I'm sort of hyper aware of this, because I have two blogs, one about my house and one about travel. oh, look--I just did it--I said "my house"! So, yeah, when I'm talking about travel I've noticed I pretty much always say "we" but with the house I go back and forth--and it does tend to depend on how much DH was involved with whatever I'm talking about. Like I'll say "I decided on this paint color" but sometimes I'll second guess it and change it to "we" because I don't want it to sound like he doesn't have any input (he, umm, COULD have input if he wanted it. He likes all paint colors the same, though). But then I've also noticed that I automatically say "we" sometimes for things that are pretty much all him: "WE built this bench..." So, while I'm hyper aware of it, I don't have a clear pattern. I say we more than I, probably, overall...

Georgia is open to everyone over 25 BMI, too, and there has been some serious defensiveness on some of the facebook vaccine groups I'm in: "But I'm a RUNNER! It's MUSCLE!" Yes, it's true--BMI is a terrible, outdated metric--quit complaining and go get your shot, people!

yeah, one study shows the UK variant is 64% more deadly (https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/10/health/coronavirus-variant-uk-more-deadly-study/index.html) which seems to be a fatal blow to his argument, if I'm understanding it at all. That along with the fact that early evidence suggests that the vaccine DOES reduce transmission significantly.

There is a federal site doing vaccinations now, but it IS in Atlanta. I think that's the only one in the state, although I'm not sure. Trying to figure out the giant web of private pharmacies vs. county sites vs. state vs. federal is...difficult.

It seems to be all his show. He's deciding on his own when and how eligibility opens up, too. There's really no transparency.

My governor is asking people from metro Atlanta to drive to south Georgia to get vaccinated, because there are more vaccines than they have demand for there whereas it's still close to impossible to find appointments near the city. OR (stop me if this is just totally crazy) they could move the VACCINES to where all the PEOPLE are. Instead of suggesting that it's totally easy for people with jobs with no paid time off or with no cars to make an eight hour round trip drive.

I've been surprised to see here (from watching local facebook groups for finding vaccine appointments) that J&J is in very high demand and hard to find. I'd love it if I could get one for my oldest who's about to fly back to Minnesota for college and then will be there for less than 2 months before coming back here and then summer travel plans shortly after that--since with his schedule and his low risk profile the one dose thing would be really helpful. I was glad that my husband and I got Moderna, but I'll take J&J gladly for my kids if I can get it.

We haven't made it to Utah! My husband is really itching to go; it's tricky because he's a teacher so we can only travel in summer, and I'm nervous about it being super hot.

Thanks so much! 🙂

Badlands is our collective favorite place we've ever visited as a family--drive the loop road and do some hikes--Notch Trail is great and some of the short trails; you're allowed to climb all over the place and go off the trails in the Badlands--it's a giant playground for kids. In the Black Hills, we loved Wind Cave National Park--if you take the Wildlife Loop from Custer State Park, it drops you off right near there, IIRC (bring carrots to feed the semi-wild burros!) All the scenic drives in the park are great. We hiked Black Elk Peak, which was challenging but worth it. (I have a bunch of blog posts about the Black Hills and the Badlands in my blog that's linked in my signature if you're interested in excruciating detail 🙂 ).

We stayed (with an RV, but there were plenty of tent campers around) inside the park at the Badlands (Cedar Pass) and at Game Lodge Campground in Custer State Park. Both were great, although the bathhouses at Cedar Pass are not the best. There are several campgrounds in Custer...people like Bluebell a lot, I know--some of the others that are less big RV friendly might be better with a tent.

My mother is Catholic (well, sort of. She hasn't set foot in a church except for her parents' funerals in decades). Dad Baptist, although he took a break from it until he divorced my mother. So Catholic church and school in my early elementary years, then Baptist churches with my dad and stepmother through middle and high school. Episcopalian now. I'm surprised to hear that the SBC is tied up with Calvinism...in the Baptist churches I grew up going my understanding was that predestination was more or less heresy. But then Baptists aren't really known for being theologically consistent.

well, fortunately, sounds like they're not banished 🙂 I'm just hesitant to jump to conclusions about whether this was a one time, completely out of character thing for the dog or whether they should have known it was too much for him to handle and not had him in that situation.

Secret service has confirmed that it was one of their agents and a very minor nip--no broken skin. It sounds like perhaps it's been blown a bit out of proportion by the press, if you can imagine that 😂

Just saw that Jen Psaki confirms the dogs will be back.

now I have both hands. Presidents aren't "normal people," but presidential pets having fairly free run of the White House has certainly been quite common, historically. People really like seeing presidents with their dogs. Dogs who are stressed because of new situations can act in unpredictable ways. If you've never misjudged how your dog might handle a new situation, then you're doing very well. I certainly have, multiple times and with multiple dogs.

nm--misread, and i only have one hand free right now

I googled, and it still seems to be unclear whether it's a permanent move. Poor pups--that's got to be a really stressful transition. I would totally run for president, except that I know my anxious little terrier wouldn't be able to handle it 😉 (George W. Bush's Scottie, Barney, bit multiple people while he lived in the White House. I think you need a really chill dog in that kind of setting).

Got my first dose (moderna) today. My arm is just sore enough that I believe it was real 🙂 Walmart in Cleveland, TN--this was the first day of expanded eligibility (to everyone 16-64 with health conditions), and they didn't seem prepared for it. I was there just under 2 hours. After awhile they brought in a second person to help administer shots, and that sped things up a lot.

Our 8 foot ceilings don't bother me all. The only time I think about them is when we buy a Christmas tree :). But agree that it's worth thinking about resell and what's considered standard/desirable in your area/price range.

My Dad works at a nursing home, and it sounds like they did a LOT of work to combat skepticism in the staff--lots of watching videos and having people give presentations on safety and the science behind the vaccines. I don't know how well it worked overall, but my Dad is completely on board (of course, working at a nursing home that had a really bad outbreak in December probably helped overcome any residual vaccine hesitancy he might have had as well). But, yeah, listening to people's concerns and explaining/educating about the vaccines works!

I did it but then called the next morning to make sure it was okay 🙂

I signed up directly through walmart's website (and I checked a different box since they don't have the expanded eligibility up yet). We called, and they said it was a good idea to bring a doctor's note of some sort, but I've seen stuff on the public health website that says you don't need documentation. Anyway, I printed out a copy of my medical records from my doctor's office's patient portal and highlighted my BMI on it, which I assume will be good enough--otherwise I guess I can offer to go buy a scale in walmart and stand on it while they watch? 😂 Incidentally, I'm scheduled in Cleveland, TN, and every time I've checked there have been a lot of open appointments for this week.

And our governor announced that he's throwing out the phases altogether in favor of...whatever he feels like doing this week? That's why I'm going out of state--I'd be fine waiting if I had any idea when my turn would be. After this past year, though, I am all about taking control of any little thing I can take control of.

I have a problem with people actually lying to get the vaccine in places where there's clearly still more demand than supply for eligible populations (here there's a lot of abuse of the "caregiver" designation for example). But I'm going to a neighboring state where I'm eligible to get mine on Monday. I keep checking the place I made an appointment every day, worried that I'm kicking some Tennessee Grandma out of line, but there are tons and tons of appointments available every time I check. I read that TN expanded eligibility for next week because they don't have enough demand in the current categories. I don't believe they've expanded eligibility to grocery workers yet, and that's the part I don't love....I think they should be going ahead of me (I'm eligible based on medical condition--in this case just my BMI). But in this case the choice seems to be a lot of unfilled appointments or me taking one--I don't get to decide which groups are eligible.