I had originally planned to clean my bedroom Friday but because of the ants, I decided to clean my bathroom instead.

So, I took out the trash and collected the mail, per usual. Then at 9, I turned down the AC. I swept and vacuumed the dead ants and threw the rugs in the wash. I then cleaned the tub and shower and mopped the floor.

Saturday I went to the store later than usual because I wanted Chick-fil-a. The line was stupid long, as it usually is around noon, so I got Arby's instead.

When it was time to clean the bathroom Saturday night, my body said no. So, I cleaned the toilet (it needed it and I need the toilet seat fixed) and picked up the trash on the counter. Since I had cleaned the counter just a few weeks ago, I didn't see the need to clean it again Saturday.

I had originally thought to try a different version of the strawberry cake for my mom, but then decided that since I have a whole year to do that, I would just make myself a red velvet cake instead. Walmart was out of red velvet cake mix so I grab a Dolly Parton chocolate cake mix since I have been wanting to try one of her cake mixes.

Around 2pm Saturday, I decided to make the cake. Only to discover that I needed 6 tablespoons of butter. I did not have any stick butter and since I use margarine from a tub, I figured I had better go back to the store. But not on Saturday. I decided to go on Sunday. Shortly after this, I realized I had also forgotten to get batteries for my scale.

So, I went to the store Sunday and got some more eggs (I have been wanting bacon and eggs so I got some of that Saturday but the cake mix calls for 4 eggs), butter, batteries, and another box of cereal since I didn't get one of Saturday (didn't think I needed one but decided I did).

I made the cake around mid morning. And stupid me, put the whole stick of butter on to melt. So I decided to not use the oil. But then I hit the minus button instead of the plus to melt the butter (my microwave does not have numbers (I know! But I didn't notice until after I got it home and since it's a full sized microwave instead of an apartment sized one, I was not going to return it)), cooking the butter for several minutes instead of ten seconds and ended up with browned butter. This gave the batter a nutty after taste and I figured the cake itself would have one too. Spoiler, it did not.

I ended up having three pieces of the cake. I seriously could have eaten the whole cake. This does not mean the cake is that good, it just means that I really like chocolate cake.

The Dolly Parton mixes are made by Duncan Hines so this tasted like a Duncan Hines chocolate cake. I plan on making this one again in order to see how following the directions exactly changes the taste (prediction: it will taste the same).

Then I made lunch. I found this recipe on TikTok for what the creator calls heart attack patties. Below is the directions if you want to give it a try yourself.

Ingredients:
Hamburger patties (or meat of your choice)
Worcestershire sauce
Seasonings of choice
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 packet of beefy onion soup mix
Shredded cheese of choice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*. Season patties with Worcestershire sauce and seasonings then cook in desired fashion. Spread one can of soup on bottom of casserole dish, top with half packet of soup mix, patties (only six will fit), other can of soup, other half of soup mix, and cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

I chose to use two packets of soup mix figuring it would increase the flavor. Only I forgot to put the second one on before the cheese. *face palm* In hindsight, I should have just left it off, but I didn't. This caused the dish to be very salty. When I try this again, I'm going to follow the directions exactly.

I'm still a bit sore from cleaning Friday and going to Walmart Saturday and Sunday so I chose not to walk this morning.

I woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck so I am taking my first sick day in five years.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got my birth date fixed with social security on Tuesday. On my way there I almost got into an accident. I was coming up on an intersection and the light was green. I was thinking about how expensive the surrounding apartments are and how it's surprising that the road is in really bad shape (lots of pot holes that are badly fixed) and the next thing I knew, there was a car coming at me from the left. When I looked up, the light was RED! I managed to swerve around that car and one from the right but my heart was beating so hard! I never saw the light turn yellow, let alone red!

At the office, I checked in on my phone (I had received a text with a link) and sat down in the lobby. I was disappointed to hear the number X713 being called (my number was X742) but the text telling me my number said that numbers might not be called in order. And they weren't, so that made me feel better.

A guard stepped out from his desk and began speaking, so I put my book down to listen. I have learned that if an employee is speaking to the room at large, you should listen because it just might be important. He was saying that cell calls are prohibited inside federal buildings. He said that several times, in different ways. He even said, 'That means everyone, no exceptions'. I'm guessing he said that last because someone might say they can't go outside because they are disabled or something. He said that last line again, and that's when I noticed he was looked at someone, I mean he was laser locked on this person. So, I followed his line of sight and saw a woman with her phone to her ear. I looked back at him to see him step out from behind the bench he was standing behind and when I looked back at the woman, she was putting her phone down. I just shook my head. I want to say if I was sitting next to her I would have nudged her and said 'he's talking to you' but I have no idea if I would have actually done that or not.

He then said, 'if your ticket number starts with 'X' you need to be in the lobby around the corner'. So, I got up and went to the other lobby.

I started reading my book again and watched 12:10 come and go without my number being called. I had wanted to clock back in for work at 1 so I didn't have to work past 5 but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen (even if I had been called back at my appointment time I would not have gotten home by 1 because it took me forty-five minutes to get there from my apartment).

I got a text at 12:39 that it was my turn. I'm thinking that if you checked in on your phone, you get a text but if you check in at the kiosk in the main lobby or don't respond to the text within a certain amount of time, they page you. I go to the window and hand the lady my ID and birth certificate. She pulls up my file and sees that my birth date was changed in 2001 but there were no notes as to why. I would love to know what happened in 2001 to cause my birth date to be changed. I know I have had to get a replacement card a couple of times since I got married in 1995 but I cannot remember if one of those times was 2001 because I remember going to this specific office in 2017 or 2018 but cannot remember why. You'd think that when I went at that time, they would have noted that the birth date in my file didn't match my ID and change it, but they obviously did not.

But whatever. It's fixed now.

Now, I need to start the process of changing my name back which is going to be its own form of hell. I have used my current last name for thirty years now and there are so many things that will need to be changed. But I am looking forward to not being linked to my ex in any longer.

I was feeling better by the time I went to bed, so I decided that as long as I didn't feel as bad as I did when I woke up yesterday, I would walk. My throat is still a little scratchy, enough that I plan on wearing a mask at the social security office today, but I feel okay. As I was getting into my workout clothes, a little voice in my head was telling me I could skip today and no one would know. I think I've finally figured out how to ignore that voice.

I wanted to walk for the entire episode of House Hunters but I couldn't. My hip was starting to hurt. I can't decide if the issues I have with the walking pad are because it forces me to shorten my stride or because I'm walking at such a slow speed. The first few times I used the walking pad back when I first got it, I tried some of the faster walking speeds but nothing feels right. I think I'll just continue as I currently am and increase the speed once I can walk for longer.

If I haven't mentioned it, my goal is to be walking for forty to forty-five minutes five days a week by the end of the year. I also want to be under three hundred pounds by then. Of course, if I continue to walk daily (five times a week) then I should be under three hundred sooner than year's end. Might even be there by Halloween, Thanksgiving at the latest.

Found out yesterday that I was freaking out about the new phone system at work for no reason. Turns out it is only to make outside calls. And since I don't do that, it doesn't matter that I can't get the webpage to load.

I had a headache when I woke up this morning so I took my blood pressure. It was 140/85. That usually means I forgot to take my evening meds, but I didn't. I checked and I took them. I have no idea why my blood pressure has gone back up.

I fell asleep during Spring Baking Championship but woke up just as it ended so decided to rewind back to where I fell asleep and watch it again. I then watched the last two episodes of this season of The Neighborhood before going to bed. I managed just under three hours (that for some reason are not showing on my daily tracker?) before I had to get up and then spent a large part of the night in the bathroom.

When I started my job, we used Skype for business but we've been using teams for a few years now. About a year ago, they told us that Skype was not to be used any longer but a few of us still had to have it on our computers in order for us to make and receive calls (only when I try to call my cell, I get a message that my phone is not set up for that?).

Last week I received an email saying Skype for business was going away and would be removed from my computer (except the task bar icon keeps showing up after I reboot?) and gave me instructions for connecting (downloading?) our new phone system.

I cannot for the life of me get past the verification page. When this first happened, I thought it was simulated spam (I tend to get one three to four times a week) and marked it as such. However, when I tried to call my office number from my cell, I got a message that the phone wasn't set up.

That's when I contacted the IT guy who sent the email. He's a busy guy and didn't respond for several hours. Not that it matters as this was not an urgent issue at the time. I tried off and on over the next day to get it. I even tried the other verification method but with the same result.

Then today, I received an invite to the quarterly meeting (which is mandatory) so I tried again. Still cannot get in.

Today I noticed a link to 'send feedback' so I clicked it and stated my issue (it gave me the option of 'no success after multiple attempts' or 'other'). I'm hoping this gets resolved soon since I have this meeting I need to attend.

Also, I have decided to push my start time back to 8am. I am finding myself having to space out my work in the mornings and I want to avoid that.

Backstory-ish: I work for a gasoline distribution company in their consignment department. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have to have certain sites (VIP sites) done by 11am so that my boss can process them for draft/payment. Most of our sites now import into our accounting software but that process is not run until after 9am meaning I have to wait to 'key' (process) most of my VIP sites. I hadn't pushed my start time back yet because I wasn't sure I could get them all done on Mondays (the only day our VIPs are allowed to be more than one day out) in time. But this hasn't been an issue for a while now so I thought, why not. Plus, most of my teammates work past 4 or 4:30 but three of them have kids and have to leave for an hour or so in the afternoon to get them from school.

I think I might be in the early stages of a UTI. It doesn't burn when I pee but I feel the urge to go more often than usual and when I go, barely anything comes out and there's an empty feeling like when you've just had a urinary catheter pulled out. I don't remember when they put the catheter in when they gave me the epidural when I gave birth, but I do remember when they removed it the next morning!

I've only had like three, maybe four, UTIs in my life and I didn't get the first one until 2004, I think. But I do remember the feeling. I have some Azo from when my doctor put me on an antibiotic last year for a suspected sinus infection so I've started taking that.

You'd think with all the water I drink, that this would not ever be an issue!

Friday was my mother's (75th!) birthday and we had her party yesterday. Since I knew I was going to have to be social with not only people outside my immediate family but the uber conservative friends of my parents, I chose to not do anything that wasn't necessary over the weekend. And by necessary, I mean going to the store and doing dishes.

After I went to Walmart, I stopped at Walgreens to get my meds. I'm sure the woman who waited on me thought I was crazy. The first stupid embarrassing thing I did was when she asked me to confirm the last four of my card number, I thought she asked for my zip code. *face palm*. Then at the end of the transaction she said that the receipt printer wasn't working so she just wrote the $10 on a piece of paper (like, how does that count as a receipt? What if I needed to turn it in at the end of the year or something?) and I said, 'Okay, because I just got the alert that it went through' because I thought she said she wasn't able to process the charge. *double face palm*

It was so nice all weekend that I had my patio door open. I really wish I had patio furniture because I would have sat outside to read. I have the book written by the creator of the Hells Belles skit on TikTok and I have joined the ARC group for someone I know from fandom. I'm currently read that book because I have to leave a review on or before June 3 when it gets released. The book is here if you want to read it.

I seriously considered not walking this morning, but I had decided last week when I canceled my cardiologist appointment that I am going to do it so that maybe my doctor doesn't yell at me as much when she finds out that I will not be seeing a cardiologist.

The walking pad I have has a weight limit of 300 pounds but I saw someone on TikTok months ago who stated he weighs more than I do using the same one and he walks every day and hasn't had any issues in the months he had had it. That being said, it started making a grinding noise about four minutes in. But I did not stop, despite really wanting to. I'm thinking the noise is because I have only walked on it about five times. Hopefully it won't make that noise tomorrow.

This is part of the reason I hate clocking in late. I feel like I should be working but I can't clock in until 10 (it is currently 9:30).

Why am I clocking in late? Because I was supposed to have an appointment with a cardiologist today and my boss agreed to let me work extra the rest of the week in order to work a half day today.

Except that yesterday I found out that I would have to pay $335 at the time services are rendered and then will have to pay each time I see her. I already pay every time I visit my primary doctor and I cannot afford to pay two doctors multiple times a year.

Plus there's the fact that since they bill my insurance AFTER I pay them, I feel like I might be paying more than if they let my insurance bill me. And since my insurance does not reimburse me for the difference, I am not doing it.

So this means I have two hours I have to get rid of so I can't clock in until 10 instead of the usual 7:30.

And this has lead me to forgetting to post this until just now. *face palm*

My doctor has been trying to put me on Eliquis ever since she diagnosed me with A Fib. My insurance has only paid part of it (meaning my out of pocket has been several hundred dollars which I refuse to pay) until last month. At first, I thought the reason was because she had been trying to write the script for a three month supply and when I saw her last she resubmitted it for just one month.

Spoiler: that wasn't the reason. The reason it covered it last month? No one knows.

Why am I mentioning this? My insurance wants me to pay $491.41 for Eliquis this month. All my other meds are at no cost. And it's not because I was already taking them before I got this insurance (my company was bought by another in 2021 and so our insurance company changed) because she has changed my Lisinopril for Irbesartan and I don't pay for that. She has also put me on a diuretic and I don't pay for that either.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why insurance companies pay for some meds and not others. Eliquis is a blood thinner. You'd think since it's a life saving drug, that insurance companies would pay for it.

The pharmacist I spoke to last night (the Eliquis and Metoprolol were showing as in progress for several days and the Metoprolol still is (WTF, Walgreens?)), was so nice. She tried running it again with me on the phone and it is still coming up that I have to pay $491.41, which I refuse to do. $20 copay? Sure. Nearly half my rent? Abso-fucking-lutely not!

She told me to try and get a coupon. So I found three or four and I will call when the pharmacy is open later and try them to see how low I can get my cost. One of the coupons gives me two years of Eliquis (it says the cost could be as low as $10) while the others are for any drug (I'm hoping they aren't a one time use kinda thing).

The maintenance guy did not show up at 9 yesterday, so I called at 10 and he showed up shortly after that. Then promptly disappeared for roughly half an hour. He was here most of the day and had to cut a hole in the wall behind my couch but not in a spot that can be covered by the couch. No, he cut the hole in a spot that I can see from the corner of my eye every time I reach for something on the side table and it is at eye level when someone walks into my apartment. He said he'll be back to put a door on it?

He also moved all the things I had in the corner (understandable) but he DID NOT PUT THEM BACK! Well, he didn't put the lamp and table back. He did TRY to put the couch back but he had it too far down because he didn't put the table back first. The couch was in a position that when I tried to move it to put the table back, it ended up wedged against the corner of the bar.

I managed to get it back in the proper position but was sweating and panting by the time I was done.