Greetings on this fine Saturday! We've got a busy day ahead, but first, coffee.

Yesterday was a busy day, mostly with me doing callbacks. I still took 36 calls, but I did a lot of calling to offer people appts that had opened up. I was able to get someone who was freaked out in for an appt almost immediately, so I was pleased. I don't expect to get the same acclaim as the last time I helped someone out, but I always hope that when the person meets someone else who's struggling that they remember the kindness and pay it forward. That might be a wildly optimistic hope, but fingers crossed

Today will also be busy, as we have to go get Jess' suit altered, and then will head up to the winery to pick up our booze. I went a little bit crazy on the order, and ended up getting 13 bottles of beer wine and liquor. I knew I wanted to get two bottles each of the wines we loved, Niagra and Pink Catawba. Then, they had their eggnog in stock and I had to try that. They didn't have the coconut rum cream we loved, so I got a mocha rum cream. I also got a growler of beer in Irish Red, because Killians Red was one of the few beers I liked. Then there were other wines that looked good, and a peppermint schnapps. It's a lot, but I think it'll all be good.

This will probably be the last visit til spring, so I figured it would be good to stock up. Plus, they had all the festive wines, which sounded amazing. Who doesn't love hot mulled wine? (It's me, yet I bought some anyway in the hopes that I won't hate it.)

The real question will be what we open first. I definitely want to try the eggnog. I love me a boozy eggnog, and it's hard to find the right mix.

Tomorrow, we have less planned. I'm supposed to meet with a friend for breakfast, because I have gifts for her kids, and she's a quilter who made stockings for my sister, and the animals. I'm treating, because I know she won't let me pay for the stockings.

After that, I may stop at IKEA and get a bottle of their sparkling pear juice for Christmas dinner. My brother in law doesn't drink, so I want something that he can have on the table as well.

I decided that we're going to open up the table and actually serve the food on serving platters, so that it looks pretty and festive. Of course my tablecloth won't be here til 12/27, fuckers. Maybe I can grab something at IKEA as well.

As of this morning, DHL says they'll be delivering my sister's earrings on 12/24. That would be fucking awesome, and I really hope it works out.

The fudge I ordered for my BIL is supposed to come on 12/23, which is awesome. He loves peanut butter fudge, and this place has bar none the best fudge I've ever had.

Okay, time to go forth and get my ass in gear. Everyone have a stellar Saturday!

It's Thursday! Two more days of work until the weekend! I'm very excited because one day we're going up to Mt Hope and getting some wine and liquor, and as of now, they actually have Eggnog in! It was a birthday miracle! I spent way too much money doing a pickup order, and we'll run up this weekend and pick it up.

I had a lovely birthday yesterday. Worked for 6 hours, and they put out a happy birthday message into email, so I had the whole team wishing me a happy birthday. It was really sweet. Then, I got off at two and grabbed a nice shower and relaxed for a few. Then, we headed over to the Kent House, and had dinner. They opened at 4, but when we got there they let us know that the cook didn't come in til five. After some faffing around, we decided to stay and relax and sit by the roaring fireplace and wait. The 45 minutes until the cook arrived went quickly and the our waiter, Nate was a total sweetheart. And soon, we had freshly fried fries with homemade curry sauce to nibble on devour.

A little bit later the main courses rolled out, and I was not sorry we waited. The shepherd's pie was so good. I ate almost all of it and then was very full for several hours. Jess got the steak and stout handpie, and my sister got fish and chips. It was all excellent.

It was also a day of packages. I got a bunch of boxes. Jess' present arrived, which was awesome. IT's intact and very pretty. I like it a lot, and can't wait to give it to them. We also got some chocolate and fudge I bought from the Chocolate Moonshine Company. We'd gotten their chocolates at the Steel City Con and they were amazing. This time, I tried a bit of fudge. Holy crap that was good. Possibly my favorite fudge I've ever had. I got the twisted Eggnog, and It was amazing. After dinner, since I was too full to have a cupcake, I took a little bit of fudge and had that, singing happy birthday to me.

Then it was time for bed. I actually slept pretty well, though it took me a little bit longer to get to sleep. I think I need to take my pills earlier in the night so I get to sleep a bit before what I currently am.

I think I've gotten my menu together for our Christmas dinner. We're doing an enormous cradled rib roast with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and slightly spicy peas. Dessert will be Jelly turnovers filled with peach amaretto jam. The prime rib comes today, so I'll need to clear out the fridge to fit it.

Tomorrow, more things come! I think I have everything now. I got an ancillary present for Jess, as I realized that the thing I got them could be a problem. So I talked it over with Boodle and decided on a solution. I went ahead and gave Jess the Ancillary present, as it would make no sense and was too big to wrap anyway. They're curious as hell about this present that requires two ancillary presents. This ancillary present was a small side table. I'll have to work on building it this weekend, so it'll be ready for Christmas.

I've got a to-do list for the weekend. Pick up my order at Mt. Hope. I'd like to get to IKEA to get a non alcholic drink option for Christmas--I'm thinking the pear fizzy drink, and maybe do some cleaning.

Okay, time for me to start thinking about work. This starting early is helpful, but annoying. Everyone have a wonderful Friday Eve.

It's Tuesday!! One more day to 53 for me. That sounds so weird. I am going to be fifty three in less than 24 hrs time. Go figure. I'm solidly GenX, so lets be real, we didn't expect to make it to adulthood. We figured on nuclear war long before then. So this is a little surreal.

It's not a bad thing, mind you. I'm not dreading getting older. I've earned every gray hair and creaky bone that I've got. It hasn't been an easy 53 years, but my scars tell a story, and I wear them all proudly, visible or not. And, all of that got me to where I am now, with a cozy appartment, and Jess,

I've said that this will be my year of yes. If something comes up and there's a chance of doing something fun, I'm going to say yes. Friend says "Want to go see the Lost Boys musical on Broadway?" Yes. "Want to take a cruise?" Yes. "Want to book another cruise after the one you just booked (even though you have no idea how much you'll like it)? Yes. Weekend trips? Yes.

Yesterday was busy at work, but not terrible. I took 55 calls, and squished in a bunch of patients. Today should be a little quieter, I hope. After that, we had perogies and bratwurst with some sour cream and sauerkraut. It was excellent.

Of course, in ordering the bratwurst from Aldi, I realized that there was yet another retailer who had the old address. So my lunch break was running over the house and getting the bag. Jess kindly went up the driveway to get the bag, which I appreciate, since it was a bit icy and I would not like to eat shit again.

I also stayed on this side of the street when we walked Yoda. I am not trying that parking lot at night again until we have a warm snap.

Today, I was thinking about making a nice batch of stroganoff. I pulled the brisket out. I could use half for that, and half to make a regular brisket with potatoes and maybe some carrots. It's pretty enormous, I could honestly probably do a third thing with it if I was so inclined. But first stroganoff. It's one of Jess' favorite things I make but lord is it heavy. Thus why I only do it during the winter. This is the recipe I use. It's really good and flavorful, though a little more work than just dumping cream of mushroom soup over things.

I still haven't decided on dinner tomorrow. Irish Pub for Shepherd's pie, or Sichuan? I did get my cupcakes. Turn out that the place we go to does indeed deliver to our house for an exorbitant fee. They had so many good flavors that I ended up getting almost a dozen cupcakes.

I have not yet had a whole one, but the bite I had of Jess' Sugar Cookie flavor was delicious. I may bave a pre-birthday cupcake today. I think the Gingerbread cupcake is calling me. I'm saving Snickerdoodle for my birthday.

Jess' present should come today, for which I am very impatiently waiting. I wasn't sure it would make it in time for Christmas, so I'm thrilled. Looking at the tracking, we'll see if it actually shows up today. It looks to me like it might be tomorrow. Which is fine. As long as I can do some wrapping on Saturday or Sunday, I'm good. The last of the presents should be here on Saturday, so that'll be nice. I do need to print some images. One of my sister's earrings and one of one of Jess' presents. They'll go in cards.

And Christmas is all set!

I'm actually looking forward to this Christmas. We're going to have fun things, and eat all the good stuff. I ordered a carving plate for my rib roast, and we're going to open the table up, so that it can accommodate all the food. I figure in honor of the holiday, I would actually serve things rather than just bringing out a plate of food. We'll carve the prime rib at the table. The mashed potatoes and peas will just have to be in small bowls, as we don't have a full service set. I did order a carving board and set so that I have something to do that on. This prime rib is gonna be lorge. Probably about 8 lbs with the bones.

And now, I shall get ready for work! Everyone have a excellent Tuesday!

It's a snowy Sunday and my asshole body decided that I should get up before 6 on my day off. So now I'm sitting in the living room with the tree on, watching the snow. I've always like the way snow deadens sound, so it's like a great hush falls o'er the land. We're only supposed to get a few inches, so this qualifies as a pretty snow, and one I don't need to go out in.

Yesterday was pretty good. Not long after I posted, I peeked on facebook, and a woman in one of my Holland America groups posted that she was able to book reservations for specialty dinners for her cruise in May. So of course I went and looked, and lo and behold, I found that ours were open too! I immediately made the two reservations I really wanted to get. Fortunately, both were available.

So on our Glacier Viewing day, we'll have the one I wanted most, dinner at the pop up Morimoto place. The menu looks amazing and I can't wait to try it. I've wanted to eat at Morimoto forever, so I'm very excited about it. That one I got for just 3 of us, since the BIL isn't a fan of Asian food. He's decided that'll be his night to go to the Casino while we eat.

The other one I grabbed was on the last night of the cruise. It's the Alaskan Seafood boil, which will include Dungeness crabs and shrim and maybe some other stuff in a white whine garlic sauce. I'm going to fuck it up. That's for all four of us.

It was a nice little hit of serotonin to start my day.

After that, I kinda chilled until we went to get our errands started at noon. First, a quick stop to pick up my meds, then off to pick out a wreath. The nursery we go to is very nice, with a decent selection. We found a very pretty wreath with striped red and white bow and small red baubles in it. It's very pretty and lovely without being too much. It fits the door well, though it was a real bitch to put up. We have a magnetic hook on our front door that has had no problem with any of our other wreaths. This one, not so much. It took two hooks to hold it. Which were fun to coordinate. But it's finally on our door and looking pretty. I will try to get a picture today to show you tomorrow.

Then, it was off to lunch. We went to Michael's Steak and Lobster house, which was as always, SO good. I ordered their Saturday special, which is a 16oz prime rib steak with a scoop of crabmeat and imperial sauce, then broil and make a moat around the steak for the au jus. It's one of my favorite things, though I never am able to eat it all at once. It's huge, plus you get two sides. It's a very old-fashioned restaurant, complete with 70's wood paneling and a bit painting of a Baltimore Clipper ship. It's 100% a throwback, and it's just comforting. Add to that the good food, and it's an easy place to go for a nice meal.

It's not too dressy, which was good. And with my steak having the au jus, that's a good thing, as I immediately dripped it on my shirt. (I am not a dainty woman).

Then it was home to relax and watch more of Hazbin Hotel. I finished the first season and am still loving the show. Can't wait to see what's going to come next. Next season will probably be in 2027, so that's a way off, so I'm not in a huge rush to watch all of Season 2.

I also ordered a little bit of booze, as we have none, and I'd like to be able to put some spiced rum in my cocoa today.

Then we walked the dog, then did our nightly Advent calendar booze. We skipped the wine calendar (which is fine, it has not been impressing). The whiskey calendar is much better. This is technically our second calendar, as the first, the Irish Whiskey calendar was only 12 days. It was so much fun that I bought a second, so we'll have it all through the Holiday season. We should be finishing right around Epiphany. They're just little miniature bottles, so it's like a mouthful per person--not a ton of booze.

Today, we're all going to snuggle up on the couches and watch Wake Up Dead Man. We may make it a Knives Out day and watch all three movies again, just for the hell of it. We'll see what time we get started. My sister ordered pop corn from the local Cinemark and we have cocoa mix and marshmallows. It should be fun.

Maybe I'll make some breakfast first. I could kind of go for a Dutch baby pancake. For now, it's time to plug my laptop in. We're down to 32%, so it definitely needs a charge. Everyone have a safe and warm Sunday!

It's (finally) Friday! Work hasn't been terrible this week, but it's definitely kept me busy. I don't know if my counterpart is off or if it's just been busy, but I've been getting a lot of emails with patients to call. I enjoy it, because it usually means I have a solution for their problem. Unfortunately, it's not always an optimal solution, so sometimes they aren't thrilled, but most will take it. Sometimes they don't accept, and that's frustrating. Especially the ones who initally say they'll go anywhere. Then you get them an appt at a site 20 min out of their way, and they say no. That just annoys me. We worked to get you a spot, and you don't value your health enough to use an extra hour of your day to go to it? These are all STAT orders!

I did ask my boss if I could come in 30 min early on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, so that I can leave 2 hours early on my birthday. This will allow me to go procure my cupcakes without dealing with dark and traffic. It's not that my sister wouldn't go for me, it's just that I like to go to choose my flavors. I'll probably end up defaulting to a snickerdoodle cupcake, but you never know. There might be something fun.

I've ordered the rib roast for Christmas. It's going to come next Thursday, which will give me a week to let it dry a bit, per Alton Brown. I'm going to try his recipe to see how it turns out. It looked pretty good on his TikTok. Add to that some nice garlic mashed potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding, and some other vegetable and we'll be good. I do need to get the kind of meat thermometer that you leave in the meat while it cooks, just for temperature control. And a turkey baster, which is apparently excellent for the Yorkshire pudding, since you need to retrieve a bit of pan drippings to add to the batter. Otherwise, it's basically a Dutch Baby without the egg, which I know how to make.

Today, we have work, then we shall go forth and have D&D. I'm up super early, so that's going to be a struggle, but I will manage.

For December, we've been opening Advent calendars. The Hallmark Wine advent has been pretty lackluster, but Master of Malt's Irish Whiskey advent calendar has been great. It's not full sized bottles, mind you. The wine is about two servings, split to three, and the whiskey is basically a shot, split to three little tastings. Sadly the Whiskey was only the 12 days of Christmas (we started early), so we've finished that last night. However, I ordered another type. 24 days of glorious booze. As my sister said, it's good that we don't have doctors appts soon for the "How oftern do you drink?" "Nightly!" Yesterday, we also opened the Pink Catawba wine from Mt. Hope Winery. I really have disliked the last two nights of Hallmark, so I needed a palate cleanser. That is wine I can get behind. Sweet and crisp and wonderful. The Catawba may be my favorite of their wines, and possibly my favorite white in general. No more whiskey til Tuesday, though. *sad face*

Tomorrow, I think we're going to go get my prescription, then get our wreath, then lunch. It's not supposed to snow until late, so that's good.

Maybe we'll drive up to Mt Hope next weekend, when I'm not still recovering from a Con. Get some Catawba, Niagra and some spirits. Their liquor is awesome, especially the coconut rum cream. SO freaking good! I would pour myself a shotglass and sip it during game.

Sunday, I have nothing planned. Just a quiet day. And I'm looking forward to that. Last weekend was awesome. I had so much fun at the con, it was great, but it was busy, so no real day of rest. Friday, we drove up. Saturday, we were at the Con, which was very physically demanding, and then Sunday, some con time, then driving home. The drive was about 4 hours each way. At least the drive home was in daylight. That made it a bit easier. Driving up, we hit twilight about 1.5 hours out, and I hated that. Especially since we kept seeing deer by the road. I was worried as hell about hitting one. But things went smoothly, so that was good.

We're at 146 days til the cruise and I'm starting to get excited again now that it's under 150 days. Everyone has their passports and the BIL's suitcase is arriving today, which is the last one to arrive. Camera is ready and we have extra batteries and SD cards. I need to order more socks, but I think I'm okay otherwise on clothes. We've got a ton of outlets, so that'll be fine.

I was thinking about the Neptune lounge and how we have a concierge for the Neptune and Pinnacle suites. I think I'll put in a standing order for a pot of coffee and some pastries every morning. And our free mimosa. Can't forget that. And then afternoon tea, of course. We'll want that.

Our suite has free bottled water and sodas as well as a coffee machine, but a pot would be easier. Plus, then I can get milk and sugar. We've got a dining room that seats 6, plus a balcony with four seats and a hot tub. I plan to take my coffee and pastry out there most mornings and watch the scenery go by. I'm already planning how spoiled I'll be when we get back, but it's all good.

First, we have a Philly weekend trip, though. We're going to go to the Zoo, and then come back at night for their holiday lights. We're meeting up with friends at some point, but I don't know when, judging from games. Maybe Friday night or Saturday after the Zoo.

Then, we have a little break, until April, which is a NYC trip to see the Lost Boys Musical with a friend. Then, the big one in May, and possibly a con later that month.

Okay, time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have a stellar Friday!

It's hump day! We're almost halfway through the week! Hopefully, today will be a little bit quieter at work. We were very busy yesterday, and they kept me jumping. My new title is "Schedule Jenga Master." Sometimes, we get cancellations on a schedule, but they're not consecutive. But a lot of the STAT orders we have are for longer MRIs. So when that's the case, I go in and figure out which patients I need to move to open up more time. And then I look at the schedule and see where I can move them to. It can either be "Can you come in half an hour early, or "hey I see your scheduled and we have an appointment sooner/closer to your home, and we thought of you. I've gotten very good at making it seem like we're doing the patient a favor, when really I'm just opening up this slot for other people.

I've been given access to the STAT list, so I can see who I can get in, when I have an open slot. So that's fun. I know Josh and Amanda are still working on getting some sort of promotion for me, so I don't feel like they're exploiting me. It's just another brick in building a case for our big boss. They've been very conspicuous about telling said boss when I help out. They're included on just about every email that they send to me.

Tattoo has reached the slight scabby phase. When I put my lotion on, I can feel the bumps under my hand. It's still looking good, so it doesn't look like my skin rejected too much of the brown, which Ronie said can be a problem. Brown sometimes doesn't like to stick. Soon it will be in the itchy phase. Looking forward to that.

About 4 weeks ago, I had commissioned a necklace to go with my ring for the vow renewal ceremony, and it is finally winging it's way to me. DHL says it'll come today, but I'm really not expecting it til tomorrow. It turned out really well.





It's exactly what I wanted- 1/4 of a tennis necklace. I'm hoping my sister's earrings are done soon. I'm not thinking they're going to come before Christmas, but we'll see!

I wish there was a 24 hour stimulant. The Azstarys works so fucking well during the day. I'm calm, the world doesn't feel like sandpaper against my nerves. It's like being a functional human. But then around 7pm, it cuts out and I get anxious again. It's annoying as fuck, since I *know* there's a remedy. But doctors are very touchy about stimulants, so I doubt I could get a Ritalin chaser.

Yet again, I was annoyed with my family and doctors on behalf of baby-me. I struggled so much and have spent my entire life just as an anxious, strange and angry child, and all it fucking took was a stimulant and I'd have felt normal. ADHD is so badly underdiagnosed in girls, and it sucks.

And now, I shall go forth and get myself together. The Azstarys is kicking in and I'm ready to get my ass in gear. Everyone have a superb Wednesday!

First up, hey congrats, you survived Monday!

My monday was considerably more boring than the weekend. I pretty much only did work. Which was fine, busy, but not unpleasantly slow. I spent a good chunk of the day grabbing open slots and finding candidates for them. It's been a challenge, with lots of MRIs and no slots. I got two diagnostic mammos plus a kiddo in yesterday, which was nice.

My order arruved yesterday. I liked Yoda's portrait so much that I had ordered one for Boodle. It turned out adorable.



I immediately put her up and now she and Yoda bookend the TV. I love them.

I have a mystery package coming from China. I'm thinking it's my necklace, but it's coming from a technology company, so I have no clue. That's supposed to be here tomorrow.

I looked at my usual apps and discovered that we are at 149 days until the cruise! I know that's still 5 months, but it's creeping up.

I'm continuing to do research on our hotels. Or post-research, since I booked them before I really did in depth research. I'm watching videos of them and seeing how people's stays went. I'm actually excited about staying at both of them, but especially the one before the cruise. I look at our excursions and I just cant believe that this trip is real. It seems like such a fairy tale cruise. First class flight from Baltimore to Seattle. Pickup from airport in a luxury SUV and tour Seattle for 4 hours. Then, a lovely drive to Vancouver, and to the five star (boggle) hotel for two nights. 5 star? I felt out of place in a 4 star, the one time we did it! I don't know what a 5 star is like! We have a lovely day of exploring Vancouver, then the next morning we hop on the ship.

I really hope I like cruising after all this build up. I'm looking forward to sitting back in the chair and just watching the scenery unfold.

It's early in the season for too much wildlife, so probably no bears, too far south for moose. Hopefully we'll find some whales and maybe some seals and definitely bald eagles.

I just want everything to run smoothly. I think I've accounted for all the probabilities. My sister's passport has been approved, and should be here soon. Jess and I are good. I think the BIL has his in processing. It's starting to feel like it might happen.

I hope that I and everyone have a good time. I want things that I schedule to be good for people. Normally that's just Jess that I worry about. But this is going to be two more people! If it's like Disney, that lasted until we walked through the gates of Epcot on the first day. After that, I let it go. But for pre-planning, I'm awesome. This trip is my special interest, and I will make sure that everyone enjoys it.

My only real concern is how the sofa bed will be for my sister and BIL. I just want that to be okay for them, and the rest is good. I just want things to be fun.

Okay, time to get myself together and maybe shower. We'll see. I hope everyone has an amazing Tuesday!