we're able to hold on to the second test in the pack for future use. As well as the two I ordered from Amazon that may or may not arrive before the 18th of this month. There is a run own at-home COVID tests and that is no joke.

    Anyway, as of now, count us safe in the pandemic.

The Maguire viewings have begun

It's the third day of the year, and I'm writing out my second blog post of the year, and that is a good sign. Also a good sign: I got everything done this weekend that I wanted to get done. Tree is down and out of the house, and Sydney got a haircut. Done and done.

    Let's talk entertainment. We watched the second episode of "The Witcher" second season tonight, and I'm digging it a lot. What hasn't happened yet is a viewing of "The Book of Boba Fett," but we'll get to that. And my list of other series that need to be watched is growing, exponentially, and I'm not sure I'll be able to cross 'em all off my list. 

    Also today, Sydney and I watched "Spider-Man," starring Tobey Maguire. I did not enjoy the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, nor did I enjoy the Andrew Garfield versions, but Sydney and I are going to see "No Way Home" again this weekend, and we decided she needed the right background before seeing it the second time. I mean, she knows the stuff she knows, but she hadn't actually seen the films, so there is ... nuance? ... that she doesn't appreciate in "No Way Home." Having said that, I still am not enjoying the Maguire films. Nor will I find some unappreciated love of the Garfield movies, I don't think. But the plan is to watch each movie one night this week so she can be ready on Saturday.

EXPECTATIONs for 2022! Happy New Year!

Well, Happy 2022, people!

It's been a while, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm here now, and hoping to be a better blogger this year. And in that air of hopefulness, I bring you my EXPECTATIONs for 2022.

EXPECTATION 1: Save money, and pay off my American Express card. I managed to pay off Brian's AmEx last year, and have a good plan for my card this year. No student loans through April will help a bit, as well as my raise from last year. Also, I'll try to budget better. I need to remember that a hundred dollars here and there will be helpful, and then put that towards the card.

EXPECTATION 2: Read one book, watch one movie and binge one show per month. I had this EXPECTATION last year, and while I did well with the movie and binge portions, I really faltered with reading, which is totally not like me, I know, but this year, I will do better. I already have my January book, and will perhaps get started on it tomorrow.

EXPECTATION 3: Write two Mystic and Boysen books. Whether I publish them or not is unsure at this point, but I have two story ideas, and would very much like to get them written out before the year closes out. I took a break last year and really didn't think much about the books, because no one buying them makes me sad, but I really just want to get a couple more ideas out into the ether.

EXPECTATION 4: Create a greeting card company. This is a new side hustle I'm thinking about, and I'm kind of intrigued to see if I can make something out of it. That commercial from Google about how people can learn to do and create awesome stuff after Googling instructions on how to do it has been unexpectedly motivating.

EXPECTATION 5: Purge/organize/replace house stuff. This is an EXPECTATION from last year too, but there are a few purging places that I still haven't gotten to, such as Brian's closet, the bathroom cabinet, and the file cabinet and office cart in the loft. Other areas: I'd like to go through my bag bin perhaps; replace the pink quilt on my bed; replace some sweaters; sell my wedding china; get a new printer; and "to be determined."

EXPECTATION 6: Also again, jump back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon. I managed to unknowingly lose a couple pounds in early December, but when I weighed in this morning, those pounds had returned. I want to get back into those other jeans, so that means getting back into a relationship with WW.

EXPECTATION 7: Blog more, eat better, cook occasionally, and be a better person. Easy peasy.

EXPECTATION 8: Embark on one adventure per month, be it a trip to the zoo or botanical garden, or spend an evening/weekend somewhere. I'm bummed we spend so much time at home, and would like to shake that up a bit.

I think that's it? I mean, that's enough, isn't it?