Just a 48-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Drama Llama (DL). I am married to Monkey Hubby (MH). 
I got a fog picture.
The light is a street lamp. It just looked cool in the fog but I was surprised you can't even see the street lamp (the rest of it) in the picture. & then it just looked cool with the tree and the dirty car windshield.
It's been a weird couple of months of extreme fog. Including a white knuckle drive home from San Francisco a few weekends back, with the thickest fog I've probably ever driven through.
In other news, I am really enjoying the $500 chair. The fancier/electric powered chair will take some time to get used to. I think at the end of the day I prefer being able to manually adjust how I am sitting.
I suppose it might be a spendy furniture year. On MH's birthday, the mechanism broke (recliner) on his movie theater seating. In the middle chair that he uses the most. I am not sure if this will be a 'we just were looking at reclining loveseats and should just buy that' thing, if we will buy something similar (theater seating), or if it will be an easy fix. This could easily go the way of the 2025 theme of we just need to fix or replace the mechanism. It could end up being a small thing. Things to figure out later. Just living with it for now.
I doubt we'd buy new theater seating because our longer term plan is to just have a short throw projector, and to not have a dedicated movie theater room. Not that we necessarily have long term use for a reclining love seat. But it would be a little less specific and easier to hand down or pass on.
January was very spendy. But we were able to save about $2,300+ (I updated sidebar) re: December windfalls. There were no big bills left to pay in January. January spending (Credit card charges) will sort out in February. Don't expect to be saving much in February, accordingly.
I expect February (Feb charges paid in March) to be a lot more quiet and frugal. & it's a short month. Will see.
My office moved last week and it seemed to go pretty smooth. I think my only real complaint is the crowded parking lot. It looked larger and more spacious, initially. But anyway, the last couple of smaller office buildings I have been in, they both probably had 20 spots for 5 people. I just feel like it's infinitely more likely to get into some kind of fender bender in the parking lot. & it's hard to see much when backing out of spaces re: dense mass of cars.
What's great and exciting about this move is I think I will be saving an hour a week on commuting. What!? I had started out with an estimate of 10 minutes a day, or 40 minutes a week. & was happy to put up with any downsides of the move (mostly, losing the beautiful grounds) in exchange for more time. But then I saved 20 minutes on Monday. I now think that the time savings will be more substantial. We just moved about a mile up the street. But the new office is right by the freeway, which is what I am more used to. (I am spoiled, always having otherwise lived or worked right next to a freeway entrance). The worst of the old commute was the long 2.5-mile slog to the freeway in afternoon traffic. My 30-minute drive would turn into a 45-minute drive home, just because of that stretch of city street. Anyway, now it's more of a 25-minute commute both ways.
It will be a month or two of sorting out infinite address changes (we have ~30 entities we get mail for). But I am viewing this move as the last big hurdle of a very trying few months. Phew!
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HA!
This week has been a week from hell. Many things going on, but the latest is that my cat is in the Kitty ICU. Should find out more what is going on today.
The only thing I know for sure is $$$$$$. Not thrilled about that. But also definitely an appreciation through trying times like these that we are not normal. That we can *Shrugs* when random $10K bills fall out of the sky.
It could be we have run out of luck with him eating plastic around the house. He's acting like he is poisoined, so we got grilled a lot about anything he might have gotten into. Haven't figured it out yet and could be something more serious and underlying. But I do feel like it's a miracle I have never had to take him to the vet re: all the weird and random stuff he eats. Heck, this is the first ER vet visit I've ever had for a pet.
Oh yeah, and MH is a big sofite. Logically, he's pushed back in the past, at the idea of spending this kind of money on a cat. But he folded like a wet noodle when the rubber hit the road. Heck, do I have to be the voice of reason?? He actually had a strong reaction to the DNR question. I was just, "Wait, what!?" We have a 14yo old man cat.
The vet called him spicy because 4 people had to hold him down to draw his blood. It sounded like an excorcism happening on the other side of the wall. That's my demon cat. Anyway, the vets all seem to think the odds are in his favor. He's not acting like a 14yo cat in an ICU. So all of this was kind of a no brainer. Also, I'd like him to not turn into a demon cat at home. Our vet did give us a $500 option to treat him at home. I don't think the ER would have agreed that was doable. So it might all be for the best. My nerves are far less shot, knowing he is in the best hands.
February 12th, 2026 at 11:26 pm 1770938782
Congrats on your shortened commute.
Also congrats on the positive diagnosis on your demon cat haha.
February 13th, 2026 at 01:09 pm 1770988143
February 15th, 2026 at 02:04 pm 1771164254
February 16th, 2026 at 01:53 pm 1771249986