Oooft. That was not my favorite Packers game to watch..... the end score wasn't as bad as I feared given halftime it was 27-3, but yikes..... just a lot of stupid rookie mistakes. Because, well, most of the team are rookies and honestly they needed at least one more rest/recharge/practice day from a Sunday game to a Thurs night game ..... 

We also decided it might be my fault because I spent the second half of the Falcons game booking my Southwest leg of my December Seattle trip to see my sister's family and then I spent the first part of this game booking a Southwest leg out there (a day earlier, when my sister wanted me for a longer visit) and canceling my delta flight out there. See, southwest had been running a two day sale for 50% off base fare which made for like $65 ticket out there (the flight back is more expensive than when I got it) which is a ridiculously good deal. So when I saw the email and checked prices/dates to see if it was feasible and there was an 11:30 departure gets in at 5:40 with a 1.5hr layover in Vegas -- MUCH better than the 5am flights for like $109 last Southwest sale. (opted at that time for the $129 delta flight out of Madison (ended up being like $159 because they now charge you for you to be able to get a full refund, and the fee is $50-100 and you only get a partial credit back unless you go up a fare class to get a full refund) instead because asking someone to drive both ways in the dark wee hours during snow/ice season to/from MKE is a bigger ask than at least one leg of it being after sunrise. Even when you're asking family and friends who are family. So I brought it up to my mom yesterday but we didn't think it worth the hassle to move things so I didn't. But THEN late last night got an email and in app notification that Delta switched my flight. So instead of a 5:48a flight to Denver with a 1h12m layover, they would be flying me to Atlanta on a 5:28 flight (check-in desk for Delta doesn't open til 5am at Madison airport) and a 32min layover between when my plane is supposed to arrive and the next depart and because it was Atlanta, it made the flight several hours longer unnecessarily. I was annoyed and pre stressing about that tight a layover given how long deplaning can take so tonight I decided that given the delta change, if my rides on both ends were cool I would fly out the 11:30 southwest flight instead and save myself the extra money. Technically, I booked it before either got back to me, lol. But I figured it was fine I would fly in the day before because Weds is my nephew Jack's soccer night. Also, because delta changed my itinerary, I was eligible for them to just refund me the money to my card rather than a future flight credit. So I made back $90 by doing that and I won't have to pay to check my bags out there because southwest (which is good as I will be there for the end of Channukah and for Christmas so I best make sure to pack presents for everyone, but especially the kiddos.)

So now my Seattle area trip is Dec 12-27 (get home morning of the 28, because red-eye flight) and times are not absurdities on either end. 

My sister's family are actually moving to a rental on the 9 while the house renno they contracted to add another floor to their house happens. It's like a 6 month project and initially they had said no visitors at all during the renno. So she was on my case about my next visit just as soon as Irish fest season ended and I TOLD her that I didn't have any stretches longer than 5 days between concerts/theatre tickets and me dog sitting while our parents are out of town until second half of Nov which is during the renno so it would be physically impossible for me to visit before the renovations started. So then she texts me one night asking IF they rent the house instead of an apartment, would I PROMISE her to come visit to make it worthwhile they spring for the extra space. (I expect they were leaning that way because they both work from home and they have three kids ranging from just over 1 to soon to be 7, and they have a cat.) I texted her back, "yes of course! You just told me not to plan to visit during the renno so I was respecting that." And she told me calmly (because Virgo) "then we will make it so" and I was like, "That's super nice and all. But don't make space for me to visit you a priority. Bigger priorities are the kids school district and allowing the cat and garage space for both your cars." And she just goes, "Nope. I miss you, we all miss you, so you are equally priority rated in the house vs apartment rental options." So then the first Southwest sale was right after they signed the rental contract so she told me to go ahead and book as long as I didn't plan to stay more than 30 days to become a tenant. And then the cheap flight timing options were to have me across Thanksgiving again, have me early Dec or have me mid Dec across Christmas (caveat being I needed to be home again end of both months to do end of month deposits at work.)  She said her first choice was to have me across Christmas for the bonus of my visit aligning with the start of kids holiday break on the 18th, second choice was Thanksgiving for the long weekend, early Dec was last choice. 

And that's how it ended up I'll be at my sister's in Seattle area for Christmas this year, lol.  I was already told via zoom by my niece Monroe, "Um. Aunt Dani Elsa! Make sure you bring the snow with you from Wisconsin! Like last year!" And Jack chimed in, "Yeah! I love the snow! I want so much snow!!!! Use your Elsa magic and make sure you get us some Christmas snow to play in!!" I laughed told them I'd do my best but no promises this far ahead but I would do my best. It'll be fun to spend Christmas with happy kiddos and watch them open all their gifts instead of a quiet day at home with my dog and cat and a fire going in the hearth. (Pretty sure Packers games are Thanksgiving Day,  Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve this year....) My nephew and nieces are very excited I'm coming and extra excitement now for a bonus day, lol. Well, maybe it's a lot to presume Elliot is already excited since she's a bit young to understand, but she will be excited when she sees me! 

It will be the first time I'm gone for longer than a couple days since Waffles moved across country to live with me, but I'm sure she'll be happy staying with my parents and their dog Sophie for a couple weeks. Sophie might not love it, Sophs feels her age now and Waffles has an one-off switch that exists in only two states: sleep/snuggles and full on zoomies full body wiggles wagging her tail. Nothing between. She's a good dog and she listens extraordinarily well, but she is a full body wriggler zoomies with a tail that can bruise shins or break glassware sort of dog given her standard dachshund-beagle-Jack Russel terrier mix. 😂 and sometimes, old lady Sophie just wants to sleep at the end of the day and ain't got time or energy to put up with that sort of whipper snapper exuberance. Waffles is still very much in her imprinted glued to my side or must have me in line of sight mode unless I tell her I'm going to run errands or have a show to get to, so jury is still out over how she will handle me being gone that long. She may be just fine, she may get depressed and emo enough to stop eating like my Pisces pup Audrey used to do. Still unknown territory with her how she will handle me being gone longer than overnights or a weekend. 

O and as for the last post. There's probably a middle ground between listening to logic that I ought to assume he's most likely talking about his real life relationship he was in while still acknowledging the timing lining up for when I had put an energy block on the bond so the love between us couldn't flow and reach each other as it always has no matter how separated our real world 3d lives are. Somewhere between assuming it's not at all about me he doesn't care about me and assuming it's all about me just look at the timing. Like, the bond and the vision dreams and all of that are something wyrd and that are by definition outside what Occam's Razor style logic assumptions allow for, so having that in the mix automatically takes you outside the expectations of just normal logic. But also, that doesn't mean he isn't hurting working through his emotions about his romantic relationship ending. They can coexist. They're not the same, but my dating other guys doesn't mean I don't love them while dating them even though that bond is still there tugging at me telling me that the boyfriend is never going to live up to and fill the empty spaces of what the bond is and could be. So why would it be any different when he dates a karmic girlfriend than when I date karmic boyfriends, y'know? 

Speaking of karmics.... tomorrow night (well tonight now? Friday night) Gadan is playing at ICHC in Milwaukee, so it's the first time I'll be seeing Andrea (mandolin and clawhammer RN tho acc sometimes guitar player in Gadan) since Iowa Irishfest (first weekend of August) when I was splitting my flirting between him and Keith (who I then also saw the following weekend at LaCrosse Irishfest.) I don't expect much to come of it seeing Andrea again except a lot of eye flirting and teasing, especially since Amy will be at our table and Emily and Jeanne nearby and Rory, Molly, and Sara Lou will all be there as well which makes for a LOT of friends around to try to make anything happen. Even if Andrea is Italian and Italian men are even smoother than French men in my experience. But also, Sara Lou who works at the Ward music archives and is the one who discovered brought them to ICHC and Rory he manages the stage for ICHC is thr one properly introduced us to the members of Gadan in Iowa. But also it means there's a non zero possibility of staying to late night session with some beers at the pub in the back of the old converted church that is the Irish Cultural Heritage Center in Milwaukee. On verra. 

I don't currently intend to behave like I'm in my 20s again, but also I'm single and have been for a long while and Andrea is hot in a very intense way and so why not? Keith and I are open ended flirtation chatting with mutually acknowledged interest there but the distance factor is a big deal so no strings both open to other connections. And as for Eric, I mean the bond is there and it's heady and a lot right now especially after so long without it -- but he's still rebounding from his relationship with the lamprey and the first words that come to mind for me if I'm honest about any status between us would be: "he's not here because he's never chosen to ask me or prioritize the bond to grow into something else" so at this time I consider that a complicated can't ignore but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere so I don't consider it enough to count against me striking something up with another guy who piques my interest. And that includes tall dark and handsome mandolin/banjo/guitar players from Italy named Andrea.

I mean, a girl can't wait forever for you to maybe someday decide you want her. Especially when you free will choose other girls instead. Ain't nobody got time for that double standard. August brought me in a lot of options of men I'm actually interested enough to pursue. Granted the ones I'm most interested are very long distance so may never grow to much, but still. That's how things be right now. If you don't like that, change it. But for now, my free will is my own and if you don't want me enough to choose me even with the bond this white hot intense between us, then I consider myself free to look for another love elsewhere.

Ope! Kettle is ready! Time to make this cuppa tea then curl up to read for a bit. Ciao bella!