Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday. Yesterday was kind of busy, so I’m skipping the blog again. I’ll be back with a book review next week.
Busy Day Was Busy
Randomness
Can’t Do It Yet
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m not good. I’ve tried my damnedest to think of something fun or happy to ramble about, but I can’t do it. It’s been a week and I’m still just a ball of fear and rage. If you don’t understand why a cripple who is dependent on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security in order to simply survive is terrified and angry, then you don’t understand the repercussions of the far right agenda and I’m not in a place to calmly explain it to you right now. So! I’m going to go play mindless games while I can, read while books are still a thing we have access to, and maybe even listen to loud music until they ban that too. Am I exaggerating? Maybe. Anyway, I’ll try to be in a better place next week. For now, a pretty picture by Yuumei.
Sweet Treats
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay. Usual. Went with Dad to a follow up doctor appointment yesterday (today as I’m writing this), so this will be a short post. I know I’ve done posts on favorite chocolates and all that, but I can’t find anything about hard candies. Granted, I didn’t look very hard. So, since Halloween is next week, I thought I’d do a top 3 list.
Here we go!
1. Werther’s Original. I don’t care if it’s an old people candy. I’ve loved them since I was a kid. I will love them until I die. But I don’t get them often because Dad loves them too and I won’t tempt him like that. But yes, random grandma on the street. I will gladly take one. I’ll even take one of those mysterious strawberry candies that just randomly spawn in your purse once you hit a certain age.
2. Jolly Ranchers. I like fruity hard candy. I’m not a fan of chewy candies like StarBurst or whatever, but stick a Jolly Rancher in my cheek and I’m happy. I like grape. Watermelon is good too. I haven’t found a flavor I actively dislike, actually. But I don’t eat them much because I’m satisfied for months after just one, so there’s no point in buying a bag.
3. Dum Dums. I completely forget these exist until I see them somewhere. Usually the doctor’s office. I’ll steal one and be good for the year, so I never even think about buying them.
What are your favorite non-chocolate candies? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, or comments here or on my social media pages!
Sophia VS. the Water Hose
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I can’t think of anything to blog about, so I decided to show you Sophia and her favorite game. Just look at the cuteness. She literally begs for this whenever Dad’s near a hose. And the water has to be on the jet setting or else it’s not worth her time. Meanwhile, if Bonnie and Mardi are outside when this is going on, they run for cover. They’re not cool like Sophia. Anyway, there’s your dose of random cuteness for the week. Maybe I’ll have something to ramble about next week.
Fall in Texas
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. Still stressing over stupid stuff. I have no book review today, so I’ve been trying to think of something fall or Halloween related to ramble about, but we’re boring people. We don’t decorate the house. At best we put up a winter wreath in December. Nothing for autumn or Halloween. I don’t watch scary movies. I’ve already done scary story recommendations. I’ve done favorite candy and gross candy. I thought about doing fall outfits, but it’s Texas. It’s still 90 degrees outside. My fall outfits are the same as they’ve been for the last 6 months… shorts and t-shirts. I could pretend to be one of those girls who coordinates outfits with every season, but I’m not. So, I guess I’ll just ramble about fall in Texas.
How can you tell it’s fall in Texas? People get excited over “cold fronts” that take us from 95 degrees down to 91. Or 89 if we’re really lucky. If it hits 85 degrees, people start pulling out the jeans and hoodies. People walk down the street holding their steaming pumpkin spice lattes, despite the fact that the asphalt is hotter than that coffee. Fall in Texas is weird.
It’s also State Fair season. I haven’t been in about 10 years. It’s crowded and overpriced, but it’s one of those things Texans get super excited about. Like, what non-fried food item are they going to batter and shove in oil this year? Last time I went, it was butter. Not great. But the deep fried Nutter Butter was divine. So, when people start talking about Big Tex, you know it’s fall.
Football. The Cowboys, sure. But when people start talking about high school football like it’s life or death, that’s when you know fall has truly begun in Texas. The rivalries. Pitting children against each other for adult amusement. There’s nothing better. Even college football pales in comparison. It gets creepy and it gets super intense. And don’t you dare ever remind people it’s just a game or you’ll get run out of the state (and probably most states that abut us). Seriously. It’s weird down here.
Oh, and don’t be fooled by the 3 days of nice weather at the end of September or beginning of October. That’s just Mother Nature screwing with us. We won’t get real fall until around Halloween, but that’s only for a week at best, then it’s winter. So, happy fall from Texas!
September Plans
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay. It’s currently Monday (the 2nd) because Dad has a check up tomorrow, so we’ll be spending most of Tuesday in Rockwall and I won’t have a chance to ramble at you if I wait until then. Anyway, I have decaf choco-cherry coffee from Texas Coffee Traders and lots to read, so I’m probably going to keep this brief. Maybe. All I really want to do is get a list of things I’m planning to do this month down, so you can all be disappointed in me when I fail. Here it is…
1. Writing. I finished a short story last week, but actually writing felt nice, so I’m going to try to keep up with it. I have a novel that I want to finish (I’m only a chapter into it). It’s something I had barely started when I hit the “what’s the point?” funk I’ve been in. I’ll try starting it up again and see if I can get anywhere.
2. Reading. I’m a little behind in my review books because I somehow ended up with a book for September 18th, 25th, and October 2nd. So, I’m currently reading those three plus a book to listen to while I’m in bed. It doesn’t help that I’m not exactly enamored with two of them (wait for the reviews). But I’ll use the rest of this week to catch up on them and focus on writing starting next week. Hopefully.
3. Slushing. I’ve mostly been keeping up with my first reader responsibilities. I try to get through 20+ stories a week. I don’t think I’m behind. But there are still a lot to go. Everyone is working hard to get through the submissions in a timely manner. We’ll get it done.
4. Peopling. I haven’t been on top of answering my messages (from friends, anyway). I read everything, but sometimes I forget to answer for a few days. If I start writing again, that will probably just get worse. Sorry. But I’ll try to do better.
Those are the things I need to work on in September. What are your plans for the month? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!
I’m So Tired
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? I’m tired and taking another day off. I suck. I know. I had a meeting and some people are coming over later and I haven’t eaten yet. The excuses could keep coming, but the truth is, I just don’t want to write anything right now. I’m going to slush, then be social, and fit food in there somewhere. I’ll be back next week with a book review.
Summer Heat
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? It’s August in Texas, so it’s hot and muggy and generally gross outside. I’ve been spending my time inside, as usual. Reading, slushing (the place I’m a first reader at opened the submission floodgates recently, so yeah), and even writing a bit. Funness. Anyway, it’s hot and I kind of want ice cream, but I won’t get any because Dad shouldn’t have it. Okay, I might order a small one I can eat in one sitting if we order from a restaurant, but no pints or anything. So, I thought I’d just share my top 5 favorite flavors with you while I think about them, then go back to ignoring ice cream’s existence.
1. Coffee. Just plain coffee ice cream. No chocolate chunks. No espresso beans. A smooth, creamy, rich coffee ice cream. It’s the best and I haven’t had it in forever. I also like it mixed into a milkshake with my second favorite flavor.
2. Cookies and Cream. It was my favorite as a kid and I still love it. Alone or with coffee ice cream. Yum. I’m not picky.
3. Vanilla. Yes, I prefer vanilla over chocolate. It’s more versatile if I want to add something to it (fruit, liqueurs, whatever). Plus, if it’s a good brand, vanilla has a more complex flavor and I like that. It’s just better all around.
4. Salted caramel. I like caramel in general. As with coffee ice cream, I’d rather it not have chocolate chunks or toffee or whatever other surprises companies want to throw in there. Just caramel with a little salt.
5. Chocolate, I guess. I don’t really have a strong preference for any other flavors. I like raspberry, but not enough to give it it’s own spot on my list. Same with mint chocolate chip. Peanut butter is too hit or miss. So, I suppose a basic chocolate is good enough.
What are your favorite ice cream flavors? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments or questions here or on my social media pages!
Pulling an All Nighter
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely first Wednesday of August? It’s summer in north Texas, so things are toasty. It’s actually Tuesday and I’m preparing to stay up all night so I can have a phone meeting at 10:30 in the morning on Wednesday. Why, you ask. Because it’s easier than going to bed early, but still laying awake until 4am, just to get up at 8am to be in my chair and prepared to make the call at 10:30am. Yeah. Getting up is a whole 2-hour process. So, I hate anything before about 2pm. But I do love the nighttime. I’m usually pretty productive. But it’s also boring because all my friends have day jobs or kids or whatever and no longer lurk online all night with me. Ah well. I have stuff to do.
The plan includes, but isn’t limited to the following:
1. Catching up on reading. I’m a little behind on a couple of my review books. I somehow ended up with 4 books to review between now and Oct. 2nd. I should be reading the one for the end of this month and the one for mid-September, but I haven’t started the second one yet. I’m only two days behind, though. It’ll be easy enough to catch up tonight.
2. Do a couple of things for Dad. One involves his watch and the other involves signing him up for something. These things should be relatively quick.
3. At least read through a short story I started back in June. I should even try to work on it. This will depend on how long reading takes and whether or not I can find the motivation.
4. Mindless games. Especially when the first wave of tiredness hits around 4am. It usually takes about an hour to shake it off. Mindless games are great for this time.
5. X-Men cartoons. Maybe. I keep telling myself to watch the new one, but I haven’t yet. I also want to rewatch the old ones. Or maybe I’ll rewatch Gargoyles. Or The Weekenders if I can find it. Or maybe I’ll just skip TV. It’s not important.
That’s the plan. Wish me luck with the meeting!
Another Rant
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are annoying, but fine. It’s late on Tuesday because I spent too much time on the phone with Medicaid. Again. Then, I avoided productivity in favor of watching TV with Dad. Shame on me, I know. I’m mostly just having trouble mustering up energy to do anything. I wake up tired. I stay tired despite having my usual amounts of caffeine. Sleep has been normal (just meh). Everything is just meh. Anyway, since I don’t have anything to ramble about, I thought I’d go on a rant. Don’t worry. Next week is the book review, so it’ll be a regular post.
I don’t remember if I’ve talked about it here, but Medicaid decided to force me to sign up for something called Star+Plus back at the end of May. I looked into it and everything I read said I couldn’t be on that program because I’m also on a program called CLASS, plus I’m on Medicare. So, I asked my CLASS case manager and she assured me I could be on Star+Plus, but not on the waiver program version of it. I took her at her word and didn’t think much about it.
Fast forward to July 1st when the program is supposed to activate. Some stuff has occurred that has me questioning things, so I do another search about Star+Plus. I find one super hidden thing that says people on CLASS can be on the program, but everything else says I’m not eligible for it. Add on the fact that I try to activate an online account with the insurance company that handles Star+Plus and keep getting told that I don’t exist, and I start getting antsy. Being the paranoid person I am, I contact Medicaid multiple times over the next week and a half to ask what’s going on and why my account isn’t working and how come they tried to put me on this program when I’m already on this other program, etc. For days, I get passed around to different departments and told conflicting things until someone finally escalates my case.
When someone finally calls at 8:30 in the morning, I don’t answer. I call back and get swapped around a couple of times until someone can tell me the woman who called just wanted me to know she was investigating my case and would call me when she knew more. Why she couldn’t just tell me that in the message, I don’t know. So, I wait and I check my YourTexasBenefits account every single day. On Thursday (Dad’s birthday), all mention of Star+Plus is removed from my account. Yay, right? I figure I’ll be getting a call that everything is straightened out and I’m back on traditional Medicaid.
Still hadn’t heard anything yesterday, so I called to get an update. I get passed around a couple of times because it’s the government and they refuse to give you a direct line to the department you need. But I end up on the phone with someone in the wrong department but who actually seems to know what she’s talking about. She confirmed I was right all along and that being on CLASS and Medicare precludes me from being on Star+Plus. Everything in her system indicates that I’m back on traditional Medicaid. She made a note that all mention of Star+Plus was removed from my YourTexasBenefits account. And she got in touch with the escalation unit for me. Supposedly, they’re still waiting for some kind of confirmation from Medicaid that I’m back on traditional Medicaid and that’s why they haven’t been in touch.
So, this has all been a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Because government. And I’m still waiting to officially be told I’m back on traditional Medicaid. Such fun. Ugh.
