Today was a long day - I'm taking time off tomorrow, which meant that I worked more than usual today in an attempt to clear enough stuff off my plate. Today wasn't the worst ever, but it wasn't the best - too many meetings, too many little dramas. But I had salmon and cream cheese on a bagel for lunch, and I had takeout Mexican for dinner, so it definitely could have been worse.
But that's all you're getting since I need to wind down and go to bed - goodnight!
I had a lot going on at work today, so I'm probably more tired than I should be - especially since some of my meetings got canceled and I was able to actually get some stuff done, which is an added bonus. But I ended the day with a session with Alyssa, who worked some wonders for my ongoing strained calf situation - I can walk on it without much pain, but it's certainly still not right, and so we did a lot of movement drills and nerve-type work to try to straighten things out. Even though a lot of her exercises look like total bullshit (like, sticking my thumb out in front of me and then rotating my torso while following my thumb with my gaze), they are amazingly effective - and she also warned me that I would be tired tonight even though it seemed like we did v. little.
So she was right - I'm tired, but my calf feels better. I then spent most of the evening hanging out with my parents - my mom cooked some fish that someone had caught from our pond (they come over and fish occasionally, then clean some of the catch for us - apparently yesterday they caught something every time they threw their line in, so we had eight nice filets of crappie or something (also, if crappie is not something you're familiar with, it's pronounced 'croppie' and is like a real fish that people catch)). She also made fried potatoes, and I threw together a salad, so it was quite a feast. Then I chatted with my parents until around nine, when it was firmly time for them to go to bed and for me to think about going to bed...
...and instead I did a crossword puzzle and was generally lazy. But now it's time for bed for real - goodnight!
Nothing to report today - I had a bunch of meetings, as per usual. But I was somewhat productive when I wasn't in meetings, so I'll take that. My last meeting was more social than work-related, so I had a glass of wine and caught up on the latest gossip. Then I had dinner with my parents - my mom made roast beef with potatoes and carrots, and it was delicious. I also watched some 'Cajun Pawn Stars' with them - anytime I can watch weird people discuss weird objects, it's usually a good time.
And now, I'm tired and not accomplishing anything of note, so I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!
I had a v. lazy Sunday, thanks for asking. I got up relatively early and spent the morning drinking iced coffee while journaling, watching videos, and talking to [censored]. I also caught up with Veronica, whom I hadn't talked to in ages - it's been tough to keep up with friends in addition to family+work, but I am making an attempt. Then I spent some quality time in the kitchen with my dad. And at some point I took the gater out and drove around the field - I thought it would be idyllic to park it by the pond and take in the sights, but there were gale-force winds and two mating pairs of geese on a double date who didn't like my presence. Still, I didn't let any of that scare me away, and instead sat in the sun (and the intense wind) and talked to Terry for awhile.
Then I ran an errand in town, came home, messed around with some writing, and maybe took a v. short nap. My mom was on dinner duty tonight and she made tenderloins, which were delish. And now I'm unwinding and trying to make myself go to bed early, so I'm posting this early in hopes that I eventually remind myself that bed is preferable to late-night doomscrolling. Goodnight!
I had a pretty nice day in ye olde Iowa, even if I've already hit my yearly quota of Saturdays in Iowa before we're officially a third of the way through the year. When I woke up this morning, I made iced coffee and chilled, and then made myself some huevos rancheros for breakfast. I had the house to myself for approximately the twenty minutes it took to make and halfway eat them (parents were at the hospital for my dad's daily antibiotics, and [censored] was off being [censored]), and then Aunt B showed up to hang out for the day. [censored] returned at some point too, so the three of us chatted until my parents came home.
At that point, my dad conned me into making chocolate chip chewies, so I did that while hanging out with them in the kitchen. Then I left Aunt B and Dad to their devices and spent some quality time organizing my supplies and cleaning the downstairs kitchen (yes we have two kitchens, but I never cook downstairs beyond making coffee because it's not really stocked for cooking). At some point I took a drive and dropped trash off at my dad's shop in town (yes we have a private dumpster, don't you?) - it was a gorgeous day, and it was nice to get out in it for a bit.
Then I came home, put fresh sheets on my bed, finally showered, and then went to pick up take out for dinner. As you know if you're a regular reader, we usually get takeout from the Mexican restaurant in town because it's a) delicious and b) four miles away. But my mom was in the mood for prime rib, which is our alternative takeout option - it's fifteen miles each way, if you take the most direct route that involves cutting across seven or so miles of gravel roads before getting to pavement. As I said, it was a lovely day for a drive, so I didn't mind - and the end result was that I got prime rib for dinner, so that was pretty satisfying.
After dinner, I hung out in the kitchen with my parents and made some egg muffin things for breakfast for the next few days. Then I came downstairs and sat in my gram's recliner and did a crossword puzzle, so I guess I'm officially old. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!
No updates tonight: I went back to work and felt like I'd missed a lot of stuff, but I managed to survive it. I had a tuna salad sandwich for lunch though, which is my go-to when I'm stressed, and that went a long way toward fueling the rest of the day. It even helped despite the fact that I talked to [censored] throughout my lunch break (jk, [censored]!). Then I had more meetings, slacked off around five to talk to Alyssa, talked to Katie for awhile, and then had dinner (leftover stirfry from last night).
I had to work a couple of hours tonight to make up for lost productivity, but it went well enough - and now I desperately need to sleep. Goodnight!
It was a v. nice four-day weekend [editor's note: that's partially a lie; it was a four-day weekend, but it was only somewhat nice rather than v. nice]. Today was a bit more relaxing than yesterday, mostly because I willed it to be so - I slept a little later, wrote in my journal while nursing my coffee, played some word games on my ipad to relax, and generally tried to unwind a bit. I probably should have gone for a walk, but it was cold out, so I mostly chilled in my room.
This evening, I made the rather grandiose plan to cook two stir-frys at once, neither of which I'd made before. This was a delicate balance, since I had to prep ingredients for both, get the rice going, make sure I knew which bits of tings and which sauces were going into which pan, etc. Luckily [censored] hung out with me while I cooked and was the perfect sous chef (and by that I mean he occasionally handed me iced tea spoons and also made jokes).
But despite the complications of cooking two main dishes, dinner was banging, if I do say so myself. I made a Mongolian beef that I will absolutely make again, and a cashew chicken stirfry that I would also make again (although I might experiment with some different sauce options). The beef was a real winner - I almost quadrupled the recipe so that we would have leftovers, but we hit it pretty hard tonight. This recipe made for super tender beef (if you slice the flank steak correctly and sear it without overcooking - if you don't, sorry, it will be inedible) and the sauce was delightful.
So, I was pretty pleased with how it all turned out, even if it took longer than planned and ended up on the table later because my parents had company (people around here are slowly hearing what's going on with Dad, which means more visitors and more calls). After we were done eating, I hung out with my dad for a bit, then cleaned up the kitchen. Just as I was wiping the counters and soaking the last pan, John called, so I took a break and talked to him for almost an hour. We hadn't talked in ages and ages, so it was really nice to catch up. Jess also took a turn on the phone to say hi; hopefully I'll make it to California for an extended trip this summer, since we are long overdue for some in-person engagement.
So, talking to John and Jess made my heart lighter, which was much needed and appreciated. Then I finished washing that last pan, messed around online, and generally procrastinated on going to bed. But I suppose sleep would be a good idea since I have to work tomorrow - goodnight!
I have nothing particularly insightful to say today. I took the day off, which was theoretically good for recharging, although I don't feel recharged - but I didn't have to spend much time on zoom today as a result, so that seemed to help. I mostly spent the day taking care of tings around the house - I made a bunch of egg muffins for upcoming breakfasts, which I think are delicious. I also dropped [censored] off in town, and used that as an excuse to drive out to the park and inspect the reservoir where Katie and I used to spend lazy summer afternoons rowing around the lake in a rowboat. Those were simpler times, albeit simpler times in which I was exposed to far more farm runoff chemicals than I am now.
Later, I roasted tomatoes for a caprese salad - this is not something I usually make in Iowa, and I discovered as I was prepping it that the balsamic vinegar expired two years ago, so I made an impromptu trip to town (the other town) to buy balsamic (after [censored] almost tricked me into believing he might have some lying around, which was obviously false in retrospect). Then I chatted with Katie for awhile, which took her by surprise since she wasn't expecting me to answer. And then I finished making dinner - I reverse seared some ribeyes, finished the caprese salad, and made mashed potatoes, and they were all delish.
And now I believe it's time for bed - goodnight!
Today I made an excursion to the big city (aka Des Moines). I have grand plans to cook a bunch of stuff this week, and that requires groceries, and that required a trip to a city with legit grocery stores. So I got up this morning, hung out with my parents while finalizing my lists, showered, got ready, chatted with [censored] etc. before heading out the door.
My trip was incredibly uneventful - I spent way too long at Target and at Whole Foods, but that's what happens on restock trips. Then I came home and put everything away - this necessitated loading a bunch of stuff into my dad's gator and driving it around the house to the basement patio door, since I didn't feel like hauling my 40lb cooler down the steps.
Then we ate takeout Mexican, and then I said adieu to my parents and came to my room to paint my nails and otherwise mess around. And now I think I should probably sleep - goodnight!
I'm still v. v. tired - sitting around in ye olde Iowa will do that to you. Yesterday and today were fine, theoretically - my energy is mostly going toward cooking and hanging out with my dad, and I did a lot of those things today.
But I'm way too tired to blog and need to get up relatively early so I can make a grocery run - goodnight!
I'm v. v. tired (which is three fewer v.'s than last night, so I suppose that's an improvement). The tiredness is more mental than physical, I think - the kind of tired behind the eyeballs and around the corners of the mouth that comes from stress rather than exertion.
I went back to work today, and by that I mean I sat at my desk in my parents' house and pretended to focus on meetings that were difficult to focus on, and ignored emails I didn't have the space for. I had a good conversation with my boss about all of this, though; she's really supportive of everything going on with my dad, so I'll probably take a couple of days off next week to regroup. And I did get some critical stuff done and am sorting out what else needs to get done tomorrow, so it certainly could be worse.
Sometime around five I was done for awhile, so I hung out with my parents and then drove into town to pick up Mexican food (basically the only takeout in town, so it's a good thing we like it since we're now eating it 2-3x / week). It was pretty tasty tonight, so no regrets there. I hung out upstairs a bit more, then came downstairs with the intention of being virtuous and answering work email. But instead I had a v. impromptu, v. overdue zoom with my friend Grace - she and I hadn't caught up in ages, but we exchanged texts about a ridiculous writing drama today, and then we ended up zooming for over an hour. It was very much what I needed, even if it wasn't exactly the same as our previous catch-ups, when we would drink margaritas (three for me, 0.25 of one for her) and laugh so hard that we would come close to wetting ourselves. Still, I'll take a zoom with Grace anytime, and tonight was a delight.
And now, rather than trying to clear my work inbox, I'm going to go to bed and attempt that feat in the morning - goodnight!
I'm v. v. v. v. v. tired and should probably have gone to bed an hour ago, even though it's currently only 10:30pm in Iowa. The last couple of days have been a lot (and a lot of time spent in my 2007 RAV4, which I sold to my mom after buying my Audi; I never planned to spend this much time in it again). Yesterday we took my dad up to Des Moines for a procedure, which ended up taking forever because the doctor had to do an emergency procedure for someone else first, and then they decided to keep him overnight.
This news of course came after [censored] and I had spent most of the day sitting in the RAV4 staring at a tree, since only one person is allowed into the hospital with the patient due to covid. Also due to covid, we couldn't sit at a coffee shop, and it was too cold to sit outside. So I spent as much time in the RAV4 yesterday as I would have spent if I'd driven from Denver to Iowa, which is really too much.
sssanyway, I drove my mom back home last night, then back to Des Moines this morning. Luckily my dad got out around noon, so we drove home (with a stop in Indianola for lunch w/[censored], who was on his way to [censored]). My dad had to go to the hospital here for his usual antibiotics after, and I used that time to start prepping some instant pot beef stew. I also talked to Alyssa, which was great. And then I finished making the stew, went into town to harvest my dad's latest asparagus haul (I suspect he has a thief pillaging his asparagus patch since there wasn't much there), ate with my parents, talked to my dad, etc.
And now I really need to go to bed so that I can attempt to focus tomorrow - focusing is something I am having a terrible time doing right now, but I live in hope. Goodnight!
I'm v. tired and should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I had to do some work stuff and then I 'had' to unwind by shopping my 20% coupon at Sephora. You can guess which of those tasks was more successfully accomplished.
Today went okay, all in all - I had one meeting this morning, and then I took the rest of the day off to drive my parents to Des Moines so that my dad could see a cardiologist. Long story but we're going back tomorrow, and hopefully the outcome of that will improve blood flow and enable his foot to heal faster.
And now I should probably go to bed if I'm going to get up in time to drive back to Des Moines - goodnight!
I'm back in ye olde Iowa after a v. slow jaunt through the Denver airport to get here. Today went as smoothly as I could have hoped for it to go - I got up in time to throw some clothes in a suitcase, shower, and eat some yogurt before my ride (aka Katie) arrived. She was on time, which was v. kind of her since no one wants to take people to the airport - but she claimed she was looking forward to drinking her iced coffee and listening to the radio on the way home without the kids, so I think I might believe her.
When I got to the airport I decided not to get wheelchair / cart service (which I had requested a couple of days ago when my leg seemed dire) - I had plenty of time, so I just slowly and leisurely hobbled through security, onto the train, and around the C concourse. I had time to eat a burrito bowl and ice my leg, and it was all v. civil (with the exception of the fact that there's a pandemic and so it's really not civil at all, but I was pretty careful). Then I boarded, had a v. quick and easy flight, hobbled through the Des Moines airport, picked up my bag, retrieved my car, and drove to southern Iowa to reunite with my parents.
The hobbling was perhaps overkill - I really don't think I have long-term injured myself. But I also can't really afford to turn a strain into something worse, so I'm just going slow and stretching every chance I get. I think I'll be all better in a couple of days, but we'll see.
And now, I believe it's time for bed - as soon as I wish Aunt Becky a happy birthday (happy birthday, Aunt B!). Goodnight!
I’m typing this on my iPad because my laptop is in Iowa, so this will be brief. I had a decent day, mostly because it appears that the injury I hadn’t told you about isn’t actually serious. On Tuesday, at the airport, I started to run to catch an Uber, felt something pop in my leg, and was sure I had torn a tendon or something. So I spent the last seventy-two hours alternating between my bed and my chaise like a Victorian lady, albeit a Victorian lady with easy access to ice. I also panic ordered a compression sleeve and a fancy ice pack at 5am Wednesday for same day delivery, which helped. Thanks to constant application of ice, compression, elevation, and ibuprofen, I was in much better shape by today - I can basically walk on it and it doesn’t hurt at all when I’m sitting/standing, but I’m still being careful since I don’t want to strain it more. And I went to the doctor today and they confirmed that I didn’t tear anything and just told me to keep doing what I’m doing, so that’s all a relief.
Needless to say this has put a damper on my week - but I also can’t help but think that it was just my body insisting on a couple of days of couch / tv / early bedtime after all the stress of the last few weeks. It’s been kind of nice, all in all, to sit on my couch and order takeout and watch Top Chef. [speaking of Top Chef, I watched the second episode of the new season tonight, and it seems like this might be one of the most impressive and competitive seasons yet. I wonder how much of that is because so many amazing chefs had to shut down their restaurants last year and so were more willing / available to shoot a tv show in the pandemic?]
So, today was mostly consumed by working, taking care of myself, eating sushi for dinner, and watching Top Chef. You would think that I would have spent more time reading coverage of Prince Philip’s death, but I’m so tired of bad news that when I saw it this morning, I just kind of thought “that makes sense, too bad” and went on with my day. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the stories play out over the next few days, since the brits are currently banned from having more than thirty people at a funeral and just his kids / grandkids get it up to twenty without adding great-grandkids, other relatives, etc.
That said, pretty much anything in the world is more important right now than this funeral, and I should probably rest, so it’s time to sign off. Goodnight!
Today had highs and lows, and now I'm thinking about going to bed early. The highs were pretty high - I had to give a thirty-minute presentation to the big boss's boss (who is truly a big boss, and is also the French guy who dropped thousands of dollars on champagne at a work dinner I went to a couple of years ago). The presentation was 'fabulous' (to quote the big boss after), so I live to get a paycheck another day.
While I was cool and collected and on top of my game, my fitbit thought that I got twenty minutes of exercise during that presentation because my heart rate spiked, so it's no wonder my adrenaline tanked after that and I got v. little done the rest of the day. I did have some more meetings, and I had leftover Indian takeout for lunch, and everything was generally fine. I talked to my mom for a bit when I was done working, and then Katie came over and hung out for a bit - she dropped off her car for me to borrow for the next couple of days, and so after we were done gossiping I took her back to her house and got to watch her husband chase an escaped cat v. aggressively (you had to be there for the jokes about that).
Then I came home, ate some leftover Italian food, and generally did absolutely nothing. And now I think it's time to sleep - goodnight!
I had a decent first day back in Colorado - or at least a productive one. I had a bunch of meetings, as usual; I sent some emails; and I had a chat with Alyssa to close out the day. I also ordered takeout dinner from an Italian place I hadn't tried before - they made an excellent gluten free pasta with sausage and cheese, and their pizza was also great, and now I have leftovers for tomorrow. And I took it easy by watching the first episode of the new season of Top Chef: Portland - it just started last week, and I want to watch this season mostly in real time if I can.
And now, even though it's early I think I'm going to crawl into bed with a book and see what happens. Goodnight!
No time to blog tonight - I spent the day slogging, but it was difficult to concentrate or get anything done. And I spent the evening hanging out with my parents - [censored] went back to his home today, and so he missed out on the chicken tortilla soup that I made tonight (which turned out well, if I do say so myself). We had a nice enough evening, all in all, even though nothing feels particularly great right now.
Then I came downstairs, cleaned some of the downstairs kitchen, organized some tings, and gave myself a fresh gel manicure before doing a tiny bit of day job work to prep for tomorrow. I've decided to make a quick trip back to Colorado tomorrow; I'm flying because I can't stand the thought of driving there and back, but I also wasn't intending to spend quite this much time in Iowa on this trip and so I need to pick up some clothes and check on my house. So I'm working in the morning, then dashing up to Des Moines to catch a flight to Denver. I'm coming back Sunday, so hopefully things will be smooth - I'm loath to leave, but it will be nice to order takeout and ride my Peloton and generally be bougie for a few days.
And now, on that note, I need to go to bed - goodnight!
Happy Easter! This was not how I intended to spend my Easter, partially because I thought it was likely that I would be driving back to Denver today or tomorrow - but it was a good day nonetheless. I spent the morning taking care of tings around the house, and then my dad and I drove over to Osceola so he could look at some work-related tings. I drove his truck again since it has better legroom for him than any of our other vehicles; when I got in, I realized that my right thigh was slightly achy from driving the truck, not from picking up sticks yesterday. His truck is positively gigantic compared to my SUV, with a diesel engine and pedals that aren't configured for someone who is very nearly short enough to be classified as a dwarf. So, driving it is an entertaining adventure, but thus far I've managed it without hitting anything, so I'm calling it a win.
Anyway, we drove to Osceola and back, and it was another really nice day for a drive. On the way over we took the backroads (paved, so I don't know if that technically qualifies as backroads, but it wasn't a straight shot to get there) and it was fun to see parts of the countryside that I don't see often. Then we came home, I took a v. brief nap, and then I spent some time cleaning my room and the bathroom. I eventually took a break so I could make Easter dinner - I made scalloped potatoes (but the Barefoot Contessa's version, which requires gruyere, which I luckily had stockpiled here) and a ham, and my mom made baked beans, and it was all v. delicious.
After dinner, I watched a bit of 'American Restoration' with my dad, then came downstairs, painted my toenails, and did some planning for the week ahead. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!
I'm quite tired after more than the usual exertion today. I spent the morning being somewhat lazy, but then [censored] and I picked up a bunch of sticks in the yard to prep for mowing season. Since the yard is multiple acres and some parts of it (especially around the old house) are full of ancient trees that shed bark and limbs when a single snowflake hits them, this is quite the task. [censored] did more of it than I did because he started before I was ready, but I was game until my allergies got the best of me. We also drove around parts of the farm that neither of us have been to in years; some of it is actually unreachable from here, while much of it requires driving over the pond dam and then navigating large anthills and washed-out draws. So, that was a fun excursion, and we returned without setting anything on fire (unlike our grandfather, who memorably caught his pickup on fire when he drove it through our field many years ago).
sssanyway. After that I took a shower and drove my dad to Centerville to look at some tings and pick up a few other tings (mostly ham salad for my mom, who gets cranky if her addiction isn't sated on the regular). We had a nice drive - the weather was perfect, and while driving his truck is a far cry from my Audi, it's fun to see the world from a vantage point several feet higher than usual.
Then we came home and I made dinner, but I unfortunately slightly overcooked the chicken (#quarantinechef knew better, but there's enough infection around here and I didn't want to cause food poisoning). And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!
I am v. tired and have already fallen asleep in my recliner once, so I should wrap this up and go to bed. I took today mostly off, although I had one meeting at 1pm that I chose to dial into with my VP; it felt easier to just do it than to try to find another time with a bunch of people whose calendars are impossible, and I needed to get her feedback on something before an even more important presentation next week. So, I wasn't entirely disconnected from work, but it was certainly more of a break than usual.
So I spent the morning drinking coffee and talking to [censored], who got home last night. Then I spent some quality time with Aunt B - she came down from the city to sow some grass seed on Gram's grave, and she stopped here first to hang out + borrow some gardening implements. It was great to see her, even though my hospitality failed and the only things she ate were things that she had brought here last weekend.
Then, the best news of the day: my dad got out of the hospital. He'd gone in on Monday for recurring issues with his foot infection, and he certainly has a v. long road still ahead (and is in a disturbing amount of pain), but it's great that he's back home. So we spent the afternoon hanging out, and then [censored] and I picked up Mexican takeout for dinner. We also watched some 'Cajun Pawn Stars', who were completely ridiculous.
And now it's time for bed - goodnight!
