Category Archives: Fun Stuff

I Really Don’t Feel Older (or Doing A Double Take With My Age)

Posted on August 11, 2021 | Comments Off on I Really Don’t Feel Older (or Doing A Double Take With My Age)

Leading up to my birthday, a lot of people asked me if I was feeling older. And in many ways, I feel like I’ve aged decades since March 2020. Some of it was growth that I appreciate gaining because I have learned more about myself that I don’t think I would have figured out for a while unless I was isolated at home. And some of it is growth that I see physically that I don’t love. I’m glad I’m back to doing some of my beauty routines again because that does help me feel better about myself, but I’m not doing everything yet so I still feel like I look older than I want to.

I don’t think about what my actual age is that often. I don’t think I look or feel my age. And the saying that age is just a number is really true. What 38-year-olds were doing a generation or two ago has nothing to do with what they are doing now at the same age. I don’t have to compare myself to what others did when they were my age or what younger people are doing now that I didn’t do. And it’s not often that people ask me how old I am, so there are plenty of times that I honestly have to think about what my age is.

One of the few times that I’m confronted by my age a lot is on dating apps. I don’t believe in lying about my age on there because the truth will be revealed at some point. And if a guy lies to me about his age, I know it’s an innocent lie, but it makes me wonder what other lies he has told me. So I’m honest with my age and if anyone wants to judge me on that, that’s their problem. I don’t see my age while on dating apps that often because I only see it when I’m looking at my own profile. But I do like to look at it right before and then on my birthday because it shows the new age. And that’s usually the first time I will see my new age out there.

And I know that being 38 for a few days shouldn’t feel that different from the entire time I was 37. But I don’t feel like I was ever 37 since I spent most of that year not doing much or seeing others. Obviously, I know it doesn’t work that way, but I feel like I am still owed time from being 36 since the last half of that age was isolated at home.

I haven’t felt my age for a long time, so I know it’s not just becuase of the pandemic. But I think the last year and a half being at home made me feel even less like my age. I know I will still have to think about my age when someone asks me or if I am filling out a form. And maybe I’ll be like this the rest of my life. But even though I forget my own age and don’t feel it most of the time, I do still celebrate being 38. Aging isn’t something everyone gets to do and it is something to be celebrated!

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Default ThumbnailHappy Birthday Grandma! (or Double Birthday Celebrations) Default ThumbnailChildhood Friend Hangout (or I Don’t Think We Look 18 Years Older) Default ThumbnailHappy Birthday Dad! (or Just Like Mom, I Promise Not To Reveal Your Age) Default ThumbnailA Milestone Birthday (or I Have A Feeling 35 Will Be Awesome) Default ThumbnailHappy Birthday To Me (or Why Social Networking Makes Me Feel Fabulous) Default ThumbnailGoodbye 31 (or Hello 32!)

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A Busy Birthday (or I’m Not Sure What I Expected My Birthday To Be Like)

Posted on August 10, 2021 | Comments Off on A Busy Birthday (or I’m Not Sure What I Expected My Birthday To Be Like)

Yesterday was my birthday, and I knew it wasn’t going to be anything too crazy. It was on a Monday, we are still in a pandemic, and I had to work. I figured it would be a bit different from my birthday last year since things are a bit better right now, but I still wasn’t going to be going out and celebrating. At least not on my actual birthday. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy my birthday however I could.

My day started off with my workout. I’ll do a recap of my birthday workout next week, but it was a good workout.

I don’t think I ever believed that I would be someone who would do a workout at 6:30 am on my birthday, but that’s exactly what I did! I’ve done birthday workouts before and it’s always a nice way to enjoy the day. And this time is was the perfect way to start off my day!

Then I had work for my day job. Monday was the first day I had my new, longer work schedule. It’s not too bad so far, but I know that it might be adjusted if it becomes too much. But at least for kicking it off, it was ok. I had a lot of work I had to get done, but it’s what I’ve been doing before and now I had more time to get all my work done.

And while I was working, I was getting texts and messages from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. Even though I wasn’t going to see any of them, I still love getting messages from them. And my friend Dani, who moved away from LA a few months ago, messaged me and also asked when I’d be home because something was going to be delivered to my house. I let her know when I had a break and I thought that she was having food or something delivered to my house.

I was so shocked when my doorbell rang, I opened the door, and it was Dani and her new puppy!

I was speechless. All I could say for a few minutes was “oh my god!” and other exclamations like that. She was in LA for some work stuff and decided to not tell me so she could surprise me! And it was the best surprise! I was not expecting to see her or any of my other friends on my birthday and it really made my day! And I’ve missed our hangouts since she moved away, so it was nice to have a little time to hangout and chat before she had to leave and I had to get back to work.

The rest of my birthday was pretty low-key. I worked a few more hours, I did some stuff for my union election, and after work I ordered in some dinner (I figured I should do something nicer for dinner) and watched some tv. Nothing too crazy after work since I didn’t feel like trying to go out to a restaurant or organize anything else. I will have a birthday dinner coming up this weekend, but it didn’t feel right doing much else since things are still not that safe.

Overall, this was a great birthday. I didn’t do a lot, but so much of it made my day feel so special. I didn’t have a plan for what my day would be like, but I wouldn’t have guessed this. But it was exactly what I needed and besides wishing we weren’t in a pandemic, I don’t know if I would have changed a thing. It was the perfect Monday Pandemic Birthday.

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Default ThumbnailAlmost Free Birthday Dinner (or Spending My Birthday With My Birthday Twin) Default ThumbnailAlmost Getting My Lazy Birthday (or Staying In And Staying Busy) Default ThumbnailA Birthday Celebration (or An Orangetheory Reunion) Default ThumbnailMy Birthday! (or Laundry, A Bike Ride, and Dinner!) Default ThumbnailContinuing The Birthday Celebrations (or A Birthday Twin Adventure) Default ThumbnailGrandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

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Some Beauty Fun Before My Birthday (or Working While Trying To Relax)

Posted on August 6, 2021 | Comments Off on Some Beauty Fun Before My Birthday (or Working While Trying To Relax)

As I wrote yesterday, we are fully into election season for my union election now. This is going to be a big part of my life for the next month until the ballots are counted. I still have to do my normal stuff while doing election stuff, but I know I will find ways to fit it in. I won’t be doing campaign stuff in person, so maybe saving that commute time will help me.

The good and bad part about doing social media work is that my phone can always be with me. I do try to have breaks when I’m not looking at every notification, but it’s hard when things are so crazy as they are now. But I do try to time out when I’m actively working to be when I don’t have to focus on other things. And then I can monitor social media and respond to comments when it’s not my full focus. And that’s exactly what I was doing this week.

I got my hair done pretty recently, but it was starting to grow out and all my gray hair was showing a lot. Normally, I’d wait another few weeks before getting my hair done since I don’t need to go all the time. I’m trying to be better about doing my hair at regular intervals and not letting several months go by. I think 6-8 weeks between appointments is probably ideal. But this time, it was only 5 weeks but I wanted to get my hair done so it would be nice for my birthday.

Even though I have nothing planned for my birthday, I like the idea of having my hair look nice even if I’m celebrating at home alone. So I messaged my friend who has been doing my hair to see if she could fit me in sometime this week. She had availability after I was done with work so that was perfect for me! Of course, I hadn’t planned that would be the day I posted a ton of things to my slate’s social media and I would need to be tracking a lot of stuff that afternoon.

But it all worked out fine. I tried to not always have my face in my phone and to spend the time also catching up with my friend. We haven’t been working out together lately, so it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other and we were catching each other up on our lives. Both of us haven’t been doing a lot because we are trying to stay safe, but it was still nice to have some time to catch up with a friend since I have so few hangouts these days that are in person. So I tried to focus on being present when she was putting my color on and then doing my work while we were waiting for the color to set.

Also, regarding the mask, this is the mask my friend gave me the first time she did my hair during the pandemic because she had an extra KN95 mask. I’ve pretty much only worn it when getting my hair done, so it’s got a bit of hair dye on it. But I also don’t mind if it gets more dye on it since I consider it my hair dye mask and I don’t wear one that I worry about getting dirty.

I was at the salon for about an hour and a half before my hair was done. I only got it dyed and not trimmed, so it was a little less expensive than normal. And I’ll get a trim when I go back in 6 weeks (or whenever I end up making it back). But just having fresh hair color makes me so happy and, like I’ve said so many times before, it makes me feel more like myself. My hair is a bit of a struggle sometimes. Between going gray since I was in color plus losing my hair with alopecia, it doesn’t always look how I want it to. And I have explored options to help, like partial wigs, that might help both issues. I just haven’t looked too much into it. But the more I get my hair done, the more I’m really starting to think I should consider it. If it makes me happy, why not?

But at least for now, I have nice-looking hair for my birthday and that’s something that brings me so much joy. And I don’t have to stress about covering up my gray hair when I have so much else to stress out about this month.

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Default ThumbnailFeeling A Bit More Like Me (or A Little Bit Of Pampering) Default ThumbnailSelf-Care Is So Important (or At-Home Beauty) Default ThumbnailTrying More New Beauty Routines In Quarantine (or Anything To Keep Things Interesting) Default ThumbnailAt Home Hair (or I Haven’t Done This Since I Was A Teenager) Default ThumbnailCoconut Oil Hair Mask (or Trying A Simple DIY Beauty Trick) Default ThumbnailBirthday Beauty Discounts (or Making My Birthday Last The Entire Month)

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A Celebration Challenge (or Focusing On The Good and Positive)

Posted on August 3, 2021 | Comments Off on A Celebration Challenge (or Focusing On The Good and Positive)

It’s officially my birthday month! It doesn’t really feel like August, but then again it hasn’t felt like normal times for almost a year and a half now. But it is a new month and that means I have a new challenge to work on.

My challenge last month was to take more risks with my clothes and to rediscover more outfits and maybe add to what I have. And when I wrote that challenge, I honestly thought things were going to continue to get better and more events would be happening. But that wasn’t the case. I didn’t have a lot of things to attend or hangouts with friends. I did have a few things I went out to do and I was trying new outfits or to make my clothes fit differently. I also went through my closet to take a real inventory of what I own and what I might want. Unfortunately, all the online shopping that I did ended up not fitting so they had to be returned. But I’ve still got my list of what I’d like to add so I can keep searching for them either online or in stores when I’m shopping in stores again. And I’m going to continue to go out of my comfort zone with clothes when I have the chance to. It’s just that right now, there aren’t that many chances. But I’m hoping that will change soon.

Since it’s my birthday month and we are back in a bit of an uncertain time in the pandemic, I had to think about what I could do for my challenge that doesn’t depend on much outside of myself. I know I could do more projects around my house, but I’ve done so many of those. I really wanted to find something that would make me happy, even if I can’t celebrate my birthday again this year.

And that’s why I’ve decided to challenge myself to celebrate anything and everything this month. Obviously, I’m going to celebrate my birthday because getting a year older is something to celebrate. But I also want to celebrate the little things. If I have an exceptionally good workout, I want to celebrate that. If I have a good food day, I should celebrate that. If I don’t do something dumb that I was considering, that should be celebrated too. Even though I’m not able to celebrate a lot of things I normally would, I can still celebrate so much in my life. And I think that’s the perfect thing to do this month.

Celebrating the things in my life doesn’t have to be a big deal. But I should recognize when I have something to celebrate and at least remind myself that it’s a good thing. Even if I had to spend this entire month isolated in my house, there are still positives in my life. And when right now it seems like a lot of us, myself included, are focusing on the setbacks of what we recently lost it’s good to remember all the things to celebrate and be grateful for.

And hopefully by the end of this month, I will be focused much more on the good in my life and celebrating what I can. Because that is always important, even when the world seems so crazy around us.

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Default ThumbnailA Birthday Month Challenge (or Education And Celebration) Default ThumbnailTaking A Month To Reset (or This Doesn’t Really Feel Like A Monthly Challenge) Default ThumbnailMy August Challenge (or Being Selfish To Be Happy) Default ThumbnailStruggling To Figure Out A Monthly Challenge (or Finding Myself Again) Default ThumbnailBuilding Upon My Monthly Challenge (or Continuing To Work On Shopping) Default ThumbnailSo Many Birthdays and Anniversaries! (or A Month Of Celebrating And Remembering)

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Making And Cancelling Plans (or I Know We Are All Trying To Stay Safe)

Posted on July 23, 2021 | Comments Off on Making And Cancelling Plans (or I Know We Are All Trying To Stay Safe)

It’s been a very slow transition back for me, but I’ve slowly been trying to make plans. Some things are not very soon, so I’ve been feeling ok about having plans that aren’t for another month or two. I know that there has been discussion about the fall being worse, but maybe the increase of cases now will get more people vaccinated so the fall won’t have another surge. But nobody can predict what will happen. I honestly thought we wouldn’t have a surge like we are having now. But it only took a few weeks and things are now what they were like when things were much more restrictive all over California. So even when I’ve been making plans lately, they are being made with the assumption that they might have to be canceled.

And that’s exactly what’s happening right now. I had plans for tonight, but those have been postponed since we want to not have to worry as much about if anyone feels unsafe. It’s unfortunate, but I have been starting to think more and more about what risks I would be willing to take. I know that breakthrough cases are rare and when they happen they tend to be mild, but it’s not a guarantee. That can change and breakthrough cases could get worse. And I’ve worked hard for over a year to not get sick and stay healthy. As much as I’m ready for regular life again, it’s not regular times yet and we can’t forget that things aren’t great right now.

And with plans I have coming up being canceled, it’s making me wonder about my birthday this year. It’s coming up and I originally wanted to have some sort of gathering since I miss my friends. I wasn’t going to plan anything too crazy, but maybe a hangout somewhere so people could come and go. And I know I could do something in a park or another public place, but I’m starting to lose a little motivation to plan something this year. It feels weird to be celebrating when it doesn’t feel like a very celebratory time. The 4th of July was different because things were still looking good. Now, I don’t feel the same hope and joy that I felt only a few weeks ago. I’ll still do a few of my usual traditions, but they might be slightly different as they were last year. But right now, I’m really hesitant to plan for much more than that.

I’m not planning for total isolation again and I’m going to have some social time since (at least for now) I’m still able to go to my workout classes. But I’m also not really making the same plans I was trying to make earlier this month. I still have done very few things with friends, but I was at least trying to figure out what we could go do. Now, I feel more like I want to wait and see and make sure I’m not taking risks that seem like just too much right now.

And I know there is no way to predict if things are going to be getting better or worse now, but it’s hard not to fear it will be getting worse. I just have to be hopeful that something will change, people will get vaccinated, and we can really get back to normal and having normal plans again. I know it will happen eventually, but I hope that eventually doesn’t take that much longer. And while we are waiting, I will just have to keep evaluating things and hope that I find enough things that feel safe and allow me to see the people that I’ve missed for way too long.

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9 Years Of Blogging (or Just Keep Writing)

Posted on July 16, 2021 | Comments Off on 9 Years Of Blogging (or Just Keep Writing)

9 years ago, I published my first blog post. Or at least I published my first post on here. I had attempted a blog before that failed after only a few days. But I was trying again and just started writing. I wasn’t sure what I’d be writing about or how long I’d be able to keep it up, but I had to try. And here I am, 9 years later, still posting every weekday without missing a single day.

I know I don’t have to write every day. Some people might say it’s actually smarter for me not to because if I was worried about my reader numbers some studies show daily posting isn’t ideal. And I did start my blog originally to be something more than just me rambling and putting out my thoughts into the world, but now I am ok if it’s like that. Yes, doing sponsored posts and things like that are fun and I do consider opportunities that come my way. But I don’t do everything that is offered because I don’t want to do things just to make money off of a post. I have found my authentic voice and true self over these past 9 years and that’s something I don’t know I would have done another way.

There have been a lot of times I wondered what to write or what to do with this blog. But I just keep on writing. Even when I have nothing to write about, I find something to say about being bored or having writer’s block. As much as I try to plan out what I will be writing about in advance, there are times I’m still trying to figure it out late at night and just write whatever I’m thinking.

And last year, when the pandemic hit, I wondered what I would do. Even when I have writer’s block, I usually have things coming up that I could write about and look forward to. But when things were shutting down, I knew I wouldn’t have much to say. Except not having much to say ended up being something to write about. I am grateful that I have a written record of my time in this pandemic. I have my thoughts and fears in my posts and I’m sure that one day it will be interesting to reflect back on this time (we just have to get out of this time first).

Even though I have been consistent for the past 9 years, I know that can change in the future. Maybe I will decide to write less frequently. I think I would still want a blogging schedule so I have something regular, but maybe it won’t be every day. As of right now, I don’t have any plans to change things up. I want to just keep writing because I learn so much about myself from doing that. Even if these posts are just for me and nobody else sees them, I benefit from them and that’s awesome. And if someone else finds the posts and either learns something about themselves or doesn’t feel as alone in their struggles, that’s amazing and incredible! Both helping myself and helping others is what keeps me going.

Next year, I will have been blogged for over 1/4 of my life. That’s crazy for me to think about but I’m also so excited for that milestone. And that is going to keep me going when I feel like I have nothing to say this next year. I’ll keep writing, even if they aren’t super amazing posts, and then I can celebrate 10 years of blogging in 2022!

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Kicking Off Election Season (or Time To Be Busy With Campaigning)

Posted on July 14, 2021 | Comments Off on Kicking Off Election Season (or Time To Be Busy With Campaigning)

I’ve gone through SAG-AFTRA election season 3 times in the past. And my involvement during election season has changed and increased over each election. It’s a stressful time for so many of us, but it’s also very worth it. I am passionate about the direction my union is going and making sure that we have the best union possible for all members. And while I hope that I will be elected to the position or positions I’m running for, I also know the importance of getting others who have similar mindsets elected too. And that’s why I’m so happy to be with the Unite For Strength slate.

Things are only getting started with this election season. We have not announced our full slate just yet, but we will be doing so soon. And that’s when I’ll share more about what I’m running for. But we have announced our candidates for National President and National Secretary-Treasurer. And I’m so excited about those candidates as well as the ones we haven’t announced just yet. I love when I discover other members who have a similar passion for union service as I do and I also love to see people move into more and more leadership positions. I know that one day, my group of members will be the leaders of the union and it’s amazing to see that growth happen in front of my eyes. I don’t know how far in union leadership I personally want to go into, but I don’t think there will be a time that I’m a member of SAG-AFTRA and not wanting to be a part of union service in one way or another. Before my first election, I never imagined doing this. Now, I can’t imagine my life without it.

I am doing the social media work for my slate again, just like I have before. I can’t share a ton of information just yet, but I can’t wait until we announce more and I start posting more. Of course, this can be a bit stressful too, but it’s worth it just like election season is. And even though I know there can be a lot of negativity on social media, especially when it comes to politics and elections, I usually see more positive things online than negative which helps a lot.

Normally during election season, both my slate as well as the other slate campaign in similar ways and they are typically done in person. We pass out information as people are walking into different in-person union events. This year, things will be different. Most of the events that we would be campaigning at are not happening. The main one that I used to campaign at, the Film Society screenings, have not returned yet and I don’t think anyone knows when the next Film Society season would be. I know that everyone is trying to find new ways to campaign and I’m sure I will be doing a lot of it just as I do with campaigning before. And this isn’t the first time we’ve had to do some sort of campaigning without in-person events. We did this for the last contract. And while I will miss these opportunities to campaign in person and meet new people, I know that future election seasons will have that chance when things are safer for us all.

I know the next few months, my life will be a bit crazy and busy with election season, but I’m also very excited about that. I will still try to find ways to be social outside of union stuff because I want to get more of my life back. But having election season here is another thing that feels like the old normal to me, so I’m embracing that feeling. And hopefully I will have some exciting news once all the votes are counted!

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Just Enjoying My Boring Routine (or Still Working On Adding More Back To My Life)

Posted on July 13, 2021 | Comments Off on Just Enjoying My Boring Routine (or Still Working On Adding More Back To My Life)

For a good chunk of this year, I have said that I need to work on adding more things back into my life. I missed so much while being isolated in my house. I was bored for days and weeks and I was ready to be out of my house and busy with anything else. And I do still feel like I need to keep adding more back into my life, but I don’t feel the same pull to force myself to do that as I did before.

There are still some concerns about the pandemic for me. For a while, the numbers were getting better every day and things seemed so much safer. But the past week or two has been different and numbers have been increasing every day. Now, things are close to where they were months ago with the number of cases every day. The deaths and hospitalizations aren’t as bad, and most of the research says that a huge majority of cases now are from unvaccinated people. So I should still be safe. But I’m still being careful when I can with wearing a mask when I am out and not taking too many unnecessary risks. I’m not as fearful as I was earlier this year with going out, but I do notice some anxiety and I have had a few panic attacks at the grocery store recently. I understand that masks are optional now if you are vaccinated, but it still makes me nervous to see people in a store without them (fortunately, almost everyone seems to still be wearing a mask).

But I also think that the reason I don’t feel the need to add more to my life right now is that I’m finally busy again with work. Even though all of my jobs are part-time, when you add up all the hours I do each day I am working full-time hours. Sitting in front of a computer for hours a day is draining and I usually want to rest when I’m done with work. I also still have regular things to do after work that I’m not doing in the middle of the day like I did when I wasn’t working. And I’m working on cooking more at home so that also takes up time.

For me to do more fun things in my life, I do need to plan ahead and add them to my schedule. And I know I can do that and I’m sure if I asked my friends if they wanted to plan something, we would. But I’m back to where I have felt before in my life when I just don’t feel the push to be super social. But this time it’s different since I’m coming off of a year of not be social at all. So I know I should make an effort to make plans, but I’m really just enjoying the routine and normalcy right now. This is something that I was missing for a long time, so routine doesn’t feel as routine as it used to.

I know that more and more things are opening and happening around LA, and I do want to take advantage of this amazing city that I live in. But while going on adventures is a bit about the novelty of it all, so is having a normal schedule again and I’m really just enjoying having something like my old life back and being in a routine that I can count on.

And I’m sure that it’s only a matter of time that I will be bored of my routine and really craving to go out and do something. And I’ll figure out what I can do and what seems safe and I’ll have much more interesting things to write about.

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Almost Forgot My Hip Surgery Anniversary Again (or 15 Years Down)

Posted on July 9, 2021 | Comments Off on Almost Forgot My Hip Surgery Anniversary Again (or 15 Years Down)

Every year since my hip surgery, I try to remember to celebrate the anniversary of my surgery. The first few years were a little less celebratory because I was still worried that each year that passed meant I was one year closer to the next surgery that was supposed to be necessary soon. But once I surpassed what my hip surgeon predicted I started to celebrate more and more and I didn’t worry about when the next surgeries would be. Even though I know I will still need a few more surgeries, they don’t seem like they are looming over my head as something I will need to do soon.

I rarely forget my hip surgery anniversary, but it does happen sometimes. And this year was one year that I almost forgot. I didn’t remember it until the day was half over and I realized what the day was. And this was a big anniversary because it marks 15 years since I had my hip surgery!

Almost forgetting about my surgery anniversary is a sign that this isn’t as big of a deal in my life as it used to be. But I don’t think I will ever stop thinking about each year being something to be excited about. And 15 years is a big one. In a few years, my hip surgery will be half a lifetime ago for me! But for now, it is a significant chunk of my life ago. And just like any other surgery anniversary, I’m still impressed by how much I have been able to do since surgery.

I’m so happy that I don’t have to deal with as much pain as I had in the past. I do still have pain every day, but most of the time I don’t have to take anything to deal with it from day to day. Compare that to before my surgery when I was maxed out on 2 different painkillers and still in intense pain. Even though I do have to take a painkiller when things get really bad, those moments are rare and I’m not taking something regularly. Sometimes, I can even go several weeks without needing a painkiller. That would have been impossible to think about before my surgery.

I have accomplished so much that I was told may not be possible after having surgery. I know that sometimes I take a few more risks than I should, but I also have decided to not live in as much fear as I used to. I don’t do the things I was warned about the most, such as things that are real fall risks for me, but I do take chances with things that I was told aren’t the best for me to do but also not super dangerous. And this has allowed me to live life a lot fuller than I thought I would be able to.

I do still spend time every day to make sure that I’m taking care of both the hip that was operated on and the other side which will likely be the next surgery. I stretch almost every day (I’m working on being better about doing it every day). I use foam roller balls to help with my muscles since I depend on them to help support my hip joint. I try to move around during the day when I can so I don’t get too stiff. And I make sure that any shoes I get won’t be too hard on my hips. This means I can’t always wear the shoes I want to and I have to be a bit more practical at times, but after dealing with several days of pain from wearing unsupportive shoes, I know that is something important.

With all the issues I have regarding my health and body, I don’t have a ton I celebrate. But this is one that I should celebrate and be proud of. My hips have been able to do things that I didn’t think I could do. Even with all the medical issues and things I was warned about, somehow my body has overcome that and I haven’t had to focus too much on the negative over the past 15 years.

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Default ThumbnailSurgery Anniversary (or I Guess It’s Good I Almost Forgot) Default ThumbnailAnother Hip Surgery Anniversary Down (or I Wonder What The Pandemic Means For My Hip Issues) Default ThumbnailMy Hip Surgery Anniversary (or Lucky 13) Default ThumbnailHip Surgery Anniversary (or This Feels Like A Milestone) Default Thumbnail3 Years Knowing About The Tumors (or I Forgot An Anniversary) Default ThumbnailA Non-Surgery Anniversary (or Another Year Of Being A Medical Miracle)

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An Unexpected Family Visit (or Making Plans, Canceling Them, And Making Plans Again)

Posted on July 8, 2021 | Comments Off on An Unexpected Family Visit (or Making Plans, Canceling Them, And Making Plans Again)

Like I said yesterday, the end of my 3 day weekend ended up being a bit unexpected. But that’s actually not the full story. It was something I had planned for, then had to cancel, and then was able to do again.

A month or two ago, my parents mentioned to me that they would be coming down to Santa Barbara to be with my brother and his family and they wanted to see if I could come up to visit. And I thought at first that it would work out perfectly because I had Monday off of work. If I didn’t have that day off, it would have been difficult to go because I would have left after work and would be driving in rush hour traffic. So I said I’d see them on my day off and thought that was that. But it turned out, I misunderstood some information and my parents were not going to be in Santa Barbara until later that day and I didn’t want to have to drive home in traffic after the holiday weekend. So I had to tell them that I didn’t think I would make it. But I knew I’d be seeing them in September so I was ok.

Then on Monday morning, I called my dad after my workout to tell him something random and my parents mentioned they were already driving down and about halfway to Santa Barbara! I wasn’t expecting them to leave until later, so I mentioned to them that if they were going to have the afternoon free, I could come up and see everyone for a bit. I knew it wouldn’t be that long of a visit because I would still want to leave before the traffic got really bad, but seeing my family for a few hours would be better than not seeing them at all. So my parents confirmed with my brother and sister-in-law that they would be hanging around their house in the afternoon and I quickly went home to shower and change after my workout. I was able to start my drive only about an hour after I talked to my parents and fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad. I made it to Santa Barbara in just over 2 hours instead of the 90 minutes it usually takes me.

I didn’t take any photos while I was there since we were more focused on just being together as a family for the few hours I was able to be there. It had been 3 months since I had seen my niece and nephew and they both grew so much! Rory wasn’t walking when I was there last time and now he’s walking all over the place and almost running! And Presley was a newborn when I was there and she spent almost the entire time asleep. Now she looks much more like a baby, has a ton of hair, and was awake and alert. It’s crazy to see how much they both grew when it seems like I was just there.

It was also nice to just get to relax and talk with my family. Even though we are connected all the time either via text or on the phone, it’s always better to be together in person. Just like with my niece and nephew, it had been 3 months since I had seen my parents in person. I had a few things for them that I was going to save until September, but I was able to bring them with me (my parents have stuff for me too, but since they were already driving when we figured out I’d see them, that stuff will have to wait a few more months). Nothing was urgent to get to them, but it’s always nice to be able to give them things I was holding onto.

I was only in Santa Barbara for a little over 2 hours before I headed home. Traffic was not horrible and I knew it was going to get worse, plus my niece and nephew were about to take naps. So it seemed like a natural time for me to say goodbye and start my drive home.

It’s crazy how it all worked out this week. Even though I would have been ok not seeing my family, it made my weekend that much better that I got to be with them. And I am just so grateful that it all worked out perfectly and I had the time to drive up and back without too much stress.

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Default ThumbnailNot The Family Visit I Planned On Having (or An LA Afternoon) Default ThumbnailQuick Family Visit (or My Extra Long Lunch From Work) Default ThumbnailA Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley) Default ThumbnailFamily Weekend (or Hanging Out With The Dog) Default ThumbnailI’m An Aunt Again! (or Welcome To The World Presley!) Default ThumbnailPart 1 Of A Family Visit (or Letting My Parents Relax A Bit)

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