Am I so obviously traumatized...

Am I so obviously traumatized that Facebook is advertising this to me?!

🤣🤣🤣

I have a job lined up. I don't think I need to join the Twerkforce just yet. 😂

Some flowers from today.

Some flowers from today.

We lost a family member this morning. She would've liked these.

I spent most of my day working in the greenhouse because it needed work and felt like the right thing to do.

I went to the greenhouse today...

I went to the greenhouse today. I have some flowers. Also some mealy bugs. 🫠 I have some serious work to put in out there soon.

Can anyone tell me what my Huernia Zebrina is doing? That growth looks far too large for how they usually flower.

Putting indie/boutique/mainstream banners on my polish app like:

Putting indie/boutique/mainstream banners on my polish app like:

Just kidding. It was meant for the top left corner, and I'll get it wrangled over to there. That accidental placement just gave me a chuckle. 😂

Things are really coming along. I hope to have my first couple of Brand Pages being tested by Friday.

Also, I got my EIN today.

Exciting times!

I watered some plants today.

I watered some plants today. They were thirsty. It's not gotten cold enough for them to sleep, I don't think.

I've missed them. I probably need to spend more time in the greenhouse.

Today is a big day! I'm super excited!

Today is a big day! I'm super excited!

I had an interview for a position that I really want, and it seemed to go well.

I've been building a PWA that I've wanted to build for years - the DeepDive Bootcamp gave me the tools to make it happen. I'm so happy I could cry! If all goes as planned, I'll start beta testing on Friday.

And finally, I can't believe the support I've gotten from everyone at Central New Mexico Community College, CNM Ingenuity. I reached out to an advisor for help with registering a LLC, and he got on a call and walked me through it. I got this in my email today! BluPrint Designs is the name I'll be working under developing websites.

I can't believe the moves I'm making. I am so grateful for the support of everyone I've met at the CNM Web Development DeepDive Bootcamp. I'm doing things I've only ever dreamed of doing. I can't believe this is real life.

Ooh, my first time charging away from home.

Ooh, my first time charging away from home. I needed to learn how to do this, anyway. Gonna do my DuoLingo while I wait. 😊

Edit: Well, that was easy. And cheap!

Today has been good! 😊

Today has been good! 😊

Caitlin went with me to the consignment stores and lunch today. I only sold 4 things total, but I found a few treasures. One is a neat-looking sweater. Another is a plain shirt, but very soft and will look nice at work. I also got a printed shirt. And the best one is one that Caitlin spotted. It's navy blue and so beautiful. I've never felt elegant one day in my whole life, but that shirt made me feel like a princess. Caitlin got it for me because we couldn't pass it up! (I'll get pics, but not today).

Then me and Shaun and the dogs went to a park. They walked and I skated. I had some stumbles, but no falls this time. I got about 30 minutes in before the dogs were done.

After reading about wheels with edges, I decided to try some tighter turns and that went well. I can definitely tell the difference in the precision. Also, I had Shaun install a back brake for me. I'm already doing better using it than I ever got at using toe stops. I usually stop without using brakes at all, but I wanted some kind of brake just in case.

I know I'm not supposed to look at my feet while skating, but it's helpful that I can look down and see if I'm holding my foot straight while using the back brake. Using a toe stop has my foot bouncing everywhere and lurches me forward, and it's behind me so I can't see the mistake I'm making to correct it.

Anyway, after that we went to a car wash and cleaned our cars. Both were super past due, so I feel happy to have that done. Now I'm just resting, or maybe doing my nails. We'll see.

I hope this Monday has treated you well, too! ❤️

I took my new skates out for a ride this morning.

I took my new skates out for a ride this morning. It was fun, but I am wayyy out of practice. I have lost some stamina in my time off, as well as some muscle mass with my weight loss this year. I have plenty work ahead if I want to feel secure while skating again.

The wheels I have on are different than what I'm used to, as well. They have edges, whereas I've only ever skated with rounded wheels outdoors. I'm going to have to look up the difference between those. Also, there was a lot of debris out there. I was on a small basketball court that looks pretty unused, so if I go there again, I'll bring a broom. 

I fell 3 times, but I got right back up again. Pads are a necessity at my age. If only they stopped that awful jarring feeling when you land. I'll probably have a nice bruise on my butt, but other than that I was protected and have only have some minor scratches.

These were super comfortable to wear and my feet didn't go numb or start hurting. I didn't stay out super long since it was my first time back out in a while, but I'll build up to longer outings. 😊 Also, they're super pretty with their iridescent toe covers on!

https://www.facebook.com/blu.xenethos/videos/1319382706892296

Edit:  Added info about the wheels. Interesting.

I Googled. I started skating on rounded wheels because that's what came on my Chaya skates. I did feel like I had more control with these Jelly Roll wheels because of the edges, but it also felt like the debris was a bigger deal. I'm gonna give it some time and see how well I adjust before switching them out.

It's another skate post. 😂

It's another skate post. 😂

This is my current lineup of skates. Starting on the left are my speed skates that I'm terrified to try. When I had my skate birthday party here in Albuquerque a few years ago, the rink gifted me these. I've never skated in a flat shoe and I imagine it's not THAT different than skating with a slight heel, but I've still never tried it. Part of the reason is because those look like indoor wheels and I mostly skate outside. The other part is the fear. 😂 But I'll definitely try them out one day, hopefully soon. They're dressed up with iridescent toe covers to protect them and make them pretty. They also have dragon wings laced on.

The second pair from the left probably has hybrid wheels on them. I bought them in 2022 and I'd wear these indoors, as well. They were from an up-and-coming company the didn't last, and they were also Limited Edition. The company was called Moonlight Rollers and they usually had a moon cut out at the ankle, but these have hearts. I got them for a discount because of some imperfection I've yet to discover. They toe stop is heart-shaped and has cow print on it. They also came with cow-print toe covers, but that's not my style. I put some pretty, reflective toe covers on them because I thought it looked nice, and I also have pads to match.

The third pair are my new VNLA skates that I got from ebay. I put the toe covers on tonight and re-laced them, so I'm ready to roll! Hopefully I can take my first spin in them sometime tomorrow.

The fourth pair is my Love is Love Chaya skates, also toe-covered and re-laced. I got Shaun to change the wheels because I don't like touching them. We took off the Limited Edition wheels and put my hybrid light-up wheels (that I had on my holographic skates) on them for now.

The last photo is of the skates I'm going to sell. The first pair is speed skates that I bought used from ebay before I had any idea what I wanted... before I'd done enough research to know the difference between indoor and outdoor wheels. 😬 I never really used them.

The second pair is my holographic skates that I'd put rainbow laces and light-up wheels on. I used them for indoor skating. Since I'm selling, we put back on the stock laces and wheels. I bought them new and took great care of them.

The third pair is my set of Chaya Melrose. You can tell I skated in these because the wheels are dirty, but toe covers really make a difference in the condition of the boot. The pink toe covers that are now on my navy blue Chaya pair are what was protecting these, and you can definitely tell.

I'm going to try to sell these last 3 pairs locally, and if that doesn't work I'll list them on ebay, most likely. They are great skates and I really enjoyed them, but they are just too small (not too short; too narrow). None of them were able be worn comfortably for a skate session, so I just needed something a little larger. There are ways to deal with a small amount of extra length, but nothing really to be done with a narrow width. Even a boot stretcher didn't help, unfortunately.

I'm sad to be selling the skates that got me started, but I hope they find someone who can fit comfortably in them and will take them out more often.

I REALLY want to replace the holographic silver pair because they are so pretty, but literally I do not need 5 pairs of skates. I wish that was the end of it, but I'm gonna be fighting myself not to. I swear I'm a ferret in person clothing... I have a HARD time resisting shiny things. 😂 At least they aren't very expensive if I lose this battle.

Here's a photo from my birthday last month.

Here's a photo from my birthday last month. I was so busy that I didn't think to post it. A few of my friends from the bootcamp came over to have pizza and cake with me. It was a good time. ❤️

Shaun had a really delicious red velvet cake made for me. The pizza was from Dion's - it's always tasty. Can't miss with a 505 (green chili and pepperoni).

It was a quick and impromptu get-together after class, but I appreciated the company. Maybe next year I'll get to have a skate party again. 😊

These are my "birthday" skates.

These are my "birthday" skates. I'm so happy with them! 😁

On the left, we have VNLA Parfait and on the right, Chaya Melrose Elite "Love is Love." I got both of these from ebay advertised as "pre-owned" for the price a single pair went for brand new. They're previous generations of skates, but as far as I can tell, practically brand new. It looks like someone did a test skate in the Parfaits, and the white wheels of the Chaya are PRISTINE. The wheels on the Parfaits are a high-quality outdoor wheel that the seller had changed from stock. They sent the stock wheels with the skates, though, so that's great.

I used to skate pretty frequently these last few years, but with work and also my feet hurting, I ended up stopping. I think I'd bought my first couple of pairs of skates too small. 😬 I wasn't able to skate for long periods, and my feet always went numb while wearing them, and then hurt after I took them off. It got harder and harder to get myself to put them back on.

I got both of these pairs in a size larger, and so far they are much more comfortable. The VNLA in particular have been said to be better for wide feet, and that is holding true. There is a pair of VNLAs that I want pretty bad, but they're more expensive, so I'll wait and see how these break in before I even think about buying them. But VNLA might end up being my "fits like a glove" brand.

Both pairs currently have outdoor wheels on them, but I'm definitely changing the Chaya wheels. Those "Love is Love" wheels were Limited Edition as far as I know and they're so pretty that I don't want to mess them up. Those might end up being my indoor skates. I skate indoors far less frequently than I skate outdoors.

I really kind of want to go hard on the VNLAs to see if I actually needed a size larger or if I just needed a skate that would be comfortable on wider feet. I have heard great things about the brand, but I never bought them before because they cost more than I was comfortable spending as a newbie. But now that I know how much I love to skate, it feels more like an investment than a test.

Anyway, my too-small skates are in great shape and I can't imagine I'll ever wear them again. I guess I should try to sell them to someone with smaller feet. 😂 If you can wear a size 5 in women's shoes, let me know!

It's been a couple of weeks...

It's been a couple of weeks since I had time to peek in the greenhouse. Most of the plants are doing pretty well, if a little thirsty. I'll have time this week to clean up, tend them, and get them hydrated. I'm excited to spend some time with my babies. 😊

Cookies from yesterday.

Cookies from yesterday. Graduation was fun. 😊

I'm proud of this.

I'm proud of this. I've only used 2 streak freezes since I started.

We won 1st place at the App Contest!

We won 1st place at the App Contest! I'm so excited!

This is Denise's 2nd win this month - the first being the Hackathon!

Some flowers from today. 😊

Some flowers from today. 😊

I'm so behind on my life, but thankfully succulents are quite forgiving of a little neglect.

The way we communicate... 😂😂😂

The way we communicate... 😂😂😂 

I swear, I don't know why Shaun puts up with my shit, but these days especially, I put myself first. I take my time on the weekends since I'm going hard during the week at the bootcamp. I wake up late. I lay around. I do whatever feels nice.

I don't know how/why he doesn't wake up later or rest when he needs to, but he's gotta figure that out for himself and also say the words to me if he needs something from me. I think he would tell me if he needed anything, but I could be wrong.

Side note:  He's great at using gifs to express himself. I'm great at getting what he means when he uses them. I'm terrible at picking them to show my feelings, though. I wonder if that's at all related to why I never know what my own face is doing. 😂

GPS took me a different route to class this morning.

GPS took me a different route to class this morning. I'm so geographically challenged that I didn't realize I was going to pass by Bumblebee. It made my day to see him! 😊

A couple of weeks ago I found mealy bugs in several of my plants.

A couple of weeks ago I found mealy bugs in several of my plants. I tried Diatomaceous Earth for a week, and they were NOT phased. 😬 Shaun helped me add pesticide (which I hate doing) and water them last weekend, but the greenhouse is staying closed, so hopefully no local pollenators will be affected.

I checked on them today and had a few flower surprises. I guess they're doing ok. I've had so little time to pamper them since starting class. 🥲

I love these weirdos!

I'm gonna check this again tomorrow. I hope to catch it more open!

So teensy!

I'm not sure if I missed it or it's just starting. I'll have to check back.

Pretty in Pink

This one is still happy and open!