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One Last Visit

My parents made one last visit to our house for dinner yesterday. They’ll head back to Minny after an incredible journey to the Maldives with my younger brother. I’m so proud of my parents for getting out of their comfort zone and trying new things like scuba diving. They’re just rock stars. At any rate, I love seeing my folks live their best life after they gave my brothers and me an amazing childhood.

Before that last visit, they came up to go to lunch with the Mayor and have coffee with me. It was great to hear about their trip and see some pictures. The Mayor is always happy when someone wants to take him to lunch, especially if it’s Chipotle. I worked yesterday but scheduled my lunch so I could hang out with my folks while they were here.

For dinner last night I ordered some pizzas from Cucina Moderne. The Mayor had suggested Sal’s but I demurred his choice given that it sucked the last time we had it. As always, Cucina Moderne’s pizza did not disappoint, nor did their Caesar salad. It was a tasty meal. I particularly enjoyed it as I’m now on a clean eating regimen for the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping it helps get rid of the rash and any underlying inflammation.

Today at work I spoke to a guy that was completely inscrutable. It was like talking to Boomhaier from King of the Hill. He was absolutely impossible to understand. I’m sure he needed dental insurance, but beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Fortunately, the rest of my calls have been fantastic today. Hopefully, the trend continues into the new month.

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Lots of Hockey

We had lots of hockey yesterday and didn’t get home until dinner time, so I took the night off from blogging. Initially, we thought all three games were at Skatezone, which would still make for a tight transition between games two and three. Unfortunately, the league changed our second travel game from Skatezone to ice works when an updated schedule was sent out. Consequently, this made the transition from game two to game three quite interesting.

The first game of the day was a Hawks vs. Hawks affair. Luckily, the Mayor’s team came out on top, however, I thought the other team outplayed them. Nonetheless, the Mayor played well and it was an entertaining game to watch. I mean, it’s super easy to cheer when both teams are from the same organization. The fear with an inter-organization game is that they can sometimes get nasty. Both teams played a clean game of hockey and were good sports, which was great to see.

The second game was at Ice Works against the best team in the league. Lyssa and her sister made the hockey moms great shirts, which I forgot to wear yesterday. Nevertheless, we took a photo of the moms present in their shirts. Since I had forgotten mine, I hid in the back with my sunglasses trying to avoid the blinding glare of the sun. As for the game, we expected a complete thrashing. You can imagine our surprise when the boys came out of the first period with a 3-2 lead. It ended with 8-3 bad guys with two of our players injured on dirty plays.

Once the game ended, the boys on our high school hockey team piled into Christy’s van to ride to the high school game at Skate Zone. The high school game started at 5:00 pm, so shortly before the travel game ended. They ended up making it to the high school game at the end of the second period. Neither team had a full bench at that point, but our team was already winning 7-0 when the kids got there. By the end of the day, we had lots of hockey and I was completely exhausted.

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Working Saturday

It’s a working Saturday in our house today. Well, at least I’m working. I don’t think you’d count the Mayor watching the junior game or the hubby scrolling endlessly through Twitter working. A skin is keeping me company, while Athena and Arrow hold down the fort in the family room. Fortunately, it’s been a productive working Saturday so far. It’s not bursting with leads, but it’s not slow either. The puppies, with Athena now joining Anakin, are doing a great job of keeping me company while I work.

I decided to work to add to my production, but there are plenty of things I could be doing around the house. Our loft upstairs looks like a bomb went off in it. To be fair, a bomb named Goalielocks did go off in it. We just added a spin bike, so it would be nice to have it organized and look good. Additionally, the upstairs hallway looks like a donation room for Goodwill. I definitely need to go through everything upstairs. There’s a lot of stuff that we can donate, throw away or put away. I’d also like to get all my shopping and errands done this weekend, but the hubby’s prodigious volunteer status is really cramping my style. Hopefully, his boss will pay him before the month is out.

And now for your shingles update because I’m apparently eighty-five. Fortunately, the rash hasn’t spread any further. It is, however, mighty uncomfortable. In fact, it is both itchy and painful despite looking like it’s healing. The shoulder patch feels like it’s still there in its full glory, but looks like it’s almost gone. Truly, it is an odd and uncomfortable feeling. Moreover, my stomach is not loving all the medicines I’m having to take to eradicate the rash. I can’t wait until I can stop taking the anti-virals and antibiotics. The steroid cream, however, is doing its job nicely without killing my tummy.

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A Nefarious Tale

So my rental saga has now gone from a trilogy to a nefarious tale. Apparently, they didn’t tow the car on the 14th. In fact, they allegedly towed the car from the Marriott back to Hertz last night. This is according to Hertz. Keep in mind, Hertz sent me several text messages on the 14th indicating they had received the card and closed my case. In fact, I distinctly remember looking for the truck when we came back from the rink that night and it wasn’t there.

Unfortunately, that was only part one of this nefarious tale. Because I also got my bill. First of all, they billed me for the entire trip. Secondly, they billed me a higher rate than what I had been quoted. This, of course, begs the question: will Hertz ever get this right. Unfortunately, I think the answer to that question is no. Consequently, all transactions from Hertz remained blocked on my credit cards. But hey at least they sent me a nice letter asking for their rental vehicle back…..

And now for a not-so-nefarious tail. While I worked, the Mayor and hubby headed to FLA Live arena for a high school game. You got to love a high school game scheduled during the middle of the school/work day. Based on the updates and snippets, I saw it was a high-scoring game. My friend Christy sent me an awesome video of the Mayor’s goal. Unfortunately, they ended up losing 6-5, but I think it was fun for them to play on the Panthers’ ice.

As for the shingles/rash situation, the shoulder is looking better. It, however, still hurts and is a bit of a nuisance. The patch on my back still looks quite raw, but it hasn’t spread. I’ve decided I should probably follow up with a rheumatologist to make sure there’s not an underlying autoimmune issue at work. Nevertheless, I’m a bit overtaking a ton of pills every day.

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Change

Well, there hasn’t been much change from yesterday. Well, except I’m now taking eight pills plus using a steroid cream to keep this thing at bay. Naturally, I’m still miserable with my patches of itchiness/hell and my husband is still an unpaid volunteer. Hopefully, I’ll start to see a change in the skin irritation rather soon. I’d really like to go back to my regular workouts and wear shirts. I’ve resorted to wearing a loose hoodie over my sports bra to stay comfortable. Or at least, try to stay comfortable.

I can’t say that I’m feeling great either. I’m not sleeping well, so I’m super fatigued. Unfortunately, I think the fatigue is magnifying my discomfort. The patches are quite painful and itchy today, which sucks. I feel better today than yesterday. Truthfully, the Mayor saved the day yesterday when he reminded my hubby to pick up my script. My hubby forgot to pick it up on his way home but forgot. Since we’re down to one vehicle at the moment that would have meant I would have had to wait to get my script filled until this evening. As it happened, the rink canceled the Mayor’s practice, so we would have been able to pick it up yesterday evening. Since he had no practice, the Mayor also made dinner. He really saved my evening.

Actually, I lied there has been one change since yesterday. I haven’t received a call from Herz’s vehicle recovery department. Yay for the small victories in life. This may be a byproduct of the flurry of tweets and Facebook messages I sent them yesterday. Unfortunately, I still have not received my closed contract or receipt for the rental. Nor have I heard back from Hertz about either item. Hopefully, the lack of a call this morning forebodes the resolution of my rental car debacle. At this point, I don’t know what’s more painful the shingles or the Hertz rental experience. Either way, stay tuned for an update.

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Shingles, maybe

I woke up with a new patch on my back, so now they thinks it’s shingles, maybe…. There not 100% sure what it is, although I think we all agree it’s precipitated by stress and an overexcited immune system. Consequently, I’ll be adding an antiviral to the mix of antibiotics and steroid cream. Adulting is so much fun. Needless to say, I’m quite cranky.

The rental car debacle and my hubby’s apparently unpaid, volunteer job clearly aren’t helping the situation. Hertz called me again asking why I haven’t returned their car yet. Do these folks even read notes? Hertz had to have a CRM that is sued across the company. I can’t fathom how so much incompetence can impact one rental. Hertz has never screwed up a rental for me previously, but I guess when they do, they do it big.

At this point, I’m hoping I don’t have to go to the media on the wayward rental. Also, hoping my spouse gets paid sometime this year. This volunteering shit isn’t going to work. Obviously, my system is not handling the stress well and is absolutely flaring. Needless, to say I’m in need of serious vacation, sauna time and a moment to recharge myself. So anyway, yeah two patches and it’s shingles, maybe.

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Becoming a Trilogy

My rental car saga from Chicago is becoming a trilogy. And not a good one. It’s becoming one of those trilogies Hollywood makes because they’ve run out of ideas. I have been working with Hertz since 1/14/23 to close out my failed rental car. You may recall, Hertz had to tow my rental back to O’Hare because it had a bad starter. Yet, here I am over a week later still fighting to get the contract closed.

Yesterday, Hertz customer care assured me that someone would be calling to resolve my case. Well, today Hertz called me about the rental. I answered thinking they were calling to resolve my escalation. You can imagine my surprise when they asked why I hadn’t returned the rental. Consequently, I lost my shit. By this point in the game, Hertz should have more than adequate documentation on this farce of rental experience Honestly, I tried my best to temper my reaction as it wasn’t that representative’s fault Hertz doesn’t have their shot together.

After forcefully explaining Hertz O’Hare has had my rental since 1/14/23, I provided her with confirmation that the tow was received at O’Hare and the roadside assistance case detailing the ordeal. How is it possible that none of this information is on their systems??? I have literally spoken to customer care at Hertz several times a day since before our trip. Candidly, I don’t understand how this went from a weekend rental to becoming a trilogy.

Thankfully, I blocked all charges from Hertz on my credit cards. Otherwise, they’d be charging me daily for a car they think I didn’t return. What an absolute clusterfuck. Hertz’s ubiquitous incompetence at all stages of this experience has been exceedingly frustrating. Here’s hoping this ends as a trilogy because I can’t deal with a whole series of this shit.

In other news, my right shoulder exploded with an angry-looking rash. I figured it was either dermatitis or cellulitis, so I set up a telehealth medicine. Unfortunately, the doctor couldn’t do anything for me via telehealth because of the possibility the rash was caused by a scratch from one of our dogs. Consequently, I headed to urgent care this morning.

The name urgent care is such a misnomer. There is nothing urgent about urgent cares in Florida. I’m a reasonable person, but I have my limits. Clearly, I should have checked in at home and waited until they were ready to see me. Instead, I waited almost two hours in the parking room and waiting room. It’s so frustrating!

I finally saw the doctor, who felt it was likely it was a contact dermatitis reaction. Since, however, I hadn’t made any changes to my routine (i.e. no new soaps, shampoos, cleaners, detergents, or clothes,) he opted to treat me for both. I am relieved that it is not from my dogs, but I’m at an absolute loss as to what caused the reaction. Hopefully, the rash will clear up quickly with the steroid cream and antibiotics.

Today’s accountability tracker:

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Night Off

Well, I’m taking a night off from the hockey rink since the Mayor will be sitting tonight. Apparently, his shoulder popped out and back in during the second game yesterday. Naturally, he didn’t think anyone needed to know until this morning. He tried to say he was fine but chuckled as he said it. Unfortunately, it was clear he was in pain when testing his range of motion as evidenced by his grimace. Nonetheless, the hubby and I decided he should sit tonight out.

Consequently, I’m home chilling with the dogs after a good day in the office. I’ll probably spend my night off from the hockey rink watching the Florida Panthers. To be fair, I’ll watch the Mayor’s game on Livebarn as well. He’s dressing out to serve penalties, but I want to be sure he doesn’t try to sneak in a shift. Also, their high school team is sometimes more exciting to watch than the Panthers, who are so boring this year.

After a week of intense fatigue, I finally felt up to working out. It stinks that my body is so finicky sometimes, but I got to listen to it. Perhaps if I had listened to it more when I was younger, it wouldn’t be so finicky now. I ran two miles and walked one. The run wasn’t smooth, but after more than a week off, I anticipated it would be hard. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to strength training with the Sweat app.

Today’s accountability tracker:

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Ready for Bed

I’m ready for bed and it’s 8:05. Honestly, the temptation to skip writing the blog tonight was very real. The Mayor had two games in Estero today, which equated to an early morning this morning. This in the heels of one too many vodka sodas last night was a recipe for a winning day. Fortunately, I only woke up tired and not tied and hungover. Nevertheless, here I am at 8:05 ready for bed.

The problem this whole week is I’ve been fighting an autoimmune hangover since Chicago. What exactly is an autoimmune hangover? In my world, it’s incredible fatigue coupled with inflammation. Unfortunately, I’ve found that during this period of “hangover” I need to chill or my body will rebel. I certainly don’t enjoy an autoimmune flare after having spent years trying to calm it down.

Consequently, I’ve been shopping for saunas all week. One of the great things about my Endocrinologist is that she’s given me a lot of tools to manage the autoimmune side of Graves’ disease. Typical Graves’ disease treatment only addresses slowing down the toxicity of a hyperactive thyroid. It doesn’t address the underlying autoimmune inflammation that causes your thyroid to go insane. Honestly, it’s because we still don’t understand autoimmune diseases well.

So a sauna not only feels fantastic but is also great for reducing inflammation. Naturally, I have to go back to eating really clean, which will also help. Hopefully, this week I can get back to my workout routine. I try to work out daily, but I’m careful never to overtax my system. It’s a delicate balancing act between building my fitness and avoiding a flare. Anyway, I’m off to bed because I’m next level tired.

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Wild Game

We had a blast at the Wild Game tonight here in South Florida. Fortunately, this was a win-win situation for us. We love the Wild but usually cheer for the Panthers. The only time we don’t cheer for the Panthers is when the Wild is in town. Wild’s first line looked good tonight, but obviously, that wasn’t enough to win.

To be fair, my vision sucks bananas. I most definitely need new contacts as I could barely read the names on the jersey sober. Once the vodka sodas were on board, the bets were off. I was cheering for white team versus red. Who the freak knew who was on the ice. Certainly not these old eyes. Speaking of which, I can’t wait to proof read this post on my laptop since alcohol and auto compete are not a great mix.

Even though the Wild didn’t win, the evening was enchanting and fun. We got to see a hockey dad we haven’t seen in quite awhile. (It was great to see you Chris!). It was interesting watching the cheerleaders do the same dance to Disturbed and Pitbull. One would think the dance would vary, it apparently not. I mean even very my copy when emailing different folks, I’d certainly mix up the dance moves for different genres. In case you’re wondering, the dance moves didn’t work for any of the songs. Special thanks to TJ and Val for the tickets!

Today’s song of the day is Red Cold River by Breaking Benjamin.