Weekend Review {12/30}

FRIDAY

My Friday post went up late, so no pics to share since I already shared them.  I didn't have much in the way of work tasking, having completed it all earlier in the week, so I spent most of Friday monitoring chat and email and planning run things and going through my bibs and trying to come up with clever things to put on a new medal rack.

Teh German and I stayed home and had leftover for dinner and spent the evening watching hockey, which gave me a genius idea.

SATURDAY

Saturday was tattoo day.  I was out of the house by 0900 with a millionty ounces of beverage.

L to R: water, sweet tea, coffee

I got a nice reminder soon after getting on 26 that it was the weekend after Christmas and I needed to slow my roll.  And by that I mean, I saw 2 people pulled over within a mile of each other, soooo yeah I slowed down.

I grabbed lunch and then headed to see Noel.

We did a LOT of work on Saturday and the sleeve is FINISHED!!! WOOT!  Thanks to medication I was able to make it through almost 6 hours of stabbing.  Unfortunately, I did almost pass out when it was all over.  I thought it was the medication kicking in and I was getting light headed and my hearing was very tunnel-y, so I sat down.  Then Noel realized I was very ghostly and without color and kinda green looking.  I was immediately given a chocolate bar to eat and wet paper towels for my forehead and neck. 

I didn't realize I had come so close to passing out until Rob, one of the tattoo artists, said, "Didn't you wonder why your hearing was all funky?"  I said, "I thought it was just my tinnitus acting out again."  So yeah, all those people that make fun of getting that 10% disability from the VA for tinnitus, that's how bad my tinnitus is.. I thought that it was tinnitus and didn't realize I was about to pass out.  Kthx.

Everyone was skeptical about me hitting the road and driving all the way back to Charleston, but even if I had driven to Home, Home to stay at Dad's, it still would have been at least an hour of driving and if I could drive an hour, I could drive the 3.5 to get home... so that's what I did.  I did stop at Wendy's and grab a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger for dinner and dealt with the general tiredness and boring drive with audiobook for a while then I switched to car karaoke until I made it home. 

Teh German had waited up on me, partially because he was watching a movie and partially because he had been worried about the situation before I left the shop.  As soon as I set my shit down and got everything unpacked, it was bedtime.

SUNDAY

I slept like complete shit because of the roller coaster the day before, the full effect of the meds made me restless, and my arm was, understandably, sore/sensitive.  We had made plans to go to Holy City to check out the new location with the Neighbors.

We were all super impressed at the new location, but because they changed from bar only service to sit down/table service, they were struggling a bit, andddd they didn't have the brunch menu... annndddd after we ordered the server came back to tell me they didn't have what I ordered.  Sooooo, I was disappointed.  Also, I felt like everyone we were with was pissed at me for my irritation, which I couldn't comprehend since we'd waited over an hour for people to arrive (Teh German did order an appetizer while we waited, which was for the best), the item I wanted wasn't offered (because no brunch), nor was my 2nd choice, then we waited a long time for food (which was expected). 

Also, I'm not sure why people have found it acceptable recently to be outright rude to me to my face, but Jesus-fuck, I wish it would stop.  From being told, over and over and over, how weird I was and how the person saying it decided I wasn't so bad after they got to know me at Teh German's Company Holiday Party to Teh PT Husband straight up telling me I was annoying him, even though I hadn't done anything to him.  I later realized that he was hangry since he does a fasting thing and he hadn't eaten..

But back to my point, why should I be the one to have to change MY behavior based on your problems with me?  I like me.  I don't like it when people are rude to me because they have a problem with something about me.  Not like something I said or did to them, but a problem WITH me.  Is this that whole 2019 thing?  I considered that maybe I was just taking things personally, but with a second occurrence so soon after the first one, maybe it's a thing now?  I'm not saying people shouldn't talk straight with me, but I also think some self-reflection before words come out of your mouth should be a thing.  You might think you're being funny calling someone annoying, but are you?  Who laughed?  Because as the person you were saying that about, I sure as fuck didn't fucking laugh.

I tried to be normal through the rest of the time we were there, but I was annoyed at myself being annoyed with all the uncontrollable things (menu, waiting, other people's rudeness) and I was only there for brunch, not day drinking.  Teh German would hang out all day with the gang at a brewery, but there's a lot less in it for me, as I don't drink beer.  Also, it was raining and the bay doors were open and I was freezing because it was hot when we left and I'd opted to wear short sleeves and I had regrets when it started raining and the wind was blustering through the brewery.

By the time we left, we'd been there for almost 3 hours, which probably explained why I was so ready to leave.  When we got home, I did the laundry and had Teh German take photos of my arm, and then he went over to help Teh PT Husband smoke fish for dinner after they got home and I play Emoji Blitz and napped and woke up and read.

Dinner was smoked fish and salad.  We finished out the night with Modern Family and then it was bedtime chores and sleepy time. 

Because I napped, I wasn't really tired, so I finished my book and then it was sleepy time.

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So remember that one time when I said I had a genius idea?  Well, I figured out Teh German's (early) birthday present: Hockey tickets.. and not just bleh hockey ticket.. No no, we're going to see the Capitals vs Hurricanes in Raleigh on the 3rd.  ANNNNDDD the birthday part of these tickets is that we are sitting RIGHT.BESIDE the Caps penalty box.  We're predicting a pretty aggressive game since the Caps lost to the Hurricanes last Friday night, so hopefully Teh German will get to take some selfies with his faves.

Teh Advising Sister said we could stay with her, which is fabulous.  Now I just have to arrange for a dog sitter and we'll be golden.

This week is a semi-normal work week.  Monday and Tuesday are wear your jammies into work day, which is right up my DNGAF about my appearance alley.  Also, since it's fucking summer outside, I am able to wear short sleeves, which is convenient for my all day lotion-ing purposes.  Really though, our AC kicked on last night it because it was 75°F in our house.  HATE.

Even the dogs seem to be disgruntled about it.  I heard Meri get up in the middle of the night and rearrange her bed and when that didn't work, she jumped on the chair and tried to nest in it.  She eventually settled, but she's been pretty restless the warmer it's gotten.  All this to say, the entire family does better when the temps are under 70°F.

I have to take care of some errands this week, mostly returns, blech.  We're attending a neighborhood NYE party Tuesday night, we'll see what my toleration allows for.  I'm off on Wednesday (Teh German is on vacation all this week).  We'll head to Raleigh on Thursday afternoon.  The game is Friday night.  We'll head back to Charleston on Saturday.  This way Teh German will have his full recovery day at home prior to having to go back to work on the 6th.

Activities start picking up after this week.  We'll have visitors in town for the Charleston Marathon weekend, which I'm running the half.  Then after that, school starts again, which I am NOT looking forward to. 

This might be the last 2019 post, so in that vein, Happy 2020, Gentle Readers.  Thanks for riding the 2019 roller coaster with me.  Fingers crossed for a smoother 2020.

Five on Friday #220

EINS - Random Shit

Have you ever insisted on powering through learning how to do something to make a tedious task more simple and then realized that it was a complete waste of time?  Well, if you haven't, let me just tell you that it's annoying and uncool.

That said, I know a way to separate a CSV list into rows in Excel... because these are skills people need in real life.

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When your twat-waffle dog helps herself to the recently (less than 12 hours prior to events occurring) delivered (from Germany) marzipan and it ends up being unfortunate but also kinda funny because you watched her on the cameras as she circled the island to best plot her attack....  Then used her long ass selfie-stick legs to pull the basket to her, so she could pluck out the heaviest item in the container and take it back to her bed for her enjoyment.. and HER enjoyment only since her brother was muzzled and couldn't even partake a little.

I administered peroxide to make her puke, which she didn't, which is why she's shut outside and normally, she'd be totally ok with being outside, but she knew she'd fucked up this time so she wanted to come back in and woo me with her cuteness.

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Dear Goodreads,
Thanks for being encouraging, but it's probably not gonna happen.  Apparently, I only read books that are a millionty pages long because I'm an overachieving asshole.

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Probably the most from the heart Christmas gift I've given in a while.  For Teh PT Kid, who is an addict of my mac and cheese:

I gave him 5 coupons and explained that holidays were a free pass.

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I signed up (for free) to do the Ragnar 31 Day Challenge.  I didn't buy the shirt, but I really wanted to, so look at that will-power, kthxbye.  I saw people posting selfies with their shirt on and a 31 day challenge medal, soooo that was honestly the biggest encouragement.

I'm hoping that it will help me get back into the swing of running on the regular instead of sporadically.  In turn, running regularly will help me stop hurting as much and hopefully get me that sub 2:30 half marathon time.  There was one point in my life that I wanted to do a sub 2:00 half marathon, but I think with the hip and toe issues, those days have passed and I've had to set up achievable goals as to not keep myself frustrated.

Hopefully this challenge will get me into the gym on days that I don't feel like running or at least walking the dogs, because getting off your ass is the goal, not necessarily a workout commitment.

See also: setting realistic goals is my jam.

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As a Christmas gifts to the dogs, I purchased an advent calendar with Meri's favorite sized toys.  It was only 12 days, but that was fine.  We celebrated every other day since I would give out 2 toys (one for Meri, one for Pax) at a time.  So, with 12 new "mice" (what we call all of Meri's stuffies), I finally did a mini-cleaning spree on Christmas and picked up all the toys from the living room floor.  See also: I really hate clutter.

While in the middle of that, I decided to take a peek under the couches to see if there were toys under them.  THERE WERE.  SO MANY TOYS.  OMG.  I 100% did NOT need to buy the advent calendar because all of Meri's toys were under the couches.  I couldn't figure out where all her toys had disappeared to, but now I know! Siiiigh.

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You may remember that I mentioned that I bought Husband a backsplash for Christmas.  I was not kidding.  They came on Monday to install it and it's fabulous.  I have zero regrets.

It was 2 dudes, which made me happy since that meant they were definitely able to finish it in one day instead of having to come back on Tuesday.  I even got a concert from one of the guys who turned on music on his phone and was singing along to it.  Despite laying out butcher paper on the counters and floors, there was still grit everywhere after they left, so I had to do a mini clean on Monday and then again on Christmas day (when I actually vacuumed the kitchen and the dryer vent/laundry room).

In not-surprising-news, Teh German is already looking at a way to put under the cabinet lights in.  He's actually been talking about this for a very long time, but we've never done it because we already have Hue lights on the tops of the cabinets and it wasn't that important.

Fun fact: Teh German is obsessed with lighting everything up.  From motion-sensor lights in the pantry to lights under the cabinets to the lights that will go up after the dining room crown molding is installed.  ALL THE LIGHTS!  That should be his motto.

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Teh German and I don't agree on everything, but when it comes to house stuff, we can agree on stuff quickly.  Like, I'm still shocked/impressed at how quick we agree on stuff when it comes to the house.  From our first decisions at the Design Center to picking out the tile for the backsplash.  #BestTeam4Ever

As for paint colors, Teh German hasn't really given me his opinion still, but I think he just trusts that I'm not going to do something to completely fuck everything up at this point.  He also knows that I've gotten the opinions of several individuals who we trust regarding decorating things, so that helps.

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After posting on FB about Meri eating my marzipan, our German friends offered to send more AND they are including a case of Kinder Hippos for Teh PT Wife.  In exchange, we're sending Apple Jacks.  #WinWinSituation

I also learned that we have a LOT of contacts that go through Germany and are willing to pick stuff up for us and bring it back for us.

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I'm a full-on Heathen these days, but we went to Teh PT Fam's church on Christmas Eve since they were doing a skit and Teh PT Kid was playing his viola.  That was cool and all, but during the service, a video was played of Mary and Joseph trekkin' to Bethlehem.  GENTLE READERS, Mary and Joseph... THEY WERE PLAYED BY BROWN ACTORS!!!  My mind was happily blown.

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We tried out a new restaurant called Jackrabbit Filly last night and OMG sooo derichious.

Fish (tuna) Tartare

Garlicy Greens (back left) and something something Spätzle (front)

Salt and pepper octopus and pickles.

I was also over eager and forgot to photograph the dumplings.

SO MUCH YUM.

Also, a lady beside us kept mispronouncing spätzle and it took everything in me not to correct her because she said it wrong no less than 3 times within 3 minutes and OMFG.   I guess I should be more understanding because it's not an American word, but she was butchering it.  I can't even reproduce what she was saying because it was like there were static in my brain when she'd say it after the first 3 times, in an attempt to block it out. 

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The 2020 Race calendar looks like this, so far... oops.

Charleston Marathon (half) - Jan 11
? Dafuskie Island Half- Jan 18
Save the Light, Inc. (half) - Feb 1
? Hilton Head Half Marathon - Feb 8
Charlotte Hot Chocolate 15k & 5k (15k) - Feb 22
Myrtle Beach Marathon (5k - for the Bless Your Heart medal) - Mar 7
? RunSkidaway (half) - Mar 21
? Beaufort Twilight Run (challenge) - Mar 21
* Rock 'n' Roll Washington DC Marathon & 1/2 Marathon (half) - Mar 28
? Publix Savannah Women's half Marathon & 5k (half) - Apr 4
Hot Pursuit 5K - June 13
?* Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon (challenge) - Sept 19
? Ragnar Relay (Sunset - DC) - ~Sept 20
?* Rock And Roll Marathon Savannah Georgia (challenge) - Nov 7?
? Bohicket Half Marathon & 5K - Nov 14
Kiawah Island Marathon (half) - Dec 12

? = not signed up, but considering
* = if I sign up for one, I'll sign up for all 3 for the challenge medals/discount.

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2021 Race calendar includes:
-King Crab Challenge + the BFD Challenge, which I would have completed in 2019, butttt Germany.  #SacrificesWereMade

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That leads me to another running thing..
Teh German is going to make me a new medal rack, since my current rack is overflowing and most of the hooks (which have been doubled since the original purchase) have double medals on them.  It's really cluttered, mmmkay. 

The most difficult part about this?  Coming up with what I want to print on the board.
Current options:

• Miles of Memories
• I can go the distance.
• #MegOnTheRun
• Will run for participation medals
• She believed she could so she did.
• Sacrifices were made.
• It was a good idea at the time.

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In the spirit of running, I decided to organize my race bib and find a way to display them.

Fun things I realized:

-I've been running since 2012.   It started out with The Color Run and I was completely satisfied with participating in 5ks.  I was a solid run/walker with ZERO shame.

-My first half marathon was 13 September 2014.  GENTLE READERS, I've been running half marathons for FIVE years.

-I will still never run a distance longer than 13.1 miles (on purpose).  Most people start to up their challenges/distances after a few years.  My challenge isn't so much the distance, but my body allowing me to do the things I do.  I have back issues and hip problems and there are days that are a constant ache and I don't talk about it because it doesn't hurt that bad.

-I have embraced participation awards.  I know as adults so many of us are like, "Getting participation medals leads to people expecting something for minimal effort."  I'm just gonna let you know that doing a half marathon is far from my minimal effort.  Shit, even doing a 5k is NOT minimal effort.  Bring on the participation medals.

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I don't have a problem.. YOU have a problem...
I can stop anytime I want.

During the recent sales, I bought a whole bunch of Wallflower refills from Bath and Body Works.  They are currently doing their semi-annual sale AND I needed to replace all the smellers, so I laid my collection out to select the best smells for this time of year.  Annnnddd I also decided that I do NOT need to buy any Wallflowers during the current sale.  /shrug

ZWEI - Money Shit

-Post-race brunch
-New running shoes
-New walking shoes
-groceries
-Women in Cybersecurity registration fee
-Insurance (which gave me a heart attack because my CC bill was so high and I had forgotten I had payed this bill)
-Lids for the Holy City Brewery silicone cups
-Myrtle Beach 5k registration so I can get the 2020 Bless Your Heart medal
-KFC for lazy dinner
-Car taxes
-Water bill
-Save the Light half marathon
-Dairy Queen
-Woot shirt
-Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale things (oops)

DREI - From My Phone Shit

I have zero regrets about buying her the chair bed.  I love that she stays with me in the office now.

This weirdo stole my spot, so I decided to snuggle him and then he put his frito feet in my face.
This is true love people.

Meri's favorite part about this week?
The backdoor being open the majority of the day for her to come/go as she pleases.

Paximoose decided to get up on the couch with me, BY CHOICE, no bribery was given, and I had to have photographic evidence since this never happens.  Even Husband was like, DAFUQ?

Probably the best Trump anything I've ever seen.

When you wear your Grinch leggings on Christmas with your Clawz shoes.
100% #NotSorry

I can never find the stupid hole for my charging cable and there is a vent near the hole, so I am always missing the hole (that's what he said) so I finally gave in and put a small piece of my fantastic rainbow tape to mark it.  I have zero regrets.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

This is a proven fact.

And even here in the in-betweens I will sow seeds of kindness, joy, and love.
I will water the plants right in front of me.
I will that be ENOUGH.
-MHN

Her mountains did not break her,
Instead, they only shaped her,
and gave her an all-new hope to see:
She is stronger than she ever thought she'd be.
-Morgan Harper Nichols

You do not have to bear the burden of everything today.
You are allowed to slow down and take time to sort things out.
-MHN

Do your best while ALSO KNOWING your worth is not tied to WHAT YOU accomplish.
MHN

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Christmas with family and friends.
2. Quiet Christmas week.  Teh German has been off since Weds and I've teleworked all week.
3. New backsplash.  It gives the kitchen some personality.
4. Deciding on swatch colors for painting, I think.
5. "Messages for web".  This is essential the browser version of my text messages so I can respond to them on my laptop instead of responding on my phone.  It's fabulous.
6. 5 mile run this week.  Trying to get back on the horse.  
7. Friends who are willing to send things from Germany.
8. Sleeping in.
9. Actualizing my running accomplishments.
10. PJs all day.

Happy (last) Friday (of 2019), Gentle Readers.

Weekend Review {12/23}

FRIDAY

Friday was a cluster fuck of a day.
I got barely any work tasks accomplished because of Teh German stress, not him personally, but the situation that I've been vague about.  I left work on a mission to go home and self-medicate with Xanax and vodka.  I didn't take any medications.

Instead, I did the laundry and walked the dogs with Teh PT Wife and snuggled with the dogs and then Teh German came home and we were talking for a bit and then Mom called and Teh German went upstairs to shower and then after my phone conversation, I went upstairs to get ready.. because despite all the stress of the day, we were still headed to Teh German's company holiday gathering at Poogan's Smokehouse.

I'll be honest, I almost asked Teh German if I had to go to his company party because I wasn't overly interested in dealing with the coworkers after the day I'd had.  But I ended up (wo)manning up and powering through it and the food was delicious and the company wasn't so bad and I didn't say anything inappropriate to anyone, which was a legitimate fear.

Additionally, the food was fucking delicious.  I'd been to Poogan's Porch before, but never Poogan's Smokehouse and I'll definitely be going back to the Smokehouse.  Dat shiz was delicious.

I ended up driving us home and lying to Teh German that Teh PT Fam was probably already in the bed when we got home since he was "well-lubricated" by that point and I didn't want to deal with the "overly-lubricated" Teh German.  I was already faced with a night of Twitchy McGee, so that was enough of a sacrifice in my mind.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning, Teh PT Wife and I headed to Summerville to run the Hot Cocoa 5k.  I run this race for the hoodie they give that is valued more than the entry fee... and I'll admit that this was probably my last year participating, or at least until I need a new hoodie.  The race sells out pretty quickly and there are a LOT of kids.  The beginning of the race was so congested, it rivaled a Disney race going through the tunnels.  If you're not aware of this, just know it's a DISASTER.  Too many people, not enough space.  Some twatwaffle ran over the back of a woman's heels with her stroller when she was trying to pass her.  WTF?!?! 

After the race, we checked out the tents to free stuff, I considered lying to obtain a kid's medal because that's what I run for, and then Teh PT Wife put in a Starbucks order, we fetched it, then went to Dick's so I could get some new shoes, then by the hippy/healthy grocery store where I ended up buying so much shit (coffee, apples, and beer), then to brunch at First Watch.

yes, yes I did buy these lumberjack shoes.

When I got home, Teh German was, thankfully, up and moving.  I sorted through all my purchases and finally took a bath and then I took a nap.

In the evening, we went over to Teh PT House for socializing.  We were back home and in bed before 10.

SUNDAY

It started raining on Sunday and hasn't stopped.  If it was colder, this would be an epic Christmas snow, but I live in Charleston, SC, so it's not.  Boo. 

We got up and had a slow start.  I managed to sit on my ass on the couch for 95% of my awake time on Sunday.  Meri snuggled with me for a significant portion of that, which always brings me joy.  I played my stupid Disney Emoji Blitz game and finished a book.

For dinner, I did chicken wings in the air fryer with salad.  We finished out the evening with Modern Family.

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I debated starting a puzzle, but on Saturday Teh German had went to pick up the materials for the backsplash installation and it was all laid out on the dining room table, so there was no puzzle room...  Oh well.  Soon enough.  I'm definitely not shunning a good lazy weekend.

Today is the backsplash installation.
Wednesday is Christmas.
My office is closed on Thurs and Fri, which means teleworking all.week.long.
Please do be impressed that I got up at normal time this morning and showered and got ready like normal and then went downstairs for work things right away.  It is fabulous being able to start work so early and not having to deal with fuck-tards on the road and then I still work just as late in the afternoon, which means I can curb my hours on Friyay. 

We're still sorting through that huge news thing that I want to talk about, but I can't yet.  I want to make sure it's settled before I start jinxing it... because I'm not superstitious  but I'm a little stitious (5 pts if you know where that's from).

If I don't make it back here before Christmas, Merry Christmas, Gentle Readers.

Five on Friday #219

EINS - Random Shit

I am no more in my element than when a FB friend asks for Charleston restaurant suggestions for their anniversary trip.  HOLD MY BEER, I'm comin' in hot.  For real, I probably wrote a full page of suggestions.  They're prob only gonna be here for 2 days, but CHS is for eating and eating is my jam.

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I went ahead and made a 2 hour massage appointment the Monday after the Charleston Half.  #NotSorry #BePrepared

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After being asked to do a simple task that could be the job of myself or the person already in contact with a new employee, I came up with this manifesto...

My philosophy on task management:
-Keep a task to the minimum number of resources as possible. A person doing a task shouldn't have to contact 5 different people for 5 different issues if the person doing the tasking KNOWS all the answers.
-Inconvenience as few people as possible when accomplishing YOUR tasking. They will only slow down your ability to achieve your goal because they are doing their own thing and you are probably not their priority.
-Redundancy should be avoided at all costs.
-Don't task out something trivial when you can handle it, especially if you are already working on the project and it's within your scope, ESPECIALLY if the solution is something along the lines of "Let me Google that for you."

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You remember that one time that I bitched and moaned incessantly about taking 5 computer science classes at once and it being the most difficult semester of college ever?

You remember that one time when I was stuck in the SAME classroom (with no windows) for ALL of my classes?

Maybe you might remember when I couldn't do fun activities because of school things. Or you might remember when I said, fuck this shit, I give up, and then you watched me give it one more push even though I said I wouldn't (and you probably laughed, but you were kind enough to keep that to yourself, TYVM).

Or maybe you might remember when I said, I'm not going to stress myself out over getting As because Bs, Cs, and Ds also get degrees.. and then you watched me stress myself out over not getting all As on every.single.assignment (and you wanted to laugh about this to yourself, but you were starting to worry about my mental health).

You might remember when I was weary and questioned my life choices about selecting a computer science degree program and how I wasn't enough and how I used food to reward/motivate myself.

It's been a hell of a ride, but it all paid off in the end.
Dean's List AND Gold Star status (all As) for the most difficult semester of both my college careers. Probably my biggest college achievement, second to graduating (past and future tense).

But here's the OTHER thing.
All As raised my GPA to 3.611.  Remember that one time when I was like, "I really want to graduate with honors because I'm a fucking psycho who hates herself!"?  Yeah well, that's a reality now unless I majorly mess things up in the Spring, which I doubt because I'm only taking 12 credit hours (so 4 classes) and one of those classes is German.  Even if I got A/Bs, I'd still have a 3.5 at graduation which still qualifies as "with honors".  I really wanted a 3.75, but it's literally impossible to have that GPA and still graduate May 2020, so I gave up that dream.

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This week has been a fucking roller coaster.
A millionty work tasks.
A LOT of personal life upheaval (hopefully more info on that situation once it's settled next week).

It's almost been like 2019 has self-actualized and realized what a suck it was and now it's making up for all that suck in a single week.  And I'm not sad about the good things happening, but it's made for an extremely long week and I'm duuunnnn.

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I finally cancelled my car wash membership.  This really doesn't matter to anyone, but I'm doing a good job this year at shedding things that don't make me happy and the car wash was steadily declining in goodness to the point that I was like this is not worth what I'm paying, fuck this.. and I finally cancelled. 

If I learned anything in 2019, it has been to let go of shit that doesn't bring me joy.  I never even watched an episode of Marie Kondo.

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When restaurants reuse their leftover tea the next morning (lookin' at you Bojangles) and it's soured from being out all fucking day the day prior, I want to set shit on fire.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-2020 Kiawah Half registration since it was only $43 vs what it would be if we decided to do it later.
-Cargo pants.  I've always loved them, don't judge me.
-Beer for the gang.
-Bojangles
-Park Pizza for lunch when my leftovers were unappealing.
-dog food
-bully sticks
-Spotify
-Termite treatment
-Special shampoo/conditioner

DREI - From My Phone Shit

What is the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?
Snowballs.

Foreshadowing.

You might have been a Mac user when this is what your desktop looks like with all the windows.

When you send your Bestie crotch shots to make sure you don't have a camel toe in the new britches.

Sister selfies when she says you should do something yourself.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

Soooo.. look...
Since I'm not in school, I haven't been toting my personal laptop around and I've been using my work laptop at work.. andddd the photos for this section are on my personal laptop which is at home and I could find more photos, or I could just type this to you to explain the situation.
Sorry, come back next week for more joy.
I'll be teleworking all of next week, so I'll be on my personal laptop and will have access to all the good and wonderful things.

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. NO MORE SCHOOL IN 2019!
2. Straight motherfuckin' A's.
3. Teh German's dedication.
4. Snuggles with Monkey Doodle.
5. Hoodies
6. The almost end of 2019.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Weekend Review {12/16}

FRIDAY

I stayed home Friday morning and used the allotted time for a final to complete an online test that had been posted for a week, but I just hadn't had the time to accomplish.  It was fabulous to not have to get up and drive to somewhere and deal with all the CHS traffic.  After my test was finished, I messaged my PM and asked if it was necessary for me to come into the office because it was raining and I hadn't had to go to school for my exam since it was online, so could I just stay home, plskthx?

After getting a yes, I prepped lunch with a side of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and peppermint schnapps.

I managed to get so much accomplished around the house: making up the guest room for Matilda, laundry, swapping the chairs in the guest rooms.. etc.  It was fabulous.

Matilda arrived before we had to leave for my Company holiday party so we chatted as much as possible since it had been a year since we'd seen each other in person.  Teh German and I headed out to downtown for the holiday party, which was a bust, IMO.  It was supposed to be a murder mystery show, but our table couldn't hear to keep up with what was happening + an open bar = we were fucked.

We passed on the post-party-party and headed home since I had a race the next morning and Teh German isn't really partaking right now.

When we got home, Matilda was already in the bed, I laid out my race outfit and then it was bedtime for us too.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 0430.  It wasn't my favorite thing.  We were out the door by 0500 and headed to Kiawah.  We had our packets picked up and were settled in the common room by 0645.  Since the race didn't start until 0800, we chatted and while Matilda did her thing, I rested my eyes.  Then it was time for the race to start!

I stuck with Matilda at her pace and we ended up doing intervals of run/walks, which was fine.  We finished at 3:12:16.  I stayed with Matilda since she peer pressured me into the race and because she came all the way to Charleston to hang out with me and a good time wasn't more important than hanging out.

That said, for the Charleston Half, I'm running on my own because I want to see what my time is. Fingers crossed for under 2:30!

While Matilda took care of some post race business, I stretched and sent selfies to Teh Bestie and Husband.

I HAD to take a photo with Santa when we passed him because I had garnered so much attention during the race for being dressed as an elf.

After getting back to the car, we headed to Vicious Biscuit to meet Teh German for brunch.  By the time we made it home it was after 2:30.  After showers it was almost 4pm and that was too late for a post race nap.  Ironic, since I fell asleep on the couch at 7.  Oops.  This did not stop me from going to sleep at 11.

SUNDAY

Originally, we had planned to go to brunch on Sunday, but I couldn't decide on a place and I really wanted a potato skillet and we had all the ingredients, so Teh German and I agreed to make breakfast instead.  No photos because I was too excited, but trust me, fried potatoes + crumbled sausage + over medium eggs (+ cilantro for me) was DELICIOUS.. and I didn't have to pay restaurant prices or settle on substitutions.  #WIN

I had gotten up with the dogs and started studying for my Sunday final and took a break to make breakfast.  After breakfast, Matilda headed out and I headed back to the office to continue making my cheat sheet for my exam.

The final exam was at 1pm and it took a little over an hour.  After the exam, I headed to Walmart to pick up a few items (brownies, ice cream, a congrats card, and a gift cert).  Of course, despite my patience, it was not enough when I had to stand in line at customer service for almost 20 minutes for the gift cert.  Then when I got home the dogs acted like they had never seen me and my patience was too low for that.  TLDR, I had a mood swing probably because PMS is real.

I had my final final (ha) on Monday morning, so I tried to study for that and was mostly unsuccessful.  Eventually, Teh German and I made dinner (me: red cabbage, Teh German: schnitzel), ate, and then I whipped up some brownies and headed to the office to study while they baked. 

It wasn't until after the brownies were finished that I finally started seriously studying.  I put in the most effort I could for the burned out state I have reached in regards to 2019/school.  It was full on "come what may" when I went to bed.

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First thing Monday was my exam and here's my post-final final selfie for your enjoyment.

DUN with this classroom and this shit.

In a fantastic turn of events, the Chiro's office called me as I walked to my car after my final.  She was reminding me of my appointment (which we had a mix up about last time) and notified me that the 1000 appointment cancelled and asked if I wanted that appointment. YAS, YAS I DO.  So I ended up getting a massage for over 2 hours (since I really needed it and because I paid for it).  #NOTSORRY

-This week is a regular work week! 
-We will be having dinner with School Spouse and his fiance on Tuesday evening to deliver their baby/graduation/wedding/all things gift.
-Teh German's company holiday party is Friday.
-Teh PT Wife and I will be doing the Cocoa Cup 5k on Saturday morning.

I plan on getting a puzzle out soon and finishing up Dark Age this week, fingers crossed.  I'm at 44/50 books for the year and I might just press through some Audible short stories to meet my goal on principle and to also clear out my library of unfinished titles.

Over the break I plan on doing some running (when it's not hot AF (see: over 70°F)) and being lazy AF.  We'll be home this Christmas, which is exciting.  As a Merry Christmas to us, our new backsplash is being installed on the 23/24th.  Work will be having PJ days over the next 2 weeks (thank you, Self, for spearheading that morale boosting event).  I'm ready to relax some and not have to feel like I need to manage all the things at all the times.  My brain is already sighing.

Happy Holiday Season, Gentle Readers.