Unsure what to write these days. Plenty to tell....family stuff, gambling jaunts, etc. . But I stay silent. Not sure why. Guess with not working comes the realization that day to day is just a host of stuff and while I write for me, it's all pretty mundane.
Sure, I could do posts about wins and losses....especially the wins. Sometimes I think I should since I love remembering them, right? But then I start to move the pics from my phone to my computer, name them, try to figure out the story of the post...it's just too much.
I have had decent luck of late and while I have lost some this week (vs. last week where I won so much it was insane) I'm still plenty solvent.
J. and I went to Atlantis today because he played in another Black Jack tournament. He really enjoys the play and it's totally free to us - so it's a nice way to spend time there with him doing something he really enjoys. I lost off and on all morning and then I had made some back up but still down quite a bit.
I left J. (post tournament - he didn't place to move on to later rounds but oh well - he had fun and that's the most important thing) at the Dragonlink machine I was on and went to do free play. Turned $120 into $50 cash and then lost it trying to hit something bigger. I returned to Dragonlink and J. decided to go sit in the comfy, cozy VIP lounge. I decided to try the machine one more time with some aggressive betting and put in $100. Very first spin on a $5 bet, penny denomination, I hit $145. Very next spin, same bet hit another $145! With those amazing wins, I changed to dime denomination and bet a whopping $12.50 - and a few spins in (thank goodness! That's a BIG bet for me), I won $737.50! That was enough. Said goodbye to the fun friends I was playing with, cashed out and headed to VIP. When I did the 'reckoning' when we got home, I was still down just a little but it was OK. Glad my Hail Mary play paid off!
I've been feeling not great for weeks - still having bladder issues and a sinus infection that I've been doing all my 'home treatments' for. Would have gone to the doctor weeks ago but I didn't actually have a primary care anymore. She left the practice - and I'd never actually met her anyway - was seeing a physician's assistant via telenet. Not the same thing at all. So I knew I wanted to make a change. I finally went to the medical group J. goes to and his PCP is amazing - I opted to find my own doctor and preferably a lady. I went yesterday for the first time and was so blown away by the experience. She spent close to an hour with me - reviewing medical history, talking through previous conditions, etc. . She didn't hesitate to treat my bladder issues - and not only did she treat the 'acute' phase that was starting up again, she gave me medication to take a daily prophylactic dose as well. AND an antibiotic for my sinuses which she agreed 'look pretty angry'. The bladder meds have refills to get me through a full year of a small daily dose if that's what it takes - but we also talked through other things I will do to try to right the ship. LOTS MORE WATER is top of the list. I try so hard to stay well hydrated - but when it hurts to urinate, the natural inclination is to avoid liquids so you won't have to go as often. Bad approach. I'm working on 80 ounces a day minimum in water - plus my morning coffee.
I texted J. within a few minutes of meeting the nurse (who got me settled in the exam room) 'it is so nice to feel heard for the first time in forever'.
I practically floated out of the office - just knowing that I have finally found a PCP that is a great 'fit' for me. She's concerned, wants me to feel my best every single day and encouraged me to come in whenever needed so she can do what she can to help. Such a HUGE difference. (I won't go into all the crap that happened at the first practice I tried - it was OK for a while but when it started being not OK, it went downhill in a majorly crashing way. I'm very glad to not be going there anymore).
Spring has definitely sprung here in Carson. This week are the first nights since October that I haven't needed to run the heater a bit to take the chill of my bedroom when I head to bed. J. has been working SO HARD outside - we have so many more weeds than we ever anticipated and the way to handle them is to remove them ASAP and then we've been using Preen pellets. The pellets have to be watered in well after applying so it's a process. Our landscaper stopped by yesterday - we lost about 20 plants over the winter and it sounds like he's going to replace them for us. He said that using the Preen product will help but it does build up over time so it will take awhile. He also said this year has been really bad for weeds which is unusual because there wasn't a ton of snow or moisture this winter. (I happened upon a Power Point presentation about Carson Emergency agencies and there were 23 'red flag' days for wind in 2020 compared to low teens for previous few years....so it seems a lot of wind spread weeds everywhere).
Things are greening up, flowering and generally looking beautiful. I will try to get some pics up this week to share. Birds are returning to the bird baths and Nala and Muf are enjoying some outdoor time in a gazebo 'play pen' I bought. Designed for outings with a baby, it (so far) is working - they tolerate being 'enclosed' and enjoy seeing outside. Muf (as always) is super chill. Nala frets a lot because she realizes she can't get out so she gets panicked about it. Technically, she can get out - the canopy has openings at the canopy bottom/top of the walls - but she hasn't figured that out yet. I think I could stitch or glue velcro to get the openings closed - and may try that if they try to escape. I told J. 'if this doesn't work, I'm going to spend thousands building them a true 'catio'.' Google it. It's a thing!
Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I'm missing my sons. B. called on Thursday and said 'what do you want for Mom's day, Mom'. I replied 'something from your heart'. He said 'I'll do my best'. I replied 'well, it's only a few days away so don't worry - I'll be fine'. Who knows. Our savings account will provide me with some Mom's Day extra play money so I will probably go play slots for a bit here in Carson.
The upcoming week is busy - we're approaching the one year anniversary of owning this house and that's the deadline for 'cosmetic' repairs. Still have a couple things hanging out including some light fixture and electrical switch issues, a small flooring issue and (still) more paint stuff than I can keep track of. Ready to let the cosmetic paint issues go 'cuz I'm over it already. We will get the flooring and electrical stuff sorted. J. (finally) called Best Buy to schedule their assistance in moving the TV in our office and in J.'s bedroom onto mounts on the wall. We also have a Zoom call with our financial advisor who checks in with us every two to three months. We'll see if he's proposing making any changes to our investment mix. We've hit a milestone of sorts where he might be tempted to ratchet back now that we've hit a target - but we're inclined to keep it growing a bit if possible. We'll see what he thinks. We trust him completely and whatever he thinks we should do, we likely will.
After 31 years together, J. and I decided enough was enough. Why are we torturing ourselves? Time to make a huge change. We finally broke down and bought an 'everyday' salt and pepper shaker set. No more using the huge Costco salt and pepper, pouring some in our hands and sprinkling over our food. We are legit now! I love Amazon. $8.95 and here in a day!
Guess that's all the news for now. I will try to post some pics to add interest. My lack of postings is just the realization that time goes so incredibly quickly and the days just zoom by.
Life is good. Blessed, thankful and grateful sums up life these days.
