Watching our city council meeting and it is clear so many people do not know how our type of city operates.

Just having a realization that my inability to write and just let some essays I had been producing flow out of me...*sobs* might be affected by taking Vyvanse. Sounds counterintuitive because hey, hyperfocus should help that...but um, might actually be the case.

Kiddo has never stepped foot inside a church for a sermon and honestly, we come into this situations so rarely. I need to have a convo with him about why people do it but that he shouldn't feel weird about it and he doesn't have to participate.

Sometime in the last decade or so I finally stopped bothering to shut my eyes and bow my head just to pretend. I was agnostic and now I'm atheist and I will respect others but I'm not going to pretend.

Also, I did not grow up learning the Texas pledge but apparently everyone and their dog knows it (kiddo knows it now because it's taught in schools now). Hereby boycotting ever learning the Texas pledge out of obstinance.
SO: no prayer or pledges at public meetings. I wish.

Would really love it if we could stop invocations/prayers at government meetings. Went to a mayoral "debate" yesterday and all the prayer nonsense drives me up the wall. While we're at it, let's stop the the Pledge of Allegiance, too. So cultish. *barf*

A few years ago I made it through most of Girls when it was free on Prime. Didn't get to the last seasons. Recently borrowed all seasons from the library and start over/finish and now I cannot handle Adam *at all* and Hannah drives me up the wall. Decided to never finish this show bcs ughhhh.

I was vaguely familiar with Charley Crockett before NASA used his song on the Artemis wakeup playlist but had never listened to him before---and now I think I am a Charley Crockett fan! Thanks NASA!

It's a state forest. Also, parts probably could have used a burn. (I'm familiar with the forest, used to live in FL and hiked there.)

A caterpillar posed on the back side of a native grape leaf

Black moth with white spots nectaring on a yellow flower.

eight-spotted forester moth (Alypia octomaculata) caterpillar and adult. both seem separately yesterday!

I felt so bad. I should have stopped immediately but paused a second too long and had to go further down to find a place to turn around. Sorry about your turtle friend, too.

and hoped it could manage to die in peace. Watch for turtles and snakes (have seen roadkill of those this week) as everything is moving. Roads suck.

Its carapace was cracked near the front left foot (I could see the foot inside because part of the shell was off) but another spot up top was also cracked. It sucked. No animal rescue nearby and I'm not sure they could really repair it anyway. Flipped box turt friend over and moved off road...

On the way home from work yesterday noticed last minute a turtle on the edge of the road. Had to go a quarter mile and turn around to go and help it across. By the time I was heading back a different card had hit it *sobs*. I found it flipped over...

Welp. Now I gotta dig out my husband's extension tubes.

oof.

You will only be able to get 1/2 price drinks and slushes if you reach Legend status in the app (use the app/visit 30 times within the year), or I suppose, also during the 2-4pm 1/2 price time. Anyway, I had already switched to brewing tea at work and home but Sonic is making me dislike them more.

Reading marketing email from Sonic re: changes to their app--they are making a loyalty situation now with rewards. I was already irritated with their switch last year to making 1/2 price drinks and slushes with the little coupon instead of automatic with the app...but NOW--->

Super cool that BCBS has told me that my therapist is going to be out of network starting next month but hasn't let my therapist know this. I know BCBS is having a showdown with Memorial Hermann which has impacted coverage all over Houston, too. V. frustrating.

Least favorite thing about getting ADHD med refills is the delay between my appointment and whenever the prescription seems to end up at the pharmacy. Been two days, not a peep. Already sent a message. I'm fine until next week, it's just that I don't have this issue with any other doc office.

I started doing moisturizers at night in my mid-30s and thought I was behind then. Not sure if it helping or not: mid 40s face is doing what it seems to want to do at this point.

There's a derm influencer on IG who swears by this stuff. Curious if you've tried their sunscreen?
Haven't tried any of their stuff but a similar affordable option has been Nivea creme and it lasts a while. I pair it with a cheap serum at night. And spend my money on SPF for day.

Really need to work on book edits this weekend but also want to spend all of my time outside looking at plants---if it doesn't rain too much.

Book has to happen but ughhhhhhh I want to look at plants.

Also, definitely hear you on the ambassador stuff. Feels tempting but would hate for them to roll something out I don't agree with.

Ok, I was going to ask what the new drama was.

yes, there are definitely A LOT of gaps in identification for certain taxa. I'm thinking about learning mosses and liverworts better for myself just so I can fill that gap in my part of Texas/parts of the south.

Don't think I realized Fitbit was bought by Google and because I haven't used one in several years they are yelling at me to delete my acct or move it to Google. But their platform for Fitbit has been changed to the Google Store and it is atrocious. Guess I'll delete, it's weird.

10/10 dream room, needs to be a king bed though if I'm sharing it with someone. Also, opposite wall better be a window with a window seat to read said books.

In Nature Nerd iNat news---I have been able to identify a plant that only had basal rosettes a month ago that I found at a cemetery...wouldn't have guessed it either--Helenium flexuosum! Went back today and many had flower stalks or buds! Easy to figure out now!

lol considering that they've been trying to make this the state bird for quite a while, I don't know how far this guy will go. However, developers did/do entomb gopher tortoises, so who the hell knows, they may just let this guy bulldoze scrub habitat anyway!

The consequences are going to be massive. The petrodollar is likely in ruins and a regional war is brewing. There’s still going to be giant economic shockwaves. The US is extremely weakened as the facade of military power was dispelled. Globalism is reeling and our rivals are extremely empowered.