Life update:

Life update:

Me and Shaun lost our health insurance at the end of April.  We have too much in savings to be eligible for Medicaid here, so we'll have to pay out of pocket for other state insurance.  It's going to be about $750/month to get ourselves covered, which isn't ideal since I'm unemployed.  But I'm grateful for the option.  Btw, the kids still have their Medicaid, so they're fine.

I haven't been to therapy since mid-May because I can't afford to pay $250/week for it.  But I'm doing ok mentally.  We will have to purchase insurance by next month because I won't have enough medication left to be normal if I don't.  I have a supply of my antidepressant and antianxiety, as well as the hormones I need.  I will check in with Shaun tomorrow and see where he is with medication.  Also, I'm going to push him to go to urgent care if his sinus infection doesn't clear up.

I feel like I really needed the deep rest, so being laid off was kind of a relief at first.  Now I've been sick for the last week or so, and I've needed a bunch of rest to recover from that.  I'm feeling mostly better, though, so now I'm just feeling really untethered; but not in a good way.  I guess "aimless" would be a good word to describe it.

There is so much I could be doing.  I could finish swatching my polish.  Work on my database.  Try to sell some of the jewelry I made since I don't have an income.  Try to sell some of our extra stuff from around the house because I love to declutter and money would be nice.

I could clean.  I could do the laundry I've been meaning to do for more than 6 weeks.  I'm down to wearing nightgowns day in and day out because I am literally out of clean clothes.  😆  I could at least make myself some healthy food, but I've been living on soup and pizza rolls and rice pudding for weeks.  I have no willpower to do anything except for water my plants.

The one positive from this downtime is that I have actually started gaining some energy back.  Not enough that I want to use it yet, but it's harder to lay around and that's a good thing.  For the past two nights in a row, I've dreamed about roller skating.  I feel like that's a good sign.  I've ordered a boot stretcher so that I can stretch the toe of my skates and hopefully wear them for longer periods.  They fit toe-to-heel, but I have wide feet and the toe box is so narrow.  It's hard to wear them for long.

As much as schedules feel like prison, I'm far more productive and stable when I have one.

Anyway.  I know of several people who were let go from my previous company and no one is having luck getting hired anywhere.  I'm pretty sure it's the job market and not us.  I have degrees in Math and Computer Science, as well as certifications in ServiceNow.  I feel like I should be pretty marketable.  I had been looking for work involving ServiceNow, but I'm starting to think I need to widen my search and see if that helps.  I'm also considering looking into Salesforce.

Other than that, I have some friends visiting soon and I am so excited about it.  I feel like I need it and I think we all will have a great time.

I hope y'all are doing well.  ❤  I'm not 100%, but things will get better.

This is the one thing I do every day, no matter what.

This is the one thing I do every day, no matter what. My Spanish is coming along. ❤️

I'm late to the party, as usual.

I'm late to the party, as usual. Me and Shaun just finished watching the Twilight series today. I'd seen a couple of the movies before, and he hadn't seen any, so that's what we've done the last 3 days.

I'm not trying to post spoilers, but I like how it ended.

When Kira comes down we're probably gonna do girl talk about it. 😂

Habibi looking comfy. ❤️

Habibi looking comfy. ❤️

Habibi took a large shit in her cat tower.

Habibi took a large shit in her cat tower. Neither me nor Shaun feel well enough to hose it out at the moment, so we just removed it from her house for now. I think she's bored. Poor sweetheart.

We'll get it cleaned and put back ASAP, but today is not our day.

Shaun's crud is dragging out...

Shaun's crud is dragging out, but mine seems less severe so far.

I don't feel great by any stretch and I slept like crap because I was coughing and blowing my nose all night, but I got up this morning and took a really hot shower and coughed out my crud. I haven't been sinus/lung-sick since I had COVID in 2022 and I definitely don't miss feeling sick. But I've been resting and staying hydrated and I think that's helping me fight it off.

I am really hoping that it doesn't get worse before getting better. A few days has been enough. 😂

A little Bear story from Shaun today.

A little Bear story from Shaun today.

Apparently, he's really bad at stealing food, unlike Cubba. 😂

I had a tickle in my throat yesterday...

I had a tickle in my throat yesterday. I feel straight up bad this morning.

I guess I've got whatever Shaun had. Yay.

I'm having a little ramble. Feel free to skip this.

I'm having a little ramble. Feel free to skip this.

I've done literally nothing for weeks except put in job applications. I haven't gotten any calls back, so I am going to have to change my strategy. Fun.

Other than that I have rested. Like, deeply rested. Like, "slept 12-15 hour days, laid in bed even awake, done not a single chore" type of rested. I felt like I needed it. It's only the last couple of days that I've started to feel like a person again.

Unfortunately, Shaun is sick. I think it started with allergies, but it turned into a sinus infection. Now he's coughing a bunch. He says he's starting to feel better, and I hope he is. I'm still getting up tomorrow to watch the baby (Bear), so Shaun can hopefully get more rest.

When I went out to water plants the other day I almost lost my wedding band. I guess I've lost enough weight that my ring is slipping off. This is the smallest I've been in at least 7 years. I'm not complaining.

Physically, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm low-energy, but I'm not eating much, so that's probably why. Maybe after the next 15 lbs are gone I'll switch to a maintenance dose of Semaglutide and see about eating more and walking/lifting again. I should probably exercise now, but I don't want to and I can admit that, so... 🤷🏻 It just is what it is. I guess I'm trying to build my willpower back up.

I really miss skating. I need to get myself to go do that again. It's a lot more fun than walking.

I haven't had a haircut in a while. For years I had kept at least part of my head shaved, but here I sit with my scalp covered in hair. It's about down to my armpits now. I keep it bunned up most of the time, so it's not a lot of trouble. I have a silver streak in the front just like my MaMaw had. I think it's actually kind of pretty, but it could probably use a trim.

Scar is so cute. He needs his inhaler 2x day, and since I give him a treat after he breathes his meds, he reminds me now to do it. It's still not his favorite thing, but half of the time when I hold him to give it to him, he's purring and the little valve flap is fluttering, so I'm glad he doesn't hate it. 😂 Forget old dogs - I taught my old kitty cat a new trick! ❤️

I still haven't done Shaun's nails. I am so terrible. He's been tempted to try doing gel himself and it's honestly not hard, but he'd cure it on his skin and give himself an allergy. Maybe when he's not coughing all over the place I can finally get it done.

Goodnight, friends. I hope y'all are doing well.

My Monkey Tail bloomed.

My Monkey Tail bloomed. There were a few smaller flowers, too.

I also really love when my Echeveria start to flower and it's all short and adorable.

This is super different from the links I posted last.

This is super different from the links I posted last. This is chill, long weekend vibes from Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso. 🤎

I have shared a few posts about Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso...

I have shared a few posts about Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso and I've gotten not even 1 like on any of them (except for the post saying I've got concert tickets). It's disappointing, but if y'all want to sleep on these musicians, then that's your loss.

I know that not everyone has the time (yay layoff!) or the neurodivergent superpower of hyperfocus, so I'm about to help y'all out. I don't claim to know their pronouns or how they define themselves, nor do I have a good read on their sexual orientations. There is a lot that I don't know. I'm only level 23 Spanish on Duolingo, so there's a lot I still don't understand. Most of what I've gathered has been through translation, so keep that in mind.

What I do know is that they're from Buenos Aires, Argentina, have been friends since they were 6, and attended school for music. They're 31. They're hot as hell. They have a great sense of humor. They are brilliant musicians. And they are finally getting the recognition they deserve (although not from anyone on my friends list, I guess).

They've been making music for a long time, together as well as separately. They did the Tiny Desk Concert on NPR in October of 2024 for Latin Music Month, and that seems to have pushed them more international. The Tiny Desk concert is perfection, despite them only having a few days with backup singers/other musicians on top of being sick. It's a quick 17 minutes consisting of 5 of what are now some of my favorite songs. In a short interview, Ca7riel says it's just them with "no makeup" and Paco says it really shows their essence. You do not have to understand Spanish to enjoy this music; however, the Tiny Desk Concert has English captions.

https://youtu.be/9kqnsoY94L8?si=HzMyEeukgZUe9N4U

From what I gather, after the Tiny Desk Concert, they put out an album called Papota, which according to Google Translate means "Pop", but I read somewhere that that is also the name of a steroid.  It has commentary on gaining international fame and what all they'd be expected to do to get that fame (things like get plastic surgery, work out, learn English, make a song with a hashtag). Y'all, the way they poke fun at and shirk those "requirements" are *chef's kiss* perfection. From a song called Imposter where they say they feel like they are imposters after the attention from the Tiny Desk Concert to a song called #Tetas (#Tits) where they're imitating a boy band and feeling not like themselves and perhaps trying to conform because in later videos they show up in muscled bodysuits... Shit, it's the best thing I've seen (or heard) in a long time. 😍 (Gimme a heart ears emoji already!)

Link to the Papotas short film. It's a story and makes sense viewed this way.

https://youtu.be/zYc1qMe_kpc?si=Tf0YQF-eUcbykOxp

Their album previous to Papota and the Tiny Desk Concert is called Baño Maria, and all the songs played at the Tiny Desk Concert are from this album. This short film just puts the songs in sequence and tells another story. If you ask me to choose a favorite song, I literally can't, although Baby Gangsta, Dumbai, and El Único live rent-free in my head forever now.

https://youtu.be/j6hZv58R2tM?si=L30foxjJJe3Kp6ey

Who doesn't love authentic people just unabashedly being themselves? That's my favorite people, for real. I love the rule-breakers and the people who don't take themselves too seriously. And to do it with that much style and musicality... Fuck, it's delicious.

I also don't know if it's a cultural thing or what, but you can tell these friends are close. Their is no presence of toxic masculinity in anything they do and it's beautiful and refreshing.

I cannot stress enough that I am FAR from the only person taken with them. The show closest to me (in Phoenix) is already sold out and Houston says it has "last tickets available." I don't know if they have a full US tour planned in the future, which is why I'm not taking a chance on missing them this time. Their rising fame is a testament to the musicians that they are. I was just trying to be the one to put y'all on.

🤎❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍🖤

I got tickets to see Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso...

I got tickets to see Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso in Houston in October.  It's a 13-hour drive, but I don't even care.  Phoenix would've been closer, but it sold out.  There's a possible weather warning, so the event may be changed or canceled, but I'm happy to support them whether I get to see them or not. They are rocking my world and I want more! ❤️❤️❤️

I'm finally about to shower.

I'm finally about to shower. I've been able to keep food in for the last 17 hours. Woo!

Shaun changed my sheets earlier because they were disgusting. He's made me soup all day and brought me everything I needed. I really appreciate him.

He almost never gets sick in the disgusting ways that I do. In the 17 years we've been together, he hasn't thrown up once. That's unfathomable to me. I don't understand how that happens.

I'm down 4 lbs in 2 days. Not exactly how I wanted to do it, but I guess I'll take any wins I can get. 😂

I missed some blooms while I was busy being sick. 🙁

I missed some blooms while I was busy being sick. 🙁

The first 2 pictures were their first times. I'm bummed.

I finally made it out of my room for the day.

I finally made it out of my room for the day.

I'm a disgusting mess. I just wanna see if I can keep my food in me before showering.

Wish me luck.

No one wants to watch the long ones.

No one wants to watch the long ones. How about a shorter one? I can't get this one out of my head. 😂

I haven't had a super fun day.

I haven't had a super fun day. I've been vomiting and running to the toilet frequently since about 5 this morning.

Shaun had some stomach upset the other day, but he hasn't thrown up in the 17 years we've been together, so I don't know if I caught a bug from him or if my dinner last night just didn't agree with me.

I just had some chicken noodle soup with crackers and Sprite. Just a little to see if I can hold it down. Wish me luck.

I didn't do any plant stuff today, but it's been windy and rainy, so I probably wouldn't have, anyway.

Can't stop, won't stop. Really worth a listen or 300.

Can't stop, won't stop. Really worth a listen or 300.

I just finished removing and redoing...

I just finished removing and redoing the hard gel overlay that had on when I was fired almost a month ago.

It was super grown out and starting to lift. I have plants to repot on Monday when my dirt arrives.

I might be slipping, y'all.

Maybe I'll get Shaun's nails taken care of tomorrow.

My current obsession. I love these guys:

My current obsession. I love these guys:

Look.

Look. I have been trying my best, but this is what my Ponytail Palm looks like. 😬 I feel so bad for it. I've killed several over the years. 😭 This is the longest I've kept one alive (which hasn't been long, unfortunately), but just look at it! 🫠

Harley likes to mess with it, so I've moved it to the greenhouse to see if it'll be happier without a cat chewing on it.

I trimmed its ponytail because it was so brown, and this is how it's growing back. 😂 It looks awful. This plant is clearly in middle school. 😂😂😂

I have concerns about it being in the greenhouse because it'll be getting more light and less humidity, which could contribute to the leaves browning. I don't think I've over watered it. If anything, I may be underwatering. I think I'm gonna put it on the shelf of plants that need more water and less light and see how that goes.

Paws crossed that I can get it feeling better. I feel so guilty, like I'm abusing this poor thing.

Shaun took a picture of Bear earlier...

Shaun took a picture of Bear earlier and said he looked like a business man, so he edited the picture.

He's lookin' like an attorney or something. 😂 Y'all please caption this. 😂😂😂

I really wanted to spend some time in the greenhouse today, but...

I really wanted to spend some time in the greenhouse today, but it was super windy and dusty, so I watered the plants who needed it and called it a day.

I have plans to repot a couple of things, but I won't have everything that I use in my dirt mix for a few more days, so I guess it mostly didn't matter that I couldn't hang out there today.

The two Anacampseros (with the pink flowers) bloomed today. They are super cute.

I almost lost my 2 trailing plants in the bottom of the picture because the pots were too big. They've been downsized and seem to be doing better.

Also, the cactus on the bottom right has a cluster of buds forming, as well as a few pups.

The cactus in the top left has buds forming.

In the center-ish, between the yellow/gold cacti, that little fuzzy dude has an orange bud.

Of course, I love the pretty pink flowers throughout this tray.

Bottom Right: I think my Feather Cactus has some tiny pups!

The red bud forming on my Monkey Tail. I find this to be funny, but it'll look nicer when it blooms. 😂

Oh, this handsome Cub! ❤️

Oh, this handsome Cub! ❤️

Puparazzi strikes again! ❤️

Puparazzi strikes again! ❤️

So I have a story...

So I have a story about the Echeveria Cantes (the blue-ish plants in the white planter...)

I ordered the one on the right in November of last year. It arrived a little smushed and also yellow-ish in color. I potted it up anyway thinking that it would recover, but it started showing signs of rot pretty fast.

I emailed the seller and they asked me to give it a couple of weeks, so I trimmed the rot off, let it callous, treated it with rooting hormone, and waited. It didn't start growing roots, so they sent me another.

The one on the left is the second one they sent. It arrived in much better condition, but it eventually started rotting, too. I know that some Echeveria are more sensitive to water than others, and even though I hadn't been watering it often, I realized the pot was too large and not drying out fast enough.

I moved them both to terracotta pots with only Bonsai Jack for substrate, and I kept an eye out for roots. I checked them a couple weeks ago and they were FINALLY putting out teensy little roots. It took them 6 months! They definitely used up a lot of their lower leaves, which is one reason they look so raggedy, but hopefully they'll look better over the next few months.

I recently moved them to this shallow pot with only Bonsai Jack in it. I really don't like having more than one pot of a type of plant. I like them together for some reason. But so far, they're still making progress and I'm really looking forward to their recovery.

The only other plant I've ever had that's this sensitive is an Echeveria Laui.

I wanted to post a positive little update.

I wanted to post a positive little update. I'm down 10 pounds since starting Semaglutide in February. The fat has been slowly, but surely melting away. I'm sure I've lost some muscle, too, because I completely stopped strength training in March. I also haven't been walking consistently. But I have been eating less. Food noise is totally gone. That's a thing I didn't realize I had before starting this medication.

I don't know why starting and maintaining new habits is so hard for me, but it really is. I also struggle with schedules, in general. I am a work in progress, I guess, and that's ok. I am really trying my best.

So I've lost ⅓ of the weight that I need to get off of myself. I am feeling better in my body than I have in the last 10 years. Regardless of how I look, it's better for my joints and Psoriatic Arthritis to not carry extra fat around. I'm trying to protect what I've got before it's too late.

I got a couple of orders today.

I got a couple of orders today. Here are some of the new babies. This picture makes me so happy! ❤️

Kira came down here...

Kira came down here and was looking at Anansi, then asked if tarantulas can get cataracts.  She said "It's Science Time!" as we went down a rabbit hole about who all can get cataracts.  😂💙

I love talking with her. I never know what adventure her brain is gonna take us on. 😊

The Tephrocactus finally bloomed today!

The Tephrocactus finally bloomed today! I'm so excited!

A few others bloomed, too, but they don't keep me waiting like that one did.

Also, my Monkey Tail has a tiny bud. I had to say it, but with the shape of the plant and the tiny bud, it looks like a genital wart. 😂 It'll be pretty once it blooms, though.

"Excuse me, do you have any rats?"

"Excuse me, do you have any rats?"

I haven't posted this kiddo in a while. But she's such a doll.

Did you catch that? She.

Last year, we messed up and fed her on a puppy pad, and she ate part of it. We read that sometimes if handled after a meal, they will regurgitate. We handled her right after eating. We moved her around. We tried a bit to stress her out. She was SO passive. She was SO good. She was holding down her rat pad tortilla, and that was that.

We ended up taking her to the vet, and she was great there, too. They said it looked like she would pass the puppy pad, and she did. Thank goodness. But while at the vet, we found out that our sweet boy, Houdini, was actually a girl.

So now we call her Habibi, which means "beloved."

This is the sweetest kid and we love her to pieces. 😊

She's currently eating in her feeding tote, where she's always eaten except for that once. We learned our lesson. No more rat stinky puppy pads, because she doesn't discriminate when she's hungry. 😂

This Harley cat has been petting himself on me...

This Harley cat has been petting himself on me for the last 10 minutes. He finally settled down thank goodness. 😂

I'm exhausted, but...

I'm exhausted, but I haven't held her in a few days and she INSISTED on lap time tonight. I was trying to make my resume beautiful and she wouldn't stay off my laptop. So I guess she won. It's snuggle time. 😂

Shaun put electricity in the greenhouse today.

Shaun put electricity in the greenhouse today. No more extension cord running from the sunroom!

Here are a few blooms from today. They make me feel so happy! 😊

We ran some errands today and took the boys with us.

We ran some errands today and took the boys with us. Why are they so cute!? 😊😭

Bear tired out so fast, as usual. He always crashes out in the car. 😂

I'm in bed...

I'm in bed under my weighted blanket, being cuddled by Adrian and Scar.

For the first time in I don't know how long, I feel at peace.

❤️

I went to close the greenhouse door...

I went to close the greenhouse door and this cactus was really showing off! These are so pretty!

A few flowers from today:

A few flowers from today:

It hasn't been my best week.

It hasn't been my best week.

Almost 2 weeks ago I switched my ServiceNow certifications over from my GlideFast email to my personal one since I'm no longer with the company. I got a message that it would take 3-5 days for the switch to take place. It wasn't working after 3-5 days, so I thought I'd give it a few more days (so that it would be 3-5 business days) to get right. That didn't work...

So I opened a case with ServiceNow on Monday and they gave an auto-response that wasn't helpful. I gave details why it wasn't working, then got another response a few days ago. It gave some instructions on what to do and how to log in, so I tried that. I tried it on a couple of browsers, but it just kept refreshing a log in loop. I replied to the help ticket to let them know, but I'm still waiting.

So... I still don't have access to my own certifications, and they're not coming up under either email address, according to a recruiter I spoke to. So even if someone wanted to hire me, they couldn't verify my credentials. 😕

I've had 2 weeks of "free" time, but both of them have felt awful. The sudden scramble to make sure we have health insurance, dealing with unemployment, trying to update my resume on top of the ServiceNow mess...

I don't know what I did wrong on Indeed, but all it's showing me is Senior TC work, which is above my head. Also, I'm having pretty major anxiety about getting hired anywhere. I worry that I won't be able to do a good job and it's not great for my mental health.

It's all been pretty stressful. No wonder I had a migraine day today.

I hope y'all are doing well. If not, tomorrow is another day.

Calypso face-down in my leg-pit...

Calypso face-down in my leg-pit with her arm up on my belly. She fights sleep so hard and then her head just DROPS and she's OUT. 😂 I only know she can breathe because she's snoring. 😂😂😂

This face. 😂

This face. 😂

He was so unamused. Shaun fell asleep on the couch and Bear was like "This isn't funny. How's he gonna tuck me!?"

She's the worst cat, but she's being sweet right now. 😂❤️

She's the worst cat, but she's being sweet right now. 😂❤️

More blooms!

More blooms!

Sweet little orange flower! 🧡

These are opening up slowly but surely. 💛

I almost missed this one!

Pickle Plant flowers and my Trumpet Pinky doing well.

This one is gonna bloom, but I worry about the top growth. It was chewed by someone last year and hasn't grown at all since. Should I remove it? Gianni, what do you think?

Another yellow flower! 💛

I love how he looks when he wakes up from a nap. 😂😍

I love how he looks when he wakes up from a nap. 😂😍