tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221626922691848232024-03-19T03:58:11.938-07:00Kat in the HatKatjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.comBlogger275125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-26223795321813017162024-02-13T13:47:00.000-08:002024-02-13T13:47:00.147-08:00Intuitive Eating<span style="font-family: verdana;">Nutrition drives me insane. There are a lot of things about nutrition that are counter-intuitive, that change constantly, and that different people think differently of. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Intuitive Eating is one of those things. It was brought up to me while talking to a psychologist regarding my obsessive need to eat even when I'm not hungry after forcefully having to quit Ozempic. Let me outline the 10 basics of "Intuitive Eating":</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. <b>Reject the Diet Mentality<br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stop dieting. As they say, it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. <b>Honor your Hunger</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't wait to eat until you're starving; then you tend to go overboard.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. <b>Make Peace with Food</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't deny particular foods. They can cause uncontrollable cravings and then binge episodes, which makes you feel guilty.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. <b>Challenge the Food Police</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stop the cycle of being "good" for consuming minimal calories or "bad" for eating a piece of chocolate cake. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">5. <b>Discover the Satisfaction Factor</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is like Mindful Eating. Discover the satisfaction of eating.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">6. <b>Feel your Fullness</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Observe the signs that show you are comfortably full. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">7. <b>Cope with Emotions with Kindness</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't let your emotions trigger eating, basically. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">8. <b>Respect your Body</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't be overly critical about your body and compare yourself to everyone else</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">9. <b>Movement - Feel the Difference</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Just get active and <i>feel </i>the difference. Don't focus on burning calories, just focus on moving.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">10. <b>Honor your Health - Gentle Nutrition</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">You don't have to eat perfectly be be/feel healthy</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>If you want to read the full definitions, the website is found <a href="https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/" target="_blank">here</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgays7g4PcHcHFKieHCirsDsYHP9kXNnMWH23S-vp7aXkpap01Rk8kTHmNTSvXtHLwYy6y2H4J76jkO8rwxauXbwJYrHhISvp0xloUPNCL2I90hJEjXUBKjCcfSKhw8MPLMUGkNCSPKjCXOLbcJCaOScMxsVeGBQ4ZCWQ5tFasbT3VT_jGDEPt9tRHtk3vs/s720/Before+and+after+Intuitive+eating.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgays7g4PcHcHFKieHCirsDsYHP9kXNnMWH23S-vp7aXkpap01Rk8kTHmNTSvXtHLwYy6y2H4J76jkO8rwxauXbwJYrHhISvp0xloUPNCL2I90hJEjXUBKjCcfSKhw8MPLMUGkNCSPKjCXOLbcJCaOScMxsVeGBQ4ZCWQ5tFasbT3VT_jGDEPt9tRHtk3vs/w400-h400/Before+and+after+Intuitive+eating.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">To start off, #9 resonates with me since I loathe exercise, and this feels like a more reasonable goal. But I take issue with #3 and #4. Basically, as the psychologist described it, is that you don't deny yourself any food, because if you do it can cause resentment, or uncontrollable cravings for it, and if the food in question tends to be available to consume at any time, then you won't constantly reach for it and overeat it (???).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm sorry, I call bullshit on that. And the reason I say so is because sugar is an addictive substance. It's been shown in studies to cause dopamine spikes just like drugs, and can give you feel good feelings so you'll want more. And I can prove this on a personal level because when I was on hCG, and then later on Whole30, (which cuts out all sugar) I had no cravings for it whatsoever. I could pass up that piece of chocolate cake, or if I did eat something, it tasted <i>WAY </i>too sweet and actually made me want to stop consuming it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So fine, maybe have that bag of chips you so crave, or whatever (I honestly don't know what people crave beyond sugary goods), but constantly having something sugary in your pantry at the ready at all times? That's just a recipe for disaster in my opinion. There is nothing in those sugary goods that your body needs nutritionally. So there is literally no reason to have them/consume them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDoFgAGZxTeRxVGQNXyckhM45cyW5FNKojTInV-D2ptpbx4xBiMGvZV28pa9jyKR63DucNHHhMYP91ItIQPVvFIWtMaYuGEw-Xjh-DK_Sw37RLuTl7cW_JSvxbWOqcwPY7ujjkSjQLdeYkfHrlsqMxKLVbQ5fZ8o9saY-oOFgYyOyhuumpzEi0dq_Zwje/s1024/treats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDoFgAGZxTeRxVGQNXyckhM45cyW5FNKojTInV-D2ptpbx4xBiMGvZV28pa9jyKR63DucNHHhMYP91ItIQPVvFIWtMaYuGEw-Xjh-DK_Sw37RLuTl7cW_JSvxbWOqcwPY7ujjkSjQLdeYkfHrlsqMxKLVbQ5fZ8o9saY-oOFgYyOyhuumpzEi0dq_Zwje/w640-h480/treats.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My issue with trying to find reasonable accommodations with intuitive eating is straight up calories in vs calories out. I've heard both camps on this - I was following up with a dietitian that believed all calories were not the same, and it made a difference. I mean, of course it does - eating healthy calories is better than eating unhealthy calories. But in the end, if your body only burns 2k calories a day, and you consume 2.5k, then you will gain weight regardless of where those calories came from. And that's where I am stuck at.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7q0r0eemJ0g0AZbJyyqRXNez574X_pBY8y69d_Gzcytx5HUr25slsTpqWuYVIx-xXrEa7DngFUi5Nx6GiJECHASa6mQkWmIxIy7i4IxyQtFVqItkU0b5ot6V-yDaEij-d4iEZSLvOcYGPYCwz_5S3zZJIHkc72-hGfupSVVkT8SzBsRoQJOD-z2avmk0Q/s1024/Food-swaps-for-gut-health-683x1024.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="683" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7q0r0eemJ0g0AZbJyyqRXNez574X_pBY8y69d_Gzcytx5HUr25slsTpqWuYVIx-xXrEa7DngFUi5Nx6GiJECHASa6mQkWmIxIy7i4IxyQtFVqItkU0b5ot6V-yDaEij-d4iEZSLvOcYGPYCwz_5S3zZJIHkc72-hGfupSVVkT8SzBsRoQJOD-z2avmk0Q/w266-h400/Food-swaps-for-gut-health-683x1024.jpeg" width="266" /></a></div><br />Look, I made the "lifestyle change" years ago. It's called healthy swapping. I don't deny myself any carbs (although I should probably limit them more to be perfectly honest. Carbs are too easy to just grab and eat), I just swap for healthier options. That Egg McMuffin I make at home? Whole wheat english muffin, and canadian bacon instead of sausage or regular bacon. I could even go as far as all egg whites, (The egg white mcmuffin they used to have at McDonalds was bomb and I wish they'd bring it back) but I learned a long time ago that cutting out fat is also a recipe for disaster. Fat is satiating. Yeah, it adds a ton of calories but it also tastes good and it helps keep you full. So I'm all about that whole egg. Want pasta? Use chcikpea. It's got fiber and protein. Add some ground turkey instead of beef. Use tomato sauce instead of alfredo. The pizza I like to eat is the Mediterranean one from Dominos. Thin crust with all veggies and no meat.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For snacks, I try my best to grab things like apples, oranges, kiwis, grapes. When I'm at home sometimes I'll have cottage cheese with some jam, or carrots with homemade ranch dressing using greek yogurt for added protein (and because it doesn't have any sugar in it when you make it yourself. Like, why. Why does ranch dressing have sugar and corn syrup in it???)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But even with all these healthy substitutions, I still eat more than I burn. Calories in vs calories out. So what I'm trying to figure out is how to stop the urge to eat when I'm not hungry. Sometimes I'll eat when I'm not hungry, and not even feel full when I'm done. I'm like in this in-between space all the time; it's kind of weird. My body has lost its ability to send me signals. I can probably blame Ozempic for this; I mean I gained 15 lbs in less than 8 weeks once I stopped, but I figured my body would figure it out and some point and it still hasn't. So I don't know what to do about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I know all the tricks, okay? I drink water, broth, tea, even Olipop [which has prebiotic fiber]. I chew gum and suck on mints. I'll even take glucomannan pills (Konjac root) to help make me full, but I'm eating when <i>not</i> hungry, so that doesn't help much. Is it boredom? Probably. There's not a ton I can do about it at work. There are busy times and not busy times. Even the administrative work I do when I'm not busy doesn't keep me distracted <i>enough. </i>At home it's much worse. My activities/hobbies are all introverted inside by myself hobbies like paint by number or diamond painting, which isn't distracting enough either. It's just tough. I just... want to eat. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-14991819600284560172024-01-28T12:40:00.000-08:002024-01-28T12:40:44.108-08:00Movie Flashback Time! Tremors<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyoj2yFLGKvNfqoJWlkV1Dr_D3cJtcYnoQfzTlHqOR-0cqkui_se4PAQO-wkJSeJnW6EzPwm5a2wNUSoBgi2egLsdFxyIzKP7IKGUR-tPVJ8rAhHVcogHYaUKudc3wiUlEtnxmXSkIVUm8lBGnRSwdN-fuR8EIEV-r8PnSI5H6TcxLEgZTAZ-O5EzVnZj/s386/Tremors_official_theatrical_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyoj2yFLGKvNfqoJWlkV1Dr_D3cJtcYnoQfzTlHqOR-0cqkui_se4PAQO-wkJSeJnW6EzPwm5a2wNUSoBgi2egLsdFxyIzKP7IKGUR-tPVJ8rAhHVcogHYaUKudc3wiUlEtnxmXSkIVUm8lBGnRSwdN-fuR8EIEV-r8PnSI5H6TcxLEgZTAZ-O5EzVnZj/s320/Tremors_official_theatrical_poster.jpg" width="215" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I thought about trying to shoehorn this post into a 'Review Wednesday' (which is a title only), or a 'Underrated Movies' but I didn't feel like trying to make it fit into either of those categories. Besides, I really don't think Tremors was an "underrated movie"; it just has a lot of meaning to me personally, so I figured I'd write about it, kind of in a review format.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tremors is considered a horror flick, but it's pretty corny for horror, especially considering the movies coming out today. It's one of the very few horror movies that I would even watch, and that's probably only because I was 7 years old when I saw it for the first time on TV.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's one of those movies where you look at the cast and are like Kevin Bacon? Must be good. Then scroll past a couple no-names, and then you see Michael Gross and you have to blink a few times. Seeing him in the cast not long after finishing Family Ties was kind of hilarious. And then you see Reba McIntyre and you just wonder how this movie even got made.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The premise is already outrageous when you think about it. I mean, maybe most horror movies are. Have you seen Blood and Honey? Yeah, anyway... </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRnJe1SA3ZFdgVPROfJpdoOFgfCGGAd3uqQuurj6R9Pqx3-18EKiOCnv3je2Bg7K1I5UXaGw3wsw0ygNiO_CyTTHkOR5-SGghMxH3cVV3SkeRYIUvC-aCUyv0Zq3jtTO33G5B4wb6V2gdMAJqK-tISyFW8drFxx8iDekF8seTi-9_7h7zGUq9_uO-mpkl/s400/tremors5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="400" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRnJe1SA3ZFdgVPROfJpdoOFgfCGGAd3uqQuurj6R9Pqx3-18EKiOCnv3je2Bg7K1I5UXaGw3wsw0ygNiO_CyTTHkOR5-SGghMxH3cVV3SkeRYIUvC-aCUyv0Zq3jtTO33G5B4wb6V2gdMAJqK-tISyFW8drFxx8iDekF8seTi-9_7h7zGUq9_uO-mpkl/w640-h362/tremors5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The movie has some really good build up which is always essential. The cast is fairly diverse in their range with the smart people (the geologist/seismologist student), the dumb people (generally the ones who get eaten), and the obligatory 17-year old smart ass. I would 100% be the seismologist, as without her, everyone would have been too dumb to stay alive.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The movie didn't have a ton of laugh out loud humor, nor any famous one-liners. But it stuck out in my mind all these years because for a while after seeing this movie when I was 7, I was scared of the sand and would only walk on the crab grass. My parents probably thought I was doing some kind of hopscotch routine, but little did they know I was traumatized for a bit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Admittedly, 7 is a little young to be watching a movie like that, but take solace in the fact that it was edited for TV so the swearwords were bleeped out (more on that in a bit) and some of the more horrifying scenes were cut out completely. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The scene that scared me the most as a young child isn't even a big deal in the grand scheme of the movie but I was really affected by it - to the point where I would close my eyes even into adulthood - every time I rewatched it. I'm talking about near the beginning of the movie where the Doctor and his wife are building their trailer in the desert and the generator suddenly stops working because the "Graboids" (no, I can't call them that, sorry) - Tremors sucked it under, and he went to go check it out. His death was slow as the wife tried to grab him when he was being slowly sucked down.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDah_BtNG72OP-g1mfT2M6PFTRED6JmbI2wN8_i55kYB5yRgzckJRexMsUuX0hJn_g64Td04eRQIYgyQls2KoRPY-Tpefi-cpfB6kpuUMpyCio0PqbLqgIn9g8LsCtovvv6t8iBYyzo44CwuSdRQWNCP0TS2dkqGZH1CZi9FaYxpZ4QobmE_ZyCbJf3Xg/s299/walter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDah_BtNG72OP-g1mfT2M6PFTRED6JmbI2wN8_i55kYB5yRgzckJRexMsUuX0hJn_g64Td04eRQIYgyQls2KoRPY-Tpefi-cpfB6kpuUMpyCio0PqbLqgIn9g8LsCtovvv6t8iBYyzo44CwuSdRQWNCP0TS2dkqGZH1CZi9FaYxpZ4QobmE_ZyCbJf3Xg/s1600/walter.jpg" width="299" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In contrast, when Walter got grabbed right in the middle of his store with<br /> everyone around, and was being swung wildly while people screamed around him, wasn't even that big of a deal. And I think the reason, for me anyway, was because that was a scene that was cut out of the TV version, and I'd never seen it until I was an adult.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And I swear, the scene with the Doctor's wife in the car being sucked into the ground was the most unbelievable part of the entire movie because A. She had no car keys so how was the radio playing and the headlights on? and B. Like, what kind of sand can you even walk on that a creature can suck a car into?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But that scene where Michael Gross (Doomsday prepper!) and Reba McIntyre shoot the shit out of a Tremor that broke into their basement was bad ass and lovingly unexpected for the Family Ties father.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="357" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qFNBUs7O-h4" width="429" youtube-src-id="qFNBUs7O-h4"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">In regards to the swearing, I have a funny story to tell. So, growing up watching cable, bleeping was everywhere. I was so used to it that it didn't even bother me most of the time (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't even watch cable TV anymore - is bleeping still a thing?), and there was a particular scene after Val and Earl kill their first Tremor and check it out, and Val says "I found the ass end!", and in my little 7-year old mind, I must have thought that "ass end" wasn't a swear word because it hadn't been bleeped. When my parents and I were moving to our </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">acreage</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> when I was in the 4th grade, and we were watching our mobile home trying to make it around a tight bend with a telephone pole in the way, and I said "They're having trouble with the ass-end" - yeah. I got yelled at. Worth it though.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">[As I type those words into Google Search and prepare to quickly close my screen at the potential results, I find these gems:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAL_s3qcsg3WYVbgzTQb-VZ9ep0PaEmVHDsJhdE-ConyEtVhxrgq6Hnj4acNwrE4cmINCneYvtrBC0GhbMzuiePudYBaMXcMP2hyrjPK3aDdoATqt1RMCYGEwGLlInWSDo_jaBvy0iH1_VaXOOZDeMm5-SqZd_XedbygH6CnkwcChI6d9qBGU2ME_nR_L/s1941/ass%20end.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="1941" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAL_s3qcsg3WYVbgzTQb-VZ9ep0PaEmVHDsJhdE-ConyEtVhxrgq6Hnj4acNwrE4cmINCneYvtrBC0GhbMzuiePudYBaMXcMP2hyrjPK3aDdoATqt1RMCYGEwGLlInWSDo_jaBvy0iH1_VaXOOZDeMm5-SqZd_XedbygH6CnkwcChI6d9qBGU2ME_nR_L/w640-h84/ass%20end.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">and my faith in humanity is restored.]</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All in all, it's a fun movie and if you haven't seen it, I would recommend it (maybe not highly, but I digress), maybe with a few shots of alcohol for an even better time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-23571276246821063442023-12-11T10:03:00.000-08:002023-12-11T10:03:39.340-08:00Is tech making us dumber?<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As much as society wants to shoehorn me into being a Millennial (born between 1981-1996) I feel like I belong to Generation X. Being born in 1984 meant a split between having little technology, to being at the cusp of a technological boom when it comes to cellphones and internet. True that I was young (around 8-10 years old) when we brought the internet into the home, and I had my own computer that was a hand-me-down from my dad. But prior to this, and really, for a lot of that childhood, I was still in the "play outside and ride bikes until the street lights came on". I grew up using tapes and recording songs from the radio. I used VCRs and recorded shows. I had a tape walkman and then a CD walkman when they came out.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRy7Ujl62V3bRRHah0c8L0bEG6fGx5ZMz4dG4runXAgqANolrcpuvk_slEDkUr59HPoMu5xbJ3yaH-6l3ciFTpWSXGwW0P34MTV2YRgRJg7rUOvTnBq2BvihLa_TJPbx5gsj7QWS1b-hPiV3LYXim1sKF6IZY1NnjiNiAk3dMJPA0dKH1ekws9LO4UJi9/s1024/ad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1023" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRy7Ujl62V3bRRHah0c8L0bEG6fGx5ZMz4dG4runXAgqANolrcpuvk_slEDkUr59HPoMu5xbJ3yaH-6l3ciFTpWSXGwW0P34MTV2YRgRJg7rUOvTnBq2BvihLa_TJPbx5gsj7QWS1b-hPiV3LYXim1sKF6IZY1NnjiNiAk3dMJPA0dKH1ekws9LO4UJi9/w400-h400/ad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Granted, my situation was a bit unique. I was an introverted child, quite overweight, and when we moved in 1994, it was to 5 acres away from everything and everyone. I was 30 minutes away from the town. I still played outside quite a<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhK2gjfcFVHryJWnuSMPAWK7pH5DJWZuSkayYL6wUERCxjjaWiXaVGzMk340tpON1OCwFzRfqh6h7CRuFba_O8bsY4__LQsn_GLVK8LZM9-94Z4zqjPozBOt2PzpT5ph96bKziKNnlJsuhs-yG13fciwQELFgDwDwu51eCCiv_K4Wq2W5CjBbydiAkrU1/s951/phone.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="710" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhK2gjfcFVHryJWnuSMPAWK7pH5DJWZuSkayYL6wUERCxjjaWiXaVGzMk340tpON1OCwFzRfqh6h7CRuFba_O8bsY4__LQsn_GLVK8LZM9-94Z4zqjPozBOt2PzpT5ph96bKziKNnlJsuhs-yG13fciwQELFgDwDwu51eCCiv_K4Wq2W5CjBbydiAkrU1/w149-h200/phone.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>bit, exploring the woods and taking care of my ducks, but as the internet began to grow, I grew with it. I had 28k at home, (downloading with Napster was a chore!) and 56k when I moved to the big city at 18. And I didn't get my first cellphone until about the age of 23.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">While my parents (my dad especially) kept up with technology for a while, they began to lag further and further behind. I feel as if technology, and the internet especially, has not made me more dumb. Lazy, sure. But dumber? No. Let me give you an example.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So when I was younger I wrote a lot. My creativity came out both visually and written, and I had a lot of ideas when it came to stories. Obviously when I was young, I was handwriting all of my stories, and for a while I would have my friend Mandy type them out for me because I was incredibly slow at typing and I wanted a better way to preserve my work. But as I learned to type for myself, using programs like Microsoft Word, I learned how to spell [better]. The little red squiggles under all the words I spelled wrong annoyed the hell out of me. I could have been lazy and just right-clicked to fix without ever knowing what Word was doing, but I <i>decided to learn</i> instead. This is an important distinction. Why was I always spelling 'necessary' wrong? It was so annoying! Yes, it took a <i>lot</i> of repetition to remember how to correctly spell it eventually, but without Word telling me it was wrong and why, I would have never known.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now on the flip side, the whole "you need to learn the maths because you'll never have a calculator in your pocket" hilarious argument that teachers made back in the day has me forgetting how to do even the most basic of math in my head. But to be honest, I was never good at math anyway. It's my worst subject and I hate it. I was <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/2822162692269184823/253782538374996167" target="_blank">never taught correctly how to do it in the beginning</a>, so relying on my phone to do simple tasks like tipping would probably be something I'd still be struggling with today regardless. If I was tipping without computer assistance I'd probably just get it wrong all the time. So it's much better this way lol.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the internet grew in size, scale and ability, I took full advantage. I soaked up information like a sponge. It was like a bronze age all over again. I learned and I learned some more. And I'm still learning. I see my parents stagnate as they only use the internet for the most basic of tasks like using their Mychart. I never want to be like that. I love learning; and if it wasn't for the internet it would be a much harder thing to do now that I'm out of school.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONbfdgu-NZkZwdUHvtCzj0Fqno9cjkl5jVQTYlAl1GfaM0O5GAxuudCblkDZdRkHGqmfRHIQrZ5lG6r_bHh0lMdH9VrR96stSjZlS4E9TUIdqjPeSETeLQFc3vXocf9BzyEODornd76fYopMrITr0w2cYY3zvf-uIXJV0V70eH9lsu2M1AKwq4qAVl8B1/s1045/the%20more%20you%20know.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="1045" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONbfdgu-NZkZwdUHvtCzj0Fqno9cjkl5jVQTYlAl1GfaM0O5GAxuudCblkDZdRkHGqmfRHIQrZ5lG6r_bHh0lMdH9VrR96stSjZlS4E9TUIdqjPeSETeLQFc3vXocf9BzyEODornd76fYopMrITr0w2cYY3zvf-uIXJV0V70eH9lsu2M1AKwq4qAVl8B1/w400-h176/the%20more%20you%20know.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this, tech is definitely</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> not making me dumber. However, we're also beginning a new age... the age of AI. While Baby Boomers think we're lazy and rely on technology too much in our daily lives, boy they got another thing coming when they see AI enter the chat. Things may change substantially once we as a society start using AI for things that we used to do ourselves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't want to be left behind when it comes to using AI, but I also don't have a job that would benefit from it. I'm not a computer programmer or use Exel spreadsheets. My company as a whole would benefit substantially, but I'm not working for that part of it, so it's up to them to do what they will with it and I hope they use it. For me and the basic life that I live, I'm not sure what AI has to offer. But I will keep up with it and make sure to figure out how to use it once it becomes beneficial to me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm not about to be left in the dust.</span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-18398275682204096362023-10-22T11:40:00.001-07:002023-10-22T11:40:14.822-07:00Vitamix 5200 vs Ninja <span style="font-family: verdana;">I could not find anything on youtube comparing any Vitamix blender against the Ninja Smoothie maker. The Ninja blender sure, but how does it stack up against their smoothie making system?</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had gone to Costco and bought the Ninja Power Blender Ultimate System on sale for $120 because I thought I could replace my old Ninja Blender (it's like a first gen model with the 3 different cup sizes and the motor on top with a single speed), replace my food processor, <i>and</i> add a smoothie maker. Sounded pretty neat.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcRjDXeP1gf_wS4IxTTilHp7QeW7kNgkMi7o7aDcZct_J4f8yprFqtQr-k2-5Lku6n3UzkmE02f4leifFVuy8wKW2z3Z3yCtOPQzylK1uMn4cY-GRTNu38rSTU3xViY9giNlxOrigi2GERLmXfDaWkk2Uqi9hWs0kwcUY4aY7Vpm96paGZfiH96tlCw8r/s901/Screenshot%202023-10-22%20103527.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="901" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcRjDXeP1gf_wS4IxTTilHp7QeW7kNgkMi7o7aDcZct_J4f8yprFqtQr-k2-5Lku6n3UzkmE02f4leifFVuy8wKW2z3Z3yCtOPQzylK1uMn4cY-GRTNu38rSTU3xViY9giNlxOrigi2GERLmXfDaWkk2Uqi9hWs0kwcUY4aY7Vpm96paGZfiH96tlCw8r/w640-h384/Screenshot%202023-10-22%20103527.png" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYzcrixIwMlrDVpYboApTFeQXL1kME3sYzUZhVe91Vdejj6la5LCboJORHrhPNTpEUV4XQxMTMHym_nv09eo8GldaWHX8sEvT1pT2nvCazgG2DmFosklIawjhjjG8Bzyp1XUFUSAUcaBLgfDpif8NSyDXA8kM9inWzTwCRRbG9Cvss_uGi2rggMo2g3fO/s323/jars.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="323" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYzcrixIwMlrDVpYboApTFeQXL1kME3sYzUZhVe91Vdejj6la5LCboJORHrhPNTpEUV4XQxMTMHym_nv09eo8GldaWHX8sEvT1pT2nvCazgG2DmFosklIawjhjjG8Bzyp1XUFUSAUcaBLgfDpif8NSyDXA8kM9inWzTwCRRbG9Cvss_uGi2rggMo2g3fO/w200-h196/jars.png" width="200" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, I kept looking at Vitamixes because they can also heat soup and stuff, and the Ascent series has a food processor attachment along with a smoothie cup. I won't go into too much detail for my researching but basically buying the Ascent Series, in addition to accessories, would put me into stupid debt so it wasn't a viable option, plus I kept reading about how bad the "new" jars were for small batches, and the Ascent series doesn't have a classic jar option to buy. (The low profile jar would fit under most countertop cabinets, but I don't intend on leaving my blender out on the counter 24/7 so I didn't care about that.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That left me with the classic Vitamix series (non-smart) so although it didn't have a bunch of cool features, it would blend like a champ and last me for 10-20 years so I began looking around ebay for some deals. And I found a <i>screaming</i> deal on a Vitamix 5200 with classic jar for $170. Built in 2020, was sitting in a storage unit probably its whole short life. It was unbelievable. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZU-S0h9iVMS80gBX0cFCRqxT6p0l-sjdwD7S_1f1SDkE6vWe-EV91iqT_SraQbZBKz095YwXhrtJnE9lSE_EeWW83TiA_rOBzUgMZOhMznuRH1dp8M76tsAPIM4-ukiA0lHf-a8Y1ifxc1mLWYUrsO8PywFFOEjJdnoFuWONN-3jFpCRuOBSMdmStaOZ/s2040/comp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZU-S0h9iVMS80gBX0cFCRqxT6p0l-sjdwD7S_1f1SDkE6vWe-EV91iqT_SraQbZBKz095YwXhrtJnE9lSE_EeWW83TiA_rOBzUgMZOhMznuRH1dp8M76tsAPIM4-ukiA0lHf-a8Y1ifxc1mLWYUrsO8PywFFOEjJdnoFuWONN-3jFpCRuOBSMdmStaOZ/w242-h320/comp1.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>So, onto the comparison. The recipe I used was a standard kale smoothie I found online. I wanted to use kale because it's notoriously hard to blend down so that little flecks of green stuff don't get stuck in your teeth. Who wants that?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Recipe:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 cup milk</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 frozen banana (I only had fresh)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 kale leaves, stems removed</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 cup diced frozen mango</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/2 tsp grated ginger</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">handful of ice</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bonus: this is pretty darn tasty as well</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsIK96-LgqErTOw50La19HH89IpJpfaH679VHfsLpG6X4vq6QUaBMGJchkc-ALxUmANGlu20-Ifh_ODnd1QS7zAO5k4J7aL1wFGMkk78R4vgL95bdqWDJGXzdVG3r9TkRMKhV5yqnyRBTZjwf3yxymMe54Dqt51bYmEK6CIQVuRIOoNvR25NSdri_p2T8/s2040/comp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2040" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsIK96-LgqErTOw50La19HH89IpJpfaH679VHfsLpG6X4vq6QUaBMGJchkc-ALxUmANGlu20-Ifh_ODnd1QS7zAO5k4J7aL1wFGMkk78R4vgL95bdqWDJGXzdVG3r9TkRMKhV5yqnyRBTZjwf3yxymMe54Dqt51bYmEK6CIQVuRIOoNvR25NSdri_p2T8/w640-h482/comp2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As you can see here, while the smoothie cup on the Ninja is packed to the brim, the Vitamix has plenty of room to grow. Granted, the smoothie cup is meant as a single serve on the go container, but you can't "grow up" to the using the Ninja blender for this if you wanted to make several servings at once, as it can't even come close to the Vitamix (there are plenty of examples of this on youtube).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, the Ninja is cool because it has settings for stuff like Smoothie, Extract (for like a V8 dupe), and bowl (meant for like, an Acai smoothie bowl-type consistency). The setting for Smoothie goes for 55 seconds and pulses a couple times before turning it up high to pulverize it all. So if you like to set and forget, Ninja is still a good option.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaHcjyJ1yZ-mJcKrWf-MP6rTAyoEss_xI2BOnaWkr5CMoyiM4_ejwQGuNQfL2YqEyIV-KUo9vlI5FobX0VwSv8kRfbEkmgrBPhZBnJMlMm1aCs9M0iEwwdTP6LIGNrcLzFuNc4phx_v29_LBehfDay6ZkdHsm2hsIRIha99SDnOJjdhdZJNcqpPLmgHVn/s1594/DB.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1594" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaHcjyJ1yZ-mJcKrWf-MP6rTAyoEss_xI2BOnaWkr5CMoyiM4_ejwQGuNQfL2YqEyIV-KUo9vlI5FobX0VwSv8kRfbEkmgrBPhZBnJMlMm1aCs9M0iEwwdTP6LIGNrcLzFuNc4phx_v29_LBehfDay6ZkdHsm2hsIRIha99SDnOJjdhdZJNcqpPLmgHVn/w400-h241/DB.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div>On the Left: DB of the Ninja. I was quite surprised how quiet this meter said it was - because it seems VERY loud; maybe it's just at a high pitch, I'm guessing. </div><div>On the Right: The Vitamix at "high" speed, which is higher than the "variable at 10" speed. The box around the motor seems to dampen the high pitches, so while they're comparable in DBs, it sounds quieter.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So to give the Ninja a fair shake, I also ran the Vitamix for only 55 seconds, starting at variable 1, ramping it up to 10, and then turning it on high. I did not need to pulse at all.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK453EqQGIrrj2pGh3kIcJC926O6j3P1gcnB5YC797va-u5CA5KjoZkRVpCGuLx5gkUAMctdhav4jAIOLC3_fHzDzMGJbtzQuaDhEN-wY876qlC2QCSvb1ZNs_Pd2z7OZWwfKCo6OY1VWMgesak2uI6GRAKNgDj3YifaycF2B8ZbVqb8_4WYKotk0T3B_m/s2040/ninjamix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2040" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK453EqQGIrrj2pGh3kIcJC926O6j3P1gcnB5YC797va-u5CA5KjoZkRVpCGuLx5gkUAMctdhav4jAIOLC3_fHzDzMGJbtzQuaDhEN-wY876qlC2QCSvb1ZNs_Pd2z7OZWwfKCo6OY1VWMgesak2uI6GRAKNgDj3YifaycF2B8ZbVqb8_4WYKotk0T3B_m/w640-h482/ninjamix.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div>This is the Ninja result. You can easily see flecks of kale still in the mix, and if you move your finger through it, you can feel the grittiness.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN4GyLLXun_IY-lksC6wBOVAIWm_ngPoX69IZ-xRPqZZZS_aIN8tZrV0HK0nhlZFOYLMiFtsfK5Fwv0loZ0A3U46p5K5r0wAbtrI96KnGjnDUDJe_Mk5EeHYMQ458r-VycofO4fd_dxxDz_3QnZ-YWTl5rNURdQaSc2uiZqtjOy8N1kVLJLMI7GqaRUow/s2040/vitamix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2040" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN4GyLLXun_IY-lksC6wBOVAIWm_ngPoX69IZ-xRPqZZZS_aIN8tZrV0HK0nhlZFOYLMiFtsfK5Fwv0loZ0A3U46p5K5r0wAbtrI96KnGjnDUDJe_Mk5EeHYMQ458r-VycofO4fd_dxxDz_3QnZ-YWTl5rNURdQaSc2uiZqtjOy8N1kVLJLMI7GqaRUow/w640-h482/vitamix.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The Vitamix result is lighter and smoother. I felt no grittiness when moving my finger through it.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The final test was a side by side blind drink test. The results will surprise you! All jokes aside, here's the rub. I couldn't tell the difference. I tried so hard, drinking one right after the other, and I couldn't tell until Patrick asked me to chew. When I chewed on the Ninja smoothie, I could catch the grit in my teeth, while the Vitamix had none.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So here's my final verdict on the Ninja Smoothie maker. It does a pretty darn good job all things considered. And Ninja has a lot of options in regards to buying their products. If you don't need a blender or a food processor, you can get the Ninja Twisti, which just has smoothie cups, for about $120 on Amazon. But if you also need a blender, I don't think I could recommend the Ninja; I've had mine for several years and although it's a cool product, its blending ability with those triple blades just don't cut it (haha). If you can find a really good deal on a used Vitamix, I'd go for it, especially with the versatility it brings you if you're interested in making nut butter, hummus, sauces, and yes, even hot soup.<br /><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-688381396167798552023-08-20T09:00:00.001-07:002023-08-20T09:00:00.131-07:00Bioluminescence Kayak Tour<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You guys, I am still in awe over here. Patrick and I just had the most amazing experience and I wanted to share it. I decided a couple months ago to buy tickets for a bioluminescence kayak tour up at Port Gamble. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">[A brief description of bioluminescence: </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">In the most basic sense, bioluminescence is the light emitted by a living organism through a chemical reaction happening in their bodies. Bioluminescence often happens in the ocean and in the water as this is where the most bioluminescent organisms are found</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span><a href="https://www.americanoceans.org/facts/what-is-bioluminescence/" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">This</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is a great article that also has some really cool pictures of bioluminescence].</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Something to note here: Patrick and I have never kayaked before. And our first experience was going to be at night - and a very dark night - because a new moon is the best time to see Bio, and Port Gamble was a place with very little light pollution. It was really good timing over all because we were just coming off of a pretty intense heat wave, which is great for bio tours in general, plus it was still going to be quite warm that night. We had no idea what to expect, and I was, as per usual, freaking out about it. I tend to do that when I'm walking into unknowns. Plus, I wanted to take my camera in hopes that I could capture some amazing photos [which, sad to say, I did not], and I was freaking out about capsizing and losing my camera. That was actually my biggest worry. The camera actually remained in the dry bag the entire time we were out on the water because steering and maintaining stability on the kayak was hard enough and the last thing I needed to do was fumble with an expensive piece of (not waterproof) equipment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Instead, we just decided to enjoy the experience, which I really don't do enough of. For me, pictures are great reminders of past experience. I can look at a photo I took and remember all the circumstances surrounding it. I do go back and look at my photos and fondly remember things. Living in the moment for me can be kind of difficult when I'm busy trying to capture it for later.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRPNlKBPq7HoQzOyDBfR_Zz3Geu0x57Cx03HKjT9D_bX25MKjGAUBgKUJEI6BqoyKRBW_RuRdGhUNiIZ6ItRswE87Tt5XOTFImaXOkYtwIu_b-6KrW0oPDOsx6XReQ3xUtjCpMaqZ7vIu2s6v_xOe2tDiwvOWUY-H52Vso5HRdIox-ChWOPW-L3W3an8Z/s1456/gemini.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1456" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRPNlKBPq7HoQzOyDBfR_Zz3Geu0x57Cx03HKjT9D_bX25MKjGAUBgKUJEI6BqoyKRBW_RuRdGhUNiIZ6ItRswE87Tt5XOTFImaXOkYtwIu_b-6KrW0oPDOsx6XReQ3xUtjCpMaqZ7vIu2s6v_xOe2tDiwvOWUY-H52Vso5HRdIox-ChWOPW-L3W3an8Z/s320/gemini.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So anyway, we had four guides, and their 30 second "this is how to paddle a kayak" info was really not enough to go off of. There were roughly 40 people on the tour, and probably only a handful of them have never been on a kayak before, so... yeah. Their kayaks were the double sit on top kind (yay? lol), and we were first in the water. Eep. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We sat in the water as everyone got pushed out into the bay, where we were playing bumper boats like, the whole time while waiting. The boat kept swaying and I was not at all confident that we would stay upright, but it got better with time. We were going to kayak about a mile out, staying close to shore the whole time, and then head back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To say we were slow was an understatement. Considering neither one of us knew how to paddle, and Patrick was a much stronger paddler, it took all of our concentration just to go straight. And we failed at that. A lot. But in the end it didn't matter because what we saw when we were out there was incredible. I'm going to borrow a picture from their website to show you roughly what we saw.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tVJkth5UODC2xL5J1KjtEzyRVkps8vAj2r5RmrvziVJqLSXCwuE_0C7Na7VGag3A6taFx-rLapEL_yfWxt86P7Oa50M0MhT_l8uNijdTaaedfVgonTmwty9puqPJ0XQIvLyuyDCK6kk-Bnr-IqUCP6Jg3LdpFhMvPFFMo_Z7Yv8aE18nDCn2Cn1qmrv9/s669/Bio-.jepg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="669" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tVJkth5UODC2xL5J1KjtEzyRVkps8vAj2r5RmrvziVJqLSXCwuE_0C7Na7VGag3A6taFx-rLapEL_yfWxt86P7Oa50M0MhT_l8uNijdTaaedfVgonTmwty9puqPJ0XQIvLyuyDCK6kk-Bnr-IqUCP6Jg3LdpFhMvPFFMo_Z7Yv8aE18nDCn2Cn1qmrv9/w640-h426/Bio-.jepg.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5MtO0KJ4QYUhrn3vTZlXqtfMh3dB0ggWJJtgIBjO0Kr9RHbg6_Awr1Az3EQ8k_jqTk-wa88KrTJF0-2oi8DE4jZIIeM7_4-m5IVF_PutKnVHQVrqn59UYhJ986uTGrqpurSSPP8ceT2L4hCUY97BzjDVUJzuYvP0wLamx3MOlKAxVpFrdEEFGaJqHRsW/s1024/Bioluminescence-kayak-tours.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1024" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5MtO0KJ4QYUhrn3vTZlXqtfMh3dB0ggWJJtgIBjO0Kr9RHbg6_Awr1Az3EQ8k_jqTk-wa88KrTJF0-2oi8DE4jZIIeM7_4-m5IVF_PutKnVHQVrqn59UYhJ986uTGrqpurSSPP8ceT2L4hCUY97BzjDVUJzuYvP0wLamx3MOlKAxVpFrdEEFGaJqHRsW/w640-h384/Bioluminescence-kayak-tours.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can't even adequately describe to you how beautiful it was in person. The boat itself would disrupt the phytoplankton and caused glowing waves lapping against the kayak. In some spots, it was barely visible; just pretty sparkles in the dark water, while in other spots it was bright and intense. It would disappear just as quickly as it showed - you could slap the paddle and it was gone in an instant. But that is what is so unique about choosing a kayak to see bioluminescence. Your presence in the kayak itself is enough to make them emit the light. All you have to do is move through it and enjoy.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We were in bio pretty much the entire time we were out there. It was just so amazing. The stars were so bright, the night so dark, and the glow was mesmerizing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As we made our way back, we began to get really tired. Paddling is hard work, and neither one of us have any stamina to speak of. Plus, our paddling technique (or lack thereof) was soaking our pants. But we had a great time. Even Patrick, who had started out not very excited about this endeavor, ended up enjoying it immensely. Would I do it again? You bet I would. 110 percent. And you should too. If someone with no experience in a kayak can do it, so can you! Worth every penny.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shout out to <a href="https://www.olympicoutdoorcenter.com/products/bioluminescence-tour" target="_blank">Olympic Outdoor Center</a> for doing these tours. It was fun!</span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0RCW9+R3 Port Gamble, WA, USA47.8470665 -122.582336147.754819780830786 -122.71966520156251 47.939313219169208 -122.44500699843751tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-15511081330646965472023-08-06T17:28:00.000-07:002023-08-06T17:28:03.076-07:00Olympic Wilderness Basecamp<span style="font-family: verdana;">I like to watch Evening (Magazine) for cool ideas on places to eat or visit. One that popped up recently was <a href="https://www.olympicwildernessbasecamp.com/" target="_blank">Olympic Wilderness Basecamp</a>, so I decided to make a reservation.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">OWB is about 1-1/2 hours away from home, but off the beaten path pretty substantially. I chose the weekend of the new moon to take advantage of the clear night and potentially get some Milky Way photos in. It's only about 30 minutes away from Staircase at the Olympic National Park, and about 25 minutes away from Hoodsport and Hood Canal where I would have a clear view to the south.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We left at 1pm on Sunday and I had decided to take the slightly longer route through Kitsap County instead of diving I-5 the whole way there. Turns out that was a bad idea. Thank goodness for Google Maps, because they had closed parts of Hwy 3 due to a fire, and we were being rerouted on a long detour to get around it. We sat in line waiting to turn off of Hwy 3 and luckily Google knew what was up so it was trying to reconnect us back to Hwy 3. But once we got back to the stop sign that led us back to our road, another backup had formed and we quickly learned that it was still closed. A State Trooper told us to take a different route - luckily we could still reconnect with Hwy 3 later, and Google helped us majorly in getting back on track. All in all, it only lost us about 20 minutes, so not too bad.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Review of Olympic Wilderness Basecamp</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I really liked this place. What is cool about it is that it bridges the gap between camping and a hotel. It's like glamping, but I don't think it's as fancy. There's no electricity (they do provide a Jackery battery) and no running water, but you do have your very own porta potty, and it was as clean as a whistle. I was actually quite impressed. </i></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV49FHJ6imYNGvbfR8MpYqo7KUKEfQ6xSKqLd9FXJqVD67XaMjh7eFcc-WyOu0Bqjbblbiqu75t-YjyU-_NzrL970wYbWYnotVa7A2ZLjGBjMW4SosDK0s0tdivsyserKHmbNsKPOvcfrjN3BE_V1uEpSdSJxSQl7QYMOxnbOVTSDOaTICqRQpM9K1nFyn/s1547/PXL_20230717_162242351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1547" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV49FHJ6imYNGvbfR8MpYqo7KUKEfQ6xSKqLd9FXJqVD67XaMjh7eFcc-WyOu0Bqjbblbiqu75t-YjyU-_NzrL970wYbWYnotVa7A2ZLjGBjMW4SosDK0s0tdivsyserKHmbNsKPOvcfrjN3BE_V1uEpSdSJxSQl7QYMOxnbOVTSDOaTICqRQpM9K1nFyn/w320-h241/PXL_20230717_162242351.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>There was a queen bed inside a geodesic dome, raised up on a wooden platform, with two comfy chairs and a clear plastic side with a view of the campsite and the wilderness beyond. It also comes with a wood stove for cold nights, a 2 burner propane stove for cooking, and a sparkless metal firepit. The bad news was that there was a severe burn ban in effect so we weren't allowed to use it. They had called us to let us know ahead of time (and provided free propane for the stove) which was super awesome of them. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7s5eA-NDOOBQH5OQPp7Y05TJ6m4I6SRd6v1cMb1xmEQ1vJGCylk2WkWZvejFwVn3zR1Vg6R9TOoUKCO4V3x0FqtkXsgDKVqwFzdfUAFHODqGpK3KSipyjASxoYgrSez4laKFxZ6xM6kLvsLe4dndTNe9AxvAfyl-SkEjV3n5IphUlaLxwNegZmb_HMM4f/s1547/PXL_20230717_162230729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1547" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7s5eA-NDOOBQH5OQPp7Y05TJ6m4I6SRd6v1cMb1xmEQ1vJGCylk2WkWZvejFwVn3zR1Vg6R9TOoUKCO4V3x0FqtkXsgDKVqwFzdfUAFHODqGpK3KSipyjASxoYgrSez4laKFxZ6xM6kLvsLe4dndTNe9AxvAfyl-SkEjV3n5IphUlaLxwNegZmb_HMM4f/w640-h482/PXL_20230717_162230729.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWBAzJm2KgYEZswDDcC0GdF8-AXrUI0UUsPtg3Ffniu1n0XAAAaAGQRBE8G-_V85g-gmqFHksHpz1D8YImfP1XBYN-4RJ1MUEP7gZiXNJxUp2zv-yMoZj8auWwIy7CRSyBB_oglb89ojkMbUUZQzfO6kONQafhwR_dsMiyhPpgtxugJv3p97k-Y-NzekK/s1547/PXL_20230717_162213550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1547" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWBAzJm2KgYEZswDDcC0GdF8-AXrUI0UUsPtg3Ffniu1n0XAAAaAGQRBE8G-_V85g-gmqFHksHpz1D8YImfP1XBYN-4RJ1MUEP7gZiXNJxUp2zv-yMoZj8auWwIy7CRSyBB_oglb89ojkMbUUZQzfO6kONQafhwR_dsMiyhPpgtxugJv3p97k-Y-NzekK/w400-h301/PXL_20230717_162213550.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I just love that fact that most everything was provided. It gives us urbanites the ability to camp without having to find a place to store (and pack!) tents and sleeping bags etc. They sold propane and firewood on site so you didn't have to pack that either.</i></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">They have 7 geodesic domes at the campground, and some are spaced quite far apart in order to give you plenty of privacy. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's down a very well maintained NFD (national forest development) dirt road. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">The place itself was very well hidden though, and a small sign pointing to the driveway would have been quite helpful as it's basically a 180 degree turn to get onto the driveway, and nothing but a small gate; you would think it was somebody's property because there's no sign. </span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The only other confusing thing is that there's nowhere to like, check in. I think it would be helpful if each of the domes had a sign with their names on them (We stayed in the Chinook dome) so we knew for sure we were in the right place, since there was no check in. We just kind of pulled up and started unpacking! But to their credit, they had the propane waiting for us (and then a new bottle was waiting when we got back from Staircase), so they were definitely around. Somewhere. lol</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0NndCO4AQKZvXizORfhUbJiWZUwB0ZMvBNS9HEdUNkeIWBu7cIgvhdy5r6kRAsjd3MM7_JdCi7YXnAY6y5D1IK9XoTVNTnZ7XNh03iEpnmBYUSwRMvsWjho4T-ZjzlYhXecCfPyYAEipjqNiMxLSrCiPKNwTW1EPqpSWXVVmxeDF6UOC7s_fKp6zKBCg/s1623/PXL_20230717_162025025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1623" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0NndCO4AQKZvXizORfhUbJiWZUwB0ZMvBNS9HEdUNkeIWBu7cIgvhdy5r6kRAsjd3MM7_JdCi7YXnAY6y5D1IK9XoTVNTnZ7XNh03iEpnmBYUSwRMvsWjho4T-ZjzlYhXecCfPyYAEipjqNiMxLSrCiPKNwTW1EPqpSWXVVmxeDF6UOC7s_fKp6zKBCg/w640-h482/PXL_20230717_162025025.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkDm4l7sEUtRAspTZju1ZpmuUCSsCSOi9kzji_6OtrsNVYe109akcrNrNq1hacE1Czno75mUiWe95zzdP2EpqgIoMLEuJwZzEzXFkhsw4ZWeJO1NAvtgtzvtYUBQj91xBIK8BtvBXZYXMi8tPzpOoFlbA-GTLbPOyvi9AN5rR4tko_Ho2V7WGNWmI2wS5/s1547/PXL_20230717_162123135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1547" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkDm4l7sEUtRAspTZju1ZpmuUCSsCSOi9kzji_6OtrsNVYe109akcrNrNq1hacE1Czno75mUiWe95zzdP2EpqgIoMLEuJwZzEzXFkhsw4ZWeJO1NAvtgtzvtYUBQj91xBIK8BtvBXZYXMi8tPzpOoFlbA-GTLbPOyvi9AN5rR4tko_Ho2V7WGNWmI2wS5/w640-h482/PXL_20230717_162123135.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The geodesic dome itself had no insulation, so because it was 80 degrees outside, it was probably 90 inside the dome as it retained the heat like plastic windows tend to do. Luckily that also meant that as the temperature dropped outside, it quickly dropped inside. It was about 60 during the night so that was the perfect sleeping temperature for me. The bed was memory foam and actually quite comfortable. I was very impressed with the whole set up and want to go back for sure.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5yvZN3z4iBSFmLnWCpXvbJqRruGpxNVbC84o0Nicz6YAYgE5UMOG5n86-PE_PoHnCj5exLCHRBqqrc78dc3WLxGhgG1l89oB6g-ktmH5AnS2dPXviQuhvteRQuuDvPNNdyvpgITCVdNhbkFeZrfNjAGb1xvjKRAVPenknA9XdupisOxEH-nTuvEz81Cc6/s7360/DSC00892.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7360" data-original-width="4912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5yvZN3z4iBSFmLnWCpXvbJqRruGpxNVbC84o0Nicz6YAYgE5UMOG5n86-PE_PoHnCj5exLCHRBqqrc78dc3WLxGhgG1l89oB6g-ktmH5AnS2dPXviQuhvteRQuuDvPNNdyvpgITCVdNhbkFeZrfNjAGb1xvjKRAVPenknA9XdupisOxEH-nTuvEz81Cc6/s320/DSC00892.tif" width="214" /></a></div>As soon as we got there, we set up to cook dinner, which was a tri-tip roast from Costco that was already pre-seasoned and sealed. Once we finished dinner, we headed out to Staircase to hike the 2 mile trail that followed the river. I wasn't sure if we were going to have to pay as I couldn't find any information; The hike was inside Olympic National Park but it didn't state if there was a fee because the only access to the Park was that hike and the campground itself. It was a 30 minute drive and yes, we had to pay. I didn't want to waste an hour driving back and forth again because it was already 6pm and I didn't want to lose anymore daylight. Patrick spoke to the ranger and got his permission to come back after the hike to drop off the payment info (thank goodness! The ranger was very nice).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I got some really good pics along the hike. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqM94QOv0WxgClL9AgEH4_EgLWJ_LuH_ahB4nlyxV8fhLuqpgTzqrwkJx8l7_67VLaMeiW5tSovCbnTSPe4V7pIgIw5O3ztChQz__ILx6UBNVptbrX3TiyWyT035MLdo0AWvy2vFpZMx-BS59uh-4jAqfhPQ0blUjXMtxybWB2EUGfnVjqvftMt8xlZT09/s7360/DSC00895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4912" data-original-width="7360" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqM94QOv0WxgClL9AgEH4_EgLWJ_LuH_ahB4nlyxV8fhLuqpgTzqrwkJx8l7_67VLaMeiW5tSovCbnTSPe4V7pIgIw5O3ztChQz__ILx6UBNVptbrX3TiyWyT035MLdo0AWvy2vFpZMx-BS59uh-4jAqfhPQ0blUjXMtxybWB2EUGfnVjqvftMt8xlZT09/w640-h429/DSC00895.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We took the hour to drive back and forth again to drop off payment and once we were done with that it was time for quick s'mores (on the propane stove, lolz) so that we could take a nap before heading out for milky way photos. </div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PRieO5Z6BNjrzwu7J4JMLX4x_iOk34_0751uLxteaQmiw63YxJRNgakE7-GZzW1w2jhb9FM2THgEo_3KqC2in8XyQwK8ToGEQw-eACHgoZ6y01ZYlLyQftO95y1TGI1fUpZF7S4Zs8XT6WH3FG_aVHX59f0078HlQ3s19aBmqYlRsmZ2bAOxO4pj7DHE/s6957/stack1.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6957" data-original-width="4622" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PRieO5Z6BNjrzwu7J4JMLX4x_iOk34_0751uLxteaQmiw63YxJRNgakE7-GZzW1w2jhb9FM2THgEo_3KqC2in8XyQwK8ToGEQw-eACHgoZ6y01ZYlLyQftO95y1TGI1fUpZF7S4Zs8XT6WH3FG_aVHX59f0078HlQ3s19aBmqYlRsmZ2bAOxO4pj7DHE/w266-h400/stack1.tif" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We found 2 spots along Hwy 101 for photos and I think they turned out pretty well - it was a lot brighter than I was thinking it was going to be, as the Milky Way was positioned right above a city glow.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We got back around 230 and went straight to sleep. We made a quick breakfast the next morning and headed back home around 10. We stopped at what used to be my favorite winery - Hoodsport Winery. Unfortunately, they closed production and now just sell other people's wines. They still had a lot of fruit wines though so I'm pretty excited to try the 3 that I bought. Once we were done we went straight home. It was a good trip and I'm excited to share the photos.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-47528286426225255552023-06-24T15:29:00.003-07:002023-06-24T15:29:43.529-07:00Married 6.9 ... Nice<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Patrick likes Numerology. I like boomerang jokes. When we were discussing what day we wanted to get married (I wanted it to be in summer [for reasons] so cool dates like 2/23/23 or 2/3/23 were out) the first date that popped into my head was 6/9.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk45fCrUAxvkbwoE3etr_CCMmDf0IeHl1lFhVAn0j-5WmLnE5GPEIeZbXC3jbFtlbxK7G3pYp8oiVGp6Y1eaUgjF42lC_lRkBEXVZJ37iN_sCOpe-9ImmXE_vbLg6oHlUzx3lR4E8hr7x_86n4Fx4pbXqtjAyds21GSXJk8acUespPhmejsZe96NIZKA/s589/7bh2hxw3frg31.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="589" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk45fCrUAxvkbwoE3etr_CCMmDf0IeHl1lFhVAn0j-5WmLnE5GPEIeZbXC3jbFtlbxK7G3pYp8oiVGp6Y1eaUgjF42lC_lRkBEXVZJ37iN_sCOpe-9ImmXE_vbLg6oHlUzx3lR4E8hr7x_86n4Fx4pbXqtjAyds21GSXJk8acUespPhmejsZe96NIZKA/w400-h323/7bh2hxw3frg31.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's a childish joke, but because it's been a boomerang joke on LTT for years (definition: a joke that comes back again and again), and it's reminiscent of the number 47 (when Star Trek writers decided to try and hide the #47 anywhere in the episodes that they could), I figured, why not?</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Neither one of us were keen on doing a "real" wedding (we were 1 and done with that), so getting married at the courthouse was the plan. 6/9 fell on a Friday so that was perfect. We planned on doing a small reception (aka "party") on 6/10 for a few close friends at the clubhouse of the apartment complex.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkHNFPygEIXWFE5rumTzdC4A-NwIEflM6TH86W_PVi1cG25Ty_Tx04odvCwzYD3w2sIZJqhbn0UF9uN7XNpOqPYiFgD1PdQ8U0IWEW2FWolC_QMG1dswVNs_ymOaHUfjo3WK2J4N4VFQvia7qHoYTr8Ix_s0-UckT6i-rcoFNtcZ6bjYpBA7JTKDR1RN4/s951/PXL_20230609_213514751.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="447" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkHNFPygEIXWFE5rumTzdC4A-NwIEflM6TH86W_PVi1cG25Ty_Tx04odvCwzYD3w2sIZJqhbn0UF9uN7XNpOqPYiFgD1PdQ8U0IWEW2FWolC_QMG1dswVNs_ymOaHUfjo3WK2J4N4VFQvia7qHoYTr8Ix_s0-UckT6i-rcoFNtcZ6bjYpBA7JTKDR1RN4/s320/PXL_20230609_213514751.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I didn't care to go through the whole wedding dress process. Not only did I want to keep the budget down but I wanted things simple since hardly anyone would see it anyway. I figured I could order something that I could wear more than once. I decided to order a dress online at an e-tailor called <a href="https://www.eshakti.com/" target="_blank">eshakti</a>. What's cool about them is that you can take your measurements and they can tailor the dress to you before it's shipped. You can also change some features on them like the sleeve length or dress length. It was coming from India though so the whole thing took almost two months. But, it only cost me $90 and it fit great, so win-win.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My colors were teal, silver, and white, so once the dress arrived, we matched Patrick with a light gray/silverly suit and a teal tie. I made my own bouquet using white carnations, hydrangea, and mums, along with a matching boutonniere for Patrick. I let the flowers soak in teal water in order to pick up some of that color.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrFdzeceSDL5WPWQg4WqS4vb2u_TznRdY7XdRjlpnlfCEA-sqscb_MduwdviMgBmBIBTQJPBOVDhH_4UCiHM0d6t9O8PXnEybINdaFLW5RotdXrZv76LOIKSAj3My5pQjpPOaopTIwOvBYjHQBFa-QdoUwY_8hPinVVtodqdNZs1AoiI9cGO1OtP0V9F-/s1013/PXL_20230609_004826276.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="763" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrFdzeceSDL5WPWQg4WqS4vb2u_TznRdY7XdRjlpnlfCEA-sqscb_MduwdviMgBmBIBTQJPBOVDhH_4UCiHM0d6t9O8PXnEybINdaFLW5RotdXrZv76LOIKSAj3My5pQjpPOaopTIwOvBYjHQBFa-QdoUwY_8hPinVVtodqdNZs1AoiI9cGO1OtP0V9F-/s320/PXL_20230609_004826276.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I ended up ordering the tie and my shoes on amazon because we shopped literally everywhere and could not find a matching tie color or white heels. Yet the first teal tie I ordered off amazon matched perfectly. Go figure. Grabbing some costume diamond jewelry to complete my look, we were set.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was only nervous because I had never been to a courthouse wedding so I wasn't sure what to expect. I always like to over-prepare for stuff. I invited my parents as witnesses, along with my best friend Mary and her husband and child. Dad decided to get his camera out of storage and took some pictures for the first time since his heart attack. I was really happy that my mother (and father, tbh) were able to be at my wedding after the big health scares they had.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD5DwdOYDXTsgPl5Z2suq9oI8LJ8S7-VqY-i5leWD9WTsT6ug6cKIPmUhNLqNP714LgNME4W6sXrw7NVrjluB3WglVyxCLoQcg28TakB5OG6FOUQ1SkAAN-FGwmh_tmDlwB2TEbGF8N5JVyZztS-KL1t5_GYNgKuKFXh6H2nx1BrI5jiqsWPTh8X_Aaf_/s6173/DSC00831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4469" data-original-width="6173" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD5DwdOYDXTsgPl5Z2suq9oI8LJ8S7-VqY-i5leWD9WTsT6ug6cKIPmUhNLqNP714LgNME4W6sXrw7NVrjluB3WglVyxCLoQcg28TakB5OG6FOUQ1SkAAN-FGwmh_tmDlwB2TEbGF8N5JVyZztS-KL1t5_GYNgKuKFXh6H2nx1BrI5jiqsWPTh8X_Aaf_/w640-h464/DSC00831.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUf0IxPzeLEfe8POKkqJTmEU6BxjAGyaFcWl4JBgah0ofnGVkso8OYrNy--3DiboJIE0ZMW8B_GgVjclkZsCqLuY9pou3CBK2wHDdmfStZ7ynWX60S_qrNYEj6E2tiIIocN-tD1jCj0XXaTtyuqKOMqtJ0TMdhDSzyEgZfyn3co391qszlOKJKx7GbTTlw/s1013/PXL_20230609_232637871~2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUf0IxPzeLEfe8POKkqJTmEU6BxjAGyaFcWl4JBgah0ofnGVkso8OYrNy--3DiboJIE0ZMW8B_GgVjclkZsCqLuY9pou3CBK2wHDdmfStZ7ynWX60S_qrNYEj6E2tiIIocN-tD1jCj0XXaTtyuqKOMqtJ0TMdhDSzyEgZfyn3co391qszlOKJKx7GbTTlw/s320/PXL_20230609_232637871~2.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>We set the time for 4:30 on 6/9, got our marriage license, and was told to arrive at the courthouse early because they close at 4:30. Even though I arrived in a teal and white dress, all the guards and stuff congratulated us on getting married. Oi. My parents were already waiting in the lobby, and Mary joined us outside the courtroom. It was a really simple process. The judge just asked us questions about where we wanted to stand and if we had our own vows and stuff (we did),<br /> and got the ball rolling. I had Mary take pictures with my cellphone. It went off without a hitch and turned out great. We were out of there by 5pm.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted the reception the next day to be slightly fancy so I had ordered a small wedding cake custom made with my colors (only invited about 13 people which is basically the limit for the clubhouse anyway), and a large charcuterie platter from one of my favorite restaurants called <i>Stink. </i>(I just heard that the owner sold it and I'm so sad!!). Got all of my wine from my favorite winemaker <a href="https://wynoocheeriverwines.com/" target="_blank">Wynoochee Winery</a>, and a helium tank with some white, teal, and silver balloons. </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdeL38_TxurMWiB8OQlgMMhWR2-P8MTC3MwBqt--ZT15Z-Wlig5mp8YKqsmzSKne4Pm-nubOxkyKrHKBFVVvuJPl98-e2_d4PB_uB2BdThIVdPPDFyK0k8LIid4kFFCpM8Tf8Vcfck8GrElStuQ9R73p1dopjaHyB7TMcZqpsARO1j_bJ0srFCXAa7ziq/s4912/DSC00840-Enhanced-NR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4912" data-original-width="3674" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdeL38_TxurMWiB8OQlgMMhWR2-P8MTC3MwBqt--ZT15Z-Wlig5mp8YKqsmzSKne4Pm-nubOxkyKrHKBFVVvuJPl98-e2_d4PB_uB2BdThIVdPPDFyK0k8LIid4kFFCpM8Tf8Vcfck8GrElStuQ9R73p1dopjaHyB7TMcZqpsARO1j_bJ0srFCXAa7ziq/s320/DSC00840-Enhanced-NR.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>I was going to play bride and groom games, but unfortunately none of Patrick's friends could make it. Apparently everything in the world was happening on 6/10, including the World Poker Tournament in Las Vegas so Aaron couldn't come. His other friend had just had back surgery so he couldn't make it either. (Also, Brenda's daughter was doing Prom that night so she couldn't stay long, and Kim had finals for her RN classes.) Games such as "who said this, bride or groom?" wouldn't work since only my friends could come. I did set up a "Pin the Bowtie on the Patrick" game, and gave everyone a scratch-off ticket and Brenda won the $10 Target gift card.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oh, I forgot to mention that while I was setting up, I tried to lift a case of water and threw my back out. I survived the party on oxycodone and well wishes. I couldn't wear my heels at the party or drink as much wine as I wanted to, but it still turned out well. Unfortunately that also meant that I was laid out on Sunday and Monday also so we couldn't go out to eat in Seattle like we had planned.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Overall though, it all turned out very well with no catastrophes, so I consider that a win!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSlMAqi5_tZWC8Y-9AlLQVkpD14dzzfP2lFBTWqrUUFbWvD7Hcxood-Rt9872P_QSxy1mZiJhlSaObR7_5hd1NTg_F6qdhxPRHbq9BgnhHlFnPQuQ6O8bC5h-TYfWdxq0XywJmV0BZ7kAwjjiJkzpHq9U8nqi55_TxNICe3gK_M6s42ngEQX9QVZLjl2d/s6712/DSC00847-Enhanced-NR%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4564" data-original-width="6712" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSlMAqi5_tZWC8Y-9AlLQVkpD14dzzfP2lFBTWqrUUFbWvD7Hcxood-Rt9872P_QSxy1mZiJhlSaObR7_5hd1NTg_F6qdhxPRHbq9BgnhHlFnPQuQ6O8bC5h-TYfWdxq0XywJmV0BZ7kAwjjiJkzpHq9U8nqi55_TxNICe3gK_M6s42ngEQX9QVZLjl2d/w640-h436/DSC00847-Enhanced-NR%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWVspcHwvOxyMXhnekNGsJoGraLoikRYpHWuOEudfhKmD52PZmNbKSoCLrs79UvdWIEKuWptgw-iGBxiGHClqnk3mFqTFepIRlXGyTD0QW2FUS6Xuo1XNNuMmn8WVe9-xG7u18lEm5GP_Ymg6kNiKa2d6kaeTYsBXgtT1GzaRaeLXLpW8xWEv3r9M51U5/s6416/cakeedited1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6416" data-original-width="4912" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWVspcHwvOxyMXhnekNGsJoGraLoikRYpHWuOEudfhKmD52PZmNbKSoCLrs79UvdWIEKuWptgw-iGBxiGHClqnk3mFqTFepIRlXGyTD0QW2FUS6Xuo1XNNuMmn8WVe9-xG7u18lEm5GP_Ymg6kNiKa2d6kaeTYsBXgtT1GzaRaeLXLpW8xWEv3r9M51U5/w490-h640/cakeedited1.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-84072675390719875532023-05-06T22:15:00.000-07:002023-05-06T22:15:23.375-07:00Underrated Movies: Hook<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I felt compelled to write about this after watching <i>Peter Pan and Wendy</i>, which is a movie that came out on Disney+ recently. The comments/reviews on it seemed positive so I gave it a go on a boring Saturday morning. I mean, sure, it was a good movie, but it wasn't innovative. Peter Pan has been done 100 times and the story is pretty old at this point. There wasn't anything new or different about this one. However, some of the lines reminded me greatly of the movie <i>Hook</i>. And maybe that was because they were taken from the book; I don't know, because I have never read it. But it had me reminiscing about that movie and how great it was.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-MrM4pkHtBgtVUV4IJNAgDanItTuc5vHoGWGOkT7PPCvjOFB59NjkQl_AZjEuEsy2Z3CMfAIxwGoXkpIdwRNB3JjV9UdPTiQR6qk5N_7CCF7MsBjYlujsHV1_fQIUEmMsa8NtT7bgeYAJN7dh-llu21XB999pjPqNMqONvxRG-Ul5NtiH3p8ZQlvWg/s1920/328515020_222248150178360_8814271984708305536_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-MrM4pkHtBgtVUV4IJNAgDanItTuc5vHoGWGOkT7PPCvjOFB59NjkQl_AZjEuEsy2Z3CMfAIxwGoXkpIdwRNB3JjV9UdPTiQR6qk5N_7CCF7MsBjYlujsHV1_fQIUEmMsa8NtT7bgeYAJN7dh-llu21XB999pjPqNMqONvxRG-Ul5NtiH3p8ZQlvWg/w640-h360/328515020_222248150178360_8814271984708305536_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Hook</i> was amazingly underrated in my opinion. Has it aged well? I'd say so; as a lot of Steven Spielberg movies tend to do (ie: Jurassic Park) thanks to extravagant and well built sets. The music, done up by the one and only John Williams, will never get old to me. There could not have been a better Hook than Dustin Hoffman - I compare all others to him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And Robin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I thought briefly that it would be great to be able to remake this movie with more modern stuff, but Robin Williams can never be replaced. I grew up on Robin Williams movies, and his kind will never be found again. He was truly a one of a kind, amazing man, and perfect for the role of a child who never wanted to grow up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxJsJeBnDzRkIQWRM9IPkIa3ZbKCV4SbbgBAKOrlHSIDHcfRUSOzYvN28N9GHQNhHbfEqY4cmep7u5FCixOVswycCoJq1_8o9MxpMw86uNC59tAsXDWL7w3b5fznyWEeOiU6nobXl69dHbQIWNPxS8IkKcnFVayoh3IOhK_UOCZ_pCHfklZrMVQl1rQ/s567/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="436" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxJsJeBnDzRkIQWRM9IPkIa3ZbKCV4SbbgBAKOrlHSIDHcfRUSOzYvN28N9GHQNhHbfEqY4cmep7u5FCixOVswycCoJq1_8o9MxpMw86uNC59tAsXDWL7w3b5fznyWEeOiU6nobXl69dHbQIWNPxS8IkKcnFVayoh3IOhK_UOCZ_pCHfklZrMVQl1rQ/w154-h200/download.jpeg" width="154" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The premise of this movie was very unique. About a man named Peter Banning, who is a grumpy, stuffy lawyer with no sense of humor or fun in his life. His two children get kidnapped, and it turns out it was Captain Hook who stole his kids and took them to Neverland in order to lure Peter back to his childhood home, where he had completely forgotten that he was actually Peter Pan. With the help of the Lost Boys, he begins to remember his past and how to fly and fight so that he can save his children from Hook. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">A fresh take on a childhood classic for sure.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMJPjJqj3cvV7wCzKyei5ZVDrWjFbGpy_rQt36sHUBYbuOALNOMR9fk7HVD8br7hjFJCCFyjIbaBZ3ETm9EtfkhW9D756JV2mo_pDIBoloUgJk03v6IbbYSNONWj0jhpj_NBp8JO4JLst5cZEpadgU62FlGpOzHmJIZ20zDJl9JFdCCMPonrKuC-sYQ/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMJPjJqj3cvV7wCzKyei5ZVDrWjFbGpy_rQt36sHUBYbuOALNOMR9fk7HVD8br7hjFJCCFyjIbaBZ3ETm9EtfkhW9D756JV2mo_pDIBoloUgJk03v6IbbYSNONWj0jhpj_NBp8JO4JLst5cZEpadgU62FlGpOzHmJIZ20zDJl9JFdCCMPonrKuC-sYQ/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The movie is not perfect. I do say that anytime Tinkerbell is portrayed as a jealous bitch who wants to kill Wendy is completely idiotic, (and I </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">did</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> appreciate that <i>Peter Pan and Wendy</i> did not go this route), and luckily <i>Hook</i> didn't go crazy here, but this Tinkerbell (played by Julia Roberts, whom I think was badly cast for this role) was completely strange and took away from the movie. Her love for Peter was kind of creepy to be honest.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3CQxzP8hfqVbRNnp0JfRJSkAHc9VKTz3zkFiz35kY7FsN92kxSVd_IVR0kFmccTCdm-81pBI5Bf3n1fNRMZvlIfWwXGGJ561oFUNy-ayNDiv6uKW8pkg36trpThPUjc3IpswnyMVwannGFz-tbrbxnWJs-7NY7ZXnrshTuUszfjy-2vgpZ-Ql6ae3Q/s1647/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1647" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3CQxzP8hfqVbRNnp0JfRJSkAHc9VKTz3zkFiz35kY7FsN92kxSVd_IVR0kFmccTCdm-81pBI5Bf3n1fNRMZvlIfWwXGGJ561oFUNy-ayNDiv6uKW8pkg36trpThPUjc3IpswnyMVwannGFz-tbrbxnWJs-7NY7ZXnrshTuUszfjy-2vgpZ-Ql6ae3Q/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The movie had a lot of slow parts. Hook trying to convince Peter's kids that he was a better father than Peter and trying to teach them how to be good pirates was kind of a stretch but interesting if not a tad boring. Jack switching sides was fun, and him teaching Hook and crew how to play baseball was really entertaining to watch.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One can never forget the scene where it finally clicks for Peter how to feel young at heart again, and is able to insult Rufio like only an unscripted Robin Williams can.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are a few good lines, including one scene between Hook and Smee:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: justify;">“- Smee: I've just had an apostrophe.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: justify;">- Captain Hook: I think you mean an </span><a href="https://www.moviequotes.com/topic/inspiration/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003e55; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">epiphany</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: justify;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: justify;">- Smee: Lightning has just struck my brain.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: justify;">- Captain Hook: Well, that must hurt.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But overall, I think this movie is very enjoyable and unique enough to keep you engaged. There are only so many movies in my life that I watch multiple times, and Hook is one of the rare few. If you've never seen it I would highly recommend it. Sometimes it's difficult to get into movies meant for children, but if you don't mind it, it's a good watch for sure.</span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-66825546189048647962023-05-05T09:57:00.001-07:002023-05-05T09:57:24.755-07:00Raising Awareness of PVCs... again?<span style="font-family: verdana;">If you are unfamiliar of my original blog post, it's <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/preview/2822162692269184823/7137117717724824264" target="_blank">here</a>, and it kind of explains what a PVC is.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is more of an update post because I had gone to the ER back on 4/13 for frequent PVCs. This was a little bit different than last time. It started on Wednesday evening 4/12, in which I began having PVC "events". In the world of PVCs this is not abnormal, but I was fairly concerned. What would happen is when my heart began an event and I would put my fingers on my neck to track my pulse, it would go something like this:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Beat/pulse</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Beat/pulse</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Beat/_____</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Repeat about 5 times. The heart would reset itself, but then 10-15 minutes later, another event would happen. This went on throughout the night which became concerning to me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The PVCs I was having back when I wrote my original blog post were more disturbing because my heart would go: beat/____, beat/____, a few times in a row, which feels a lot more like a panic attack or a heart attack and was a horrible feeling. If this kind of PVC lasts more than a few seconds, it can become V-tac, or Ventricular Tachycardia which requires a call to 911. Luckily, V-tach/V-Fib are two shockable (with paddles) types of heart attacks.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEjbe-OxKdeSv1oTSZn6U3Ewh8g7Gjm1DMi3fh_m7pnPszDZGu8hmHjRphbUYF_zxgMSrRKJ9yK9am8vCTsXuegz-NWUIX4Xun9N9yBuNTFjVCKeinmX3pcQtJ3I3dSw5E1LdN-JS6IHg6lppGRdACD1MN0jdi8DltMALwpL6Y9oOApJvzmB8BFYpBg/s851/Capture.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="851" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEjbe-OxKdeSv1oTSZn6U3Ewh8g7Gjm1DMi3fh_m7pnPszDZGu8hmHjRphbUYF_zxgMSrRKJ9yK9am8vCTsXuegz-NWUIX4Xun9N9yBuNTFjVCKeinmX3pcQtJ3I3dSw5E1LdN-JS6IHg6lppGRdACD1MN0jdi8DltMALwpL6Y9oOApJvzmB8BFYpBg/w640-h506/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://avive.life/blog/shockable-vs-non-shockable-heart-rhythms">https://avive.life/blog/shockable-vs-non-shockable-heart-rhythms</a>/ </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Side note: if you are familiar with medical dramas, you have probably seen doctors try to use paddles on a non-beating heart. Defibrillators are named exactly for what they do - when your heart is in a fibrillated state, they send a shock to correct the error in the rhythm. You can not do this when your heart is in PEA (pulseless Electrical Activity) and Asystole (aka, "flatline").</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, so I had decided by morning to go to the urgent care to be evaluated because the events hadn't stopped. I figured they might be able to monitor my heart rhythm or send me home with a 24 holter monitor or something. I was first in at 8am but realized quickly that they could do nothing. They advised I go to the ER so they can properly monitor my heart.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had no other worrying symptoms like chest pain, dizziness, or SOB, but I just wanted to make sure my heart was okay, so I went in. Luckily, it wasn't super busy and we only ended up waiting about 30 minutes. I even got a "room" with patients separated by a curtain. Certainly better than the hallway, I suppose.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">They drew blood to make sure my electrolytes were ok (I was still unintentionally fasting at this point so that's cool), did an EKG which showed nothing because its only about a 6 second picture, and hooked me up to their heart monitoring machine.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The PVCs continued in the couple of hours I was there, and the funny thing is that when I was checking in I told them I was having what I "thought were PVCs" but not being an actual medical professional I didn't want to sound like a know-it-all, but when the doctor saw the monitor he was like, "You were right, you're having PVCs".</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, they basically said that because my heart was still pumping blood effectively, there wasn't really anything to be concerned about or anything they were able to do while I was there. They just warned me about calling 911 if it turned into V-Fib or V-Tach, and they were going to hook me up to a fancy new wireless holter monitor called a Zio XT. I was apparently their guinea pig that day because this was the first time the ER was going to hookup a patient with it. It was all so new that the Epic system wasn't even fully integrated with it yet so it took them much longer to set me up and make sure it was working before releasing me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Besides being a little itchy under the diode, it's fairly unobtrusive, and with no wires, a lot easier to manage. I wore it for 14 days and was even be able to shower with it on without a problem, which was pretty neat. I got my results back very quickly (The PVCs only lasted for a total of about 24 hours, so the rest of the 14 days was fairly normal), and turns out I was having PVCs <i>and </i>PACs, so that's cool <i>/s</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have no idea what happens now, I'm assuming nothing because it's not really something anyone <i>can</i> do. There's no point in putting me on a medication when my heart isn't constantly going nuts. I'll write and update if that changes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-36200459528740100132023-03-21T13:42:00.126-07:002023-03-21T13:42:00.187-07:00It's Daisy Day<span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been a year since we decided to put our Daisy kitty down. I have to admit, sometimes I still feel guilty about making the call to euthanize her. I had watched so many youtube videos on "when is the right time?" or "Did I do this too soon?" trying to decide what to do and when.</span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wQldpVl8qzX7W4NgZo-HpBLFHlNkLy0wNuSSby2BzVUUzfLzsNjEq2PH3ZLAm0kzpUzk_hdC_vja__nE85Wvnw6Qa_cryfgoIZ2BrF260rYs3XmxkVttqJtTprUAmM1Kajvhd4e_k9jhJ1ulrZqbWLx73-U0x0lBUObtKcCZ0mH2An7ucHhRNIAbiQ/s479/daisy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="479" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wQldpVl8qzX7W4NgZo-HpBLFHlNkLy0wNuSSby2BzVUUzfLzsNjEq2PH3ZLAm0kzpUzk_hdC_vja__nE85Wvnw6Qa_cryfgoIZ2BrF260rYs3XmxkVttqJtTprUAmM1Kajvhd4e_k9jhJ1ulrZqbWLx73-U0x0lBUObtKcCZ0mH2An7ucHhRNIAbiQ/w400-h285/daisy1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">They say it is one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make. They aren't kidding when they say that. With cats, I can say it's even harder. Daisy had cancer. It started as a lump under her armpit that we excised without running a pathology on it. As the lump was growing, I knew it was bad news though because it was hard, red, and oozing in 3 different spots. Without running a pathology on it we couldn't be sure, but it certainly acted like cancer. When it grew back, we did an x-ray and that confirmed it had spread to her lungs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The lungs are the absolute worst place for growths like this. So many bad things could go wrong so quickly without us being there or having time to help. She could end up SOB, or not breathing at all. I was scared. And cats are notorious for hiding their pain and discomfort. Neither one of us really knew how much pain she was in, and that was the hardest part.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxmVNIYoUYc1T_A53xnpJP0NGJ3nj_VIQbvyt0eC8rU8IGAlu8mSykG4_fXTUQR5_ZlOVg7qa6n_iVuYc_XL6kBQCxDxvcEuUo2FO41YRiItrsHRFSkNBUC73iU6Z4kdn6f4QeWSvoGJACxDpFe4m3Xb9tXbOLjAjHQvkUasgEGLIpkZ-uCafCX-U9Q/s568/daisy4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxmVNIYoUYc1T_A53xnpJP0NGJ3nj_VIQbvyt0eC8rU8IGAlu8mSykG4_fXTUQR5_ZlOVg7qa6n_iVuYc_XL6kBQCxDxvcEuUo2FO41YRiItrsHRFSkNBUC73iU6Z4kdn6f4QeWSvoGJACxDpFe4m3Xb9tXbOLjAjHQvkUasgEGLIpkZ-uCafCX-U9Q/s320/daisy4.jpeg" width="317" /></a></div>We were already giving her gabapentin for her arthritic pain. She was throwing up nearly every day so we were giving her anti-nausea medication. She basically stopped eating, so we were giving her an appetite stimulant. She was still grooming. Still able to use her litter box. But when we looked at her and watched her, we knew things were bad and getting worse. The hospice vet had given her a ketamine shot, which felt like a miracle drug. It made Daisy do a complete 180. She was like a new cat. She was hungry, she was eating. It was amazing. But it only lasted a couple of weeks. It just seemed to show how much she was actually suffering.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The choice to (and when to) euthanize is a personal decision linked to each experience. We both knew she didn't have much time left, but we didn't know when the right time would be. I expressed my worst fear of both of us being gone at work when Daisy suddenly can't breathe and needs help, and we come home to find her gone and that she had suffered alone without her humans. Or maybe it happens when we're there, but we have to rush her to the emergency vet. Maybe they put her on a ventilator but basically tell us that we need to put her down, and now she's in a scary place and we're doing this so quickly without us being prepared. I couldn't live with either one of those scenarios. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01P0vB4T2sBSL3Myej2n39OOhbchYaDMGHbUnjFun6on7F_FSk2KfwnstWQ2HYiHYBj3WlWuOOI8j8htDLe0A4ZhcrJqYPQvHbgqNqT6S9i6mvW9P6FB-gzHqxxnL1o0FOo_tC222_w5GoQBgdahd3pmnNshX2UkFf396BwJKXV9YjXavDnb51GghgQ/s1856/daisy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1856" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01P0vB4T2sBSL3Myej2n39OOhbchYaDMGHbUnjFun6on7F_FSk2KfwnstWQ2HYiHYBj3WlWuOOI8j8htDLe0A4ZhcrJqYPQvHbgqNqT6S9i6mvW9P6FB-gzHqxxnL1o0FOo_tC222_w5GoQBgdahd3pmnNshX2UkFf396BwJKXV9YjXavDnb51GghgQ/w640-h360/daisy2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course it still felt wrong to make this decision at all. With dogs, a lot of the time you can see the light go out of their eyes. Maybe they become less active. Maybe they hoble or whimper. Maybe they won't play anymore. Dogs are so expressive. Cats feel like trying to decipher hieroglyphs. And Daisy was never my cat... I took care of her, but Patrick knew her for I think 10-12 of her 18 years. I was barely a blip for her lifespan.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PWP5Lx0VbE6eriwN0XeKfL0wh8sh_5a8Kqi754ssfFxAdzKB3rjB6vBff7flbVJ8tsTY3YEETkRKglosVzHbYcqPLm8N-2WUGE2Xvj1xUz7EEQqNuwr_rtnkhO5ttloZP1O9iaqdOk_Xz5mRQaKsncfQ-wr_RdTDaezXWFvGSYrxPg8c5S1-R1-IZQ/s1133/daisy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="929" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PWP5Lx0VbE6eriwN0XeKfL0wh8sh_5a8Kqi754ssfFxAdzKB3rjB6vBff7flbVJ8tsTY3YEETkRKglosVzHbYcqPLm8N-2WUGE2Xvj1xUz7EEQqNuwr_rtnkhO5ttloZP1O9iaqdOk_Xz5mRQaKsncfQ-wr_RdTDaezXWFvGSYrxPg8c5S1-R1-IZQ/s320/daisy3.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>I didn't want to wait until it was "too late". I watched videos of cats with kidney disease.... just wasting away. Losing weight, not eating, sleeping all day, no grooming or playing. I didn't want that for Daisy. We knew she was in pain, but she was a tough girl and it was hard to know how much. I still feel guilt about thinking it was too soon. It's been a year and I don't think that feeling will ever go away. There's always going to be that "what if we had waited?" Sometimes you have to remember quality over quantity. And were we waiting for her, or for us? That's the hardest question to answer. I didn't want to avoid putting her down because of our selfish want for her to be here longer. No matter how you faced it, it was hard to justify either decision.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the end, we knew she had lived a long, fruitful life. We took care of her the best as we could. We gave her all the pets and all the love. We euthanized her in her home, with her humans and her favorite things. And the worry about her dying alone evaporated because she had gone the best way we knew how. All the suffering she had endured was over. All that is left is her ashes, her pictures, and our fond memories. And that will have to be enough.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-12455307260142031882023-02-06T09:18:00.003-08:002023-02-06T09:18:39.700-08:00It wasn't alcohol intolerance! <p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't know if you want to call me a hypochondriac, but at least I'm logical about it. I usually don't message my provider regarding symptoms I'm having unless I have a logical guess about what is going on. And yes, sudden alcohol intolerance didn't make any sense, but I wasn't sure what else it could be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Turns out, it could be hypoglycemia. Now, I'm not diabetic, but I was taking Ozempic at the time for weight loss, and I was on 2mg (2ml? I don't know) of it, which is about double what a normal diabetic would take for their disease. During the last year or so, I had slowly been increasing my dose to reduce symptoms like diarrhea or gas or abdominal pain. So, drinking at the beginning, I either had no symptoms or very little (such as what I would dub the "wine headache") and that's when I had stopped drinking for several months because I didn't feel good after drinking while all the while, increasing my Ozempic dose.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So when I finally decided to partake around the holidays, I felt really crappy. I had read that Ozempic and alcohol together might lower my blood sugar, but I wasn't putting two and two together because the last time I'd drank it wasn't nearly this bad. But I was also taking a much lower dose at the time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Turns out alcohol intolerance and hypoglycemia have a lot of the same symptoms, including shaking, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm just angry that had I known it at the time, I could have had a spoonful of sugar and felt better! Ugh!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXTewKFYM0K2R7f4pmLv5CYd5mZSrOYGOJV9Xy0DtgIPUi1GSObvbmylH3IgXv_UyDf-fE_TA1jJGcoxiNxCjRLOMOsEUugtRl9iqGHcvflctFRtNpYzZSbS1gPY_yaA4bqlR4ZalU4BjZy2ANEAJhVtwDjkL_tsXBSejpHw7Ndq4Vfq_tI9NbAWjiA/s562/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="562" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXTewKFYM0K2R7f4pmLv5CYd5mZSrOYGOJV9Xy0DtgIPUi1GSObvbmylH3IgXv_UyDf-fE_TA1jJGcoxiNxCjRLOMOsEUugtRl9iqGHcvflctFRtNpYzZSbS1gPY_yaA4bqlR4ZalU4BjZy2ANEAJhVtwDjkL_tsXBSejpHw7Ndq4Vfq_tI9NbAWjiA/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Now this song is stuck in my head. Goody.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had figured this out because shortly after the holidays were over I had stopped taking my Ozempic; mainly because it wasn't doing much for me anymore, which is depressing in and of itself because I didn't think this was something my body could or would "get used to" like all the other medications I had tried. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">AND YET - obviously it was doing <i>something</i> because it was causing hypoglycemia when I drank. The F, yo. But I had tested the drinking waters after I'd stopping taking it and guess what - no more symptoms. I was perfectly fine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My PCP probably hates me. Have you ever heard the idea that doctors make the worst patients? Like, at least doctors went to medical school. I didn't. I just have basic anatomy knowledge (and way too much GYN cancer knowledge), so I'm probably an even worse patient, as this misdiagnosis can attest to.</span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-54786492495483214702022-12-28T10:34:00.004-08:002022-12-28T10:34:44.522-08:00Raising Awareness of Alcohol Intolerance <span style="font-family: verdana;">At this point, my "Raising Awareness" series of blog posts is getting rather long. I'll post links to all the others at the bottom of this post.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Really, the only reason I'm writing this one is that the symptoms of alcohol intolerance can be the same as a person with a hangover (some differences I'll get into in a bit), so I think that there could be a number of people out there thinking they're just suffering from a hangover when it's actually an alcohol intolerance. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6zr4kF4RZbtFHB-P9g8I7Ffg2Qj8YRg3_m3PaoFebw2bZjugETy7tGlhSGQ3cznvKq-N_e-VcT9wEs8U76sGEiR3N1KDNGPiyu-9zwuBZacbzsW-Hp2EoeOPmVCJWbzPkJC84z-ybhCsfpDczJoEpqbrzuXvb7gR8ZoAijsqRKNgpjt0AcuBcAEv2Q/s360/people-celebrating-party_53876-14410.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="360" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6zr4kF4RZbtFHB-P9g8I7Ffg2Qj8YRg3_m3PaoFebw2bZjugETy7tGlhSGQ3cznvKq-N_e-VcT9wEs8U76sGEiR3N1KDNGPiyu-9zwuBZacbzsW-Hp2EoeOPmVCJWbzPkJC84z-ybhCsfpDczJoEpqbrzuXvb7gR8ZoAijsqRKNgpjt0AcuBcAEv2Q/w400-h266/people-celebrating-party_53876-14410.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, on the one hand, I know two people personally who have the kind of alcohol intolerance that comes up most when you google symptoms, which is basically a "red, flushed face", and potentially hives. That, to me, sounds like an allergic reaction and should really be classified under "alcohol allergy". They are not the same thing. An allergy is an immuno-reaction to a substance, while an "intolerance" is generally classified as a gastrointestinal reaction. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was the exact same thing with my avocado intolerance. I was getting stomach cramps, not anaphylaxis. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are also articles out there that tend to point out that alcohol intolerance is <i>only</i> genetic, which is obviously not the case. Sure, like lactose intolerance, Asians seem to get the worst of it by also genetically not having the enzymes to break down alcohol. It is definately possible to be born with it. But, like with my avocados, you can develop it over time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2aQUhCAcs84k7OTDhNRhg_WNX6CVdrVGpjrnIhQa1yLWu8LpE31O11zK6ALVtLRt2ZEYhApMAxW2qNoesVeoWCGLjBXxWj_t2Mv2SiDfXIhCsapq-3oQJlV_NGn0ZHogx6GsomSsGnrcdiRmbRXF4EteT2ACrfgEAlwapAY1DifPVotHkXyxi9_bYQ/s400/Man-who-is-hungover-400x334.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="400" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2aQUhCAcs84k7OTDhNRhg_WNX6CVdrVGpjrnIhQa1yLWu8LpE31O11zK6ALVtLRt2ZEYhApMAxW2qNoesVeoWCGLjBXxWj_t2Mv2SiDfXIhCsapq-3oQJlV_NGn0ZHogx6GsomSsGnrcdiRmbRXF4EteT2ACrfgEAlwapAY1DifPVotHkXyxi9_bYQ/s320/Man-who-is-hungover-400x334.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other symptoms of alcohol intolerance include headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diahrrea. Sounds a lot like a hangover, doesn't it? So the difference between the two is the amount of time it takes to develop symptoms. For someone with an intolerance, it could take less than an hour to begin to feel shitty, even when you only had a small amount of alcohol. My intolerance developed over the course of several months (because I did go many months without drinking any alcohol at all due to the fact that I didn't feel good). I would drink a glass of wine, get what's known as a "wine headache", and not even feel a buzz. That's the main difference between these two - <i>I don't get</i> <i>drunk, I just get sick. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But lately, it's gotten even more unpleasant. Now I check almost all the boxes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">People with alcohol intolerance can't process alcohol in the normal way. Generally, this is what happens when you drink alcohol:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) metabolizes the ethanol (that's the type of alcohol in alcohol) into toxic acetaldehyde. From there the liver enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) metabolizes acetaldehyde into acetate, a less toxic compound that breaks down into water and carbon dioxide."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So essentially, my liver is not making, or making enough of, ALDH because it's the toxic actaldehyde that is causing my body to feel sick. And that is certainly worrisome, as the word "toxic" is being thrown in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have a couple options to explore in pill or liquid form which might help my liver matabolize some of the alcohol if I wish to partake, but really the only cure is to no longer drink alcohol. Well, it only took 3+ years of not eating avocado before my body reset, so maybe I can do the same with alcohol. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oh boy. Wish me luck.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My Raising Awareness series:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2012/03/raising-awareness-of-dyspareunia.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2012/03/raising-awareness-of-dyspareunia.html" target="_blank">Dyspaurunia</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2012/12/raising-awareness-of-gallstones.html" target="_blank">Gallstones</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2013/08/raising-awareness-of-bah-whatever_1144.html" target="_blank">Blepharitis</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2017/01/raising-awareness-of-pvcs.html" target="_blank">PVCs</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2019/12/raising-awareness-of-bam.html" target="_blank">BAM</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-36910085445154213042022-12-06T10:27:00.003-08:002022-12-06T10:27:41.256-08:00Fintech Banks<p><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #cccccc;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Define Fintech: </span><span style="font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Fintech refers to </span><span style="font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">the integration of technology into offerings by financial services companies</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> in order to improve their use and delivery to consumers.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">I am all in in Fintech banks (aka neobanks), but they are just as bad as Uber, Grubhub and the like. If you follow financial news at all (which I don't, but I still hear about this stuff), apps like Uber, where they base their business on an app and then employ people to maintain it, bleed money out the wazoo. They stay afloat only by convincing investors to give them money, and then bleed it all away because the costs are too high to maintain. All apps are like this, and Fintech Bank apps seem to be no exception. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">I used to be a regular bank user, and even though I always maintained a good balance, never went overdraft etc, the fees they charge are nuts. If you go below a minimum balance; if you don't do direct deposit; if you overdraft etc etc. I actually left Wells Fargo in my early 20s after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/business/dealbook/wells-fargo-fined-for-years-of-harm-to-customers.html" target="_blank">scandal</a> of their team members signing people up for accounts they never asked for in order for them to meet quotas. Plus, they were all up in the housing market crash. Banks are shady as shit.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">But now I understand why. I found an online bank called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_(bank)" target="_blank">Simple</a>. It was revolutionary. It wasn't just a website that showed your balance and maybe the last few things you bought. It had <i>features.</i> Features I didn't even know I needed. Like Expenses and Goals. I could automate my paycheck and put $300 per paycheck into an Expense folder and my bills would come out of it instead of my spending money. I could send a % per paycheck into specific goals to save up for things. (Which, I use for just about everything. I save up all year to pay my car tabs, which can be like $400 for a new car). It gave me budgeting tools, which admittedly I never used, but it was cool that they were there. It would automatically catrogorize everything I bought, like Groceries or Gas, and then you could look them up to see how much you spent on each catagory, and set a limit if you wanted to. It also had immediate notifications; every time I bought something, within seconds I could get a notification of the transaction. It really came in handy once when I was sitting on my couch at home and got a notification that I had spent $20 at a gas station in West Virginia. Um, no?? And I was immediately able to pause/cancel my card in the app and get sent a new one. The amount of things it could do was crazy and I loved it. But not only that, fees were non-existant. They didn't charge overdraft, or low balance, or any of those things.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: #eeeeee; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1V7KdfD1PPNo5g0SdJqIQcGAMAJ4hq2Uyq3H5ybEqaGJ8S2Ce5GHzp0Z4LDSntzvE10mg3bK5EHoopN3n2rr6jm7ZYyUYWxBMLGXbG1E4vvkpXsiqw0P3KcaK6zEMhYY35Bj0iCGX1tVGM3FT65GlkbEzo_KUo5fNU3xfzbT_2eKIw4iZcjNfpoqZw/s805/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="728" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1V7KdfD1PPNo5g0SdJqIQcGAMAJ4hq2Uyq3H5ybEqaGJ8S2Ce5GHzp0Z4LDSntzvE10mg3bK5EHoopN3n2rr6jm7ZYyUYWxBMLGXbG1E4vvkpXsiqw0P3KcaK6zEMhYY35Bj0iCGX1tVGM3FT65GlkbEzo_KUo5fNU3xfzbT_2eKIw4iZcjNfpoqZw/w361-h400/Capture.JPG" width="361" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: #cccccc;"><span>But then, the worst happened. Simple was bought about by </span><a href="https://www.bizreport.com/reviews/bbva-bank" target="_blank">BBVA</a><span>.</span><br /><span> They were shutting their doors and giving people a chance to either switch, or get integrated into BBVA. During this impending doom, you will find many articles that sprang up - if you google "what banks are like Simple?" because people wanted a good alternative since Simple was so cool. </span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">I decided to give BBVA a chance, since I wasn't sold on any of the alternatives that I read about. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/9/22427811/simple-bbva-transition-errors-bank-shutdown" target="_blank">But it was a horrible transition</a>. Not only did they have many issues with Simple customers, but they were just a traditional bank that had fees and no features. I jumped ship as soon as I could. I found a neobank called <a href="https://www.supermoney.com/reviews/checking-accounts/douugh-bank-account" target="_blank">Douugh</a>, and waited for almost a year for them to get an Android app before switching over. (Apparently there's a monthly fee now?! I had no idea; I am assuming grandfathered accounts like mine aren't being charged.)</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">But I am so done with them. I think they're gonna go under soon. They had features that they then took away (Like Peer2Peer instant transfers between Douugh users), features they promised to add a year ago and still haven't (like mobile deposit; anticipated December 20<b>21</b>) and are beginning to have issues with their app that are driving me nuts. My money is literally stuck; since I began using them I have never been able to connect with my other bank, BECU, to be able to transfer funds into it. I have never been able to use Zelle to pay Patrick, I even just signed up for Venmo but I get an error every time I try to send someone money. They still haven't added mobile deposit so if I ever get a check for something I have to deposit it into BECU, which is completely unnacceptable. If I didn't still have BECU I'd have no way to get that money into my account.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">I finally decided enough was enough. Even though transfering banks is awful, I just had to find something else. But the problem was Fintech. Simple went under because they bled money, just like Douugh is bleeding money. Just like I read <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/varo-bank-run-funds-by-year-end" target="_blank">Varo</a> is bleeding money. <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/chime" target="_blank">Chime</a> had many complaints and attracted the attention of state regulators. As many as are available now, they're all pretty much in trouble. And I didn't want to sign up for another one just to have them go under like Simple did.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVUnMc1e68XM0yqc1VoXALlz0JOmMu_1U6lZLG9q6_AmeWgLUi1cW0__pgcgPe6622JUt0wG7vxesxzOSt53vcGoDO7Lp6oykHZZx5IPS8TOhD2caNHsBkCyMormKatfa7SQn9bZtOqPEyOacu-_KF94sGfDwELUBimiedC_SFvhv-aYqTWl7vW58Sg/s1440/whoa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="1440" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVUnMc1e68XM0yqc1VoXALlz0JOmMu_1U6lZLG9q6_AmeWgLUi1cW0__pgcgPe6622JUt0wG7vxesxzOSt53vcGoDO7Lp6oykHZZx5IPS8TOhD2caNHsBkCyMormKatfa7SQn9bZtOqPEyOacu-_KF94sGfDwELUBimiedC_SFvhv-aYqTWl7vW58Sg/w640-h250/whoa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click <a href="https://fintechnews.ch/virtual-banking/neobank-challenger-bank-maps-showcase-boom-in-digital-banking/44325/" target="_blank">here</a> to read the article on neobanks<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I had to find something that not only had all the features I wanted, like Goals (or Jars, or Vaults, or Envelopes... every app calls them something different), but had maybe been around for a while and still had traditional bank features, such as credit cards, a line of credit, loans etc. Because then that is something else they can make money off of and not just interchange/transaction fees like traditional Fintechs.</span></span></div><p><span style="background-color: #444444; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana;">Enter <a href="https://www.sofi.com/banking/" target="_blank">SoFi</a>. You may have heard of them; they own a stadium in Los Angeles. They have a lot of traditional bank stuff, but the app is also feature rich. I'm really hoping I'm going to like this one because I'm getting tired of jumping ship and having to switch all my stuff around. I'll let you know how it goes!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-56414722980500792622022-11-14T15:06:00.002-08:002022-11-14T15:06:48.438-08:00MOVING!!!!<span style="font-family: verdana;">I didn't want to write this until after the deed was done. I moved on 11/10 from place that<span> was nice but way too small for two people. I felt incredibly cramped after Patrick moved in, especially because his computer was set up at the dining room table when our place didn't even technically have a dining room (It was a part of the living room that I cut in half using chairs and hung a pendant light in order to make it into a seperate space). Nor did it have laundry in the unit, which I had gotten used to over the years but was still irritating when I had to wash more than just my weekly load.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>[Side note: When the pandemic started, quarters became very scarce because people stopped using cash. Places where I could normally buy a roll of quarters for the laundry machines no longer had them, and my bank didn't have tellers (BECU) except for the branch all the way up in Tukwila. So every few months we would buy like $100 worth of quarters so we wouldn't have to make several trips. I had tried to cut a deal with the Landlord to buy back the quarters in the laundry machines when they went to empty them but no dice.]</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The place I was at was old, but it was still decent. However, rent kept (and keeps) going up, and it quickly became more than the place was worth. I quickly became enamoured with this new place that had only been built 5-6 years ago. I thought it had been way too expensive but with Patrick's new job it was a real possibility to move to it. The issue was that they had a waiting list - 2-3 months. You would have to apply 3 months before you lease ended in hopes they would have a place come availible when you were due to move out. It was a real roll of the dice. When I applied, I guessed wrong on the lease end date. 9 months from our last sign was 11/30/22. I figured it would round to 12/1/22, but instead it rounded to 11/1, so I was a month off, and would probably end up paying months worth of $200 month-to-month fees on top of rent while waiting. I got really lucky though - I received a call from the landlord of the new place that said a unit had become available and no one ahead of me on the list could take it because their leases weren't up yet. Did we want it?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>UM, HELL YES.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, their move out was 10/31 and the unit would not be ready until 11/10. So I ended up having to pay a full month's rent at the old place, PLUS the $200 month-to-month fee (for 10 days!) and then all of their move in costs. I probably could have put a damn down payment on a house with as much as we shelled out this month. But now that we're officially moved in, it was so worth it. I still have some unpacking to do, but the majority of it is done.</span></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYDBJdg1Gyem4edeZwzRW7Bhqw0_nI5cmyJFAjGBFkIKjPhkLCYSfvRTgVi81VE1JD7CmQIN2lCCTe6OEL3T3sFmykjAPPrZY6Dv60DjD-Eoohfl2m47xPvzztTlZCdhx1NSAPKQG6e7RyHxI_PXRhk_Dau7uPvHT8kfCt_3cJR5rHa0qyJsPvksEPA/s4096/IMG_20221113_201625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYDBJdg1Gyem4edeZwzRW7Bhqw0_nI5cmyJFAjGBFkIKjPhkLCYSfvRTgVi81VE1JD7CmQIN2lCCTe6OEL3T3sFmykjAPPrZY6Dv60DjD-Eoohfl2m47xPvzztTlZCdhx1NSAPKQG6e7RyHxI_PXRhk_Dau7uPvHT8kfCt_3cJR5rHa0qyJsPvksEPA/w640-h480/IMG_20221113_201625.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've never lived in a place this nice in my entire life. Two bed, two bath (I didn't really care to have another whole bathroom but they don't have 2-bed 1 bath units). It has quartz countertops with under-counter sinks. The doors aren't cheap and crappy like in most apartments. The laminate wood floors are great and even the carpet is very plush and soft. The washer and dryer are stackable but actually nice. I've never been in an apartment that doesn't just cheap out on all the appliances. I lived at one place that had the maintenance guy tasked with fixing all of the old appliances; I had the dryer break, the water heater bust, and the fridge die TWICE while I lived there. (They had the nerve to get angry with me when I called the "fire, flood or blood" maintenance line over the weekend for the busted fridge because all of the freezer food was spoiling and I tried to fit everything from the fridge into a chest cooler.) ANYWAY, I digress.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've never been on the first floor before. It's so weird. I'm so used to the privacy and security of being on the top floor of apartment units. I'm a huge privacy nerd; it runs in the family. I grew up on 5 acres in the middle of nowhere where you didn't have to bother locking your car doors or leaving the windows open. Even when at the old place and I was on the top floor, where I was right on top of the main walkway through the complex so I added trelis fencing on the balcony to block people's view of my living room. Now I'm on the first floor facing the parking lot on the main walkway to the mailboxes and garbage. I'm glad neither one of us cares much about natural light because we will have the shades and curtains drawn 24/7 lol. We also have our own office for the computers, now!! Something I've always wanted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSoRPo5otR6dfQQoZB48oNl1zVH0rWgD_uQZLjupskx1gTebOITTQYZgUdsvHMzeWzpaBMSIxOeVZ2kNz44urP3qi9_2Zcia2jjW4KHbZl6KT-0n-uUDMq0NZX4Fx1HniWLJORwK3TUhG4xQ0gJ2EZ03OD30IdHt_RW8DTnWHhnvKU9OjhoIVjNCYuA/s4000/IMG_20221113_190815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3008" data-original-width="4000" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSoRPo5otR6dfQQoZB48oNl1zVH0rWgD_uQZLjupskx1gTebOITTQYZgUdsvHMzeWzpaBMSIxOeVZ2kNz44urP3qi9_2Zcia2jjW4KHbZl6KT-0n-uUDMq0NZX4Fx1HniWLJORwK3TUhG4xQ0gJ2EZ03OD30IdHt_RW8DTnWHhnvKU9OjhoIVjNCYuA/w640-h482/IMG_20221113_190815.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This place really thought of everything. Not only do I now have a small workout room, a tanning bed (not as if I would use it but it's cool) and a pool, but they also have their own Amazon lockers with UPS/FedEx drop off, electric vehicle chargers, CenturyLink internet instead of Comcast (with a Fiber option and their own rep to call if you run into issues!) and a huge trash compactor. Yup, that's right, no regular dumpsters here. Even though it's only a mile from my previous place, it feels like a much safer community. My unit is in the middle section of all the units, so I'm not close to the main street or the freeway, and it's also fully gated. Hopefully I can feel safe cracking my window open at night to let in the cool air. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'll post another update with pics once our place is completely done and clean!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-17589778678038903692022-07-25T11:29:00.000-07:002022-07-25T11:29:57.311-07:00Ozempic<span style="font-family: verdana;">If you've been following this blog at all, you know that I've always strugged with my weight and have tried nearly everything that wasn't a miracle yo-yo diet in order to drop it. My PCP has been very accomodating in this regard because I think a lot of them would just tell me to get off my ass and exercise because there isn't a pill that can cure fat. I mean, although that is techically true, exercise is only about 10% of weight loss, and motivation can be a bitch, especially when you know that fact.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY67c8pcMnbbK44gID3K72ZsreLZT8MS1kEoqCW2rtcMlFfmjB34_HYI7xP4wuVAbS56aAnscwBIL8UsjKiWIs46POLFn4W6umkWGKnU8TCGz8JCZktap88XlLXXganOLKHDTYSRoqEOd3Xw4kH3lvnEMRY5u-D3Qn30-7Hi5zGz66eynW5XJdcs7yUg/s630/636644979-Funny-Weight-loss-Cartoon-W630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="630" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY67c8pcMnbbK44gID3K72ZsreLZT8MS1kEoqCW2rtcMlFfmjB34_HYI7xP4wuVAbS56aAnscwBIL8UsjKiWIs46POLFn4W6umkWGKnU8TCGz8JCZktap88XlLXXganOLKHDTYSRoqEOd3Xw4kH3lvnEMRY5u-D3Qn30-7Hi5zGz66eynW5XJdcs7yUg/s320/636644979-Funny-Weight-loss-Cartoon-W630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is a list of things I've done/tried so far:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div>Qsymia (I never published this post. Oops lol. It's basically a mix between phentermine and topiramate, which are both appetite suppresants. The problem with these kinds of pills is that they become less effective over time.)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2020/06/potato-diet.html" target="_blank">Potato Diet</a> (Okay, that one would be considered yo-yo I guess lol)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2020/02/bionicgym.html" target="_blank">Bionic Gym</a> (Problem here is that it's a pain to put on and works better if you're standing)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2019/10/52.html" target="_blank">5:2</a> (intermittent fasting)</div><div><br /></div><div>Ideal Shakes</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2019/02/i-will-not-let-hunger-control-me.html" target="_blank">Mindful Eating and Peptide YY</a> (I still use Peptide YY to my advantage)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2016/12/my-first-week-on-phentermine.html" target="_blank">Phentermine</a> (I still consider this the pinacle of weight loss medication. This stuff is amazing. But its effectiveness dwindles so quickly)</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6OURM7AXBfEV3LhVSxZJAuCjx0fATSmG7nfo7KFoeftJgURyopBhvjveu48MT7CmfF91QRnwUJNvNbiP2ABzR7rkuPLlz-2UVl3qD3MHXs_nIx7dOTrvH_8AHyzwcN3_rDPy81uD-L-X83dZzDMZKttamRxIET8Ny3Ermt80Ce4XwtGnTN9zn9sJYQ/s802/health-beauty-overweight-obesity-fatness-diet_pills-weight_loss_pills-mlyn3776_low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6OURM7AXBfEV3LhVSxZJAuCjx0fATSmG7nfo7KFoeftJgURyopBhvjveu48MT7CmfF91QRnwUJNvNbiP2ABzR7rkuPLlz-2UVl3qD3MHXs_nIx7dOTrvH_8AHyzwcN3_rDPy81uD-L-X83dZzDMZKttamRxIET8Ny3Ermt80Ce4XwtGnTN9zn9sJYQ/s320/health-beauty-overweight-obesity-fatness-diet_pills-weight_loss_pills-mlyn3776_low.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-whole30-journey.html" target="_blank">Whole30</a> (This diet was great, but way too difficult to maintain)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-fat-diet.html" target="_blank">The Fat Diet</a> (It's not a diet, it's a mindset. It was also hard to maintain, just not as hard as Whole30)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-desperate-are-you-to-lose-weight.html" target="_blank">hCG</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Belviq (Never really worked for me. It was supposed to help supress hunger cues. Instead, it was recalled for causing cancer or something. Joy)</div><div><br /></div><div>Glucomannan (It's the fiber from the Kojac plant. It just absorbs a ton of water in your stomach to help keep you full. It's still a great thing to try between meals or with a smaller meal)</div><div><br /></div><div>Plenity (An FDA approved version of Glucomannan, basically. It's just some kind of gel that expands in your stomach. But it was $100 a month and didn't really work any better than Glucomannan)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIVW9VOj8ACpk2A89i782d2mt9UeWvpLjBSrM0mHkRu3VKZ6DeHStxrDzAG_sIrf8sueqRQgor6_slv1uA2tZwGkh3Phg7mj7qB_KmMgUEEI92YWs5IKL_Lxztlm_EVBnOPuAWesbFkcVZ7bbBiZHFuwGOZE0DwlC4etS4xap7Kz8RoQOyA3nkGEjLA/s1067/0-women-trying-to-lose-weight-cartoon-clipart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIVW9VOj8ACpk2A89i782d2mt9UeWvpLjBSrM0mHkRu3VKZ6DeHStxrDzAG_sIrf8sueqRQgor6_slv1uA2tZwGkh3Phg7mj7qB_KmMgUEEI92YWs5IKL_Lxztlm_EVBnOPuAWesbFkcVZ7bbBiZHFuwGOZE0DwlC4etS4xap7Kz8RoQOyA3nkGEjLA/s320/0-women-trying-to-lose-weight-cartoon-clipart.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>And through all of this, I had been eating healthy (I mean, I do a lot of research<br /> and know what is healthy and what isn't) and had an account with the YMCA for a while where I did cardio or weights and signed up for classes.) So it's not like I was expecting this stuff to do all the work for me. But there's nothing on this list that had lasted me long term besides coffee. Coffee has always been there for me (Go Peptide YY!).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enter <a href="https://www.ozempic.com/" target="_blank">Ozempic</a>. This is the only medication that my insurance was actually willing to pay for, and I couldn't even tell you why. It's actually quite frustrating because our company always pushes being healthy and wanting us to do stuff in order to make extra money to put in our HSA accounts, but then when it comes to medications that might help keep us at a healthy weight, they refuse to pay for them. However, Ozempic is listed as a diabetic medication first, with a corrallary to weight loss, so maybe that's why. Since I have high risk of diabetes in my genes and am overweright, maybe my insurance was like "oh, ok." (It's funny, because I had tried to get a script for Wegovy a few months ago but was denied. It's basically Ozempic but FDA approved as a weight loss medication.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ozempic is a once-a-week shot that regulates blood sugar [spikes], which cause hunger, and slows gastric emptying. I've been slowly ramping up my dose over time in order to avoid side-effects, and so far it's working amazingly well. It feels like this might be something that will keep working in the long term. The only issues I've had are occasional bouts of diahrrea (which usually only happen the day of the shot), or bloating (only once per week if that).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's taken a while to get the weight loss started, as the dosing starts at .25mg (which basically does nothing) and each ramp up takes 4 weeks. So I'm just now on my 2nd week of .75mg and I am seeing quick progress. I'm eating less per meal and less often. I've lost about 6 lbs so far. At $55 a month, it's a do-able amount of money in the long term as well. Wish me luck!! <3</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-71438269452014684822022-06-27T10:20:00.005-07:002022-06-27T10:20:57.118-07:00Keyboard Rabbit Hole? <p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The peripherals</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> we're given for work suck; extremely so. CHI buys everyone crap Dells, which come with crap mice and super crap membrane keyboards. Some of the keyboards have actual keycaps, while some are much closer in design to a laptop keyboard and almost completely flat.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzb-Ph63WhouDzrfoZxdt6HGFSAOaPvTbkkCp2W1ZImF1Vy7mUTLzcf_9WSJOyxdbDcdekPKNQ6EiB4c9-ws47_4WcHDKRUophgOJNbIR8YkCygf3EnLut8Xp6t6K1eGbV85QdOyoiMiXQKswA3ik8XhYqYjzYjAfNOaRIprmgRQzfN2POxujpe4eH5w/s709/Capture1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="709" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzb-Ph63WhouDzrfoZxdt6HGFSAOaPvTbkkCp2W1ZImF1Vy7mUTLzcf_9WSJOyxdbDcdekPKNQ6EiB4c9-ws47_4WcHDKRUophgOJNbIR8YkCygf3EnLut8Xp6t6K1eGbV85QdOyoiMiXQKswA3ik8XhYqYjzYjAfNOaRIprmgRQzfN2POxujpe4eH5w/s320/Capture1.PNG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first thing I replaced though was the mouse. I purchased a <i><a href="https://www.gloriousgaming.com/products/model-i-black" target="_blank">Glorious Model I</a> </i>gaming mouse. I had been using Patrick's old Logitech G502, but it was so heavy despite it being wired that it was fatiguing with 8 hours of use. Bu I love the overall ergonomics of the mouse with the thumb rest (that infinite scroll wheel though? UGH). When I saw a review for the Glorious I, I figured I had to try it. Not only was it ergonomic, but it had holes in it (racing holes!! lol jk) in order to make it extremely light. Yes, this mouse would normally be used for FPS gaming but there's no rule saying I can't use it too. I actually really like the mouse; it's so easy to move around that it makes using it all day much easier.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A while ago, I had replaced their crap keyboard with a "cheap" mechanical gaming keyboard from Royal Kludge. (What a name, huh?). It needed a few important things. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">#1 - Mechanical. Membrane keyboards are just horrible to type on. I had been using a mechanical keyboard at home for years and I was much more used to it. In fact, my keyboard at home is from <a href="https://mountain.gg/keyboards/everest-max/" target="_blank">Mountain</a>. It's modular with a removable numpad and hot-swappable keys.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcLFMladOJxMne1gncXTfQ6nH_a7bl2EGHS7g8N0oE-OwQd0NWSGUFkbzPTxBAKNCz_vUNoEHRRmwuehxu4F5EWITGrC9G4ASqTxc5Kdx9NlSms1lXj1q6MxDy4LprAGUpQU57noPOtuhbn11JoyC5vjdLVykqiFq3Uy74lEOSodb3CFI4AG_ZNoREQ/s1147/Capture2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1147" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcLFMladOJxMne1gncXTfQ6nH_a7bl2EGHS7g8N0oE-OwQd0NWSGUFkbzPTxBAKNCz_vUNoEHRRmwuehxu4F5EWITGrC9G4ASqTxc5Kdx9NlSms1lXj1q6MxDy4LprAGUpQU57noPOtuhbn11JoyC5vjdLVykqiFq3Uy74lEOSodb3CFI4AG_ZNoREQ/w640-h366/Capture2.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">#2 - Backlit. It didn't need to be RGB, but I needed to be able to see my keys better because I still touch type a lot.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">#3 - Numpad. This is where all the money is. I could get a decently-priced 60% mechanical keyboard but I need the numpad for work so it limited my options to more expensive stuff.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As for the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/RK-ROYAL-KLUDGE-Sorrounding-Anti-Ghosting/dp/B08SWP5QPF/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2J1BTK24CFGRM&keywords=royal+kludge+full+size+keyboard&qid=1656349925&sprefix=royal+kludge%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFUQlhSVkNNTkQwRk4mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA4MTczMjgzN09YT1dRSFhMREMmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDUyNzU4MzNITkg0TTRPSExDQzImd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl" target="_blank">Royal Kludge</a>, I mean, it fit the bill. I was able to get it with Cherry Reds, which are linear and quiet, and it came with RGB that I kept on a static blue/teal color. But I did have to modify it a bit in order to get it more usable. It has an acrylic-defused RGB ring around the edges which gave the typing a very hollow, pinging noise that was incredibly annoying so I added some foam inside to help with that. And then I added o-rings to the keys to help quiet it down. It only helped so much. Cheap is cheap. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3V0akpl0mkUrXEpsrM7nf59tlEVeECEvuqF8X255lm8XM3KeTQOvMtImdUORgmzmiLOsi41grQA8wjLScEPfEPagW_K3_Xg-AeyCp03TlboWUptXd6fXHqOGCuoV6Zk-OPTvwtdO5ZLGcs7zO12w9sF3Cc54a02Qsl4xrDsLeoYJGIBfgpcu7sL34w/s1155/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1155" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3V0akpl0mkUrXEpsrM7nf59tlEVeECEvuqF8X255lm8XM3KeTQOvMtImdUORgmzmiLOsi41grQA8wjLScEPfEPagW_K3_Xg-AeyCp03TlboWUptXd6fXHqOGCuoV6Zk-OPTvwtdO5ZLGcs7zO12w9sF3Cc54a02Qsl4xrDsLeoYJGIBfgpcu7sL34w/w640-h347/Capture.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But I finally decided to splurge a little bit and bought myself a new keyboard for my workplace. I don't work from home, so it's kind of a "waste of money" in a way to buy myself things for work because I don't get reimbursed for them even though I only use them at work. It just makes my life a lot easier.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, I bought something better now that I hope I will never have to replace. The funny thing is that I'd seen a review of this keyboard on Short Circuit a while back but I didn't remember it, and I only heard from the other youtuber's I watch how good Keychron products are.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VoiaLRwuac4" width="320" youtube-src-id="VoiaLRwuac4"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>I purchased the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Keychron-Swappable-Mechanical-Keyboard-Bluetooth/dp/B08LR9GFXX/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3T8S1PXESRU7R&keywords=keychron%2Bk4%2Bv2&qid=1656350016&sprefix=keychron%2Bk4%2Bv%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVEJHOUJKVzRZVlhNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzM5MzM4MUg3WUEyVlhZRUFaQiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjU4Njg0M0kwTVIzQjFSTU9VSyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1" target="_blank">Keychron K4</a> 96% mechanical keyboard that had hot-swappable Gateron Reds with the aluminum frame for $109. A few things sold me, here. The first one being that it had hot-swappable keys. Although I had bought the Gateron Red version, at home I had Cherry MX Silent Reds and I could easily hear the difference, so I knew I was going to end up replacing the keys. What I ended up doing is putting in my Silent Reds from my home keyboard because I needed the silence at work more than at home. So that was a free upgrade. I also added the foam that came in the packaging to the bottom of the board, and took out the o-rings from my Royal Kludge board and added them to this one. It's so dang quiet it's incredible. (I type hard and bottom out all my keys, so it's quiet even despite that. If I typed like a normal person it'd be practically silent.)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another thing that sold me, besides the fact that it was RGB backlit, was the 96% layout. It's kind of an odd duck, but it's perfect for my needs, where I can still have a full numpad but get rid of all that empty space between so that it's basically the size of a keyboard without a numpad, saving desk space. It also has the option for bluetooth connectivity, which isn't super important to me but a nice to have if I want to get rid of the cord.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I kind of see the appeal of building my own keyboard now. I don't think I could fall as far as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsBDomC_WKo" target="_blank">Random Frank P</a>, but I certainly can see the appeal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And now my desk is much nicer to be at, for sure. It didn't even cost me that much in the end. It's worth it when you spend 8 hours a day there, you know?</span></p><p><br /></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-64550638115679748832022-06-20T09:45:00.003-07:002022-06-20T09:50:32.518-07:00Angel Kitty<span style="font-family: verdana;">So... I did a thing. I adopted a kitty. I know, we were trying to wait until we moved into our new place in Nov/Dec/Jan, whenever we can get through their god-forsaken waiting list, but Patrick and I were feeling so lonely since Daisy left us.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">[It was my full intention to write out what happened when the hospice vet came to visit and euthanize our baby girl, but I just can't make myself write it. It was March 23rd, 2022 and I still can't do it.]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I downloaded an app called Petfinder, which is pretty amazing actually, as it connects you with all the local adoption agencies and lets you read about each kitty. You can even sort by age and breed and hair length.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHtDivaUF0Mo89YexK3OPvqddyFCmkik16mXpJV6yc82UCudrHUx66MBwW9m6DPj-N30JuV9H4ijkx4RIKMk4IIqbybXGAt0Bcityqk2sgqBPDp_FfbIynrFgSp59goOQcWmddiKNr-hDiXombzIjIPUmrTwJEn78LKsiME_y0QBd44pqGDNRPyeavkA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3216" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHtDivaUF0Mo89YexK3OPvqddyFCmkik16mXpJV6yc82UCudrHUx66MBwW9m6DPj-N30JuV9H4ijkx4RIKMk4IIqbybXGAt0Bcityqk2sgqBPDp_FfbIynrFgSp59goOQcWmddiKNr-hDiXombzIjIPUmrTwJEn78LKsiME_y0QBd44pqGDNRPyeavkA=w178-h400" width="178" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted to rescue a senior kitty. I know a lot of seniors are bypassed for kittens and young cats as they are probably a lot more entertaining, but I really enjoy the laidback nature of seniors. Daisy was a joy to hang out with, especially when we shared the HeatDish together. I'm not really into cats with a ton of energy. We don't have a lot of space in our current place and not really a lot of high places to hang out. We're both very chill people who are homebodies and basically watch TV all day, so I wanted a kitty that was cool with that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Angie seemed like a perfect fit. She is an 11 year old domestic medium hair, but looks like she might have some Ragdoll in her. She had lost her human back in March or April, and was taken to the Emerald City Kitty Harbor in Seattle. They're a small organization and they only have probably 6 cats, but their facility really vets potential adopters and it looks like they really love their felines.</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">(How can you say no to that face?!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Patrick was hesitant about adopting another cat right now (as he was still missing Daisy pretty heavily), especially a senior, but I was pretty adamant about wanting to give a lonely senior kitty a good home and good final years. Yes, it was extremely difficult to lose Daisy. It was the hardest decision we ever had to make when to decide to finally put her down. Angie (renamed Angel) seems quite healthy for an 11 year old. The only issues she had when she came to the rescue were obesity and needed teeth extractions. It's not uncommon for older cats to experience periodontal disease if they don't get their teeth cleaned yearly by a vet. It's just unfortunately fairly expensive because the cats need to be sedated in order to do it. It also looks like we'll have to get her used to her teeth being brushed daily, something I never thought I would need to do but she apparently lost 7 teeth and we don't want her to lose any more. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Despite being a human for 3 cats in my life, I have never adopted one before. Sammy was an actual rescue from the warehouse I worked at in Auburn. They had posted signs in the area and no one claimed him, so I took him home. And of course, Daisy was Patrick's for a solid 15 years before she came into my life. (I had a cat named Spike when I was a child, but he was an outdoor cat. Plus, he was from a litter of my aunt's, so not adopted.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm not sure what the process is like for a regular Humane Society adoption, but for Angel, I had contacted the rescue through the Petfinder app and set up a survey with Patrick and I in attendance over the phone where they asked general questions about our living situation and what kind of cat we were looking for. After that, I had a set up a phone interview with them which I had done on 6/11, where they asked more personalized questions like what I would do if she scratched furniture etc. After I passed that test, we got set up for a physical meet and greet which we were able to do on 6/12 because we both happened to be off due to our ARNP's wedding that afternoon. So in the morning we drove up to Seattle to meet Angel Kitty in person. We already knew that she was shy and nervous, so she never left the cubby that she was hiding in. But we gave her treats and spoke in soft tones and she seemed okay with us. My heart grew 3 sizes that day <3. We had been told that she'd had another meet and greet with someone else who decided not to take her because they couldn't feel a bond due to her being so shy. Well I'll tell you, they missed out because she is a most lovey-dovey kitty once she opens up to you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the meet and greet, we decided to adopt as Patrick was in love too. We had another hurdle to jump through, though. They were going to drive her down to us and drop her off, but before doing so, I needed to do a virtual walkthrough on my phone to show them the space and make sure it was well suited for a kitty and we had to wait until 6/18 when I would be off of work. It was one of the slowest weeks of my life!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjcFiiNzWAQTiRZsp2-XNOKA7sDkMnh5dTRr7wFSzz44CzDeb1JSeckXCH7DaurJ9-Lumc5igNfs57qD5pfyPKQ7mMjlD_qTrfce-FiKC3G8vI3RWdmSBv_6ZadsskiOhGTBxcBVL8QRt1wMb3HnrPaRXGniFBaBE86CAo6bUKZVLGg94F2860MDSCVg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjcFiiNzWAQTiRZsp2-XNOKA7sDkMnh5dTRr7wFSzz44CzDeb1JSeckXCH7DaurJ9-Lumc5igNfs57qD5pfyPKQ7mMjlD_qTrfce-FiKC3G8vI3RWdmSBv_6ZadsskiOhGTBxcBVL8QRt1wMb3HnrPaRXGniFBaBE86CAo6bUKZVLGg94F2860MDSCVg" width="319" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally, on 6/18, Angel Kitty was home. She ran under the bed never to be seen again lol. I worked with her over the weekend to coax her out more and more, but the threshold to the hallway was her challenge line that took her a while to cross. At night, she opened up and explored the living room while we slept, used her litter box for the first time, ate a decent amount of food, and eventually snuggled with us in bed a bit. (Patrick loves this. I had never had good experiences with cats in my bed because they lay on you or move around and constantly wake me up.) She is the sweetest baby, though. She purrs with almost everything and loves to rub up against your legs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUXYgRDgPcYbCIP6rya4y3Rmi42mt8iyUb4u5IiiQXTbIrKWLvZKvza5Ng3JMedeTFfrXBGKPPqWHo_v5jGIA8zoVuvowK7BjnroYidTu341axxLjzG-Y6rzaSdp6PKMkWcWXbRKrb65eTAsEW8hr0J8nYzVDPxh4T5eNAjD5SNTy1IeLO2tgdfuiCTA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1504" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUXYgRDgPcYbCIP6rya4y3Rmi42mt8iyUb4u5IiiQXTbIrKWLvZKvza5Ng3JMedeTFfrXBGKPPqWHo_v5jGIA8zoVuvowK7BjnroYidTu341axxLjzG-Y6rzaSdp6PKMkWcWXbRKrb65eTAsEW8hr0J8nYzVDPxh4T5eNAjD5SNTy1IeLO2tgdfuiCTA" width="180" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkWv9gz38H91OrafXhK15E79VxEIxca-KnDSxXjK3zoB7dJExspBo-88_qGisqJEzRXH8Raix8HinFTWQkp1T4Rs1aIo5HALaRliLbw9eLYMl91CbSMk-abZPV3TWCJMFkU0ufbzKeyVeR0-lfTdmCIh2zBcrR5RpiVBd5WXJvBeA2yKuyU0dx7EXXwA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1504" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkWv9gz38H91OrafXhK15E79VxEIxca-KnDSxXjK3zoB7dJExspBo-88_qGisqJEzRXH8Raix8HinFTWQkp1T4Rs1aIo5HALaRliLbw9eLYMl91CbSMk-abZPV3TWCJMFkU0ufbzKeyVeR0-lfTdmCIh2zBcrR5RpiVBd5WXJvBeA2yKuyU0dx7EXXwA" width="180" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I noticed over the weekend that as much as she would come out and say hi, at the slightest provocation she would run back under the bed as it was her safety spot. She wasn't scared, per se, as she wanted attention really badly and I could often coax her out, but she didn't feel confident in her new space. So, we decided to block off access to under the bed; most of it anyway. When she did her nightly exploration Sunday night, she remained in the living room after we both woke up. Now Patrick gets the luxury of spending quality time with her in our living space for the first time (lucky!).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxrux5a_yUxvW8wfBz3JW7PZCqBLAWZ5284bChTSf3gD6htMwG3M8_PuvfVSt9xE_fpqAojaBnyz1iLtFfX83_rFdVYEbaI5mBI9ituxvv6HyUYDfLi4OgWUeP-bYxNf1MLPFo9EZVhBhS_omuOcF5lGnQq-C5oWZK7qeznRR4sy0hGaPzb3FSdskNtw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxrux5a_yUxvW8wfBz3JW7PZCqBLAWZ5284bChTSf3gD6htMwG3M8_PuvfVSt9xE_fpqAojaBnyz1iLtFfX83_rFdVYEbaI5mBI9ituxvv6HyUYDfLi4OgWUeP-bYxNf1MLPFo9EZVhBhS_omuOcF5lGnQq-C5oWZK7qeznRR4sy0hGaPzb3FSdskNtw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-44851619787899841352022-05-09T11:04:00.004-07:002022-05-09T13:01:21.205-07:0011 small ways to Save the World<span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted to write a little something of an inspiration for people, I'm hoping. I just wanted to list some of the things that I personally do in my daily life to help make the planet a somewhat more liveable space for future generations (that I also won't be contributing to. Should I add that? Probably.)</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I understand some people are lazy by nature, and I am definitely in that camp. I have never volunteered to be on a clean up garbage crew or anything of that nature for example. I can certainly be lazy in other ways too. Specifically, instead of trying to sell old items I no longer need, I will give them to the Goodwill, because I am too lazy to go through all that jazz.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, in that vein, I will give you examples of several lazy things that I do to help contribute to keeping the planet around a bit longer without going overboard.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. Buying a hybrid vehicle. Yes I know, it still uses gas and oil. Electric would probably be better. However, I live in an apartment and my work has no charging stations, so electric really isn't an option for me atm. I also plan on keeping this car for as long as humanly possible. Bonus, my car doesn't have to look idiotic while saving the planet, either.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0rwmz10MZCyxg6PVIq95SY_3epPjxRszatBYPwzV4myo0NMIg5Aiv2udblK1Ww6gAPwDJm7pX037A_2PFlS4dx7DxlEjg2ZSE-pOSsGgsCKGaGEGYFijVIOKec0Z4EY4BRR-zh3bIB7TgQBP2z_75yrw4y3h3w6obLIg8vQLqh0W0LvyQ_1V3gp-cQ/s1076/insight.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="1076" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0rwmz10MZCyxg6PVIq95SY_3epPjxRszatBYPwzV4myo0NMIg5Aiv2udblK1Ww6gAPwDJm7pX037A_2PFlS4dx7DxlEjg2ZSE-pOSsGgsCKGaGEGYFijVIOKec0Z4EY4BRR-zh3bIB7TgQBP2z_75yrw4y3h3w6obLIg8vQLqh0W0LvyQ_1V3gp-cQ/w640-h224/insight.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Recycle cardboard. Recyling can be hard and confusing. Besides the fact that my apartment doesn't support full-scale recycling, I have never really been in on doing all of that anyway. But, my apartment <i>does</i> recycle cardboard [boxes]. And that's super easy to do to break down your cardboard and throw it in a different container when you're taking out the trash.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. Cleaning with electrolyzed water (EoW). If you don't know the miracle that is electrolyzed water, <a href="https://www.bridgebiotechnology.com/esol-electrolyzed-water-16-questions/" target="_blank">here is a primer</a>. It's pretty amazing stuff. I had bought into Shine, which is a now defunct company who had invented a product that will clean your toilet with every flush using EoW. I absolutely <i>hate</i> cleaning toilets. Not only is it super annoying to have to clean them almost constantly, but then you're also flushing harsh chemicals straight into the sewer. I also bought into <a href="https://www.forceofnatureclean.com/natural-cleaner-and-disinfectant/" target="_blank">Force of Nature</a> (however, I now have a <a href="https://www.controlomatic.com/naturechlor/" target="_blank">Naturechlor</a> instead so that I don't have to buy their little pods) to make EoW for surfaces. And in the same vein as using it to clean all my surfaces, I also use reusable hand towels instead of paper towels or wipes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BrpR2xk8aiQI0-3iTWxJPuErPFfRIOw_faJp7BfFFatcfv41h-zUdfEFBox0KTSNcX3lN1_cqEM1-9M1d86F1TN93MG3hlLe6GcuXBwu2X-iuP4TUWvFF-ilSjIyK3sMUsZt923PX4hAQSUzFUIsTBmfi559Gv2lqGZaU8q_yi568OdDdheG5p3AFw/s633/EW.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="633" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BrpR2xk8aiQI0-3iTWxJPuErPFfRIOw_faJp7BfFFatcfv41h-zUdfEFBox0KTSNcX3lN1_cqEM1-9M1d86F1TN93MG3hlLe6GcuXBwu2X-iuP4TUWvFF-ilSjIyK3sMUsZt923PX4hAQSUzFUIsTBmfi559Gv2lqGZaU8q_yi568OdDdheG5p3AFw/w640-h454/EW.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. I buy most of my clothes through ThredUp (.com) or the Goodwill. This is also kind of out of laziness, because it's a lot easier for me to scroll through clothes online than it is to try to find stuff in a store. It also helps that I'm not a typical shopper that loves to go out and shop for clothes constantly.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNmk0DzcTwD4MvVpsSo1GnFGrsnzuK5NEHkjK2q8rUCX2ofO8gL9zf7qhsVtxyYf2SmHGcFNGXInHCGI9NGU2A7cooS9H1a6GqWZ2vzLc-KTSpVJQsUK1KRXM_bYmGZblDhzpLwZL65GX9osdYOHfEPfdvgdMM_zZjfjvSsJnqh_ij-KartuvUizPdg/s372/weekend.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNmk0DzcTwD4MvVpsSo1GnFGrsnzuK5NEHkjK2q8rUCX2ofO8gL9zf7qhsVtxyYf2SmHGcFNGXInHCGI9NGU2A7cooS9H1a6GqWZ2vzLc-KTSpVJQsUK1KRXM_bYmGZblDhzpLwZL65GX9osdYOHfEPfdvgdMM_zZjfjvSsJnqh_ij-KartuvUizPdg/s320/weekend.JPG" width="304" /></a></div>5. Sustainable shoes. There <i>is</i> such a thing. <a href="https://vessi.com/" target="_blank">Vessi</a> is a shoe company that does ad spots on Linus Tech Tips. I trust Linus and his company to vet and review their sponsors and many of his staff wear their shoes. I actually didn't care that they use "vegan leather" etc, they're really just the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn and I want them all. They've held up very well and they're waterproof - bonus!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">6. Reusable fabric grocery bags. In the state of WA, it's actually illegal to use plastic bags now, so it's been kind of a necessity for a while. Any plastic bags I get, I re-use for my bathroom trash bin, so there's that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">7. Non-meat foods. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan by any stretch. I still love meat. However, I can potentially go all veg meals easily without a problem. And I really enjoy both Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers. It's not something I eat all the time, but if I can replace meat with non-meat for any meals, it's better than nothing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">8. Rechargeable batteries. There are many things in your home that still require AA or AAA to function, and rechargeable batteries have come a long way. The only issue with your generic (or even name brand like Eneloop) batteries is that they use 1.2v. Some products require more volts to function properly. For example: my Quest 2 controllers, my salt and pepper grinders, and my milk frother actually require 1.5v which is what disposable batteries run at. However, there is a solution for this now. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TDYQZL/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?pd_rd_i=B085TDYQZL&pd_rd_w=nTzUc&pf_rd_p=0c758152-61cd-452f-97a6-17f070f654b8&pd_rd_wg=5OMjy&pf_rd_r=PEKWBCHAYWMDSVM4SV54&pd_rd_r=f3f484d4-48a7-4898-8dc9-f812c7ea583c&s=electronics&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFBTk9FSkVBUDlCVk8mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3ODg4ODhQR0UxNkxNVERNTEQmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDkwNzY4MjJaR1BIWldQNjhBUkYmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1" target="_blank">Tenavolts</a> is a company that makes 1.5v rechargeable batteries. And sure, they're not cheap, but you also only need to put them in things that need 1.5v. They work great for this. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">9. Using Wool Dryer Balls and not using fabric softener. Dryer balls are not a perfect replacement for dryer sheets but they work pretty well. They just don't do a lot for stopping static, so if that's an issue for you and your clothes, then maybe stick with dryer sheets. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtL52G9kD9B2kCyuPkd5zQ_QiNL0i7xzkbysAPPgC-DLUbfBiQ5-0uhcdQqPYt3lYzQNho-hbfjxBsidnVN20gDOohFxDJ5AMUmXZldSIcbdfbQV4KoB3vdASy-DhByvXmAQ2wPSK1kTs05h_CrQ7vHyzRIYJAMLJVF73qYyjr_B5gM_3kBrtHfOC9lA/s467/wool.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="467" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtL52G9kD9B2kCyuPkd5zQ_QiNL0i7xzkbysAPPgC-DLUbfBiQ5-0uhcdQqPYt3lYzQNho-hbfjxBsidnVN20gDOohFxDJ5AMUmXZldSIcbdfbQV4KoB3vdASy-DhByvXmAQ2wPSK1kTs05h_CrQ7vHyzRIYJAMLJVF73qYyjr_B5gM_3kBrtHfOC9lA/s320/wool.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">10. A Bidet. Okay, hear me out. I know, in the US, bidets are weird. And it took me many years to get over this weirdness to buy an attachable one for my toilet. It took the pandemic and not being able to buy toilet paper to finally convince me. And we still use toilet paper. But not nearly as much as we would otherwise. You do feel much cleaner when using one, and I sometimes wish they had one at work too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">11. Buying bed sheets that aren't cotton. Cotton is pretty damn horrible from an enviromental standpoint. But again, I don't necessarily do this for environmental reasons, but for comfort reasons. Although Bamboo is more sustainable as a bed sheet option, the way viscose/rayon is made is not enviromentally friendly. However, making bed sheets out of eucapluptus is more friendly, and they're still satiny and soft. <a href="https://www.mattressclarity.com/blog/eucalyptus-sheets-vs-bamboo-sheets/" target="_blank">Here is a primer</a> on bamboo vs eucalyptus. The other option I like is linen sheets. They're considered "luxury" for sure, and it took me a while to get used to their feel, but I do like them a lot. They're not only breathable, but they'll last a really long time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I know what you might be thinking. These 11 things are so miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Why even bother? Well, for a couple of reasons. The first one being that yes, while these things are small, the more people that do them, the bigger the impact will be. The other reason is something called "voting with your wallet". As consumers, we have all the power to decide how companies will behave. The more people that buy into envionmentally sustainable products like Vessi or Beyond Meat, the cheaper they will become and the more prolific - and the more inpact they will make. And the more people that buy one thing over another, then those companies will begin to realize how much their consumers want environmentally sustainable practices and they may change their ways. We can only hope. If everyone does a little, it will do a lot!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-43770435875524871882022-05-08T16:23:00.002-07:002022-05-08T16:23:27.460-07:00Birthday trip<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I wanted to drive. If you follow my blog, you know that I just bought a new 2022 Honda Insight. It is a delight to drive. It's a hybrid sedan that can get up to 55mpg. That seems like an unreal estimate to be honest, as even when I was driving this road trip, the best I could get was 47-50mpg for highway miles. But even so, it's just so much fun with all the technology it packs in. </span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My commute is so short that I don't get to drive it enough for my liking so as a birthday treat I wanted to go on a road trip somewhere. I took Monday 4/25 and Tuesday 4/26 off. I had to wait until Sunday night on April 24th to see what the weather was going to be like on Monday since the forecast suggested isolated showers. My options were:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The coast (Long Beach/Cannon Beach)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Chuckanut drive by Bellingham </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Diablo Lake in the Northern Cascades</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've only been to Long Beach/Cannon Beach but none of those other places so I would have been happy doing any of them. The weather forecast suggested that the coast was going to be clear by midday so that's where we decided to go. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-RanvVcz3Sk9Gv7Qk1HBVI9sABjAp_0utwMDw91m11Rz6vPr5khefmBHrm0M5_cSt6E4IAwlWafv9clata_k5jL2LuncUVVsKKRptjL9bRqaNLrlOrkpkKGW0oag9FXcXTxpRzEmEudDRGeBq_olKWpmTLeBHHUPnXsvy5n7sSBHucQDAWuNOzaY7A/s536/longbeach5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="536" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg-RanvVcz3Sk9Gv7Qk1HBVI9sABjAp_0utwMDw91m11Rz6vPr5khefmBHrm0M5_cSt6E4IAwlWafv9clata_k5jL2LuncUVVsKKRptjL9bRqaNLrlOrkpkKGW0oag9FXcXTxpRzEmEudDRGeBq_olKWpmTLeBHHUPnXsvy5n7sSBHucQDAWuNOzaY7A/s320/longbeach5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We stopped at Long Beach and decided to walk the boardwalk. I hadn't been at Long Beach in so long that I had no idea the Gray Whale Skeleton was gone and they had replaced it with a Gray Whale wood sculpture. Apparently the skeleton had either been stolen or vandalized way back in the early 2000's so they had to replace it. Sad!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The weather was nearly perfect. The wind wasn't too cold and the temperature was pretty mild. The sun was out so it felt really nice. After we walked the boardwalk we went to Marsh's Museum - the prerequisite stop on every Long Beach trip. We then walked downtown until the clouds began to gather and it got too cold. We stopped at a bakery and got a number of delicious goodies to eat on the trip.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I then tried to drive on the beach. I'm not sure if my car just wasn't powerful enough or what, but it felt as if I was sinking and sliding too much. I switched it to Power mode and that helped, but I still didn't feel very confident that I wouldn't get stuck so I quickly turned around and headed back out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After that, I decided to drive us down to Cannon Beach in Oregon. It was raining pretty heavily when we passed through Seaside and landed in Cannon Beach. We decided lunch was in order, and Patrick found a restaurant close by. Unfortunately, it was a really expensive menu so we decided to back out and find another place. I'm usually up for sandwiches so I found a deli. It was not good. And it wasn't cheap, either. Super disappointment. But, by the time we finished eating and parked at the public lot for Haystack, the weather was clearing up and the skies were parting. The weather was gorgeously perfect for beach walking and picture taking.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGnY-nqVuQwVYiJ_6vuZ_aEVBA9k6MU2u38BNsfUe8UDGh-pgyxRfMjKF8EwV8M-is_DGlSRZvfYAHin6n-LiKaqf5pHbVgsJ9-12kYKr6wmxiSOaUKYTXTg2gkerK8c1bBaODRHG5tvl5Y3wQfkxFkOEyJn1nanwvM1oJkySvxT-XzhyvbdNAQtBsg/s7360/DSC09920.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4312" data-original-width="7360" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGnY-nqVuQwVYiJ_6vuZ_aEVBA9k6MU2u38BNsfUe8UDGh-pgyxRfMjKF8EwV8M-is_DGlSRZvfYAHin6n-LiKaqf5pHbVgsJ9-12kYKr6wmxiSOaUKYTXTg2gkerK8c1bBaODRHG5tvl5Y3wQfkxFkOEyJn1nanwvM1oJkySvxT-XzhyvbdNAQtBsg/w400-h234/DSC09920.tif" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXM5ZQ5KzAoxyV2cq30o_1qLM9J3TMgYJrI54VmxmvJTFANctB6ZfTG1JPtaJCCwqIkt-l-is1Wq3v-843pdMsbSw3nNglG26mXUcqoVaDq84cUGRXBy9JKsMieK6HxHxw1pZnwVGeyjb2t1Sb8anyTzneXVkAKrYAuOz_WF-DrxpRa94T4HGO6Qsyg/s7360/DSC09924.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="7360" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXM5ZQ5KzAoxyV2cq30o_1qLM9J3TMgYJrI54VmxmvJTFANctB6ZfTG1JPtaJCCwqIkt-l-is1Wq3v-843pdMsbSw3nNglG26mXUcqoVaDq84cUGRXBy9JKsMieK6HxHxw1pZnwVGeyjb2t1Sb8anyTzneXVkAKrYAuOz_WF-DrxpRa94T4HGO6Qsyg/w400-h219/DSC09924.tif" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8BfC910It88-L2xJiMI2DoyBHf8Bny5KiwL5qfG_QQM1dm2dcAf23PVYdfbbzLN5zbEfeWVW1pxdNvFyo6YbW-hZyGtyvz-DVMK-OLzVPWnFZ0W7UcfbejXJyPsUuhxQn9I20GB3WqFJEWwGCgt2D0-Iv_JSvOkctFJApgak_h6jcneiezs1ubIMbxw/s7360/DSC09925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3796" data-original-width="7360" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8BfC910It88-L2xJiMI2DoyBHf8Bny5KiwL5qfG_QQM1dm2dcAf23PVYdfbbzLN5zbEfeWVW1pxdNvFyo6YbW-hZyGtyvz-DVMK-OLzVPWnFZ0W7UcfbejXJyPsUuhxQn9I20GB3WqFJEWwGCgt2D0-Iv_JSvOkctFJApgak_h6jcneiezs1ubIMbxw/w400-h206/DSC09925.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Once we were done taking pictures of the rock it was time to head home. We had a long drive ahead of us. It was a total of 365 miles round trip, which was technically less than a tank of gas, but I'd had to stop at Costco in Warrenton to make sure I had enough to get home because I hadn't been on a full tank when I left. (Does anyone find it disconcerting that Oregon pays people to pump your gas for you? Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but because I can't run my own card I have to tell him my PIN number?? Seems very... stealy.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Anyway, that's my trip! A lot of fun and good pics too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-20291430940455636862022-03-17T13:17:00.002-07:002022-03-17T13:20:30.692-07:00Chip Shortages Affect Cars, Too<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And now... for the dramatic follow up to <a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2022/03/new-car.html" target="_blank">the first post</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm not super stoked to write out this story because I'm still a little upset about the whole thing, but I need this for future reference.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You know I'm the research queen. When I considered replacing my Sonic, I started reading up on all the ways that dealerships can scam you out of your money. What things to watch out for, and what they will attempt to tell you or the excuses they will give to charge you things.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I came in with a folder. I thought I was ready. I had gotten an approval for a car loan from BECU. I had my credit numbers printed out. I had the average price of the car, what the MSRP was, and an entire print out of all the bogus fees dealerships might try to tack on. And of course I had Patrick with me in order to keep me in check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When we first walked in, they tried to charge over $35k for a $27,775 MRSP car. They said they were tacking on a markup for the shortage situation. Look, I get it - it's a tough market, but you also have to realize that the longer a car sits on the lot unsold, the more it costs the dealership because they're basically charged a fee for every day it sits. So in the case of selling a car before it even hits the lot? Come on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When we questioned this, she relented and said that was supposed to have been $31,775 and got it changed. Rule number one that I read is "Dealers don't make mistakes". She'd been doing this job for 3 years, and that would have been a very obvious error. It's not a mistake, they just get caught in a lie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then we also got the GAP insurance coverage removed, the oil maitenence package removed, and a reduction in the "PERMAPLATE" stuff that apparently "gets installed at the factory" and helps protect the car from dings and scratches. This is another thing dealerships try to tell you - they will "blame" the factory and say that they're charging it because they have to, as they didn't add it on, but all you have to say is "I didn't request _____, so I want the charge removed." You can do that for other things too, like VIN Etching.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">They also do something I read about called "filling buckets" - it's just a visual aid to describe that they shuffle money around from one spot to another to make it look like you're saving more. They did that with my trade in. They first offered $10,500, but then reduced it to $10k after me asking for other stuff to be removed or something, I can't remember exactly. I was looking at the total at the end, and instead of charging $1200 for the PERMAPLATE, they were charging $999, and I figured if I could get that taken off entirely, it would work out. She basically asked me, "If we remove this charge completely, then you will sign?" Due to the $4k markup, the monthly for the vehicle was going to be much higher than I had anticipated. Although I had read that taxes for a vehicle in WA state would only be 6.8%, that doesn't include county tax, so it was more. And also the vehicle licencing charges were almost $800, which seemed outrageous and I was not expecting that either. On the plus side, they didn't try to tack on any "Dealer Prep Fees" or any other bogus charges, so it was just the straight taxes and licensing. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4rndNFZiu_DlBdig8FVuhTUMJKHVPlO7HK4uewtvt7zd2NeSIa9j6wbcmeuyskRgRveyctSv_0doH-Y9_Yrg-EI4VwEg2d3iqMzaVrb9A6Svj_sKkgrvXxgrxDA9NLYKbbbCQ23leq2dljz-E9Ou6nv9HN7yp97e1FSP5xxYzCxacVpjMrqNupWNDXw=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4rndNFZiu_DlBdig8FVuhTUMJKHVPlO7HK4uewtvt7zd2NeSIa9j6wbcmeuyskRgRveyctSv_0doH-Y9_Yrg-EI4VwEg2d3iqMzaVrb9A6Svj_sKkgrvXxgrxDA9NLYKbbbCQ23leq2dljz-E9Ou6nv9HN7yp97e1FSP5xxYzCxacVpjMrqNupWNDXw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was way more than I had originally mathed out. But then the manager said "what if you went from 72 months to 84?" I said I had gotten approved from BECU, and I'm not sure if this was intentional or if there was miscommunication, but he asked "for 84 months?" and I said yes, because I figured if I was approved for 72, why not 84? But we had agreed on a price that worked for me, which I think was $240 a month after down at 84 months. So as long as they took off the PERMAPLATE charge, I would sign.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's when we got to Finance that things changed and I probably should have backed out. She told us that you can't finance anything less than 20k at 84 months, which is true for a lot of banks, and because we couldn't put as much down as we were anticipating (as it would bring the total cost below 20k), then the monthy would go up to $255. They had tacked on the extended warranty and couldn't remove it or it would drop the loan amount to below 20k. I mean, after raising my concerns, she did take $500 off the extended to bring it down to $2500, and somehow reduced the cost of the licensing fees to somehwere around $450 and it still kept the loan above $20k. Plus, she told us that if we wanted to remove the extended warranty all we had to do was call them, and a check would be cut directly to the bank and it would take $2500 off the total, but it obviously wouldn't reduce our monthly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">[Side note: The reason I focus on the monthly payment is not make it low enough to afford, I know that is a mistake. I want it the lowest I can possibly make it so that I have the ability to overpay every month. I had paid off my Sonic loan in 3 years. I knew I wasn't going to still be paying off this car in 7 years, and not even in 6.]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My mistake was signing anyway. It was after 9pm, we were all tired. She told me "lets just secure this paperwork and get you home" (including putting down a $500 deposit to secure the new car).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2LVLSnTs0A3za-MJHCRBSXyQofjrexjI6ZNC7BjaXwevuOJkGEZ1datdkIqVKqHBdUa6T_J4aTH6hk7wmuSVYOknE5_UzF1N4uF2V4LUqKjQfTkQI--noc95P3e4BIpLTN8whYHwhwl9u2cOOHWKdiWDF3Bzf1WYxJkdfNzNblntBbooBLzQg8idkcA=s1485" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1485" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2LVLSnTs0A3za-MJHCRBSXyQofjrexjI6ZNC7BjaXwevuOJkGEZ1datdkIqVKqHBdUa6T_J4aTH6hk7wmuSVYOknE5_UzF1N4uF2V4LUqKjQfTkQI--noc95P3e4BIpLTN8whYHwhwl9u2cOOHWKdiWDF3Bzf1WYxJkdfNzNblntBbooBLzQg8idkcA=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That night, after I got home, I was phisically ill. I couldn't sleep. I kept telling Patrick how much I regretted this, and he was saying that everything was fine, everything would be fine, we could afford it. But I didn't like it. I felt like we were taken advantage of, that it was a type of bait and switch, that we had agreed on one price but then Finance told us different, and the whole thing didn't sit well with me and I wanted to back out. He said that was fine, that we didn't "sign anything" and I could still back out. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The car would be arriving that Saturday. I texted the rep that I wanted to back out. She had originally told me that the $500 deposit was contingent on me liking the car, since it wasn't available for me to test drive. And I figured that if she refused to return the deposit then I could issue a chargeback on my credit card since I had no intention of picking up the car.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">She said that I had signed over the Sonic and it was now their car. I said I still had the title...? She sent me a picture of the affidavit I signed the other night in Finance. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">That basically meant that I had no recourse to back out of this. You see, even though I held the original title to my Sonic, they had me sign a Affidavit </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to Release Interest in the Sonic. It was now their car, and if I didn't give it to them, they could repo it. I was stuck. Although I had gotten advice saying that it wasn't legal and they couldn't do anything if I didn't drive the car off the lot, it didn't make sense to me that they never needed MY title of the Sonic. That affidavit <i>had</i> to be a legally binding document. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I spoke to the manager, and he got me another $250 off the price, which lowered my monthy to $251 (oh joy), but that was all he could do. I mean, I was more upset with myself than them. I <i>did</i> sign all the documents. The only part I can't prove was whether or not they had intentionally made it seem like I could do 84 months at a lower payment then was actually possible. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I told Patrick that we were going to go pick up the car. He was upset that I was upset, and to him it seemed like I was folding under pressure. But I just had to chalk it up to experience, and an expensive mistake, and it's not like I still didn't want the car. It was just <i>right now</i> was bad timing. We were planning on moving out in May, and I had to take some money out of the Savings for moving in order to meet the down payment. And due to Patrick owing taxes and such, it just meant that we were going to have to sign another lease at our current place for another 6 months. But that might work out for the best in the end, since the new apartment was going to be a <i>bit</i> more expensive than this one anyway.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can't say I got a <i>bad deal.</i> The only thing they ended up getting away with was the $4k markup. And they weren't the only dealership charging $31,775 for the car. But I can't wait to take the Honda of Burien plates off my car, that's for sure.</span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-19094481398344848682022-03-16T09:07:00.004-07:002022-03-17T13:19:33.657-07:00New Car<p> <span style="font-family: verdana;">As the title suggests, I got a new car. I was already planning on replacing my 2015 Chevy Sonic LTZ for 2 main reasons... #1 is that it has had a number of mechanical and electrical issues since I've owned it in the last 6 years, and I felt like there was another one coming due to rough idling (it only had 70k miles on it). #2 is that right now, the used market for cars is nuts, and Kelley Blue Book said my car was worth $10,200, when I had paid $12-something for it 6 years ago.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyYodQRvByiSvTiY1SFyhG79ekzvxJK2pWQOzVuPOjRqalIz9KuSCWGED8cV3XQcjQQ9fOqeOo2Uo0Ev0bkt3DxRO_mwtFLzJQTB7xyoya-E6MxLiSI9LR-PyS1hLe9UB8XWmeHakAR-JqGWjHBONEw4pe51FDqBCrTIQ3Q0p0k9jh5pJSyxBjnJu9YQ=s700" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="700" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyYodQRvByiSvTiY1SFyhG79ekzvxJK2pWQOzVuPOjRqalIz9KuSCWGED8cV3XQcjQQ9fOqeOo2Uo0Ev0bkt3DxRO_mwtFLzJQTB7xyoya-E6MxLiSI9LR-PyS1hLe9UB8XWmeHakAR-JqGWjHBONEw4pe51FDqBCrTIQ3Q0p0k9jh5pJSyxBjnJu9YQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So the only real issue with a high rate of return on trade-ins is that many new vehciles right now have a mark up because dealerships are getting very few sent from the factory and therefore need to make up for the loss in revenue due to this. That was the case for the car I wanted to replace this with, which was a 2022 Honda Insight hybrid. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin0s_mB3BzW_L_jGHXpeAAuDGpyaZhR2_tn31SZ3JfEoM7a0hahTAt-m9w6DLXwGDSetu59olUwdOyBuL4CrCWPvm2FHGHjXelp_unGQcvDFbPFy13Gw_cjYyVlakWKhOydKkqzDb1ZxzbWEF4FiVYAT0fIvXp6giKOmuFksdconuasq7CDUUVbbUIYA=s351" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="351" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin0s_mB3BzW_L_jGHXpeAAuDGpyaZhR2_tn31SZ3JfEoM7a0hahTAt-m9w6DLXwGDSetu59olUwdOyBuL4CrCWPvm2FHGHjXelp_unGQcvDFbPFy13Gw_cjYyVlakWKhOydKkqzDb1ZxzbWEF4FiVYAT0fIvXp6giKOmuFksdconuasq7CDUUVbbUIYA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Right now, gas prices are also nuts, and while you would think the tiny body and engine (the LTZ model had a turbo as well) of the Sonic had to have had some great gas milage, it just didn't. With a 12 gal tank, it averaged about 280-300 miles, and roughly 27mpg, with a HP of 138. The Insight on the other hand, is a mid-sized sedan with a hp of 151, a 10.6 gal tank, and gets about 500 miles to a tank; roughly 50-55 mpg. It's basically the best in its class and on par with the Prius. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks to youtube reviews, I knew basically everything about the car inside and out before even going to the dealership (obviously this isn't the end all-be all of information, but no dealerships had any cars on the lot for me to look at personally, so it's all I had). And compared to the Prius, Honda did them one better. The EX trim, which is their base model, had all the high tech saftey sensors that the base model Prius lacked.</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Avenir LT W01_35 Light1475496", san-serif; margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #00395a; font-size: 20px;">Safety features:<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<h3>Collision Mitigation Braking System&trade; (CMBS&trade;)</h3>
<span class="NormalTextRun SCXW218419729" style="background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #000000;">CMBS cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and other factors. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. System designed to mitigate crash forces. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.</span>" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">8</a></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Forward Collision Warning (FCW)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<h3>Forward Collision Warning (FCW)</h3>
FCW cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and other factors. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. FCW does not include a braking function. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions." style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">9</a></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<h3>Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)</h3>
Road Departure Mitigation only alerts drivers when lane drift is detected without a turn signal in use and can apply mild steering torque to assist driver in maintaining proper lane position and/or brake pressure to slow the vehicle's departure from a detected lane. RDM may not detect all lane markings or lane departures; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions." style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">4</a></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lane Departure Warning (LDW)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<h3>Lane Departure Warning (LDW)</h3>
LDW only alerts drivers when lane drift is detected without a turn signal in use. LDW may not detect all lane markings or lane departures; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions." style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">10</a></span></li></ul></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #00395a; font-size: 20px;">Driver-assistive features:<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></li><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #00395a; font-size: 20px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<strong></strong>
<h3>Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow</h3>
<p><span style="color: black;">ACC with Low-Speed Follow cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed, and other factors. ACC should not be used in heavy traffic, poor weather, or on winding roads. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.</span></p>" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">13</a></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-footnote="<strong></strong>
<h3>Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)</h3>
<p><span style="color: black;">LKAS only assists driver in maintaining proper lane position when lane markings are identified without a turn signal in use and can only apply mild steering torque to assist. LKAS may not detect all lane markings; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.</span></p>" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;">11</a></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Traffic Sign Recognition System (TSR)<a data-footnote="<h3>Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR)</h3>
<p>TSR cannot detect all traffic signs and may misidentify certain signs and does not include any braking or speed control functions. Accuracy will vary based on weather and other factors. System operation affected by extreme interior head. Driver remains responsible for complying with all traffic regulations. </p>" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2198dc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">58</span></a></li></ul></ul><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And let me tell you, the driver-assistive features are so bomb. I'm in love with them already. The ACC is amazing for highway traffic as the car basically drives itself. You set your speed to whatever, like 65, and if traffic slows in front of you then so does the car. Once traffic picks up, then your car will as well, without you having to do a thing. Lane Keep Assist is also great for the highway, as the car follows the lines of the road and basically keeps straight or curves with the road for you. The only issue with this that I've found so far (besides the fact that some reviews state it doesn't always work) is when there's a exit the car wants to follow that line and you have to correct for it. But overall, it's much less work to drive, especially in heavy traffic, then it would otherwise be. The traffic sign recognition is also pretty neat as there are times I'm driving around in unfamiliar territory and have no idea what the speed is.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It also has Android Auto (which I missed the boat on with my 2015 Sonic) that I've wanted forever. Going from the LTZ Sonic to the EX Insight, I lost out on a few nice-to-haves, like leather seats, heated seats, fog lights (trust me, they come in handy even without fog), and premium speakers. But the cool thing about Hondas is that they do their upgrades at the dealership, so I can always add the heated seats or the fog lamps later.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2022/03/chip-shortages-affect-cars-too.html">In my next post</a>, I'll explain what the buying process was like for me (thanks to the shortages), which didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked.</span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-45912816686040991962022-03-03T11:11:00.002-08:002022-03-03T11:11:36.746-08:00OnePlus 9 Pro Update<span style="font-family: verdana;">I loved this phone when I bought it, even with its quirks in the software. I hadn't owned a OnePlus device since the OnePlus One, which had a ton of software flaws and turned me off of OP phones until now. When OP announced their cameras were in collaboration with Hasselblad, I was intrigued. I wanted a phone with a good camera.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everything was going great until it was finally time to upgrade to Android 12. Unfortunately, this did not go smoothly. <a href="https://www.makeuseof.com/oneplus-oppo-merger-explained/" target="_blank">OP and Oppo merged</a>, which meant that OxygenOS was becoming ColorOS. Along with the A12 update, it turned into a disaster. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 months after updating to A12, the issues I was having still weren't being addressed and I was running very low on patience.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. No more 5G/VoLTE/VoWifi. This one is huge. How can they let an update go for 3 months without a phone having access to the stuff it did in A11?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Always on Display doesn't stay on. (It's literally in the name, dudes.) I use my phone as a clock/alarm, and having to tap the screen to find out the time was irritating. But also, if my alarm went off and the screen wasn't on, I'd have to hunt for the alarm under notifications and turn it off manually. And then my Google Routines wouldn't run.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. No more Visual Voicemail. T-Mobile has a nice service that will give you voice-to-text voicemails and access to look and save them and re-read them, if you pay $4 a month. It's pretty sweet and super handy. But after the update not only did voice-to-text stop working, but voicemails stopped showing up in the app completely. I messaged the developer about it but got nothing back from them. I wasn't going to pay $4 a month for a app that doesn't work.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were other more weird, random annoyances like the fact that after a couple of days, the ability to log into my phone with the fingerprint would competely go away unless I rebooted my phone. And when I rebooted, I would have to re-inable auto-rotate every time. And other times when my screen waking just wouldn't respond at all.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcmgPD3wuYTnsUm42saaHg5Eur1jslLOU8cXKql8lrZnnylDJ2QwFugYszGXOu27D0Kc7btyr9dUFLMjoMm-xcPuJ8Wv5yPFSi7p4drMzA0KPOm9z4mf9YzPcHNAdl6tFzvNNElNkm7qLKdrYKpqaq-ZItlW3e2jjBuvbtSxeKCkYYBnl-MRCaf51JKA=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcmgPD3wuYTnsUm42saaHg5Eur1jslLOU8cXKql8lrZnnylDJ2QwFugYszGXOu27D0Kc7btyr9dUFLMjoMm-xcPuJ8Wv5yPFSi7p4drMzA0KPOm9z4mf9YzPcHNAdl6tFzvNNElNkm7qLKdrYKpqaq-ZItlW3e2jjBuvbtSxeKCkYYBnl-MRCaf51JKA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh I'm settling. So hard.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">I posted these 3 main issues in OP Feedback, but they wanted me to do a screenshot video of the issue and some other weird stuff, and it just irritated me more, because 2 of the 3 issues I would not be able to do this. How do you expect me to video record my phone turning off its Always on Display after a random 4 hours in the middle of the night and then what - screenshot the off screen?? Like, are you serious? They were sending me canned responses without even reading about my issue first. So instead of trying to go through that trouble, I said screw it, and reinstalled Android 11.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I finally have a fully functioning phone again. It's unfortunate that I lose out on critical security updates. I'll try Android 12 again maybe in a few months. In fact, I think they've stopped pushing it out to phones due to all the issues, so maybe it'll be a few months before I get the update again. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had to factory reset my phone in order to downgrade it, which is a hassle in itself. But fair warning - if you have a 2-factor authentecator app - MAKE SURE YOU EXPORT EVERYTHING BEFORE WIPING YOUR PHONE.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Google Authentecator has an option to export/import your stuff, which I had no idea even existed, and I didn't even think that I needed to backup this stuff, but of course you do. There is literally no way to get all your old 2-factors back, and I had a whole page of stuff - some of it for work even. I was even locked out of the Bitwarden (my password manager!!) webpage without it. I was still able to access the browser application, which was crucial for work passwords, but basically the only way to "fix" the website problem was to delete my account and start over. Luckily, using the browser app, I was able to export all the passwords to my desktop and reload them to the new account. But without recovery passwords I have no access to any of my 2-factor unless it has a backup text option. And I don't even remember who all I had them set up for so I will be discovering them for a while, I'm sure.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't make the same mistake I did. >_<</span></div><div><br /></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-34099854412290381572022-02-14T08:38:00.004-08:002022-02-14T08:38:33.155-08:00Kitty Update<span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted to write a little update for Daisy. If you haven't read my previous post, (<a href="https://katjaneway.blogspot.com/2021/11/pile-it-on.html" target="_blank">go do that!</a>) basically she was diagnosed with metestatic lung cancer from a lump we found under her armpit that we, at first, thought it might just be a lipoma until it changed to become hard and oozy. Anybody that has been warned about cancer, knows that when a lump suddenly changes shape/hardness, to be worried and get it checked out. Even though we never did a pathology on the lump after her surgery, they did an xray when the lump grew back and found masses on her lungs.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">They gave her up to 6 months. That was back in October. Because she is 18, and the masses were in her lungs, they knew putting her under anesthesia would be too dangerous. And doing chemo would wipe her out much worse than a younger cat. It wasn't worth it for her quality of life to put her through that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I just wanted to give anybody interested some idea of the resources out there when you have an animal going through something like this, in case they were unaware like we were. Daisy's vet/insurance is through Banfield (Petsmart) and all they could really do is ask the oncologist his recommendations about how to treat her with her remaining months left. But while we waited on an answer, Daisy was becoming more lethargic, not eating very much, and anything she <i>did</i> eat, she might throw up. We weren't sure where to turn.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I began to do research (like I do), and found out that not only were their hospice/palliative care services for animals, but they could even travel to your home. Granted, it won't be covered under any kind of insurance, but if they could help Daisy then it was worth it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div></div></blockquote><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKkNt9odP39FSt2UQPxHhe5lRH4qh-u3Si3-O6KA70kl65_DNmA65e-k9AVEM2TRL8zGTp8jjxer8Kqzxy4uBP9k_TR7oD1bDgYs8XX2aOktQYgUR-lK8fRci4WCJ4aH3HtrB2AEH27YwxDd07Rw02PImLd37LzfkwMx3NX7FQttiZIEG9kZTj7g6fPw=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="2000" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKkNt9odP39FSt2UQPxHhe5lRH4qh-u3Si3-O6KA70kl65_DNmA65e-k9AVEM2TRL8zGTp8jjxer8Kqzxy4uBP9k_TR7oD1bDgYs8XX2aOktQYgUR-lK8fRci4WCJ4aH3HtrB2AEH27YwxDd07Rw02PImLd37LzfkwMx3NX7FQttiZIEG9kZTj7g6fPw=w320-h145" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6RlhOYPFbRSgxrj8fy77U6GC3-etSO-Yu76Jcd4kButMVFz1XG_fJB-6OJ8l0z465zr2o30QFZ3OsW_F5DL7UyztPZg_ych3ie9pHBSPpgCKtSDH7mni6VvcFDmUsDwdIpw9VadtnGAYXWW5Si_btzUeEz0pdpq21UMR3ih26WjtrcA-A0ahug3JMuA=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="2000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6RlhOYPFbRSgxrj8fy77U6GC3-etSO-Yu76Jcd4kButMVFz1XG_fJB-6OJ8l0z465zr2o30QFZ3OsW_F5DL7UyztPZg_ych3ie9pHBSPpgCKtSDH7mni6VvcFDmUsDwdIpw9VadtnGAYXWW5Si_btzUeEz0pdpq21UMR3ih26WjtrcA-A0ahug3JMuA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We found a travel vet call Peaceful Goodbyes, and she was able to come out within a couple of days. Daisy, at this point, had done a 180 from a couple days ago and was now eating again, but we were still worried about her pain level. </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilWWIL_Ri3cxakzK99NUXBlj-fgoqWX0FCfsJ4RvVQ1JxqP6Lchdx81F7GVNscLEsQlVZc7df11jsvJi-wu8BcEG1m7L2lBx3e548yAX3JT0XTixppHb-0SrtgWjWmhrf2ylDLKTECYP1JvWSSSTmXaiMTKpZFb5_jTf3yo80mcx8af9hHsMKZHDtedg=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="2000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilWWIL_Ri3cxakzK99NUXBlj-fgoqWX0FCfsJ4RvVQ1JxqP6Lchdx81F7GVNscLEsQlVZc7df11jsvJi-wu8BcEG1m7L2lBx3e548yAX3JT0XTixppHb-0SrtgWjWmhrf2ylDLKTECYP1JvWSSSTmXaiMTKpZFb5_jTf3yo80mcx8af9hHsMKZHDtedg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">See, cats hide their pain very well, and sometimes that pain can cause them to not want to eat, which can turn out very badly within just a couple of days if they continue down that road. We wanted to get ahead of the lack of appetite/throwing up, since it would only take a couple of days for her to suffer from </span><a href="https://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/my-cat-wont-eat#:~:text=When%20animals%20don't%20eat,their%20fat%20reserves%20for%20energy.&text=With%20rapid%20weight%20loss%20in,can%20lead%20to%20liver%20failure." style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">hepatic lipidosis</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The vet prescribed an anti-nausea medication that was actually meant for dogs, so we had to cut these tiny pills into quarters, which is not easy. And then, she gave her a shot of ketamine. It's hard to find anything online about ketamine for animals in regards to pain control, as mostly articles will pop up that it's used for anethesia. But boy, did it work miracles. Daisy felt a million times better and wanted to eat the whole world. In fact, she wanted more food than I think I've ever seen her eat in the 3 years I've known her. The ketamine could last about 4 weeks and then we could get her into her Banfield for another shot. This visit basically cost $315 (when you include the 2 meds), but now she was set up with a hospice vet that we could call on to do at-home euthanasia when the time came. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We continue to give her her gabapentin to help with arthritis, and Banfield also prescribed a steroid to help with inflammation. Unfortunately, when it was time for Daisy's second shot of Ketamine, it didn't do all the wonders it did the first time, which is pretty disappointing. I mean, she's still eating a good amount, but she also lost almost a lb of weight in a month, which is horrible. We feed her anytime she begs for food, and we give her just enough for her to be able to finish her plate in 2 sittings (wet food, of course.) But I guess the disease is using her calories so she's still losing weight.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I went online to do more research (since Banfield isn't much help) and basically googled "my cat is losing weight". Irritatingly, what pops up is "find out why your cat is losing weight". We already <i>know</i> why, what can we do about it?? They gave basic instructions like, feed wet food, and warm it up etc. Sigh. But in my googling I saw an ad for a <a href="https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/tomlyn-nutri-cal-for-cats" target="_blank">high calorie Nutri-gel </a>for cats. It's a sticky, molases-like stuff that tastes fishy, and Daisy seems to like it. We put a small amount on her paw for her to lick up. We haven't had it long enough to see if it's helping, but it couldn't hurt that's for sure. We'll mix it up into her wet food too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So that's the update so far. Just some resources for anyone that might be going through something similar with their pet.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-23992382374249755862022-01-06T16:06:00.004-08:002022-01-06T16:06:23.288-08:00Adjustable Base<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So you know me, the research queen. I try to watch and read all the things before I buy something, especially if it's expensive. Due to some recent back issues I've been having (and Patrick has been complaining as well), I decided that we needed to do something about our bed. Unfortunately, we had <i>just bought</i> the Purple 4 back in March. And the funny thing is, it has worked great up until now. I've replaced my mattresses too many times over the last 5 years and spent way too much money trying to find the "perfect mattress" to have to toss this one and try another. So, I found another solution.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">An adjustable base.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To the youtubes!! Just about everybody and their dog makes their own adjustable bases. Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you've noticed the explosion of rollable, shippable, factory-to-consumer beds being sold on the market right now. And just about every one of those brands will make an adjustable base. I had to watch several youtube videos about "the 5 best adjustable bed bases!", which of course, each one had a different set of 5, so it made things even more difficult.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Feature-wise, I didn't need anything too fancy like under bed lighting, wall-hugging, or message. I really just wanted this so-called "anti-gravity" feature that raises the head and legs up so that it craddles you and takes the pressure off your lower back. But I was also desperately looking for measurements of the frame because a bunch of them touted that they would fit inside your current bed frame to look seamless, and also had adjustable legs to increase the height, which I really needed because my platform frame was 14" high. I also wanted to make sure it was going to hold enough weight. The cheaper frames I found only held 650-750lbs, which seems like a lot, but Purple beds are really freaking heavy. My queen is probably about 200lbs of floppy hyperelestric polymer. Add 250 for Patrick and round up to 200 for me, and that's already too much.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I also wanted something where the frame looked nice just in case it wouldn't fit inside the one I currently had. Now granted, there isn't anything fancy about my platform frame. Its a steal construction with wooden slats but a nice dark gray padded headboard; that's the part I really wanted to keep. But I had spent probably $200 on this frame, geez, a year ago, maybe 2? It's not like I <i>like</i> throwing away money.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdemNgeS1ubJdxLJoC9hRK35jIbPw9MqMqzggLha4X4Is_0x0qW2TbiByidiUxlzhIoKDNsxRZRZ44CroWLscZvU42pPeZ_bKFCkKvTHycAm-Fi7GGWGMrHLDt-oTS-c-zqtYn7J0kgJ9a2ri3LE7wsnX8MC8uDdC_C-kdjaBaaZJggQ0IXHWpUbNkJw=s480" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdemNgeS1ubJdxLJoC9hRK35jIbPw9MqMqzggLha4X4Is_0x0qW2TbiByidiUxlzhIoKDNsxRZRZ44CroWLscZvU42pPeZ_bKFCkKvTHycAm-Fi7GGWGMrHLDt-oTS-c-zqtYn7J0kgJ9a2ri3LE7wsnX8MC8uDdC_C-kdjaBaaZJggQ0IXHWpUbNkJw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So, after a couple of days of watching videos, I finally found something that fit the bill. The Nectar adjustable base actually had above and beyond what I wanted, at a reasonable price. On sale for $800, it had USB ports, underbed lighting, message, anti-snore, all the adjutability, could hold up to 1,000lbs, and a nice padded dark gray surround for the frame. It said the leg height could be adjusted and was meant to sit inside bed frames, so it looked great. The youtube videos I watched said that the set up was really easy which was good because I didn't have enough room in my apartment to shuffle things around while trying to put it together.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I buy it, and end up with a coupon for a free 10-year parts and labor warranty on the motor etc, which is great because it originally only comes with a 3 year one, which is one of the worst offerings for adjustable bases. Patrick and I had a horrible time getting it up the stairs. First of all, there is something wrong with my left arm (that I will be seeing the doctor about) where I can't use it to lift much without it really hurting, so we had that going. Plus, Fed Ex dropped it off outside, with a cardboard box, on the day it was raining a monsoon. I got to it within 30 minutes but Patrick was at work, so just getting it inside the door of our secured unit (downstairs) was a feat in itself, as it weighs like 150 lbs. The cardboard was already falling apart, so when Patrick came home I told him we had to open it downstairs and then drag it up, because the cardboard wouldn't last the journey.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We get it up the stairs, and notice that the actuators for the motors weren't connected, and nothing was plugged into the control unit. It was also not already one piece (the video I watched said "it's already put together, all you have to do is unfold it and turn it over!" basically). So, we move the mattress out of the way, and I measure the adjustable frame and no, it will not fit inside the one I have. Sadness. I was not super surprised, as I was reading that platform frames are a bit different than regular frames so it might not fit. That's why I found one with the gray trim. But then I noticed the legs. They were a single piece of steel and not adjustable, even though the FAQ claimed that they were. So now they're lying. Fine, whatever, it wasn't going to fit inside my platform frame anyway.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We go to put the two halves together. Holes need to align so that we can screw in a leg on each side; only, the right side was being stubborn. Nothing we could do, no matter how hard we pushed, would align the two holes to screw in that leg. I finally had to bring out my dremel and start shaving steel. That was fun. I managed to make the hole just big enough to get the holes to align and we screwed in the leg. Then, we had to decipher the horrible instructions. They were completely wrong about which wire went into each plug for the control unit (they were color coded on the unit) and in general the directions just sucked. We had to guess at what they were implying most of the time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Finally, we get it together, put the batteries in the remote, and the bed doesn't move. (Luckily, the mattress wasn't on it yet). We realized they had given us dead batteries. They're AAA - do I even have any? Luckily, I did; exactly 3, which is what it took. Then, we try again. The bed still doesn't move. Maybe we plugged something in wrong, after all, the instructions were shit. So we turn the bed on its side and look at the controller. I'm reading the instructions to see if there was something we missed. On the last page, there is something in italics saying that we need to pair the remote with the controller.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...why wasn't that in the instructions for set up? We had already turned the frame over and were ready to go. It would be pretty important to tell us this before we get everything set up. The controller is in the middle of the frame and hard to reach.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So, we do this, and <i>finally, </i>at almost <i>midnight</i>, we get the damn thing set up and now we can go to bed.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLtX0TXGlj3AgdH8P3t7YZhgEqxP4kogasuGJ_D45xx677Kr4CU-aWKP9IBuFJHZMCRbfipQcp4sII0zXO-ajSwQx2Yqve80ydYjkJrXymg5JEQ_qOWo9nttOcrjO7L-t-pFryP0qVrsR30hz75RyZMRo-MaxGGOOSDrhdHkn0_AA54AtwITliQ-EfQg=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="800" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLtX0TXGlj3AgdH8P3t7YZhgEqxP4kogasuGJ_D45xx677Kr4CU-aWKP9IBuFJHZMCRbfipQcp4sII0zXO-ajSwQx2Yqve80ydYjkJrXymg5JEQ_qOWo9nttOcrjO7L-t-pFryP0qVrsR30hz75RyZMRo-MaxGGOOSDrhdHkn0_AA54AtwITliQ-EfQg=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic from GoodBed review</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Additional: We've had this bed base for like a month, and I've already had to re-pair the remote with the unit as if I took the remote outside with me or something. The remote hasn't gone further than 5 feet from that controller for the whole month. It's ridiculous that it unpairs for absolutely no reason, and then I have to reach under the bed in order to do the pairing process again.</p><p>On a positive note, it seems to work great when it works, and sleeping in a modified Anti-Gravity mode is super comfortable and works amazing for the lower back pain. So I highly recommend buying one (maybe not this one though??) if you have that kind of issue and have the kind of bed that can be bent to its will.</p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2822162692269184823.post-70723622001118066342021-11-04T13:53:00.000-07:002021-11-04T13:53:01.163-07:00PILE IT ON<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span> </span>I should have figured it would all eventually catch up to me, right? I've had such an easy go of life over the last few years (I mean, not including my 20s, I guess) compared to some people. You will always find people worse off than you so there's no point in compaining, I suppose. At least I have a roof over my head and money in the bank. But hot damn, when shit hits the fan it really does, doesn't it? Like, could we not like, you know, spread out the bad luck over a couple of years? Did it all have to happen at the same time?</span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvvt88-bBw9R30Ru0XUMJWz7zUCWM5rrRdg9l_p-OItG-EKaYOA6dQb9-eRVyY7SIrmhCZU66BBQ7zyqMNRu0B1MSamDdkOwVo74ZOqWzI9S0vLE03_3_yyXhkNP-oYNW8R82fXRMIEzx/s2048/kitty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1154" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvvt88-bBw9R30Ru0XUMJWz7zUCWM5rrRdg9l_p-OItG-EKaYOA6dQb9-eRVyY7SIrmhCZU66BBQ7zyqMNRu0B1MSamDdkOwVo74ZOqWzI9S0vLE03_3_yyXhkNP-oYNW8R82fXRMIEzx/s320/kitty1.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So besides the fact that my mom is in the hospital with an unknown ailment, undisagnosed for several months, and my dad is sick at the same time and still kind of recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery back in April, our amazing cat Daisy (who is Patrick's but now also mine by proxy) was recently diagnosed with metestatic lung cancer and has only months to live. There's nothing we can do for her but love on her and keep her comfortable until it's time we make the hard decision to say goodbye. She is 18, so she's had a good, long life, but the road ahead will not be easy, and it breaks both our hearts to know that we'll have to see her begin to suffer soon and need to decide when to say goodbye.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLDpudKsorAiPsptUrWfn4l3CM4XIGFrFvrJFS7GLLd8TjpnSySXkPFJgAluH1nR97X5NPmH47HDEMa27k6jABlrWeLp4SfplmsHJTMp_FvROYtWsS-ERZAennTloGODitgBpamL-4gfp/s2048/kitty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="2048" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLDpudKsorAiPsptUrWfn4l3CM4XIGFrFvrJFS7GLLd8TjpnSySXkPFJgAluH1nR97X5NPmH47HDEMa27k6jABlrWeLp4SfplmsHJTMp_FvROYtWsS-ERZAennTloGODitgBpamL-4gfp/s320/kitty2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And now to top that beautiful cake, my little toe did the splits on a piece of furniture and I heard a pretty sickening crack. Although it didn't hurt any worse than it usually would when I do that, the crack is what sold me that something was definitely wrong. Plus, it continued to hurt after the fact and it started to bruise between my toes. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt when I pulled my toes apart, but only if I applied pressure downward or moved them in an upward way. I had tried to go to urgent care Sunday night to get it taken care of but it was too late. It was 6pm and they were already seeing 8 people, so I was turned away. It wasn't serious enough to go to the ER for, so they told me to come back at 8am on Monday.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><span> So now I'm missing work, and even at 7:45am I'm the 4th person in line. It's crazy. Before Covid, as medical professionals, we'd get super annoyed at people going to the ER for stupid, not emergent things and clogging up emergency staff for shit that aren't ememrgencies, like stubbed toes. This is what urgent care is for, we'd say. Well, now it's working, and we see the result. People know now that Covid is clogging the ER, and they're also afraid to go to the ER, plus they're going to UC for Covid symtoms, so the UC is being overrun and it certainly shows.</span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><span><span> Anyway, turns out I have a small fracture in one of the bones further up my toe, which is why my actual pinkie toe doesn't seem to hurt at all, and I have to wear this sandle that's supposed to keep my foot flat but all it actually does is make my foot extremely cold, as if my feet weren't cold enough :-\ I mean, at least it doesn't hurt unless I step wrong, so there's that. But I gotta wear this sandle for 4-6 weeks ffs.</span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><span><span><span> Work isn't taking it easy on me either. Being in healthcare right now is a shitshow. Everyone is understaffed everywhere. And when you work in cancer, everything is now-now-now, and nothing can be done in a timely fashion when everyone is understaffed - including your own clinic. Now people here are leaving for better opportunities, and I'll be stuck doing the job of 3 people, and I need to be highly medicated in order to make it through the next few months.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><span><span><span> So like, can Murphy leave me alone now for a little bit and go bug someone else? Kthxbi.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></p>Katjanewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15889650552430377946noreply@blogger.com0