wittenlover

March came roaring in with an $800 plumbing repair for the house. Blah. On the other hand, I leave for Vegas next week for the annual sojourn westward. Looking forward to the week with my "sisters from another mister". I bake the pile of cookies for our pit crew guys this Saturday. May have to have them start forking over moolah for those eggs... LOL

We were thrilled to hit 20* here today...

Most around me are closing. I don't hit Joann's often but I will miss them still for the times I did find stuff I needed there.

Happy early birthday! I have a dear friend who is also a Valentine's baby. Baking him his fave cookies and shipping them his way later this week.

Yes. SOOOOO many people don't realize just how much you can do in Vegas without it involving gambling (or drinking, as our group chooses not to partake of alcohol). There are so many interesting things to do, including some that we -still- haven't gotten around to (like the Neon Boneyard/Museum) that are truly worth the time if you enjoy those kinds of things. For an aquarium lover like me, Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef is a must visit every trip, for example.

We go out west for a week. Tuesday-Tuesday, usually.

Happy February, y'all! Some might recall I got rear-ended right before Thanksgiving (can't remember who all I told at this point). Well, I decided to not go the insurance claim route for a number of reasons. Instead, I am using a trusted small business auto repair shop (owner's name was given to me by both my dad and my insurance agent - though they don't know one another, so had no way of knowing they were recommending the same person to me - ha!). Since my car was drivable with the damage, I had the flexibility to wait until he could accommodate the needed work in his schedule. Well, the time has finally arrived! My car is in his capable hands as of this past Saturday morning and he expects to have the work done before the weekend. Good stuff. I am excited to have Blue (as I call her) back in one piece and looking good again soon. In other news, I am counting down to the annual Vegas run, coming up here in about a month or so. We've got all of our travel arrangements booked and can't wait to get back out that way for our first race trip of the year. That also means it'll be cookie baking time again soon for my pit crew buddies. Good times. Typically when we go out that way, we take one day for a "field trip" that alternates between the south rim of the Grand Canyon and the greater LA area. This year would have been an LA year but, with the recent fires and resulting devastation, we're heading back to the canyon. We know we'll enjoy it and the last thing we want to do is be in anyone's way or end up in a bad spot ourselves by trekking anywhere near the fire ravaged areas there in CA.

Same. While not quite to felony level with my job, similar legal limitations exist for me as well.

Not necessarily true... There are legal limitations/ramifications on parts of my job that I simply cannot do from home. I'm OK with that. That said, "just running to my office" to accomplish some tasks would waste half my day in packing up office/driving/resetting first in my office then back home because of where I live in proximity to my office. Sooooo.... I'm actually more productive being in just one place or the other on any given day. Fixed hybrid schedule gives my plants that I deal with the confidence of knowing when I'll be in office to accomplish tasks there vs when things might need to wait a day because I'm WFH. Urgent matters are always the exception to the rule and I will drop everything else on a WFH day to attend to those types of things, no matter the inconvenience. (Comes with the territory of my job and something I've known would be the nature of it from the very beginning.)

While we officially started back up for work last Thursday, today was first day back in the office. So, of course I woke up with a splitting headache. On a WFH day, I would've simply taken some ibuprofen, left most of my lights off, turned the brightness down on my laptop screen and been fine. But noooooo... I had to come into the office where every last stinkin light is on, the air is drier than heck, and people were being noisier than normal (since it was our first day back). I've made it through but I truly cannot wait to get home and become a hermit for the night. It's been a LONG day... That said, hope everyone that got snow/ice dumped on them in the last few days is OK. My bestie down in Indiana definitely got hammered, though she was blessed to not lose power (truly insult to injury for those that did with the frigid temps).

Dang... Lost 10 already... That's a shame. December does tend to get away from us quickly, though. That said, Happy New Year, GD fam! Rang in the new year with a bunch of the church family at our annual NYE party (that I host). Good times were had by all and, if anyone left hungry, it was ABSOLUTELY their own fault. We had a huge spread of snacks and treats to enjoy and the largest group since pre-covid days. Yay! Christmas was enjoyed with my dad at a local Chinese buffet. He got a kick out of the fact that I bought him exactly what he said he wanted (an electric staple gun) - guess he wasn't sure his daughter was paying attention when he mentioned it was something he could really use. LOL Winter will be returning with a vengeance in the next week or so, so I am very glad my outdoor decorations come down even more quickly than they go up. That will all come down early next week. Tree will be down by end of next week, most likely. The winter/holiday painting that my grandmother made years ago will remain on my wall till spring when it'll get switched out for one of her other paintings more reflective of warmer weather. (It was one of her many hobbies and I am blessed to have several of her canvases to enjoy and remind me of her. ) Officially back to work today, though we are WFH today and tomorrow with a return to our normal hybrid work schedule next week. Allows us to ease back in a bit before we jump back in to the full regular routine and all of us are appreciating that.

Pre/post unwrapping pics Thanks so much, ytmomof4!!! Such fun stuff! Lotions are already coming in handy and I will get great use out of the pot holder/oven mitt/towel set. Those Andes mints won’t last long, either… The NKOTB sticker was a great add-on, too - now to find it a good home on display somewhere… Merry Christmas! (Cats very much enjoying chasing the balled up wrapping paper as well )

Got my box today! Waiting till Christmas to open! Thanks, SS!!!

Congrats, winners!!!

Same, but I'll be putting the ornaments on mine throughout the week this week. The boxes of ornaments are in a handy location for easy access. Finished my outdoor decor yesterday since it was 50+ degrees out. Perfect to get the inflatables set up and staked down properly.

I've thought about them but my issue is their "zoomie" sessions when they're not paying attention to where they're going or what they're knocking over while they're chasing each other around. Hence, Wallflowers. Safest and no cleanup involved, as they can't knock them out of the outlets I put them in.

Some of the candle scents they have make me wish I didn't have two klutzy cats I don't dare trust around open flames... LOL I make do with Wallflowers. Maybe the next fuzzles in my house will be more graceful and I can enjoy the candles that have long been packed away once again.

I feel this. I have piles of baking to do but the "want to" just isn't there yet. I did, however, put myself on a bit of a clock for at least getting my much-loved peppermint brownies baked - sent out a "peppermint brownie advisory is now in effect" to two of my good buddies that most look forward to these and said they'd be available next week. Basically gave myself a kick in the tail to at least get things started. Best of luck finding your "want to" and give yourself grace if/when you don't. You've been through some things lately, to put it lightly. Those who love you will understand if the "want to" just doesn't come this year.

You can definitely order online for delivery/in-store pick-up, at least with PetSmart.

Lots of Swifties in my area and one of my best friends needed a hand getting the TSwift items, as she is a fan, though not insane level. (Her nearest Target is over an hour away from her and she had to work at 7 am on BF.) That said, I planned accordingly. I set my alarm for 2:30 am. Got up, put on my BF is dead shirt (thanks, Brad!), layered up for the cold and snow and headed out the door. Arrived at my Target around 3:30 am. There were about 5 or 6 other cars that weren't employees and all of us were temporarily content to stay in our nice warm cars, though there were three brave (crazy?) folks already lined up at the door. Right around 3:45, a slew of cars rolled in within minutes of each other. People immediately started piling out of those newly arrived cars (dang rookies). Oof. Two gals in car next to me who had quickly figured out I was a BF veteran were watching to see what I would do. I resigned myself to being stuck standing outside for over two hours and zipped up my coat, giving them a distinct look of "well, not happy, but here we go". They began preparing themselves to get out as well. We joined the line with about a dozen or so in front of us. Found out first one in line had been there since midnight. The two behind her had arrived around 2. Snow kept falling the entire time we stood in line. Felt like BFs of old in some ways. Line quickly grew very long behind us. If I'd waited till 4 to show up, I very likely would have been too late. About 20 minutes before the doors opened, the store manager came out to have a look at the line and inform us that the vinyls would be limited to 1/person and that they would have folks inside to direct us to the area where the merch was. 6:00 hits. Doors open. They allow the first group in, stopping the line briefly just before they got to me. A minute or so passes and they let the next group in, myself included. I headed to the line for the merch. Turned out the store manager himself was handing out the TSwift items to each person. He had the process down to an art form and the line moved quickly. I got one of each item (Vinyl, Book, CD) and headed straight for the checkout, as that was all I needed in-store at Target. It was now roughly 6:05 am. (Sent my buddy a pic of the stuff and told her "you're welcome". LOL) Next stop was Home Depot for the Grinch and Max (dog) inflatables. Crowds were light here. HD was also, as always, passing out munchies and drinks in the form of muffins, fresh fruit, water, juice, and coffee. Score. I grabbed a couple other smaller items and headed for check out. Quick and easy (and now my tummy was happy). Headed over to PetSmart for their 7 am opening to stock up on kitty litter. Grabbed about 300 lbs worth (should last me most, if not all, of this next year), picked up a few other things for the furbabies, and headed for the check out. Again, crowd was light here. Had everything loaded in my car by 7:30. Off to Menards. It was busy, but not really any more than a typical Saturday crowd. Grabbed the power banks, some electronic hand warmers, phone charging cables, cheap fleece throws to donate to local animal groups, batteries, and a few other little things. Wandered a bit, knowing they were my last stop before my first off-load at home. Left Menards around 8:30 and headed for home. Unloaded at home and prepared for my Torrid shift that began at 11:30. Knowing I wanted to hit Bath & Body Works first, I left my house around 9:45. B&BW was busy (as I expected) but I made full use of my multiple coupons and walked out with darn near $200 worth of stuff for $63. Not bad. Clocked in at Torrid on time. Worked till 6. Snow continued off and on throughout the day, making road conditions treacherous on my way home. I hit the nearest Meijer, as I needed some grocery items and then started the slow trek home. What normally takes me roughly 25-30 minutes from that point took me well over an hour. Black ice everywhere. Was relieved when I finally walked in my door safely around 9 pm. Whew. All in all, got what I needed/was hoping to get while I was out.

Happy December! Now starts my busiest time. Added even more to my pile when I got rear ended Wednesday night. Now I'm navigating having to get my car in for repairs, securing alternate transportation, and still juggling all the stuff that was already filling up my schedule. (I'm, thankfully, fine.) Oof. I'll manage but I expect to be exhausted for the foreseeable future. Such is life. So ready to start my baking and prepping for Christmas/NYE, though. That'll keep my mind off of all the other stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving, GD fam!

Unlike last year's killer $399.99 deal for those SWA gift cards, they're only marked down an additional $20 right now ($429.99). So, while still a solid deal, I definitely liked last year's deal better... LOL

PetSmart is doing 50% off everything holiday, deals on various other things as well. Their BF sale is live online today if you want to peruse it. Here's one snuffle mat that popped up there for $15.99: https://www.petsmart.com/dog/toys/plush-toys/joyhound-classroom-snuffle-puzzle-pizza-burrow-and-play-mat-dog-toy-76716.html

My shopping for my SS is well under way. Should be able to wrap things up (literally and figuratively) by the end of the weekend. Yay!