Hey internet, can you spare some positivity? My step daughter is defending her senior thesis this morning. Send her some happy thoughts.
She doesn’t actually need them, of course. She’s freakin’ brilliant, just like her mother and her brother. She’s got this thing locked down. She’s going to dazzle everyone hearing her defense with her academic brilliance. Still, a little lucky thinking never hurt anyone, right?
Go Bellana! Show those reviewers who’s boss! You’ve got this!
I’m super tired tonight but I hit all of my food and exercise goals without any stomach issues and I managed to find a little time to start working on a song idea. The May music goal is 10 songs. Think of it as a music project to honor my birthday, my surgery anniversary, my and Jen’s wedding anniversary, our first Mother’s Day without my mother, and Bellana’s graduation.
There’s a lot to celebrate this month. There is a ton to be thankful for. There’s one thing to be sad about, but I can also be thankful for that day too if I look at it as celebrating my step kids’ mother instead of focusing the loss of my mother.
It’s all worth some new music. I just wish I had talent so I could come up with something worthy of it all.
ADDENDUM: I knew I was forgetting an event. May is also my step daughter, Bellana’s birthday month! Add her turning 22 to the list of things to celebrate this month.
Saturday turned into a bad night for my stomach and for my migraine-brain. Sunday was a bad day for my stomach too, and Sunday night ended up especially bad. Today was a touch better, but still a bad day for my stomach and also for my soul.
That bad string of days is likely to get worse as the next three days are looking like they are going to royally suck.
Oh, goodie.
One of my wife’s favorite places:
IKEA’s kitchen section.
I so need a vacation. Not even a vacation, really, just a break. Just a little downtime. It’s not happening this weekend. Tomorrow I have an MRI, a ton of house and yard work to do, a birthday get together for my father, and possibly a house painter/vinyl siding consult? A lot of the house and yard work will spill over to Sunday, though I checked the weather yesterday and it’s supposed to rain. At least that’s what it said yesterday, I don’t know what it’s going to say tomorrow.
I asked Jen if we could do something next weekend to decompress. I don’t care what. A day trip somewhere? Maybe? Just tell everyone we’re going away and then lock ourselves in the house and hide from the real world for a couple of days while watching bad TV? That would work. Literally anything, just so long as there are no deadlines or responsibilities or headaches or health issues. Just give us a break for a couple of days.
Next week at work is going to be super busy and probably pretty difficult. I’m looking forward to putting it in the rear view mirror, if you know what I mean.
I’m feeling okay today health wise. So far so good. My stomach was off all day yesterday. Today is much better. I even had a real breakfast today. Here’s hoping that my stomach stays on that course.
I want to take the camera (cameras) out somewhere one of these days. It’s still pretty cold in the mornings and that’s turning me off. Also, it’s always cloudy and rainy because it’s Spring in New England. Uh… just a couple of days of downtime… that’s all I ask for. Pretty please, universe… give me a break.
My father has a cold. There is an over the counter cold medicine that works for him, but getting it to him is an event.
The assisted living place he lives in has an in-house med staff that comes complete with a pharmacy. The pharmacy isn’t in-house, but it’s contracted some how so they always go through the same place. Residents are not allowed to keep non-prescribed medication in their rooms. Prescribed medications are kept in a safe so the nursing staff can distribute it when appropriate.
So for over the counter meds, they can’t keep them in their rooms without a prescription, and you aren’t going to get a prescription for that sort of thing so… what?
The what is simple. We bring it to him. He takes two doses of this specific med each day. Morning and night. So one of us brings him each dose. On Friday my sister in law brought him both doses. Saturday was my sister. Yesterday was me. Today I brought him the morning dose and my sister will bring him the evening dose. He asked if we could leave him his evening dose yesterday while we were over there for Easter lunch, but that would break the rules and we don’t want to break the rules. We’re good citizens. They take care of my dad, I don’t want to thumb my nose at them.
The downside for today was that I overslept a little. I was planning to get up at 5:00am, get my exercise in, have some water, have some breakfast, maybe watch a Star Wars: Rebels episode or two, then go to his place (leaving insanely early because the morning rush hour might make my 20 minute drive more like 60 minutes) with enough time to get there and back by 9:00am so I can punch in to work on time.
Today though, dumb ass over here slept until 6:00am and then took forever to get into gear and just skipped the whole exercise and breakfast and water thing. I had a protein bar in the car on the way over there. That passed for breakfast. I was able to get my exercise in during my lunch break, which was not ideal but got the job done.
Tomorrow I need to get up on time so I don’t throw off my routine. Wednesday is an in the office day so I won’t have time to deliver the meds. My brother in law will handle it on Wednesday. After that, will he still have a cold? I don’t know. We’ll find out. The moral of the story though is don’t over sleep, dumb ass.
Jen and I just got home from having Easter Dinner (which was actually at lunch time) with my father. My sister’s family was there too. My brother was with his in-laws today so he couldn’t make it.
Dinner was lovely (choice of lamb or ham, I went with the lamb). I was feeling like I had had enough and thought, I’ll have one more bite… It’s been an hour and a half and the foamies are still raging. Stupid one last bite.
Up next for me is an MRI appointment over at the hospital formerly known as Saints Memorial in Lowell. Having a medical appointment on easter just tickles me. Come, giggle with me.
Jen and I are also looking at maybe making a change to the back yard. While we were out there on a fact finding mission I filled the bird feeders because it’s spring time, babie and that’s what you do!
I stopped in to see Dad this morning. Just for a minute. We’re going back for lunch later. It’s our first holiday without Mom. It’s going to be tough, but we’ll get through it. After lunch I will have an MRI on my noggin’ to see if there’s anything causing these stupid migraines. After two weeks without one I had a mild one on Wednesday, and then another milder one yesterday. I’m ready for them to stop now, thank you very much.
Until then, Happy Easter, I guess.
It’s Friday morning at 8:00am. 9.5 hours from now I should be on the weekend. It can’t get here fast enough. This week has just been… ugh.
First thought, does this work:
Star Wars Celebration is starting today in the UK somewhere and this youtube link should be their live feed. I don’t know if that sort of thing works through an embed, but let’s give it a try, shall we? I have no idea what the agenda is but they are hopefully going to announce plans for future movies and Disney+ TV shows and I want the news, babie. We were supposed to be getting a Damon Lindelof movie (he made The Leftovers and therefore can do no wrong in my book) but he recently announced he left the project after finishing the first draft of the script. Now we just wait and see.
Sunday is Easter. I have two plans. Well… I had one plan but that’s off the books now. My one plan was to just treat it like a normal Sunday and not do anything Eastery. Then I booked an MRI for 4:00pm. So I guess that’s something more than nothing, right? Then we made plans to have lunch with Dad and that is a great idea. I am glad we are doing that. It’s the first holiday without my mother. Next week is Dad’s birthday and it’s the first one without my mother. After that… mother’s day. That’s going to be tough.
Saturday is basically a clean slate. I am hoping the weather cooperates and I’ll get to do some ocean pictures (on both digital and film!) but it depends on the sun and the temperature and on timing. Other than that? Nothing. Maybe some music? Maybe I can talk my beloved bride into going for a drive for no reason with no actual destination. That would be nice. I enjoy spending quality together time with her more than anything in the universe. Let’s see.
As for after work today? Nothing specific. We had our first bad experience with Hello Fresh last night. I think it’s in part because I cooked it myself and I am just not as skilled as Jen. It tasted okay, but the beef was too tough and I had a hard time with it. Jen did too. Tonight is pork. Let’s see how that goes.
That’s about it for now. Cat pictures will come later. Maybe I’ll get a minute around lunch time to go put out the two remaining bird houses, and fill up the bird feeders. Until then… enjoy the start of Star Wars Celebration.
They kicked off Celebration with a trailer for Ahsoka and it has two red light sabers and Grand Admiral Thrawn! Also, half the cast of Rebels! I CAN’T FREAKIN’ WAIT! LET’S GO!!!!! (I’ll post it later)
Oh yeah, and they followed the Ahsoka trailer with an Indiana Jones trailer. That’s all, nothing special. June 30th. I’ll be there.
Sure I had a migraine this morning and sure I had super bad foamies after only 1.2 ounces of chicken at dinner and sure I was nauseous and sure today was a hectic day at work and sure I had traffic going to and from the office and sure I am somehow sick to my stomach and hungry and my head is still a little off. Sure, all of that.
But you know what the biggest take away from today is?
Sixteen years ago tonight, Jennifer and I went on our first date.
Happy first date-aversary to the love of my life. Best first date ever, and the first day of the happiest and most wonderful time of my life. Good heavens, do I love her.
Inside the Red Head's Head 