Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Talkin' bout books

The end of the year sneaked up on me as it tends to do. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm nowhere near my goal of reading 30 books in 2018. I've read 15 books so far and I'm just about halfway though Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. It's a long book and it's just not holding my attention. It's the last book in a seven book series so I refuse to abandon it at this point.

I decided to renew my Barnes & Noble membership today and of course picked up a few new books. Although I love my Kindle it doesn't give me the same thrill as picking up a physical copy of a book. I work by a Barnes & Noble so the temptation is real!


Today's book purchases.

I started reading I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter on my train ride home and I'm already enthralled.

I've asked my Facebook friends to share what the best book they read in 2018 was and I'm already making notes of books to read in 2019. If you've read anything good let me know in the comments. I'm open to most genres.

Tonight I'm going to drink some herbal tea and read in bed until I get very sleepy. Our street is currently being powered by a giant generator that's humming away outside our bedroom with no word on when the problem will be fixed. I suppose I shouldn't complaint after power outages on both Monday and Tuesday but this girl needs a good night's sleep.

Friday, November 16, 2018

Steak and snow

I know it's cliché to share pictures of your food on the internet but when you indulge in a delicious (and expensive) steak dinner it deserves to be shared. Last night we had a small send off dinner for one of Derek's co-workers at Smith & Wollensky. Despite being big steakhouse fans neither of us had been. Mooo... is still our favorite but Smith & Wollensky certainly satisfied our steak appetite.

Raspberry Fizz

Wedge salad

This ain't no LongHorn Steakhouse
I went with the medium rare filet. No regrets there. I do wish they had more sauce options for the steak but overall the food was good. The cocktails were fantastic.

While we were enjoying our dinner it started snowing. By the time we left it was coming down pretty good. I was well prepared though with my knee length coat that could double as a sleeping bag and a warm hat.



We didn't end the night there. We decided to have a few drinks down the street at Trade because snow? Just go with it...

Derek's "are you taking a picture?" face

The bar at Trade
Trade was pretty busy when we first got there but cleared out within the hour. The snow might have had something to do with that.

Big fan of my surprise photos

South Station
I confess. We took an Uber home. The MBTA doesn't have the best track record with snow or even weather in general.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Everything is gross

I know I'm a bit of a germaphobe about certain things. The first thing I do when I get to work and when I get home is wash my hands. People are not good at washing their hands and the T is gross. The basement in our apartment building is disgusting. The trash barrels are down there along with two very old washings machines and dryers. The rats rip open the garbage bags and drag the trash everywhere. I was down there moving my laundry from the washer to the dryer when I see a woman walk into the basement to throw out her trash and she is barefoot. I almost gagged but I held it together. At least she put her trash in the actual barrel rather than just throwing it across the room out of laziness.

Other gross things that happened today: making a pb&j for lunch only to realize there was mold on the bread that I just bought the day before. Thanks Wholefoods. I got new bread today that has preservatives and should be mold free tomorrow morning.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Cheese, cheese and a little more cheese

I actually stayed in both Friday and Saturday night which is very rare for me. I tend to be a bit of a social butterfly but I can actually stay home once in a while. I did get out of the house on Sunday for a fashion swap brunch.


I try to be good and leave with less items than I brought but it's not always easy. I came with a box and left with two shirts, one dress and a purse. Not bad.



My brunch contribution was a broccoli and cheddar quiche. The crust was store bought but the filling and baking was done by me. I admit that I always make something I want to eat when bringing food to a gathering.



I wasn't done with Sunday Funday yet. Fiona and I reunited from the earlier fashion swap for our Walking Dead night and she brought along her roommate for the fun. This weeks food offerings were a cheese plate (this is a requirement) nachos and some garlic cheese knots. I think tomorrow might need to be a cheese free day...

Fiona with her garlic cheese knots


The weekend flew by! I have a pretty busy week of trial prep at work but at least that will make the work day go by faster.

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Day trip to Salem

I didn't end up taking as many pictures as I would have liked but Salem was very crowded and I had to watch where I was going with my still recovering foot (those brick and cobblestone streets are precarious). We visited the Peabody Essex Museum and had some really good Indian food for lunch. The last three photos are from the end of the Empresses of China's Forbidden City exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum. The scroll was full of responses from women and I thought it was a great way to end the exhibit.








Friday, October 5, 2018

Friday!

The sun is (finally) shining and the long weekend is almost here! Tomorrow we're heading to Salem. Pro tip: Do not drive to Salem in October. Take the ferry, the train or hop on your broom.

In toe news, my foot is recovering well. I might even try wearing work appropriate dress shoes next week.

More updates to come. I know I've been a terrible blogger lately.



Saturday, September 1, 2018

Cheilectomy update Day 9

It's been a little over a week since my cheilectomy and I'm feeling pretty good. Wednesday I had my first follow up with my doctor. I took an Uber and brought one crutch with me. It was slow going getting up to my doctor's office and if I stepped the wrong way or moved too fast I got a sharp pain at the incision site but I was doing ok just going slow. Some random guy kept telling me I should ask for a wheelchair. I told him I was all set. He insisted again. I again told him I'm fine and don't need it. After a cheilectomy you want to be back on your feet as soon as the pain allows so you don't get scar tissue in the joint. So you can screw off buddy, I don't need your unsolicited advice.

My doctor's visit listed about 5 minutes. My foot was unwrapped for the first time since surgery and oh boy did that feel amazing. FREEEEEEDOM! *William Wallace voice*.  I was nervous about how bad it would look but it wasn't as bad as I thought. It's still swollen and there was some bruising but that's normal. The incision looks to be about two inches long. She told me that everything looked really good and to keep on doing what I've been doing. I think constantly keeping an ice pack around my ankle (cools the blood going into the foot) and elevating as much as possible has really helped. She moved my toe around which hurt like a bitch but it was tolerable. My upward range is good but bending the toe down is tighter and painful. I think that's from the stitches though. She tells me to do some toe bending a couple times a day. The stitches are dissolvable, which was news to me. No painful stitch removal. My next post-op appointment she will trim down the two stitches on the ends. There's also some steri-strips on there. I got the ok to get my foot wet in the shower, I just have to make sure not to scrub the incision site and to make sure it's dry before I re-wrap my foot. She wraps my foot back up but leaves the toes uncovered. She also gives me some extra bandages to take home. I decided to still wash up with my foot sticking out of the tub but I did clean off my foot around the site. It's still bad spray tan orange due to antiseptic stuff used before the surgery. I ditch the crutch when I'm just around the house.

Thursday I used Door Dash to order Dunkin Donuts because I wanted an iced coffee and a donut. Absolutely worth it.

Friday I decided I would finally go back into the office. The office was closing at 2:30 so I figured I could last until then. I took an Uber in to work but it's still a bit of a walk to get into my office building. I definitely had some moments where I went too fast or moved wrong and felt some pain. It was not coming from my joint though but near the top part of the incision site. I took an Aleve and propped my foot up on a recycling bin in the office. I continued icing but my foot was feeling tight (probably from swelling). I made it until 2:30 and iced it once I got home. Since I've been cooped up I wanted to go out for dinner. Around 5:30 I took an Uber to Washington Square Tavern to meet Derek and when I got out of the Uber my big toe (still in the boot but the front open) grazed something and I felt a really bad sharp pain in my toe. My own stupid fault. It was pretty painful but finally calmed down during dinner.

This morning I woke up and realized I'm feeling really good. My last Aleve was yesterday morning. I'm able to move around crutch free and have not had any sharp pain from moving the wrong way. The biggest change is that I don't have the aching in the ball of my foot and side of my big toe which is where I felt the arthritis pain the most and why I had the surgery in the first place. Any aching I do have is the top of the foot around the incision site. I'm very happy about that. I'm hoping after the long weekend I'll be moving much easier around the office.

Well that was a long post about my foot but hopefully it will be helpful to someone planning on having this surgery and as a reminder to myself when I eventually have my left toe done (probably not until next year).

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Cheilectomy recovery updates Days 1 - 3


I'm now three days out from the cheilectomy on my right big toe. I thought I would give a little update on how things are going.

Surgery day: Pain was minimal as I had a nerve block in my foot and they gave me a dose of pain medication in the recovery room before I left the hospital. I did take some percocet before I went to bed as I was starting to feel a bit of pain.

Day 1 post surgery: Pain was much worse the day after surgery. I felt like my foot got ran over by a truck. I tried to just get by on Aleve but it wasn't cutting it. I took some percocet. Icing around my ankle seems to help the pain.

Day 2 post surgery: Pain is better but I felt like my foot kept falling asleep when I was trying to sleep with my foot raised. Sleeping on my back all night is not comfortable for me and I kept waking up. I finally gave up and went to the couch. My foot is feeling a little better so I decide to try just taking Aleve. I seem to do ok with that and did not have to take percocet. I also took a bath with my foot sticking out of the tub with a plastic bag. I ordered a proper cast protector from Amazon to put over my boot.

Day 3 post surgery: Still not sleeping well and moved to the couch again. I cut back on the Aleve and just took one in the morning. I'm still icing but the pain is much better. I'm bored and antsy and want to get outside but I'm stuck on the couch. That has been the hardest part, not being able to get up and go about. I would kill to walk to the grocery store. I feel like I can "feel" the stitches today if I move my foot a certain way. My foot feels less swollen though.

So that's where I am right now. I'm still using the crutches to get around to help keep my weight on my heel when I walk. It's slow going but I can't rush it. I'm working from home for the week and have my first follow up appointment Wednesday. I really hope I can get back into the office by Friday. I hate being stuck in the house.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Riding the rails




I visited family in New Jersey this weekend and I took the train! It was my first time making the trip and it was a nice scenic ride. It sort of made up for the interesting folk that hang out at the Trenton New Jersey train station at 5 a.m.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Don't do it Dunkin Donuts

Most New Englanders have a soft spot for Dunkin Donuts (Dunks if you want to sound like a local). Sometimes you just want a donut and an iced coffee and you don't want to pay Starbucks prices. Over the years Dunkin Donuts has been adding in more non breakfast items. I'm not going to Dunkin Donuts for a chicken salad sandwich. Dunkin Donuts has a new CEO and he wants to make some changes. Less donuts and more espresso. Worst of all is the plan to drop the Donuts and just call the chain Dunkin'.

I work in the Prudential area and the amount of coffee choices are mind boggling. In the Prudential Mall alone there's Starbucks, Eataly, Blue Bottle Coffee and Dunkin Donuts. We have plenty of fancy coffee options. What we do not have is plentiful donut options. First quarter sales have already dropped and I'm curious to see if the trend continues or if people won't really miss the donuts after all.

This is how I remember Dunkin Donuts. I actually met Fred the Baker (Michael Vale) at a cookout many years ago.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Would you rather

Eat beets for a snack?


Or eat buttered popcorn flavored jelly beans?


Trick question! The answer is I'd eat both and I did.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

What I did on my Vegas vacation


Stayed in the pool all day with a frozen drink.
Had my first In-N-Out burger (it was so good!)
Rode the High Roller.
Lost my sunglasses, bought a new pair, found lost sunglasses.
Lost $20.00 on a slot machine.
Went to the Neon Museum where I petted not one but two cats.
Went to a bar in Old Vegas that made me feel like I was in Hogwarts.
Watched the Greatest Showman twice on the plane.
Had the best time with my girls.

Monday, June 18, 2018

The hotel ghost is also a fan of TLC

We're back from our weekend on the Cape. I wasn't in the blogging mood yesterday after dealing with Sunday Cape traffic but now it's time to regale you with tales from my weekend.

The plan was to arrive early on Friday and spend some time by the pool. It ended up not being warm enough for that so we lazed about the hotel room until I convinced Derek we should just go have an early dinner. We ate at Kelly's 134, which we liked the last time we were in West Dennis. The food was meh this time around but the service was good. We moved to the bar and had a few drinks. It seemed like it was mostly locals. It was a nice low key night.

Now let me tell you about our haunted hotel room. Saturday morning Derek tells me that the tv turned on by itself twice. I slept through the first incident and was in the shower the second time. Then the smoke detector goes off in our room for no reason. Derek doesn't believe in ghosts but I say the evidence points to a friendly ghost who enjoys watching TLC.

Saturday morning we left the ghost and played a round of minigolf at Pirates Cove. I actually won for once. I have to document that because it doesn't happen often. After minigolf we took an Uber to Susan and Jason's house for their wedding celebration/house warming BBQ. I ate my first red snapper hot dog. Apparently it's a Maine thing? It was a hot one but the drinks and sunblock were flowing.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and met up with Derek's parents for lunch. They just so happen to live on the Cape so it worked out perfectly. We got our seafood fix and were sent on our way with a new frying pan and more food!

I ended my weekend by watching my favorite guilty pleasure, 90 Day Fiancé. It's terrible and I love it. I was reading the live Reddit thread tonight and laughing so hard Derek had to come in and check on me to make sure I was ok.

Remember when Luis accused Molly of being a Christ-hating witch? And their relationship somehow survived and kept on going for months? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

and

The way mother Chantel speaks, it makes it sound likes she’s reading her lines off of a TelePrompter. 

Congratulations you are now under investigation.

This will only amuse you if you watch the show so get on that and come back and laugh with me.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

What day is it again?

Welcome back from the long weekend. Did you also keep thinking today was Monday only to realize that it is in fact Tuesday meaning you almost gave someone the wrong date for a deadline? Just me?

My long weekend was spent mostly at home. Derek came down with a nasty cold that he's still recovering from and everyone else was away. I finished reading Idaho which was beautifully written but quite sad. I'm still four books behind my 2018 reading challenge but with some vacation time coming up I'm not worried about catching up.

I watched the premiere of the Bachelorette and agree with the rest of America that Grocery Store Joe should not have been sent home night one. Groceries are not cheap and he seemed like a nice guy. Bad move Becca.

After a busy day of trial prep at work I came home and watched two episodes of the new Picnic at Hanging Rock miniseries on Amazon. I'll watch anything with Natalie Dormer in it. The mystery is as intriguing as Natalie Dormer's eye wear.


I had to switch to something on the lighter side before bed so here I am blogging. Am I getting my blogging mojo back? I hope so. I've thought about giving up blogging but I just can't seem to quit.

If you're reading anything good let me know in the comments. I'm always looking for suggestions.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018