Just glad I finished my weekly chores.

My mother let it slide this week on attentive discipline as I spent the week prior moving between rooms, but this Sunday, I have to ramp up my energy and power through while my mother works overtime two weeks in a row.

My father is still sick. The only symptoms that remain is his fatigue and joint pain. The rheumatologist won't be able to see him until the new year.

I did receive a set of temporary tattoos in the mail (commitment issues and I don't want to ruin my chances at employment outside voice acting. Hence how my tattoos, piercings and hair color is easy removed\interchanged)

Edit: Due to missed opportunities, I ended up with about 93% of my usual check. But the fact I was going to deposit money on hand into the bank was enough to pay for a few things I needed. I paid into my account via check. In my house, we all pitch in. My mother works at a warehouse, my father cooks and bakes and I keep the downstairs clean.

I received a few packages in the mail and I nearly forgot, but my grandparents and Aunt Lucinda are now out of the hospital! Grandpa Ernie and Gramma Barb are over their second COVID infection and Aunt Lucinda's kidneys are working fine!

We really should thank the donor's next of kin for the kidney.

I had been drawing myself in a blank sketchbook. Mostly drawing from memory my reflections, so there was "artistic nudity" you would find in advanced art, how to draw books like Morpho. I have come to terms with the fact my weight loss is slow and until I see the endocrinologist, I know that losing weight is a long road ahead.

Not much else happening today but another week filled with chores and not even a paid day off.

I don't know how...but how do people survive this?

I feel like my work\family\private life balance is not balanced.

I nearly forgot that I had an appointment with my therapist on the phone, but I did get a 15 minute warning from my schedule calendar app. I was actually somewhat happier since we last talked.

As for today, I ended up falling asleep after dinner and throwing things out like dead batteries and no longer used medicine and supplements, to name a few things, during the day.

Overall, I am worried about my paycheck. I was made to make a chore chart and I am not fond of how complex the grading got. Maybe I should put a yes\no to cover my bases.

Almost done with setting up my shelves of dolls in my room. I think I will have space for the remaining dolls I have yet to buy.

Update on my life: I have been, once again, commissioned to buy the groceries for dinner for the 3 days we have our family dinners.

We're having deconstructed primavera (it can be a take on stir fry in a European style), baked potatoes, and Velveeta Ultimate Cheeseburger Mac (as a joke, my father calls it "Hamburger Assist" as a nod to the Netflix show "F is for Family".)

Remember, in my family, animation and comedy are staples to our routines of fighting off depression by distracting ourselves from the rather grim and depressing points of life.

Husband was in charge of the kids this morning because I wanted a lie in. At 9:30 I woke up and realised noone else was awake yet and therefore had to wake everyone up and today has been terrible since then.

My kids are not big fans of sleep. Which means if they wake up late (e.g. any time after 7) they will be awake forever. Baby missed his nap and ended up sleeping at 6pm. Which was fine. Child went to bed at 8pm which is her usual bedtime and... decided to scream. Baby is now awake, took the 2 hours of sleep as his nap and is now wide awake. Child won't sleep. Between various "I'm thirsty" "I've spilt water in my bed" "I'm hungry" "there's fireworks outside", for some reason the dog decided to walk in and pee in her doorway. Not a clue why. He's been acting kinda odd recently. So had to clean that up. Anyway, she's now made herself sick all over all her pyjamas and her only clean bedding. So I've given up and sent her downstairs where husband was already awake with baby and I've decided I don't care. If he can't wake them up at a reasonable time and stick to their schedule instead of expecting me to constantly tell him what to do then he can just figure it out himself. It's 10:30 and I'm going to bed.

Spent today shopping for grocery and cheap, yet effective goods. Ended up tired

I'm going to try an Australian toothpaste sampler and write down my moods to present to my therapist.

Lately, feeling like the only functioning adult is a burden. Good thing I have access to therapy, thanks to the government.

Congrats, America. You've hit another first.

1.3 trillion dollars of credit card debt alone. That doesn't include the almost 2 trillion of student loan debt, car loans, mortgages, ect. Ya'll have fun with those 30-plus percent interest rates on those credit cards.



https://www.usdebtclock.org/

Meanwhile, the chuckleheads from the media continue to tout how great everything is. LMAO! GDP is not above 5%, it's all fake. People are bleeding money they don't have as is that other place that I'm not allowed to talk about. Unemployment is not under 4%, that is the working participation rate. 2024 is going to be a fun-filled year. Yeesh.

I recently had another day of cleaning, donation and history of rivalry tactics.

I helped mom Google the opening hours for the dentist and dollar store.

Rumor has it that Jim Carrey may return to comedy if his hiatus from being in front of camera while working on a documentary as a producer will make him want to return to comedy.

This came on the heels of "Weird Al" Yankovic, another comedy genius who was on hiatus had recently announced he's going to attempt releasing a new song each year.

So win-win-win... that third one is for my joy of squelching an otherwise grim time on Earth. Hope springs eternal in the meantime.

"Attention mothership, Earth is a waste of time! People eat too much, are too lazy and argue non-stop!"
-Possible transmission from the alien invaders

Edit: saw yet another life simulator in progress on YouTube. Inzoi by Krafton. It's so realistic to the point of "uncanny valley" and I am at a loss for words for the "uncanny valley" realism.

EAxis is no longer the only "game" in town (insert drumkit rim shot)

Today was a mess. The house was in chaos.

But eventually things had settled down.

Currently, I have more chores to work on.

My shopping list is growing.

I have to buy things like:
Cleaning supplies for the tub, shower, toilet, and tile
Candy making supplies for my sunflower coconut gummies
Replacement toothbrushes
Blackout curtains
Holiday gifts for my parents

I even had a little something in my budget.

In recent weeks, I moved into a new bedroom and I wanted blackout curtains due to a variety of reasons, but I need a room that can be darkened in the event of sensory overload and my windows face the sunrise.

Currently planning out 4 weekly dinners, Thanksgiving dinner, Black Friday\Cyber Monday shopping, a Christmas gift to my parents and how I want to style my hair when it grows out.

I am also getting caught up on my chores.

Had the house to myself most of the morning (which tends to be the time I sleep), so instead of sleeping, I randomly decided to pull out my really old painting gear (and I do mean really old - some of the oldest paint probably dates back 15+ years, but most of it still worked fine, except for some mini tubes that might have dried up) and paint some mini pictures, which I'm planning to give away as fridge magnets for mom (two of them, anyway - the third is probably slightly too big to work as such).

Might need to do some touch-ups on them later. Paint was acrylic (usually dries pretty fast), but goodness only knows this girl doesn't have the patience for even fast-drying paint to dry. I didn't have too much time for drying them, and the brushes were all kinds of bad with layering wet paint on wet, so there were a bunch of streaks I wasn't too happy with, but we'll see. Plus had an oopsie - was moving one of the half-dried ones around, and poked my finger straight into a patch of wet paint, entirely wiping off a small patch, AFTER I'd cleaned up all the equipment (managed to fix it, but still...).

So I ended up sleeping maybe 2 hours... (I did a few catnaps before that, but not too long each time) :/

Weirdly, I'm not tired, but the overtiredness is probably going to hit me sometime later in the evening (usually does - knocks me right out).

EDIT: Was right, dinner pretty much had me out like a light...

I'm in Connecticut this week! Today I was in the New Haven area, also went to the state park in Madison and went to the beach! (literally, I haven't seen a beach since 2005, so this is a big deal for me!)

I'm not here for the fun of it, though. I'm here because I am looking to move. Can't stand living in my current state anymore. After lots of research and deliberation, I narrowed it down and Connecticut was what was narrowed down to, but I'd never been there or even anywhere north of Maryland on the east coast. So I had to take this trip to see if I liked it and could consider it a new home. I'm definitely thinking YES. =)

How exciting! A new change to look forward to! That area looks lovely, on a bay and river.

Still cleaning up, displaying dolls on the Red Billy bookcase, and donating all my useless stuff that no longer serves me any purpose.

I went grocery shopping today with my dad, but I forgot the fries for fish and chips and cheese. Also, I am out of money for the month, lucky that my mom is helping out with the dinner bills, especially when food prices are steep.

I also made replacement slimline DVD case inserts for my collection of movies. I am tossing out my old disc suitcases and using my lilac steamer trunk for seasonal clothes and the kimono I wore to my grandparents' 50th anniversary (Back when my father's mother was still alive) (I was flat as a board and cylinder in build when I was 19, which is perfect for kimonos. I grew into my curvy shape after much medicine for my PCOS.)

Bad pun: "What's a shapely lady like you do for a living? Teach geometry?" (I hang out with old men who have that brand of wordplay humor. As crude in execution and humor, the nuance was more subtle.)

11 more mins for my bus, my fingers are freezing off. They're at such annoying times. I finish work at 8 (rarely get out on time as it is), and the bus stops at the bottom of the hill at 8:11. If I miss that bus I'm waiting until 8:51. But it's a 15 min walk down the hill on a good day.

Buses were fun in summer when I walked with coworkers with our jackets slung over our shoulders and talks of going to the pub on the way home if we miss the bus. Now its winter and 2 of my favourite coworkers left, so nowhere near as fun. At least most days I can get a ride down the hill. Today I was not so lucky.

My niece stays over with us, and at 11 pm (!) mom decides it's time to do arts and crafts, and starts peering around in my stuff (!) to find whatever she's after, without asking first, and gets annoyed with me when I say I'll check out if I have something, but not now (because it really is bedtime for the kiddo, probably at least an hour or two ago, and I'm busy with some other stuff atm). Even asks if she can "just" take one of my older crafts to use for this. The audacity!

I mean, I don't mind looking around to find something the kid can use, but time and place, and ask nicely! Don't assume you can grab what you want just because I've got a few craft supplies. And don't assume I've got everything you need for a surprise craft at 11 PM on a weekend. I don't own an entire free-to-use craft store.

Finally improving after that move. Still donating goods I no longer use, throwing out trash, doing more of my chores (only 10 missed out of 115 possible) and earned $23. Last week I got $20.

I noticed that Gemini is slowing down and is sticking to my father's chest like Velcro. We are keeping tabs on her because she might be close to her final days. Feline hospice care is just another service my family and I offer when we care for our cats.

I'm dealing with the fact that we may have to put her down if she starts hiding and doesn't want to come out from under anything. Her terminal kidney disease is catching up with her. I am emotionally bracing for impact.

Grocery shopping was slightly chaotic. Even during the early "special hours" for those with sensory overload issues. My father and I kept running into each other.

But I was able to do last minute Thanksgiving dinner shopping as well as shop for big dinners.

I helped my mom with finding a decent sized TV by measuring mine (the one I have is a perfect size)

Still refining my shopping list for December 2023. I may get a $30 raise in January 2024.

Tonight was fish and chips night. I had flounder and crinkle cut fries and my parents had the cod and steak fries.

Well, falling asleep on the toilet and then falling off the toilet was a highlight that was more of a epic fail.

Luckily, I escaped with contusions and soreness.

Update: now I have a lump on my forehead from where I made impact with the wall. It may bruise later.

Update 2: I left a dent in the wall where I fell. My grandfather won't like it (he's my landlord)

Well, my father is in charge of cooking and baking today's Thanksgiving spread.

I am going to stay clear of him. Being that he worked in the food service industry, I have to give him right of way.

I was involved in my first little car accident today. The reason I'm not posting in the "blargh day ruined" thread is because all was well in the end - no damage!*

The city center is notorious for having 1001 traffic engineers designing it, apparently all coming from different schools or something, so certain roads have markings that make no sense - in other words, while it's nice to have a bus lane, it makes no sense that you close it for bus-only and make it a right-only lane that fits at most two cars, when 20 cars are trying to make that turn while simultaneously trying to stay off the bus lane.

The driver in front of me, a taxi, seemed to have braked last minute while trying to squeeze into that right-only lane, as I had to brake pretty hard so that I don't rear-end them... only to be rear-ended myself a moment later by a different taxi.

The only emotion going through my head was a "god-f*****g-dammit," in a disappointed tone (as if you're a parent and your child or cat knocks over a sculpture and it breaks). I got my dad on the line and got outside - only to find the other driver saying that it's ok and nothing's dented. The sheer relief that took over me (and the other driver once they saw that I wasn't about to explode on them)... as much as this car's shit, I'm so happy it's so durable! I let my dad know about the accident and that everything was fine - I just had him on the line in case we had to fill anything out; I've had my license since February and never really gave it a proper thought on what to do when there's an accident. The only things I instinctively did was put on hazard lights, pull over and pull the handbrake up. FFS, I turned off the car and put the keys on the passenger seat instead of taking them with me! Not great, but not terrible I guess.

*The rear bumper only seems to have a bit of paint coming off, but that's probably from when I was backing into a parking spot back in February and didn't see a tree stump there. The sounds and the sensation from hitting that tree stump were pretty similar to the taxi earlier today. I guess if they had started braking half a second earlier, it would not have happened, seeing as the impact didn't leave any marks.

If only I approached other things in life with such level-headedness as I do traffic... Everywhere else, it's sheer internalized panicking before anything else, but for some reason, I can regulate my emotions just fine when in a car.

Consider yourself a lucky duck. You got out of an auto accident relatively unscathed.

I dealt with being hangry today. I was wound up until the kitchen was cleared.

I got two things in the mail today.

1. An official p+g design coin purse from the Mimi pochi Friends line. It was a Golden Retriever one.
2. Samples of toothpaste from Australia and an extra of stick-on tooth gems.

I am awaiting a case of Canada Dry Ginger Ale (12 can case, got it for $5 so about 42¢ a can isn't a bad deal) and a brown Shiba Inu coin purse from the same company and brand.

Edit: my ginger ale will be here Sunday...can't win them all.

Scratch that, Monday.

Took the kids to see Santa today. We went all the way to Conwy. It's a nice place with cobblestone roads and a massive castle. Everywhere decorated in Christmas decorations. The kids had a great time, Santa told them they were on the nice list and gave them some presents. I got a cute photo of them with Santa. I was surprised the baby actually let Santa hold him lol.