Let’s start with the good news that isn’t about coffee and cake. (We’ll get to that though.) I woke up before noon today—10:00 am! I’ve been having a hard time falling asleep this week. I mostly blame the weather, but there are other factors. Thing is, I don’t feel like listing them and I don’t think you really want to read them.

Despite feeling tired and a little groggy, I’ve already contacted the folks at Black Stag Coffee about their iced latte product. I like them a lot better than bottled Starbucks, but they do present a problem for me. The seals around the neck aren’t perforated.

So I requested they start perforating them because my hands are so useless in the morning. If they were easier to open, maybe I would swear less in the mornings. Maybe.

Coincidentally, the beverage company is located in Neenah, WI. And the only reason that means anything to me is that I remember walking in downtown Indy with Dan years ago. He pointed out the manhole covers were stamped Neenah, WI. Made at the foundry there.

Anyhoo. I’ve basically written off this week. The weather is all over the place. Though yesterday was nice, there’s been wind, rain, and temperature changes that make my nerves do that whole inflame-y thing where I feel like my own muscles are choking me out. Not. Fun.

So I didn’t get a Zentangle video made this week, but I’m not sweating it. Warmer, stabler weather is coming. And soon I’ll be complaining about how freaking hot it is.

This Saturday is my 43rd birthday! (My Amazon wishlist is here, but I don’t need anything on it. It feels good to say that.)

I have requested French toast sticks for breakfast Saturday morning. And I’m going to try to make my own applesauce cake.

It’s a recipe that comes from my paternal grandma. We used to have it when I was little, and I think my recent bent toward nostalgia has made me crave it.

Since we’re talking bout food, Mom was in Fairview Heights and got us a meal from this place called Lotawata Creek for my birthday dinner. A little early, but there was so much food and it was so delicious. I will probably still be snacking on leftovers until I’m 43.

We pass this restaurant on the way to and from my new oncologist so, this could become problematic. My willpower is much lower than my cholesterol.

March is also the month my Dad died. I think that has something to do with the nostalgic sort of melancholy I’ve been feeling recently too. Later this month will be the two-year anniversary of his death. I still think about him every day.

I’ve decided that old saw about the pain lessening over time is a misperception. Kind of true but also inaccurate. It still hurts to think that he’s gone, but I think more about when he was here than how much I miss him now. I’m sure that must make perfect sense.

A couple times a week, I still say out loud, “I miss you, Dad.” Not because I think I’m talking to him. But because some things feel better on the outside of me than bottled up on the inside.

This isn’t meant to be a heavy post though. I’m going to wash down my morning meds with this Black Stag coffee Dan opened for me. Eat a banana. Maybe play some Fallout 4 until my body protests too much to concentrate. Type at y’all later.