Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Three weeks from today I will be in surgery. Color me nervous.

So we can forget the playoffs. We lost both games. Most of the other people on our team were a bit off - running late, company distracting them. I don't care as it is just for fun, but DH was starting to feel a bit competitive. Don't tell him I don't care ;)

Today we are doing a bit of cleaning and some miscellaneous errands in preparation for the 2 SILs. If their plane is on time, they should be here between 6-6:30 which is good as it will still be light out. The weather in the northeast is a bit nasty but it looks like the rain and wind have subsided enough for them to potentially have an on-time departure.

Justice was a bit off last night. Funny when you actually miss the barking when the UPS guy is at the door because you know it means he is under the weather. But he ate well last night, slept like a log all night, and had plenty of vim and vigor this morning on our walk. People sometimes stop to chat and tell us that they love watching him walk because he has such a jaunty, happy vibe. It is actually the first thing that made me think he was awfully cute when I met him in the shelter.

Time to do some guest preparation cleaning. Have a wordy Wednesday!

My folks headed back towards Michigan today. Kirby and I are on our own! First thing I did when I walked back inside is turn off the damn heat. Hallelujah!

Grout guy comes back today to use an acid on the new grout for the efflorescence. Then he'll come back in a few days to seal it.

Yesterday was busy with the trust attorney and my board meeting. The trust stuff was really interesting. The results of choices my parents made 30 years ago look very different today and my dad wouldn't make them now. So lots of things to think about for my dad and for me to try to avoid the ramifications of those choices without being able to change an irrevocable trust. I think smoke was pouring out of his ears. But better to know now and be able to make some different decisions within those constraints to avoid as much of the inevitable as possible. And reading those legal documents is like reading Klingon.

The scale was up a pound today. I don't feel much on my shot day, so maybe I ate too much. I won't stress. I'm having trouble ordering my next batch because of a ransomware attack on the company that handles the savings card/insurance processing. It's affected far more than my medication, but has been going on for over a week. Hopefully it gets solved soon. So glad I don't work in their IT department!

Today we should have a playdate with my neighbor's new cardiac service dog, Lucy. She is still in training, is about a year old, and has a ton of energy. Hopefully they wear each other out!

Other than that, no plans here. Just enjoying the near aloneness with Kirby. Hope everyone has a great day!

Congrats on Kirby and you having the house to yourselves!

So I had to look up efflorescence. Never heard of it but I guess I may have seen it.

My late DH who did a fair amount of estate planning would recommend not doing irrevocable trusts until very late in life probably for the reasons your Dad and you learned about. Speaking of legal stuff, DH and I need to update our Postnup agreement to include the condo as it is jointly owned. At the time we signed it 2 years ago we didn't have anything jointly owned. We have an appointment Tuesday with the main attorney (mine reviews and makes any necessary recommendations afterwards). It's a pain but necessary when you have 2 families.

Your DH was right! At the time, they had a famous-in-the-world-of-trusts NYC lawyer do it, but in hindsight, he's not thrilled. When it was written, I was 20ish and they thought I'd be married with kids and grandkids one day. They weren't imagining that wouldn't happen. Ugh.

Greetings all

Another clear day here. My friend showed up to do the deck planter work that I hired her for but messed up yesterday. She earns a living doing odd jobs and is great to have around. She gets what I want and is diving right in. And she will mow the lawn which looks like a hay field. I was kind oh hoping she would want to do that but thought she would not. Yay win win.

Trusts! I used to write many of them. Most were revocable. Irrevocable trusts were usually set up to avoid estate taxes and sometimes receive life insurance proceeds. But 30 years ago the estate tax credit (exemption) was vastly lower than it is today. So what made sense then may not make sense now. I used to advise clients not to try to "rule from the grave" meaning let heirs do what they want and not try to keep them on the farm if they don't want that. So many people thought their kids should have the business and love it and run it forever and that often just did not work out. Reminds me I need to look at my own stuff. Need to make sure my niece benefits from what my mother left to me.

Yay CC solitude at last! Glad your dad can come and glad he can go elsewhere. Enjoy Kirby time. Peaceful home puttering is one of my favorite things.

Off to get haircut in a bit. I would like to immediately head to a place for a passport photo because my hair only looks decent for about one hour every three months. Also need to stop into studio.

Pot pie tonight.

Diane S

Sounds like you and my late DH had similar philosophies.

Interesting thoughts about trusts. Diane it must have been wonderful for your clients to have your level headed advice and console. My only brush with trusts is my Aunt is having a revocable trust developed that would allow me to spend money to care for and make medical decisions for her should she become incapacitated and het husband has either passed, or he is also incapacitated. My Aunt was quick to tell me that there is a different sum set aside in her will for me. I prefer we spend her money together :) lots more fun that way. My kids will be left to decide who gets the kitchen aide stand mixer and who gets the le cruiset dutch oven.

We started our morning relaxing in the sun for about an hour, then made it through the journey home with few glitches.

So now I'm home, having a cup of tea to warm up, as the outdoor temp is 20 degrees! Our unusually warm winter will be back online by the weekend when the predicted temperature is in the 60s. I am happy for that. An hour or so more, and I need to unpack and shift my thoughts to preparing for work tomorrow. But for now, A few more sips of tea.

Good evening. An eventful day! Emotions are running wild at one of my school sites due to Teacher of the Year winner and the fact that some teachers are being moved to different grades and one of the new teachers is not being rehired for next year. Squirrels chewed through the router protection for the wifi at my school site today. Luckily, it was repaired ASAP and my online lessons were usable. Ended the day with a staff meeting at yet a third school. This was my third staff meeting this month! Anyhow, the principal abruptly left the meeting with no explanation, but returned about 10 or 15 minutes later. All we were told was that she was needed on an emergency Zoom meeting. Got home to an email from the district that a very threatening email had been sent to several district teachers and other staff members. Police have been called, parents notified, etc.... Bet you attendance will be spotty tomorrow. Surrounding districts got similar emails at the same time, so the police don't believe the threats are credible, but since our schools are all under one PD, they will be present on each campus tomorrow. Sheesh..... Of course, I'll be at one of the schools with the easiest public access tomorrow.... In the midst of all the chaos, I am feeling calm and unworried.

Liz, glad to read that you are seriously considering the compounding options available. I am taking a semaglutide compound. The tirzepatide compound is not yet availble in CA. I believe you can get it in FL, but it is close to $500 per month. My semaglutide compound (Ozempic dosage, not Wegovy dosage) was $247 for the first month and will be $297 in subsequent months. I know my results may not be typical, but I have lost a good chunk of weight since my first shot last Thursday night. Believe it or not, I have already dropped 7 pounds! I have not "dieted' either. It's been easy to make eating decisions geared toward weight loss.

Honestly, I am so, so thankful that I took the plunge. After the initial two days of really minimal side effects, what I have noticed as the week went on is a gradual reduction of the gassy, bloated feeling, no queasiness after the second day, I have been able to enjoy what I eat, and other than the first day, no aversion to foods I generally like. My drive towards calorie dense, high sugar, high carb, high fat foods has remained subdued. I have yet to feel any real temptation to eat those types of foods. For example, since Ron is at church tonight, I ate an apple and chicken tenders for dinner. It's what I wanted and was completely satisfying. I had a Fairlife protein shake for breakfast and one after my workout, so I know I'm getting enough protein, which i can see would be a struggle without some type of protein supplementation.

Not sure if you all are aware, but one of the functions of Ozempic is to slow gastric emptying. The construction of our sleeves creates a high pressure gastric emptying system. The Ozempic slows down the emptying. This in turn slows sugar being released into the gut (good for diabetes) and keeps the stomach full longer (good for hunger management).

I pray that this is not a temporary effect of the med. I really, really, really like how I feel. I feel so NORMAL around food. Does the semaglutide break the spell???? Only time will tell.

Based on your experience so far as well as Diane and her DH, I will definitely go the semaglutide route. The only reason I wouldn't is if some miracle occurs during my first couple of weeks after surgery and I lose weight. Unlikely as the only thing that would likely dampen my appetite would be opiate painkillers and I am unlikely to take them for longer than a day or two (because they make me incredibly nauseous and constipated).