Athaclena

Just a followup. Utterly 0 progress but didn't back slide. We are SLOWLY digging out of the debt that has plagued us for a LONG time and I am still unfortunately having to remind hubby that I have no intention of working until I'm 70 so while I would love to own that AMG S class (which is a real deal used), it's not something I can have maintained at the local auto repair place because FFS have they ever SEEN a quad turbo V12? Or know that it has 3 f'ing batteries? Know how to remove the engine cover (which has a plaque signed by the person that built THAT engine)? Yes, I loved my E55, but I sold it the LAST time our awesome mechanic had to shut down when the economy tanked and everyone got rid of their expensive cars (or stopped doing routine maintenance because they couldn't afford it). I need a nice, normal car. *sigh*

Anyway - on to the next challenge.....

There are a few issues - first being that we don't make quite enough margin $$ that we can completely separate out purchases so I spend a lot of time going through everything to make sure I didn't miss something we paid for out of pocket - and then track down hubby and make him print out the receipts. We're "low volume" but "high transaction $$" - which made finding CC processing just a LOVELY experience. And yep, burned RIGHT OFF even when I talked to someone before creating the account and slowly explained that - but have had a good experience with Stripe. Probably not the cheapest fees but hey, when someone wants to send me $25k - it looks much better when it's not immediately declined. And yes, by the time the $25k clears I'm paying contractors, power, insurance, buying new gear to offer more\better services, etc.

I've setup a reminder the first Friday of the month so we'll see if I can stick to that. If I bug hubby to give me the receipts regularly, MAYBE he'll print them off for me and put them in the bin so I don't pester him (but after over 20 years of marriage, unlikely LOL). I can also make sure in December we don't "need" to go spend some $$ on something for the business so our end of year $$ isn't an "oops, we have to pay taxes rather than take it all and buy something the company needs anyway".

Taxes. Are. DONE.

80% of my time is gathering all of the receipts and verifying that I have them captured in my spreadsheet and categorized. I also "took a break" to clean the litter boxes. I noted that both of these tasks would be easier if I didn't wait until the last GD minute and there's a lesson in there I should probably learn from - but won't LOL. Once I got the corporate stuff done, it was only about an hour to do personal taxes (since I don't have enough to itemize to take more than the Standard Deduction - the most amount of time there is figuring out what little thing is missed because the stuff from side biz never enters correctly for one piece and I have to dig to figure out how to capture it THIS year because I swear it changes every year - LLC Partnership tracking issues GAH). I'll start to put stuff in Calendars and see if that helps to remind me as hubby's company is getting busier which means it's that much more vital to stay on top of it. Especially if we decide at the end of this year we can get a bookkeeper\accounting service so we'd just have to send them everything monthly anyway ..... I'm also considering just having it all and hiring someone just to do the yearly taxes and hand it to them to do. That'd be nice too

Still not walking enough and still have that pile of clothes - but the house isn't a complete disaster and the taxes are done so I'll take it.

Another week. Another migraine on the weekend so I'm not where I want to be. Trying to get taxes done this week\weekend because the 1065 are due the 15th and that's coming up quick *sigh*. Work is crazy, hubby's company is taking up time and I'm 52 (ok, just over a month short of that) and I still haven't achieved menopause (the reason for Sunday's migraine from hell). I'm just.... done.....

It's been almost a month since I had COVID. I am doing good healthwise - but mentally that "loss" of a week and another week or 2 before I felt like I was actually over it has really taken it's toll. I'm..... maintaining by the skin of my teeth but no progress. I will try to spin that as a positive, just acknowledging that I'm frustrated about SO MANY THINGS right now.

On 2/22/2024 at 9:15 AM, Artemis Prime said:

I know you're probably buried in data right now, but don't forget to come up for air occasionally!  

I'm here. I'm alive and even awake LOL.

This week has been one loooong meeting (actually, just back to back to back meetings). Thankfully today is a "Day of no Meetings" at work and for once everyone actually avoided scheduling meetings today so I have only one (which asked in advance if it was ok).

I'm chipping away at my stuff - slowly - but making progress and I feel like I can breath. Well, that's partly because yesterday was a migraine day. Aleve only barely touched it and I "gave up" and had a CBD 8 gummy on an empty stomach when I started the last bit of dinner (so it was on board about 30 min before I ate). I finally was able to relax after dinner and took a second when I went to bed to make sure I slept. I feel like it's the first actually restful sleep I've had in a week or so. I need to remember that I can ALSO have relaxing tea after dinner and that may need to be more of a thing. When I don't get restful sleep lots of other BS just piles on and stuff slips.

I'm taking full advantage of not having a crap ton of meetings today and catching up on laundry which also means frequent "get up and walk around" breaks which I also need to do more of. I know these things I just don't DO these things LOL.

Not sure yet if I need to pivot this challenge - I'm keeping it for the moment. Work is about to get insanely busy for me. My day job just closed on a huge acquisition (company is about the same size) and I'm being tasked with getting up to speed on the data their solutions have\use and getting that data into our solutions for customers that want to pivot to our solution. Not engineering - me - because I'm faster. Holy smokes - I should tie that ask to a guaranteed President's Club trip (which is in Marrakesh next year - huge bucket list item for me LOL). So if you don't see me here much, it's because I'm buried in data.....

I'm going to need more tea. A lot more tea......

Got my step count Monday in the house somehow. Managed to make dinner and it's awesome having Mom helping again

Today on top of work and making dinner, made a large batch of black beans. Some went into dinner, the rest frozen for future (basically 2# of dried beans is about 8 cans of store bought beans for the price of maybe 2 cans since I used bone broth I made from Ham Bones the last time we had a ham). We've ALSO started saving veggie and other "bone" discard\leftovers so I can make stock every week\other week - saving a bit of extra $$ and it tastes better and is better for you. Since I'm literally using what was once being tossed to make the stock it's ALMOST free (just pay a few cents for water and power to make the stock and label it).

I need to get going a bit more on my desk and bins. I'm kinda stoked about having a 3 day weekend this weekend. I need the break. It'd take Friday if I didn't have 5 meetings scheduled (and it's supposed to be a "day of no meetings" at work so.... yeah).

I don't have a milk steamer\frother but truly..... you don't need one unless you like your beverage "center of the sun hot" and even then, just microwave the milk a few seconds. I keep half and half on hand (and\or coconut cream as well as powdered coconut milk and actual cream on hand) and just add a dollap to my tea (or coffee). I also keep whipped cream things (typically coconut or almond milk) for an occasional splurge - like with my current crush - Fireside Cocoa from my favorite small Geeky tea place (found them at DragonCon). I ONLY pay for high priced tea\coffee when I travel OR am going to a tea house in which case it's not really more expensive than going anywhere else with a meal (because I go with a group and we all pay a bit extra so we just always have 2 or 3 different teas on the table). So at home I pay for good tea (with a few actual splurges) which still ends up being much more affordable and I keep what I like on hand. I find that my taste for herbal teas is completely different than mainstream apparently. I was SO upset when Starbucks stopped carrying Tazo because it meant when I travelled I could get a decent chamomile anywhere. Now I have to search for the couple of coffee\tea places that have chamomile (although more and more hotels that I'm willing to stay at have one available). Of course, I don't travel 2-4 times a month anymore either

Oy. I need a break from my "break".

Today I made waffles for Breakfast (overnight Yeast Waffles with Blueberries). While we ate, I defrosted a whole chicken in the microwave. Once Mom and I got the kitchen clean from breakfast, I started load of laundry #1 and broke down the chicken and cooked (topped with water) in the Instant Pot (basically pressure cooked it). Once done, Mom had diced some onion, carrot and celery for me. I pulled the pieces of chicken out to cool while slowly sauteeing the veggies on low in butter until soft and strained the broth from the chicken. Then ALL of that broth went into the "holy trinity" and simmered for about 45 minutes with some chicken bouillon for a bit extra flavor. I deboned the chicken (had removed MOST of the skin before the first "pass") and threw the bones back into the Instant Pot with some chunks of celery, carrot, onion and some garlic cloves and added water until as full as I'm comfortable and let it go for an hour (making bone broth). Wild Rice was added to the soup and cooked and finally once that was cooked the chicken went in - had to add some of the bone broth in to "water" the soup down a bit but ended up with 6 quarts of soup and 3 quarts of bone broth.

I ALSO stripped our bed and put on new sheets, all clothes have been washed, folded and put away (and put a small dent on the pile of unfolded t-shirts), comforter has been washed and back on the bed and the sheets (Bed Jet and "regular") are in flight - so 5 loads of laundry done to.

Oh - and got all my steps in.

I'm done. Kaput. My back is definitely letting me know I did too much today. So I'm going to relax a bit while laundry finishes and try to get it all out, folded and put away. Hopefully I'm half as productive at work tomorrow LOL.

Week 0 has most definitely been "continue to recover from COVID" week. I've been "clear" of the main symptoms all week but I'm still dragging. Mom is finally clear and we did a huge Aldi's run (spent $280 at ALDI'S - that's how much of a haul we got to restock on meat and cheese and such not to mention canned goods). I'm DONE. It is just over an hour drive each way - and it was raining - but yeah I am not back to where I was pre-COVID.

I'm going to take it easy the rest of today and tomorrow focus on some easy bulk cooking and catching up on laundry - but that's gonna have to be it.....

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

I'm not a big fan of rooibos (unless there's so much flavouring with it that it doesn't taste of rooibos)

I don't think I have any straight rooibos - but I have several blends I adore. I prefer it on the "spicy" side to the fruity blends. I have a favorite "Red Chai" that's basically the same profile as a "Chai Tea" that I adore - and Republic of Tea's Good Hope Vanilla are my favorites (they discontinued my favorite spicy blend a few years ago and I can't even remember what it was called but I got it in a variety pack and apparently I was one of the few that liked it). Now - their Mate Latte is my favorite Yerba Mate blend - hands down

1 hour ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Shared fridge space is so difficult.

I took a..... drastic approach at my house. We have 5 adults living here and we're rural so there is no delivery. Not groceries, not Door Dash, not pizza. Mom and I cook dinner every night - everyone is on their own for breakfast\lunch (leftovers are fairly common). I have 2 freezers so when the refrigerator that came with the house died...... I went with a pretty fancy Samsung Flex 4 door refrigerator. Link is to Lowe's and not an affiliate link. The lower right I have set for "Produce" so that's where all the produce goes (and it + produce containers means lettuce will last - I kid you not - 2 weeks) and only use the freezer for a couple of convenience things and ice. That leaves the top for everything else and it has been AMAZING. So if you are EVER having "we can't fit stuff into a fridge" issues - find a spot for a separate freezer (I prefer uprights to chest as I'm short - and stuff definitely gets lost in them more than uprights) and get this fridge. We waste a TON less food. And I can bulk shop and everything has a place to be so no one has to drive 15-20 miles multiple times a week for groceries.

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

I didn't know you could make fresh liver pate

Mom has a recipe everyone raves over - it uses Chicken Liver. It is literally how she met and became good friends with a French Chef in SC (Mom would go in every few weeks and make a batch in exchange for a few mouthwatering meals - who am I kidding, she's never allowed to pay for a meal in her restaurant LOL). So you know it's good (well, if you like liver pate LOL). If y'all are interested I'll see if I can get it. She usually keeps it top secret LOL.

Also - I LOVE NUDIBRANCHS! An EXCELLENT video (NSFW due to language) - True Facts: Freaky Nudibranchs

 

Thanks to the absolutely TERRIBLE end to the last challenge (due to contracting COVID at a work event) - I'm just rolling over the challenge. I made some progress on these items last challenge but didn't quite get to "done" - and of course I get to start ALL OVER with the step challenge.

1) Hit 3500 steps a day - whether that's just running around this ginormous house or (preferably) getting out and walking, weather permitting. If I'm hitting that consistently over a week, gradually up that to 5k - but don't sweat it if I don't.
2) Spend some time working on cleaning off my desk - again. I got the 1099's out and my desk was gone through but stuff is stacking up again - and it needs to NOT and I need to prep for the next Tax step - 1065 forms for the side biz and THEN I can do our personal taxes. That biz needs to take off so I can hire someone.....
3) I have several bins of clothes in the master bedroom that have been packed since we left Atlanta in 2020. I would like to get through those bins. I dug through a couple but they need to be completely gone through and emptied and stuff either washed and put away or donated. I hope to get through at least 3 bins this challenge (they're pretty big bins).
 

3 minutes ago, Sea-to-sky said:

im just not good with bitter as a flavour, took me over a year to even work up to being able to drink even green tea. I still struggle with many green teas to be honest. 

If you want some of the same benefits as green (if that's what you're looking for) try a white tea. It's more delicate\less bitter. It's basically a "very young" green tea. Start with a fruity blend to enhance the sweetness. Something like this: https://www.adagio.com/white/white_eternal_spring.html (not an affiliate link - they sell a HUGE variety of all kinds of tea).

Just..... holy fuck Flea. I have literally had to ask "customers" while I was on a help desk if their desk light worked (so I'd know if it's a computer problem or a facilities problem) and as much as certain people in my family can be clueless..... not understanding that part of a system (even though it's gas) requires electricity to function FULLY is just holy fuck how have you survived this long? But then, I've never lived somewhere that went more than 6 months without a brief power outage as a good reminder (even in the "big city").

Back again. Pretty much to  will likely be a rehash of my last challenge (surprise! not).

As for tea - the key is MANY people over steep or steep too hot which is why it gets bitter (ESPECIALLY JASMINE PEARLS). Green tea should be brewed at a lower temp than black and if you find stuff bitter, pull it at 3 min rather than 5. It's like me learning to brew French Press. I HAVE to time it or I'll end up with either crappy water or a bitter mess. Me? I drink and enjoy a huge variety of tea (we do not want to discuss the # of varieties on my tea shelves - yes plural). The only thing I don't like really unless it's in a blend is Yerba Mate. I have a couple of blends where it enhances the flavor but JUST Yerba Mate tastes to me like dirt. So does straight Echinacea but I only drink that when sick and pair it with the strongest Mint herbal tea I have LOL. One of these days I'm going to get that coveted Zojirushi Hot Water boiler\carafe that keeps your water at specific set temps for the perfect tea whether it's black, green, white, red, herbal or whatever

And on that note - I've had a frustrating work week already (yes, I'm done with everything on Tuesday) - so I'll have a nice Egyptian Chamomile please with a nice dollop of honey.

12 hours ago, titsworth said:

Thanks! Though I can't quite tell how much of an ominous tone I should read sentence with. Smiley face at the end tells me not much... but maybe a little bit? What am I getting into??? 🤣

I've been in IT over 30 years. You probably don't want to know LOL.

19 hours ago, titsworth said:

 

 

 

It looks like you have a basic understanding of what you're getting into LOL. Welcome and best of luck dealing with everyone here

@spezzy and @Tanktimus the Encourager I wish you the best of luck for the future. You will ABSOLUTELY both be missed here. DON'T BE STRANGERS!!!!!

Update. I started having symptoms last Saturday. Sunday was the worst with the body aches - other than that I have pretty much dealt with a head cold. Daily Neti Pot, antihistimines, albuterol inhaler if I felt like my lungs needed an umph and about 2 days of 12 hour sudafed. And Aleve if I felt achy (which I have a bit but that's also normal - Sunday was not). I stopped the flonaise about 2 days in as I felt it wasn't doing anything. I still have a BIT of the sniffles\congestion. I tested Thursday (still VERY positive) and today (faint line, but still positive). Mom is positive and in a similar boat although she didn't have as much of an issue with body aches. Everyone else in the house has so far escaped exposure. I isolated after dinner Saturday (cooking dinner with mom is almost certainly how I passed it to her) and Mom started isolating in her suite the second she had any symptoms (Tuesday afternoon I think). Fingers crossed I'm negative tomorrow. I've decided to just do a Walmart Pick Up order and I'll go get it tomorrow (mask up if I'm positive) since I won't have to go in. Hopefully stuff will be back to normal (healthwise) next week.

Work has been frustrating. We do not hire A level devs (I'd grade most of them about a C or D to be honest) and it really has been showing and has been SO FRUSTRATING because I ask for something that really is relatively simple and after 8 months I get 1/4 of what I asked for - and worse not the #1 thing I was looking for so I could stop supporting code I wrote as a Services Consultant - checks calendar - 5+ years ago. I'm just so tired of it. I'm still hopeful there are some changes that will make that better after some conversations at a higher level. To date it's just been excuse after excuse and it's starting to really get to me - especially because there's literally nothing I can do about it. I even handed over code. Even going with a different methodology - I wrote something functional in about 16 hours - you've had MONTHS - that functionality should not have taken more than 8 weeks (include massive testing or learning a new language if needed) because it really is simple. If you're coding today and do not know how to access a restful API and stream that data with a minor transform to change the element names ..... maybe try a different career.....

11 hours ago, fleaball said:

okay. People who've had covid: did it change your body odor at all?

I'm fairly early in - but my COVID was\is mild and I haven't noticed anything. Could be anything from diet to hormone changes.

My HAIR seems to be less tangly after a shower than before I went to Chicago. It was one of my "minor" complaints when we moved to the house and the change of water. I always notice it's less tangly when I've been anywhere else (using same or different product) but 3 showers at home and it's definitely different - and I KNOW even if something changed with me, it's not going to impact my actual hair. It could fall out or get thicker or change texture over time as it grows in - but wholesale change texture out of the blue? Nuh uh. So.... like IDK.....

PSA - do not listen to anyone that tells you COVID is over. Also - the flu is making the rounds. In my 10 person group - 8 out of 10 have COVID, one has COVID AND the Flu and one has the flu. Literally 1 person didn't get sick. They shut the corporate offices today. This one event laid up a good portion of our entire sales organization. Don't get complacent like we did.

Update on my COVID illness status. The inhaler + flonaise burst method helped, but I was definitely still congested so I added in a 12 hour sudafed today. THAT is the ticket to my congestion it seems although I now have the attention span of a 2 year old with an endless supply of Pixie Sticks. Still better than the alternative. The body aches abated by mid-day Monday (thank you Aleve) so I think I'm on the mend. I'll re-test tomorrow and cross my fingers. Thankfully I can isolate relatively easily at home and I have hospital grade air cleaners (HEPA + UV). Currently I have one in my office and one in the bedroom so I'm hoping I don't pass it to anyone here (especially my mother).

Obviously until I get over this - all challenge stuff is haulted.
 

Yesterday was "head cold and someone worked me over with a bag of oranges". I did a Telehealth visit. After discussions I decided against Paxlovid (feel better faster than rebound at the end - including popping positive and have to isolate no thank you). If I felt worse today I am not too late to start that protocol (luckily I'm a bit better). I am following a "sinus wash" protocol - basically a nasal rinse (neti pot) and clear everything followed by a double dose of flonaise in each nostril (followed by deep breaths) THEN back of the throat and gargle then bend over to let the mucus out. Fun is what it is - but it's working. That plus an inhaler 4 times per day. The idea is to do everything we can to keep the lungs clear so I don't get pneumonia. I'm pretty healthy but want to do what I can to not have it progress. At the moment it feels like a bad head cold - so I'll take that over worse and crossing my fingers no Long Covid. So far *knock on wood* I can smell and taste. I'm the main cook in the house and it would SUCK trying to cook w\o tasting for months. I know it can still go but I really hope not!

Well, it took nearly 4 years and multiple conventions\large meetings but tested positive for COVID this morning. I started feeling like sinuses were draining last night and tested negative. This morning - it showed positive in < 60 seconds. Hopefully I wasn't contagious yesterday. Am totally isolating until I'm better and test negative. Several co-workers have also tested positive. One co-worker apparently wasn't feeling well on Monday and didn't test until Monday night - so I think that's what sparked it. People STILL haven't learned - if you're sick don't f'ing pass it on.....