god or dodge city

Happy New Year! I had a lovely last day of 2022, mostly because I won a game of Ticket to Ride. I'm hoping this is not the best thing that happens to me in the coming year, but it was pretty good.

The rest of my day was uneventful....I made breakfast for [censored] and myself, cleaned the kitchen, and spent some time this afternoon putting away a whole bunch of small appliances while watching/listening to the Iowa State game (which went v well). [Censored] and I had dinner at the parents' house, which is where my ticket to ride victory happened. And I spent the last hour putting a masque on my face and then journaling, which is my preferred way to see out the old year and embrace the new.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i'm telling lies to keep myself from hurting those around you

I've had a fairly nice and productive couple of days - today was a redo of part of the Christmas we were supposed to have last week, since Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Sammie came down for the day. To feed this crew, I had volunteered to roast a pork butt....but due to my remodel + other activities, that meant roasting it overnight. I set up my probe thermometer on the counter and then set up a camera to look at the thermometer so that I could check it from my bedroom, but I still got up repeatedly throughout the night to check the camera (and, a couple of times, come downstairs to adjust the temps). The pork butt turned out pretty perfect, if I do say so myself, but I'm tired as a result of all my interrupted sleep.

However, it was worth it, since lunch (pulled pork + baked potato bar + a salad I like to make with greens/cranberries/pecans/apples/goat cheese) was delicious. We hung out most of the day, and it was a really delightful interlude in the midst of all of my remodeling.

After they headed back to the city, I caught a ride home with [censored], who then installed my kitchen sink (which is a huge win). I mostly spent the evening taking care of a bunch of small tasks that have been piling up in my inbox - I'm trying to start 2023 with a clean(er) slate, so I'm working my way through myriad tings that I've been ignoring.

And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

monkey spend money

I made a lightning trip to Des Moines today, which was nice - i needed some alone time after the Christmas festivities, and I also needed to pick up tile, so it was a win-win. I got the tile I needed for the downstairs bathroom, and I had a quick and tasty sushi lunch before coming home.

I made it back in time to talk to Alyssa and admire Randy's tile backsplash installation, which is going to be amazing. Eventually, we picked up Mexican takeout, ate supper with the parents, and then suffered through [censored] winning ticket to ride again. Six skunks were involved in that, but I'll spare you the details.

And now I really must sleep - goodnight!

east to the west the event horizon

My remodel continues...I'm glad it's going well, because it's incredibly distracting even though it's mostly been as smooth as it can be. I had to get up even earlier than usual today because my countertops were getting delivered sometime around eight a.m. (midwest hours are stupid) and I needed to move my car and move stuff in the garage to facilitate that. It's still completely frigid outside even though it's better than it was, so some early morning car moving / snow shoveling was not really ideal, but it all worked out.

Happily, Randy got the main countertop installed, for the most part, today, and it looks fantastic. This required a bunch of help from [censored], who continues to be far more useful to this project than I am (my contribution is mostly in design/financing/choosing fixtures that are complicated to install). But the countertop is going to be great, especially when the contrasting white backsplash is in, and I expect that I'll have a sink by the weekend (just in time to tear out [censored]'s bathroom). And [censored] figured out how to knock out the right holes in the sink to install some accessories, so that's all great as well.

At some point, Randy took his usual lunch break, so [censored] and I ran out to the parents' house and stole some of their leftovers for lunch. Then I spent the afternoon continuing to monitor project progress while researching other things (like shower heads and vanity lights). Someday I can stop making design decisions with my most awake/focused hours, but it is not this day.

For dinner, we went back to the parents' house and ate the last of the leftover ham balls, along with some fresh new scalloped potatoes. We also saw three skunks, one of which has the opposite coloring of a usual skunk and also a gaping head wound, which is interesting but also something I would have preferred not to see.

And now, I really need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

i fell through corridors of broken floors

I'm beyond exhausted, but today went fairly smoothly. I had thought my contractor was taking today off, but he was bored and decided to work - luckily he texted at 7:45 and I heard it in time to get out of bed before he got here. Then I did a bunch of stuff around the house, showered, ate a sandwich, and went with [censored] to our sister's house for a Christmas hangout.

Her whole family was there, including a bunch of kids and two dogs (one of whom was a smaller version of the other one). My parents were also there, and so we hung out for a couple of hours and talked about various tings. It was a nice afternoon, and I'm glad we were able to get together despite the cold (and the fact that scheduling with that group is hard due to all the various family commitments).

After that, [censored] and I were both wiped out, but we decided to drive to Des Moines to pick up a shower pan that had to get picked up by tomorrow. This was definitely not on the way home, but luckily we got up there and were able to fit it into [censored]'s truck. We also picked up a couple of other remodel tings, then drove home (with a stop at Taco John's on the way). And then I dragged my trash bin through the snow and cold to set it out for tomorrow's pickup, which was about as much exertion as I had energy left for.

And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

keep me up until the body disagrees

Merry Christmas! I had a really lovely holiday, even if I did have to set my alarm for 7:15 to avoid keeping the family waiting for too long. We spent the morning engaged in our usual long, leisurely opening of gifts, which was really nice - I was happy with the gifts I gave and delighted with the gifts I received, so it all came together well. Among the gifts were several cookbooks, which I will put to good use, and a smart garden to grow herbs / veggies indoors, which I'm v. excited about. I also got the usual assortment of pen/ink, cookware, and other gifts, and the unusual addition of a rubber-band gun that's a replica of a James Bond handgun. So all in all, I'm excited to use all of it!

After we finished gifts, my mom made a delicious breakfast casserole and some muffins, which went very well with the equally delicious ambrosia that my dad made last night. Then we relaxed (and I snuck in a nap and a shower) before playing two games of Ticket to Ride. I can't remember who won, but I guess I had a good time. (jk, [censored] won both games, which was good for [censored] and annoying for everyone else)

After that, we hung out for awhile and had a v. tasty prime rib for dinner - it was far superior to the prime rib we usually get at the restaurant we occasionally go to for prime rib. Then, [censored] and I came back into town, and I took care of various tings until now.

And now, after a wonderful holiday (marred only by the fact that most of it was canceled), it's time for bed - goodnight!

you listen to coltrane, derail your own train

Merry Christmas Eve! I had an excellent day, mostly because I won the first game of Ticket to Ride that we played in a couple of years. After that, nothing can go wrong.

The rest of the day was good too - I got some stuff done around the house this morning, did some quick kettlebell swings, and ate a sandwich for lunch. I also made chocolate chip chewies in the construction zone that is my kitchen, and they were pretty perfect.

Eventually, [censored] and I loaded a bunch of stuff into his truck, braced the still-very-cold weather, and came out to the parents' house. When we got here, I used my mom's grinder to grind some ham, and then I mixed up a batch of ham balls. We were able to play Ticket to Ride while they were baking (did I mention I won?), and then dinner was easy because my mom had already made layered lettuce, deviled eggs, and apricot salad, and I'd made twice baked potatoes. It was all yummy, and was a good test run of what we would have had for the full family Christmas if it hadn't been canceled.

After dinner, Dad made ambrosia, [censored] and I cleaned our respective rooms (although [censored] helped me with vacuuming and with moving my mattress/box spring), and then we finished wrapping presents. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i can bring the vibe down from ten to zero

I had a pretty lazy first half of the day, despite the fact that [censored] was diligently working on house projects - I tried to explain to [censored] that I'm managerial and that salaried positions like that usually have this week off, but that excuse didn't go over so well. However, I did make excellent scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, which should have earned me some points.

While most of our Christmas festivities were canceled due to inclement weather (translation: it's fucking miserably, dangerously cold), we're still getting together with the parents this weekend (they live a mile away, which is doable). So, I spent the afternoon cooking in preparation for our weekend activities. This mostly meant making twice baked potatoes for tomorrow - I made a v. large batch so I can freeze some for later eating, and I'm excited to have a stockpile in my freezer.

I also made chicken tacos for dinner tonight, which I took out to their house in the instant pot and finished cooking there. My mom made beef taco meat, and we had a taco spread for dinner tonight - it was all pretty tasty, and worth nearly freezing my skin off on the walk from the truck to the house. I still have a lot to do before Christmas (namely, wrapping + making ham balls), but it should all be good.

And now, I should consider going to sleep so that I can get a million tings done tomorrow - goodnight!

dude don't take it personal

I think I'm as ready as I can be for the winter apocalypse bearing down on us - I have food, charged phone battery packs, and a strong desire to hermit for a couple of days. Luckily, if all that fails, I have [censored], who has some ideas for snow removal.

Overall, the day was pretty calm, although it started ridiculously - [censored] turned off the water valve to the old fridge and it immediately leaked, which was not in the plans. Then my new fridge showed up, and the easiest way to describe the delivery guys is that they reminded me of the Home Alone burglars.

I would tell you more, but I'm falling asleep holding my phone to write this, and I really need to go to bed - goodnight!

i skip stones and wonder how long till i'm discovered?

I'm preparing to hunker down for the next few days - we're headed into a winter storm warning with -40 wind chills, which is putting a serious damper on Christmas. In fact, Christmas appears to be mostly canceled - I was prepping for Aunt B and Uncle B to stay with me, and we were going to make all sorts of food for them + Kathy and Drewbaby (and Drewbaby's girlfriend), but as of right now it looks like travel is going to be too treacherous. After canceling several covid Christmases, this is unfortunate, but hopefully we can get together some other time soon.

Despite that, I still needed to get a whole bunch of stuff in preparation - mostly house stuff (i.e. backsplash tile, undermount lights, etc), and also a couple of final presents + some groceries. So, I took advantage of the relatively balmy weather (14 degrees!) to dash up to Des Moines and run a bunch of errands. I was on a flat-out pace to get to everything and still get home before dark, but I successfully accomplished all of my missions (tile store, Container Store, mall, Lowes, Home Depot, Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, premium gas for my fancy car that I can't get in my town). So, I can still cook the pared-down holiday menu + feed me and [censored] the next couple of days, as long as we don't lose power.

When I got home, I unloaded all the stuff so that it wouldn't freeze immediately, and then I ate some leftover chili and took care of some house tings. Eventually, [censored] showed up, and so we talked for a bit. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

could have got so high

The weather here is about to turn truly frightful, which is putting some kinks in my holiday planning. Today was almost warm by comparison (reader: it was not warm), but the end of the week may see wind chills of -35 to -50. That's absurd and I begin to remember why I moved away at the turn of the last century (lol to that dramatic-but-accurate phrasing).

sssanyway, I had a decent day - Randy came this morning to finish putting in cabinet pulls, and then I had the rest of the day to myself. I was a little lazy, but I did do a workout with Alyssa that was excellent. I also did some more cleaning/organizing, made chili, and journaled a lot, so all in all it was a good day.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

searching for signs of life, but there's nobody home

Happy birthday to my mom! And also happy birthday to Chandlord! A momentous day indeed!

Beyond the birthdays, I have little to report - I got up this morning and made eggs and hashbrowns on my new stove, and I was quite happy with how it performed. Then, [censored] and I watched some SNL while eating, which is a nice Sunday tradition (even if this season is still real rough).

After that, we moved mattresses and box springs around between here and my parents' house - I'll spare you the details, but we were swapping newer / older models and putting older models in the rolloff dumpster that I now have at my house. It was only fourteen degrees when we did this, but that's about the warmest it will be this week, so we decided to do it anyway.

[censored] then spent the afternoon cleaning up the garage, and I should have helped...but my trash is [censored]'s treasure, so I stayed out of the way. Instead, I washed a bunch of dishes (in the bathroom, which is not efficient), cleaned out my fridge/freezer, did some Christmas shopping, and put the shelves in most of my upper cabinets. I'm really eager to get my kitchen organized, although I can't really do that until the countertops are in and the rest of the handles/pulls are installed. But so far it's coming together, and I can't wait for the end result.

Eventually, [censored] and I ate some leftover spaghetti before [censored] headed for [censored]. Then I watched another YouTube video about my StrengthsFinder writing strengths before adjourning to my room and taking care of some tings. And now I'm going to journal and go to bed - goodnight!

last night i had an awful dream

Yesterday and today were both pretty good - it's still all house stuff all the time, while also trying to get ready for Christmas. Happily, my stove is in...but the counters aren't, so there's still no sink or dishwasher or place to prep food. That didn't stop me from testing the stove last night by making one of my go-to pasta recipes - the stove is a delight, and I can't wait to be able to actually cook.

Today I should have gotten a lot more done, but I got a lot of sleep instead. I did do a bit of stuff around the house, and I also went shopping at a couple of little boutiques in town. And I stopped at my parents' house to pick up the dishes I ran through their dishwasher + discuss the Christmas menu (and steal some of my dad's peanut brittle).

When I got home, I spent some time in the basement with [censored], inspecting a pit full of water and centipedes (but no rats, which was a glass-half-full observation that only Mae me more unhappy because I hadn't considered that as a possibility). This would have all been more of a minor curiosity if it weren't in my basement, but we'll see what we discover next down there.

Then, we went out for dinner for my mom's birthday, which was great. And now, I need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

golden teeth, crooked track

I spent the day doing more stuff around the house, but really I spent the day listening to several videos from the Vegas conference and then going down a rabbit hole with other videos from one of the conference speakers. The speaker is a certified Clifton Strengths coach (formerly StrengthFinder) and has built a community of writing coaches...and she has made a bunch of 45-60min videos discussing each of the 34 Clifton strengths in detail from the perspective of how those strengths impact / influence a writer's craft and career.

I took the test way back in the day, and I've come back to the results a few times - mostly because literally all of my top five strengths are in the 'strategic thinking' bucket and I don't have any 'execution' strengths in my top ten, which is probably part of why I don't get things done and would rather just read / talk / brainstorm / daydream all day. The videos were surprisingly super helpful, though - obviously there are a lot of writing benefits to being able to generate a lot of unique ideas and then game out what would happen along a million different paths if an idea came to fruition (my top two strengths are Ideation and Strategy). And my third strength, Context, is a lot about knowing everything about the past to predict the future + people's future behavior, which is spot-on and also ties into why I need to know so much about characters' backstories before I can really write them.

So, I only watched the videos for my top three strengths, but I think I'll go through my top ten and see what they have to say. All in all, it was a v. worthwhile exercise, and I'm looking forward to digging into it some more.

Beyond that, I have v. little to note - construction continued, and Randy is making excellent progress. It was 29 degrees and windy, and is the warmest that it will be in the next ten days, which is unwelcome. I went to my parents' house with a tub full of dirty dishes to run through their dishwasher (partially because I'm lazy, partially because I wanted to disinfect from [censored]'s covid) and chatted with them for awhile. And I decorated my Christmas tree, which sparks a lot of joy - maybe I'll leave it up until February since I put it up so late, but we'll see.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i am the traveler, third class

Editor's note: after a letter to the editor (aka a verbal comment from [censored]), I must print a correction to my earlier entry referencing David Letterman's interview of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Letterman did not "fly to Kiev"; instead, he flew to Poland and took an overnight train to Kiev, which featured in the early part of the show. We regret this error and apologize to all who were offended by this remark (and also apologize for missing the opportunity to play "Train Across Ukraine").

I had a pretty nice day, all in all - it helped that the sun was finally out for a brief, glorious period, which instantly lifted my mood. I spent some time organizing / cleaning my bathroom, and I also added more clothes to my closets. My mom also stopped by to inspect the progress in the kitchen - she missed a lot of updates since [censored] had covid and so we were avoiding our parents, but the bulk of the cabinets are placed now, so it looks pretty great.

At some point, I ran a couple of errands and then said farewell to [censored]. And then, I went to my secret society's Christmas party - we did it in the back of the local pizza place, and my mom and I split a couple of gluten free pizzas (which was gluttonous on my part, but also intentional since I wanted leftovers to eat tomorrow). We had a nice time playing a variety of Christmas-themed games, and I got some cute Christmas decorations in our gift exchange.

And now, I should sleep so that I can continue to enjoy the remodel noises tomorrow - goodnight!

all of the people i've ghosted stand there in the room

I had a pretty good day, all in all - I didn't get as much done as I intended to, but it wasn't a bad effort. My kitchen remodel continues to move forward at a decent clip, but it also continues to be somewhat distracting. And I had to have a ham sandwich for lunch, but this is not really a hardship, since secretly I would eat a ham (or bologna, or tuna) sandwich basically any day of the week.

My main activity today was crashing the Garden Club - and by that, I mean that my mom invited me to go with the other Garden Club ladies to a wreath-making activity at a local Christmas tree farm. I'm not a member of said Garden Club, but there is an 80% overlap between Garden Club and the other group I'm in with my mom, so I know everyone there (and obviously also know the 20% who don't overlap). The Christmas tree farm was super cute - they had a nice gift shop in a former one-room schoolhouse that they had moved to the site, and their 'barn' was set up to make wreaths in. They'd preformed the wreaths, but we were able to decorate it however we wanted - and I'm quite happy with how mine turned out (even if I needed help making an appropriate ribbon/bow).

After we were finished, we came home, and my mom and I had to crawl out of Lee Ann's trunk to escape the car due to too much greenery being loaded into the car between us and the normal exit. And now, I should go to bed (or at least start winding down) - goodnight!

i can only stand apart and sympathize

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I am doing some bedtime procrastination since the rest of my day didn't go completely according to plan. I had intended to write this morning, but Randy is moving faster than we thought he would with the kitchen, which means I had to make some decisions and order some tings for the bathroom. This maybe wouldn't have been so time-sensitive, but shipping around the holidays is turning into a problem, and Randy apparently doesn't intend to take off any time around Christmas except, perhaps, the 26th. So, we have to be ready for him to keep going - which is great for my medium/long-term happiness, and stressful for my short-term desire to get things done.

Beyond that, though, he hung my pendant lights, which are either too large (according to Randy/[censored]'s dubious looks) or just right (according to me and Pinterest). And he finished installing all the can lights, which are thankfully not too much, and also placed several cabinets + insured I had outlets where I needed them. The kitchen is starting to come together, and I'm delighted by it - there are still elements that could make or break things (like the uppers, or the countertop, or the flooring), but things are really looking good right now.

The rest of my day was uneventful - I got some groceries, ate leftover burrito bowls with [censored], talked to Alyssa, and spent some afternoon time theoretically trying to write. I also tried a new orange chicken recipe in the instant pot - I probably wouldn't make it again without major modifications, but it wasn't bad. However, it was outshone by the frozen egg rolls that I crisped up in my air fryer - I only had one (and should have had zero bc gluten), but they were delish. And it's a good reminder to add the air fryer to my construction-kitchen repertoire.

After supper, I had a long-overdue call with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) - I've mostly ignored all my friends for the past few months as I've moved / settled / tried to figure out what I want my life to look like, so our chat was very nice and I'm glad we got a chance to catch up.

And finally, [censored] and I watched David Letterman's interview of Volodymyr Zelenskyy - Letterman flew to Kiev a few weeks ago and interviewed Zelenskyy in a Metro station 250ft below ground, and also filmed some footage around the city. It was pretty moving, in no small part because I recognized some of the places they were, and still feel a deep connection to Ukraine even though my memories are filtered through almost thirty years of another life lived separate from that strange and surreal year that I spent there. I do not think Ukraine would have made it if Zelenskyy hadn't stood up the way that he did in those first few days / weeks - the Russians expected him to flee with a planeload of cash the way most other leaders would, and instead he rallied the nation in a wholly unique and unexpected way. So, the interview was worth watching, even if it made me sad for what's happening now and how hard the winter will be.

And now, I really must sleep - goodnight!

the tick tock of the clock is painful

I had a decent weekend - the main point is that I somehow still am testing negative for covid, despite having Patient Zero (aka [censored]) in my house for the past five days (and for the weekend before that). This is good news, of course, since I don't really want to get covid - but I'm still paranoid that I'm going to succumb. If I do, at least I'll be through it by Christmas. We shall see, we shall see.

The other big event of the weekend was, of course, Lorena's funeral. Due to the fact that [censored] had covid and I was afraid I might be a carrier (and that the funeral itself would be a superspreader event for every respiratory disease in the county), I sadly didn't attend - but luckily [censored] and I were able to watch the livestream. The livestream didn't work initially, but her grandson ended up streaming it on Facebook, so we saw most of it. It was a really lovely tribute for an incredible woman who lived an incredible life, and while I wish I had spent more time with her this fall, I'm grateful for all the memories I have of her over the years.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uninteresting - I had intended to watch a livestream from my favorite Dutch theatre troupe (long story), but they canceled at the last minute because an actor was injured, so I hope they're okay. Beyond that, I continued to try to cook in the midst of construction, and I also did some more organizing in my office. I realize it may be unclear why I still have anything left to organize - but between going through boxes that I haven't opened in half a decade, along with getting a bunch of bookshelves delivered last week so that I wouldn't have to triple-stack my books, I've enjoyed getting my office properly set up. I'm hoping to have all of my remaining (upstairs) boxes unpacked before my Christmas guests arrive, but we'll see whether covid and construction cooperate. And I really want to write more this week than I have been, so organizing may take a backburner.

I ended tonight with a friendship renewal call, and it's always fun to catch up with that crew. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

buy for me the rain, my darling

I had an okay day - I'm still testing negative for covid, but I'm not convinced that I'm out of the woods. I think that means I should drink an emergen-c and go to bed at ten, when what I want to do is drink half a bottle of zinfandel and watch the Harry and Meghan documentary. Being an adult is hard.

I didn't get much done today due to being distracted by my remodel, but the remodel is moving forward apace - Randy moved some more plumbing this morning, and then set a few cabinets this afternoon, and also put in some of the can lights. I'm pretty excited about how I think this is all going to look, and I'm also anxious to see it all come together and hoping that I didn't make any design mistakes. We shall see, we shall see.

Today was also Lorena's visitation, which I would have definitely gone to under normal circumstances (even though I'm sure it was v. packed + the superspreader event of the season). Since I am still negative for covid but also not convinced I'm not a carrier, I didn't really feel like I should go stand in line and potentially expose others while also potentially bringing flu or RSV back to [censored]. However, this being a small town and all, I decided to just call the funeral home and see if they were letting anyone in early to see Lorena. They told me I could come a little after 1pm, so I went - and I'm glad I got to see her, even if she didn't look right because I have never, ever seen her when she wasn't either laughing or completely engaged with whoever she was with. Losing her is really sad for the town, and for her family and friends, and for me. Unfortunately, [censored] wasn't able to go due to his continued 'rona, but the funeral is livestreamed, so at least there's that.

Tonight, I felt like doing nothing, so [censored] and I watched 'A Million Ways to Die in the West' and ate leftover burrito bowls. And now, I am going to go to bed and hope I continue feeling okay tomorrow - goodnight!

you can't be bothered with those just for the night boys

So, [censored] has granted permission to disclose that [censored] is the one who exposed me to covid, by having covid and sharing a house with me. This has made for a strange couple of days - [censored] came home Tuesday feeling unwell, and eventually took a covid test, which was positive. The layout of my house + the ongoing construction makes actual quarantining from each other pretty much impossible, so I'm hoping my existing immunity carries me through. So far, I've tested negative every day, but it's unclear whether that will last.

Of course, I texted our contractor (Randy) to let him know about [censored]'s illness, but he decided to keep working anyway. But, since it's a small town and Randy isn't under any HIPAA restrictions (or any contract at all, actually), the guys at the lumber yard already knew [censored] was sick when I went in there yesterday. So, this may mean I won't get to go to Lorena's funeral...but it looks like it will be livestreamed, so at least there's that.

sssanyway, I spent the day being distracted by remodel stuff, which seems to be how I'm spending most of my days. Randy's making quick progress, though - he painted today, and then his cousin came to help bring in all the lower cabinets so that he can start setting them. Unfortunately, this meant the plumbing around the sink has to get rearranged, which [censored] had committed to doing - and so [censored] rallied from his deathbed to do it, which I felt quite bad about. Luckily, it got done, but hopefully [censored] is able to rest the rest of the week.

After that, [censored] and I ate leftovers from last night's cooking, and then I came upstairs and finished the book I started the other night (SWEEP IN PEACE, which is the third book in this cute/fun Innkeeper series that I am enjoying). And now, I'm going to take the unusual step of going to bed at 10:30 in an attempt to continue staving off the 'rona - goodnight!

let's all move to madrid

I did more today than I intended, which is perhaps a good thing. I got up in time to make tea and take care of some stuff before Randy came to start working on my kitchen. I also got a delivery from my beloved Room and Board - I got some new bookshelves for my office + shelves to fit in the weird alcoves in my bedroom, and they look great (although they're still empty because I didn't have time to fill them up today).

I had a long chat with Katie to discuss funeral plans for Lorena (tl;dr I might not go because I've been exposed to covid, which meant Katie didn't want to stay with me if she came back)...and of course, we discussed a lot of other ridiculous tings as well. After that, [censored] and I had lunch (leftovers), and I ran a couple of errands to stock up on supplies. And I talked to Alyssa, who was in fine form.

After that, I messed around for a bit, and then I made two full entrees - a beef stew and the usual chicken burrito bowls. I perhaps spent more energy than I should have cooking, but it means that [censored] and I have food for a couple of days, and that seemed like a worthy endeavor. Both turned out quite well, if I do say so myself, even if they took more time than usual to make and clean up from due to the lack of a kitchen. [censored] and I also watched a video of the time our great-uncle Fred was on a game show back in the sixties, which [censored] didn't remember hearing about but which we were able to find thanks to the miracles of YouTube.

And now, I really need to get some sleep - goodnight!

take a seat near the imitator

I had a pretty good day, although I'm trying to stave off what may be a cold or may be something else, and so I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I made myself a big pot of tea and spent most of the morning curled up on the chaise in my bedroom, drinking tea and brainstorming my book. I was testing out a technique I learned in a writing video I watched last night, and it was an interesting way to approach my plotting problem.

At some point, I had lunch (leftover chicken and wild rice soup), did some more writing, and took a nap. Then, I put on makeup and jewelry (an unusual step for me on most Tuesdays these days!) and had a call with my former big boss (not the original big boss - the VP who I worked for for several years in my last role). She'd emailed me a few days ago asking how I was doing, and I was delighted to hear from her, so we set up time to chat. And no, I'm not going back to my former employer for a fourth time - but she was v. encouraging (unsolicitedly) of me thinking about getting into some advisory or consulting work. It was an interesting convo and gave me some things to think about, even if my focus through the end of the year is remodeling my house and getting deeper into my book.

After that, I did some house stuff, ate dinner (leftover sweet and sour pork), and journaled. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

all my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity

Today didn't start out at planned - [censored] called to tell me that our neighbor Lorena had passed away overnight. She's an institution here and one of my favorite people, and I had told her a week ago that I would stop by sometime soon - which made this pretty shocking and sad, since now "soon" is too late. She was in her eighties and had been frail, so it's not entirely unexpected....but she's also been heavily involved in the town and around my entire life. She and her husband own the land across the road from my parents, which stretches into town, and her house is only a couple hundred yards from mine - so I could see it from my office today and think of her.

So, I was a bit discombobulated this morning, but I still got up in time for my kitchen remodel work to being again. I spent most of the day in my office, getting some tings done and journaling and moving things around. At some point, I took a walk to pay my water bill - I feel like I need to take a walk when it's over forty degrees, which is was today.

Later, I made dinner (sweet and sour pork in the instant pot, which tasted great but didn't need to be cooked in an instant pot if I had a real stove, since stir frying it would have been faster) and watched/listened to three of the videos from my Vegas conference. The sessions were recorded and are slowly coming online, so I made a list of what I want to catch up on. I got some good tidbits out of what I watched tonight, so I'll try to make my way through more of them this week.

And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

silent night

Thanks to [censored], I was able to cook today, which made tings a million times better. I made eggs for breakfast, with onions and mushrooms and andouille sausage, which we ate while watching SNL. Then, [censored] hooked up a utility sink in the kitchen and built a platform to support it with, which means I can do dishes in the kitchen and not have to try washing a skillet in a bathroom sink. This was a game changer, since it made me more willing to try using the instant pot.

So, while that was happening, I spent most of the afternoon putting all my clothes and some of my shoes into my newly finished closets. Then I got groceries and made chicken and wild rice soup. It was delish and easy enough to make on a folding table, and the temporary sink made cleanup easy. Hopefully I can keep it until we start putting cabinets back on, but we'll see.

Eventually, [censored] left, and I spent the rest of the evening reading a book. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

see they can trigger me but they never figure me out

I successfully got more than eight hours of sleep last night, which put a dent in my sleep deficit and made today feel much better than the last few days. I'm still short on sleep, and I definitely should have gone to bed an hour ago - but hopefully I can recover a bit more sleep tonight.

After I woke up, I made some coffee, and then watched [censored] peel up the vinyl from my kitchen floor for future use in a [censored]. The vinyl was laid over the top of what was probably the house's original linoleum, and neither choice was great - the vinyl was very dark and oppressive in the already-dark kitchen, while the linoleum was a harvest gold color with a leaf pattern in some of the squares, which feels like autumn all year round. But the vinyl was still in good shape and had only been glued down at the edges of the room, so [censored] was able to cut it and roll it up without much issue.

I spent various parts of the morning / afternoon organizing my office, which is still a work in progress - I'm getting close to the point where I can consider hanging art, but I'm not quite there yet. Also, [censored] was an excellent buddy and installed the closet organizers in my bedroom today - I'd painted the closets right before Thanksgiving, but [censored] offered to install the organizers since [censored] has done this before and also has the right tools/hardware to speed up the process. I'm pretty excited that they're in, since my clothes have been disorganized since I moved in (and one closet rod collapsed under the weight of them). So, tomorrow's project is likely my bedroom.

We took a break around six to have a traditional roast at my parents' house (if it can be considered traditional to have roast on Saturday night instead of Sunday afternoon). Then, the four of us saw the light decorations out at the fairgrounds - as has happened for the past few years, various groups and businesses and individuals decorated a bunch of displays out at the fairgrounds, and there were also Christmas trees decorated inside one of the buildings. There were some really great displays - some favorites includes a Pioneer seed dealer with a light-up display showing corn (in the form of yellow lights) coming out of a combine; an auto body shop with a car that had hit some light-up deer; one of the local church's take on a Nativity scene painted on boards; the school arts classes' painted snowman display; and a tree made by the Language Arts classes at school that was made of books, which included some of the American lit textbooks that [censored] and I had in high school. All in all it was pretty lovely, so I'm glad we went.

Then [censored] and I came home and finished my second closet, and then I came upstairs and had a glass of wine and wrote for awhile (and discovered some tings that I need to ponder, which is what happens with this book). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

now everyone report to the dance floor

I'm so beyond exhausted, as evidenced by the fact that I was in my pajamas with my contacts out by 7:30. It's probably partially too much people time in the last couple of weeks - Vegas rolling straight into Thanksgiving and then a remodel was a lot. But it's also just straight-up lack of sleep causing me to feel like I'm a shambling zombie.

Today, I absolutely had to run a quick errand to Des Moines to pick up tile samples, swap out a stove cord for another cord, and get some stuff for my office closet project. I also went to Costco, mostly to get wine and popcorn (the fact that I live off those things when I have no functioning might also explain why I'm a shambling zombie). But my trip was v smooth and as fast as I could make it, so I was home by four.

When I got here, I unloaded my car, and then [censored] and I agreed to an early dinner out to beat the rush. We went to the Mexican place, which was as tasty as usual - I wasn't super hungry, but I'll be happy to have the leftovers tomorrow.

When we got home, I should have done house stuff...but [censored] grew up with me and also shared a tiny apartment in Ukraine for a year, and so when [censored] says I should get some sleep before I get mean, it's probably accurate. So I came upstairs and alternated between journaling/phone scrolling/dozing until now. And now, I shall go to sleep and hopefully get ten hours - but my contractor is coming to do some stuff in the morning, which means I can't be quite as lazy as I want to be. Goodnight!

at the same place where the girl sells her nights to a god of ocean tides

Apparently, going to bed after midnight (my natural rhythm) and getting up at seven to be ready for the contractor (definitely not my natural rhythm) is a combination that is yielding increasingly bad results. I am very tired and my fitbit says this is the least amount of sleep I've gotten in a week since before I quit my job...and yet it's after eleven and I'm still sitting on my couch with my contacts in, pretending that I don't need to go to bed immediately.

sssanyway, things are going well with the remodel - or at least it looks like progress is being made. I think it's quite likely I'll have a fully functional kitchen by Christmas, although I don't know what shape my bathroom will be in for the night(s) when I host a bunch of sleepover family guests. That's a problem for Future Sara (and Future Sara's guests).

Today, I mostly stayed out of the way of the construction - now that the lights are all placed, there aren't a lot of urgent decisions (other than some minor ones that I'll do this weekend). While progress was happening downstairs, I spent the morning upstairs, taking care of some tasks and then continuing to organize my office. I should have, perhaps, done this a couple of months ago - but instead I painted my bedroom and my garage, and painting over a thousand square feet of interior space, even with [censored]'s help, was enough labor to keep me from doing other tings.

As part of the office setup, I went through four or five boxes of stuff that I haven't really gone through in the last several moves - they were all packed when I left San Francisco (which was six years ago in December, which feels impossible), and they were perhaps packed when I moved to Chandlord's studio in 2015. It turned out that I could throw away some tings, and better organize other tings, which was a nice development. My office is still a mess because I couldn't finish today, but the end is in sight.

At some point, I had lunch (a ham sandwich) with [censored], and I also had a chat/meeting with some writers friends. Then I ran out to my parents' house to avail myself of their oven, which I used to bake some cookies for a charity bake sale tomorrow. And then, I had thought about trying to cook using my instant pot, but instead, [censored] and I went out for dinner. We were going to get Mexican or try the other main restaurant in town, but we didn't really want to do either - so we somehow talked ourselves into driving to Chariton and having dinner at the restaurant that is part of their old hotel. I hadn't been there in forever, since before it changed hands - and I thought it was really pretty good. We had excellent cheese curds to start, and my steak was v. tasty. And it was certainly better than trying to wash an instant pot in a bathtub, so I'll take it.

And now, I really need to go to sleep at least thirty minutes earlier than I have been - goodnight!

may the last one burn into flames

I'm pretty tired, but that's probably from decision fatigue - it's stressful to figure out where to place lights in a kitchen, for example, when trying to figure out what's feasible as the holes are being cut. And I'm also trying to figure out what lights to order for certain applications (since I didn't know whether to order pendants until I knew it was possible to place them where I wanted them, for example), and also choose paint colors, etc.

However, beyond all that, things went as smoothly as they usually go during a remodel. I am perhaps more privy to when things don't go as intended than some people are, since [censored] was around today and is much more knowledgeable about things like wiring than I am - which means [censored] was more involved than I would have been if left to my own devices. I really doubt the contractor would have asked my opinion on how something was wired, and instead I would have just found out later whether he was able to get it to work or not. There are a lot of advantages to knowing what's going on, but I was certainly more productive during my Denver remodel, when I mostly left the house all day and ignored all of it.

In other exciting news, my cabinets were delivered this morning, so that step is complete. I also took a walk right before the temperature dropped twenty degrees, so I felt smug about that. My mom stopped by to do a color consult, which was helpful (although we agreed that lighting in the kitchen would be even more helpful). And I spent the evening drawing a diagram of the kitchen lighting to make sure it's all coming together correctly, which was tedious but v. helpful.

And now, I should go to sleep - getting up at seven is cramping my style, but it's the reality for the foreseeable future, so I should probably try to adjust. Goodnight!

but i got the tendency to slip when the nights get wild

My kitchen remodel started today (which is why I didn't blog yesterday, since I had a million tings to do to get ready). This is the second kitchen I'm renovating this year, and I have to say I do not recommend doing two kitchens in a year because it's really complete madness. Hopefully I don't sell this house in four months like I did the last renovation...but if I do sell this house, I hope I get as much profit as I did last time (lol impossible).

sssanyway, the guy who is doing my renovation showed up this morning slightly before eight a.m. and immediately started demo'ing cabinets before we even really said hello. He made quick work of most of the demolition, although the bar / island countertop was surprisingly difficult to remove - given how a variety of other things in the house were done, it's astonishing that this countertop was somehow attached to a stud and basically had to be partially removed from the basement side to get it out. Our best speculation is that Marvin insisted on a bar that people could dance on. And now I wish I had made that stipulation, but I guess my guests will just have to behave.

sssanyway again, my kitchen is now completely demolished. The hardest thing will be figuring out the lights, since I want lights in basically the opposite of the current locations, but we'll see what happens. I'm pretty excited so far, but I'm also excited to be done, so fingers crossed it goes smoothly.

So I spent most of the day hanging out in the living room to be available to answer questions while also trying to get a bit of work done. Then I spent the evening researching ideal light placements while eating leftovers and washing my plate in the bathroom sink like a peasant. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

now i'm falling down through the crashing sound

I had an unusually productive Saturday, despite staying up way too late last night. I got up a little before nine, made some scrambled eggs for me and [censored], and then showered and threw on some clothes so that I could go with my mom to a local craft fair. It was at the main building in town (which has a big open space + a stage and a kitchen, and is also the fire station and the library), and there were quite a few people there, which was great to see. We did a loop of all the vendors, and I knew approximately half of them; we also ran into a bunch of people, which is what happens in #smalltownlife. Then I did a second loop and bought some stuff - a hollowed out log with lights in it, and couple of pieces of Christmasy decor, and a very cute small wreath from Gloria (who was one of the reasons we went). All in all, it was a nice excursion, and it was good to see so many buyers and sellers.

Then we came back to my house and my mom went home; I unloaded, messed around for a little bit, and then spend the afternoon painting my closets. It went pretty quickly, all in all, and I don't think I got any paint on my carpet, which was my primary concern. I almost didn't bother painting, but the closets were scuffed up in places, so a fresh coat of white paint really helped to improve the situation. It should be dry by tomorrow, and then I can install closet organizers sometime this week so that I can hopefully proceed to the next phase of making my house a delight.

At some point in there, I took a break to talk to Aunt B, which was nice. I wrapped up around six, and then [censored] and I ordered pizza and drove into the other town to pick it up. It was quite tasty, and it put me in a mellow enough mood to watch some 'Family Guy' without complaint.

And now, I really need to go to bed - I have to clean out my kitchen tomorrow, and while that seems like an easy enough task, I assume it will take longer than planned and I don't want to get a late/tired start. Goodnight!

that's a cocktail waitress in a dolly parton wig

I had a pretty good day, all in all. It started by getting up and making breakfast for my house guests - this was easy, since I just doubled my usual quantity of eggs/add-ins from what I usually make for myself and [censored] on the weekends, and I also made some hash browns and cut up an avocado. It was a good way to start the day, and I was feeling in it to win it when Kathy and Drewbaby headed north...

...but then I succumbed to the allure of my chaise longue in my bedroom and didn't do much. However, I did do more research on all things bathroom-remodel-related, and I also got around to spackling all the holes in my closets from the previous rods/shelves so that I can paint tomorrow. And I watched most of the second half of the Iowa State / UNC game, which was pretty thrilling.

Then we went to the parents' house for Thanksgiving leftovers, which were still tasty. And then I spent the rest of the evening contemplating remodel things + browing black friday sales. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

can you take me higher? to a place where blind men see

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a v. lovely day, and it was nice to see family (and eat turkey). When I woke up this morning, I stumbled downstairs to take the cream cheese out of the fridge so it could warm up before being made into frosting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that [censored] was already up and had pulled it out of the fridge for me. However, at this point I was fully awake, so I launched into doing Thanksgiving prep stuff.

For me, that mostly meant making a batch of pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They turned out quite well, if I do say so myself - and this was in spite of my inattention, which meant I had to toss part of a batch because I accidentally added too much baking soda and couldn't rectify the mistake. I cleaned up as I baked, so the kitchen was in good shape by the end - and I also dusted and did some laundry and generally tidied up. [censored] was even more impactful, given the contribution of [censored]'s vacuuming skills, so the house looked pretty good by the time we had to leave to go to the parents' house.

When I got out there, Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby were already there. Kathy brought a pie and some rolls, both of which looked great and neither of which I can eat. But I didn't starve - my mom made a turkey, green bean casserole, corn casserole, deviled eggs, and gravy, and she conned me into making the mashed potatoes (which I am delighted to do, because it is a high honor and a lot of responsibility to make the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes). All in all, it was a v. tasty lunch, which is good since we have leftovers to get through the next few days.

We spent the rest of the afternoon / evening hanging out in various ways - we had some odd/hilarious conversations (including about crypto, which is everyone's favorite topic), watched some sports, etc. We also ate leftovers at some point. And eventually [censored] and I absconded with Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby and brought them back to my house, since they're crashing here tonight.

And now, I should sleep since I need to get up in the morning and make breakfast (and then do a million projects) - goodnight!

love has a cost and both of us lost

I had a nice day getting ready for the days ahead, although there was more on my to do list than I could get done. I made a fast trip to Des Moines to pick up a whole bunch of remodel stuff + parts for a plumbing project that [censored] is embarking upon. This required going to two different Lowe's and a Home Depot, which is three more home improvement stores than I usually go to in a day.

However, everything was smooth and almost all of this was stuff I'd pre-ordered so that I could just pick it up, which made it fast. I also went to the mall to return some things (and buy some other things, of course). And I decided to swing by Whole Foods and was surprised that it wasn't a madhouse inside, so I picked some things up for the weekend.

Then I drove home, unloaded my car, and persuaded [censored] to go to the Mexican restaurant to eat rather than just picking up takeout. It's the same food, but the fajitas are even better when they're sizzling. And I made the other giggle by ordering a fresh margarita that is 20oz.... Most of that is orange juice, which I find odd, but preferable to the sour mix they use in house margs. I didn't get as drunk as I would off 20oz of margs at bartaco or El Camino in Denver (and in fact was barely tipsy), so all in all it was fine but perhaps not something I need to order regularly.

Then we came home, I took a break, and then I did some tidying around the house before watching a ridiculous comedy routine with [censored] about a guy who accidentally joined the Russian mob in college. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

my feet are still sore, my back's on the fringes

I had a good day stocking up on things in preparation for the apocalypse, which is what I always feel like doing when winter is coming. I spent the morning mostly buying / ordering stuff online for my remodel - fun things like towel bars, which are both easy and impossible to pick out. Then I had lunch and chatted with [censored] before running to Walmart (in the next town over) to pick up some necessities. I was mostly driven by the desire for gluten free bread, since I see a lot of sandwiches in my future while my kitchen is torn up. But I got a bunch of other stuff, and I mostly ignored the fact that Walmart is basically the best grocery store in the area (if you don't want to get meat).

Then I came home, put everything away, took a break, and then made supper. I went a little fancier than usual because I actually made the red pepper and chipotle aioli that the Barefoot Contessa recommends eating with her roasted salmon - it's delicious and easy, but it takes just enough extra time that I usually don't make it. But I threw it together, and then I roasted some baby potatoes, some broccoli, and several salmon fillets. This is all about as easy as dinner can be, since you just slather everything in olive oil and salt and put it in the same oven at slightly staggered times. The only trick is remembering to thaw salmon before you want it, but then not changing your mind and ordering food instead of cooking the thawed salmon.

So, tonight's meal was a success. And then I was going to do some spackling in my bedroom closets to prep for paint, but instead I watched a couple of comedy specials with [censored], which was #worthit. And now I must go to bed - goodnight!

my bad habits lead to wide eyes stare into space

I didn't blog last night, so you missed the happy (for now) ending to the kitten saga. [Censored] spent some time soothing it in the middle of the night when it got scared/angry from being locked in the bathroom, and its rambunctiousness in the morning led us to conclude that it was ready to return to its tribe. So, we loaded it up in a box and took it back to the parents' house, where we released it on the back porch. It was startled for about three minutes, but then it found one of its siblings and was delighted, and all the other cats seemed happy to see it, so that went as well as it could have gone. We'll see if it makes it through the winter, since feral cats have a high mortality rate, but I'm glad that it made it through its stay in my house and recovered from its earlier near-disaster.

So, after that excitement, the rest of yesterday was a wash - I can't remember doing much, although I made burrito bowls for lunch, and my mom made beef stroganoff for dinner. I then went to bed v. early (for me) and got almost nine hours of sleep, which I apparently needed. Today was mostly good - I meant to be more productive in my office than I was, but I got a bit of work done, ate leftovers for lunch, talked to Alyssa, and then prepped my bedroom closets to paint them. This required pulling out a ton of clothes, removing the bars / shelves, vacuuming / dusting, and then asking [censored] to rip out the shelf brackets. The next step is to repair all the holes in the walls and do some more cleaning before painting, but hopefully I can get through this project this week so that my closets can be fully organized after Thanksgiving.

With that all done, I made some chili for dinner, then watched some youtube videos with [censored] about how to find mysterious sewer gas smells, since my basement occasionally smells and I can no longer fully blame it on my predecessor. And now, I should really sleep - goodnight!

a freight train running through the middle of my head

Today went entirely off-plan. I somehow slept until nine, which was v. welcome - and then got a text from [censored] asking if I wanted a temporary house pet. Apparently [censored] had gotten called out to the parents' house to rescue a kitten that had spent the night in a precarious situation and was nearly dead (the near death-ness exacerbated by the fact that it was about fourteen degrees), and so I ran to the vet clinic to procure kitten milk replacer and take it out to them. After much nursing and cuddling, the kitten is doing surprisingly well - if it were any younger, it probably would have expired, but it's old enough to eat real food and it seemed to bounce back.

However, we didn't want to leave it alone, so [censored] and I brought it back to my house, where it recuperated in my bay window for the afternoon. I made some burrito bowls for lunch, but beyond that I did basically nothing, since playing with a kitten was far more enjoyable.

Eventually, though, I took a shower, and [censored] and I shut the kitten up in the bathroom so that we could have dinner with Dad for his birthday. We went to Seymour for the first time (for me) since before the pandemic - the wait was rather long, but the prime rib was excellent, so it was a nice evening. And it was great to be able to celebrate Dad's birthday on the actual day, so a good time was had by all.

Then [censored] and I came back to check on the kitten, which seems to be doing well - we will likely release it to its fate in the morning. If I weren't ridiculously allergic to cats I would be tempted to keep it, but I need to have my eyes open to write a book, and they would be permanently swollen shut if I had an indoor cat. So, hopefully it's doing well in the morning and hopefully its mom and the other cats are happy about its return. We shall see, we shall see. Goodnight!

now your mess is mine

I have returned to the frozen wasteland that is ye olde Iowa, where the temperature is approximately sixteen degrees. Today was entirely devoted to travel - I got up early enough to stand in the usual thirty-minute line for a venti cold brew coffee to get me going, and then I got back to the suite in time to say goodbye to the rest of the crew (Barbara, Anne, Veronica, Grace), who were all on the same flight back to SF. I then spent a couple of hours doing some leisurely packing / showering before vacating the suite and going to the airport.

The rest of my day was entirely boring and entirely uneventful...and other than a twenty-minute delay on my second flight, entirely smooth. I grabbed some food at the Vegas airport, flew to Denver, and killed time at Elway's while doing some writing and eating a salad + some french fries to confuse my body over whether it was getting nutrients or not. Then, I flew to Des Moines, retrieved my bag, put on my coat, and immediately froze on the way to my car.

However, I made it home, said hi to [censored], washed my face, and am ready to go to bed. I'm feeling pretty inspired after the conference, so I want to carry that momentum forward this week - we'll see what happens when I wake up tomorrow. Goodnight!

that's what you get for waking up in vegas

I had an excellent final day at the conference - I got up and stood in the interminable line for Starbucks, then did some work in the lobby before coming back to the suite. I didn't go to the conference center because it's a twenty minute walk each way, but they did an excellent job of livestreaming everything, so I watched several sessions from my bed. Everyone else in our group had a similar idea, although some people went for a couple of hours. But this meant I could grab an easy lunch with Anne at Chipotle rather than standing in line at the conference hotel, so this was a delight.

At some point I took a long nap, and then spent some quality time in the living room. We all grabbed an early dinner at a Gordon Ramsay burger place that was surprisingly excellent, and then we took an Uber to the Sahara to see the Magic Mike live show. It was actually pretty well done in terms of storyline and production value, and some of the dancers were excellent. And if that wasn't your thing, the drinks were good too. It was a v entertaining way to end the trip, so at least we went out on a high note (with one minor problem, which is that Ginuwine's song "Pony" is now stuck in my head).

Then we came back to the hotel and I should have packed, but instead I talked to Anne and Grace until midnight. So, I'm going to sleep and address my packing problem in the morning - goodnight!

now we're partners in crime

I had an excellent day at the conference... I'm still very short on sleep, but I got more last night than I had been. I spent the morning doing stuff around the suite before heading to lunch with my friends (and eating a tasty poke bowl, which is one thing I really miss in ye olde Iowa). Then, I went to a workshop with Barbara before meeting with reps from a couple of the main ebook retailers. I feel like I'm waking up from a coma and trying to remember what I used to do, but it's starting to come back to me...

I got back to the room around 4:30 and hung out until we left for dinner. We went over to the Venetian and had dinner in the St Mark's Square area, which was fun - we sat on the "piazza", which is still inside but feels almost outside, and my risotto was excellent. Some people went to a mixer after, but I came back with Barbara and Tina and brainstormed plot/titles for Barbara, which is always entertaining.

And now, I must go to bed - goodnight!

i remember it all too well

I'm utterly exhausted - I'm used to sleeping as much as I want and eating whenever I feel like it, but my days here are not my own. I had set my alarm for 7am, but I accidentally got up at five, and it didn't improve from there.

Despite that, I wanted to go to some stuff in person, so I did panels and generally hung out. I let myself get too hungry, which means I got hangry, but a burger and some fries revived me.

The rest of the day was a lot of discussion, talking, etc, including some deep diving into tile choices with Grace (who is doing basically the same kitchen remodel at the same time?). Tina and I had a drink at Paris, and then we all had dinner at Alexxa - tasty, but a bit of a scene.

And now I'm desperate to sleep - goodnight!

get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now

I'm exhausted due to lack of sleep, but I had a great first day in Vegas. The conference isn't really going yet, so I grabbed some coffee in the morning and hung out in our suite until it was time for our brunch plan. We went to a biscuit place in the Cosmopolitan that unfortunately wasn't good for gluten free... So when I realized that the eggs alone weren't going to be enough, I got some rice and spicy pork from the Momofuku-adjacent place next door. That dish made this entire trip worth it, so I was delighted.

Then we checked in for the conference and wandered around the vendor displays. I left quickly because I'd booked a massage at the Aria, and I'm glad I did because it was amazing. The massage itself was pretty good, but even better were the steam rooms and hot tubs, which I indulged in before and after. If I got really rich, I would have a steam room/ hot tub/pool-type complex, but for now I'll settle for remodeling the prison shower in my basement sometime this winter.

Then I came back to the hotel and several of us went out for Mexican, followed by tequila-influenced shoe shopping and a surprising amount of discussion of sports. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

shut up and put your money where your mouth is

I'm very very tired, but I have arrived in Las Vegas for the first writing conference I've gone to in years and years. Today was mostly devoted to getting ready to go, and then going...I spent the morning packing (and drinking coffee, and watching some SNL with [censored]). Then, I drove to Des Moines, which was nice - and I worked out some book plot/character stuff while driving, which was excellent.

After checking in and going through security, a grabbed a burger and some substandard pinot noir. My flight was on time, my layover in Denver was brief, and my second flight was also on time. It was still a five hour journey all-in, but I read a book for most of it, so I enjoyed it.

When I collected my bag, I took a taxi to my hotel and reunited with some of my writer besties - I'm here with Anne, Barbara, Grace, and Veronica, so it should be a fun week. The conference is entirely focused on self publishing, and it's bizarre because I've been out of the game for a bit, but I'm hoping this will help me get up to speed. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

pierced through the heart, but never killed

It is suddenly brutally cold in ye olde Iowa, which is a v. unwelcome development. It didn't get above freezing today, but at least it was sunny for several hours, which was a great improvement for my mood.

So, after snuggling in my flannel sheets, I eventually got up, made tea, took a shower, and settled in to get some tings done. I did write for a few hours this afternoon - everything still feels a bit like molasses, but it felt good to get into the story for awhile. I also did some stretches and kettlebell swings, so today felt like a win. And I tried on a bunch of outfits for the conference I'm going to in Vegas next week - I have no idea what to wear, and also no idea how much to pack, but I think I'll figure it out.

Eventually, [censored] and I went out to our parents' house for supper - my dad had smoked some pork earlier in the week, and my mom made scalloped potatoes and baked beans, and it was all pretty delicious. And now, I think I shall go to sleep - goodnight!

i can still make the whole place shimmer

Today was pretty good, all in all. I had a couple of video calls, which is a couple more than I normally have - both people I connected with over linkedin (one an old college friend, who spent most of the call telling me I should run for office, and one someone I worked with years ago who wants to write a book). I also did four loads of laundry, ate a tasty cobb salad, ran an errand to pay for my new kitchen cabinets (via check, which is how tings are done here), and wrote for awhile.

At some point, [censored] showed up - and since yesterday's leftovers were a chickpea stew with coconut milk and turmeric, we decided to go to Garden Grove for dinner. They were pretty busy (which is good to see for a v. small town), but my burger sans bun was excellent, as were the cheese curds that I shouldn't have eaten because of the gluten. Then we came home and talked for awhile before I came upstairs to fold those aforementioned four loads of laundry and take care of some other tings before bed.

And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

putting someone first only works when you're in their top five

I had a really good day, thanks to some retail therapy. I'm going to a writing conference next week, and it's the first writing conference I've been to in (checks notes) four years. It's also the first conference of any kind that I've been to in three years, so my wardrobe is dusty and my social skills are even moreso. To bolster my ego and ensure that I have pants that fit, I made a last-minute trip to Des Moines to scour the stores at the main mall.

Unfortunately, styles are extremely bizarre right now. I am reminded that I am no longer twenty, and if I tried to wear what the twenty-year-olds are wearing, I would look utterly absurd. But also, I am not built for crop tops and also not built for overly-long jeans, and none of those things are appropriate for a conference anyway. So, shopping was a bit hit or miss, but I found a couple of jacket/blazer-type things and some pants that I think might be cute, but I will need to try everything on again in the lights/mirrors of my house.

On the way home, I stopped at Whole Foods to grab a few tings (I was craving rainbow chard, which is not a thing I have ever typed before, but I can't get it here and so scarcity creates desire). I also talked to Katie for an hour or so, which was excellent. And then I got home, unloaded my car, heated up some spaghetti, and watched election results.

All in all, I'm happy with where things are headed so far. I still live in hope that the Republicans will eventually stop nominating completely crazy candidates and will also stop attempting to pass laws that curtail everyone else's freedoms in the name of keeping a sliver of the population from feeling offended, but the party never learned its lesson about Trump and they seem content to continue dying on his hill. I also live in hope that they will get the message on how all the anti-abortion bills are failing at state levels, since I would like to maintain my access to IVF, like having birth control that keeps me from throwing up for hours every month, and also think it's important for women to be able to survive things like ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages that require abortions to prevent sepsis. Unfortunately, Iowa continues to swing to an R super-state, which is hard to watch since the governor is basically running on a massive state tax surplus + funneling money to private Christian schools while rural counties and public schools are starving for funds to stay afloat, but c'est la vie.

So, I'm sure all sorts of crazy things will come up in regards to election denial (i.e. Republicans already claiming that Maricopa County's voting is rigged despite Republicans controlling the entire elections department there), and I still doubt that the Democrats will hold onto the house, but at least it wasn't a bloodbath. And on that note, I'm going to stop watching coverage and go to bed - goodnight!

did all the extra credit then got graded on a curve

I had a lovely day, although I'm trying to remind myself that I don't have to get a million things done to have a good day. I got up in time to make some coffee and take care of a few tings before my usual Monday call with Alyssa. Then, I put together a bunch of cobb salads - I had cooked the chicken and eggs yesterday, but I had to cook the bacon, cut some tomatoes, peel the eggs, and chop the lettuce and chicken before assembling everything. So, I ended up putting together two salads for me and [censored] to eat for lunch (only one of them had bleu cheese, since only one of us thinks that mold is an appealing snack), and then I put four more together in mason jars to eat the rest of the week. Cobb salads are kind of a pain, but I'm always delighted when I have them in the fridge, so I feel v. accomplished.

After that, I spent most of the afternoon working on organizing my office - the broad strokes were completed awhile ago, but my office supplies, files, etc. were still in wild disarray. They're still in some disarray, but things are coming together. I also unpacked the rest of my workout stuff, so I'm getting a better sense of how I want to lay out my upstairs space.

At some point, I took a walk so that I could drop off the payment for my water bill (#smalltownlife = no way to pay my water bill online), and then I ate some popcorn and chilled. I also bid farewell to [censored], ate some leftover spaghetti, and then did more office work until now. I have grand plans to do something other than organizing tomorrow, but we'll see whether I accomplish them.

And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

o geronimo, no minor ego

I had a lovely day, but it was more productive than I had intended - I had sort of planned to lie around and read all day, or perhaps mess around in my office. My morning was sufficiently lazy, although I did make some v. tasty scrambled eggs and hash browns. But then, [censored] and I somehow tricked ourselves into fixing the platform for my bed + mounting my bedroom tv + mounting [censored]'s bedroom tv.

I'm happy that this all got done, of course - we attempted to fix the bed in September but were missing a part, and then the project got postponed due to efforts to paint the garage. And because the bed frame was leaning against my bedroom wall since September, we hadn't been able to mount my tv. But now those things are where they should be, which means great things for my ability to finish setting up both my bedroom and my office. And [censored]'s bedroom tv looks great too, so at least all of that got done.

At some point, I made dinner for tonight (spaghetti amatriciana) and also prepped several ingredients to make cobb salads for the week. And [censored] and I watched WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY, which came out this weekend - it's a biopic that is a parody of Weird Al's life, which is appropriate given that his songs are parodies too. It was really really strange and mostly hilarious, so it was a nice way to spend the evening.

And now, I should really sleep - goodnight!

and i'm a monster on the hill

I had a nice day, all in all - nothing noteworthy, but that's how I like my Saturdays. I did some journaling, and a lot of reading, and I had scrambled eggs as per usual (sorry to all the chickens who will never become chickens because I eat them too soon). And [censored] and I had dinner at the parents' house - Mom made tasty twice baked potatoes and Dad barbecued some chickens (sorry to the chickens who won't make any more eggs).

So, all in all, it was a good day - we'll see if I get more done tomorrow, but I kind of doubt it. Goodnight!

what do you get when you place all your bets outside you?

I had a v excellent day, which was a lovely way to end the week. I spent the morning indulging in some very self-care things, like stretching and doing my nails and eating some excellent scrambled eggs (a little more indulgent than usual, with avocado and black beans and peppers on top of the usual onions). And I spent the afternoon with some coffee and journaling and napping, along with a long chat with Alyssa. So, all in all, or was a relaxing interlude before I get back into kitchen/bathroom remodel design and writing in earnest.

But now, it's definitely time for bed - goodnight!

see you at the bitter end

I had a v nice day today...it's amazing what staying off my phone, drinking water, sleeping, and reading will do for me, and also amazing that I somehow don't remember that fact most days/weeks/months. I spent some quality time with my journal and coffee; spent some more quality time with scrambled eggs; had a v impromptu but great catch up with Veronica; and did a lot of research into the ancient Egyptians for reasons that will probably filter into my book but are still currently vague.

But now, in the interest of continuing to stay off my phone, I'm going to bed - goodnight!

imma wade through your shallow love

Today went pretty much as I intended - I got some stuff done, but I'll spare you the details. And since [censored] wasn't around to force me to build equity in my house (jk), I slacked off and finished the weird necromancer fantasy I'm reading...and immediately wanted to start the next one, but decided to spare my eyes. There's always tomorrow for that!

But for now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

there's an endless road to rediscover

I'm sleepy, but I got quite a bit done today despite my worse intentions. I spent some quality time cleaning up the garage after all our painting exploits - unprepping the garage also took several hours, since it required folding up dropcloths, sweeping, pulling down a lot of plastic, unwrapping the meticulously wrapped garage door rails, etc., etc. I also had to get all the things that belong in the garage out of my kitchen / living room. And then all that effort rolled straight into starting to pack up my kitchen in anticipation of my remodel, although luckily it's not starting this week, so I didn't have to pack up everything today.

Somewhere in there, I also did a workout with Alyssa, and I went into (the other) town to vote. And I stopped by my parents' house to drop something off, and also stopped at my dad's shop to throw away all the plastic from my garage. And now, I really must sleep - goodnight!

cut me down where the water meets the sea

Today was okay, but I'm thoroughly ready to retire my paint sprayer and never see it again. When I woke up, I felt like I was developing the cold that [censored] has, which is definitely not what I want. So, I made a vat of hot tea (followed by another vat a few hours later), and I also made a bigger than usual breakfast (hashbrowns with my v. tasty scrambled eggs) in an effort to ward off the plague. We'll see if any of it works, but at least I got through the day.

At some point, [censored] and I finally rallied and finalized our painting prep so that we could paint the garage ceiling. This continued to take longer at every step than I would like for it to take, since we're meticulous about prep and already had too much stuff in the garage, and the garage is hard to seal since we need access to almost every door. But we got everything sorted out, set up the sprayer, mixed up all the paint, and then painted the ceiling. And by that I mean I did the majority of the setup, but [censored] painted the entire ceiling, since [censored] is an excellent/masochistic buddy who is sacrificing spare time to make my house more pleasant. The painting took exactly one hour, with copious breaks to clean/defog goggles -- so, one hour of painting to 20+ hours of prep / cleanup continues to be the paint sprayer ratio.

Despite that, the garage looks great and I'm really glad we got it painted before we permanently fill it with all sorts of stuff. After we were done, I cleaned up a bunch of stuff and then made dinner (chicken burrito bowls in the instant pot), which [censored] and I ate while watching several episodes of CHARMED (I'm calling it research). And now I must sleep - goodnight!

say goodbye to hollywood

I had intended to paint my garage ceiling today - but after approximately eight hours of prepping, all we accomplished was getting the garage ready to paint. It truly takes an exorbitant amount of time to put plastic on everything and seal the room up, especially when trying to cover garage door tracks and various other strange features.

Somewhere in there, I took a break to make scrambled eggs and hashbrowns to fuel me and [censored] for the journey ahead. And really, the prep wasn't too bad - it's just incredibly tedious to hang a bunch of plastic that will likely come down tomorrow. But the garage will look great when we're done, so I'm holding on to that belief that spending this many hours painting it will be worth it.

Eventually, I threw in the towel on garage stuff for the day. [censored] and I left the lights off in the house tonight to avoid attracting candy-seekers, but we did welcome his best friend's kids, who were pretty adorable. Then we had dinner at the parents' house - v. tasty brisket with mashed potatoes, which went a long way toward refueling me.

And now, I am falling asleep as I type, so it's time for bed - goodnight!

right around the corner son

I meant to go to bed an hour ago, but that's what happens when you're having fun (and by having fun I mean panicking over all the choices I need to make for my remodel).

Today was good, though - I did some writing and other work in the morning, worked out with Alyssa, and had a writing class. I also continued to work on the neverending garage painting project. And my parents lured me to their house for dinner, which I fell for because I'm easily lured by cheeseburgers and fried potatoes.

Then I came home, talked to [censored] about various tings and hootenannies, and made many lists. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

sleep just to dream her

I did less than I would have liked today, but far more than might be expected on the day after a trip, so I'll take it. I was lazy all morning and half the afternoon, but I made a tasty tuna sandwich and used it to revive me. Eventually, I spent some quality time painting a second coat on the garage walls - while the previous efforts looked pretty good, I knew in my heart of hearts that a second coat would make it better. So, I finally broke down and did it, although I didn't bother touching up around the garage doors. We'll see how it looks in the morning, but I am glad I got it done.

Then I ate a baked potato with some pulled pork that I had waiting for me in the freezer. I also procrastinated a bit more before deciding to throw in the towel and read - I'm still deeply engrossed in an extremely weird fantasy novel, and unfortunately I'm approaching the climax but can't stay up to finish it if I have any hope of getting anything done tomorrow. So now it's time for bed - goodnight!

harmony hall

I'm back in ye olde Iowa after a perfectly smooth (except for turbulence) trip out of New Orleans today. I got up, encountered no issues getting an Uber, met no major traffic on the way to the airport, and didn't have to stand in line for security at all (thanks to my Clear membership, which is paid for by one of my credit cards, and my TSA precheck). That gave me time to have a lackluster but still helpful breakfast and grab Starbucks before boarding.

My first flight was on time, and I had just enough time to make it between gates (a long distance, as it turned out) before boarding in Houston. The second flight hit some unpleasant turbulence, but otherwise it was all good.

When I landed, I drove to the next town south of the airport to get gas, picked up some groceries, and ate takeout Chinese from the grocery store deli in my car. Then I got home and promptly took a nap. I spent the rest of the evening settling, planning my week, and reading the book I was reading on the plane (which I will discuss in more detail later). Goodnight!

did i play my songs too loud

I had a relaxed day in New Orleans. It was cheaper for me to get a hotel today and fly out tomorrow than it was to fly out today... But on my fifth trip to New Orleans, I didn't feel much urge to go out and explore.

So, Caroline and I grabbed coffee and checked out of our Airbnb, then stowed our luggage at my hotel and grabbed brunch at an excellent place called Willa Jean. My brisket and potatoes and grits were excellent, and we had a nice time hanging out. Then, we mostly hung around my hotel lobby - I did a bunch of writing and a bunch of reading, as well as some home goods browsing.

Caroline left for the airport around three, and then I spent the rest of the day doing more writing/reading with #noregrets. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

look to the horizon

No blog tonight - I had a lovely day in New Orleans, with an excellent brunch (duck hash) and also excellent dinner (tuna tartare and a tasty fish), as well as writing/reading time and an interesting cemetery tour. But I'm tired and need to go to bed rather than regaling you with that - goodnight!

just find a place to make your stand and take it easy

I had another lovely day in New Orleans - the weather is perfect, and we've made the most of our wandering/eating opportunities. I had a lazy morning, and then we went to brunch at Tableau. I've eaten there before, but not in their lovely courtyard, where I had some v tasty shrimp and grits in deference to my gluten issues. Then we wandered all over the French Quarter, had some coffee, bought some paper, etc.

After that, we found a hotel that had a Banksy mural painted post-Katrina, and then we went to Magazine Street to explore the shops of the Garden District. Eventually, we wandered back home, where I took a v necessary nap.

Then, we got dressed up and took the streetcar to dinner at Commander's Palace. It's a New Orleans institution, with excellent service and even more excellent food, and it was pretty much perfect tonight. To avoid glutening myself, I skipped the gumbo (even though I really wanted it) and instead got a perfect salad (romaine with bacon and egg, but very well executed) and an excellent steak with some spiced-up mashed potatoes. The meal was fantastic, as was the company, and we left happy.

Then we grabbed cocktails at the Columns Hotel, which was excellent, before coming home and discussing celebrity gossip. And then I read until now, but I really should sleep to fortify myself for the day ahead - goodnight!

in the dark of armstrong park the marching bands attend, but they never make a sound

I had an excellent day in New Orleans. This city feels like a town that has already died, but the news of its demise hasn't caught up with it yet - which is probably why it feels a bit like home to me, even though I've never lived here and these ghosts aren't mine. This is my fifth trip here, and each time it feels like something calls to me - my French ancestors, or the waters that drain from my home to this delta, or just the feeling of grit and determination in the face of inevitable decay.

Or maybe it's the rum that calls to me. Regardless, it was a great day. We all got up around the same time, and we took an Uber to Cafe du Monde, where I succumbed to the gluteny allure of beignets (which were #worthit) and chicory cafe au lait. Then we wandered around for hours, had a decadent lunch at Herbsaint, and came home to take naps.

In the evening, we did a walking tour that talked about ghosts, vampires, voodoo, modern PTSD, etc. Then we had dinner and drinks at a wine bar, followed by hurricanes at the supposed original hurricane bar (terrible drinks, nice ambiance) and another drink at a nearby bar that I'd been to before and liked. And now, after getting home before midnight (which is v civilized in New Orleans), it's time for bed - goodnight!

the costume fits so i played my part

I am taking a break from my #smalltownlife for the weekend, and am about to fall asleep in an Airbnb in New Orleans. I'm on a girls trip with a couple of former coworkers (Caroline and another girl named Sara, which is probably confusing on a three person trip). Everything today went quite smoothly - I had some time to take care of tings around the house before leaving, and then I got to the airport without any issues. My flights were on time and I had time for a snack in Houston. And when I got to the Airbnb, I was here for approximately two minutes before meeting my friends at a restaurant down the street for a Caesar salad and champagne, which felt appropriate.

So, I'm very excited to be here, and also very excited to go to sleep so I can do all the things tomorrow - goodnight!

raise a glass up cause i won't

No blog tonight - I had a pretty good day, all in all, but I was dragging after staying up too late last night, and I had a lot to do today that I didn't really get done. However, I did pack for my trip - I'm leaving for New Orleans tomorrow, which is v. exciting. And I talked to Katie, which is always a delight. 

But right now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

so welcome back and take a breath, you come to life, you're bored to death

I was lazier than I intended to be today, but that's because I had intended to spend today prepping the garage so that I could spray the ceiling tomorrow. However, my hands are still shot from this weekend's painting activities, and I've been on the brink of carpal tunnel or RSI or whatever other hand issues often enough to know that I need to rest them now or they will only get worse. So, I reneged on my plan to prep the garage, which felt right even if Future Sara will probably not be excited to do it next weekend.

Instead, I spent the day messing around the house - I did approximately four loads of laundry, cleaned some tings, moved some tings around, etc. I also did a wee bit of journaling and an even wee-er bit of writing. And I took a walk around town, despite the fact that it's approximately forty degrees - it was colder than I wanted it to be, but it helped me to stretch out from painting + kettlebells, so it was #worthit.

After all of that (and a trip to the grocery store), I had a pretty quiet night. [Censored] showed up this afternoon, and we ate dinner together (leftover burrito bowls that I made last night). Then I retired to my room, where I reread the first half of SUNSHINE. This has been a favorite reread since it came out almost twenty years ago (gasp), but I don't think I've reread it since the pandemic started, so I'm overdue. It has a bit of an interesting plot structure and a very strong narrative voice, so I'm reading it partially to see how the author did what she did - but I'm also reading it because I love it, and I continue to love it despite reading it so many times over the years.

But now, I need to go to bed before I inadvertently stay up all night finishing my reread. Goodnight!

acapulco, tel aviv, and maybe japan

I did a bunch of tings today, but none of them are that interesting to you. I woke up with a headache and some soreness, no doubt due to painting the garage, so I was pretty lazy getting around and making coffee. But I did take care of some tings and shower in time for an 11am call with someone I'd connected with on LinkedIn, and then was secretly delighted when the person no-showed (but less delighted to find out it was because they had a medical issue). So, with some unexpected free time, I made a dash to the next town over to return some countertop samples and buy ceiling paint for the garage. I was in the store less than ten minutes before driving home, so I feel like my efficiency at doing things for my house is going up a bit.

When I got home, I did a bit of an Alyssa-themed workout (kettlebells), and then did some stuff in the garage. I also did a whole bunch of stuff upstairs, which is not what I had intended, but I needed to vacuum and throw away the detritus from installing my lights, and I also needed to organize tings.

Eventually, I was done with all that, and I decided to cook tonight so that tomorrow will be easier. I made a chicken burrito bowl in the Instant Pot, which has officially become a staple of my diet, and it was v. tasty. And then I did some cleaning, did some procrastinating, and wrote for awhile. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

it seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye

My hands are covered with paint, but luckily the garage walls are also covered with paint, so I think it was a worthy tradeoff. Today was far more manual labor than I like to pack into my Sunday, but there was really no other choice given the many tings that are coming up in my schedule over the next few weeks.

When I woke up this morning, I made some coffee and got ready, and then [censored] and I did some garage prep. Then, we took one of my mattresses to my parents' house (it's been sitting in my garage since I moved, but it's going to replace the mattress in my bedroom at their house). We also drove around the field, which is always fun.

The fun ended when we got back to town - I made some eggs to fortify us, and then we painted. We decided to roll the paint in the garage instead of spraying it due to the intense prep that spraying requires, but rolling has its own issues (namely, it hurts more due to the repetitive motions). But we successfully rolled a coat of stain/odor blocking primer, and then rolled a coat of paint, and it looks really good. It helps that [censored] has scaffolding on wheels, so when I was cutting in the ceiling with a brush, I could do several feet at once, and then [censored] could roll me on the scaffolding to the next location. This felt almost majestic, especially when I had to crouch down to avoid the garage door tracks and so felt like I was being slowly paddled down a jungle stream -- or perhaps the fumes from the primer really got to me.

sssanyway, all of that took 6+ hours, not including a break to let the primer dry. But it looks really good - I have some touching up to do, and then I need to tape up a whole bunch of plastic since we are going to spray the ceiling. But I think the project was #worthit, even though it was painful.

When we were finally done, we picked up Mexican takeout (I had it two days ago, but beggars can't be choosers here, and I am happy to eat that instead of having to cook after spending six hours painting). Then, I relaxed for a bit, and now I should sleep so I can get back into the writing swing of tings tomorrow. Goodnight!

i'm in the beauregards, slow me down if i get hard

Yesterday and today have been v. full of productivity, which is not what I signed up for with my #funemployed life. [jk, I am excited that I've been fairly productive since leaving the day job, which is not how the last two departures felt initially]

Yesterday, I was still in Cedar Rapids, where I enjoyed my free hotel breakfast before going to a coffee shop and writing for a couple of hours. [Censored] suggested that I go to Stillwater, which overlooks the river and has a v. city vibe - and I really enjoyed it, as well as the two pourover coffees that got me wired while I was there. I also wrote steadily for that couple of hours, and my story is taking strange and interesting turns, which means I really just want to be writing instead of doing manual labor.

However, I gave up the writing at lunchtime and met [censored]; we went to a place called Daisy's Garage, where I had a smothered chicken sandwich sans the sandwich part (so basically a chicken breast with peppers/onions/cheese) and some excellent tots. Then, [censored] took the afternoon off, so we went to Lowes to get some painting supplies, and then loaded a whole bunch of stuff in my car. I then drove home through a bit of rain the whole way, but the trip was otherwise uneventful. And I made it back in time to have Mexican takeout with my parents, which fortified me both yesterday and today, thanks to leftovers.

Today continued the productivity show - [censored] showed up last night, and we spent today doing myriad house projects. First, [censored] installed new overhead lights in my bedroom and my office, which wasn't entirely necessary (I'd gotten used to using the bare bulbs hanging overhead after painting) - but we needed to take the scaffolding down to the garage for our next project, and it had stayed upstairs for the express purpose of installing the lights. And I must say, I'm quite pleased that they're up and usable, so I'm one step closer to feeling settled in my bedroom/office.

Then, we hauled scaffolding downstairs, ate lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon prepping the garage to paint the interior. This meant I spent most of the afternoon crawling around on concrete while wearing my gardening kneepads so that I could clean/tape/mask the trim. This was definitely not glamorous, but I will be happy when the garage is painted -- back doors around here are always the actual entrance, and the fact that everyone enters my house through the garage means I have some incentive to spruce it up. Also, if we don't paint it now, we will never paint it, so there's some incentive.

However, all of that effort made me tired, so [censored] and I mooched vegetable beef soup off the parents, then came back and watched a bit of TV before deciding that perhaps bedtime was in order. And so I should really sleep (which is what I planned to do an hour ago, before falling prey to online shopping). Goodnight!

who needs a house out in hackensack

I'm not living my #smalltownlife at the moment - instead, I'm in the large(ish) city of Cedar Rapids. When I woke up this morning, I hurried around to get ready, and then I drove for three hours to get up here in time to have lunch with [censored] at one of [censored]'s favorite eating establishments near the office. I had a BLT pizza on a gluten free crust that was really tasty - I have never had mayo on a pizza before, but it was delish. And it was fun to see the place that [censored] often eats at during the week, even if we didn't have a lot of time to dilly-dally.

After lunch, [censored] hooked me up with a conference room, so I took a call with Alyssa. Then [censored] gave me a tour of the building and introduced me to some people before I returned to my conference room hideout for my writing class. By the end of that, it was basically the end of the work day...which is when the real work began.

[Censored] is in the process of moving some tings, and since [censored] was an extremely generous buddy and came to Denver to help me move, it seemed like I should probably make some mediocre effort to return the favor. Unfortunately, [censored] doesn't have access to skid loaders or telehandlers or other accoutrements of civilized life here, so moving tings like a king-sized bed required basic manpower instead of high-powered equipment. Even more unfortunately, I have child-sized hands and t-rex arms, which makes moving tings difficult - Alyssa, who is my trainer and knows my body better than anyone, actually expressed some humor at the idea of me moving a king sized bed given my size.

However, [censored] and I successfully moved a king sized bed, the two twin box springs that go under it, a large TV, a recliner, and a few other tings down 1.5-2 flights of stairs without dying and without killing each other, so I feel v. accomplished. There is still some stuff to do tomorrow, so I shall amuse myself by writing at a coffee shop (yayyyy) until [censored]'s afternoon off begins, but I'd say tings are in good shape.

After we finished moving, [censored] took me out for dinner at a v. tasty Italian place, where I had a nice glass of wine and some risotto for my efforts. Then, we checked into a hotel, since [censored]'s bed is now in a trailer and there is nowhere else to sleep. And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!