A Thankful Heart

It's funny how things work out. Right now my freezer is PACKED with goodies for my older sis. We didn't get a chance to see each other before January, so those goodies will stay there until the next time they come thru on the truck. Since my freezer is full of goodies, I am prevented from going to DQ and getting an ice cream cake for myself. That's right. I want a WHOLE ice cream cake for just ME!!! I'd have them put something really snarky on it, too... make the workers wonder. But alas, no room in freezer, no solo ice cream cake. Really, it's better in the long run but man... ice cream cake. Sigh... good decisions are sometimes no FUN.

On that note, I realized the other day that I'm I'm need of interactions with other people. Shocking, I know. The original introvert actually WANTED to go out and... engage with others in conversation. So I texted my older sis to see if I should a) go to a restaurant for dinner, b) pick something up on the way home, or c) have leftovers at home. She went the responsible route and suggested leftovers because I've got quite a lot of them. So I called her on the way home and somewhat satisfied my need for interaction. Sigh... all my people are too far away and busy with their own lives... I understand this, but sometimes it sucks. I miss being able to rope A or J into meeting at Anamias after work.

I did have quite a Mandi feast for Christmas Eve. On christmas day i got to talk to some family, and was insanely lazy. It was a good weekend (minus the noisy upstairs neighbors... I think I found a new apt complex in cleburne... come on, april)April.

The veggies

Fruit.

Cheese, crackers, and meat

Chips, crackers, and dip

Drinks.

Christmas day was leftover pizza and snacks. Also a very good day.

I had a funny happen at work. Apparently I got a raise but no one told me about it. Once I established that the rate was real and not a fluke I realized that I had been paid at the new rate while I was out with covid, but at the old rate when I was actually at work. Essentially I was paid more to be home than I was for working!!! Don't worry tho, HR should have everything squared away by next paycheck. Hilarious mistake tho. Hehe. I'm training my replacement now (new nursing admin assistant) and eventually I'll have an office. Hopefully... once we clean out all the surgery and lab equipment. Lol.

The stack in my current office.

Apparently I'm too happy about being Quality again. I can't help it! I loves the data, the reporting, the figuring out how we can be better. It's fun for me! I'm trying to make sure my replacement will have stuff to do while im gone, and hopefully we'll have an office for me when i get back. 

Anyway, the reason I'm calling this "a thankful heart" is because I've been thinking of just how blessed I've been this year. It's been an adventure and I would not have survived without my amazing family and friends supporting me, so please know I am sooooo grateful for all of you. I love you and I hope that nothing but blessings and joy greet you in 2023. Sending warm hugs and loving thoughts to all, and looking forward to the next time we can see each other. MUAH! 😘

Soooo much loves!!

I've been at my 2nd house/dogsitting gig for a couple of days now and with 3 dogs the stomping is intense. I've got one that just wants ALL the loving, one that likes to use me as a chew toy, and one that goes back and forth between cuddling and chewing. I'm also loving every minute of it 😁 they at least get kenneled at night so I can sleep without being stomped on.

I've taken tons of pix of the snuggle butts and my older sister is officially mad at me/jealous because she wants to be able to loves the pups. Especially the little puppy. She might be interested In a schnauzer some day. It's been a bit of chaos and a whole lotta cuddles.

This is the mister needy butt. As soon as I sit down, he must be either on my lap or by my side.

The 2 hyperactive. Super sweet, but between the 3 I think I'm getting bruises on my thighs! Silly pups. Such sweet souls. I never thought I'd need a bigger lap, but here we are! Hehe

The little girl is always intrigued by what I'm drinking... I told her she's too young for coffee.

When it gets later in the day, they kinda become a living blanket for me. This is us watching Casino Royal last night. It was nice cuz Murphy usually lays on the other end of the couch.

I love this job.

I'm thinking I should probably get out and do something today, but perhaps not. If I go somewhere I'll probably end up buying things and really I don't need to spend any more $ until my trip to Albuquerque. I'm looking forward to that so much... I've had to stop myself from starting to pack already!

When I go home I'll stop by the grocery store and get all my snackies for my Christmas feast. That way I can be a lazy bum the whole weekend, watching all the Christmas (and Christmas-adjacent) movies I can find. I know I'm planning on Scrooged, White Christmas, the Christmas chronicles 2 (watched 1 already), kiss kiss bang bang, the long kiss goodnight, the Muppets Christmas Carole, and of course Garfields Christmas special (free on YouTube, gotta love it). I'd try to find die hard, but that might be a bust 😒 (I wonder if... hmmmm, might have to borrow those).

I've been wearing the slippers my older sis gave me for 2 days now and the little girl just realized they look like a chew toy. She hasn't quite chomped my foot yet, but I think its coming. 

I love these slippers!!

Anyway, that's been my weekend. Loving on the pups, playing fetch in the house, keeping mister snuggle butt from biting the mailman, you know, standard puppers stuffs. Someday when I have a house with a yard, I will have at least one pup. And probably 2 cats... and a fish tank. 😁 probably no cows, chickens, turkeys, guineas and the like, tho. Id love the fresh eggs but roosters and turkeys are MEAN! I'd have a huge veggie garden, too. Someday.

A Long December

Well, I got more than kolaches when I went to West. Somewhere I picked up the covid. Almost 3 years into the pandemic and I finally got sick.

I had a sore throat and cough on that Sunday, so I went to HEB and got sudafed. I also (finally) got a thermometer to monitor what I was pretty sure was a fever. I was right. I spent Sunday curled up on the couch, watching the dogs, and taking meds. By Monday AM I my fever.... wasnt... so I went to work. At 830 after feeling like crap I checked my temp again and the fever was back. I called the employee health nurse to see about getting tested for the flu. She told me to go to the lab and then go straight home. So I did. They swabbed both nostrils, I told my boss that I felt like crap and I went home. About halfway home I got a text from my boss that said "call me" so I did. She said "yeah, you're not allowed to come back for 5 days." We laughed a bit, because what else can you do? It's hospital policy to make someone stay away from work for 5 days once they test positive for covid. I also have to wear an n95 mask for 2 weeks (I have one week left now). So i spent the first week of Dec on my couch feeling miserable and watching a lot of stuff on streaming. Tho I did pretty much end on Scrubs. I drank so much lemon tea with lemon juice and honey those first 3 days that I NEVER want to drink it again. Also, I had my first telehealth visit and learned some meds leave a NASTY taste in the mouth. Ick. Just ick. My fever was gone by Tuesday, the sore throat was resolved by Thursday, and I was back to work by Monday. It wasn't a super pleasant week, and I was super bummed that the fella and I had to cancel a LOT of plans, but such is life. I even missed our holiday party at work 😔😭 super bummed me out.

Last week was fairly normal. I am officially the quality coordinator at work now, working for my old boss. The new nursing admin assistant is starting this coming Monday, so I can start training her in that job. I'm not sure where my new office will be... I just want to be able to bring my fridge with me!! Hehe.  I did find out that we got a grant, so that was exciting! I love it when we get $ that I've applied for!!

 I met A in weatherford yesterday for mexican food, and we had a lovely time. I was able to give her the Christmas presents i got for her, her dad, and her dog. She reports that they all love them! Hehe. I'm also going to be watching my former boss's dogs this coming week. She now has 3 schnauzers, so that should be fun. I'm heading out there later today. Cuts my commute down from 45 to 15 mins, no tolls, save on gas... I just love when I can house/pet sit. Apparently people at work are learning I do this because I've had one person say she may need my services in April, and another got excited that she may need me at an undisclosed time in the future. 

So that's what I've been up to. It's weird losing a week to covid. I've still got a bit of a cough, unfortunately. It's holding on for some odd reason, which I find RUDE!!! 

I was able to decorate for Christmas. Here's my Advent wreath. 

And my ornament that sings parts of the Oogie Boogie song. 😁

I'll be spending Christmas at home and then I'm going to spend New Years with my aunt and mom in Albuquerque! I'm sooooooo stoked! It's going to be a blast! Keep an eye out for that post. Hehehe.

Czeching out West

For those who don't know, on I-35 between DFW and Waco lies a small town called West. West was initially settled by people of Czech descent. We know this because the town has capitalized on it and has become an unofficial stop for Texas road trips. Any time you are going from DFW to Waco (or vice-versa) you MUST stop in West for some Czech goodies. 

I was first introduced to this in 2006 when we came down to New Braunfels for spring break.  Since that time, I've spread the love and introduced my family to the wonderfulness. This weekend I found myself in Grandview pet/house sitting and I thought since West is only 45 mins away, why not go there for the day and see what the actual TOWN is like. See, I've only stopped at the convenience store/bakery (aptly named the Czech Stop) and then been on my way. So yesterday I had my coffee, hopped in the car, and headed south to West.

Every adventure starts with coffee. I parked the car on the downtown drag and walked to the coffee shop. Ready Brew had one worker who made me an almond Roca latte. It was lovely. I then sat and journaled for about an hour before moving on.

The coffee shop also had a little store in it, which had some cute and sassy things. I almost bought my pepper jelly for Christmas there, but decided not to.

Probably the best store was the Old Czech Corner store. It had antiques and contemporary items and I couldn't help but get some Christmas presents there. I then found more at a boutique/hairdressers, and at another store they still had HALLOWEEN stuff so I just HAD to get myself a couple tea towels that say "pick your poison." Turns out the owner of that store also loves Halloween. 😁

At this point, I was getting hungry so I went to the Czech American Restaurant, which I had found online but also was recommended to me by the boss of my boss's son, who grew up around West. 

Super cute.

I was way more interested in the Czech food rather than the American. I got the combo plate with a sausage and a cabbage roll.

They must prep all their salads early.

It was SO GOOD!!! I was wracking my brain trying to remember the thing we had in Prauge that my tummy did NOT appreciate. I think it was the potato dumplings... they didn't have those here, so no worries, but I was annoyed I couldn't remember. Its only been 10 years 😳🙄

On my way out, I was blocked by a train! I'm always amazed by how HUGE these things are.

The other place that was recommended was Gerik's. You walk in, and it's mostly a pizza place, but walk around to the right and you'll see the baked goods. This place had HUGE cinnamon rolls that included all kinds of things. The one i remember most is the oreo cinnamon roll. I got Mo some stuff from here

On my way out, I stopped by the Czech Stop and picked up the rest of the things for M, M, and A. Hopefully I'll get to see M&M before Christmas to give them their goodies. I officially spent more yesterday at the Czech Stop than EVER BEFORE. And yes, I got a few goodies for myself as well. It took 3 boxes and one bag to get all my stuff out to the car. Thank God where I'm staying had room in a freezer!!

So if you ever have some free time and are around the area, I highly recommend getting off the interstate and Czeching out the little Czech town. You might find some unexpected goodies! 

Mobile Test

I haven't been using my computer much lately, so I thought I'd test doing this on my phone. Sigh... it's taking over.

Interesting that I can only do 1 pic at a time. Anyway, here's some of the pix from Santa fe, Albuquerque, and roswell... you know, that trip at the start of oct!! Lol. Ah well, such is life. Will do a more in-depth update later! Good to know this works 😁