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!

Greetings from Baltimore! Rather unfairly, it's Monday again, and I must go back to work. It's going to continue to be busy until Jan 2, when it should slow down a touch. How is everyone doing?

Yesterday was a fun, albeit odd morning. We got to the con early and got better, if not good parking. We parked by the photo and panel location, which was still a good 1/3 of a mile to the con. Then, we hiked to the autograph and dealer building to do some shopping.

I finally got a picture of the bag I got yesterday! This is the cute horror icon bag's fabric.



Today shopped around a bit. There was a chocolate vendor that we hit for little truffle bars, which we'd tried on Saturday. So we got 10 of those. They're about 2 1/2" x 3/4" little bars that are pretty freaking amazing. We got a bunch of flavors, none of which do we remember what they are, so every bite is a mystery. A tasty, tasty mystery.

Then, we stopped by an artist's booth and picked up a couple of prints. One for us, one for my sister and one for us. I did not take a picture of the one for my sister, but it's up on the artist's site, called "Be Wary the Silent Night." It's a huge kitty loooming our of a winter forest.

Ours is called "Together in the Malestrom 2021." It's a gorgeous painting of two horned figures standing on a precipice in front of a beautiful raging cloud.



I also got my sister a Snoopy magnet since she did watch the puppy for the weekend. We're sharing the chocolate.

Then, we got a drink, a big insulated mug into wich we put a delicious butterscotch cream soda. We could have had free refills, but we never got around to it.

Then, it was down to the other location, except it wasn't. The local church does services at the Event Center that the panels and pictures were in. And they were having a service. So, we got to stand outside for about 45 min, in a parking lot before we were let in. Once inside, we got to listen to the preacher rant for another 30 min while we waited for our photo op. It did not sound like the kind of church I would enjoy. Eventually, we got our picture with the voice actors for Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Megatron (Frank Welker). I got a handshake/clasp from Frank Welker. There was rumors that this was going to be Peter Cullen's last con, as he is 84, so I'm glad we got them now.



The Transformers' panel was supposed to start at 12, but we got done at 11:15, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the megachurch was going to go over. There seemed to be some animosity with the con. So we left before the panel and headed for home. We would have been waiting in the cold again for them to finish up. We were strictly allowed in the building for the photo ops, and they had a narrow roped off area that we were allowed to walk in. We did convince them to let us get coffee from the stand just outside the roped area before we left. There were a couple of churchgoer's at the shop, and they kind of gave us the big sneer as we walked up.

The coffee was themed and amazing. Jess got the Bumblebee, which was honey and cinnamon and really good. I got the Freddy, which was a mocha with a pinkfoam on top follwed by more chocolate sauce and topped with glittery iridescent black sugar that did not look unlike Freddy's blade. I wanted to drive immediately back and get the recipe, I swear.

Apparently the preacher was in the parking lot yesterday ranting about the con being evil. He got into a heated argument with a dude dressed up as the lead singer for Ghost, in full Satanic Pope regalia. I'm sorry I missed that.

A quick stop at a kitch place called Hillbilly's for lunch and we were winging our way home. We pulled in at 4:03, which was nice, because it meant no driving in the dark.

The rest of the night was quiet--Chinese food and a quick walk for Yoda and we were in bed by 9. I had a little trouble sleeping, so I went to sleep around midnight.

Today, I'm achy and a bit tired, but I'm so happy we went. It was a lot of fun, and I fulfilled some of my childhood dreams. Everyone was super nice and made if a fun experience. Absolutely no regrets.

I told poisontaster that this is my year of yes. If I see something that I want to do? Yes, lets do it. If there's something Jess wants to do? Yes, absolutely. We've got a lot planned in the next six months, and I'm looking forward to seeing what other stuff we can get into along the way!

And now, it's time go go forth and think about getting ready for work. First day of leggings directly on the tattoo, so we'll see how that goes. It's healing well, and has hit the itchy stage. But if you touch it, it's still tender. So that stage is fun. Okay, time to go forth and get dressed. Everyone have the very best Monday!

Greetings from Monroeville, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh! I'm sitting here sipping shitty hotel room coffee and waiting for the free breakfast to start so I can get actual coffee. Sadly, that's not for about an hour, so shitty coffee it is for now.

Yesterday was a long day. I got up at 5 and worked for 4 hours, which was busy. I did a lot of schedule work. It turns out that being able to look at the schedule and see where you can move people to open up slots, or to fill things and how different appointments could fit together is not a thing that people can do according to my boss. Sounds fake, but I'm actually good at it. I can take a slot that has openings on one MRI machine, and see who I could move to open up a spot on another machine for a STAT patient. (We're getting so many openings on the 1.5 machine, and all we need is 3T slots for MRIs.) Part of my success is that I'm very stubborn, and also competitive.

After that, we walked the dog, who had multiple delivery men to distract him, and did not want to poop. It was very sad. Then we went back and got out stuff and headed out onto the highways. IT snowed most of the way through MD, but thankfully had not laid on the road. Once we got past Hagerstown, the snow stopped, and we made good time.

We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch and continued up. Including lunch and bathroom break, it took about 4.5 hours, which isn't terrible.

After that, we lounged on the sofa (this room is enormous. Seriously HUGE. It's got a little living room area and a desk and I like it (even if I slept for shit).

Then, it was off to get dinner. I had put in a reservation at a place that was about 4 miles away. Sadly, Googlemaps took us this tiny windy two lane road that was somewhat difficult in the pitch dark, so by the time we got there, nerves were somewhat shredded.

We went to Eighty Acres Kitchen and Bar who had excellent food and amazing service. Our server, Liz was SO good. She seemed to have a sixth sense for when we needed another Shirley Temple. The gnocchi was softer than I'm used to, and I had some texture issues, but the flavor was spot on. My duck breast was well cooked and so full of flavor, and it came with a shreded half sour red cabbage that cut through the richness and made it even better. Jess had the Short Ribs, which were also really outstanding. After that, we finished up with a creme brulee, which made me happy.

Then it was back to the room, where I mostly failed to sleep well. No real shock there.

Today is the big day! Comic Con! I also may have signed up for another picture of us with Freddy and Jason. (Robert Englund--with iconic glove) and Ken Kurtzinger--in full costume.) Since I loved that shitty movie, I'm excited. (Supid, shitty movie being Freddy Vs Jason.)

I have promised to refrain from climbing Frank Grillo like a tree, likewise for Ron Perlman.

I wish I had some great pose planned for my pictures, but alas, I just want a hug from Ron Perlman. Beauty and the Beast was a formative show for me, and I dearly love the Hellboy movies. Ooh, and Hannibal Chau from Pacific Rim. He also was deeply entertaining.

We'll see how it goes! If the pictures are not terrible, I'll consider scanning them and posting them here.

Tomorrow, we shall go forth back to the con, so we can do the Transformer's panel and Jess can get their picture.

Okay, almost time for breakfast. Everyone have an outstanding Saturday!

It's Thursday, and it's going to be a busy day! I'm up at 4am so that I can take Jess to Sibley for their 3(ish) month post op. It's really just a formality, since they're doing great. The scars look good, and they're pretty happy with the results. Weirdly, the spots where the drains were are bigger and more prominent. But they were in for 3 weeks, so not horribly shocking.

Then, it's home from DC, and off to work for four hours. Then, I shall go forth and get my leg tattooed.

I'm nervous about the tattoo, since it's been years since I had work done, and it was all black. This'll be my first tattoo with color, especially white, which is notoriously painful. It's going on my calf, so it's not a horribly sensitive area, but still. Jess is such a rock for their sittings that I'm afraid I'll ruin their reputation. "Sure, Jess is great, but have you met their spouse?"

Tomorrow, I will go to work half a day, then we're off to the wilds of Monroeville, PA for Steel City Comic Con. I'm anxious about that, too. I've never done a con like this, so I really don't know what to expect. We'll see!

My countdown app is at some interesting numbers. 1 day to Comic Con, 29 days til we go to Philly for a weekend. Then a bit of a long stretch and 145 days to going to see the Lost Boys Musical in NYC, and then 154 days til Alaska.

Jess and I were discussing the fun of the five hour flight. It's gonna suck, even if it's non-stop. I'm not a fan of flying, but sometimes, it's the best way to get places. I've decided that I'll have my anti anxiety med, and I'll just take that and hope to nap. Fuck knows, we have to get up at ass o'clock to be there 2 hours early. Our flight leaves at 7am, so we're leaving our house at 4:30am. Which means that I'm getting up at 3am. So I should be tired, right?

And now, I shall go forth and put pants on. Everyone have an outstanding Thursday!