It's all good these days

Alright, so I've had a bit of a rough several weeks, and because of that, blogging took a distant backseat to everything else going on. But I feel like writing again, and this is the best way to do it.
My kid asked me today if I ever get to take a break. Just like not do anything for anyone. What a weird question. As a 13-year-old girl, it's easy enough for her to imagine a day when she doesn't do anything for anyone. But me? Yeah, no, that is not possible. Even the minimal do-for-others includes feeding everyone and making them comfortable and functioning for the day. I don't even know how to do nothing for anyone. The whole idea is whacky.
Having said that, I have been partaking in a crazy amount of self-care lately. Nothing is more important than me getting my sleep, and taking care of myself, and being a complete human being. It was a bizarre fight until I got here, but it's a pretty comfortable place I'm in right now, and hence, the avatar with her fancy spa robe and slippers, and I think a yummy hot tea sitting on a table nearby. She and I will get there, and blogging again is a big help...

I'm just not feeling the reading

I returned two of my three library books today. I found that every time I looked at them I got anxiety about the time limit on them, and that there were three of them, and that I didn't really feel like reading them. So I picked one to hold on to, and returned the other two. I feel better, of course, but honestly, I probably could have returned the third too, because I doubt I'll get to it any time soon.

Duct tape is medically prescribed

So. The plantar wart.
The dermatologist shaved it down, froze it with three shots of frozen nitrogen, and gave me a prescription for a cream to put on it twice a day. I'm to loofah/pumice it every night before putting on a dollop of the cream, and then cover it with duct tape. Yes, duct tape. Medically, duct tape is part of my wart treatment. It should be gone in a few weeks, like six to eight, and maybe less time or maybe more. I'm pretty excited to be making some progress here, even though it is paining me more tonight than it ever has.

Sydney's movie choice > My movie choice

It's been a weekend, but as I said on Friday night, I'm looking forward to heading in to work tomorrow. We did watch a movie together tonight though, "Spies in Disguise." It was Sydney's pick, and Brian and I had no expectations for it, and it was super cute and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I giggled out loud way more than I thought I would, and the story was clever. We needed a good pick, because I think the last new movie we sat and watched was "Bloodshot," and that was terrible.
As for everything else this weekend, it was somewhat productive. I finished up the manuscript for the new book, and have emailed it to the book designer. I've mocked up the book itself too, and it looks pretty awesome. I trimmed back the rose bushes in the backyard, which is probably the last time I'll be able to be too active outside because the days this weekend were somewhat cooler than normal. Also I finally got Brian to refill the hummingbird feeder so now our birds will stop bitching at us every time we go outside, and I managed to debug my fuchsia without killing it (so far). I did not read any of any of the books I have from the library, and am beginning to wonder if I'll ever read again. BUT I did read my "Entertainment Weekly," so I can officially say that I am trying to do better on that front.

Looking forward to Monday, I guess

It's a weird thing for me, for the weekends to be more of a slog to get through than the work days. It's Friday, and historically, that would be a great thing because there would be stuff to do during the weekend. But lately, for obvious reasons, there's not much to do on the weekends, so I find myself looking more forward to going to work during the week. It's something to do and people to talk to.
Like tomorrow, I have only one or two things on our agenda: AT&T store and water the plants in the yard. Also, bug Brian to refill the hummingbird feeder. And that's like, it, for the whole two days. I have a couple books I can start reading, but I'm not much in the mood for that lately. I have some puzzles, but my back has been finicky and I can't sit at the dining room table for that. It's too hot to go out and do any activity. And it's all indoors and that's no fun, especially when all I really think about is how often my air conditioner is flipping on.
So what's the what. What's the solution here. I'm not sure there is one. We're all living through this weird time right now. Work, right now, is my balm.

Yep, totally a Thursday vibe going on

ITEM!: I had a very frustrating day with AT&T, wherein they have want I want, but aren't able to take my money for some reason. I tried my purchase no fewer than seven times on the app and website, and I got denied every time, and they kept kicking me out of the "store" and out of my account because of the denials. We made our way into the actual store this afternoon, but the wait for assistance was 30 to 60 minutes, and I just didn't have the patience for that. So I'll try again tomorrow and we'll see what happens. I am not optimistic for the website, but perhaps the store will be a better help.
ITEM!: I totally spaced on renewing my library books until today, and they were late for that renewal, and now I owe the library 90 cents. It's important to me that I am a good library patron, so I'll go ahead and pay that fine tonight once I'm done here.
ITEM!: All the illustrations for the next book are done, and now all I have to do is finalize the text. It's scary, deciding that the whole thing is done, and that it is what it is. But really I still have some time to sit with it. I'll be spending my weekend fine-tuning and tweaking it until it sings pure and right. And then I'll be ready to give it to the world. I hope the world likes it, you know?
ITEM!: My plantar wart is becoming a real pain in the foot and I'm super excited to get it removed on Monday. I'm also more than a little nervous about how the damn thing will get removed, and whether it'll hurt. Also, I'm intrigued with how long it may take me to learn to walk again without the weird lean or foot angle. I am so over this ridiculous thing.

Get me a magazine that can go Weekly

I had an addiction once. It was "Entertainment Weekly" magazine. I would get my fix every Saturday, or Friday if I was lucky, and I'd sit and consume every page of it until I was full up. The weeks of the Double Issue, when I'd have to live without for a week, were difficult. But my goodness, I loved that magazine, and couldn't handle life without my fix.
And then "Entertainment Weekly" went monthly. And it suddenly became a chore to sit and read the entire month's worth of entertainment news. I really can't explain it. I haven't read an issue in more than three months. The current issue has been sitting next to my bed for maybe two weeks, and I haven't even cracked it.
Is it a sense of betrayal from the magazine? Is it that I have rehabbed? Is it that the magazine is putting so much content online that most everything in the actual paper magazine seems repetitive? Or I am I just struggling with the concept of reading something right now?
It's dumb, but I actually am super pissed that the magazine went monthly. It was a nice treat for me every weekend to read my EW. And now it's like some dude who comes by every few weeks to show me that he could still be kinda cool, but isn't interested in hanging around or being dependable anymore. But maybe I just need to put forth more effort. I could be a better girlfriend, I suppose, but seriously, EW needs to make it worth it for me.

I've been playing the cards

Today was the second day in a row that I spent a good hour or two playing solitaire. Not iPhone app solitaire, but actual, deck of playing cards, solitaire. I've been shuffling, which bothers and disturbs my dogs, and setting the cards on the floor in a pattern, which is inexplicably an invitation to my dogs, and I've been playing solitaire.
Reminder that playing solitaire is hard when you don't cheat. And I've not been cheating ... much ... unless all the legitimate options are totally gone. It's been a fun exercise for my brain, and my hands. I don't know if shuffling will help with my dystonia, but we'll see, because I've been enjoying the solitaire. I will keep up with it.
Also, Sydney and I peer pressured Brian into playing Uno with us tonight, and I'm here to tell you that I won four out of five games. Brian won the last game we played, and of course, he believes that makes him the champion.

This June pales by comparison to last June

I've reached a new age milestone. I am officially old enough/blind enough to need driving glasses for distance at night. My vision is fine for the day, but for night, I need a little assistance. And that is what I learned at the eye doctor today. I got my prescription and ordered my nighttime driving glasses tonight, so I should have them in the next two or three weeks. They're purple frames. I'll need another eyeglass case for them (OH NO!), so that'll be fun, and I'll now have two pairs of glasses in my purse. Yes, yes, progressives, but I don't want to do that yet.

This month's avatar represents last year's summer vacation. Mom, Brian, Sydney and I went to Hawaii to celebrate Mom's birthday, and it was a great week, and we had a ton of fun, and I am so looking forward to our next trip back. We did all kinds of awesome stuff, ate at awesome places and bought awesome souvenirs. It was an amazing time.

*umbrella snaps open*

I finished watching "The Umbrella Academy" tonight. Sydney and Brian had both watched it individually, and both told me that I should watch it, so I did. It's good stuff, and I'm looking forward to the second season in July. But I won't lie, I'm most excited about the three of us sitting and watching it together. We so rarely sit and watch anything together anymore, and this is going to be a real treat for me.

Sydney asked me who my favorite character is on the show (hers is Klaus), but I have to say that mine is Ben, because he's badass, and a ghost, and it looks like he's going to be even more awesome next season.

p.s. I have terrible acid reflux tonight. No more pizza rolls, I think.

Once again, I'm not going into space

Sydney, Brian and I watched the launch of the SpaceX rocket today, and once again, I was struck by my disappointment in never becoming an astronaut, or even parlaying some aspect of my career into hitching a ride on a space shuttle. I was, once again, heartsick at having missed a launch several years ago after it was scrubbed and we couldn't stay in Florida for the next month until it did finally launch. I was, as ever, awestruck at the amazingness of being able to travel from this ground into the vastness of space, and to see this glowing ball from outside the atmosphere. I was, per usual, holding my breath and staring unblinkingly at the TV, and then watched it on YouTube twice more.
I know that I'll never make it to space, but it's an interesting thing when you realize that your kid is better equipped to achieve your dreams than you are. I mean, look at her, she's got a brilliant mind for math and engineering, and has an uncanny ability to understand the why and how everything fits together. She's quick on her feet, and resourceful, too. She's everything that the astronaut corps would be lucky to have. I don't know if today did anything for her at all, but she's shown no interest in space before, but she did watch the launch with us twice, and by herself once. So, who knows, maybe I'll get to watch my baby fly in space... Wouldn't that just be awesome? ... Well, not as awesome as me doing it, but a close second, for sure.

The thesaurus is my spirit animal

I've spent a good portion of the last two hours working on the next Mystic and Boysen book, editing the manuscript, and making sure it all makes sense. Let me tell you guys something, it's not easy to get the perfect rhyming word. Most of it is great, wonderful and masterfully written. But I've got two, maybe three, stanzas that are giving me fits right now, and I'm ready to stop thinking about them for the night and tackle them again tomorrow.
I think the mistake I made with the first book was making it rhyming, because now every Mystic and Boysen book has to rhyme to stick with the brand, style, rhythm. It's a fun challenge, to be sure, but tonight I am so over it.

Like a little mushroom-cloud wart thing

So I've got this growth on my foot. It's settled on the ball of my foot, kinda nestled in between my pinky toe and the next piggy in, right on the cusp of going up in between the toes. It's been growing over the last couple months, and the pain involved in it has increased as it's grown. It feels like there's a pea or something inside my foot, and it BUGS.
I called the dermatologist's office last week and made myself an appointment for the vague "growth on my foot." I'll be seeing her a week from Monday. But in between that time, I have shown Mom my foot growth. And she, in her infinite wisdom, popped out with, "That's a plantar wart." She knew what it is, you guys. My mom is chockablock full of random medical information, and this was peak knowledge, for sure.
Go ahead and Google it. Images of plantar warts show that they can be nasty, huge, green, crusty, and ridiculously prolific. Thankfully, my plantar wart is more like the image there to the left, kinda cute and somewhat mushroom-y, but single and small. Having said that, I am feeling very much like I will be vigilant and proactive in being sure that no more of those little bastards show up.
Anyway, I called the dermatologist today to be sure that she would be willing to deal with this wart rather than refer me to a podiatrist, and indeed, she'll be able to help me out. I'm super intrigued to find out how this little monster will be disposed of, as it looks like treatments range from laser and freezing to herbal remedies (no thank you, internet hippies). I'm actually quite excited to have it gone, too, because it hurts.

Nada, zilch, zero

It's pretty amazing how long I've been sitting here thinking of nothing to write.

Fighting the good fight

Today was my first day back to work. I was all ready to be there, and double-checked my email this morning to be sure that we were required back to work (I won't be burned twice, you guys). I took off, stopped at AJs for my daily iced tea, and made it to work on time. Of course, as I drove into the parking lot, I found not an entire staff's worth of cars, but only two cars. Only two cars.
I thought, "What sort of fresh hell is this, and where is everyone?" I entered the office to find that only one person was inside. I'm like, "Really? This is so stupid." My one other coworker in the office came forward to let me know that, no, I didn't miss anything, but at the meeting on Thursday it was decided that no one was required to return today unless they wanted to, and they could continue working from home for the rest of this week. Next Monday is the official start to being back in the office.
Still, I stayed at work for a full day, and am eager to head back again tomorrow. It was nice to be back. In fact, a couple other coworkers showed up, and it's kinda silly how excited I was to see them. It's been like weeks since I was part of a team.