11/3/24

Good morning.

This week went by rather quickly.

Friday I went grocery shopping fairly early.  I came home and did dishes and laundry.  I made two loafs of homemade apple cinnamon bread - one for us and one for Jay's dad.  We took Jay's dad out for lunch yesterday at China buffet.  Having that family time was nice - we ended up discussing Thanksgiving plans.  We are going to split Thanksgiving down the middle with the cost of food and also cooking.  I also stopped at PetSmart and got pee pads and Greenies dental chews for Rebel.  Rebel's been dealing with dental plague so hopefully these help with that.  I finally started painting my 3D prints on Friday.  I focused mostly on Cheshire but also managed to paint Alice's hair.  I just have some light chores to do today such as washing our couch covers, vacuuming, dishes and cooking our dinner for the week.  I'm doing a simple dinner this week - sheet pan kielbasa, sausage, roasted potatoes and carrots.  Other than that, I just have plans of mostly relaxing.  Probably going to play video games for a bit and then get back to reading the bible.

Jay and I are suppose to go to Denver Downs farm this weekend for cider fest and pumpkin nights pending it doesn't rain.  Jay wants to get a funnel cake and I want to get an order of fried pickles and a corn dog.  Jay and I are going to visit with the family animals and watch Exit 83 band play.  I haven't heard anything back about the quality job, but they did post a position for braiding/textile tech I which was my second option, so when I got home Thursday afternoon, I applied for that.  I received a phone call on Friday requesting to set up a phone interview for the position, so I have that on Monday at 10 a.m.  I have all of my notes prepped and ready to go for that.  What is meant for me will be and I know God will make sure of that.  My only concern is the pay.  I don't mind temporarily making what I already do, but I prefer not to take a pay cut if at all possible.

10/27/24

The weekend was lovely.

My Friday was filled with grocery shopping and cleaning.  Babe and I ran to Lowe's because we needed new floodlight bulbs for the carport and then we got Zaxby's for dinner.  Saturday we went out - got our prescriptions and Japanese for dinner.  I also snuck into the liquor store and purchased a jar of banana pudding moonshine.  It didn't disappoint.  We spent our afternoon going halfsies on the moonshine and watching movies.  I woke up fairly early this morning - started my first day doing some low impact exercise, did some skin and hair care, dishes, cooked our dinner for the week and did some more dishes.  I finally had a chance to sit down and go over our finances because there are some things we've been wanting to order.  We got two air purifiers for the house (one for the living-room and one for the bedroom) because everyone's allergies have been terrible lately.  I also ordered a gate for Rebel because he's been having an obnoxious amount of accidents in the house, so now he needs to be contained.  I will take him for walks so he can get some exercise.  I ordered a steam mop so we can clean all of the things in the house (primarily the walls...like I said, allergies have been awful and the cats have butchered our walls - yuck!).  I ordered myself a 64 oz water jug so I can get my daily water intake.  Ordered a new loveseat couch cover because the one we had got destroyed in the wash.  Then just ordered my paints and brushes so I can paint my 3D prints that are primed and ready to go.

I also did some work in my shadow work book as well today.  All I have left to do is the dishes in the sink and then I think I'm going to read some more of the bible before bed.  I haven't heard anything about the quality inspection job which the quality supervisor said I would hear something by the end of the week if I got the job, so I'm assuming I didn't get it.  I won't write it off until the end of this coming week just in case, but if not, it is what it is.  I'll just keep on going onto the next thing.  I'll be disappointed but I'm a destiny oriented person to where I don't want what's not meant for me and perhaps there is a reason why if I don't get it...

I dressed up a little yesterday and felt super pretty.

Here's a mini photo dump of things from the weekend.

10/19/24

Phew, I'm exhausted!

The workweek wasn't too bad, especially the last two days with our PC being out.  Not going to lie, I definitely wanted to call out on Thursday.  It took every fiber of my being not to do so - with me being so exhausted and it being so incredibly cold.  I also had zero patience left.  Several things have been aggravating me lately and I really wish they didn't because it has to do with the actions and behaviors of others.  I will definitely be working on that.  I have to accept that I'm not everyone's cup of tea.  I've always known that, just have to work on accepting it now.  People are so negative and judgmental, it's insane.  I have to go back and reflect for sure because it's a them problem, not a me problem in terms of being incessantly negative and judgmental.  My only problem in that scenario is learning to be unbothered by those people because they are irrelevant and you can't change the actions and behaviors of others.  It's just really disheartening to see so much ugly in the world.

Moving on - I got up super early this yesterday morning.  I went grocery shopping, came home and put it all up, took a shower, skipped out to the doctors, went to the vape shop, came home and made lunch, did dishes and a load of laundry, watched a movie while I ate lunch, almost fell asleep during said movie, took a two hour nap, then went and got Japanese with Jay when he got home from work.  I picked up some apple cider and Reese's hot cocoa because you know, fall things.  I'm making loaded baked potato soup this weekend and brought some French bread to go with it for our dinner for the week.  I just have a few more household chores to do today and then I'm spending the rest of the weekend relaxing.  I have my on-site interview on Monday which is super exciting - I have both my fingers and toes crossed for that!

At the doctors yesterday, I had some skin lesions looked at.  I had seven new ones that showed up on my back.  I had one on my left breast for awhile, but never paid any mind to it.  I figured maybe I should get them looked at just in case.  Doctor is only really concerned about the potential of one on my back, but said it doesn't need immediate action at this time.  He did say that due to the fact that I have numerous moles, I do have to be monitored closely like, once or twice a year.  I told him that I was going to stop my Diclofenac while I was there and he's fine with that.  So, now I'm down to only three medications.  He wants me to stay on Nucynta and Baclofen just a little bit longer due to that I just had my back procedures not too long ago and wants to give it more time.

Wednesday evening, we went to Wendy's to try the Spongebob crabby patty meal which came with a burger with secret sauce, a medium fry and pineapple frosty.  It was okay, but I wish the pineapple syrup was swirled into the frosty, but it was settled at the bottom.  What really fascinated me was the customer service!  The two ladies working that day were so incredibly kind and personable.  I thanked them for that and told them to never change because it's definitely a lost past-time to have exceptional customer service and I had a long day that day, so it was refreshing and nice for sure.  I even contacted Wendy's and told them about my experience.

Yesterday at the grocery store, I had an older lady chatting me up in the cat food isle which a lot of people can't stand but I've come to enjoy it, so long as I have time.  If I have the time, I make the time.  It's nice to talk to other people, especially those you don't know.  She asked me if my cats were just as picky as hers and told me how she is currently taking care of about twenty neighborhood cats.  Bless her heart for being so kind.  We exchanged friendly banter back and forth until I finished picking out all the food I needed for the week for my cats and then parted ways.  She was such a kind person.  After Jay's mom passed, it's definitely made me appreciate the more simple things in life.

I'm going to insert a photo dump here of things from my week:

I've had a few good conversations this week with my best-friend and my cousin that I haven't spoken to in awhile.  Japanese was absolutely delicious last night.  I love fried sushi.  It's becoming sweatshirt weather which I also love.  Work had a pretty decent lunch menu this past week and next weeks menu looks good next week too.  They gave out cupcakes with pink frosting for breast cancer awareness month and it was so yummy!  Jay's friend is suppose to come back over Sunday and get the rest of the yard debris.  Like I said, I got some cooking to do, one more load of laundry and will probably vacuum and wash the floors but other than that, I'm going to lounge around and maybe play some video games, work in my word search book some more and do some reading.  I'm also going to prime my 3D prints that my cousin sent me.  This coming pay period, I'm going to buy the paints for them.  I'm very excited for that!

10/13/24

Today was a productive day.

I deep cleaned the bathroom, did two loads of laundry, made Salisbury steaks, roasted potatoes (for Jay), butternut squash (for me) and french-style green beans w/ bacon.  Just got done taking a shower and now relaxing before bed.  The weekend was nice but went by too fast.  Jay had his buddy over to help us cut down the tree that snapped in half in our backyard; he's coming back next weekend to get the rest of the debris.  I did some work in my word search book yesterday.  My mother-in-law brought me those books when I was hospitalized for my back - I never really touched them.  I broke them out during Helene because we had no power, so it was something to do that didn't require electricity.  I've been making a point to do them more frequently because it's nice to have some "unplugged time" and stimulate your brain.

I received my mail-in ballot today and filled it out straight away - it's ready to be mailed!  It was very important for me to vote this year.  There is no way I could take four more years of this circus and pray with everything that I've got that we don't have to!  Well, that's it for today.  Time to go and relax for the night.  Here's to another work week!  Hopefully it's quick and painless!

10/12/24

Good morning.

The workweek was pretty decent.  I received an on-site interview request for Monday, October 21st at 2 p.m. for the QC I position, so that's pretty exciting - keeping my fingers and toes crossed!  Went out yesterday and got my oil and filter changed at the dealership and did grocery shopping.  I decided on making hamburger steaks this week for dinner.  Jason will get roasted red-skin potatoes and I will be doing butternut squash.  I brought some French-style green beans and will be adding bacon pieces.  We applied for the $750 FEMA assistance and got approved; already got the money, so that helps out a lot.  When I got home from grocery shopping yesterday, I helped Jay's dad apply for it as well.  Thursday night, we had the pleasure of seeing the Northern lights here in South Carolina - they weren't as strong as seeing them in the North but they were still beautiful.

Jay and I went out for Chinese food last night and watched the movie IF.  He also wanted to see The Beekeeper with Jason Statham, so I put that on for him.  I already seen it and tried to stay awake to watch it with him, but ended up falling asleep.  I'm going to see if he wanted to try the Boba tea shop near us this morning - they open up at 10:30 a.m. and then I want to make a quick run to Ace Hardware and get some flex tape (we have a hole in our vinyl siding in our carport), a small container of bleach (for cleaning) and a can of Rust-oleum primer so I can start prepping the 3D prints my cousin sent me for painting.  Other than that, not much going on this weekend.  We decided that this weekend was going to be a cozy, lazy weekend in.  I made an apple Cinnabon cinnamon bun dessert because well, Fall.  No, it's not on my diet, but it's Fall so that's my unjustified excuse and of course I'm going to watch Hocus Pocus again this weekend because, why not?

Other than that, just going to hang around the house and relax, do some light household chores here and there.  Oh, and my family in Florida is safe from hurricane Milton which I'm so incredibly grateful for - some people weren't so lucky.  My prayers continue for those affected by both Helene and Milton!

10/6/24

I did some odds and ends today.

I folded some laundry and put it away, organized my nightstand and went through my dads things finally.  It was definitely emotional to do that.  I don't have many things from him, but I guess I couldn't really expect much either.  One thing that I do wish I had was his sobriety chip that he got at rehab.  I think the investigators still have his phone, maybe wallet...I'm not really sure.  I called last month and the medical examiner still doesn't have a cause of death as of yet.  It was time to go through his things though and get rid of what doesn't need to stay in my house.

Yesterday, I helped Jay pick up some of the debris from the storm, did more laundry.  Friday I was able to get out and get groceries, cleaned out the fridge, vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms.  I made myself some cabbage steaks for lunch yesterday as well.  After this post, I'm going to take a quick shower, make meatball subs on wraps for Jay and I - he's eating french fries, I'm eating zucchini fries.  While dinner is cooking, I'll do up the few dishes in the sink and probably just spend the rest of my Sunday getting myself ready for work tomorrow and resting in bed...perhaps dive into some reading before bed.  I'm trying to work on dreaming more - they say it's the "gateway" to the unconscious.  I'm still working on my inner healing, so it's something I'm curious about.  I was able to have a cluster of random dreams last night...but can't remember too much about them, at least nothing significant.

(This one is the neighbors yard)

I'm still about 95% pain free in my lower back.  If I do feel anything in my lower back, it's just very minor soreness.  I haven't got a muscle spasm in my back, well, that I've felt since the ablation.  We still want to go to Greenville, but we aren't sure the extent of the damage, so we are waiting a few weeks to attempt a visit up there.  I also had my phone interview Friday for QC I - the talent acquisition supervisor said that I will definitely be going through with an on-site interview, so after everything I've been through, fingers crossed!  

10/5/24

Helene's impact was widely felt across the Carolina's, especially in Asheville, NC.

Jason and I are okay.  We were without power from Friday morning at 5:52 a.m. until about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, so about 86.5 hours.  It was a bit rough in terms of keeping our phones charged and the humidity but I consider ourselves extremely lucky considering that the power being out was our only inconvenience.  We had a medium size tree in our backyard uproot but no damage to our house or anything of that nature.  I just went grocery shopping yesterday as I've had to work this week but also, wanted to allow my refrigerator to get back to temp as well as make sure the power was actually going to stay on.  I went out fairly early (around 6 a.m.) because I knew with it being Friday and with more and more people getting their power restored, it was going to be madness out there.  I tried going to two grocery stores, but they were taking cash only.  I went to the bank and withdrew some money but could only get it in increments of $100 as that's all the ATM had left in it.  I was fortunate enough to get just about everything I needed - I also filled up on gas.  Anxiety came over me a bit as I endured these minor inconveniences because I began worrying about what it would be like in the weeks to come with stores, banks and gas stations being able to keep up with the supply and demand.  I found myself praying to God because I know he'd help me get through this but also expressed to him in the process that I felt guilty and selfish for doing so because in comparison, my situation was minor to those in Asheville.

My heart is truly broken for Asheville.  Roads, jobs, stores, banks, homes are gone.  Lives are gone.  The death toll is nearing 250 people and that's not even the ones who are still missing.  Rainbow bridge, where many clipped their late fur babies collars to symbolize them passing over rainbow bridge dog heaven is destroyed.  As the relief efforts progress, they are trying to also recover these collars in order to rebuild the bridge.  People have lost their children.  On TikTok, I seen an interview that a women did with the news.  Her, her parents and seven year old child were stranded on a roof top surrounded by water.  The roof eventually caved in and the water carried them away.  Her sons body was recovered, but I'm not sure about her parents.  She was in the water for five hours - she prayed and God told her to let go of the tree she was holding onto.  She realized that was her only chance at being found.  Once she let go and let the water carry her, a man had found her and rescued her.  I can't even begin to imagine what she is going through - my heart really goes out to her and the many others that are experiencing the same thing.

There were 1.5 million people without power in South Carolina alone.  My job didn't hold it against those who couldn't make it into work this week, gave out free bottles of water and ice to those in need and have also gave each of us 10 hours of volunteer PTO specifically for Helene if we wanted to donate our time to help those around us affected.  Some places of employment offered showers, meals and electricity to families of the workers who needed it which is also amazing.

In my prayers, I'm definitely keeping those significantly impacted by the storm at the top of my prayer list - I hope these people are able to find peace and resolution as they navigate this difficult time.