Monthly Archives: November 2021

Not Quite Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Time (or A Full Family Day)

Posted on November 16, 2021 | Comments Off on Not Quite Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Time (or A Full Family Day)

As I mentioned in my workout recap, this past Saturday my family celebrated Thanksgiving early. Thanksgiving is the main holiday my family celebrates, and last year was the first time we weren’t celebrating together. But since we are all vaccinated, we wanted to get together this year to celebrate. And it was decided that since it is significantly less expensive to celebrate on a weekend other than Thanksgiving weekend, it was decided that this past weekend would be when we would get together.

Things were in Santa Barbara this year, so it was going to be easy for me to get there. But because of how my schedule was, I knew my time with everyone was going to be limited. I had things to do pretty late on Friday, so I was going to drive up on Saturday morning. And the original plan was for me to stay the night and go home on Sunday, but I would be leaving early on Sunday morning so I said I might just drive home Saturday night. But when I got all my stuff together, I did it with the plan that I might spend the night.

I drove up pretty early, but it didn’t feel too early to me since I’m up early anyway most days. And since it was early, there was no traffic and I had a very easy drive up. I got there with a bit of time before we were going to go to our workout, so I hung out with my parents before my dad and I left for Orangetheory (my brother was going to meet us there).

After the workout, I went back to the rental house my parents got and showered and changed before we headed to the club that my brother and sister-in-law belong to. They were there with my niece and nephew (and my cousin was there with her kids) because it was a very hot day and everyone wanted to swim. I just hung out in the shade at a table because I was still dealing with some of the side effects from my vaccine. But that was fine with me because I got to spend a lot of time catching up with my sister-in-law and cousin. Plus I got to hang out with my niece (my nephew is still a bit wary of me, but hopefully he starts to remember me).

It was nice just being outside and enjoying time with family, even if I wasn’t feeling completely ok. And since I hadn’t seen my cousin or her kids in almost 2 years, it was crazy to see how much her kids have grown! Her oldest son is almost taller than me now!

And after swim time, everyone went back to where they were staying and we got ready to celebrate our not really Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner. This was also held at the club my brother and sister-in-law belong to, and we had a private dining area so it didn’t feel like we were in a restaurant or around a lot of people. It wasn’t exactly our traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but we were celebrating together as a family and that’s what is most important to us and how we celebrate.

Dinner was a few hours (which I guess is a bit more traditional for us) and then everyone started to say goodbye. Even if I was going to stay the night there, I wouldn’t see my family the next day so I had to say goodbye to everyone. And there is a good chance I won’t see most of them until next Thanksgiving. I’m used to spending a few days with family for Thanksgiving, so only having one day didn’t feel like I got my full fix of family time. But it’s so much better than last year when we had to celebrate over Zoom.

I did end up driving back home that night after dinner since it’s just easier for me to sleep in my own bed. And I forgot a few things I would have needed if I did spend the night in the rental house. But I’m about to have more family time with my parents soon, so missing one overnight isn’t too bad.

Normally, I feel like I have a ton of pictures after Thanksgiving. I’m not sure if it was because I didn’t have as many days with my family or if I was enjoying my family time and not focused on taking photos, but I don’t have a lot of photos from my day with my family. But I did get a cute photo of my nephew, a nice one with my niece (I couldn’t get her to smile), and a silly one of my parents’ dog.

Next year, hopefully we will be together for Thanksgiving (or fake Thanksgiving) again as a family. I missed this tradition so much last year and I’m so grateful we had it back again this year!

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Default ThumbnailFull Thanksgiving Week (or Lots Of Family Time) Default ThumbnailFull Thanksgiving Trip (or Being With My Family In San Diego) Default ThumbnailThe Rest Of Thanksgiving (or Getting In Lots Of Family Time) Default ThumbnailFamily Zoom Time (or Thanksgiving After Thanksgiving) Default ThumbnailMore Family Time (or Seeing All My Immediate Family Last Week) Default ThumbnailThe First Half Of Thanksgiving (or My Pre-Thanksgiving Activities)

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

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Some Interesting Workout Days (or 3 Regular Workouts And 1 Traditional One)

Posted on November 15, 2021 | Comments Off on Some Interesting Workout Days (or 3 Regular Workouts And 1 Traditional One)

This past week of workouts was interesting for me. I had some odd struggles that I wasn’t expecting and I had some really great things too. I didn’t love having as much of an off week as I did, but I think I made the most of it.

Monday’s workout was a strength day and it was a prep day for the Everest workout happening later this month. I was also having a bit of an off morning. I think having the clocks change affected me more than I thought it would because I struggled to sleep the night before. And while I was tossing and turning, I made my hip hurt a lot. It wasn’t ideal going into a strength workout, but I was prepared to try my best.

The cardio work was similar to what the regular Everest workout is like, but we had a break in the middle. For the treadmills, they increased the incline by 1% every minute. For me on the bike, I increased the resistance level by 1 every other minute (I have done every minute before, but it gets really difficult and I didn’t want to risk it with my hip). We did that for about 11 minutes and then we had about 2 minutes to have some recovery. Then we did the same 11 minutes as we did before but we started at the top and decreased the incline/resistance level until we had a flat road all-out at the end. Because I was only doing the increases every other minute, I never had the resistance level too high. It was still higher than I normally use, but not as bad as it has been for hill work.

On the floor, we had 2 blocks. We started with 2 rounds of high rows on the straps, alternating chest presses, side plank rotations, and sit-ups. Then we had a 200-meter row before going back to the exercises again. And the second block had a similar format. We had 2 rounds of chest presses on the straps, bird dog single-arm low rows, and palms to elbows (which I did as shoulder taps) before another 200-meter row. My row wasn’t fast, but it was better than it was last week. And I tried to go heavy with the weights, but I wasn’t able to go as heavy as I would have liked to.

Wednesday’s workout was a mix of strength and power. It wasn’t as bad with inclines as Monday was, but it still had some hill work.

We had 4 blocks for cardio. Blocks 1 and 3 were similar and blocks 2 and 4 were similar. For blocks 1 and 3 we started with a 90-second push pace followed by a 30-second base pace. Then we had 3 rounds of 1-minute hills with 30-second base paces between each one with a 30-second all-out at the end. For the first block, the inclines/resistance levels got higher each time and for the third block, they got lower. And for blocks 2 and 4, we had 2 rounds of a 30-second all-out with a 1-minute recovery after. So between all 4 blocks, we had 6 minutes of hill work and 6 all-outs.

On the floor, we also had 4 blocks. And blocks 2 and 4 were done on the rowers and timed out with the treadmills. So for each of those blocks, we had 2 rounds of a 30-second all-out row followed by a 1-minute recovery row. For the regular floor work, we had sumo goblet squats, squat jacks (which I did as side step squats), lunges, and plank rotations for the first block. And for the third block we had good mornings with weighs, lunge to hops, and plank alternating leg lifts. My hips and legs were definitely feeling it after this workout, but this was a much better type of pain and soreness than what I was dealing with on Monday.

Friday’s workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power. But it was a really bad day for me. I had gotten my booster shot on Thursday and didn’t have that many side effects when I got it. But the next day, I was really feeling it. I usually have reactions to any vaccines I get, so don’t let this dissuade you from getting the booster or vaccine. But I guess I was too hopeful I wouldn’t have side effects this time and I was wrong. So I spent a lot of my workout dealing with a lot of body aches and a bad headache.

This was a run/row workout for cardio. We had 2 blocks that were very similar. We started with a 3-minute push pace and then had a 1-minute base base. Then we had rounds of a .1 mile (.4 for the bike) run and then a 30-second all out row. In the first block, the incline/resistance level increased each round and in the second block, we started at the top and decreased the incline/resistance level each round. Because I was so slow on both the bike and rower, I didn’t make it through that many rounds.

On the floor, we had 4 blocks. Every exercise we had was for 10 reps, so it was easy to remember how much I had to do of each exercise. Block 1 had chest presses and hip hinge low rows. Block 2 had push-ups, back extensions, and mountain climbers. Block 3 had close grip chest presses and squat to Y raises on the straps. And block 4 had tricep extensions, plank pull throughs, and lateral crunches. Just like on cardio, I was pretty slow so I didn’t make it through a lot of rounds. I also had to go a bit lighter with the weights because of how I feel.

Saturday’s workout was a special one. First, it was a signature workout called The Chipper. But also, this was my traditional Thanksgiving workout with my family. I know that it’s not Thanksgiving yet, but my family decided to do it earlier this year because it’s less expensive to travel if we celebrated a bit early. We were spending it in Santa Barbara (more about that day in tomorrow’s post) and there was a brand new Orangetheory studio that was only minutes away from where we were staying! So it was perfect for us to work out that morning. This year, it was just me with my dad and brother, but we still had a great time.

The idea of The Chipper is to chip away at the workout each round. So for cardio, you started with a 3-minute push pace and that decreased each round after a 1-minute base pace. The bike at this studio was different from the bike at my studio, plus I was still having some side effects from my booster shot, so I know I didn’t do as well as I could for the workout. But I tried my best and it was fun to experience class at a different studio.

On the floor, we had intervals of an exercise and then rowing. We did just 1 exercise before the row and the number of reps started at 40 and went down by 5 for each exercise. And the row started at 400-meter and went down by 50 each round. The exercises we had were bench tap squats, leg raises, sumo squats to upright rows with weights, low rows on the straps, palms to elbows, chest flies, and bicep curls. This studio also had the new rowers with the screens, and I loved seeing all my data while rowing easily displayed. I didn’t make it through all of The Chipper, but I did better than I expected.

And of course, we had to take our traditional picture with our coach after class.

I’m still having some side effects from my vaccine, but they get better and better each day. So hopefully this week will bring more wins and less struggles in my workouts.

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Default ThumbnailMy Short Workout Week (or 6 Years Of Family Workouts) Default ThumbnailLast Regular Workout Week Of 2019 (or Still Pushing Through) Default ThumbnailA Short Workout Week (or 3 Workouts In 3 Different Locations) Default ThumbnailWorking Hard (or Some Normal But Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailA Good, Strong Workout Week (or I Really Love Feeling Like Myself) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Realizations About My Workouts (or Still Adjusting My Thinking)

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Finally Getting My Booster (or Feeling A Little Safer)

Posted on November 12, 2021 | Comments Off on Finally Getting My Booster (or Feeling A Little Safer)

I’ve been eligible for my Covid booster for a little bit. It’s been debatable when I became eligible because things have changed and I didn’t look into it too much right away. But I knew that I would want to do the booster shot since I still am considered at a higher risk for getting sick.

But I didn’t rush to schedule my booster shot right away. I had a few things happening and I didn’t want to risk having some bad side effects. And I didn’t feel the same rush to get it done as I did with the original shot. When I got my first vaccine, I was trying to find how to book an appointment as soon as possible. And I’m so glad I did it then because things were getting really stressful for me and getting the vaccine was one way I could try to keep myself safe. Even after being vaccinated, I haven’t done a lot of things differently when it comes to staying safe. I still stay home a lot and don’t go out. I wear a mask when I’m out. I am around more people than before, especially because I go to my workouts, but I’m really limiting my interactions with other people. And maybe because I’m not going out a lot, I didn’t feel like I had to get my booster shot immediately. I know that there is a chance the original vaccine was keeping me safe, but I knew I couldn’t chance it. So I got my booster shot scheduled for this week.

I was able to do this vaccine at Kaiser again (I know I could have done it at CVS or another drugstore, but it was easy to schedule it through my insurance). But it was a bit different from my other 2 vaccination appointments. It was at a different office, but they also had the registration different from my other appointments. I had an appointment and then had to go and check-in. After checking in, I had to go to a line where everyone was waiting their turn. There wasn’t a place to sit down, we were just lined up outside the building. And there were only 6 vaccination chairs in the room (I think at my other appointment, there were at least 20). So the line moved pretty slowly. From the time I checked in to the time I was finally in a chair was over 30 minutes. I was already nervous since I don’t do well with needles, but I was also in a lot of pain from standing in line for so long (I debated sitting on the ground, but it didn’t seem like the smartest idea). But at least once I was seated, things went quickly.

I had to do the usual confirmation of my name and what I was there for. And they confirmed what vaccine I previously had. I was given the option to change which brand I had for my booster shot, but I went with the same one as before since I knew what my reaction would likely be from it. The booster dose isn’t as much as the regular dose, so I’m hoping I won’t have too many side effects.

And as I almost always do, I had a moment I blacked out when getting my shot. It’s more of an annoyance than anything these days because I do need to warn people I’m a faint risk. I try to explain it’s not a big deal but I know I need to tell them. But they always worry I’m going to pass out and hit my head or something.  But at least this time I was only out for a few seconds before I felt normal again. They did monitor me a bit closer than most people because I said I was a faint risk, but I spent that time playing games on my phone and getting some work done. And after my waiting period was over, I was on my way back home.

I know that I’m lucky that I had the ability to get a booster shot when it’s not available for everyone. And there are some people who haven’t had a chance to be vaccinated at all yet. But I try not to feel guilty about this. I know I’m at a higher risk for getting sick, and if I protect myself that means that I hopefully won’t take up space in a hospital bed if I do get Covid. And that hospital bed could go to someone who needs it, whether they need it due to Covid or for something else that would require medical attention.

I really wish we were past this pandemic. We have been given tools to make it end, but not everyone is doing what we need. So I have to do what I can for now and I just have to hope it will be enough to keep me and those around me safe.

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Default ThumbnailLooking Forward To Another Shot (or Ready For A Booster) Default ThumbnailGetting Ready For A Booster (or I’m So Glad Vaccines Are Starting To Be Required) Default ThumbnailGetting Hopeful About The Vaccine (or Why I’m Being Even More Careful Now) Default ThumbnailVaccine Envy Is Real (or Trying To Stay Positive) Default ThumbnailFeeling A Bit Less Stressed At The Dentist (or Just Having Normal Panic) Default ThumbnailA Very Fast Vaccine Appointment (or I Still Am A Bit In Shock)

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Letting Go Of The Old Me (or This Was Very Overdue)

Posted on November 11, 2021 | Comments Off on Letting Go Of The Old Me (or This Was Very Overdue)

For quite some time, I have said I needed to go through my closet and dresser and get rid of clothes I don’t wear anymore. I also needed to see what things might have holes or other things that needed to be repaired so I could decide if they should be tossed or fixed. I’ve gone through my clothes from time to time and have gotten rid of a lot that was just taking up space, but I know I need to do more work with this because there are things that I’m convincing myself I will wear again.

But there is one part of my wardrobe that I didn’t look at any time I did a closet clean. I think a lot of people who have lost a significant amount of weight do this, but I had a small collection of my favorite skinny clothes. This wasn’t in my closet but in a storage bag under my bed. So I didn’t have to look at them and be reminded of my skinny clothes that often, but I always knew they were there.

When I lost weight, I was more than happy to get clothes that fit me better. I would try smaller sizes as soon as my current clothes felt even a little baggy. When I gained weight, I held on to those smaller sizes until it was painful to wear them anymore and then I would size up. I haven’t been my skinny size in well over a decade, but for some reason, I still held on to my favorite pieces.

So the other day, when I was doing a big clean to really look at what I want to move and what I don’t need, I decided to finally open up those storage bags and see what I could get rid of. Most of the items in there were things I kept for sentimental reasons. There was one thing that wasn’t skinny clothes, but only sentimental. I had my high school prom dress in that storage bag. I did like my prom dress, but it wasn’t like it was a dream dress or anything. I struggled to find something in my size but I was glad I found something that fit me and was pretty. I only wore it one other time for a costume party, but I was holding on to it. And I figured it was time to let it go so it went into the pile of things to get rid of (which was going to be donated).

And then I started going through the rest of the clothing from the bag. I had 2 pairs of jeans that were the smallest jeans I wore as an adult and they really fit me well when I was that size. I had a few different dresses that I kept for random reasons. One was a cocktail dress that I lucked into finding and wore quite a bit when I was that size. Another I never wore but I bought because it fit perfectly, was a color I loved, and was on clearance when I found it. The only way I knew it was on clearance was because the tags were still on it. I also had a few different shirts that were a mix of fancy dress shirts and silly t-shirts that reminded me of something specific. I thought I had a lot more in that storage bag, but it was under a dozen things.

I thought about keeping a few of my favorites, but honestly, there isn’t really a good reason to do that. I will have more closet space at my new place, but I don’t need to hold onto these things. Even if I fit into them again, they aren’t really in style or my taste anymore. And while they do remind me of a good time when I felt much better about my body than I do now, I don’t need to be reminded of what I used to have. I try not to think about how my life might be different if I never gained weight again. And looking at that clothing did make me wonder about the alternative life I could have had. And while my life would likely be different if I was still skinny, I have no way to know if it would be better than my current life. So I’m choosing not to think like that too much. And the easiest way to do that is to not have any of my skinny clothes in my house anymore.

It was a little tough to get rid of things I have held onto for over a decade, but I did feel a sense of relief when they were gone. I don’t have a reminder of the old me anymore and I don’t need to reflect on my past in terms of my body, weight, or size. I know that I have some clothes in my closet now that probably don’t fit and are the wrong size, but they are things that might just be a size or two off. So I’ll need to do a day where I try on what I own and consider getting rid of what I don’t want to hold onto even if it’s almost the right size.

One day, I might be that skinny size again and I’ll need to buy clothes if that happens. But for now, I want to focus on my size right now and make sure I have clothes that fit who I am now and not who I used to be or who I might be in the future.

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Default ThumbnailA Major Cleanup (or Saying Goodbye To The Old Me) Default ThumbnailHolding On (or When Is It Time To Donate Old Clothes?) Default ThumbnailAnother Rut In My Life (or Time For Some Shopping) Default ThumbnailRenting A Dress (or Testing Out Gwynnie Bee) Default ThumbnailIs It Too Early To Be Spring Cleaning? (or Out With The Unused) Default ThumbnailGetting Rid Of Extras (or Cleaning House)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping, Weight Loss

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I’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt)

Posted on November 10, 2021 | Comments Off on I’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt)

Even though I technically started looking at condos about 5 years ago, things didn’t really get serious until the beginning of September this year. I wasn’t in a rush to find a new place, but circumstances changed things from how I was doing lazy searching before. Because my parents were helping me with this, we had to have a serious conversation about what the budget would be and what things we saw as requirements. For the most part, we were on the same page with everything. There were a few things my parents saw as requirements that I didn’t think I needed to have. But they were things that were on my list of things that would be nice to have, so I didn’t mind adding them to the requirement list.

And once we were seriously looking, there were a lot of places we went to. When my parents were here, we looked at a bunch of places. I was spending my Sundays going around to different open houses to see what was out there. And I would occasionally go after work for a showing with my realtor for places that were fitting what we wanted. And I saw a lot of places that weren’t bad, but they just weren’t right. Sometimes, you can’t explain why a place isn’t right. It just didn’t feel like it could be my home.

I got ideas of what I wanted and my parents and I talked about ideas of what sort of remodeling work we’d consider. Of course, finding a place that is perfect and move-in ready would have been the top choice, but I knew that wouldn’t be likely with our budget and the style that I like. So finding a place that only needed cosmetic changes was the idea we were thinking of.

I know that there are people who spend months looking for a place, so the time I was looking really wasn’t that long. I was seriously looking for about a month before I found a place that seemed perfect. I wanted to stay in my current neighborhood and this place was only 3 blocks away. It was in the budget. It needed cosmetic work, but nothing major. It had a little outdoor space. The only thing I was hesitant about was that it was not on the top floor, which is something I really wanted. But I also realized I would have to deal with noise from neighbors no matter what floor I’m on when you compare it to my current place.

I had my parents on FaceTime when I was at that place and I arranged to go back for a private showing with my realtor the next day. And he agreed that it was a great place for me and it fit what I was looking for. Then there was a lot of back and forth stuff. We were a part of multiple offers and had to do two different offers before they accepted ours. In the inspection, there were a few things we found that we either wanted credit for or wanted to have repaired. The repairs took a bit longer than expected, but since I am not in a rush to move, I preferred it would be done properly than to be rushed. But exactly a month after the first time I saw the condo at an open house, it was officially ours!

We are still looking at contractors for doing some work, and the timing worked out perfectly because my parents will be in LA next week. So they will be able to help me find a contractor and look for materials that I want to use. And I have no clue how long the work will take to do, but I’m hoping not too long since it’s not a lot of work. I won’t be moving in until it’s done, so I’ll be paying rent plus paying for the condo for a few months. So the shorter time that needs to happen, the better.

So far, I’ve gone over to the condo a few times since getting the keys. I have done a little bit of cleaning with things that I can do myself. And I went around taking measurements so I can plan how my furniture will work in the new place. I’m not worried about things not fitting, the condo is much bigger than my current house. But I still want to plan out how things will fit and what new things I might want to get.

While this place felt like it could potentially be my home from the first time I saw it, it feels more and more like it’s mine each time I go over there. It does help to not see the furniture from the staging company, but there is just something there that feels like it fits me.

I’m sure I’ll be sharing more about the condo as we hire a contractor and once I move in, but for now there might not be a lot of updates as we get things planned and ready to start. But I’m very excited that I will have a new home very soon. I’m a bit sad to leave my current place (I will have been here about 12 years by the time I’m guessing I will be moving out), but I’m excited for the adventure a new place will bring!

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Continuing With Positive Work Days (or Sometimes Speaking Up Is Necessary)

Posted on November 9, 2021 | Comments Off on Continuing With Positive Work Days (or Sometimes Speaking Up Is Necessary)

For several years, my day job situation was very stable and things rarely changed. Occasionally I had updates with my data entry job with new tasks, especially when I had to sign a new contract. But most of the work was very similar from year to year. And with my box office job, there have been very limited changes. There can’t be much changed since it’s a pretty basic job. I have gotten raises over the years, but my day-to-day work is the same it has been since I was hired.

But with my other customer service job, I feel like I’ve had the most changes. I’ve almost been working with this company for a year now. And while a majority of my daily work is still the same, I have taken on a lot of other little jobs as I have had time between helping clients. I’ve been working on how we can automate some of the work so that we can focus more on what we need to work on directly. I’ve been helping to design new systems that can make us more efficient. I’ve helped to gather information so we can present changes that we think need to be made. And for the most part, my ideas have been heard and considered.

I do think I have a slight advantage with this job because one of the executives at the company is a friend of mine. So I can speak up without too much fear of him being upset. We text each other about so much most days, so adding in a little bit of work isn’t that much. And I think that he appreciates that I can be this open and honest about work systems. I know for almost any job I’ve had, I have been terrified to speak up because I didn’t want to be seen as trouble and risk losing my job. And I know that I have to be careful with boundaries for this job. But having such an open line of communication where I know I can be very truthful has been great.

There have been some aspects of the job that really were taking up too much of my time and I wasn’t able to get most of my work done each day so it was left for others to complete. By automating some of this work, most of this issue has been eliminated. This could have been automated before, but I don’t think anyone has spoken up the same way that I did. I was honest and said that I felt like I was drowning in work because these things had to be done manually. It took time to change, but now things are so much better.

So I’ve been trying to take this idea of speaking up more to my data entry job, which is the only one where I can really have things change. And they are starting to change again. My job responsibilities continue to change as things are being done differently with this contract compared to past contracts. I hope that eventually, things will normalize again so I have a consistent job responsibility that I can plan ahead for. But right now, things change as I finish one task and move on to another. And I have to occasionally speak up when I’m done with one project because I don’t always have something new to work on. And if I don’t have something new to work on, I don’t have hours to work and I don’t make money. So I have to not be scared to ask what I should be doing when there is a gap between tasks.

I’ve been doing a lot of work with social media for that job, and that continues to grow. Now, I’m almost exclusively doing social media work. I’ve been doing a lot of content creation, which isn’t something I have done a lot of. But it’s a good challenge for me and I have been trying to get better at it. I finished a big project that is for social media through the end of the year, and because of how it turned out, I’m now starting to work on some content creation for the new year. I haven’t officially heard that I have had my contract extended, but those can often be last-minute updates and I know they want me to have a full contract.

It can be scary for me to speak up for myself a lot. But lately, it’s been resulting in a lot of positive things for me. I have made sure that I have work planned for myself and I have helped to make my work better when there are systems that I think need to be fixed. And hopefully, I will continue to have good outcomes when I do speak up for myself and I will continue to have good things happen for me with my day jobs.

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Almost Having A Second Hell Week (or Just Pushing Through)

Posted on November 8, 2021 | Comments Off on Almost Having A Second Hell Week (or Just Pushing Through)

After a crazy Hell Week, I was glad to be back to my normal workouts. But I ended up having my personal Hell Week this past week because this was the week I had to deal with a lot of pain and nausea. But at least this is a type of hell that I’m used to dealing with, so I pushed through the best I could.

On Monday, I wasn’t feeling too horrible. I was a bit off, but there were other factors that could have been causing that too. The workout was an endurance class, and it was a really good one.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had two rounds of a 3-minute push pace followed by a 90-second base pace and ended with a 3-minute distance challenge. The second block had two rounds of a 2-minute push pace followed by a 1-minute base pace and also ended with a 3-minute distance challenge. For the distance challenge, I set the resistance to be at my regular push pace level. They did feel like long blocks, but nothing too crazy and I really did try to improve with the distance challenges.

On the floor, we also had 2 blocks. We started with a 500-meter row, which didn’t go that great for me. I was just slow and a bit awkward and couldn’t get my form to feel right. After the row, we had Arnold presses and hammer curls with weights and high rows to I raises on the straps. The second block didn’t have rowing. We had step-ups (which I did as squats), single-arm reverse flies, and bicycle presses with weights.

Wednesday’s workout was a power day, and it was a really miserable day for me. I was so nauseous and in a lot of pain. I really was struggling a lot just to get out of bed, but I knew that doing something in my workout would be better than doing nothing. But I know I didn’t do that much because of how I felt.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks. The first block had three rounds of 1-minute push paces, a base pace, a 30-second all-out, and a recovery. The base pace and recovery increased with each round. For the second block, the base paces were removed so it was three rounds of a 1-minute push pace to a 30-second all-out with recovery between. And the last block was just rounds of the 30-second all-out with the recovery between.

On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. The first block had deadlifts, skater lunges, and hip bridges followed by a 200-meter row. I was able to go heavy with the hip bridges, but I used a lighter weight for the deadlifts and went very slow with the skater lunges. The second block had hip swings with weights, curtsy lunges, and a 150-meter row. And the last block was only sumo squats to upright rows with weights and a 100-meter row. My rowing was very slow for each block and for the first two blocks I only made it to the rower once. I just had to take a lot of breaks to let the nausea pass so I could feel like I could continue.

By Friday, I wasn’t fully better but I had gotten over the hump of being miserable. I still had to go easy on myself because of how I was feeling, but I could push a bit harder. And I’m glad because it was an endurance day to prep us for an upcoming cardio benchmark.

We had 2 cardio blocks and the first block started with a 5 1/2-minute distance challenge. I kept the resistance level on the bike between the level I use for my base and push paces. I did have to take a lot of rest during it, but it wasn’t as bad as Wednesday. We then had a 90-second recovery before doing another 5 1/2-minute distance challenge. The second block started with a 2-minute row and then a 6 1/2 minute distance challenge for cardio again. The row was really tough for me and I didn’t get a lot of distance, but I tried.

On the floor, the first block started off with a mini-band block. We had 3 rounds of static crunches with in and outs, hip bridges, and knee tucks. After that, we had a 1-minute row and then plank work, uppercuts, and bicep curls. For the plank work, I did use the bench so I wasn’t completely facing the ground. The second block had bird dog low rows with weights, single-arm chest presses, and plank pull-throughs. Again, for plank work, I used the bench.

Saturday I was finally over the nausea and just dealing with a little pain, so that was a lot better. I still struggled, but at least it was a bit of an easier struggle. And this workout was a 5×5 themed class. So we had 5 rounds of a lot of different work.

For cardio, we had 5 blocks and each block had a push pace, base pace, push pace, and an all-out. The base pace was always 1-minute and the all-out was always 30-seconds. But the two push paces changed for both lengths of time and incline. The longer the push pace was, the lower the incline got. But for me on the bike, it can be tough to do a lot of variation with my inclines, so I always used 1 resistance level higher than my all-out for the incline work. I know that’s not exactly how the workout should have been, but it was a good option for me.

On the floor, we had 1 long block. We started with 5 rounds of deadlifts and squats (5 reps for each exercise). Then a 300-meter row. Then 5 rounds of chest presses and seated low rows (5 reps for each exercise). And another 300-meter row. And finally 5 rounds of shoulder presses and squats to high rows on the straps (again, 5 reps for each exercise) before a final 300-meter row. I never made it to the last row, but I did get through all the exercises. And because the number of reps was low, I was able to go pretty heavy with the weights.

Considering I was coming off of the official Hell Week and going through my own type of hell, I’m really happy about how I did in my workouts. And I hope that this week gets a bit easier for me so I can get back to my normal self.

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Default ThumbnailHell Week Prep (or The First Part Of My Workout Week) Default ThumbnailA Full Week Of Hell Week (or I’m A Survivor) Default ThumbnailFinishing Up 12 Days of Fitness (or This Felt Like A Long Hell Week) Default ThumbnailWelcome To Hell (or Pushing Myself Even More) Default ThumbnailHell Week Part 1 (or Not Pushing It Too Much) Default ThumbnailHalfway Through Hell Week (or Finding Lots Of Moments To Be Proud Of Myself)

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Really Being Grateful (or I’m Lucky To Have Support)

Posted on November 5, 2021 | Comments Off on Really Being Grateful (or I’m Lucky To Have Support)

While I am a pretty independent person in a lot of ways, in many ways I need to have support. Sometimes that is emotional support and sometimes that is something concrete like financial support. And even while I’ve had a lot of time being isolated for a while, having support and help has really been essential for me.

I am very lucky that I have a lot of friends that I can reach out to when I need help with something. Not all of my friends are able to help with everything, but I have different friends who can help with different things. Some friends are good for helping me figure out a serious situation. Other friends are good for supporting me when I’m really low and need a boost. I have a lot of friends who are great to turn to when I have something annoying happen with me in the dating world and can either give advice or laugh at the ridiculousness that I encounter. Honestly, my friends keep me sane when I feel like some things are out of control. Most of them don’t live near me, but knowing I could text or call someone at any time is reassuring.

And even if I just need a friend to listen to me while I rant and talk something out, that can make a huge difference when I’m having a tough time. Sometimes I just need to say things out loud and know someone is listening to figure out what I want to do. And I’ve learned since the pandemic that I also sometimes just need a reminder that I’m not on my own planet all alone and there are other people around me even if they aren’t in the exact same space as me. I do prefer to hang out with friends in person, but this time has taught me how to find support in other ways and I know that I wasn’t using those skills before.

But for some of the more concrete support I get, I rely on my parents a lot. And I’m aware that I am coming from a place of privilege and this is not something that everyone has. But I am so grateful for all the support they have given to me lately. With the condo search, while they were not able to look at most places with me, they still helped a lot. My mom made sure she was available on FaceTime if I wanted her to see a place that I was looking at. Once we started to do paperwork, they helped me understand a lot of what I was signing (my realtor helped too, but I also didn’t want to bother him with all of my questions). And now that we are planning potential renovations, my mom is helping me plan what I want to do and interviewing contractors.

Honestly, if I was doing this without my parents’ help, I think it would be impossible. Even taking out the financial aspect of it, I have no clue what I’m doing. I’ve only been a renter and even finding a new rental hasn’t been something I always do alone. But with buying a place, there are a million more things to think about and plan for. And if I didn’t have help from my parents, I can see so many ways things could go wrong or that I could make a mistake. Even planning for things like property taxes isn’t something I fully understood. I knew enough to know they happen, but planning for the timeline for the payments and the options for payment aren’t things I thought about before. There are some things that I know I’m doing in a slightly more complicated way than other friends who have bought property, but there are reasons that this will work out better for me in the long run. So I know I could have done this in an easier way, but it might not have been the best way for me.

For all of the times since March 2020 that I have been upset that I feel so alone and isolated, I don’t know if I appreciated the support that I do have. While most people didn’t have the same type of isolation that I had with no physical contact with other people for months at a time, there are people who had total isolation who didn’t have the support that I was lucky enough to have. And I need to remember how lucky I am. It’s not always easy to remember that when things are so low, but I’m getting back into a better time where I can reflect on the positives that I do have in my life. And when I think about it, the luckier I realize I am.

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I Guess This Is The End Of This Journey (or 5 Years Later)

Posted on November 4, 2021 | Comments Off on I Guess This Is The End Of This Journey (or 5 Years Later)

A little over 5 years ago, I had what I believed was the worst gallbladder attack of my life. I was sure that’s what I had since it had a lot of the same symptoms as the other attacks I’ve had. But this one was lasting hours and not going away when in the past it would maybe only last an hour or two. I was up all night in pain and went to the hospital that morning sure that they were going to wheel me into the OR to have my gallbladder removed. But it turned out it wasn’t a gallbladder attack (it’s still not really known what happened to me), but that day at the hospital we discovered what was believed to be a cyst on my liver.

After more medical testing, we learned that I had 3 tumors and my journey from needing surgery to being a medical miracle started. Honestly, nothing has been what I expected and I’ve tried to roll with the punches as much as I could. But it’s been tough. A friend of mine described the feeling I dealt with perfectly, body betrayal. I felt betrayed when I found out I had tumors because I had no clue that something so crazy was happening in my body. And I felt betrayed when they shrank because again I had no clue this was happening. Of course, I was grateful they shrank and I could avoid surgery, but the disconnect I had with my body was a struggle.

And for the past few years, I’ve had MRIs to check my liver and make sure that my tumors weren’t growing. I’m very lucky that they actually continued to shrink. And at my last MRI, you could only see 1 of the 3 original tumors. And that tumor was 10% of its original size. I was supposed to have an MRI last year and if my tumors were still the same that would be the last one. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t go last year (which was ok with my liver surgeon). And this year, when I was at my annual well-woman appointment, I mentioned to my doctor that this year I’d do one more MRI and maybe that would be the last. Fortunately, she was able to order the MRI for me so that was a lot easier to schedule. And this past weekend, I had my MRI.

I didn’t realize this at the time, but this MRI was 5 years to the day from the original MRI (when we discovered that it wasn’t a cyst but a tumor). I’ve had enough MRIs at this point to know the routine. I also know that usually there is a bit of a wait, so I come prepared with a book and other things to keep me busy. But I don’t know if it’s because this was on a weekend or if things are still slower than normal, but for this MRI I didn’t even go to the waiting room! As soon as I was done checking in, I was brought back to the MRI room. Just like every other MRI, it wasn’t that fun. I also had double claustrophobia because of the MRI tube and wearing a mask. I managed to not have a horrible panic attack, but I had a couple of little ones during the scan. I just tried to take deep breaths (when I didn’t have to hold my breath) and I tilted my head back to be able to look into the room behind me.

From the time I checked in until I was heading out was only about an hour. This was by far the fastest MRI I had. I didn’t even get a fun pre-MRI photo like I normally do. But I took one after it was done so I could add it to my collection of photos.

I normally have a follow-up with my liver surgeon after my MRI to go over the results. I might have the follow-up over the phone this time, but I also might not have the usual follow-up since a different doctor ordered the test. But I did already get my results back.

I know it’s a lot of doctor-speak, but basically this says that there is only 1 tumor visible in my life and it’s 1cm. This is exactly what it looked like 2 years ago and what I know my liver surgeon was hoping for. He told me it would be very unlikely for the last tumor to be completely gone since it was so large to begin with. But staying the same for 2 years is really the best outcome. I also had a few other things in my results (I still have gallstones and there is a small benign cyst on my kidney), but for the most part, everything else is either completely normal or exactly what it’s been like for a while.

This is a bit anti-climatic, but I guess this is probably the end of my journey with my liver tumor. If I have a follow-up call with my surgeon, I guess he will probably confirm that. But he did say the last time I saw him that as long as my tumors aren’t bigger than they were before, I won’t need another MRI. Of course, there are a few things that can happen in the future that could change this (if I use anything with synthetic hormones, I probably will need to be monitored again). But unless that comes up or if I have any odd symptoms, I will probably just live the rest of my life with this small tumor left in my liver hanging out.

The last 5 years have been crazy with my liver tumors. I’m just glad that it seems like this is finally a part of my past and I don’t have to be too worried about them anymore.

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Having To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween)

Posted on November 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Having To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween)

Last year for Halloween, I only celebrated over Zoom. I did try to have a bit of a costume by making a fun Zoom background, but it really wasn’t the same as seeing my friends. I knew this was how we had to celebrate so we could all be safe, but it was just another reminder of what we were missing out on during the pandemic.

This year, things are a little different but they are still not as safe as they were before. So while I would have loved to be at a big party with all of my friends, I knew again this wouldn’t be possible. Fortunately, I was invited to a small party with a few friends who only had vaccinated people there so I was able to enjoy Halloween with other people again this year.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for my costumes, so I tried to see what would inspire me. Like so many people, I joined TikTok to entertain me this year. And there are a lot of accounts I follow that are just silly. And one of those is Noodle the Dog. Noodle is a 13-year old pug and each day as his owner tries to get him up from bed he will either stand up or collapse back into bed. So the saying is that he either has bones or no bones and that determines what the day will be like. I know it’s silly, but we all just need silly things these days.

So I decided that a fun and silly costume would be to go as a No Bones Day. I wore all black, made a pug mask from a photo online, and emptied out a dog bone container (I had to buy dog bones but I’ll be giving them to my parents’ dog). Not a super fancy or elaborate costume, but I think it did a good job representing things. And I got confirmation of that when I posted it on Instagram and tagged the Noodle account and they shared it on their Instagram too!

I’m aware it’s also a bit creepy since I had a very realistic looking photo for my mask.

When I got to the party, most people had no clue who I was so I had to show them the TikTok account so they could get what I was supposed to be. There were other people there who also had low-key costumes like I did, so I didn’t feel too out of place. And I think the focus for a lot of us was about being around other people and not the costumes. It’s still so rare to get to be around friends, so I am enjoying whatever chances I get. And we did try to make sure things were as safe as they could be. We were all outside and I know everyone was vaccinated. And not going to a big party was probably smart too.

This was much closer to my normal Halloween than what I did last year, but it still wasn’t what I was used to. I remember thinking last year that of course things would be normal again by Halloween. I think it’s still surprising to me that by this Halloween they still aren’t. But as tired as I am about having to always be careful, I do know this is what we need to do to get past this. And maybe by Halloween next year, we will be 100% back to normal and I will be at a crazy costume party surrounded by my friends again.

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Default ThumbnailStill Celebrating Halloween (or A Virtual Costume To Go With A Virtual Party) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Halloween Fun (or Creating A Clever Costume) Default ThumbnailLow Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback) Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailFirst Halloween Party Of The Season (or At Least I Made An Appearance) Default ThumbnailA Halloween Outing (or Dressing Up As Me)

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