Stressful but good

Wordle 894 3/6

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Biked the kid to school yesterday and it was almost freezing. We need more cold-weather preparation. Stopped for groceries on the way home partly to warm up.

Had a therapy appointment and it went well. Better than I expected. I'm not sure this will continue indefinitely but it has been useful, I think.

During or after it I glanced at my calendar and was surprised to find a dentist's appointment for the kid on it. T. wasn't expecting it either, but I called the dentist and they confirmed it was scheduled and we could technically make it, so we kept it and just were annoyed that we hadn't got a reminder from them before now.

So I worked harder in the late morning and early afternoon than usual, since my day would be cut short. Good for me. I also prepped a stir-fry for dinner. We'd want an easy dinner last night and I hoped a stir-fry could be easy if all the prep work is done in advance. 

I left at the last minute to get the kid. I needn't have rushed, though, because T. was late meeting us. Luckily we were still within the 15-minute for the appointment. After that we got a snack at District Taco because the kid didn't eat her lunch at school. After that, home for like 10 minutes to clean, grab swim things, and then head out to the swimming lesson. It went well. The pool is more user-friendly than it was a few months ago. While the ladies swam, I went for a short walk to get my steps in.

Dinner, like I said, was a stir-fry.

Disappointed

Wordle 893 5/6

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Took me a long time to get that.

Got the kid to school fine yesterday, went straight home, and proceeded to waste time for eight hours. Putting it that way is a little dramatic, I got a FEW things done at work and personally, but not a lot. It being Tuesday meant unusual temptation to play Warcraft. On the other hand, today I've got a therapist appointment and I'll be embarrassed about my lack of progress on certain things.

Got the kid fine. Went for a walk between driving to near her school and actually picking her up. Guitar went fine. Dinner was a pork roast and broccoli.

OK Monday

Wordle 892 6/6

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Getting the kid to school yesterday was fine, despite my fears. I did some grocery shopping on the way home.

The day yesterday was OK overall. I guess I could have got more done at work, but I had three meetings, worked a bit on a couple other things, and generally was productive enough for a Monday. As for personal stuff, I worked on several self-improvement-type things. I'm tempted to feel bad about doing it at the last minute, i.e. just two days before my next therapy appointment, but (a) who cares as long as it really does get done (of course, in most cases that isn't sure yet), and (b) was it ever really reasonable to plan/hope to get stuff like that done last week, with everything going on?

In the late afternoon I went for a walk to get my steps in.

Dinner was steak and Brussels sprouts.

Worse in hindsight

I didn't even finish yesterday's Wordle? I suck. I've Googled, it was "solid", I just couldn't think of it right away, got distracted between my 4th and 5th guess, and didn't come back to it.

Wordle 891 5/6

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Yesterday was the usual brunch of eggs and home fries. Fine. 

Tried to go to the farmer's market but it wasn't there, presumably because of the holiday. The big project yesterday was decorating for Christmas. Got the bins out of the basement and put up the lights and plastic tree. Was a little more creative than the lights than usual. Good for me.

After that there was several hours of downtime before our evening plans. We filled it with TV. We exposed the kid to the Doctor Who Christmas special, which she seemed to enjoy. Yay, another shared interest. We thought about going biking or otherwise getting physical activity, but it was raining. So after Doctor Who, we simply let her finish Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. After that, a little quiet time, for all of our benefit. The kid was good, as far as I could tell; at least, she didn't keep me from napping for about 40 minutes.

After that, we drove to a friendsgiving. T. and the kid stepped on dog shit getting into the car, which we didn't notice until we smelled it halfway there. Dinner ran later than I expected/hoped. The kid nearly had a temper tantrum when a drawing she did didn't go well, and she dominated the discussion with summaries of TV shows she has watched. We left after 10, partly because we wanted to hear the end of a school board meeting. It was disappointing. 

Going home we found dog shit smeared all over the car seat. Ugh. 

Got in bed after 11. Reeeeeally not looking forward to getting the kid up for school in a few minutes.

Driving and biking

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Headed home a little after 10 yesterday. Traffic was worse than on Thursday. We got back after 2. After some basic unpacking and essentials around the house, I took the kid for a bike ride while T. cleaned. (I feel a bit bad about that, but it was that or park her in front of the TV or just fight with her nonstop.) The bike ride started out exploring the neighborhood, but soon wound up at a park, where we ran into a kid we sort of knew. I chatted with her mom and walked briskly while the kids played in the cold.

Dinner was tilapia, green beans, and rice.

Physically active Friday

Wordle 889 2/6

 

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Pickleball in the morning, followed by a bike trip to a playground for the kid. Lunch was leftovers, of course. I lay down for a bit after that and I'm not sure how everyone else spent the time. 

Around 2 we drove to a hiking site downtown on/around the river. It wound up being longer than expected when T.'s cousin got us lost. 

Tacos for dinner. 

A game of Exploding Kittens in the evening ended prematurely when the kid drew a bad card and cried. Bedtime. 

Thanksgiving

Wordle 888 5/6

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Simple breakfast yesterday. Left surprisingly early, by 9:40. Traffic to Richmond was great. The main pre- and -post-dinner was pickleball, in T.'s cousins cul-de-sac. Ate lots, of course. The kid had too much energy for everyone but otherwise it was fine.

A day off for everyone but me

Wordle 887 3/6

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The correct answer today was my sixth guess here. I feel like that means something.

Yesterday the kid had no school. T. took the day off. I, however, had to work. It would have been relaxing if not for the biweekly report. (Better yesterday than tomorrow.) While I worked, they went for a bike ride (T.'s first ride with the kid and not me, T.'s first ride using the motor on her bike!). They got started on some holiday-related baking, but I helped out a fair amount too.

In the afternoon I went for a walk. Because of how the baking timer went, T. took the kid to a swimming lesson, the first in months, without me. 

Dinner was pork chops and glazed carrots.

Partial sick day

Wordle 886 5/6

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The kid wasn't feeling well yesterday, side effects from the shot, so we let her sleep in. I had a morning meeting, noticed that she seemed normal around 10, and took her to school then. 

Work was fine. One meeting before I took the kid to school, went well enough; one draft of a document sent; plus some emails. I spent less of my free time than usual on Warcraft and more on a writing project. Not exactly productive, but change is good in general.

Late in the afternoon I did some calisthenics while watching TV. Good for me. I regret putting it off until the last minute, though. I raced through a shower and getting dressed and into the car, and had agonizing cramps in my foot the whole way to school, probably because I didn't cool down properly. 

Right after I got there, T. called me to say that the kid wasn't feeling well. She had spent a lot of time in the nurse's office and "quiet corner" yesterday. Whoops. Shouldn't have sent her to school. Bad dad. I was confident she wasn't contagious, but should have been more confident she was actually up for it... so we skipped guitar, and just sat there until T. joined us, so she didn't have to walk home in the rain.

Dinner was spaghetti and broccoli.

Fashionable Monday

Wordle 885 3/6

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Biked the kid to school yesterday. I wish I had worn a coat. It's cold.

Typical workday yesterday. A couple easy meetings, got a few things done but not as much as I should, etc. 

In the afternoon, we got the kid early for an appointment to get her shots. It went surprisingly well. Then we went our separate ways: T. and the kid to the library while I went to the eye doctor's, to get my new glasses, and then got a haircut. (These two events seem to have a theme of fashion or appearance renewal, hence the title, but neither haircut nor glasses are too big a departure from how I used to look.) We met at the grocery store.

Dinner was tilapia and green beans.

The evening was frustrating. For several years now, T. has got a calendar for our parents as a Christmas present, focused mainly on the kid. Since last year, Costco discontinued their program, so she - we - were trying to figure out a new system for this. New stuff is always hard and this seems objectively more complex than the previous. The grandparents appreciate it but it always seems like one of the more unnecessary sources of stress around the holiday season, and just got worse.

Weekends are tiring

Wordle 884 X/6

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Ouch. Should have been smarter about that.

Eggs and homefries yesterday, of course. We collected the kid from the sleepover uneventfully. Shortly after, T. and I walked to the farmer's market and the kid biked. While T. took the groceries home, I supervised her biking around the park, and then around random streets and alleys in the neighborhood for almost two hours, while T. picked up trash around the neighborhood and worked around the house. 

We all got cleaned up in the early afternoon and did some more household chores. After that the kid had a Cub Scout meeting, focused on whittling. She enjoyed it, if the fact that she wanted to do it as soon as we got home was a sign. She might be done with her month-long project already, not sure. 

Dinner was steak and grilled squash. I put the kid to bed. She resisted and I got snippy, but we both were tired, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Scouts and a sleepover

Wordle 883 X/6

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Ugh. Thus endeth a good streak. Tough word objectively...

Waffles and bacon for breakfast yesterday. In the morning we went to the farmer's market. We had the usual chores, and around noon, went to a Girl Scouts event at an art studio. While the kid and her troop mates worked on their projects, T. and I went to a used bookstore and had "snacks" at a brewery nearby. After that, lunch for the kid at another brewery. (Great parents, right? Although the book we bought at the bookstore was for her, so that helps.)

Shortly after we got home, we took the kid to a friend's birthday party. It was a sleepover party. We had thought about going out on a date while we had a child-free night, or at least making something fancy for dinner she wouldn't like, but after everything that went on earlier, we just had leftovers. We still had fun at home, though.

Headaches and self-indulgence

Wordle 882 5/6

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Getting the kid to school was fine yesterday, but other than that...

I called the mortgage company earlyish for a renovation form. Calling them has been on my to-do list for a few days. It wasn't productive; same as last time they told me to email their research office. But I got an email sent and our architect followed up forcefully, so hopefully this will be moving soon.

While working on that I went looking for some documentation in our safe but I couldn't get into our safe. It had a "low battery" warning and simply plugging it in was complicated, but even after doing so for what seems like it should be long enough, it won't open. Uh oh. 

While working on the safe I dealt with a horrible stink in the pantry. I took out the trash and recycling early and that seemed to help, but for a while I thought there was some dead animal in the walls. Ugh.

At work I got a SharePoint access request that seemed like it should have been simple, but really wasn't. My teammate resolved it but it's so confusing I feel obliged to follow up.

The day turned around late in the afternoon, when I cleared the latest raid on Normal in a pickup group on my warlock. This sounds disturbingly parasocial or antisocial to say that that's the good part of the day, but it's much earlier than usual. Either I got really lucky, or the new raid is much easier than usual, or I should have made my warlock my main a long time ago. (Or both. But then again, it's not all that surprising that the raid would go well on a warlock; let's see about dungeons before officially abandoning my previous main.)

After that and finishing work for the day I helped a friend move some furniture around for the baby's new room. Then I went to a school family gathering. It was fun. We normally can't stay at those too often. We had pizza for dinner there. On the way to gymnastics I dropped T. off at home because she wasn't feeling well. I got the kid to gymnastics, walked around a bit, and got a milkshake. If she knew, she'd be mad I hadn't got her one. Bad parenting? Maybe, but I considered going to a bar, I figured that would be even worse.

Exercise in frustration (in? and? is?)

Wordle 881 3/6

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Biked the kid to school fine yesterday. 

Work was OK "by the numbers", so to speak (one meeting attended; three more had been scheduled but could be cancelled thanks to judicious use of Teams chat, how efficient of us; one document published), but I still feel like there's a gulf between what I'm getting done and what I can, should, and need to get done. Same for my personal to-do list.

I did get exercise yesterday, at least; calisthenics. (I didn't reach the step count goal again, but I figure calisthenics is more important.) I also was more rigorous about it in that I made an effort to record what I was doing. Good for me. But just that was a struggle. I didn't start until the last minute. And in the past I've watched TV while working out but it's impossible to see the screen when doing pushups. Yesterday I just put on some music and made myself keep cycling through the routine until the timer went off

Drove to get the kid as usual. She had a tough day; some drama with friends.

Dinner was spaghetti and green beans. There were problems despite the simplicity but it all came out edible.

Therapy, work, and Warcraft

Wordle 880 4/6

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Biked the kid to school yesterday and got there on time. Woo hoo. Progress.

Right after that, I had a therapy session. It was thought-provoking, which I guess is the point. After that I did some quick stuff for work, and then I raced to Costco for a contribution to a teacher appreciation event, and then to the school. I had a meeting at noon and got back at 11:57. 

After that the day was more typical. Work and Warcraft. It was the first full day of a new patch, which is always fun. Wound up playing my warlock more than I expected, especially in the evening.

I feel bad about not getting exercise. When I put together the spreadsheet I was pleasantly surprised by the average and how often I passed the 6,000 steps recommended by the app, but I didn't pass it yesterday.

I had a long personal to-do list I didn't get to, I don't exactly feel bad about that, and I'm not sure if I should. Work was productive (a task complete) and confusing (some confusion about who approved that task when, some confusion about whether another email meant one new task or two), and Warcraft was unusually fun. I guess I don't mind one day like that but feel bad about the pattern. 

I drove to get the kid and T. at school. Dinner was fried rice, the easiest option, partly because we listened in on a school board meeting during it.

Tuesday

Wordle 879 6/6

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Biked the kid to school on 2 bikes. We were careful. It went well, except for her being late. Still figuring this out...

In the morning I finished backfilling the fitness spreadsheet as far back as the paper journal goes. I went a month further back with the exercise stats from the phone app and could go much farther than that, but as I said, I'm not sure if it's worthwhile. 

Wasn't too motivated at work and I can't blame Warcraft for that due to maintenance. Work was OK anyway. Wound up having 2 meetings, fewer than expected due to other peoples' schedules, and I only had to listen in on the two meetings that wound up happening. Got a document to the reviewer, which is always nice, and sent a few emails.

The kid had her regular guitar lesson, which went fine. T. got herself home. I made chicken and asparagus for dinner. Not my finest work but it was OK, and we were both late getting home anyway.

Monday

Wordle 878 6/6

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Yesterday we biked the kid to school on 3 bikes. I'm glad. Maybe we weren't quite ready for a two-person trip just yet. 

Typical day overall. Two meetings, one just listening in and one I was leading but it was fairly simple, but unfortunately it wasn't too productive because one of the people we needed wasn't there; worked on a couple minor documents; played Warcraft in my downtime.

The kid had a music lesson yesterday. (Not normally Mondays, but we skipped it two weeks ago due to Halloween.) I got there early for once and went for a walk while I waited. T. made enchiladas for dinner.

In the evening I set up a fitness tracker spreadsheet. It took me a while to do so. That's partly because it seems like it should be possible to get the data automatically from my phone's app, but I couldn't figure out how. I've started backfilling it. I've already got through August, which is when the paper journal started, for step counts, and still plan to get alcohol numbers and other workout numbers in there. 

Once I've made the paper journal obsolete, I'll have to see how much more detailed I can or want to be. I'm not sure what the point of this is, except that I still am not happy with my fitness or lack thereof (although using the regular bike again is a good sign), and quantifying the problem(s?) seems like it might help.

Walking

 Wordle 877 4/6

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Yesterday we had French breakfast: a loaf of bread, some soft cheese, butter, and pastries. A nice way to get variety.

My foot and knee were sore. Maybe I overdid it the day before. So I put my knee brace on as I got dressed. 

A friend joined us for breakfast and then drove us to a nature preserve in Virginia. (This wasn't the original plan, but honestly, I'm glad.) The hardest part was getting the kid's bike in her car. There were "no biking" signs at the nature preserve, but she put up with walking with good grace. We saw some cool birds. We went to a cheap Chinese food place for lunch. Comfort food like I haven't had in a long time. Then T. and the friend wanted to go to the mall for a certain sale, so we found a nearby park where I could supervise the kid biking. It took some exploring but we finally found a loop where she could go around in circles indefinitely and stay within sight. We still got some scrapes (including me, when the bike hit me, but I'll take the blame because she was doing as I said...), but there were no scares.

After that, home. Dinner was mostly leftover Chinese food. I was a bit worried about that, but no one threw up, so I guess it was OK.

However, I was up for over two hours, just lying in bed. I got back to sleep eventually and T. was up for a while too so I don't mind, but it is concerning or at least annoying that insomnia just seems like a fact of life these days.

Biking

Wordle 876 4/6

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Eggs and home fries for brunch yesterday, and then we spent the day biking.

The original plan was for us to bike to the kid's school to practice. But we found out about the birthday party of the sister of a friend of the kid and got invited, so we detoured by there. Then a stop by Eastern Market for some window shopping, and then finally to the kid's school. On the way home we stopped by the park and happened to bump into two of the kid's friends and they visited for a while. It totaled 6.4 miles and 4 hours. 

Dinner was pork chops and Brussels sprouts.

A day off

Wordle 875 4/6

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Yesterday I made waffles and bacon for brunch. It was popular. The girl entertained themselves well enough while T. and I did the laundry and relaxed.

In the afternoon we went to see The Marvels. It was fun. I'm glad the theater had a sort of "previously on" thing. It seems uniquely important for this movie. 

After that, home briefly. The kid did some biking and then wanted to watch Wandavision, inspired by the movie. We had eaten well at the movie, so for dinner we just had leftovers. Then we went to gymnastics. While the kid was doing her thing, the kid and I went to the grocery store.

Trying to appreciate the little things

Wordle 874 4/6

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Yesterday I biked the kid to school, hopeful that it would be the last time she'd be a passenger. That depends in part on how this weekend goes, but it's nice to hope for things. On the way home I appreciated the scenery. DC doesn't get fall foliage like Vermont, of course, but it's still pretty to see the colors, especially when the morning sun cuts shadows through the trees. I actually tried to get a picture but couldn't get a good angle without standing in the middle of the street. 

It's the week of the biweekly report, and it's due a day early this week due to the holiday. At 8 AM only 3 reports were missing and I was feeling optimistic about the report. I also have a meeting every Thursday at 9 to take notes at so I tried to work on both at once and mostly succeeded. By 11 AM we were still missing two reports; my optimism was dampened. Even so, it could have been worse.

In Warcraft, the binge the day before made it advantageous for me to not to play much yesterday. Instead of going nuts by doing the same thing on yet another character or chasing infinitesimal upgrades, I did a few quick, easy things and otherwise dealt with work and real life. I'm not sure how long that healthy approach will last (and maybe it's simply burnout), but yesterday was a good time for it.

In the afternoon I walked to Eastern Market to get a haircut. But on the way I decided I needed some more lice treatment first. Hopefully I can get my hair cut next week. I still ran some errands.

After getting the kid from school, we met a friend of hers and her mother at Indigo and caught up. It's been a while. After dinner the kid's friend came home with us for a sleepover.

Patch day is skip day

Wordle 873 6/6

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Didn't get much done yesterday, which is related to the fact that a new patch came out for Warcraft. Lots of new stuff to see, collect, beat up, etc. I don't feel great about it, but between the past few days and how the next few are likely to go, I don't feel too bad either. I have to be careful not to reuse that excuse, though, because this week's new content is just the story and open world stuff. The competitive stuff comes out next week. 

The kid's parent/teacher conference was yesterday afternoon. She's doing fine. The concerning outliers on her report card were, as we hoped, the result of one specific bad test. 

After that I took her to the park for a bike lesson on her bigger bike. It went well. So well, in fact, that she biked loops around trails there, left me behind, and got scared. Maybe I should have planned better, but then again, maybe she should have listened to me! Maybe I should be mad at her about this! (I'm not. She was technically lost, but it was 6 PM in a public place.) 

Dinner was air fryer chicken, broccoli, and naan bread. Easy.

Halloween teardown

Tough Wordle today. Might be the end of the streak.

EDIT:

Wordle 872 6/6

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Hah!

Yesterday was fine. Biked the kid to school. Had three meetings, all easy, productive, or both. I also got a draft of a document to the reviewer. The big personal project of the day was tearing down Halloween stuff. It's not in the basement, but it's ready to go there if T. agrees with me about throwing away some broken stuff. (And if she doesn't, she can repack it!)

I got exercise by doing calisthenics in front of the TV. As is all too often the case, I left the house at the last minute due to an email I felt I had to answer, and we were late for the music lesson. Need to work on this. During the lesson I went for a walk even though I didn't need to. Good for me.

Dinner was orange chicken. (I tried to make it fun by using up some purple vegetables in it and calling it "purple chicken", but no one was fooled.)

The kid was grumpy and difficult in the evening. When pressed, she admitted that she got hurt a bit by people roughhousing in the extended day program, or getting into trouble in a minor way. On the one hand I wish she wouldn't take it out on us. On the other hand, at least she could describe it when pressed.

Woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. T. was snoring but I'm not sure that was the only problem. One bit of advice I got from watching the Guide to Sleep was to get up and do something when you can't sleep, or at least go lie down somewhere else so you aren't stressing out about sleep. Thus this, plus some Reddit. Now to try to lie down again...

A good day in every respect but mentally

Wordle 871 4/6

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Yesterday I started the day by shampooing the kid. Hopefully that's the end of the lice. Then I biked her to school. We're getting closer and closer to separate vehicles, but not quite there yet.

I was productive yesterday. Several phone calls and emails about personal stuff, mostly doctor's appointments. The psychiatrist's was particularly problematic. A few days ago their assistant recommended some tests for me. They sent me a PDF with few details. Yesterday I responded to ask about scheduling, after discussing T.'s availability, because I thought it would conflict with getting the kid to school. But I was getting ahead of myself because the test had to go through Labcorp. This was the first I heard of it. I spent 10 minutes on their Web site but couldn't figure out how to schedule something. Fortunately this is the lowest priority thing on my agenda.

I walked to the store around noon for some essentials and some physical activity. Work wasn't that great, but I still listened in one meeting and got started on one document. I'm reasonably optimistic about getting a draft of it out today. 

All this took a toll on my attitude. It's like I can only be productive by stressing myself out. (But then, in hindsight every one of those appointments was more trouble than it should have been. In addition to the Labcorp appointment, the podiatrist is new to me after failing to reach two others, I failed to make the kid's shots appointment online and it took two phone calls due to my mistake, and I had to call to confirm the dentist's appointment because they let me know informally and at the last minute. Of course I'd be frustrated!) T. noticed that I seemed short-tempered.

I biked to that dentist's appointment; it was uneventful other than the phone calls earlier. Another very physical day. Good for me. 

As soon as I got back, I started on dinner. I wished I hadn't made ribs. It takes time and there isn't any one particular rib recipe I'm good at/familiar with/confident of. I'm glad my dad was there. Around 6, the recipe I was following said there was still an hour to go, but my dad got out the meat thermometer and checked and it said they were fine. The oven was too hot, I guess.

More biking, parents, and lice

Wordle 870 3/6

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Yesterday was the "clocks fall back day". Good. The extra hour was needed. Brunch was 3 courses: apple pancake, eggs, and home fries. 

After that, a trip to the park so the kid would bike more. It got complicated by all five of us going to the farmer's market at various times while supervising the kid, shopping, and chatting with people we ran into. The kid had an impromptu playdate with friends she ran into and one of their mothers came over to chat with us for a while.

In the afternoon, the four adults walked to REI while the kid biked. (She leaned too far while standing waiting for us and fell, which wouldn't have hurt if she hadn't landed on a wire fence. She's got a ridiculous number of bandages at the moment.) The main goal was visibility vests, for her and for that matter me to bike more safely, but we got a few other things as well. After that, I took her to the Swampoodle park while T. and my parents went to Politics and Prose.

Dinner was at Tiki Garden, a new Thai place on H Street. It was nice. The only problem in all this was the fact that we're still finding lice in the kid...

Sun is good. Who knew?

Wordle 869 4/6

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Yesterday we had pancakes and bacon, but the pancakes were made from scratch rather than Krusteaz. It was OK. I appreciate the variety but probably won't stick with this as long as we stuck with the mix.

Shortly after that, the kid asked to go biking. Now that she's finally got the fundamentals, it's fun. I was happy to encourage this. We basically spent the whole day biking. First in the parking lot by the rec center, and I eventually coaxed her to bike to the farmer's market with me and T., and then back to the parking lot. We took a break for lunch, and after that, more biking, this time in the park. I was exhausted by the end of it, walking and jogging along with her while she biked, but it was fun, good for her, and good for me too. 

I finally called it quits around 5 so I could start on dinner. My parents arrived a little after 5:30. Dinner was a hit: pork chops, cucumber salad, and cauliflower. 

The only problem was after dinner, when T. noticed lice in the kid's hair. So I made a quick trip to the drugstore and we (almost entirely T., but I got a few) spent about an hour de-lousing the kid's head.

A wasted day

Wordle 868 3/6

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Yesterday the kid's school had inservice for parent-teacher conferences, so instead I took the kid to an outdoor adventure program in Rock Creek Park. It required driving basically across town during rush hour. Not fun.

Once again, I got moderate exercise in the early afternoon (calisthenics in front of the TV), and sent out a draft of the document I started work on the day before. Otherwise, the day was a waste. It's getting harder to act like this is because I'm on top of everything or the game is so enthrallingly fun I can't resist.

In fairness, I shouldn't undersell the stuff I did get done, I guess. Regular exercise is good and the current rate of drafts getting sent out is good, even if there's a sense in which it should be better. 

A friend of the kid was at the same program, so her mother drove them both home. The kid and I vegetated at home for a bit, and then we went to District Taco for dinner, and then she had gymnastics. Meanwhile I went for a walk to get just a bit more exercise. Good for me. I also started a "master to-do list". I've used lots of to-do lists for specific days or events, and they generally help but could be better, and I'm hoping that a rolling, living document will be even more useful. Can't hurt to try.

Last night I finished For the Wolf. It was OK.

The events of the day from best to worst

Wordle 867 2/6

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Woo hoo.

The best: after Girl Scouts I took the kid for a biking session. It was later than I'd normally like to do it, but I figured it would be OK. Starting without help is what she's having trouble with, so I talked her through it and had her get started. It was frustrating at first, but when she got cold and I went to the car to get her gloves, I turned around to find her biking under her own power. Awesome. That was the last of the fundamentals she needed to learn. Good session, even though there was some yelling in frustration (and screaming in pain, when she fell and hit her knee). 

My own exercise belongs in the "good" section. It was by biking to my eye doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I was riding my own bike, so it was fun and sort of a refreshing change. I also spent a fair amount of time jogging around the park keeping up with the kid on her bike.

Also, dinner was the kid's favorite, tortellini, along with Brussels sprouts, which I enjoy well enough.

The average: work. Similar to yesterday but in more frustrating ways. I started work on a task that has been in my/our backlog for a while, should have been started before now, and should have been in better shape before we got it. Ugh. Just sloppy on everyone's part.

The bad: Warcraft. I spent hours today fucking around with casual collectible stuff on yet another character. In the late afternoon, I said I should finally do some competitive dungeons because time is running out before the next season. I started a Neltharus+17 and it went well at first, but wiped once at the first boss and someone left. The most frustrated I've been with the game in a while. I've already thought of some things that would be worth doing in the game despite that, but I'm definitely done with competitive content for the season.

I suck

Wordle 866 3/6

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Got the kid to school uneventfully yesterday. Work was OK. I sent out a draft of an SOP I've been nominally working on for a while now, so that's nice. I got my exercise too, by walking to the store. 

Unfortunately by the time I was done with the SOP, it was too late to take the kid biking. And this wasn't because the SOP was very hard and time-consuming, it was because I was playing Warcraft. For what it's worth, I was raiding to take the last chance to get the evoker legendary before the patch. (I realize it's not worth much, I'm just saying I wasn't playing completely aimlessly.)

No one but me really minded, the kid seems to enjoy biking itself but hates the idea of biking to school, and T. agrees with me that it's good for her to be ready for that but doesn't care too much, but this is a concrete thing my procrastination got in the way of. Probably can't do it today and definitely can't do it tomorrow, either, due to other plans.

Dinner was carne asada and green beans. Came out well enough.

Tired now because T. got up at 5 AM to catch a flight. Her new job has her traveling again.

Halloween

Wordle 865 3/6

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I really need to stop talking about procrastination and start getting things done, but other than that, work was fine. I got some exercise around noon as planned: pushups, situps, and jumping jacks in front of the TV. Good for me.

I picked up T. and the kid early for trick-or-treating. While there we witnessed parents fighting over their kid, as in physically fighting. Ugh. 

We got pizza for dinner on the way home and grazed while getting ready for trick-or-treating. The kid was a Hogwarts student and so were several friends. It was one school friend and several neighborhood friends.