Spinning on that dizzy edge

Going almost two years without posting here was never a deliberate choice, but more a result of having nothing momentous to report, a trade-off I will take for the absence (mostly) of Bad Stuff. My immediate household is all vaxxed and boosted and has avoided getting COVID, though I did pick up a wicked cold from spending Christmas at my parents' house, visiting with several family members I hadn't seen since before the pandemic. I still have my job. The kid has been in person for school since August and doing much better scholastically as a result. (Last school year was a nightmare grades-wise and emotionally.) The husband is still unemployed, though he's been doing better about helping around the house. The dog is my faithful companion; I am grateful to her for providing the impetus to get out of the house at least once a day to walk her.

( Family, excuses, etc. )

Right now I'm in a contented state of the weather having finally snowed a proper amount, such that the ground is all covered and no mud/grass/grossness is showing through, and the forecast is cold enough that it should stick around a while. It makes my Northern European/Scandinavian, hygge-loving heritage so satisfied. The kid has also been on snow day vacation for the past three days, though he had to get up even earlier this morning to go with the school bands to a jazz band festival. At least I didn't have to drive him, just drop him off that the school and pick him up in a few minutes.

In short, Hi! I've missed talking to you all.

This is getting long, so I will make another post about participating in Festivids for the first time in AGES.

In an exemplar display of central Midwestern weather, for the first time since last winter, we have finally had snow on the ground for more than a day. In March. With many of the spring bulbs having sent up their green spikes and some having bloomed already, the more fools them. *sigh* I mean, I love snow, but in its proper time and place. Which is not now.

So I did that thing again where I fell down in posting and failed to get back up. Since my last missive about the ongoing crud invasion assaulting my body, I relapsed on the "sleeping through the night" thing and had to call my primary doc for another prescription. I wound up with a new inhaler that has the bonus side affect of potentially contracting thrush; I am rinsing after every dose to avoid that, blech. But I have officially been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now, and oh my goodness! I have energy! I have brain space! I have a personality that isn't "slug on a couch"! Now my tiredness is due to making bad decisions about my bed time. Oh, self.

I also had a CT scan to follow up on an interesting X-ray, and according to the online update to my medical record, the following is the state of my lungs: "main pulmonary artery is mildly enlarged measuring about 3.8 cm", I have "a punctate calcified granuloma in the right upper lobe", and there is "mild linear scarring or subsegmental atelectasis in the right lower lobe". Dr. Google says that's nothing to be alarmed about, so I'm hoping that my visit to the pulmonologist this week concurs. I sure wish my primary had cared enough to call me about the results.

In other news, I'm on week three of my latest period. I suspect and do not recommend perio-menopause; these month-long periods are not particularly fun.

Here in Central Illinois we are being battered by a blizzard. It's been snowing since last night and is due to continue for another 12 hours, with 25 mph winds and a steadily dropping temperature. It's estimated to hit -17 degrees with a -42 degree wind chill tomorrow morning.

I did the grocery shopping yesterday at my husband's urging and got to witness the marvel that is emergency paranoia; entire shelves of supplies were depleted, like bread and vegetables (aside from a sad stripe of radishes - I love you, radishes, even if no one else does!). For once, I actually got everything that was on my list.

The Emperor is ensconced on the couch, watching Minecraft videos on YouTube. He's been pestering us for a month now to buy him the full version, but I've been leery. I tried to explain to him that people online can be cruel and unforgiving to n00bs, that I worry about the language being used, and most importantly, that his computer won't handle the load. Anyone else have Minecraft experience that can give me tips?

I've been home with the Emperor for two weeks now; I took off days around Christmas and New Year's and finished it off by working from home. Alas that my free time got eaten by Christmas shopping and decorating and wrapping and cooking and cleaning, so I have not been keeping up with everyone's posts. I've bookmarked a couple of Yuletide recs lists to peruse, but I think I might have to give up on a full wayback dive. Sorry if I miss something amazing you shared!

My Festivids entry is kicking my ass. I procrastinated so long that it's now a ticking time bomb in the back of my head. I've got about a minute down, and hope to bang out the rest today just to have anything done as a first draft.

I hope everyone else that is being snowblasted can stay inside cozy and warm. May the power stay on and the hot beverages flow!

Oh, Penn Station - bless you and your devilishly tasty sandwiches and hargle-worthy fries. I am still *urp*ily full from dinner five hours ago.

In other news, it is the considered opinion of me and a lot of other qualified people that January absolutely SUCKED. It certainly ate my brain in a lot of ways.

( RIP, Scott Swanson )It was quite the sobering slap that I need to give a damn about keeping in touch with the people who mean so much to me.

Another topic currently feeding my self-absorption is babies, and the conceiving of another one. The Emperor is going to be in kindergarten in the fall, meaning the cost of his daycare won't be eating a large portion of my paycheck. So even though the husband is still unemployed, the timing is not going to get any righter for kid #2, and my ovaries are certainly not getting any younger. After a rousing effort this past cycle, though, I can feel in my lady parts PMS starting the thundering salvos of another menstrual cycle. I had really thought we'd caught, dammit. *sigh* Another chance to get my (metaphorical and literal) house in order, I suppose.

( LL Cool E: Legos Loved by Cool Emperor )

Work is in bad sitcom mode. We are crazy busy prepping for "a new business opportunity", for which we have yet to sign a contract. We're going like gangbusters, working under a veil of secrecy (about half the company has not been informed of the details) for a freaking letter of intent. We've been down this road before and got royally screwed. At least I'm keeping busy.

I will be honest - I totally cried at the end of Dollhouse. I knew the show would have a short life, but...Joss spoilered my spoilerest spoiler! At least I still have Chuck, and Castle, and White Collar, and Big Bang Theory, and...Somehow, I can sense miniglik snickering at me.

February, as a personal favor, can you suck less? A good start would be a cessation of precipitation. I mean, really - we don't need more snow. We certainly don't need more rain. I personally am craving actual sunlight like...a suicidal emo vampire? A field of Midwestern corn? Whatever. You get the picture. ENOUGH WITH THE DOOM AND GLOOM, DAMMIT.

How's that snowpocalypse treating you all?