It’s lunchtime! I’ve decided to join the household waffle trend and make one for myself. The package doesn’t specify how many waffles the recipe makes, which feels like an important detail to include. I’m guessing it will make one or two waffles, though. Since I’m hungry, I’m not going to spend too much time playing detective over waffle math. I’m just going to get started and see what happens.

The waffle turned out really good. I only had one, but it was a giant waffle, so one was definitely enough. Alex pulled the waffle iron out the other day and gave it a good cleaning, and ever since then, the kids have been on a waffle streak for breakfast. Of course, now we will need more pancake mix soon. Kitchen gadgets seem to have two modes: either they become the household celebrity for a week, or they disappear into a cabinet and are never seen again. I figured I should join in before the waffle iron quietly returns to hibernation.

Kel is off work today. She had a doctor’s appointment and then went to the zoo to walk around for a while afterward. She will probably be home soon.

Alex also got a new job at Subway. I’m hoping this one works out well for him. I did immediately have the thought that I might have to shuffle around some of my appointments depending on his schedule, since he is the one usually driving me around, but I guess there’s no point stressing over that yet. I’ll look at his schedule first and figure it out from there. He said he’s only working three days a week, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult to manage. Because of my eyesight, everyone is wary of me driving anymore. Which is ok, because I don’t really like driving much.

I’ve also noticed lately, while scrolling through Instagram, how performative journaling seems to have become. There are endless videos and pictures of beautiful journal spreads, carefully arranged layouts, perfect handwriting, and aesthetic little decorations. It all looks nice, and I can understand the appeal of making something creative and visually pleasing. But sometimes I wonder how much of it is actually journaling and how much of it is creating content about journaling. Journaling, at least to me, has always felt like something a little messy and personal—thoughts scribbled down because they need somewhere to go, not because they need to look pretty enough for strangers on the internet. Maybe people genuinely enjoy both parts of it, though. I just find it interesting how even something meant to be private can slowly become another thing to curate and present online.

Of course, my journal is online. I consider my site’s layout presentable. It may not be the most aesthetically impressive design, but it is clean and organized enough to showcase my journal effectively. I still have some gripes about WordPress, but it works.

This morning I texted my therapist about my therapy appointment for today. He apologized because he forgot to schedule the appointment we had set up. It’s okay, though, I’m actually alright with having a little break from appointments. We rescheduled, so my therapy appointment is tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

I guess W4 forms are online now, which I suppose makes sense. I’ve been helping Alex fill out his W4 paperwork for work because he starts tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Trying to complete a W4 on a phone is honestly confusing. There are so many steps, and sometimes you need additional information or need to look things up while filling it out. Doing all of that on a small screen makes it harder than it needs to be. It would probably be much easier for him to just complete it on his computer.

Before I worked at Walmart, I worked at Little Caesars Pizza for about two weeks. During that time, I kept asking about filling out my W4 form, but I kept getting the run-around. Every time I asked, it felt like no one would actually give me the paperwork to complete. Then, after those two weeks, I got a job offer from Walmart, so I quit the pizza job. The whole thing felt strange. Instead of paying me with a paycheck, they paid me directly out of the cash register. Looking back on it, it was probably the weirdest job experience I’ve ever had.

I did some quizzes earlier, and now I’m reading my cybersecurity book. I’m taking a little break from that to write for a while. I also washed the blanket that I always keep draped over my office chair, and I just took it out of the dryer, so it’s still warm and cozy. There’s something especially nice about a warm blanket fresh from the dryer.

I’m planning to read a little more before starting the next book waiting on my desk, Taran Wanderer, the fourth book in the Chronicles of Prydain series. I just finished The Castle of Llyr, and I really enjoyed it. It was a good story with a lot of humor mixed in, which made it fun to read. Now I’m looking forward to continuing on with Taran’s journey and seeing where the story goes next.

Today, Sandy jumped into the washer after I put my blanket in to wash. It was really cute. I waited for her to jump back out before closing the washer door. I took a picture of her in the washer.