What's Up?

Wondering what the heck is going on in my world?  Well let me tell you!

I was finally able to get the proper orders to get my MRI Johns Hopkins wanted in November.  For some reason, my mind thought CT Scan so boy was I surprised when I got to the tiny tube.  Luckily we were just doing my thighs so I didn't have to go all the way in.  What was really cool is they now have Pandora and headphones that you can listen too while you lay there.  Makes the banging and clanking of the Sputnik easier to tolerate.  Because we were doing both legs, I was forced to lay still for 1.5 hour.  Can I even begin to describe how sore I was when it was time to get up?  In fact, I was way hurting.  My back hurt like no tomorrow and my legs were wobbly.  But the "jerk" that came to get me up rushed me along and acted pretty frustrated I was moving like I was 95 (or maybe 105).  I explained I have a muscle disease and quite off balance but he didn't care.  Told me to hurry along because someone else was waiting.  Luckily I made it to the dressing room okay where I could sit and fold myself in half to stretch my back.  Eventually I was able to make it to my car and on my way home.  I wasn't sure how long it would take to recover but.....

I had a date that night.  I got brave and invited Mr. 9 hour coffee date to come over for a wine and chat complete with shoulder rub exchange.  I thought it was a great opportunity to use some of the wine I bought last Fall in Idaho (it wasn't very good...leaving a nasty taste of Idaho in my mouth and mind!  HAHA).  We did however have much better conversation.  We laughed and I gave him an awesome back, foot, and hand rub.  In return, I got a very mediocre massage but it was nice to have someone to visit with.  It was also a challenge for me to open up my home to someone new.  But it was comfortable and we had fun.  He is kind of a funny curmudgeon of a guy.  I don't know that we will ever be more than friends but he is interesting none-the-less.  And I cut him off when when started going on his Trump tirade and told him I do not agree with his outlook and there is probably no reason to discuss it.  Hopefully he did hear my point of view on the "Absurdity" of the women's march (it was not focused enough to be effective, he said) and why women are so upset  (grabbing a pussy might be a "man's world" but for women, it is a huge violation that we will not tolerate in a president, I said).  He backed down quite a bit after that and we moved on to other topics of conversation.  And I was very glad I still had a massage scheduled for the next week since he wasn't all that good at it.  And And, my back and muscles relaxed so it was all good.

I also dated a new guy, we will call him Mr. Toothless Trucker.  Such a sweet guy but a little scruffy and missing his front 2 teeth (Black and rotted out).  He is nice and attentive.  I was trying to tell myself anyone could be cleaned up (and sent to the dentist) but then I got cold feet.  Especially when he started texting and calling me pretty much all day.  Even when I told him I was busy with work, he would call.  Then get mad if I didn't answer.  So I finally told him I just am not ready for all he has to offer.  I tried to be very nice about it but I still felt bad.  He chose to quit talking to me which was okay.  So back to the looking.

I think I have 2 dates next week with new guys but we will see how it pans out.

I went to another singles night last night.  I planned to catch up with Paul, a very soft spoken guy I've seen several times.  He is super shy and people told me he talked more last night than ever.  I'm a little afraid to consider dating someone from the singles group if that isn't ironic enough because if it doesn't work out, it would make the meet ups awkward.  He told me his wife passed 10 years ago.  He loves to travel and has 2 cats (1 he rescued at the Jordan River Parkway before it froze to death in the cold weather we had 2 years ago).  I visited with other people too.  MaryAnn, the tall woman was there.  She is so well spoken and so much fun.  Other women too.  They invited me to go to dinner with them but I was out of calories for the day and they were headed downtown which is a mobility issue for me.  So I declined but will catch them another time.

Work is busy.  My ex boss/co worker is getting ready to take 4 weeks paternity leave.  So April is going to suck because I will be covering for him and we have lots going on.  My boss got me some help but it is going to be minimal.

I'm getting ready to go on another cruise.  Next week at this time, I will be in NYC!!  I am excited but also nervous about navigating the city and getting on the ship next Sunday.  I've not been to NYC since 2012!

Mom and Chuck have been coming to Salt Lake every 2 weeks to work on the Democratic committee stuff.  I had them over for dinner.  It is always nice to see them and catch up!

Speaking of food, I started doing Hello Fresh meals.  I get 3 dinners for 2 people each week.  It is all fresh and everything you need for a delicious and nutritious meal.  I've really been enjoying it although they are higher calorie and fat than I am used to eating.  The meals are really just as good as going to a nice restaurant.  It is a little bite to the budget but if I don't need to buy groceries, that helps balance it. I'll probably do a separate post about them complete with photos so you can salivate over the deliciousness I am creating 3 times a week at home.  :-)  With the left overs, I get 6 meals out of it so really there is only 1 day a week I need to figure something else out.

You can probably gather from my notes that I am dieting.  I am logging in MyFitness Pal.  I get 1350 calories a day and sometimes they go fast!  I was trying to do the no white thing but the Hello Fresh violates that. So I try to skip whites when I can and stay in my calorie goal.  Some Hello Fresh meals are 750 calories so it can make the rest the day pretty skimpy!  I found some delicious fresh tomato feta soup at Trader Joes that I can have 2 cups for 200 calories.  Tuna is also a good choice.  And when I want to get in my nitrates and fat, I have a bunless hotdog for 110 calories!  Haha.  (I had a craving for hot dogs last week.)  I'm very slowly losing weight again.  It can't come off fast enough for me since I am dating and wanting to feel better.  I was going to the condo gym and riding the bike but sometimes I just can't make it.  I wish I loved exercise more.

Philip is good.  He and Tiffany are getting ready to move to an apartment.  They need to find a new home for Cement the kitty.  I'm secretly hoping John or Mom will take her.  I think she is a good kitty.  If not, she will have to go to the Humane Society.  They will find her a new home.  It is a no kill center.

Speaking of cats, the first kittens came into the nursery last week.  They have a litter of 6, 1 single little kitten, a 3 day old kitten, and a momma and her babies she had on the way to the nursery.  I got a call today to see if I was trained for Momma and babies.  Sadly I am not yet and I am leaving out of town but I hope to have some fosters when I get back in early April!   Let's hope this year goes better than last.

So that is a recap of my last week or so.  Thanks for reading along and sharing my world.  I hope all is well with you.

Getting all social

Back in November, Nola suggested I look into joining MeetUp.  It is a website where people form groups with about a million different interests and they get together and do stuff.  There are groups for almost anything you can image such as coffee, foodies, movies, gaming, book clubs, drinking, dance, etc.

I got brave and joined a group.  I joined a singles group for those over 50.  Looked like an active group and it had great reviews.  Once a month, they meet for drinks up by the U.  So I gussied up and went to my first MeetUp group event.  I got myself and glass of wine and found a place to sit right in the middle of the room.  I set a goal to say hello to everyone that came by and have some good chatter to share.  I ended up meeting some really nice people.  And one woman, Colleen, told me about some other groups to join that were really fun.  So I came home and did just that.  I joined the Ladies Drinking Society (LDS...haha) and a Jazz and Blues group and foodies group,

It wasn't long before the "LDS" group had a happy hour at Flemings.  One of my favorite places and a great chance to meet new people.  Luckily Colleen was there...along with a whole group of friendly and fun women.  And the next week, we had our singles group meet up after work.  Did that one too and saw people again.  And another group started doing monthly dinners out.  I joined a few of those although, the amount of fun you have depends who you sit by.  It is nice to have people to go out to eat with.  And several people cross back and forth through the groups so you get to know people and then you see them again and you aren't strangers still.  Unfortunately, there are lots of events I am just not mobile enough to do. There are hikes, pickle ball, camping, lots of dancing, and on and on.  But I do pick through the ones I think are up my alley.  And I am feeling pretty social which is nice!

I'll keep giving it a go.  Working from home, my social network is pretty limited.  Seems my friends are all busy with their own thing so it is great to get out and meet new people.  You just never know when you will meet great friends or....something more!

Here are some photos.

Dawn, Maryann, and me.  They are in the over 50s and the LDS group.
Unfortunately, I wore this sweater more than once and realized I had a size
sticker right on my boob....the last time I wore it....once I got home.

Me, Maryanne, and.....whats her name.  At Flemings.
Maryann is loud and fun.  Life of the party.

Deborah and me.  She was fun to talk too.  She is on a big diet and
isn't shy about taking about how hungry she is.  I love the realness.

Someone took this photo and posted it on the website.  Look at me
entertaining a flock of men!!!!  Note to self, stop pointing.
It isn't cute but hats off to me for not having resting bitch face.
 I've been working on that.  And for the record, I believe I was pointing
to a woman telling her I loved her long gray hair.  It really was beautiful.
The guy next to me is Steve, across is Paul, and the blond with his back
is Terry.  We wear name tags so it helps keep track.

 I'm proud of myself for getting out there and meeting people.  The really nice thing is any given day, I can dial up the calendar and find a group to go do something with.  How perfect is that??

Her name is Cement

Philip's love of kitties and that love has followed him as he moved from home.  Luckily, he has the same "mate" criteria as me.  They must like kitties.  And alas, Tiffany does.  She lives in west Syracuse and apparently, there are stray kitties that come around.  Over the winter, she took in a little mottled calico. They named her Cement because she is so sweet, she could easily be lured into a pile of fresh cement.  It is even more fitting because her coloring kind of looks like cement!

Well Cement is about a year old.  And a few weeks ago, she went into heat.  Kicks in my animal advocacy side and I insist we get her in to be spay.  Best friends has a $10 spay and it is even on the weekend.  We were able to get her in this past Saturday.  And we have to go to Orem.  So I promised to help.  Philip and Tiffany got up super early and brought Cement down to my house and I drove her to Orem to drop off.

I was very interested in visiting the Spay clinic because I am frankly fascinated by what Best Friends does.  Our appointment was at 8:00 but this is a high volume clinic so I knew it was important to be early.  I got there about 7:30 and there was already a line clear out the door.  Dogs, cats, kitten, and people.  Lots of people.  A woman in front of me had a cat trap with the prettiest but wildest kitties in it.  It was covered with a blanket and when she lifted the blanket, the kitty spit and hissed like no tomorrow.  Feral is right!   That woman talked my ear off for almost an hour while we stood outside waiting for our turn.  The dogs were antsy, the cats were nervous.  Cement didn't know me and had never been in a kennel but she actually did pretty good with it all.  In addition to getting spayed, I got her shots, nails trimmed, and dewormed.  Turns out she had ear mites too.  Poor kitty.  Assigned pick up time was 3:00.


I sent Philip and Tiffany to Orem to pick her up.  But they brought her over on their way home so I could see Cement.  We went into Philip room and opened the kennel.  Poor Cement.  As she came out, she was wet.  I figured it was from being spayed but it become obvious from the smell that she peed in the kennel and it was all over her.  Her back legs didn't work at all and she was UPSET!  Luckily, I had some cat cleaning wipes.  So we got busy trying to clean her up.  I went and grabbed some towels to hold her with.  Before we knew it, she was cleaned up and so was the kennel carrier.  Philip was so gentle and put her back in the kennel and they were off.  I understand Cement was more comfortable at home and was doing well hiding under the bed.

I feel really good that I helped save another female kitty from resulting in up to 200 kittens this year. She is a pretty kitty and deserves the best life possible.  And I got to see another side of Best Friends.