but if he's a ghost, then i can be a phantom

I had a lovely day - I had only one meeting, and it was a good one. That meant I was able to spend the rest of the day getting stuff done, which I did mostly successfully. I sat on my balcony in the morning since it wasn't too hot to be out there, and then I spent the afternoon working from my chaise while watching Olympics coverage. This meant that I caught all the swimming basically live (a little delayed since I was pausing when I needed to focus, but I didn't get any spoilers in those moments). This is much preferable to trying to avoid spoilers all day and then watching a lot of inane primetime commentary.

So, I slogged all day, and then my mom and I watered the planters in town. Then I came home, did a bit more work, and fired up the grill. I made some v basic hamburgers to go with the last of the leftover potatoes au gratin that I made last weekend, and I got the grill put away before the derecho rolled through (if it was a derecho here -- it didn't seem quite windy enough, although there was a lot of lightning and a seemingly decent amount of rain).

I spent the rest of the evening watching Olympics coverage, including fast-forwarding through some of the swimming I'd already seen so I could watch other random events on the app. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i was feeling part of the scenery, i walked right out of the machinery

Sadly I had to work today, which really put a crimp in my Olympics-watching style. Not that I've been able to watch anything during the day so far, but my desire is strong and growing.

However, work was fine and I wasn't all that resentful about having to do it. When I was done for the day, I ran into town to buy some broccoli, and then I came home and made salmon teriyaki with rice and roasted broccoli for dinner. [Censored] and I ate while watching tonight's Olympics coverage, which was quite satisfying. I was delighted that the men's gymnastics team brought home the bronze, and there were some fun swimming races.

But now, I need to go to bed (or maybe stay up stupidly late watching some equestrian coverage) - goodnight!

knew he was a killer first time that i saw him

I have nothing to report today. I didn't get enough sleep last night because of the Olympics, which is a problem that I'm trying to avoid tonight. I had a mostly good day, though. I spent a lot of it writing on my balcony, which went well until I overheated due to the absurd heat / humidity.

Then I watered flowers in town with my mom. We had signed up for this week of watering slots a month ago, not knowing that it would be the hottest week of the month. But watering went quickly with two of us, so it could have been worse. Then I came home, messed around a bit, showered, had dinner (leftover pulled pork and potatoes au gratin), and watched tonight's Olympics coverage with [censored]. The US did well and the women's gymnastics team is off to a good start, so it was all fun to watch.

Then I did a tiny bit of work for the day job, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

and it's all coming back to me

Happy ongoing Olympics! I didn't watch as much as I wanted to today - while I once withdrew from a college class because it was getting in the way of my Olympics watch schedule, I don't think I should quit my job for the same reason (although it's tempting). I had several tings that I needed to get done today, so I prioritized adulting over Olympics, much to my chagrin.

However, this prioritization means that I now have food for awhile - I went to Walmart and Fareway and loaded up on meat and dry goods, thus putting my garage freezer and fridge to good use. I also made a stop at the Amish discount store, where I hit the jackpot with 12 cans of (unexpired!) gluten free campbell's cream of chicken soup for $10. This is a key ingredient in cheesy potatoes (aka party potatoes), as well as other fine Midwestern casseroles, and the gluten free version holds up pretty well.

When I got home, I unloaded the car, read some Olympics coverage, and confirmed dinner plans with the parents. Then I cleaned the living room (much overdue), tidied up, and made potatoes au gratin (scalloped potatoes if you're not feeling fancy). These went v. well with the pulled pork that I made last night, and my dad brought in some cucumbers and onions, so it was all v. tasty.

So the parents came in to town for dinner, and we all hung out for awhile (after my dad and [censored] colluded to prank me about buying an elevator, which I completely believed because it seemed like something Dad would do). After they left, I cleaned up the kitchen, and then finally watched the primetime Olympics coverage - starting late meant we were able to fast forward through commercials, so it wasn't all bad. However, I already knew the results of most of what was shown in primetime, so hopefully I can get up early tomorrow and catch some of the Olympics live.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

do you hear the people sing

Happy Olympics to all who celebrate! I woke up early to put a pork shoulder in the oven, since it needed eleven hours to roast - but this was somewhat unfortunate, since I had a smashing headache when I woke up and never quite recovered from it. So I basically did nothing today - screens during the day made it worse, as did noise, which made for a dull morning and afternoon.

I am feeling somewhat better now though - I rallied enough to go to the grocery store, and when the pork was done I shredded it and used a tiny portion to make nachos for me and [censored]. We are our nachos while watching the Olympic opening ceremonies, which I loved - they were very weird, as all opening ceremonies are, and the athletic very wet since they rode open boats down the Seine in the rain. But the bells of Notre Dame rang for the first time since the fire five years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed the homage to guillotining. So all in all, the Games are kicked off and I'm ready to enjoy them.

But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

bougie like natty in the styrofoam

I did not get enough done today, but I had some unexpected adventures, which I quite enjoyed. I slogged most of the day (while also doing some desultory online shopping), but I wrapped up a little before 5 so that [censored] and I could go check out an auction.

The auction was for the contents of an old Methodist church in the area - not one I ever went to, but it's sad to see it go. They're auctioning off everything inside, from doors and trim to windows and pews, and also a hodgepodge of choir robes, folding chairs, etc. Tonight was the public preview, so we went and saw various items and had a fine time speculating about how people are going to get doors and windows out without destroying the items.

After that, we were going to grab dinner somewhere nearish by. But on a whim we went up to Honey Creek, where we ate at the restaurant. The food was pretty good, and while it was dead when we got there, it started to pick up as we left. It's almost enough to make a girl want to go into the innkeeping business...

But instead I went into the chauffeur business and drove [censored] around the lake to inspect some of his holdings. That was an entertaining exercise in its own right. And then we came home, I mixed up a spice rub and slathered it on a pork shoulder that I'm roasting tomorrow, and then I came upstairs. I should have gone to bed an hour ago, probably, but that's a problem for Future Sara. Goodnight!

we drove from coast to coast, down in new orleans where the levees broke

I'm v. tired tonight - I've been doing a good job of prioritizing sleep the last couple of weeks, but last night as a fail. I stayed up until one finishing something, and I had to get up at 7:30 because I had a v. unusual 8:30am meeting that cramped my style. Unfortunately I have an 8am tomorrow as well - nothing particularly urgent, but I'm helping to interview some people and scheduling them + my usual schedule is a bit annoying.

However, getting up and ready early meant that I was more productive than usual in the morning. I ended the day feeling mostly caught up on stuff, with the exception of a big project that I need to spend copious time on this week (I've been putting it off, but it's inevitable that I'll get caught at some point if I don't actually do it).

So when I was done working, I took a brief walk to pay my gas bill, watered my plants, and sat on the balcony playing Animal Crossing. It's a bit bizarre to play a game that mostly involves wandering around outside when I could instead just...wander around outside. But it's pretty relaxing, and while I'm sure I'll lose interest soon, it's been fun to dip back into it.

Then I ate a steak quesadilla (a little later than I should have), got ready for bed, and journaled for awhile. And now I need to sleep if I want to get eight hours tonight - goodnight!

you were tripping, i was driving, you were running, i was hiding

I had a v. long day - I started working by 8:45am, and I am wrapping up at 12:30am. Not all of that was day job stuff, though. Work went pretty well, and I was happy with what I got done - and I had a long break in the late afternoon, somewhat unintentionally, because I ran out of steam. But then I worked on my balcony after [censored] left, which was a nice way to wrap up the day.

After I finished work, I switched almost immediately to finishing reading a manuscript that a friend had sent me asking for feedback. I don't normally critique manuscripts because 1) I'm always late with it, 2) I haven't had a manuscript of my own to get feedback on in years, and 3) it takes many hours of work to do right. But I like this friend, and she needed advice on both rural Iowa and crypto, and I am a unicorn who knows both those things. So I read from seven to midnight with a brief break for steak tacos, and I typed up my notes and sent them off.

And now I need to go to bed immediately - goodnight!

out the country but the blueberry still connect

I had a pretty good day, all in all - I woke up and wrote before getting too sucked into my phone, which is always a win. I also cleaned my bedroom - the detritus of a couple of trips in a row plus the spoils of the Nordstrom anniversary sale has taken a toll on my organizational skills, but at least my bedroom is now clean and peaceful again.

At some point I also showered, got some groceries, etc. [censored] and I had dinner at mom and dad's- we had the first sweet corn off the season (for us anyway), and it was delicious. And then I came home and played some animal crossing on my switch - I picked it up last night for the first time in forever, and all the animals in the game confirmed that they hadn't seen me in three years and six months. I played it a lot in the early pandemic in 2020, but I dropped it around the time my dad got sick and never picked it back up. They added a few new features in the intervening years, so I might mess around with it for a bit - it's better than reading twitter, still more mindless than a book, and easier to put down than a game of Civ, so it might relax me for a bit.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

pour on a symphony

I had an okay day - I had some meetings and a bunch of work, and I didn't do quite as much as I intended, but that's the way it goes. I did some of my work from my balcony, where I procrastinated a bit before making a big push at the end, and I wrapped up around 6:30.

Then I made dinner - a v. boring meal of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs + roasted potatoes, but [censored] got home in time to enjoy it. It is nice having my grill hooked up, and I want to use it as much as possible before winter descends again. Then I watched the GOP convention, which went much longer than I was expecting (fact check: it was the longest speech by a nominee in the modern era). And now I need to sleep so I can get with it in the morning - goodnight!

dancing on my own

I worked too much yesterday to blog, and today I was also in it to win it - I woke up in time to do some journaling and also ride my peloton before working, which is practically unheard of. Then I slogged all day and snuck out a little before five for a library board meeting. We had many tings to discuss, but it was a fun meeting overall.

By the time I got home I was starving, so I had a leftover hamburger and some rice, which was an odd but good combo. And then I wrote on my balcony, did a lot of online browsing of the various sales going on right now, etc. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

night moves

I spent most of the day traveling back from Dubuque, but the trip overall was quite smooth. I woke up on time but not particularly refreshed since I had more than one glass of wine last night and didn't sleep well as a result. But it was a fun way to end the retreat, so #noregrets. It didn't stop me from being fairly efficient with my morning, and so I was showered and packed in time to leave on schedule.

Getting out of the Airbnb was easy, since  it just required throwing a bunch of stuff in the car and putting some refrigerator rings in my cooler. V and I said a fond farewell to Carolyn, and then we headed toward Cedar Rapids. We were there absurdly early for Veronica's flight, but neither of us were hungry yet, so we skipped lunch and parted ways. Then I turned up the music and entered my chill zone for the remaining three hours of driving to get home.

I did stop in Oskaloosa for McDonald's and Knoxville for some meat at fareway, but otherwise I made good time. When I got home, I unloaded my car, checked in on the day job, sat around for a bit, and talked to [censored]. Then I cleaned my grill, which was a messy but gratifying task. And then I grilled a flank steak that I had marinated as soon as I got home, as well as some burgers, so that I would have good for the next couple of days. I made Mexican rice and black beans to go with the steak, and [censored] and I quite enjoyed it - it turned out pretty close to perfect, although skirt steak would have been even better.

After that, I cleaned the kitchen, messed around online, checked in on the day job a little more, and made a list of things I have to do tomorrow. But now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

back to take over the globe, now break bread

I have nothing to report - I was actually pretty productive today, after I grabbed a massive Starbucks cold brew and settled in to write some words. We all alternated between writing and snacking / chatting today, and around five p.m. we took a break to drink some wine and plot each other's upcoming goals. We also grabbed dinner at the place we went a few nights ago - many tings are closed on Sundays in Dubuque, but luckily there was a good restaurant open, and my scallops were perfect.

Then we came back to the house and chatted a bit more, and then I adjourned upstairs to pack most of my stuff. I just have to shove everything in the car in the morning, and then V and I will start the drive toward home - I'll drop her in Cedar Rapids sometime after lunch and will hopefully be home in time to start getting caught up on work before the abbreviated work week begins. But the retreat has been very #worthit and I'm feeling inspired, so hopefully I'll keep the momentum going.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

heat waves been faking me out

I had a decent retreat day today. After I got up and showered, we walked through the Dubuque farmers' market, which was conveniently set up right outside our airbnb. I didn't buy anything, but there was an impressive array of vegetables and various other tings, and I did get a cold brew to take back to the house. Then I spent the day in various states of writing / journaling / procrastinating, while also making some lists and reading some stuff.

We were originally going to go out for dinner, but instead we picked up a couple of bottles of wine from a cute wine shop and ordered Casey's pizza. It's possible to get it delivered here, which is a bit of an upgrade over picking it up, and we ate pizza and plotted new books, which was fun. And now, I need to go to bed and not let myself be distracted from my goals by the ever-present news cycle - goodnight!

we took a little trip

I had a lovely day in Dubuque - not quite as productive as yesterday but the activities made up for it. After I woke up and showered, I went to a nearby coffee shop and wrote for a couple of hours. They had a gluten free blueberry cream cheese cake thing that was amazingly good, and the vibe was mostly on point. 

Then I came back to the Airbnb, ate leftovers, and did a variety of tasks. I also ran v quickly to Walgreens to get some dramamine, since I remembered that I'm not friends with boats. I got it just in time for Veronica, Carolyn, and I to go on a happy hour boat cruise on the Mississippi. I'm glad I took it - I felt slightly sick right towards the end, but overall the whole cruise was quite enjoyable.

After that, we drove downtown and had a v nice dinner and discussed many writing/health/life topics. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

somewhere out there still i believe in magic

I had an excellent first day of my retreat. I had to do a bit of day job stuff this morning, but I made myself get up and do it rather than sitting around and dreading it, so I'm counting that as a win. Then I showered, ran to Hy-Vee to grab some groceries and some Starbucks, and then buckled down. 

I got several hours of solid writing done, which felt great. When I came out of writing mode I realized I was starving, so I went to Chipotle. My realization spurred similar realizations for Carolyn and Veronica, so Carolyn went with me, and we picked up food for V. Thus stated, I spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of a variety of tasks (including the v important task of shopping the Nordstrom anniversary sale).

Eventually, we went out for dinner - we walked all the way downtown before walking back and eating a couple of blocks from our Airbnb. The food was excellent, though - almost all of their menu was gluten free or could be made gluten free, and my pizza was great. 

And now I need to sleep so I can accomplish some good things tomorrow - goodnight!

you keep telling me to live right, to go to bed before the daylight

I somehow forgot to blog last night, which is too bad because yesterday was great. I slogged most of the day, and then I picked Veronica up from the Cedar Rapids airport. We swung by [censored]'s office for a quick tour, and then we went to the hotel, where we had a snack at the bar and sat outside until [censored] got off work. Then, the three of us went to the Map Room - it was an eclectic little burger place in downtown Cedar Rapids, with v. cool decor and excellent food. We rounded out the night at the bar at the hotel, where I got to meet [censored]'s favorite bartender. All in all, it was a v. full Cedar Rapids experience.

This morning, Veronica and I were pretty chill - we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant, where we were the only patrons, and we packed and checked out around 11:30. Then we went to Iowa City, where we walked around the pedestrian mall and bought a bunch of stuff - I am now the proud owner of a new air plant of a variety I'd never seen before, in addition to some other fun little trinkets. After we had our fill of Iowa City, we headed toward Dubuque. We stopped for coffee in Mt Vernon and got trapped in an antique store by a sudden downpour, but the antique store was surprisingly vast, so we were able to amuse ourselves for awhile.

Eventually, we made it to Dubuque, and we checked into our Airbnb - it looked slightly sketchy from the alley, but the space is super cute and we met the owner, who seemed like an interesting girlboss kind of character. We hung out for about an hour, and then Carolyn (the third member of our writing retreat) arrived after driving in from Minneapolis. We chose rooms and settled in - I'm in the garret, which is fitting for my height, and hopefully I'll sleep well up here. For a garret it's pretty nice since it has its own bathroom, but I'll report a more comprehensive verdict tomorrow.

After we settled a bit, we walked around a little and found an excellent restaurant (Brazen), where we split a nice bottle of chablis and had a v. tasty dinner. We also discussed our goals for the retreat, which was fun and inspiring. And now, I need to go to bed if I'm going to do the tings I intend to do. Goodnight!

she's a fire sign and I don't really know what that means

I have arrived in cedar rapids after a day of almost ceaseless slogging. I had a bunch of meetings and a bunch of tasks to complete, and I also had to pack, which was a lot. Luckily I was mostly able to pack while listening to a call I rarely talk in... No idea if I actually brought anything I want to wear, but we'll find out!

I'm in cedar rapids because Veronica is flying in tomorrow, and since I didn't want to take tomorrow off, it was better to come up tonight so I can work from the hotel in the morning. [Censored] stays here regularly, so when I checked in I felt like a celebrity (or a celebrity's sibling) because they all know [censored]. The whole trip was uneventful, but I'm glad I don't have to make this drive every week like some people do. 

But now I need to sleep - goodnight!

hymn for the weekend

I had a massive case of Sunday scaries today - or rather, I wasn't scared, but I wanted to do absolutely nothing. I'm sure this was because it was my only day of downtime between coming back from Denver yesterday (was it only yesterday?) and leaving on my next adventure tomorrow. 

Yesterday was better than it could have been - I slept very badly (I blame the three espressos in the espresso martinis as much as I blame the liquor) and when I woke up at six to head to the airport, my body absolutely didn't want to. Luckily I was able to switch to a later flight for free - which was the flight I was originally booked for, before I changed to leave earlier so that I would waste less of my day. As soon as I made the change, I slept for three hours, and it saved me. All my travel was uneventful, and I got home in time to have dinner with Mom and Dad, so it all worked out. 

Today, I had grand plans that I mostly abandoned. But I made scrambled eggs for me and [censored], and I did my laundry and partially unpacked. I also trimmed my bangs, went to the grocery store, made burrito bowls, did a tiny bit of work, and handled some other tasks. I have a million things to do tomorrow, but it's possible I'll feel in it to win it as soon as I wake up. 

Now, though, it's time to sleep - goodnight!

life is a drink and love's a drug

I had more espresso martinis tonight than I've had in my entire life combined, and right now I have no regrets (although it's possible I'll have some regrets when I go to the airport in the morning). My day overall was pretty sedate - I wasn't hungover despite the questionable structure of last night's blog post, since I was falling asleep when I wrote it but wasn't actually drunk. So I got up at a reasonable hour and went to a nearby Starbucks, where I had some cold brew and worked for awhile. And then I can't back to the hotel and worked some more. 

At some point I took a lunch break and had thai food - I walked to a place that I always used to order delivery from during the pandemic, and it was pretty tasty in person. Then I did more work from my room / the hotel bar until it was time to call it a day.

Then I packed while talking to [censored], and then I met Katie for dinner at The Kitchen. We ended up staying there for almost four hours - our food was excellent, and our espresso martinis for dessert turned into three martinis each. That was perhaps at least one too many, but I have no regrets since we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we should. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

like it's dynamite

I works June to recap everything today, but I'm already asleep. I did some with this morning, had a glorious afternoon with Katie on the patio at postino, brought her back to my hotel so we could lie on the bed and gossip and relax, and then had a v decadent dinner at El Five. It was everything I wanted out of the day - but now I must sleep. Goodnight!

we're sick like animals, we play pretend

I had a pretty good day despite going to bed at two a.m. and waking up feeling the effects of an after-midnight glass of port. I amanged to get up and around and grab some coffee before my first meeting, and then I slogged all day - I had more meetings than usual, and I had to run almost all of them, so that required being on. I did take a quick lunch break to grab Chipotle from down the street, and I must say it was v. nice to be someplace where I could walk out the door and grab food from a variety of places within walking distance.

sssanyway, I kept slogging, and then I cut out around 4:30 to have happy hour with Kelly. We went to Postino, and we immediately went v. deep on life over aperol spritzes, and I was so delighted to see her. Then she dropped me off at Linger (which was a little unnecessary, since it was a block and a half away), where I had dinner with Alice and Caroline. They were also a delight, and I parted ways with them very high on life.

When I came back to my hotel, I was going to work, but I accidentally fell asleep. And now I need to go to bed for real - goodnight!

rolling on the floor in the candy store

I had a v nice, v long day. I started by doing some work and having some meetings at Aunt Becky's house, and then she made burgers for lunch, which was a nice treat. Then she dropped me off at a train station so I could catch a ride to downtown Denver. The ride was longer than I expected due to construction, but I still arrived in plenty of time to check in to my hotel before my next meeting. 

After I was done slogging for the day, I met Andy and Nina at Mazevo, a Mediterranean place on Tennyson. Our low key dinner evolved into ogling the waiter, followed by drinks at a new bar that replaced my beloved Book Bar. Dare I say it's an upgrade? We certainly had fun chatting and the vibe was great, so I'll take it.

Then we went back to their place for a nightcap - it was not wise to chase a cocktail (dinner) and two glasses of rose (bar) with a daiquiri and a glass of port, but I guess we don't always make good decisions. 

So, after six+ hours of hanging out (which could have been six more) I caught an Uber to my hotel and I need to go to bed immediately. Goodnight!