I'm not dead.  Time to spill my drama and catch you up on things.  I say drama only because if you have anxiety issues even good stuff can all tumble together and wreak havoc on you.

Still waiting for my phone case to arrive... yay, Chyyyna.  So far the service has been good for me. I like the phone, I'm finding my way around and getting nestled in nicely.

Hot tub:  It was supposed to come in July.  On Friday I got a call - they can't order the one I wanted, it is no longer available -- but good news!  The one that was on the floor, which was marked sold is available / the people changed their mind.  Great!  It isn't the color I wanted inside, but it works.  That means I can set up for delivery like whenever.  Ok,... but I thought I had more time, so I only had one quote for wiring (the guy they recommended) and I had sticker shock.  I got the guy I typically use for electric to come today and look.  I should get his estimate in the next couple of days.

Swing set:  Family was going to help do the landscaping leveling, but a death in the family had that nixed - or so I thought/was told on the 17th.  I then started scrambling to find people to come give me quotes to do the work.  I agreed to the second quote I received there... and yes, of course it was way more than I wanted or expected to spend, but ... what other option do I have.  Now the family has reached out asking to schedule a time. Uh.  No, please don't stress me out like this.  I was told early May.  Well, guess who called today... and I had to tell them I wasn't ready.  I was also warned if you aren't ready you can get back burnered and delays result.  So, great.  Now that's f'd for now too.

Either way, now my emergency slush fund is feeling a bit raw, because I never fathomed how expensive one wire and digging would be.  Admittedly my wallet hurts a little extra right now as I finish spending out my high deductible health plan.

My shoulder manipulation took place last Wednesday.  I can't believe it's been a week already.  I was nervous.  Had to be there at 5:45 am for a 7:45 am procedure.  I was leaving after fully waking a good bit before 10 am.  The procedure itself took like 5 minutes.  I am pretty surprised that I don't hurt more.  I have full range of motion in the up and down if I push through, but I need to regain the strength to do it and the muscles need to adjust.  The chicken wing type motions are not full range of motion and are much more painful -- especially at physical therapy.  I gotta press through.  It's so nice to put that arm up behind my head or to shave my armpit.  I can almost put my hand up on my hip.  #goals

Since I need to use some vacation time, my sister is in to help me through this (since I couldn't drive to leave the surgical center or when I take the pain meds), and sitting at the desk for 8 hours a day again immediately was not feasible ... we drove to see my other sister in Lock Haven this past weekend.  It was a nice little get away.  Gosh I need a real vacation.

Over the weekend I went to Xfinity, with whom I already have home internet service, and I ordered a new cell phone.  It's official - I am kicking AT&T to the curb.  I've been with AT&T since the 90's.  I saw the shift to Cingular, the shift back to AT&T, the merger with DirecTV... and right there - the merger w/ DirecTV is where they became a real pain in the rear (at least 6 years ago).  The latest with my voicemail disappearing and a reminder of how often my password (and now passcode) just suddenly don't work was the final straw.  Fortunately, I was due for a new phone.

I looked back.  I got this phone 3 years and a month ago.  The one prior lasted 3 1/2 years, so I am reasonably on pace.  I am a Samsung girl, but I am not spending $1100 on a new phone.  So I am rolling with the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G.  Admittedly it was kind of annoying that with their antitheft devices in store I couldn't even pick the thing up to hold it in my hand or look at the back of it.

Long story short I was paying $65 a month (after repeatedly working with AT&T to get that bill down as far as I could) for a couple of GB of data a month, I will now be paying $68 a month for unlimited data and a new phone (for 2 years).

But that's not all.  Ya'll know I was itching for a hot tub out back.  Well that's happening too!  Is it wrong that it's less expensive than the kid's swingset that was ordered?  I went with the Marquise Rendezvous Discovery.  It's triangular (smaller) so it won't take up as much space and should be a little less costly overall.  I now have to get an electrician in and get the line ran.

I put a few stakes in the ground tonight and feel better about the size of the swing set as a result.  It's big, but not as bad as I was fearing if my measurements are right.  I managed to get some tomato seeds into soil this past week too - finally.  My teeny tiny pepper plants that sprouted are now under a grow light for a few hours each day.

I managed to get two days in a row going for 2 15 minute walks.  Today I kind of blew it walking only once, but more like 25 minutes.  I really need to get back in gear.  Must get rona-weight back off.  On another note - I slept pretty well last night.  The pain in my shoulder has subsided substantially.  It's still very limited in motion and if I try to use it the wrong way it hurts, but I was finally able to get comfortable in bed a little longer - that's a huge win.  Maybe going for a couple walks is helping in that area too.

I know there is no get skinny fast solution, it is always an obscene amount of work for slow gain that is easily lost the second I don't maintain complete discipline.  I gotta get there though -- once again.

Aw... c'mon man.  The diagnostic center called, one of the vials from my blood draw needs to be redone.  Seriously.  Why does this happen to me so often?  I only have until the 7th to get this done and they don't have hours today (even though the Web site says they are open Saturday mornings).  I certainly hope they're open on Monday.  I'm off work, but I will have the kiddo with me.

I have wanted to get a hot tub for our back since I moved here.  It's why when I put the concrete in under the deck I did 4" instead of 3".  I made my first visit to a local hot tub/pool store and learned some basics about maintenance and other nuances.  I also learned how friggin expensive they are. There is a really sweet looking triangular one that wouldn't hog up a lot of space, but even that is a pretty hefty investment.  So yeah, safe to say back burner for right now.

Instead I went and spent an obscene amount of money on a playset.  My yard isn't very large, this thing will take up a good chunk of the top part.  There will be two slides, swings, bars, a tire swing under the deck, and even a Mommy seat.  If we lock down again this summer we will still be golden.  I suspect even if we're not Avery will want to go outside a lot.  That's a good thing.  If nothing else good came of the past year, spending a lot more time outside with her last year was definitely top notch.

Time for an update on the shoulder and related issues.  My appointment with the ortho doc yesterday was hands off - mostly informational in preparation for my procedure, which is scheduled for later this month.  I had to get an EKG and blood work at least 2 weeks prior so I ran to check that off of my list first thing this morning. I will need to get a covid test 4 days prior to the procedure too.  After I will have lots of PT in my future.  I pray this works.  By works I do mean returns range of motion, but, equally as important is eliminating the discomfort and returning good sleep to me.

So it turns out that part of the delay here is because at some point my voice mail ceased to exist.  When the doctor pointed out that they had tried to call numerous times and were unable to leave a message it hit me... it's been quite some time since I had a voice mail.

First I tried dialing my voice mail and I couldn't get in.  So I contacted AT&T.  They told me I didn't have a mailbox set up.  Really?  Cause I've been a customer of yours for over 20 years, switching to Cingular and back from the mergers.  It just disappeared at some point.  So they set up a new mailbox, I set a pin.  Then I struggled to figure out how to get my phone to actually send missed calls there.  I figured that out... but now it doesn't give me a notification if I have a voicemail.  Seriously.  Why did old ass technology become so difficult?

My favorite egg and Rex both asked why I didn't have a voicemail app - I never knew something like that existed for one.  I tried downloading AT&Ts low-rated voicemail app.  Sophos was pissed about it being on my phone, but that's okay - it didn't last long as it wouldn't work either and crashed pretty quick.

I guess if I miss a call I need to remember to check my voicemail.  I wish there were more viable options -- I'd consider changing my plan elsewhere, but I am still not in any hurry to ever give Verizon another penny.