Funny (not ha ha) week

This has been an odd week, the week leading up to Easter. Among other things, we had a day that got close to 80 degrees, and then on Friday, heavy snow. Today started out beautiful -- brilliant blue skies and brilliant green grass (freshly watered by all that snow, which has already melted) -- and then we had a teenage meltdown and our Easter plans ruined and yeah, all that. April is the cruellest month.

The kids had a weird schedule all week. Monday they went to school, a normal day. Tuesday they had to go in early and take the SAT. Wednesday they stayed home, except that Teen A went to TEC in the afternoon. Thursday they had to go in early and take the CMAS science test, plus Teen A had TEC in the afternoon. And Friday was a day off, as is Monday, tomorrow. 

I love four-day weekends, and yet, something always seems to go wrong during them. It's somehow too much time off. Oh God, how are we going to survive the summer? In previous years, we've done OK because I'm laid back and low key and lazy, but Rocket Boy is none of those things. He's going to be itching to get things done, and he'll be unable to resist telling the kids to get off their devices several times a day. Which Teen A does not react well to. Hmm...

On Monday, Teen A and I finally saw a dentist, after a year and a half of no cleanings since our old dentist flaked out and closed his practice. I liked the new dentist, and his staff, but I did not like the news about my teeth: three broken crowns/fillings, plus a small cavity. One broken crown needs to be replaced, the broken filling needs to be replaced, the cavity needs to be filled... but the worst is a tooth that I've had multiple surgeries on, two apicoectomies... the new dentist thinks we need to give up on it -- pull it and put an implant in. I don't want to do that, and the cost is unimaginable.

I think this is all due to all the hard candy I ate last year, especially around Christmas. Crunch crunch crunch. I knew I was hurting my teeth but I couldn't seem to stop. It reminded me of when I was pregnant and couldn't stop crunching on ice. The kids ate a lot of it too. I haven't bought any now in a few weeks, and I'm going to try not to buy any more. Jellybeans make a decent substitute, although they don't crunch. But that's the point. No crunching means no more broken teeth and fillings and crowns.

This is probably a good place for the Mounjaro report, NOT that it is a good report this week:

• Weight the morning I took my first shot: 254.6
• Weight last Sunday: 221.6
• Weight this morning (after 43+ weeks on Mounjaro): 222.8

I don't know why I went up this week. For several days I was 221 or even 220. I felt so sick the first few days of the week that I could hardly eat anything. Then suddenly up yesterday and today. It's just one of those things. Maybe not enough exercise. I got some, but not every day. A little thing called a HEAVY SNOWFALL interfered. Actually, this was a very good thing (it snowed all day Friday), because we got zero snow in March. And it didn't seem to do any damage to the trees, not quite heavy enough for that.

Saturday morning when we got up, the snow was already melting. This was a good thing, because of the "No Kings" protest that started at noon. Rocket Boy and I both went, with our signs. I had planned to walk up and down the street, but I ended up just standing there for two hours. There weren't as many people as usual, though there were a few hundred, probably. We got lots and lots of cheering honks, a few angry thumbs down, and one young man yelled "Go Elon!" which distressed me, but oh well.

And I got SO sunburned. Have to remember that for next time: hat, sunscreen. It's going to be a long, hot summer full of protests -- I must protect my skin. My face really hurts today.

It was not a good week for political tasks, I have to say. I don't think it's even worth counting off the days. Monday was taken up with the dentist appointments (and my fear of mine) plus feeling sick and napping, Tuesday I went to my parent support group and otherwise slept most of the afternoon. All I did on Wednesday was make a new sign for the window. Thursday I was feeling better (from the drug), but I couldn't seem to do anything. I was just so angry. Doing these political tasks helps keep me from feeling so angry and powerless, but this week the anger and despair got the better of me. Friday I didn't even try.

But the protest on Saturday cheered me up a little, so I am going to try again this week. I think it would help if I planned my tasks out ahead of time (like, today?), so that each day I just do them, no stressing about what would be the perfect thing. 

It was a decent cooking week, I guess. Monday I made tilapia (a nice recipe I have involving lemon juice and toasted sliced almonds), Tuesday Rocket Boy made spaetzle and salmon, Wednesday we had leftovers, Thursday I made bean & corn tacos, and Friday I made mattar paneer (except Teen B wouldn't eat it because it has tomatoes in it). Saturday we ate at the Cracker Barrel (pretty far away, but at least it was something different), and tonight we're going to have an omelet.

Which brings us to the latest teenage disaster: Easter. So, two years ago I realized that the kids were done with Easter egg hunts, and last year I didn't hide any eggs and this year I didn't either. I bought some Easter candy and put it out ahead of time so we could snack on it. No hiding. But Rocket Boy hasn't been home for Easter since 2022, and it's still kind of an important holiday for him, even though he doesn't go to church and doesn't have any religious beliefs (supposedly). He got out some of the old Easter baskets to decorate the house with, and he asked me if I'd like to color eggs. (I said, "No!") Then he got the idea that we should have a special Easter meal. 

I said, "No! I am not cooking a fancy Easter meal." The thought of doing so made me really tired. Sunday is usually forage night! If I weren't so low-energy due to Mounjaro, it would be different. Rocket Boy said he would do all the work, but then think of the dishes! So then he moved on to the idea of going out. This eventually morphed into going to the Huckleberry in Louisville for brunch/lunch. The only problem was that we didn't clearly explain to the twins that we were going to do this (and get their input).

Rocket Boy got up early on Sunday and got dressed up nicely in slacks and a long-sleeved (non-flannel) shirt. I had a bad night (my Cracker Barrel dinner didn't agree with me) and slept until 9:30. I finally got up, dressed in somewhat nice clothes, fed the cats, made tea, and waited for the kids to get up. They slept on. To make a long story short, we could not get them up. Teen A did not want to go out to lunch/brunch, and instead of just saying that, he sat on his bed in his pajamas playing with his phone and ignored us. Teen B didn't want to get up because Teen A wouldn't get up. On and on. Meanwhile it's getting close to noon and I haven't had anything to eat, just a cup of tea. I have diabetes! I can't just not eat, while we wait for recalcitrant teenagers. Finally I got mad and said that's it, I'm going for a walk. Except, wait, I have to eat something or I'll collapse on said walk. So I fixed my usual cereal and ate it and then I went on a lovely 1.5 mile walk -- lovely, except that I was so mad and so frustrated by the whole thing.

When I got back from my walk, Teen A had gone out to see his friends and Rocket Boy was eating a bowl of cereal. At 12:45 pm. Oh, the whole thing was horrible. I hate the teen years! I mean, I don't really hate them, there's a lot of good stuff that happens, but then you also get things like this. And I wish Rocket Boy would understand the teenage twins better. He hasn't really figured them out yet. He still wants them to be little kids. And they aren't.

Well. Teen B and I went to Starbucks, eventually (around 3 pm). I didn't get anything for Teen A -- not to be mean, but just because I figured we wouldn't see him again until late tonight.

Rocket Boy went to the grocery store a little while ago and got mushrooms for an omelet AND a (store-made) lemon meringue pie. So we'll enjoy that later (he and I and Teen B).

Next week

This coming week we'll be back to normal with school, except of course for the Monday holiday. The kids have their yearly physicals this week (Teen B on Monday, Teen A on Friday). Rocket Boy and I are finally going to meet with a financial advisor on Tuesday, thank goodness. I am working on getting ready for that. So far, adding up all our expenses, I've come up with $5125/month. How is that possible? We don't even have Netflix! Or car payments! Or a mortgage! And I just remembered a category I left out: the cats! Their fancy prescription cat food, vet visits, and Baby Kitty's nail trims.

Maybe I could learn to trim his nails myself.

On Wednesday, Teen B is being recognized at an assembly with an "academic letter" which means he earned a GPA of at least 3.5 for two subsequent semesters. This semester his GPA is something like 2.8, but that doesn't matter. 

And Friday night we are going to see "Macbeth" at the other high school, because our next-door neighbor is in it. Oh no, entertainment costs! We go to all the plays at the high schools and those cost something. And once in a while we go to a movie. Not very often, but it happens. Oh dear. 

I have not made a budget and lived with it in YEARS. Not since I moved to Boulder back in 1997 and had almost no income and had to watch every penny. I remember once consulting with a financial advisor when we lived in Ridgecrest (around 2011-2012) and were burning through all our savings. She was really puzzled by our financial situation (at the time we owned four properties, two rented but not for very much money, and also were renting a house in Ridgecrest). I remember she finally said to me, "Is there any way you could earn more money?"

I have been thinking maybe I could try to sell some of our stuff on craigslist each week. Maybe the kids' old Lego sets? But first I'd have to put them all together and wash them. I guess it would be a summer project. 

At least Rocket Boy can't say we need to hire a house cleaner anymore. Noooo money for house cleaners or gardeners. We will have to do the work ourselves, for as long as we can.