Author Archives: jeswel

A New Year’s Request

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I’m seeing all the Facebook, Insta, and other social media posts about how everyone is grateful 2023 is over. I totally get that sentiment. Shit went sideways this year, as it does every year. There was Maui, and Hamas/Palestine/Israel, gutter politics, loss and more. But while I’m looking forward to 2024, it’s not because I’m glad 2023 is over. While 2023 sucked at times, there were also positives that I don’t want to forget too soon. New family members, trips of a lifetime, moving from Delaware and living with mom while we plan on a permanent move, house hunting while a pain has been fun… I don’t want to lump those good events with the shitty ones. If I wish for 2023 to be over, than I’m being ungrateful for the wonderful events that occurred this year. I don’t want to be that person who can’t see the trees for the forest and this is my new year’s resolution. To be acknowledge the shit but enjoy the positives. My new years request for you is that you have peace and can do the same.

Leaving 2023 with a BANG, BOOM, CRASH

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Earlier this week, I got up from my desk. I noticed that my leg was partially asleep and that I might not have 100% control over my leg. I walked to the hallway anyway. I was wearing my brand new harry potter snitch socks. They are so cute. I raised my leg to take a step down the stairs when my legs went out from under me, and I managed to fall. I tried to catch myself. I failed. I fell all the way down the stairs till I landed on my bottom in the kitchen. I felt like Kevin from Home Alone all the way down. It could have been fun if it didn’t hurt so bad. I royally bruised my backside. Almost instantly bruises started popping up on my back and bum. We decided I didn’t need to go to the ER. I hadn’t hit my head on the way down or do any sort of tumbling. Just bumped down on my tush the whole way down. And even if I had broken my tailbone, they wouldn’t do anything for me but give me some pain meds. But, as you can guess, it was excruciating to sit. We dug out a cushion that we had bought for mom when she fell. It helped some but not enough. I tried old pain meds, but we figure they were too old because I didn’t get relief.

So, yesterday, I went to see my doctor. He was entirely understanding, and he agreed that because of the way I fell, a trip to the ER wouldn’t have been necessary, just costly. He poked around my backside, and I didn’t exclaim YEOW anywhere, just a lot of tenderness, so he doesn’t think it’s broken. We both agreed that my scar tissue, cellulite and fat might have protected my tailbone. Never have I been happier that I was fat. He sent in a script for a stronger anti-inflammatory. I was able to pick it up last night and we even got ice cream for dinner. I’m really grateful that the fall wasn’t worse than it was because it could have been really terrible. I’ve promised that I will slippers in the house from now on. The kind with a nice rubber sole. But that is how I’m leaving 2023 with a bang, boom, crash.

Thanksgiving

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This is a really late post about Thanksgiving. It was a fabulous day. First, I was off work. That was glorious in itself. Then for lunch, we went to Buca di Beppo. At Buca, there is an option for a traditional turkey dinner and Italian dishes. If you don’t know, Buca is a family style restaurant. So, we ordered a massive amount of food. We ordered the traditional dinner which mom and Justin ate, I ate a little of it, but then we also ordered spaghetti for Justin and a cheese manicotti for me. Oh, and Justin ordered an entire bottle of wine. IT WAS SO MUCH FOOD. We had so many leftovers, I think it fed us like four or five more meals!

After lunch, we went back home, and I took a nap because I was in a food coma. I curled up in my chair and fell asleep and ignored the world for a couple of hours.

Then, we went to my friend’s house. They are more like family, so I often call them my cousins when talking with other people. Just makes it easier than explaining that they are cousins to my cousins on the other side of their family. They were so gracious to invite us over. Since it was just the three of us, me, mom, and Justin, it was nice to get to spend the day with our extended family. BUT the absolute best part of the day was that I got to hold a wee infant. She was so sweet. I got to hold her, and she was fussy but would keep falling back asleep as long as I kept patting her bottom while holding her in my arms. My arm was so sore on Friday from constant bottom patting. I’m still smiling from that day and can’t wait till I can hold her again.

Technology High

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Have you ever had a technology high? When you finally manage to get a piece of technology the way you want it to work. I finally got my plug and play printer to actually print a photo which by the way wasn’t a plug and play printer. I had to buy a long printer cord because the wireless printer won’t work wirelessly. And then the cord was plugged into a port in my laptop that apparently doesn’t work, so I had to find a port that works. Trial and error and I finally printed a picture of me holding my newest “cousin.” I’m riding the tech high, and I am totally hyper because I HAVE THE POWER!

Where’s the Keys

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Have a funny story from last night. Well, it’s funny now.

We were helping my cousin pack and move last night. She drove the U-Haul by herself and parked. We pulled in and then two men she hired for help showed up. When we first got there we were looking at a freezer and figuring out how to get the water and ice out. Her hands were full so she handed me something to put in my pocket so she could focus on the freezer. We packed many boxes and bags, carried out loads of furniture and completely filled the truck. We were all exhausted when we were finished. We went outside to close up the truck and I went and sat in the car to get warm. Damn it was cold last night. They stood around the truck and went back inside. I remained in the car with my seatbelt buckled. Then mom and Justin came outside and went back in. Then she came back out with a flashlight. My phone was on sleep because it was past my bedtime. I happened to check my texts and Justin asked if I knew where she put the keys. I said no. How would I know where the keys were? More inside and outside and I figure out they’re searching for something. Then mom texts me and asks if I know where the keys are. Again, no, why would I know? I went back to my phone and had a niggling. Tracy had handed me something three hours earlier. I dig in my pocket and get this huge octagon shaped plastic thing. What the hell, is that. Suddenly, I see the key dangling from it. I jump out of the car and start running towards the house screaming I got it!! Justin had locked the door so the car starts honking and flashing lights as I’m still running towards the house. I felt so bad. Here they looked for at least 15 minutes and I had the keys the whole time. But I stand by my original thought, why the hell would I have the key?!

Overheard

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Today, I wore my velour ho ho kitty cat red and green leggings. I also had on a red and white winter hoodie. And I can’t forget to mention my sneakers that are red plaid with white snowflakes. We ran into Kroger to pick up a few things. While I forlornly stared at the coffee (they only had one box of what I wanted) I heard “She’s got a style I wish I could pull off.” Then I heard Justin say something and laugh. When I asked what he was laughing at he said she liked my outfit. OH! And I had my Christmas purse so it was a full outfit. I felt so warm after I realized she was talking about me. I was just wearing what makes me happy and someone else noticed and wanted to be happy too. Anyway, it meant a lot and I’ve been smiling all day.

Memories

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Ran across this box of VHS-C tapes and cassette tapes. Takes me back to a time when we would record our memories on something other than a phone. Most of these are from the early 80s and I only know what a few have on them. There is a recording of me singing On Top of Spaghetti. A song I learned in preschool. I’m sure there’s more on that cassette, but that’s the only one I remember. Christmas morning 1983. I’d love to listen to that one again. A Christmas play recording for me to practice against from first or second grade. I need to find a service to transfer all these to a digital file. Someone said that there’s way to do this at the library. I’ll need to look into that. Free is always better.

Concert

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I never go to concerts. There is screaming, crazy lighting, you have to stand because everyone around you is standing. I find them overwhelming, and I just don’t like concerts even though I do like live music. BUT one of my favorite artists of all time, Loreena McKennitt, had a concert last night at the Taft theater in Cincinnati. I was so envious of those people who could go. Well, one day, I asked mom if she would go to the concert with me and she said yes. I picked the seats, plopped down the cash, and we went to a concert!
We decided to make a day of it. I got off work at 12, we went downtown around 2, and got there at 2:30. We were going to spend some time at the Contemporary Arts Center. There were hardly any exhibits, and I just don’t understand contemporary art. Some of it’s cool, and some just makes me scratch my head. I think we might have spent 45 minutes there.
We decided then to go to dinner early. We were just going to sit at the bar but decided to go ahead and have dinner because we were both hungry. We went to Nada, and they were able to seat us right away. The food was delicious. We had queso and chips. Mom had chicken enchiladas and I had cheese enchiladas. So good. I told the waiter that I was having mucho cheese for dinner. We only spent about an hour there. So then, we went to Graeter’s on Fountain Square. I got a sundae with black cherry chip and mom had black raspberry chip. We spent around 20 minutes there. That meant it was only 5 and we couldn’t think of anything to do that didn’t involve a lot of walking or being outside. Because it was burrrr chilly.
We went and sat in the car for a little more than an hour. I talked to Justin on the phone, scrolled Facebook a bit, and generally watched the parking lot attendant yell at people to park differently or to leave the lot because all the spaces were reserved. It was actually quite funny and interesting to watch.
A little after 6, we went and stood in line in front of the theater. A lot of other people were there doing the same thing. We were all bouncing around because we were all super chilly. I had a heavy coat and gloves on, and I was still freezing. We almost activated the handwarmers Justin had sent us when the doors opened.
Our seats were dead center in the balcony, and we had a great view. However, the seats were also about 5 rows from the top. And Taft does not have an elevator. There were so many stairs. But honestly, because we were so high, there were several seats around us that were empty so we could spread out a bit. And like I said, you couldn’t get much more centered than we were.
The concert was fantastic. Her voice and her range were amazing. There were only four musicians, including Loreena because one of her musicians came down with Covid. The music that those four musicians were able to make was beautiful. She played the piano and the harp while singing. That’s talent if you ask me. It’s like the ultimate pat your head rub your belly activity.
My favorite song by Loreena is the Lady of Shallot. She took the poem by Tennyson and put it to music. It’s such a beautiful piece. Well, she played it! There were tears. It was something I never dreamed would happen. Hearing one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists live.
It was a good day.

Learned something new

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Going back to my post from a couple days ago, I did what any self-respecting gen-y would do, I googled that shit. Apparently, old people can hear music that’s not actually there, though it doesn’t have to be before they die, and the person doesn’t have to be old.
It’s called Musical Ear Syndrome. Found on Bing: Being elderly, having a hearing loss, withdrawing, and being alone in a quiet environment are all factors that predispose people to hearing phantom music. The name for this condition is Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).

A little support goes a long way

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My nails are a mess. They’re weak, they’re brittle, they split and break easily. I paint, bead and embroider so I am constantly beating up my nails. Over the weekend my husband encouraged me to get my nails done. I’ve always wanted to get my nails done. I’ve only had a pedicure a handful of times and an actual manicure like three times. But I’ve never had anything like acrylic nails.
Justin did all the research. He looked for a highly recommended salon on Yelp. He looked up the different offerings and helped me decide which would best suit me as a first timer. I made the call, but he literally did the rest. He even drove me to the shop and offered to go in with me to start. He helped me pick out a very lovely fall orange color. We had decided to do a dip since it is supposed to strengthen your natural nails. When he saw how nervous I was he decided to sit there the ENTIRE time. He kept me company, chatted with me and the technician. Sometimes, especially when I’m nervous, I have problems understanding / following instructions. He even helped me with that. It seems like a such a small thing, to spend 50 minutes with your wife while she gets her nails done. But honestly, it felt huge. I was so appreciative. Now I mostly know what to expect and I can go by myself the next time. I never would have taken that first step without him. Just that little support made all the difference in the world.