Wednesday: halfway there!

Heffalump

[crawls toward lunchtime, the official halfway point]

What's shakin', kids?  Nothing much here.  Just the usual.  I have to get to the gym today.  I blew it off last week, because until I went to the doctor, I thought my back hurt from a strained muscle, so I figured I should rest it.  Then I was feeling icky.  Now I'm feeling better, so it's high time I stopped making excuses and got back in there.  I need something good to watch, though.  I'm thinking about rewatching some of Master of None, since season 2 arrives Friday.  So much good Netflix: Master of None, House of Cards, and I seem to think something else is coming soon, too.

DH and I need another grown up day, when the kids are at school and we're bumming around town, having sushi for lunch and holding uninterrupted conversations, midday sexytime, getting coffee and sitting and drinking it there instead of in the car on the way to soccer/swim/riding/birthday party/etc.  Galleries, antique stores--we could enter places with breakable objects! 

Barely over two months 'til London.  I seriously need to start a rough itinerary.

ILoveBeachMusic

This has been the longest week! Every morning I've awakened and asked my self what day it is. Hopefully, laundry room and bathroom cabinets will be finished today. I'm sick of living in this mess - even if it has only been three days.

bleve0821

The usual here, too.  I'm beginning to feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and I don't know what to do about it.  I wonder if there's just been so much change and upheaval in my life since 2015 that now that there's some stability, I'm bored.

Got a text this AM, from someone I was close with until fairly recently, that said, "Don't post anything to Facebook, but [major life event]," which seriously pissed me off, because obviously my FIRST instinct would have been to announce SOMEONE ELSE'S big news to the world.  Now I don't even care about the exciting news because you had to add that disclaimer to your proclamation and question my integrity.  I know there are people who do that, but c'mon.  Either tell me the news and trust me, or don't share it until you're ready to FB live it, or whatever.

Also, my left boob is KILLING me today.  It feels like someone is stabbing me through the nip with an ice pick.  So that is definitely not helping my overly snarly mood today.  My inner dragon is baring her teeth and starting to breath fire again.

mrsconn23

DH was asking about my favorite candy and plans for Saturday, so I'm not sure what he's got up his sleeve for Mother's Day.  But yay for questions, initiative, and planning?   

I haven't said anything, but we've been dealing with a pretty serious situation for over a week now and will hopefully get some resolution to it tomorrow.  I hope it shakes out the way we want it to, but it's not up to us.  I hate uncertainty and I have been stressed the fuck out about it all. 

I have this stubborn blemish on my chin.  It's never turned into a whitehead that I can pop, but it's red and huge and annoying.  At least it doesn't hurt any more, but it can shrink at any moment. 

Work has eased up and they've stopped offering overtime.  This is a double-edge sword.  On one end, I'm going to miss the $$, but I was starting to get extreme burnout.  I'm actually doing better and more efficient work and I am not putting the pressure on myself to work more hours.  

MNNEBride

DH had hip surgery last week so I was offline.  Surgery was Monday and he was released on Thursday.  Friday sucked big time but after that it's been going well.  He's up and around on his own and I went back to work on Monday.

Tuesday I had a second interview with Administrators for a job I applied for last month.  It's a step up (assistant supervisor), a 2 level bump in pay and in a different department.  Fingers crossed.  My current area is in transition to be combined with another group and a new supervisor.  My current supervisor's job was eliminated and she is transferring to another next week.  That leave's 2 of us.  I may not be here much longer and my co-worker is also up for another position.  It could be very interesting if they have to hire a whole new office.

Otherwise it's back to SSDD.

MissKittyDanger

M ended up going to a buddy's place for the hockey game last night. Was going to go but realized I am backed up with laundry .... so didn't go.
We won. Sens are in Eastern Conference Finals! Next we're against Penguins or Capitals. This is furthest we've gotten since 2007 when we got to last game of everything .... my city when absolutely NUTS.

Edited and uploaded one vid, and recorded and edited another


M also found out he'll be paid bi-monthly instead of bi-weekly. I asked him to check the damn dates because bi-monthly is typically on the same dates.

mrsconn23

I'm glad the Mr is on the mend @MNNEBride. 

charlotte989875

Still haven't heard anything on the job front. The interview last week went well, they said I'd hear something early this week; and nothing. They went over their deadline for the last round too, so I'm not worried yet, but I'm annoyed. Why say a hard deadline if you're not going to follow it? 

Other than that not much. Lunch meeting and some last minute wrapping up of the semester. H has to clean out his office today so he's in a mood. 

short+sassy

@mrsconn23, I hope the situation shakes out how you all want it to.  Sorry to hear there have been troubling things going on in your all's life.

@MNNEBride, sorry to hear about your H's surgery, but I hope his recovery goes great.

@MissKittyDanger, as always, I love your attitude!  "When do you get paid?  The specific dates of the month?  Find them."  Minor details, lol.  It seems like the vast majority of the time, bi-monthly is paid on the 1st and 15th.  With that said, at my current job, we have weirdo dates of the 2nd and the 17th.  Sorry the bank with my mortgage.  You will always be paid a day late, lol.

Yesterday was actually productive.  I found the gumption after I got off work to grab H and make a long overdue visit to Costco.  $300 later...how does that happen?...the fridge is back mostly stocked.  There are still a few items on the list I need to get at a normal grocery store with normal sized products.  We picked up Jimmy John's subs for dinner on the way home.  There isn't a Jimmy Johns within my normal scope of travel, so it was nice to get some fast food that we don't normally have.

Tonight, we have plans to try a fairly new Mexican restaurant.  Margaritas here I come!  Wednesdays are $10 fajita nights PLUS I have a Groupon.  So dinner should be an outstanding value, all around.  As long as the food is at least decent!

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy  lmao!! I am sooo on top of stuff when it comes to budget. It's 90% my job because I work in a bankruptcy firm - I see people with out of control debt around my age and it SCARES ME. Sometimes I'll scare M like "Oh someone came in and they're your age with X amount debt. We need to deal with this!"
So I obsessively make budgets. Plus our mortgage comes out on the 26th of every month, so I wanna know if he's paid before or after that lmao!

Costco is evil. Beautiful, but evil. I easily spend too much there always.

MissKittyDanger

Side note; if anyone has anxiety or stress happening in their life, I read about this weighted blanket that apparently helps. So last weekend I was talking to my mum how it reminded me of my dad's blanket, so she gave it to me. Last few nights, I've placed it over top of my regular duvet and it's helped me sleep SO MUCH BETTER! Tbh part of that is less stress since M is working, but it's still helpful.

mrsconn23

MissKittyDanger said:

Side note; if anyone has anxiety or stress happening in their life, I read about this weighted blanket that apparently helps. So last weekend I was talking to my mum how it reminded me of my dad's blanket, so she gave it to me. Last few nights, I've placed it over top of my regular duvet and it's helped me sleep SO MUCH BETTER! Tbh part of that is less stress since M is working, but it's still helpful.

Sounds similar to using a thundershirt for a dog.    Glad you're feeling better and that it's helped. 

DrillSergeantCat

Crazy neighbor finally called H last night. She's decided that she wants us to pay for the fence in its entirety. She's out of her effing mind and I'm going to contact an attorney for some advice today. I'm seriously worried that she's going to cost me my new house.

I'm in the same boat with @charlotte989875. The job I interviewed for last week said they'd make a decision early this week, but I haven't heard anything. I'm going to chalk this one up as another loss. 

I'm not sure what's going on with Mouse, but he wouldn't go to bed last night and then woke up at 1 and cried until basically 3. Then Norah, woke up about the time I fell back to sleep, I nursed her, put her back to bed, and she woke up again about the time I fell back to sleep. I'm operating on about 3 hours of sleep and only 2 of those were consecutive. 

H got upset with me last night because I mowed the back yard when he got home. I can't get him to understand that the house looks like shit right now and it needs to not look like shit so we can show it.

kvruns

@DrillSergeantCat why is he mad you mowed? Because you should have been doing something else in his eyes?

short+sassy

MissKittyDanger said:

@short+sassy  lmao!! I am sooo on top of stuff when it comes to budget. It's 90% my job because I work in a bankruptcy firm - I see people with out of control debt around my age and it SCARES ME. Sometimes I'll scare M like "Oh someone came in and they're your age with X amount debt. We need to deal with this!"
So I obsessively make budgets. Plus our mortgage comes out on the 26th of every month, so I wanna know if he's paid before or after that lmao!

Costco is evil. Beautiful, but evil. I easily spend too much there always.

I'm a huge budgeter, though not a "to the penny" kind of person.  I have an Excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs to keep me on top of things.

I forgot you work at a bankruptcy firm.  I'm sure you've seen some eye opening stuff!  In the U.S., sadly, a good sized percentage of bankruptcies are due to medical bills.  Even with insurance, it is easy to rack up a large debt if a major medical issue happens.

DrillSergeantCat

kvruns said:

@DrillSergeantCat why is he mad you mowed? Because you should have been doing something else in his eyes?

He wasn't mad, just said he felt like shit because he felt like he should have done it on the weekend. I told him it should have been done on the weekend, but he worked almost a full day Saturday, then had to look after Mouse while I went to a baby shower, and we were gone half the day Sunday at my brother's. 

MissKittyDanger

mrsconn23 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

Side note; if anyone has anxiety or stress happening in their life, I read about this weighted blanket that apparently helps. So last weekend I was talking to my mum how it reminded me of my dad's blanket, so she gave it to me. Last few nights, I've placed it over top of my regular duvet and it's helped me sleep SO MUCH BETTER! Tbh part of that is less stress since M is working, but it's still helpful.

Sounds similar to using a thundershirt for a dog.    Glad you're feeling better and that it's helped. 

similar idea actually!

MissKittyDanger

short+sassy said:

MissKittyDanger said:

@short+sassy  lmao!! I am sooo on top of stuff when it comes to budget. It's 90% my job because I work in a bankruptcy firm - I see people with out of control debt around my age and it SCARES ME. Sometimes I'll scare M like "Oh someone came in and they're your age with X amount debt. We need to deal with this!"
So I obsessively make budgets. Plus our mortgage comes out on the 26th of every month, so I wanna know if he's paid before or after that lmao!

Costco is evil. Beautiful, but evil. I easily spend too much there always.

I'm a huge budgeter, though not a "to the penny" kind of person.  I have an Excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs to keep me on top of things.

I forgot you work at a bankruptcy firm.  I'm sure you've seen some eye opening stuff!  In the U.S., sadly, a good sized percentage of bankruptcies are due to medical bills.  Even with insurance, it is easy to rack up a large debt if a major medical issue happens.

In Canada, for older people it's typically illness related. For people around mine and M's age {late 20's} it's because you walk into college/university and they hand out credit cards.
They're starting to talk about budgeting in schools, which is where it SHOULD start so that way kids understand the outcomes of credit, etc etc.

DrillSergeantCat

MissKittyDanger said:

In Canada, for older people it's typically illness related. For people around mine and M's age {late 20's} it's because you walk into college/university and they hand out credit cards.
They're starting to talk about budgeting in schools, which is where it SHOULD start so that way kids understand the outcomes of credit, etc etc.

Several years ago, Oklahoma implemented a law required personal finance to be taken sometime between grades 9-12 because our bankruptcy rates had gotten so out of hand. 

MissKittyDanger

DrillSergeantCat said:

MissKittyDanger said:

In Canada, for older people it's typically illness related. For people around mine and M's age {late 20's} it's because you walk into college/university and they hand out credit cards.
They're starting to talk about budgeting in schools, which is where it SHOULD start so that way kids understand the outcomes of credit, etc etc.

Several years ago, Oklahoma implemented a law required personal finance to be taken sometime between grades 9-12 because our bankruptcy rates had gotten so out of hand. 

Oh good! When I was in school we briefly touched on it, but not nearly enough.
I'm always happy to hear places taking it upon themselves to realize the issue and finding a way to educate people and therefore help the future.

Has it made a difference?

DrillSergeantCat

MissKittyDanger said:

Oh good! When I was in school we briefly touched on it, but not nearly enough.
I'm always happy to hear places taking it upon themselves to realize the issue and finding a way to educate people and therefore help the future.

Has it made a difference?

I honestly don't know. The only reason I knew about it was because I was helping my H (now ex) write an essay for college credit. I'll have to look into it when I have some time.

levioosa

I went to bed at five am this morning because yesterday I took some of SO's sister's pre-workout before the gym. Y'all, I don't know what was in there but I feel like if I ever tried drugs, that's maybe what cocaine would feel like. Holy shit. And now I'm worried about getting a drug test for my new job after researching more in the dead of night. Apparently pre-workout can give false positives sometimes because one of the substances in it is molecularly similar to amphetamines. I mean, the type of benzene group attached makes a big difference, but I'd rather not have to explain that. I've never taken workout stuff (pre or post workout/creatine) before because I've always been extra careful about my kidney and liver health, so I don't know why I decided to try it now and now I'm annoyed with myself. Usually I do a lot of research before taking stuff, but I think I've heard of pre-workout so often both in my personal and academic life I didn't even give it a second thought. So I'll be in a corner drinking gallons of water on my 2.5 hours of sleep today. 

I have school this afternoon. We still don't have a syllabus which drives my type A personality up a wall. I'm just trying to go with the flow. But this semester is supposed to be awful, which is why I wanted a little jump on reading/assignments. Oh well. I guess I'll find out what to expect. 

MissKittyDanger

DrillSergeantCat said:

MissKittyDanger said:

Oh good! When I was in school we briefly touched on it, but not nearly enough.
I'm always happy to hear places taking it upon themselves to realize the issue and finding a way to educate people and therefore help the future.

Has it made a difference?

I honestly don't know. The only reason I knew about it was because I was helping my H (now ex) write an essay for college credit. I'll have to look into it when I have some time.

When you get a chance, let me know
What was the essay on?

short+sassy

levioosa said:

I went to bed at five am this morning because yesterday I took some of SO's sister's pre-workout before the gym. Y'all, I don't know what was in there but I feel like if I ever tried drugs, that's maybe what cocaine would feel like. Holy shit. And now I'm worried about getting a drug test for my new job after researching more in the dead of night. Apparently pre-workout can give false positives sometimes because one of the substances in it is molecularly similar to amphetamines. I mean, the type of benzene group attached makes a big difference, but I'd rather not have to explain that. I've never taken workout stuff (pre or post workout/creatine) before because I've always been extra careful about my kidney and liver health, so I don't know why I decided to try it now and now I'm annoyed with myself. Usually I do a lot of research before taking stuff, but I think I've heard of pre-workout so often both in my personal and academic life I didn't even give it a second thought. So I'll be in a corner drinking gallons of water on my 2.5 hours of sleep today. 

I have school this afternoon. We still don't have a syllabus which drives my type A personality up a wall. I'm just trying to go with the flow. But this semester is supposed to be awful, which is why I wanted a little jump on reading/assignments. Oh well. I guess I'll find out what to expect. 

About a year ago, my doctor prescribed Phentermine for me.  Which isn't an amphetamine, per se, but it is in that same group.

Holy cow!  I used to joke to my H that if I could bottle a pill that gave adults the same energy level as 3-year-olds, I'd be a millionaire.  Naïve me.  Apparently that already exists, it's just a controlled substance, lol.

I'd take it 3 weeks on, one week off.  In order not to gain a tolerance.  But those first 2-3 days after the one week break, I was AMPED.  I couldn't even just stand still.  The best I could do was bounce on my toes or walk in place.

Despite my precautions, I developed a tolerance after just a few months and discontinued taking it.

levioosa

@short+sassy I could not handle it. I was on a whole different level. I started to sweat while sitting down, my hands were shaking, I couldn't focus, I felt like my heart was going to explode (resting HR was actually only 93--still higher than preferred but not tachycardic, but it felt intense enough to make me take it resting, lol). I got home and was amped all night. I made myself cut up the chicken for dinner all slow so I didn't end up in the hospital again with a maimed finger and it felt like i was taking foreverrrrr. SO's sister was like "dude, you are flying around the kitchen," so apparently I wasn't moving as slow as I thought I was. The thing is, I took half a scoop (a whole scoop is the normal amount) on Sunday and it didn't really affect me at all, so yesterday I figured I could take the whole dose. Nope. Could not handle it.

kvruns

that is scary @levioosa

short+sassy

levioosa said:

@short+sassy I could not handle it. I was on a whole different level. I started to sweat while sitting down, my hands were shaking, I couldn't focus, I felt like my heart was going to explode (resting HR was actually only 93--still higher than preferred but not tachycardic, but it felt intense enough to make me take it resting, lol). I got home and was amped all night. I made myself cut up the chicken for dinner all slow so I didn't end up in the hospital again with a maimed finger and it felt like i was taking foreverrrrr. SO's sister was like "dude, you are flying around the kitchen," so apparently I wasn't moving as slow as I thought I was. The thing is, I took half a scoop (a whole scoop is the normal amount) on Sunday and it didn't really affect me at all, so yesterday I figured I could take the whole dose. Nope. Could not handle it.

Interesting!  Some of that was the same for me, but "focusing" was just the opposite.  I'd focus really and weirdly hard on whatever it was that caught my attention or that I was working on.  It was harder to multi-task.  I've heard that back when amphetamines were prescribed like candy, factory workers were especially encouraged to take them because it was easier for them focus on the one thing they were doing for hours at a time.

I personally didn't have trouble sleeping, but that is a side effect of Phentermine for some people.  I wasn't actually shaking, but usually felt jittery while I was taking it.  I had really dry mouth, which is the most common side effect.

And, yes, it felt like the rest of the world was going really slow.  Go, go, go.  Now, now, now.  If my tv would have still had the dialogue if I'd put it on 2x speed, I would have done that, lol.

MissKittyDanger

Scary update from M's ex job

- people who didn't smoke, are now smoking
- people are showing up drunk to work
- a lot of crying
- went through April without pay
- majority of lights are out because they can't afford hydro

Things are worse

short+sassy

MissKittyDanger said:

Scary update from M's ex job

- people who didn't smoke, are now smoking
- people are showing up drunk to work
- a lot of crying
- went through April without pay
- majority of lights are out because they can't afford hydro

Things are worse

They're lucky people are showing up at all.  I wouldn't be.  Not until I got my back pay.  Nor do I work in the dark for extended periods of time.  His poor former coworkers!

I know you all were bummed at the time, but it looks like M getting laid off when he did was a major blessing in disguise!  So glad he's out of that mess and into a new job.

DrillSergeantCat

MissKittyDanger said:

When you get a chance, let me know
What was the essay on?

It appears that it's had a positive effect. Credit scores are slightly higher for those who completed PASS than those who didn't. 

The essay was about his life experience in lieu of taking a course. It was about bankruptcy and credit counseling. 

MissKittyDanger

short+sassy said:

MissKittyDanger said:

Scary update from M's ex job

- people who didn't smoke, are now smoking
- people are showing up drunk to work
- a lot of crying
- went through April without pay
- majority of lights are out because they can't afford hydro

Things are worse

They're lucky people are showing up at all.  I wouldn't be.  Not until I got my back pay.  Nor do I work in the dark for extended periods of time.  His poor former coworkers!

I know you all were bummed at the time, but it looks like M getting laid off when he did was a major blessing in disguise!  So glad he's out of that mess and into a new job.

By far yes, so much yes!
At this point, they legally can leave because no pay. M ended up looking into it.