Monthly Archives: May 2022

A Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home)

Posted on May 17, 2022 | Comments Off on A Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home)

This past weekend, my parents were in LA to see me. This was their first time here in a while and they hadn’t seen almost any of the work done to the condo in person. They had seen plenty of videos and photos, but the last time they were here things were still pretty much in the demolition and rebuilding stage. They saw the new opening in the kitchen, but the kitchen was a blank space with nothing there. They saw the bathroom torn down, but the walls only had the first moisture barrier on them and there was no tile or anything else. This was really their first chance to see what it’s going to look like when everything is all done.

There are still a few things that are being redone or worked on, but the current look is basically what it will be. So I was excited for them to finally get to see my new home. Plus, we had a bunch of different random things we wanted to get done while they were here.

My parents got here after I was done with work on Friday, so that day was just to give them a tour of the condo, for them to give me a few things, and for us to have dinner. Our busiest day was on Saturday. After my dad and I had our workout, we got to work at my place. My parents took a few notes of things we want to tell the contractor about to add to their touchup list first, but there are only a few little things that just need to be fixed (like tightening a fixture or fixing the slide on a drawer). Then, we did the big project which was hanging up the artwork that I have.

I don’t have a ton of artwork, but I do have a few pieces I love. I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to put everything, so we only worked on the ones I was sure about. So that was a painting in the hallway, another painting in the dining room, a mirror in the entryway that my parents brought for me so it was new to me, and a painting over my fireplace.

My dad is a perfectionist with all this so we were measuring and using my laser level to make sure everything was hung up perfectly, but we wanted to only have to do it once and then be done so I was ok with that. And even though some of my things aren’t on the walls yet since I still am unsure of where to put them, I am so much happier with the things I have up now. And it makes it feel even more like my place since these pieces are on the walls and not just leaning on the ground.

They also brought me a few other things for me to put around the place, such as the vase that I put on my fireplace. I have a lot of things I want to display, but I think I’ll be buying some display cabinets soon for my living room so those things are staying in boxes for now. But I like that I have more things that give my place some personality and it’s not quite as plain.

After the art was done, we had another mission. Originally, my plan was to keep my couch and get a new chair for my living room since my couch looks so tiny in the new space. I love that couch so much, but it’s really not right for me anymore. The color looks off with everything we designed, and even if I added a chair to the living room the couch would still probably look small and weird. So we decided to go to a furniture store near my place just to look around and see if we get any ideas.

Originally, I was thinking if I got a new couch I would want one that has the pullout that is under the seats to make it almost like a bed so you can stretch out more. But the store we went to only had one of those and I really didn’t like the way it looked and it wasn’t the right dimensions. So we kept looking around and we found a modular sofa that we could buy additional pieces for so it could be the right size for the space. And if I wanted a slightly smaller couch, one of the couch pieces could be moved to the side to be a chair. And while it doesn’t have a pullout to make it feel like a bed, the ottoman it comes with fits in nicely to make it have a bit of that feeling.

We didn’t want to make any rash decisions and we hadn’t really done all the measuring we needed to do at my place to make sure this was right, so we said we’d be back the next day if it would all work out. And when we measured, it would be perfect! So we went back on Sunday to order it!

The couch is going to be held for me until we are ready, and we aren’t exactly sure when that will be since we are waiting on the contractor to get back to us with some timelines for the work. But hopefully, that will be done soon and I can get the couch delivered (after I sell my old one).

I know I’m trying to not spend as much on new things, but the more I looked at my current couch, the more I knew I needed an upgrade to make my place what I wanted it to be. I’m still waiting on buying a lot of things that are on my list, such as the bookcase murphy bed I want to put in my office. And soon, I’ll work on some budgeting stuff to be able to figure out how long I will need to save until I can get that. But it is exciting to have some more new furniture coming soon!

The only negative part of our full weekend was that I was feeling really awful on Sunday. My pain and anti-nausea meds really weren’t working and I was having moments where I was in so much pain that I was in tears. So we had planned on spending more time together on Sunday before they left, but by the afternoon I knew I just needed to sleep off the rest of the day and hope things would stop hurting for me. So we had to say goodbye without getting to have dinner together on Sunday.

I’m not sure when my parents will be back in LA, but it probably won’t be for a little while. By the time they are back, I should hopefully have everything done here and my new couch! And maybe even more new things that I find to keep making this place feel like mine! But for now, I’m so glad we got the things done that we did and it’s coming together even more.

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Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Visit (or Making Some Choices For My New Home) Default Thumbnail2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done) Default ThumbnailThe Roadrunner (or More Memories In My House) Default ThumbnailMinor Remodeling (or Putting My Parents To Work On Their Vacation) Default ThumbnailAnother Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents) Default ThumbnailGetting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

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A Slightly Different Workout Week (or Continuing To Get My Workouts In)

Posted on May 16, 2022 | Comments Off on A Slightly Different Workout Week (or Continuing To Get My Workouts In)

My workouts this past week weren’t the schedule I’ve gotten used to. I had to change things up because the studio was closed on Wednesday morning because they were getting new treadmills and I couldn’t go on Thursday morning because of a doctor’s appointment. But I still found a way to get my 4 workouts in.

Monday’s workout was a signature workout. We had Everest, which I’ve done a few times. It’s always a tough challenge and I know that I definitely can make improvements after each time we have the class.

Because it was a 3 group class, our Everest challenge was 14 minutes long instead of 28 minutes long. So instead of changing the incline/resistance level by 1 each minute, we changed it by 2 every minute. I started the bike’s resistance level a bit lower than my normal base level, so it wasn’t as hard as I’ve made it in the past. But it was still a challenge at the highest resistance levels and I did feel like I was barely moving for those minutes. And we did record our distance when we were done and I was shocked to see I got a PR! It was .1 miles further than my previous PR, but that’s still an improvement!

The rest of the workout was designed to be a bit easier since the focus was on Everest. For the row, we started with a 500-meter row with lunges after. And we repeated rows and lunges but decreased the row by 100-meters each time. And on the floor, we mainly had upper body work. We had single-arm low rows, tricep extensions, leg lifts, single-arm reverse flies, hammer curls, and bicycle crunches.

Since I couldn’t go on Wednesday or Thursday, I went to a workout on Tuesday. Tuesday’s class had some interesting challenges.

For cardio, we had 4 rounds of a 2 1/2-minute distance challenge. We were supposed to be around our push pace, but the goal was to not go too hard so you felt gassed out. I did keep the resistance level on the bike at my push pace level and I tried to be consistent with how fast I was pedaling each time. We had a base pace/recovery between each distance challenge and I tried to keep them at my base pace for a majority of the time.

On the rower, we had stroke drills again. We started with 3 rounds of a 20-stroke drill with squats between each row. Then we had 3 rounds of a 15-stroke drill with high knees. And we ended with 3 rounds of a 10-stroke drill with lunges. For each row, we were supposed to keep the stokes between 20-24 strokes per minute but to increase the wattage as the strokes went down. That meant pushing off the rower harder each time and really focusing on using your legs more.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. And for each block, we had 3 exercises that were portions of a bigger exercise, and then the last exercise of each block was putting all the parts together. For the first block, we had squats to calf raises, upright rows, and front squats. And the last exercise in the set was a clean-to-front squat which used all those moves together. And in the second block, we had a pop jack, push-up, and lunges. And then the last exercise was a full burpee with a lunge. I was using the bench for my hands for most of the exercise in the second block, but I made it work.

I was back at Orangetheory on Friday, and unfortunately, I was starting to deal with nausea in that class. It wasn’t too bad and manageable, but it’s always annoying when it kicks in because I know I might have a tough week or so coming up. But fortunately, the workout we had worked pretty well with how I was feeling.

For cardio, we had a pretty simple endurance-based workout. We had 3 rounds of a 3-minute push pace with a 2-minute base pace. I did keep my resistance levels to what I usually set them to, I just had a few moments where I was pedaling slower. And in the last 3-minute push pace, we went immediately into a 1-minute all-out. For that, I didn’t end up increasing the resistance level because I was starting to be tired but I did work on pedaling faster.

For the rower, we had 1 long block that didn’t have any super long rows. We started with a 250-meter row and then did overhead presses with a medicine ball after the row. We repeated that and decreased the row by 50 meters each time, so we ended with a 100-meter row. Then we did another 100-meter row and did deadlifts with the medicine ball and we increased the row by 50 meters each time. I didn’t get that far while working back up the row distances, but I knew that would likely happen.

And on the floor, we had 1 block with 2 mini-blocks in it. The first mini-block was supposed to be all single-leg things, but I had to do them without that with my balance issues. We had 2 rounds of a shoulder press, deadlift, and bicep curl before moving on to the second mini-block which we did until the end of the workout. The second mini-block had a rep range so we were supposed to figure out how heavy we could go with the weights to do at least 6 reps but if we could easily do 10 reps we knew they were too light. We had alternating single-arm shoulder presses, deadlifts, and concentration curls. And for the last minute of class, we had a static sumo squat with front raises.

And I was at Orangetheory on a Saturday! I haven’t gone on a Saturday for a while, but this time was a special class because my dad was working out with me! I also had taken Saturday off of work so we didn’t have to go to as late of a class as I normally went to on Saturdays. And not only did I have a Saturday workout, but it was a 2 group class, which is rare for me these days.

We had 3 blocks for both sections of the room. For cardio, blocks 1 and 2 were almost the same. We started with a 1-minute push pace at an incline and another 1-minute push at a higher incline followed by a 90-second walking recovery. We repeated that 3 times with the incline increasing each time. And for the second block, we did the same pattern but the incline decreased each time. And for me on the bike, I just worked with the resistance levels. I was still feeling off, so I went a bit lighter than normal, but I was still able to do quite a bit of the incline work. And the last block was 3 rounds of a 30-second all-out and 30-second walking recovery.

For the floor, the first block was the only block that had rowing. We started with overhead tricep extensions before we rowed. We did 4 reps with a heavy weight and 10 reps with a lighter weight before rowing for 400-meters. We repeated that pattern for the entire block, and my triceps were really feeling it! The second block had single-arm high rows with weights, push-ups, and step-ups (which I did as lunges). And the last block was timed with the treadmills and we had 30-second intervals or either hammer curls or holding a plank.

And of course, my dad and I had to take a post-workout photo with our coach!

I should be back to my regular workout schedule this week unless something crazy happens, but it will likely be a tough week for me with how I’m feeling. But as always, I’ll just push through and do what I can do.

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Default ThumbnailJust A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress) Default ThumbnailBirthday Workout Week (or Continuing My Progress) Default ThumbnailAlmost Having A Second Hell Week (or Just Pushing Through) Default ThumbnailMy Short Workout Week (or 6 Years Of Family Workouts) Default ThumbnailAnother Normal Workout Week (or Feeling Back Into My Regular Routine) Default ThumbnailA Shorter Workout Week (or I Feel Like This Was A Good Recovery Week)

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At Least My Skin Is Doing Better (or Not Escaping An Appointment Without A Needle)

Posted on May 13, 2022 | Comments Off on At Least My Skin Is Doing Better (or Not Escaping An Appointment Without A Needle)

It’s been a bit of time since my last dermatologist appointment. I was supposed to go back about a month ago, but then my doctor got sick and the appointment had to be rescheduled. Because I have to work around my work schedule, it took a bit of time before I could get another appointment. But I knew nothing in my appointment would be urgent, so I wasn’t too concerned about that. And if there was something that changed and I needed to go in quickly, I could always call back and see how soon I could go in.

My last appointment was before the surgery on my foot, so I knew that this appointment would be to see how things were going. And of course, it would be an appointment to check about my autoimmune condition and to make sure that things are going well for me.

I was able to get an early morning appointment before work, so that was a bit different from going after work. But I figured that it should be an easy appointment since I wouldn’t have to deal with any more freezing treatments on my foot. I was hoping it would be a relatively pain-free appointment, but I never know going in if there will be something unexpected.

The appointment started with going over how my foot was doing. I don’t know if my dermatologist was happy that the podiatrist decided to cut it out of my foot, but what’s done is done. I do have a little scar tissue on my foot, but it’s not that bad. Plus, there’s no guarantee that if I kept doing the freezing treatments I wouldn’t have scar tissue after that. I didn’t know how many more treatments it would have taken. And I am glad that I’m done with the treatments because I had been going through them for so long. So while this wasn’t the treatment plan my dermatologist wanted, I think he’s glad that I’m all done and my foot is fine.

Then we discussed my autoimmune condition. I’ve been taking the same medication for a while, and it is helping a lot. My dermatologist said that my skin looks the best that he’s seen it and I have a much lower stage of the condition than I did before. The ultimate goal is remission, but that’s not always possible. But these are really encouraging signs that I might be there one day.

Even if my skin wasn’t looking better, I’m in significantly less pain so that has made me happy. The pain of this condition has been one of the worst things for me, and to not be in as much pain is so nice. While I want my skin to look amazing too, the pain was a bigger concern. While I am in much less pain, I did still have one really bad flare that was causing me quite a bit of pain. I do have a few different things I can do that help with the pain and make it not as bad, but it’s not a guarantee they will work. And since I only had one really bad flare, compared to multiple ones like I had in the past, my dermatologist offered to inject the spot to help the pain and to decrease the inflammatory response.

While I was looking forward to a pain-free appointment, I was curious about this and decided to go for it. I knew it would hurt and that it still might not go away, but this was a good chance to try a treatment option for any really bad flares I might have in the future. I don’t know if it was because it was a needle or because the flare was really inflamed and already painful, but the injection hurt more than any freezing treatment hurt me. I didn’t faint, but I did black out. I think the blackout was more about the needle and not the pain, but the pain did make me tear up. I think I shocked my doctor with how much it hurt me, but he’s also always been surprised by how little the freezing treatments hurt. He also said that because this flare was so bad and the skin was already tender, it might have been worse than what others who get this injection experience.

This injection won’t necessarily make the flare go away, but it will make it much better. And just like how I’m doing overall, being in less pain is the priority for me. Of course, I would love to get into remission and I know that having surgery on some of the worst spots is the best option for me in the future, but I’m not planning on the surgery just yet. I do think I will do the surgery eventually, but it’s not in my future plans for now. I want to see how I continue to do on the medications since they are helping and getting as close to remission as possible before taking more permanent steps.

It did suck getting a shot while I was there since I was hoping I wouldn’t have anything that hurt during this appointment, but overall it was a really positive checkup. I don’t have to go back for several months, which is the longest time between appointments that I’ve had in a long time. And maybe things will be even better for me by then. I know that when I started the medications I wasn’t seeing progress even though I was told there was progress. I’m glad that I can tell things are getting better and I’m not just having to trust what my doctor is telling me. Because feeling the progress and improvement in my own body is the most important thing for me.

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Still Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home)

Posted on May 12, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home)

Ever since the first time I saw this condo, I knew it would make an amazing home for me. For a bit, I tried not to get my hopes up because I knew it wasn’t a guarantee that it would be ours. When we put in an offer, we knew there were multiple people offering similar amounts to us. I still think I’m so lucky that this became my home and I didn’t have to keep searching for a place. I really think I couldn’t have found a better place for what we were looking for (the only thing I’m not 100% happy with is having people who share walls with me, but I’m getting used to that).

And it seems like I find the silliest little things to be excited about. Before the condo was officially ours but when we were in escrow, I made a comment to my mom that I’ve never really lived somewhere that had a hallway besides the house I lived in growing up. When I lived in the dorms, those were basically single rooms with a door. The hallway that everyone shared didn’t really count. My first apartment didn’t have a hallway. My second apartment, which was a 2 bedroom that I shared with roommates, had almost all the rooms off of the entryway so there wasn’t a hallway. And my last place pretty much flowed from one room to another without a hallway. Now, I have a little hallway off of my living room that leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s a weird thing to be excited about, but I am. It makes it feel more like a home and less like an apartment, which I know some condos can really feel like.

I also still get a kick out of having a little yard in the back. It’s not private, but it’s still green space when I look out of my living room. While I would have loved to be on the top floor (and I think about that as I hear my neighbor upstairs sometimes), those units only have balconies and not yards. I get so much more space and I don’t have to look onto rooftops or powerlines. That’s something else that makes it feel like a home. And I was thinking the other day of the condo we looked at about 5 years ago that I loved. And something I loved about that unit was that it overlooked some grass and trees. It didn’t click with me until the other day that I got something that I loved so much at that other place I looked at.

And of course, having significantly better appliances is nice, but having appliances that I didn’t have before makes me smile all the time. Having water in my fridge instead of using a purifier pitcher makes my life so much easier and I never realized how much that difference would affect me. I lived without a dishwasher for 12 years and I wasn’t sure how much of a difference it would be to have one. But doing dishes after meals is so much easier since I just have to rinse them off instead of spending time doing dishes. And of course, having my own washer and dryer is one of the biggest game-changers for me. I don’t have to worry about getting quarters, I never have to wait for a machine, and I don’t have to worry about how I’m dressed while doing laundry since nobody else will see me.

I think that most of these things will keep bringing me joy since I’ve seen how I haven’t taken things for granted in other places I’ve lived. And it’s only going to continue to get better as I get myself settled in and finish creating the space I’ve been wanting to have since the first day I saw this condo. It’s getting closer and closer every day, but I’m at a bit of a standstill now because there is a chance that all my floors will need to be redone (I’ll write more about that when I know what’s happening). So I’m not getting more furniture that I’ve been planning on just yet. But I can still enjoy all these little things that make me happy and be so grateful for the joy that this home brings me.

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Default ThumbnailGetting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home) Default Thumbnail12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place) Default ThumbnailSeeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage) Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailI’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt) Default ThumbnailIt’s Finally Goodbye To My House (or Closing This Chapter)

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Cleaning And Karma (or This Feels Like Some Progress)

Posted on May 11, 2022 | Comments Off on Cleaning And Karma (or This Feels Like Some Progress)

As I work on my monthly challenge of getting more of my things out of boxes, I have had piles of boxes left all over the place. After I finally got all of my things out of my old place, I started to get smarter about the empty boxes in the new place. I kept one of the biggest boxes together, and for the rest of the boxes, I removed the tape and flattened them. And then I put them into the one big box I had left. I did it so the boxes were like file folders since that was the easiest way to organize them. But they were still taking up space even just being together in a single box.

I could have put them into the recycling for my new place, but there is limited space for recycling and I didn’t want to take up the entire bin. Plus, these were good moving boxes and I thought someone might be able to use them. So I posted something online asking if anyone needed moving boxes because I was happy to give them away for free. I found someone through a Facebook group who needed them and was close by so she could come over without having to take too long of a drive.

She picked up the boxes at the end of last week, and I really feel better having them cleared out of my living room. I still have plenty in boxes to work through, but the more I can make my place look less like I’m moving, the better. And I’m glad I decided to give the boxes away instead of just recycling them because I could tell she was grateful I had so many for her.

We were chatting a bit when she picked them up and it turns out that she also hadn’t moved in over a decade as well so she wasn’t sure if she was doing all the things around moving the right way. That’s exactly how I felt so I was giving her some of the tips that I learned from my move. For example, I wish I had put more into boxes and had the movers take for me. It wasn’t bad since it was such a short drive between the places, but it was annoying going up and down the elevator so many times. And it was tiring moving the boxes in and out of my car. I’m lucky that my parents loaned me a little dolly so I didn’t have to always carry the boxes, but it was a lot harder moving than I expected. So I told her to take advantage of the time she books with movers. We also talked about moving clothes and I told her about the moving bags I used for all my clothes. I found them so much easier to deal with than wardrobe boxes. And while we were discussing that, I realized that I could give her the 3 bags that I had emptied so far.

She asked if I wanted to charge her for them or if I wanted them back when she was done moving, but I told her just to pass it forward and try to find someone else who can use them after she was done. Yes, I did spend money on them, but I really don’t need all 4 bags taking up space. I still have one since it’s not unpacked yet, and I’ll save that one in case I need it for any reason. Maybe I’ll need it and maybe I won’t. But it folds up pretty small so keeping one isn’t that big of a deal.

I know it’s not a big deal to give away boxes and moving bags, but it did feel like something nice to do. I would have totally taken boxes from someone else if they were offering and I needed them. But I was lucky with having saved boxes from deliveries for a little while plus finding a good deal on banker boxes. So my costs for supplies were pretty low considering how many boxes I had and how much stuff I had to move. Using movers wasn’t cheap, but I knew I would have that cost and it would be a lot. But I was able to save a lot with so much else, and I was happy to put some good and positive energy out into the world by sharing that with someone else so they can save some money too!

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Default ThumbnailA Few Delays With My Monthly Challenge (or This Month, I Will Be Moving) Default ThumbnailGetting More Moving Help From My Friends (or Seeing Things Come Together) Default ThumbnailSome Real World Results From My Workouts (or Only Moving A Few Heavy Things) Default ThumbnailWorking On Selling Some Things (or Trying To Have Good Karma) Default ThumbnailCleaning And Socializing (or Making Getting Ready To Move A Double Win) Default ThumbnailI Really Did Give Myself An Easy Monthly Challenge (or This Month Will Possibly Be Easy As Well)

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Gaining Back A Bit Of My Weekend (I’ve Really Needed This Extra Time)

Posted on May 10, 2022 | Comments Off on Gaining Back A Bit Of My Weekend (I’ve Really Needed This Extra Time)

For about a year, I’ve had only 1 weekend day that felt like a day off. I work on Saturday mornings. Once Orangetheory reopened I was going to my workouts after I was done with work. And after my workouts, I had my Movie Club group. So my Saturdays were busy from 8 am until about 6 or 7 pm. Even though I could do something after I was done with Movie Club, I rarely did since I was normally exhausted by that point in my day. So I only really had Sundays off since I work Monday-Saturday.

And for a while, I don’t think this was a huge issue for me. It was a lot, but it was ok. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much since I’m still not really going out too much. And it was a nice routine to have. But slowly I’ve been starting to get my Saturdays back again.

First, my Movie Club group decided to move our movies from Saturdays to Fridays. More people were making plans for Saturdays so they wanted to switch the night so they didn’t have to miss the movie. I don’t mind this and we just watch the movies right after I’m done with work (I’m one of the only people on the west coast, so it’s much later for everyone else). We haven’t been watching the movies every week, which is also ok. I know that we still watch them pretty often, but if we miss a week or two it’s ok. Plus, we still have the tv show that we watch on Wednesdays.

And I haven’t been working out on Saturdays lately either. I’ve been toying with having my workouts just on weekdays for a while and I’ve been testing out the idea. And last month, I knew I needed every Saturday I could get to work on the move. So I never worked out on a Saturday in April. And I’ve been continuing that idea this month. I think I might start just planning for weekday-only workouts and if I need to do one on a Saturday I can do that. For example, this week I will be working out on Saturday for a few reasons. But having the time after work free and not spent working out and then showering and getting dressed after working out has worked to my advantage.

Besides all the work I’ve been doing with moving, there have been other tasks I’ve been trying to get done and I’m glad I don’t have to make them all happen on Sundays. For example, I went to Costco the other day to get some things I wanted/needed for the condo. I know going on a weekend can be crazy, but at least going on Saturday when I didn’t have anything I had to rush to afterward allowed me as much time as I needed there. And I got a lot of good things, including some things that weren’t on my list but I was happy to get much cheaper than if I bought them elsewhere.

And I’ve been working on getting stuff unpacked and organized a lot on Saturdays. Sundays are usually spent cleaning and getting ready for the week (plus relaxing a bit), so doing some of the more annoying tasks on Saturdays helps to get them out of the way. As I’ve said before, unpacking and organizing will be something I work on for a while for a few reasons. But just seeing some progress makes me feel better about my space and less embarrassed when people come by.

Hopefully, soon I will have some more fun things I do with my extra time on Saturdays. It’s been tough to plan fun things in my life since the move really dominated my life for longer than I want to admit. And I’m still hesitant because of the pandemic. But I’m reevaluating what I consider to be acceptable risks so I can hopefully go out and do more things. And if I keep my Saturdays less busy with some of the regular things I’ve been doing before, it at least allows for the potential for more fun things to be added into my schedule as I have the opportunity.

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A Much Better Workout Week (or At Least This Time My Pain Was From Working Out)

Posted on May 9, 2022 | Comments Off on A Much Better Workout Week (or At Least This Time My Pain Was From Working Out)

After what felt like a million weeks of tough or painful workout weeks, I finally had a week where I felt really great. It wasn’t all perfect, but honestly, it was so much better than the last few weeks. And when I did have pain issues, it was mainly my fault because I had been working out so hard.

Monday’s workout was a good and challenging one. We had 2 blocks for each section of the room and the first block was about 11 minutes long and the second block was only 2 1/2 minutes long.

For cardio, the long block was all about working with inclines. We had rounds of 2 minutes at inclines with 1 minute recovering without incline. During the incline work, we did a lower incline for the first minute and increased it by 1 for the second minute. And we just kept working up the inclines each time we got back to them. I did get higher with the resistance levels than I normally do, but they weren’t super high compared to some of the workouts we’ve had. And in the shorter block, we had 30-second intervals with all-outs and recoveries. Those weren’t with an incline, so I was able to get much faster on the bike than I had gotten in the first block.

On the rower, the first block was all about 400-meter rows. We had a row and then we had rainbows with a medicine ball. Then we had another row followed by halos with a medicine ball. We went back and forth for the entire block and we were supposed to try to get the row to be a push row. And in the second block, we were timed with cardio and did the all-outs with recoveries after.

On the floor, the first block had exercises and we had a range of reps that we were supposed to get to. We had single-arm low rows with weights, push-ups, and step-ups (which I did as lunges). And for the last block, we were timed with the rest of the room and did kneeling hammer curls and static planks. I tried to go heavy with my weights since we had a range of reps to do, but I think I’m almost between the weights we have options for because one was too easy and the other was too hard. But I know I’ll get there.

Wednesday’s workout was a benchmark day. We had the 200-meter row, which I feel like I haven’t done as a benchmark in a long time. I think pretty much all of my PRs are from before the pandemic, and I know I’m still working back to what I was able to do then. So I went into this workout just hoping I would be able to be close to my PR.

I started with cardio and it was a pretty simple workout since we were supposed to save our energy for the benchmark. We had 3 blocks that were 4-minutes long. In the first 2 blocks, it was a distance challenge and we were told to do something close to a push pace. In the last block, we did the distance challenge for the first 3 1/2-minutes and then had an all-out for the last 30-seconds. I kept the resistance level on the bike at my push level for the blocks, but I didn’t pedal as fast as I probably could have.

On the rower, the first block was to prepare us for the benchmark. We had rounds of a 200-meter row with squats after each row. We were supposed to focus on form and make sure we were warmed up for the benchmark. The second block was the benchmark, and I was pretty disappointed in myself. I felt like I just couldn’t get into a good rhythm and I did a lot worse than I should have. So I was grateful when we were given another chance in the last block to do the benchmark again. I did it and I took almost 2 seconds off of my time (which is a lot for a short benchmark). I’m still not back to my PR, but I’m 1 1/2 seconds off which isn’t that bad!

On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. The first block had low rows on the straps, tricep extensions on the straps, and plank punches. The second block had sumo squats to upright rows and pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows). And the last block had single-arm shoulder presses and single-arm low rows with weights. And for the last 30-seconds, we had squats to finish out the workout.

I was surprised at how ready I was for Thursday’s workout. I was afraid I would be tired or sore from the benchmark, but I lucked out. It turned out that I needed that energy and enthusiasm for the workout because this one was a tough one in the best way!

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block was timed on our own. We had different distances to go and as the distances went down we were supposed to increase our speed. So the first distance was supposed to be between a base and push pace. The second distance was supposed to be at a push pace. The third was between a push pace and all-out. And I did set the resistance levels on the bike to match those guidelines. Between each distance we were supposed to do, we had step out squats and lunges, which were a bit harder for me to do. The second block was timed by our coach and we had rounds of 30-second all-outs and 45-second walking recoveries.

The floor and the rower were timed together for all 3 blocks. And all of the blocks had intervals that were 30-seconds and 45-seconds. For the first 2 blocks on the rower, we had push rows for 30-seconds and base rows for 45-seconds. The stroke rates were on the lower end so we were supposed to make sure we kept the rate below a specific number. And in the last block, we had 30-second all-out rows and then 45-seconds to do 10 lunges, and then we had the rest of the time to recover.

On the floor, we had 30-seconds of an exercise and then in the 45-second intervals we had a specific number of an exercise to do and then we got to use the rest of the time to rest. The first block had sumo deadlifts and hand-release push-ups. The second block had goblet squats and plank side reaches. And the last block had burpees and plank jacks. All of the blocks felt like they were never-ending, but the floor was crazy tough! But I really enjoyed it and felt like I was able to really push myself for the first time in a while.

While I wasn’t sore after my benchmark workout, I think I overdid it a bit on Thursday because I was sore for Friday’s workout. It was mainly tightness in my hips, which can mean so many different things for me. I do think it was due to the workout and not something more serious because I was getting some relief as I stretched when I could during and after the workout. Being sore did affect the workout a bit for me, but it wasn’t as bad as what other pain has done to me.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks and they were all focused on doing all-outs. The first block had 4 rounds of a 30-second all-out with increasing walking recoveries between each one. The second block had 3 rounds of a 45-second all-out with 45-second recoveries in between. And the last block had 2 rounds of a 1-minute all-out with 1-minute recoveries in between. For the first two blocks, I was fine with doing my normal resistance level for my all-outs. I was struggling a little, but it was a good struggle and what we should have to deal with during an all-out. But for the 1-minute all-outs, I really noticed it hurting me more so I decreased the resistance level on the bike to make sure I didn’t push myself a dangerous amount.

On the rower, we had 1 long block. We started with a 3-minute row and we were supposed to keep our stroke rate below 28 strokes per minute. This wasn’t too hard for me since that’s basically what I normally row at. After the row, we had tricep extensions and lunges with a front press with a medicine ball. I modified things so I didn’t do the lunges since my hips were so sore and I just did the front press. But I did use a heavier medicine ball than I normally would to make up for that. After the exercises, we had a 90-second row and a 45-second row with the exercises in between each one. And for the last minute of the block, we had a 1-minute all-out row along with the treadmills.

And on the floor, we also had 1 long block with 3 mini-blocks in it. We were supposed to do each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. We had leg lifts with the straps and lateral lunges, squats to y-raises and hip hinge reverse fly, and plank blast-offs and suitcase squats. I didn’t finish the second round of the last mini-block before we got to the last minute of class where we were supposed to do a minute of push-ups to knee tucks. I tried doing those but I really was hurting and my hips were really stiff so I just did push-ups and then held a plank once I couldn’t do any more push-ups.

Even with the few struggles I had during this past week, I really had one of the better weeks I’ve had in a while for my workouts. I needed this. I’ve had enough struggles lately and needed a week where I didn’t have to do so much to work around my limitations. I know I’ll have another bad workout week soon when I have to deal with nausea, but I’m glad I got a break from that feeling. And hopefully, the way I feel after this past week will help me get through the harder weeks I might have soon.

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Getting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

Posted on May 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

I’ve been living in the condo for a few weeks now. Even though it was only a week ago that I turned in my keys for my old place, I was sleeping and working from the condo for the last 2 weeks I had my lease. And most of the things I needed to move were moved by that point as well. I did have some things I needed to move in those last 2 weeks, but most of it was stuff that needed to be sold so I have felt that most of my things have been with me since I started living here.

Because it had been so long since my last move, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to feel settled. I also knew going into this move that things wouldn’t be totally done and set up right away. There are quite a few things I want or need to get to complete my space. But I’m working on being more mindful and not buying things until I find something I really want to get. And I did feel pretty out of sorts for a bit after starting to sleep at the condo. Things have been all over the place for me and I didn’t know where everything I wanted to find was. I was still going over to the old place to work on things so I felt like I was living between 2 places. And I have had to adjust to different things living here versus living in the old place. For example, I haven’t had to worry about anyone living above me for 12 years. Now, I do and I’m adjusting to the noise from my neighbors. But the noise I hear is a lot quieter than the noise I dealt with at the old place. It’s a different type of noise, so I’m sure that soon enough I won’t even notice it anymore.

I have hated feeling in transition and how it was affecting my life. So I have been working on feeling more at home and more settled. That’s a big part of the reason why I picked my monthly challenge this month. I still have to work on getting things out of boxes, but I’ve been making an effort at finding where I want to put things away too. Some of the setups I had before worked perfectly for the new place so that was easy. I think my desk might have been one of the easier things to get settled since almost everything just went back to where it was before. It’s not exactly the same and I still have to do some organizing, but I made my desk very usable for me quickly. And I needed to do that since I had to have everything I need to work ready to go right away.

I know that when I put things away I can change my mind later so I don’t need to stress too much about where I’m putting things for now. But I also want to pay attention to what I have and what things I might need for organization. I know I will need to do some things to create more usable storage space for me, but that also takes planning. Since I will be creating a little pantry-type storage inside of a closet from pieces from The Container Store (or somewhere like there), I have to do measurements and decide exactly how I want it to look. So I’ve been putting things on the ground and trying to imagine what I want to create.

But even with the things I don’t have settled yet and the fact that I’m living with a lot of boxes still, I do feel home. And I’m so glad that I feel that way already and I’m not having any anxiety about being in a new space. I don’t wake up confused or accidentally walk into a wall thinking I’m walking into my bathroom or anything like that. I didn’t think I would necessarily do that, but I did think about it. I also thought I might accidentally drive into my old driveway when coming home from things since I pass by my old place all the time. But that hasn’t happened once. In fact, when I was driving over to the old place to get more things or to clean, there were times I almost missed the driveway. The landlord drastically changed what the front of the driveway looks like, so it doesn’t look like the place I lived in for so long. Like I said before, in a way I don’t miss the old place since it hasn’t felt like my old place for the last few months I was living there.

I know that it will take some time before I feel like I’m fully moved in and settled here. I have so much I still want to do with getting some new furniture and really customizing my space. And there is so much more space I get to plan out, so it will not be done super quickly. But I’m in no rush. I do want to be out of boxes (or almost out of boxes) soon, but there is no deadline for feeling like I have finished turning this into my home. It will happen, and I know that because I’m not doing anything just to get it done, it will be worth it when I can sit back and admire where I am lucky enough to get to live.

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Getting Spoiled At Dinner (or Another Musical Night)

Posted on May 5, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting Spoiled At Dinner (or Another Musical Night)

I’ve been so happy ever since the musical season started up again. It’s been a bit weird to be in big crowds, but I’m getting more used to it and I’m grateful that the theater has some protocols in place to try to keep people safe. And since I don’t really go out a ton right now (which I know I need to change), I do try to make these nights at the show fun nights out.

The rest of the delayed 2020 season is still happening for my tickets and I still have a few more shows to go before the next season. And I’m thinking I might try to get tickets for the next season with a different friend since Dani won’t be in LA for the shows. But I have time to think about that for a bit. For now, I’m just enjoying each show I get to see.

This past weekend, the musical was “Tootsie”. I am pretty familiar with the movie and while it is a bit problematic I was curious what they would do for the musical. I asked around to see who wanted to take Dani’s ticket, and my friend Jodi was able to come with me again. And since we had so much fun at Wood & Vine the last time we went, we decided to meet up for dinner before the show again!

I am very lucky that I have gotten to know the manager at Wood & Vine and he tends to spoil me and my friends whenever we are there for dinner. I never assume that will happen, but every time I’m there for dinner there are more things that I want to try than I know I have room for in my stomach.

We decided to order the spinach and artichoke dip, short rib, and vegetable risotto. But we were surprised when we started getting a bunch of food that we didn’t order along with what we did order.

We were sent some things from the upcoming menu to try out before they were available. We tried a fried chicken slider on a charcoal bun, a beet and goat cheese salad, and a summer peach and candied nuts salad. They were all so good! The slider was spicy but not too overpowering. I don’t really like beets, but the dressing on the beet salad was delicious. And honestly, the best thing was the peach salad. It was so fresh and flavorful. I hope it’s on the menu soon because I want to make sure I order it again the next time I’m there! I’ve never had anything bad at Wood & Vine, but I swear they keep getting better and better and I’m loving all the new things I’ve been able to try!

After dinner, we headed over to the show at the Dolby. I do miss the shows being at the Pantages because it’s so much easier just to walk across the street after dinner instead of having to drive to a second location. Normally, it’s not a big deal. But this time, we were just hitting all the lights wrong and there was a line of traffic to get into the parking lot. This ended up being the first time I’ve ever been late for a show. We arrived just as the doors closed and we were able to watch the opening number from the TVs in the lobby so we didn’t completely miss the beginning. But it was frustrating that we missed seeing it from our seats. But as soon as that first number was done, we were able to go to our seats and enjoy the rest of the show from there.

They did make some changes to the show that went into some of the problematic things from the movie. But it still has some things that made me cringe a bit. It’s not a bad show, but it just has a few moments that really took me out of enjoying it because it didn’t sit right with me. But the performances were really good, especially with some of the supporting actors. I loved the actor who played the roommate. He was so funny and did a great job with the lines he had that called out the situation of the show.

I think Jodi and I felt the same about the show. It wasn’t bad, but it felt a bit dated because of some of the themes. But we still both enjoyed it. And going to a show still feels like a treat to me.

I have a few more shows to go for sure, and then I’ll have to decide what to do about the next season. But I think even if I don’t get the full season next time, there are friends who want to see some of the shows and I’m getting better about coordinating things so I don’t miss seeing things I want to go to. And even if I only go to a handful of shows in the next season, I know I will appreciate each one I get to go to because they really are special nights for me.

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These Feel Like Scary Times (or This Is The Time To Fight For Our Rights)

Posted on May 4, 2022 | Comments Off on These Feel Like Scary Times (or This Is The Time To Fight For Our Rights)

I’m sure everyone has heard of the draft by the Supreme Court to overturn abortion rights. For so many of us, this was what we were afraid would happen. After seeing the rush to get new justices on the court who seemed pretty certain they would do this, it seemed inevitable. I had hoped that we would be wrong, but it seems like everyone who thought we were overreacting was wrong and we were right to worry.

Whether or not you agree with having an abortion yourself, nobody should be able to tell someone if they are allowed to have a medical procedure. Nobody can force you to donate blood or a kidney, so why would it be allowed to force someone to use their uterus against their will? Some people claim that because there is adoption, there is no need for an abortion. But that is forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will and suffer the physical and mental risks that come with that. And even if you do go through with a pregnancy and have someone adopt the baby (which isn’t a guarantee because you can see how many babies are in foster care that need homes), who is going to also cover the financial risks for the person who had to give birth? They can’t go back to work the next day, so will the government cover paid time off for everyone who is forced to do this? How about all the medical bills? Giving birth can be thousands of dollars. If you are doing this and it’s not your choice, you shouldn’t be forced into paying for the medical care you didn’t want.

So many states have trigger laws that will outlaw all abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. So if a child is assaulted and becomes pregnant, they will be forced to go through the pregnancy. Some states don’t even allow for terminations if the mother’s life is at risk, so they are sentencing people to death which would end the pregnancy anyway. But I guess they would rather end the mother’s life so they can say they never ended the pregnancy.

And there are so many other issues that come up with this connected to pregnancy if these rights are overturned. We’ve already seen a mother who had a miscarriage be arrested because they thought she had an abortion. I would suspect that would happen more and more as some states give financial rewards for helping them punish women who terminate their pregnancies. Even if those women are found innocent and let free, who pays for their legal help? If they are in jail for a few days and lose their kids because of it, who will help them get things resolved? And then there is the issue of embryos and IVF. When you go through IVF, you create embryos and not all of them are used. Some have genetic issues that would not end up as a viable pregnancy. Others might just be extras after you have your kids. People are given options of what to do with extra embryos, but if termination is illegal will they be forced to use all their embryos even if they are not going to make it? Will they be made to go through the entire IVF procedure knowing they cannot have a pregnancy just so they use up the rest? I know there are embryo donations for extras that are deemed normal that others could use, but would you have to donate the ones you know cannot succeed? And then there is still the financial aspect of it. If you are forced to use all that are made, who pays for the medications and surgeries to use them up when you don’t want to have a baby? Or will people stop doing IVF because of these fears and risks?

And outside of the concerns about the right to an abortion, the draft shows a scary future that the Supreme Court might be creating. They mention that this needs to be overturned and that other things were decided based on the same “invalid” reasoning. These include the right for same-sex couples to marry, the right to have access to birth control, and the right to interracial marriage. This is a slippery slope and I can’t imagine what would happen if they come after those rights next. But why would they mention them in the draft if this wasn’t a preview of their plan?

But now is not the time to be scared. This is the time to fight. And there are many ways to fight. First, if you want to donate to help those who need access to safe and needed medical care, there is a good list on this page. There are talks about protests coming and I would watch social media to see more about that. Make sure you speak up however you can. This draft might have been released so they could see our reaction, and we don’t want to be quiet and have people think we are ok with this. We need to be loud and make sure that safe abortions are accessible. Overturning this will not make abortions go away. It will only make safe abortions go away for millions of people. Those who have the means and money will always find ways to have safe abortions. They might travel to another state to do it or find another way to make sure they get the care they want. But those who don’t have that option will be the victims of this. They will find unsafe ways to end their unwanted pregnancies and we do not want to see that happening. We need to keep each other safe, and keeping safe abortions legal is one way to do it.

I really hope that this draft ends at just being a draft and those on the Supreme Court somehow change their minds, but we can’t just wait and see. We have to make sure we are fighting because if we don’t before we know it more rights will be gone. And now is the time we have to fight for this right and I will not be quiet as long as I have my voice.

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