The Marci Rating System

It's Saturday! And for some godforsaken reason, I'm up at 4:45am on a day I could 100% sleep in. Stupid body. For once it wasn't the cat. I was just awake. Oh well, I can nap before or between games today.

My sister has her adoptive neice's birthday party tonight, so she's going to be gone, so I'm going to hold off and do the stuffed shells tomorrow, and the beef barley soup on Monday. That shouldn't take too long to do, since I have the pre-diced mirepoix. I'll probably sauté the meat, chunk some potatoes up and make the broth at lunch. (I have a broth base from Sam's club that I'll use. Then it can simmer for a while, and I'll add the Barley during break, so it has plenty of time to get softened. Add in a bay leaf and some thyme and rosemary for flavor, and it'll be great. Tonight, I kind of want Pad Thai. Or lunch can be Pad Thai. I'm not picky.

Last night, I made chicken noodle soup. (Okay, primary thing that I wanted was broth for Yoda. HE wasn't eating the plain rice, so I made some with homemade chicken broth, and that was a huge hit. Then, I made the leftovers into soup, which turned out excellent. I will 100% do that again. It was warm, comforting and oh so very tasty. For once, no notes. I was totally pleased with the outcome.

What I may do is get another Rotisserie and make more chicken broth for Yoda, and then put some in containers so that when I need to make more rice, It's there. Plus, broth for recipes. That could be good. Now that I know how easy it is, I will do it more. Probably at some point, I'll go to the butcher and get some soup bones and stew meat, and make a broth from that. Not for Yoda, for me. Beef can upset his tummy sometimes, so he's going to be sticking with chicken.

Work was interesting. I was added to the weekly manager's meeting, which was a ride. OMG, those people are brutal. I heard all about my coworkers, and how they suck. One is apparently getting fired soon, and another has them checking all of her appts, because they're a total mess. There was some business discussed, but a lot of it was just a bitch-fest. An hour and a half bitch fest. Being brand new, I didn't participate much, but I did speak up a couple of times. I still don't 100% feel like I belong. That will come, I'm sure, but I'm not there yet.

Other than that, I just made some calls, filled in some appointments, and overall got shit done. I was barely taking calls at all--just trying to tetris some patients into the schedule. We've got a bunch of long MRIs who want appointments around 4/8, and we've got jack and shit. I've been trying to move patients, but they're being incredibly stubborn, so I didn't make much headway on that.

I had one patient whose appt was cancelled by another dept (I presume accidentally)! I had to call them and let them know that we couldn't honor their original appointment, but we could definitely get them in before their follow up with the doctor on Tuesday. Lord, they were pissed. (Understandably, but goddamn.) I know A. is following up with that dept to make sure the person who cancelled it was educated, but that doesn't help the pt who has to drive two hours twice rather than once on on the day of their appt.

I'm definitely tireder at the end of the day. The email where people send add ons is a firehose, and it takes a lot to keep up with it. I'll get used to it, and figure out strategies, but right now, it's a little overwhelming. I'm using flags and labels to keep things organized, but it's a lot. I'm glad I have a couple of weeks to get used to it before I start college.

The BIL came over last night. He continues to be super adorable about the cruise. He's so damn excited. Not that the rest of us aren't, but I think he really needs this vacation. He takes care of his elderly mother almost full time, so this is going to be a good break for him.

I left a message for the petsitting company for Boodle, so I assume they'll call me back Monday, so I can get that set up.

Then that'll be all I can do until it's time to take Yoda for his second flu shot, and then we can finally try him out in the kennels. Fingers crossed that it goes well and he doesn't have to go to the vet to stay, but we'll see. That's my one anxiety for the cruise, and I can't do shit about it til late April. The place we want to try requires two weeks from the second flu shot before they'll accept your pet. I could check the other, and see if they do as well and get him a few days there.

After that, I've got some cleaning to do in our bedroom, then we'll be ready to go. I just bought a metric ton of underwear and socks, and I have a couple more t-shirts coming, but after that, I should be done. Oh and another swim suit, because the bra in the one I got was pathetic. That's going in the to be donated bin. I don't need my boobs floating around while I'm in the pool or hydrotherapy spa.

First, we have out NYC trip for Lost Boys on 4/18. That should be super fun, and I'm looking forward to it.

We have so many awesome things coming up this year, and I have to wait for all of it. I don't like waiting. I have no patience. Yay ADHD!

I've been waiting for the cruise for over 300 days, and now we're down to 47 days. I want to start packing, but I'll wait a little bit longer. I could technically pack socks and underwear now, but I don't feel like hauling out the big suitcase yet. The temps in Alaska are still pretty brutal, so I'm considering bringing the heavy jacket. I think I can fit it in the suitcase no problem. I'm mostly taking leggings and t-shirts and they don't take much room.

I've figured out my dresses for the gala nights. I need to try one of the other dresses on on with the shapewear, and see if it's a possibility. Otherwise, I'm just going to rewear the one I'm using for our vow renewal.

Today, we have a one shot, and then we also have Crooked Moon tonight. It should be a lot of fun. They're about to fight a sentient train. I need to do a little prep for that after I finish my entry.

If we get Pad Thai for dinner, I may make some seared scallops for lunch today. It doesn't make sense to make them for dinner, as Jess is not a fan, but for a quick game snack, that could be tasty. Though, who knows, Jess was not a fan of lobster, but it turned out they were not a fan of shitty lobster. Well cooked and seasoned lobster was a whole 'nother thing.

I got some bacon to wrap around them, but I don't have toothpicks to secure it, so we'll see if I do that. Maybe I'll get some skewers when I put in the order for the rotisserie to make Yoda more broth.

Okay, time for me to do some game prep. Everyone have a terrific Saturday!