Same here - no crying in public.  It's our German way.  My DH told his niece to clench her buttock muscles to keep from crying when she was being bullied.  Not only did it work, but she wound up laughing in the bullies face and walked away.  

I used to "run away" to my Oma's (she lived 3 houses down).  She would give me butter bread topped with honey comb. By the time I was done eating and chewing on the comb, my mother would come get me.  My Oma is missed so much.

Just got back from an excellent 4th interview - an in-person lunch with the potential direct boss & co-worker. Plan to accept the position, if offered, but the only hitch in my getalong is airplane terror, and I 'd have to travel 3 or 4 times per year. The terror/anxiety attacks only began after a bad turbuence episode over the pacific ocean years ago - I was fine before that.

Nonetheless, I will accept if offered!!! Major upgrade & pay increase!!!!!

Eff off to our mortgage co. Just got a call from our homeowners insurance that they have yet to receive their annual payment and it's due TODAY. Or we get dropped. WTFFF?!  Luckily our insurance agent is 10 x of awesome and she hung on while I swore a bit and looked up my mortgage account. As I thought insurance was coming out and it looks like a payment was made to insurance on 5/2. That insurance didn't receive. Looking at my records the SAME THING happened last year.

Insurance person was like, did you re-fi last year?  NOPE - our mortgage was bought out (I hate hate this practice and it shouldn't be allowed) and everything should have stayed exactly the same according to the buyout letter I received.

So on my day off, where I've been cleaning the house, mowing the lawn and doing laundry and then this. I am now for certain going to my kickboxing class this evening at 5:15 and DH can figure out his own damm dinner.

Comfort food?  During warm weather...good cheese, crackers and fruit. During warm weather too really. I don't really eat for comfort though. I just like cheese.

You seem to be weighed down by funerals .  I hope you'll get a verrry long break from sadness.  You'd hate me at a funeral.  I'm a crier.  Literally can't help it.

Eff off to myself

I've been procrasinating on booking holidays for months now.  When I finally came to book the trip, the price of the travel tickets are triple + more than when I started looking and I can't book some of my number 1 choices of accommodation.  I'm still going but I cost myself money.  So dumb.

F0rn

I'm basic.  A beef stew made with red wine or stout or ale served over creamy mashed potatoes.  Simple to make yet it always tastes amazing.

Eff off to fire ants and my neighbors that won'tclear their overgrowth where there is a huge nest that keeps them migrating into my yard. If you have to deal with fire ants, you understand. If not, be thankful.

Spanish beans.

2/3 cans butter beans (or equivalent cooked and depending on how saucy you like things), one big can san  marzano tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 bay leaves, black pepper, few pours red wine, 2 big handfuls of fresh spinach or whatever green you have. Start with onions, then garlic, then tomatoes, everything but the greens - put them in last to wilt. 

Of course have whatever bread you want to sop up the deliciousness. 

Fast, filling, nutritious, delicious. Good for warm or cool/cold weather. 

Eff off to the senior safety manager who flies into our location once a year and acts like a fart-sniffing douchenozzle. 

Even my supervisors hate him. He is one of those dogs that has to mock-hump all the other dogs to establish dominance. Yeah, he is THAT guy. He struts around one day a year and makes stupid rules.

So I've been using my personal vehicle to do my outside rounds. With the bad weather, rusty nails sticking up out of abandoned pallets, and crazy methheads setting things on fire - plus my recent foot pain and heart issues, I didn't want to pass out in a vacant lot and not be found until the next day. (I often work alone.)  So I've been doing this, without incident, for over a year now, with no complaints. Now all of a sudden, its a "safety issue." (The rusty nails I might step on are NOT a safety issue.)

So I am once again walking in the heat, rain, snow and having to soak my feet every weekend and not do any yardwork or housework unless I want to be in severe pain. I have to get a doctors note when I see my doctor next month, but I feel like such a burden if I can't do what everyone else can do. I don't want to be that person that can't do their job because they are getting older. So, I am taking some ibuprofin and doing my job the hard way. All because some pissant corporate circle-jerker wants to assert his dominance.

FYI, my department has been asking for a small golf cart for years, but they say its not in the budget. Meanwhile, other departments are grilling steak and ordering pool tables. WTF? 

Anyway, I am over it. F*** him. 

Happy Stepmother's day everyone!  Buy yourself a huge cake and don't share it with the kids. Ha ha.

Eff0ff to inept corporate leadership.

• My on the spectrum bipolar fomer #2... is once again my number 2.   I am truly hopeful he now has clarity as he was witnin a microsecnd of being terminated.  
  • I am going to use him. For his strengths and keep my proverbial boot up his ass on his toxic behavior and organizational influences.  
  • My team is all kinds of pissed off.
  • I planted my flag, defended it, and was told to accept him back. So, I disagreed, and now I will commit to engage him in the team, do what I can to make him successful, and keep the team moving in a positive direction.
  • Reality may be that this will cause one or more of the  in my organzation to leave. And possibly one or more key individual contributor employees. Regardless of what I do.

Eff0ff to breaking my bride's heart

We called our realtor to list our house early last week. DW flew out Tuesday afternoon to get the house lined up for the realty photographer to show up today with our realtor.  DW is on the fence on selling. On the intellectual side she gets it and knows it is the right thing to do.  We have no ties to the city where the house is, we have no family there, and no close friends who live within an hour of the house. On the other hand, it is a beautiful home that DH invested in heavily to design, decorate, etc....  

Our good friend who does live in the city was worred and spent a couple of  hours with DW yesterday.  DW shared part of the conversation with me.

DW told our friend that I have not lived in the home in two years and I am not emotionally invested in the home.  DW dedicated herself heavily in designing and decorating and what she calls "saving" the house during the pandemic.  To me is is just a house. To her it is a home.   

I get her perspective, however, we were never in jeopardy of losing our home.  We always buy below what we can afford jointly with the specific intent of being able to live on one income instead of two.  

The upside, we had our realtor do a market valuation a month ago. SInce then.... it has increased in value by 15%. Upon successful sale we will instandly be debt free with a large housing nest egg.  Then we will also be able to invest multiple 5 figures each year rather than paying a mortgage, utilities, maintenance, insurance, and property taxes.  Between the return on the sale plus the agressive investment of what we used so spend supporting the house when we are ready to retire we will be able to pay cash for a house of nearly twice the price of the one we are selling.

My brilliant CPA bride invests so heavily of herself. I just want her happy.  We are getting there following her finally leaving her toxic work environment firm and starting her new firm in Feb.

And for this weeks final Eff0ff.

Eff0ff to her old firm.  On Monday of this week, DW had her 90day review with her managing partner.... she was the primary topic of the most recent Partner development meeting. They are putting her on partner track. No one has ever been put on Partner track at the 90 day point.  Not only are they putting her on partner track, they are putting her on accelerated path to partner. Another first for this office.

Now, if I can only stay working for another 6-8yrs..... we should be just fine and she can continue to kick hass in her career.  I also need to lose another 50lbs so I can be adequate partner eye candy.

I had my weekly IP weigh in this AM.  Down 2lbs in body fat.  But... up 1.2lbs in total weight. Up a total of 1.2lbs in total body weight. So... up 2lbs in retained water and ... up 1.2lbs in lean body mass.  So, not great on total weight but a reduction in body fat and an increase in muscle, is a good week.

I have been plateaued in the low to mid 230s for a couple of months, down from over 280 last June.  So, I am starting Ozempic tonight. I have had it in my refridgerator Rx'd by my Endo almost a year ago. I have procrastinated in starting it.  It can reduce over all body weight by 10-20% which would get me very close to my goal of 185. Combined with the IP program, I may make my goal of 185 by my 60th B-day next Feb.

F0rn

I got nothin. Enjoy the feasting and tasty victuals STalkers.

Sorry I'm late.  

Eff off to death!  I posted last week about my son's parakeet, Mean Bird, who had a mass and the vet couldn't determine what it was, nor was there anything she could do.  We lost Mean Bird Tuesday.  Her little heart just gave out.  I found her at the bottom of the cage.  From the looks of it, she went quickly and painlessly, so at least there's that.  My son was and is heartbroken.  He wants an African gray parrot but those birds are super expensive so that's a no.  We're thinking of getting another budgie but trying to get it from a breeder, rescue, or shelter if we can find one of those locally.  He says the cage doesn't look right with only 2 birds.  Angry Bird and Sneaky Bird have been a lot more vocal since then.  

Eff off to my son's school.  They had a spring fling after school yesterday and it was a mess with all the parents trying to get their kids.  Couldn't they direct traffic or something?  

Eff off to ants. On top of losing Mean Bird on Tuesday, there were ants all in the cage.  So I had to take the whole cage out, remove everything and move the birds to their travel cage and out of the room. I also had to spray the area, then clean the wall.  That put me behind and if it wasn't for my daughter being home from school early (she had an AP exam and was allowed to leave afterwards), I would have had a problem.  I had to send her to pick up her brother.  Stupid ants!!!!

Eff off Tuesdays!  I've lost a few loved ones on that day, including my dad.  That one hurts the most. 

Comfort food:  my go to is cheez  its when I'm in a hurry, but on the weekends I like to fix a grilled cheese sandwich just like my dad used to make.  They're good, but I can't duplicate it exactly.  It just doesn't taste the same as his.   Marie Barone would say something about adding the love.  That must be what is missing.  The love.  Dad added the love.  He was the best and I miss him.  

Was attending DGD's baby dedication service.   She is very social  and well behaved at age 2.  Very nice.

Eff off to Chef as a few things didn't go to plan after the service and he started getting unnecessarily angry.

Ditto to Stoicism.  Although mostly French Canadian, I have a bit of UK blood which is "stiff upper lip."