05.03.22 • Getting Yelled At • Visiting Friends • Burger King •

Last week, I forgot to mention that I was yelled at by a stranger on Friday after work!
I drove all the way home, and when I got to the street our house is on, I noticed that it was totally baron – void of any vehicles. Context clues told me it was street sweeping day. I slowed down to a crawl and called Corey to ask him where I should park.
After I passed our house, just a few houses down, there was a man on the sidewalk. He was somewhere in his 30’s, maybe 40’s, and had long hair and a jacked body. He was walking away from me – at first.
He turned around and when he saw me, his body language changed. He suddenly looked angry.
He started walking towards my car, chest puffed out. He maintained eye contact with me the entire time I passed him by.
When I got right next to him, he stopped, turned towards me, his legs started to lunge, and he yelled, “F*** YOU!”
… I don’t understand. What did I do?

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On Saturday night, Corey and I went over to Davon and Michaels, where we were joined by Kelsey and Krys for a barbeque and a board game night.
After arriving, Davon, Kelsey, and I went out to get groceries for our meal. It was also my first time being inside Davon’s new car – which she had only gotten hours prior to our visit. Upon entering the Wal-Mart parking lot, I noticed a little green sedan weaving through the empty parking stalls at a quick pace, and heading towards us. I warned Davon about the sedan, for if neither of us slowed, it would likely end in us being T-boned. Davon slammed on her brakes, and that’s when we found out that her back seats weren’t latched all the way in.
The driver’s side portion of the back seats went slamming forward, crushing Kelsey’s tea that sat in the cupholder in the center console. When Davon went to go again, the seat slammed back, which caused Kelsey’s tea to half-empty all over the back seat like a sprinkler!
(Oh no. Poor Kelsey.)

Later that evening, we played Betrayal at House on the Hill – which was the original game that Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate was based on.
That game is also a lot of fun! It has different events and items and such within it than Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate, which led to a different kind of experience, and honestly – I’m not sure which version I enjoy more. I like that the original is scary house inspired, I think that that element is really cool.

If you haven’t tried these games before, I recommend you give it a go – at least once! It makes for a good time.

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Yesterday, I had Burger King – and I know that doesn’t sound any kind of spectacular, but I have only had Burger King once in my entire life before. It was so long ago, that I don’t remember the experience – or even the food that I ate, I just remember that it was a kid’s meal.

Just the other day, Corey and I had wound up talking about Burger King, and Corey mentioned that once, he had tried their original chicken sandwich and described it to me in a way that sounded exactly like something I’d love. Yesterday after work, I stopped at a nearby gas station and discovered a Burger King I didn’t even know was here, so… I messaged Corey and we decided that that should be dinner. I could try Burger King, and we could have those sandwiches he had mentioned just a few days before – coincidentally.

Except… They screwed up our order and we got chicken burgers, which were different from the original chicken sandwiches I had ordered. C’est la vie.

Still pretty good, honestly.

Is there any fast food that you haven’t ever tried?

05.05.22 • Baking • Kitty Friend •

So… My sister is graduating from college and her ceremony is on Friday. My boss was kind enough to allow me to take off early so I can attend.

Of course, I wanted to get Davon a gift for her accomplishment, and I think I have a perfect idea… I can even tell you about it now because, by the time she reads this, she will have already received it – so I can’t spoil it!

For the entire time she’s been in college, she has kept me up-to-date (in real-time) about all of her stresses, projects, accomplishments, tests, and grades. Every time she would tell me she got a good grade, (which was every assignment and every test ever,) I would send her the cookie emoji (if we were talking over messenger) to tell her she was a smart cookie; otherwise – I would just say, smart cookie.

I’ve been doing this for the entire four years (I think?) that she has been in college. Since the beginning, every single thing… Cookie emoji.

So, for her present, I am making her a big cookie. A really big cookie. I even got a tiny cake topper that is shaped like a grad cap to put on top of it!

I need to make that cookie tonight, and I’m nervous, because… By no stretch of the imagination am I a baker. Or a cook.

… I’m very good at microwaving.

I found the recipe I want to use months ago on another blog from a blog support group that I’m a part of. If you wish, you can find the recipe here!

It’s a brookie, so it’s cookie on top and brownie on the bottom, but… It looks delicious and I’m sure it’ll get the point across.

I hope this is a good idea and not a stupid idea. I hope that it’s a big enough present… I hope I don’t mess up the cookie.

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This week is Big Item Pick Up in town. Two days ago, Corey and I went driving around, and I found a baby gate – which I decided to take.

I set it up in my office door at home – Thirteen’s safe haven. I left a cat-sized space at the base of the baby gate so Thirteen can freely roam in and out of the office (while someone’s home) and I don’t have to worry about the dogs getting into her food or litterbox, while also having peace of mind that she has somewhere safe from dogs to return to if things get to be too much. After all, we’re still baby-stepping – even though tons of progress has been made in the last little while!

I’m really happy about the baby gate, though. I think it’ll offer a lot more opportunity throughout the day to allow Thirteen to explore the house, and allow the dogs to see her more often – hopefully getting them accustomed to her presence and prompting them to leave her the hell alone so they can coexist peacefully!

Anyway, if you’re in a position like me where you’re introducing your cat to your dogs and you’re unable to install a cat door, try a baby gate! Works great.

05.07.22 • Grad Commencement • Gift Giving • Limo Ride • Party • Big Item Pick Up • Dog Rescue •

Despite only being there a few weeks now, my employers were kind enough to allow me to take a half-day yesterday so I could watch my sister graduate. In fact, that wasn’t even the only domino that had to fall for me to go. At first, because of COVID-19 restrictions, I wasn’t sure I would be able to because Davon was only allowed two guests and she felt it most important that our parents got to attend. Luckily, one of her fellow graduates didn’t have any use for her own guest’s tickets and gave them to Davon – so she got to bring me, and her boyfriend of a decade, Michael!

I’m so grateful I got to go.

She graduated from NAIT – and NAIT has a mascot; the Ook. When we first walked in, the Ook mascot was walking around, so I asked Davon if I could take a picture of her with the Ook. She said yes, and not wanting to be rude, I asked the Ook if I could take a picture of him. The Ook nodded, then there was a pause, then the Ook moved in closer to me and put his arm around me… for a selfie. The miscommunication lead to a very awkward moment where I felt compelled to take a selfie with the Ook instead of explaining the situation, so I pulled out my phone…

Then, Level Two Awkward:

My timer was on. 

Aah!

So as the timer was counting down, I was apologizing profusely to the mascot while waiting for the photo to be taken.

The photo that I didn’t even want!

Stupid.

During the commencement, a little boy was sitting behind Michael and me who kept insistently and endlessly kicking our chair. As time went on, I drew more and more impatient about it – so did Michael.

First, Michael turned around and shot the family a look.

The kicking didn’t stop.

Then, I turned around and looked at the little boy and very politely said “can you please stop kicking our chair?”

The kicking didn’t stop.

Then, Michael turns around and repeats, “can you please stop kicking our chair?!”

Then, I kid you not, the father of the boy says, and I quote:

"Yeah, we already asked him, and he won't, so there's nothing we can do."

Um… I’m sorry, what?!

I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that really just happened. I was vibrating at this point, but I bit my tongue.

Michael didn’t, however, and I was grateful, satisfied, and impressed when he responded with, “Yeah, that’s not how parenting works.”

Unbelievable.

Other than that little… hiccup, the ceremony was wonderful. The speeches were inspiring, and Davon looked so beautiful walking across the stage!

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The giant cookie – erm, pardon me, the brookie turned out well!

As I have mentioned, I’m not a baker, so it took me about two-and-a-half hours to make, but it turned out! Corey helped out a lot with certain elements of it;

He helped me place the cookie layer on top of the brownie layer.

I was nervous for this part because I needed to look like a cookie on top – that was the whole point – and the brownie layer was very soft and could move around too easily, so I worried about messing it up. So – Corey helped me gently place the cookie layer on top.

He helped me shape the cookie into the container.

I had it in my head to deliver her her cookie in a big, round tin. I scoured Amazon for hours – only to discover that tins are either unreasonably expensive, Christmas-themed, or only available to buy in bulk. I finally found one that I settled for and purchased it, but the problem was – it was square.

Unsatisfied, I took to Facebook Marketplace, where I found a lady selling the perfect round, decorative tin, and she lived in the same town I work in – so I could easily pick it up after work.

The recipe for the brookie called for a ten-inch cast iron pan, but the only one we have is fourteen inches. So – once the brookie was made, Corey helped me (and by helped me, I mean, he did it entirely,) cut the brookie into a perfect circle that was exactly the same size as the tin it was to go in.

He helped me wrap.

This is where I get most appreciative of him. He cut a piece of cardboard into a circle for the cookie to sit on, so it would keep its shape and be easier to lift from the tin. He created a tiny stand of cardboard underneath the cookie for it to sit on…

Most importantly;

The toppers.

To make it a smart cookie, I ordered a tiny graduation hat and a tiny diploma that are cake toppers that I wanted on top of the cookie. It was perfect; the hat was even the same colors as her college’s cap and gowns. When I ordered it, the estimated delivery was yesterday – I needed it by yesterday… Early yesterday.

I reached out to Amazon’s support chat and explained the situation. They said they would expedite the shipment and make sure it got to me on time.

The next day, I looked at tracking, and it said: estimated delivery, Friday by 10 pm. There was also a little message about shipment issues that had already happened.

Panicking, I reached out again. The next person I got wasn’t so helpful.

“Can’t do anything about it, sorry. You can return it!”

…No? I still might get it on time? I just wanna make sure I do?

So… All day yesterday, I was obsessively refreshing my Amazon app hoping the tiny cap and diploma would make it on time.

All-day.

Time was nearing to when Corey would have to leave his house to meet me at Davon’s…

Finally, he had to leave. He texted me to let me know. Defeated, I accepted my fate.

Honestly, literally two minutes after he left, “package delivered.”

I texted him “you gotta be kidding me….”

Then, he went back to get it. I cannot tell you what that meant to me!

When he arrived, I hopped in the back of his truck to add the cap and diploma to the brookie. The cap wound up being too big to fit inside the tin and on top of the brookie, so I placed it on top of the tin instead and wrapped the tin in cellophane.

Davon loved it! She immediately understood the reference to me always calling her a smart cookie after every grade she received, and she was appreciative that I went through the effort knowing damn well that I don’t bake and in fact, I hate it.

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Mom had planned out a limo ride for us: me, Davon, Corey, Michael, mom, dad, Kelsey, and Krys. We drove around for an hour and a half sipping mimosas to celebrate Davon’s graduation! It was wonderful. Our limo driver was amazing…

His name was Clif, and at some point, someone (I think Davon) asked what it was short for.

One of us said, Clifford.

Then, someone said, “no, Clifton.”

Then, I said, “no, Clifstopher.”

Clif could definitely hear this entire conversation from his driver’s seat but remained silent. Clifford, Clifton, Clifstopher remained a running joke through the duration of our drive!

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After the limo ride, we drank in Davon’s basement – continuing the celebration. My dad was DDing for my mom – who never, ever drinks – and it’s a lot of fun when she does!

It’s always been a thing that Davon and I don’t swear in front of mom and dad. They don’t like hearing their little girls swear, and we respect that. We all drank quite a bit and at one point, I accidentally swore in front of my mom.

So I said, “sorry mom – I tend to swear more when I drink.”

And she said, “Hey. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re an adult now and you can do whatever the f*** you want?!”

😂

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Today was Big Item Pick Up, so Corey and I drove around town looking for treasure. We found a beautiful L-shaped desk, and I have been looking for an L-shaped desk for my office for about six months now, so I was excited!

…Only to come home and realize that it is one inch too big for my office, so… Tomorrow I’m helping Corey move it downstairs for him to use.

Sigh.

I got so close to finally having an L-shaped desk! C’est la vie… One day, I’m sure.

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While driving around, we saw a very old puppy wandering around on his own. We pulled the truck over to help, and the dog quickly and eagerly jumped into our back seat. He was not wearing a collar, so we drove around the immediate surrounding area and asked whoever we saw if they knew the dog. Corey also posted it in the Facebook group for our town.

Eventually, someone left a comment on the post, tagging someone and writing “is this Oscar?”

We tried calling the old pupper Oscar, and his ears perked up. We were getting close…

Twenty or so minutes go by. and someone responds “yes.”

They began messaging Corey, and as they were figuring out a plan to meet up to return the dog, a man and his son – who we were just about to turn around and go ask about the dog to – right before the Facebook message came in, beings approaching our truck. He wound up being the husband of the lady Corey was messaging. We drove the boys and their dog back to their home. What a happy ending!

That’s all for this week, friends! If you’re still here, click the little Love button just below so I know!

While you’re here, why don’t you stay awhile and take a look around? Perhaps you would like to read a deeper post about my life, or maybe you’d like to dive into a more complicated subject that will inspire you to ponder, or just maybe – you fancy a fictional read. Whatever your poison, I’m sure you’ll find something for you here, there’s lots to explore!