Road trip snacks...

Road trip snacks (spicy for to stay awake), featuring concert nails. So shiny! 😍

I find this so annoying.

I find this so annoying.

Facebook said they were switching my profile to "Content Creator" so I wouldn't lose any followers and I was like "Yeah, ok. Most of what I share is original, so I guess that label fits." and I didn't really think anymore about it.

I've never really cared about post stats because I write most of what I write for me. It makes me feel connected and happy to share my life, and if I help anyone else in the process, then that's a wonderful bonus. My friends check in. I'm good.

But now FB is always trying to get me to the "Content Creator" dashboard. And the first thing I see when I come on today is that my reach is down.

Facebook needs to calm down. It's really not that serious. 😂

General Life Update:

General Life Update:

Today was nice. I felt refreshed and ready to handle life.

I had an appointment with Midi and it went well. I'll have to pay out of pocket for the visit because my insurance doesn't cover them, but I need HRT to keep feeling my best, so it's ok. The appointment fee is about 1/7 of what I was paying for insurance monthly at my job, so paying this out of pocket once or twice a a year is still worth it.

Speaking of insurance:  It fully covers my therapy sessions, so I'm scheduled to resume those next week.

I need to go to the pharmacy tomorrow to work some things out. I also have an appointment at the unemployment office.

I stepped on the scale to see how I was doing since I was basically in vacation-mode for the last 10 days. I gained 1 pound. My provider had a miscommunication with the pharmacy, so I've been out of Semaglutide for 2 weeks. I'll have it again on Friday. I thought I'd have gained more than a pound after being out of meds AND basically eating out every day, so I'm not upset at all. I think that making (mostly) healthy choices and staying active kept me in line. I'm amazed that that works for me now!

I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot mentally at the moment. I'm sleeping a lot better. A couple of weeks ago, we moved the litter box out of our bathroom. It's on the balcony now. The upstairs cats have to go through a cat door and tunnel to get to the boxes. The room smells a lot better, I'm not sweeping up litter twice a day, I don't hear them scratching around in the box, or hear the Litter Robot cycling. As a light sleeper, those subtle noises were waking me up constantly. This is a lot better.

I think I'm going to start my walking again. I felt energetic today... probably because I had tea. 😂 I did some light cleaning and laundry, and also watered some plants. But also, in general, I just feel better after having spent time with one of my best friends. Most of my friends are long-distance these days, so just having a break and not worrying about stuff and being with someone (besides Shaun) who loves me and understands me was super great. I think it really did me a lot of good.

Anyway. I'm crashing out at a appropriate hour, so I'm about to tuck myself in and call it a night. I hope y'all are doing well. ❤️❤️❤️

Despite Shaun fussing at me to rest...

Despite Shaun fussing at me to rest, I got a lot done today. If I'd sat down and done nothing, I would have been so stressed. 😂

We're picking our friends up from the airport on Sunday morning, so doing nothing around the house wasn't an option. We've been complete slobs for months. It was past time to get out of that slump.

Thankfully, I am feeling much better today all around. I am eating more than I want with my antibiotic, and that's helped keep the nausea at bay. I guess my stomach has shrank a little. I swear I was full off the grits I ate with it yesterday, but maybe that was a dumb choice to begin with. I have no idea. 😂

Anyway. We're going to finish whipping things into shape tomorrow, and then we'll have 10 days of fun with our friends. I definitely need this and I'm super excited!

For the first time in 2 weeks...

For the first time in 2 weeks, I feel like I might be improving. This morning was rough because I woke up super congested and gross, but as my expectorant and decongestant kicked in, I was able to breathe better and rest more.

In the afternoon, I was able to do a small amount of housework. It's the first time I've been productive in ages.

I'm hoping with everything I have that I continue to get better. Maybe the antibiotic is helping.

Saw the doctor today, which was great...

Saw the doctor today, which was great because I woke up feeling worse.

Now I am waiting for my prescription to be filled.

We got health insurance.

We got health insurance. The $750 premium that I saw was the most it could be. Due to my employment status, we got a plan for $10 and some change.

I love living in a state where things like this are available. Great timing, too. My ear hurts down to my teeth. ☹️

I'd been feeling pretty much better...

I'd been feeling pretty much better from our cold or sinus crud or whatever we've got. But I woke up today with ear pain and my hearing in one ear jankey. I might have blown my nose too hard last night.

I think I'm going to the doctor tomorrow. I've had enough.

I used to get colds and sinus infections all the time as a kid. I used to go to school and even work feeling like this. And I recovered! But 2 weeks of self-care and I still haven't kicked this.

That's crazy.

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. ❤️

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! ❤️❤️❤️

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. 😂

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

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

My current obsession. I love these guys:

My current obsession. I love these guys:

At the end of September...

At the end of September I said I was going to start playing the games for 2024. I completed all of them. I also finished the half of games I left unfinished in 2020.

I've already started on 2021. I already know I'm gonna try to play every game dating back to 2015. I'm ridiculous and it's just a thing I have to do. I don't have a time limit on myself, though. It's more fun that way.

I've decorated! Look at my beautiful Santa Grub!

I've decorated! Look at my beautiful Santa Grub!

My friend James R Russell posted some creatures he made in a bug group I follow. I fell in love with his creations immediately. I asked him very nicely if I could purchase a bug from him and he agreed.

He doesn't have a storefront yet, but if you'd like a small creature, definitely hit him up. This is a beautifully detailed grub, and his packaging was unconventional, eco-friendly, and fun to open.

I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out to see what he makes next!

❤️❤️❤️

Every day I wake up and take my meds...

Every day I wake up and take my meds with whole Lactaid milk. Lately I've been putting creamer in my milk for a little flavor boost.

If I'm lazy and hungry I will have milk as a meal. If I'm lazy and/or not hungry, I just don't eat anything else. Of course, if I'm actually hungry I eat food.

Throughout the day I drink ice water.

Until now.

Since it's been cold I don't feel as thirsty and have been struggling to drink enough water. I can tell that I need to drink more, but I just don't want it.

Recently I've been downing Seltzer water with coconut syrup and creamer. It's probably more sugar than I need, but after I use up this coconut syrup I'm going to replace it with sugar-free.

I am so freaking hydrated. It's ridiculous how much I'm drinking right now. I finish one tall glass and immediately make another. It seems dumb to waste my ice since we have to battle Bear for it every time. 😂

One of my coworkers recommended that I get a SodaStream. I don't know. Gadgets are neat, but do any of y'all have one and do you recommend it? Would it actually save me money over time?

I'm stuck - both physically and mentally.

I'm stuck - both physically and mentally. I have a sleeping cat on my lap and social media keeps showing me videos from furniture flippers and they are super satisfying to watch. I hate it when my brain doesn't want to stop what it's doing and let me be responsible. 😅😂

Why...

Why is everyone's weather app going crazy? 😂