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?