Finally got Tobias down about 12:30. Hope he makes another 2 hour nap today. It rained a fair bit this morning, but the sun is out now. I’m going to try to take them to the playground, and I’ll take a towel to dry off swings, etc, if necessary. This is going to be the last playground-worthy day for a while.
FCD left for his mom’s early - they’re going to make some calls to be sure her share of FIL’s pension is set up and her health insurance thru his pension is good to go. Then they’ll go talk to the money guy.
I’ve had a hankering for lunch at Salsa’s - but it’s not happening today. Dammit. Not sure what I’ll do for supper - I may opt for easy and do sketty. Or pulled poke. We shall see. Till then, here’s hoping the kid stays asleep and idiot Higgs doesn’t bark.
All righty - back to the recliner!! 
Is she feeling better, then? 
The last few days were busier than usual, but today seems to be pretty much back to normal…though I do keep putting off a monthly report that has to be submitted to the customer by COB. Eh, at this point a little more procrastination won’t hurt. 
Two more days until the jazz festival starts! I can’t wait! On Friday I’ll quit work at noon, then I’ll take Bailey to Dogtopia, pack my bags, and load up the car. The hotel check-in isn’t until 4:00 and it’s only 15 miles away, but I figure I’ll leave around 2:30 because the northbound rush hour starts early and doesn’t f*** around. I’d rather sit in a lobby than on an interstate. I’ll only be gone until Monday but I’ve been letting the pantry empty out, and I’m constantly having to remind myself not to go to the grocery store yet. It’s funny how much I’ve gotten used to having apples and bananas in the house: the absence of both is primarily what keeps triggering the “go to the store now” impulse!
HA!
I kept an M&Ms dispenser* on my desk at a few different jobs, mostly as a way to encourage visitors. I never minded buying them, but in all the years I did that only one co-worker ever bought some for me: decades later, she’s still one of my favorite people!
*Only the plain ones, because I don’t really care for them. But I’ll eat peanut M&Ms like I haven’t been fed in months, so I never kept those on my desk. 
That sounds very cool!
I keep my phone on “do not disturb” at night, but I have a whitelist of numbers that will always ring through – including family members, close friends, the dog kennel, and any number that calls three times in a row. It will allow text message notifications from those numbers, too, and I once had to temporarily un-whitelist one of my BFFs when he had a bout of insomnia. 
Howdy Y’all! I procured provisions and OYKW scored some cheap chawklits. He got some dark chawklit Hershey’s Kisses, some of those Lindt truffle thingys, some Dove and some Godiva dark chawklit, Turtles, and plain M & Ms. Score! We had a very good leftover N.O.L. and have achieved nappage. All in all, an excellent day so far!
MetalMouse glad you’ve had such a good time. Lookin’ forward to many pictures of penguins and such!
Oopsie I know you’re gettin’ all excitated for the jazz festival. Hope it’s as much fun as, and even more than you anticipate.
Sitting in Salsa’s parking lot waiting for FCD and his mom to meet me for supper. Glad I didn’t defrost anything.
The kids wore me out and I don’t know if I have the strength to cook anyway. So yay for dining out!!
Mrs. L.A. got back from the Post Office, where she had her picture taken and her passport renewal materials put together. She mailed everything off in the Priority Mail envelope containing my passport renewal stuff.
She was worried though. The other day, we tried to renew online. The U.S. Dept. of State site says they are not accepting online renewals as of last week. Strangely, my wife was able to ‘renew online’. The passport woman at the Post Office told her today that that website is a fraud. She’s worried they have her SSN and birth date. I looked at it, and it appears to be a business that charges people $89 to do exactly what the U.S. Dept. of State does for free. So she feels better now, that it doesn’t look like an identity-stealing scheme. I did suggest she get a credit hold.
Anyway, we should have new passports in a few/several weeks.
Oh, there’s a new Taco Bell. She called to ask if I wanted anything, but I eschew fast food and told her no. She got me a taco anyway. It was good.
I am goin’ to make myself sick on dark chawklit Hershey’s Kisses. I like those things too much! If I get a tummy ache it will be OYKW’s fault. That’s my story and I am stickin’ to it.
I’m killing a few minutes while my boss fixes something in a report that has to be delivered today (not one I was responsible for!). But meanwhile the oven has been preheated, so as soon as I’m done working I can stick some chicken fries in there; they and some frozen corn will be dinner. I’m on a big kick where I have Pop Secret Homestyle popcorn after dinner, plus several low-sugar dark chocolate coconut bars for dessert; I see no need to change that up today. I’ll actually be taking some of those bars to the jazz festival with me, and I’ll also pack a few snack-size bags of popcorn just in case I can access a microwave over the weekend. 
(There won’t be one in my room, but I may be allowed to use one elsewhere in the hotel.)
In other news, Bailey is entertaining herself (and me) by barking her head off in the bedroom. There’s just enough of an echo in there that I think she likes it. It’s her squeaky “I AM PLAYING” bark, which is cracking me up. (It’s waaaaayyyy less annoying than her “OMG A DOG/PERSON/SQUIRREL/LEAF” bark!)
Yay for satisfying hankerings!
Yep, today’s pretty much been one giant annoyance, all right. Knew it was going to be early on.
Had to replace my debit card, AGAIN (second time in 2023!), due to fraudulent transaction. Then the car decided to take its turn in the VCTPMO, in the form of a crapped-out battery. DH is good at this stuff, but there were multiple minor things that didn’t go as smoothly as he thought they should, resulted in him getting cranky at me about it.
Some soft-serve ice cream helped a little, and Walmart didn’t seem to have problems with our delivery, so that could have been worse.
JtC, I have some cheap (but pretty) paper in my stash. It doesn’t cut well, so if I use it, I tend to make embossed backgrounds. At this point, I buy very little paper online, preferring to feel the weight and density in my hot little hands.
Sorry about your eye nellie.
Yay on getting the truck woes behind you yank.
seanette, hairballs are one thing that I don’t miss about cohabitating with a cat.
Glad you’re enjoying your cruise metal mouse.
They moved my half of the department today. It is right outside of a breakroom and a set of restrooms. They’ll move the rest of the department tomorrow.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Happy Wednesday! Thanks, everyone, for the supportive worry. My eye is almost completely better today. Whew! Today was shots day, so I got in 6 miles of walking. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m tuckered.
My daughter sent me a photo of cupcakes she and her husband made yesterday. They remembered that for their first Valentine’s Day as a couple, I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, so they recreated them. So romantic! Speaking of which, when I was at the store last night at 5:30, the place was practically filled with men getting flowers. Every man I saw but one (There’s always one.) was either perusing flowers or buying some. It was kind of touching.
MetalMouse, so good to hear from you! Have you seen penguins?
I had no idea we had an adorable penguin emoji! This makes me ridiculously happy. Now I want to drop one here and there just 'cause.
Is 20% enough, or does it depend on how far the cow had to walk? I think Cecil did a column on cow-tipping long ago. Oo! Found it!
Oopsie, I can’t wait to hear all about the jazz festival! (I’m the CEO of Vicarious Living International. Motto: Have rocker, will travel.) Also, those coconut bars look yum.
That’s funny. I was sure you were at least a colonel.
Aww. This made me tear up.
Oh, look! A penguin! 
Seanette, I hope your day gets better.
That’ll be handy!
When I was going to get Roxy yesterday, there was a trailer and 2 Amish men with buckets full of rose bouquets at an intersection. I saw 4 different cars stop there in the couple of minutes I was at the light. I expect they did a brisk business.
Nice supper at Salsa’s, with enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Yum. We’re now in chillage mode.
Having a martini, and Teriyaki stir fry for dinner tonight.
I keep mine on “Seriously disturbed, go ahead and call me” 
And I did a cartoon for it:
The cartoon made me smile at first, then “Gateway” made me laugh out loud! 
Here’s a weird, esoteric question that can only belong in this thread:
I have a set of nonstick cookware I bought about twenty years ago. The instructions for the same brand say they’re dishwasher safe, but obviously those instructions are from modern iterations. How likely is it that the “old” versions I have differ in dishwasher safeness? Or should I just try, on the logic that they’re so old that cutting short their lifespan isn’t going to do much difference?
Don’t do it:
Nellie I can be a ten star General worrier at times. Fortunately I co-habitate with a Private First Class worrier who can talk me down when necessary.
Jumpy what Nellie said.
Missed the edit window. Sorry, Jumpy, as that probably sounded curt. I guess it would depend on what the nonstick coating was made of. I wouldn’t do it with a pan coated with PTFE (Teflon), but then, I understand such pans have a lifespan of around 5 years. I’m not sure about other coatings. If it’s still truly nonstick, it’s a quick swish by hand; if it’s not, maybe it’s time to pitch it?
Love the cartoon, doggio!