Bree, I am so glad you're back!

Hi Monica!  I have been settling back into the work force, and it's going reasonably well other than an insane amount of overtime.  Going back to work has been good for my marriage since I see Nikki most in the car going there or back or at work!  LOL  And it's been completely different from my last company, no one here calls me stupid or blames me for everything and they actually seem to be pretty happy I'm there (and I've achieved things! LOL).  But it doesn't leave so much time for a personal life. 

We still own the house, but are buying a new one closer to work anyway.  We ran the math and can afford it, and the hour commute each way is LONG.  So now we're in that weird we did everything we can and just have to wait for the final pieces and mortgage underwriters to finish up to close and actually get on with the moving.  

Dash diet is going well, and I'm really doing MUCH better.  I know people were getting worried about me last fall, but it appears to have been mostly hypertension related. And removing the salt from the diet, my body is WORKING again.  I still have the occasional bad day if I ear wrong, but mostly I feel great and am able to do more and more. I have nearly 7000 steps today on the fitbit, and while my legs are unhappy, I didnt' have to sit much and I kept up with the group.  Nikki and I have relearned to eat as well as cook, and it's sort of an adventure!  

What have you been up to? 

Dear Bree,

Am active in my local transgender support group as an ally.

Through them, I have made a friend who I go out with once or twice a month (she's partnered, but her partner trusts us completely), and I hope we will soon be double dating.

Last month, I have gone to my first LGBT film festival, and I absolutely loved it.

Still writing articles and exploring art.

Saving money to go to a gender conference in February in Philadelphia, PA.

Just joined a Lesbian pen pal club.

You are a real asset to TGGuide, and I really miss you.

Your friend,

Monica

I'm sorry I'm MIA so much, my life has been crazy with the hectic.  I wish cloning was a thing at this point.  But right now I'm sorta hiding from the world, Saturday night our much loved and very spoiled bearded dragon passed away quietly in her cage.  :(  So I have plenty of time to linger on line as I just don't want to go out and run errands right now.  And in my favor in the desire to sit here and mope for a bit I think I've done everything I need to do to at this point and have FINALLY reached the point of just quietly waiting for the bank people to finish whatever it is they do and announce a closing date to start moving.  So I'll take the lull when I can get it!

I hope things work out the way you want with your new friend!  :)  *throws lucky turtle sparkles at you*  

Nikki has been lovely dealing with me slowly unraveling.  On paper abandoning house to get the work done and it on the market with immediate possession as an option was a great idea, and that part worked out beautifully.  However, I basically moved back into my childhood, which you may remember didn't work out so well for me the first time.  It hasn't gone any better this go around.  But things are better nowt hat I'm working full time and hardly here.  And hopefully the staff changes at work will increase our ability to get out on time in the future.  Nikki's getting a small team. : )  So I'm putting myself back together and just quietly counting days until I'm outta here.  I'm sure Nikki is really excited to move, as he's not out to his family at all so no female time here.  

Dear Bree,

My new friend is partnered, but I am very careful to respect their relationship, as I do all relationships.

She recently found two single women she wants to introduce me to, but I have a bad cold and I am not going anywhere! Don't want to be remembered for passing around a bad cold!

Thanks to this bad cold, I am missing out on a BBQ as well as meeting two potential girlfriends! LOL!  😷

Your friend,

Monica

Aww that does suck, but you absolutely made the right choice. : )  We all give serious side-eye to those people who bring the germs!  LOL  We're recently back from our summer outing and one of the women had a bad case of pink eye and basically spent the whole time hiding in a corner, I felt so bad for her.  But I admit I did keep a germ-safe zone away.  I'm a bad friend sometimes! LOL  I admit my fear of eye drops made me careful about that buffer zone.  Eye drops are just horrifying to me.  So is eyeliner, I once ran around a table away from my stepmom like some kinda crazy sitcom becuase she was so NOT coming hear my eyes with a freakin' pencil, even if it was mean to be used around the eyes.  

On the way home from work we drove into what must have been the aftermath of a pretty good storm, and there was a GIANT rainbow, we both enjoyed it immensely. Made getting home from work extremely late again worth it!  

Speaking of ailments, we're trying to find time to get Nikki to the doctor(well, I am, but as usual Nikki's putting it off), broken out in a lovely rash that looks suspiciously like the excema I deal with, but it's behavior is different and despite Nikki wanting me to, I'm so NOT an armchair diagnostician and said 'get thee to a doctor who went to school for this stuff!'.  Not the desired response, but it's the best Nikki's getting.  Rashes are the most common sympton in the world, it could be anything from an allergy or a plant to a stress condition.  And I have an inherent dislike of home diagnosis vs. professional ones.  That emotional response and internal push to seek medical attention has saved both mine and Nikki's life over the years, so I'm sticking with it. 

I'm so close to the weekend!  WHEE!