Lowkey birthday

Went into the week fully intent on starting weight training.  I took Connie's advice and reached out to the trainer about doing 30 minute workouts twice a week.  We had it set up for Monday and I was dressed and backing out of the driveway when I got an advocacy call.  So I had to pivot.  I hated to tell the trainer I had to cancel, especially 20 minutes before I was supposed to be there but such is life.  I worked with a different advocate and SANE this time but it went well.  I did all the paperwork, gave out the info and got signatures and stuff.  The plan is to turn me out to do calls on my own after one more case.  It went as well as I could have hoped.  This case was a juvenile so it was a little different than what I am used to.  Never underestimate how naïve teen girls are.  I just wanted to shake her and ask her what she was thinking.  That took about 3 hours and we got her on her way.  

Tuesday I went into the office and the day dragged on forever.  All my work friends were out so I had to actually concentrate on work.  I have training slides I needed to get done and some reports I had to finish up so it was busy but without the teams messages it was boring.  I had planned on working Wednesday, which was my birthday, but Dennis got a call about the results from his chemical stress test and they want to do a heart cath to see if they need to put stents in.  He asked me to go with him to talk to the doctor because he is terrified so I just took all day off.  I think they convinced him to have the procedure done.  They originally set up the procedure for next week but he freaked the fuck out and pushed it until December 1.  Personally, I would want to get it over with.  

Wednesday night we had tickets to the Moth Story Hour.  For non NPR weirdos it's a story slam where people get up and tell true stories without a script or notes.  There were 5 story tellers and they were all really good, the first and last were particularly good.  The first was a native guy who moved out to the country and fosters dogs.  He has fostered over 300.  The last was a Vietnam vet who accidentally ran across his army uniform shirt in the Smithsonian.  The venue was a few doors down from the pizza place Olive was picked up from so we decided to get to the show a little early and stop in and eat.  I didn't think anyone would remember her but Dennis asked the waitress how long she had been there and she hadn't been there that long.  He told her why he was asking and she said 'hold on, I know someone who will remember her'.  A few minutes later another waitress came by and remembered her!!  She said she was a little nippy but for sure not feral like the others that come around.  She would come around for pets but would get a little bitey when she had enough.  We told her that missy was no longer the least bit nippy and we showed her a bunch of pictures of her sleeping on my chest and of the tattoo of her on my leg.  It really made my day.  She was so happy to see her happy and loved.  Sweet baby Olive must have been VERY pregnant because she mentioned that a couple of times.  We told her that the kittens didn't materialize and she didn't ask any questions.  So despite the appointment with the doctor, my birthday was good and low key like I like it.  

Thursday was full of errands.  I went to Sephora and Ulta to get my birthday freebies and Ross to see if I could find some fluffy pj pants which I did find a few of.  In my shopping adventure I also found a few things to pick up for Christmas gifts.  I don't do a lot of Christmas shopping anymore but I do send stuff to Brooke and exchange gifts with my sisters and Heather.  I had planned on buying Heather's plane ticket home but I was shocked her mom bought it for her, she will be here 13 December!!  I am looking forward to seeing her.  She is already talking about this years photo shoot 😩  We are talking about renting an igloo at the Christmas chute in the town my mom lives.  If they had a catering option we would have booked it, but it is kind of a pita to try and figure out dining options.     https://route66christmaschute.com/  

Thursday I did some laundry and spent some time with my babies.  That evening I had an appointment to get my annual eyebrow touch-up.  That takes a few hours but the girl that does it is pretty sweet and we talked for the first hour.  She is amazed at my pain tolerance as I nearly fell asleep at one point towards the end and she didn't put anything on to numb them.  I think she has talked me into doing my lips too instead of doing filler and crap.  I thought it might scratch the tattoo itch but it just made it worse.  I have so many ideas.

Friday, I made a few calls to get some more estimates on the roof replacement.  I have gotten 2 back, one is almost twice the other one.  I don't know enough about roofs to know exactly why.  I need to find someone knowledgeable to look them over and tell me.  I know the second includes gutters where the first one didn't but that does not justify that much of a difference.  I feel like getting a few more estimates might help fill in the gaps.  Sometime I just want to burn it down and start fresh. 

Saturday I got a slow start, we had extra cuddles in bed with Olive, Bailey, and Truman.  It makes it really hard to get started.  I had talked to a friend of mine earlier in the week and found out her dad, who was a gate attendant when I was a baby park ranger, fell and broke his back and was in a rehab center.  She was leaving for Korea for a week so I told her I would go and check on him.  The center is in the city I went to college in and I was sort of looking forward to driving around.  My mom was going with me and I wanted to show her how much it had changed in the 20 + 😱  years since I graduated.  We stopped for lunch at an Amish place I used to eat at all the time when I was a ranger and hadn't been in years.  The food was just as good as I remembered it.  It is a buffet, which is kind of a waste for me.  I had the best fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken and noodles, and so much pie (peanut butter and blackberry cobbler).  I shouldn't have gone because now I am obsessed and want to go back when they have chicken fried steak.  I am making myself hungry.  

While we were eating lunch I got a text asking if I could take advocacy calls starting at 4:30.  I said that I could as I should be back by then, the center is only an hour and a half away from Tulsa.  I was glad to see Henry was as ornery as ever.  He is 92 and starting to show some signs of his age.  His short term memory is not good and he told me the same story several times.  Other than the back brace though he looked really good.  Pat, his wife is the same age and she has declined a lot more.  I consider Pat and Henry to be extended family, they are pretty special to me and they were both really surprised to see me since they didn't know their daughter had told me he had gotten hurt.  

As we were getting ready to leave I got a text that there was an SA call with a 4 year old.  It was a little after 2 so I wasn't really expecting to get called out.  I told them that I was a little over an hour away but would head that way.  I ended up having my mom drop me off at the hospital and Dennis picked me up later.  I was pretty nervous but to be honest, it wasn't as bad as I had feared.  We kept her entertained while the SANE did the exam.  She went along like it was a normal doctor appointment.  Obviously the situation was beyond fucked up.  I really wanted a huge margarita but I had calls until 10:30 so I just sat and watched tv and tried to calm my mind.  We didn't get another call, thankfully.  They are going to start scheduling me solo.  

Yesterday we went to my mom's to pick up my car from her house.  I meandered back to my house via Target and Petsmart to restock a few things.  I was starving but I nothing really sounded good.  There are a ton of options around but I just didn't feel like going in or eating in my car.  I ended up just fixing a grilled cheese at home.

I have no idea what this week hold for me.  I don't think there is much going on at work.  Things will calm down as things start to slow down as people start to take their use or lose.  I need to send an email to the EFO to see if the Hawaii thing is still a go because that will impact my leave schedule since I would be leaving the day after Christmas and for now I am scheduled off the last few weeks of December.  I don't want to lose any time.