New favorite day
Yesterday morning when I got to the gym someone leaving from the class before me said “I hope you’re ready to run!”
“Always!” I responded.
They went on to count out how many laps we did (in the parking lot) at class “4, 10, 10, 16, 20… 60 laps!”
“Great! I can’t wait!” I said as I went inside, laughing.
I know they were looking for some camaraderie, and for me to groan about it, but whenever I get these warnings about running in class, I’m just excited that the hard thing is something I know I can do.
Had it been burpees or a million pushups? I’d be groaning. And I’m sure other people would be thriving! Working out at WWM has shown me, more than any other athletic endeavor I’ve participated in, just how varied people’s strengths are.
I mean, super duh, right? People have different strong suits. But as someone who wants to be good at everything (in class), having this frequent visual reminder is so helpful with me accepting where I’m at, and what my body is naturally inclined toward.
What the heck am I saying? That my perception of what I should be good at has really changed since I started going to WWM. For some background, there are (generally) three types of classes I go to – upper body, lower body, and HIIT. In the beginning, I would say lower body was my favorite and dread upper body day. I had been telling myself all this time that my lower body should be stronger because I’m a runner, and my upper body would be weaker, therefore making those days harder. And I got into my head about it.
But it turns out, I’m way stronger at upper than lower body. My body seems naturally inclined to build my back, shoulders, and upper arms. I actually kind of suck at lower body stuff, and struggle, and should be doing it more.
Suffice to say, it turns out upper body is actually my favorite workout day. I never thought I’d be saying that!
And we did run 60 laps in class. I had over 4K steps after class.
Did you go somewhere?
Ha, this is NOT what I came here to blog about, but this is what you’re getting because it just popped into my head.
I saw someone I don’t often see in the office this morning and had a big smile on my face when I greeted them and they said to me “You’re glowing! Did you go somewhere?”
And goshdarnit, I answered how I always do “Just outside!” Then I remembered the last time I told Steven that’s how I answered people when I get that comment he told me that was a jerk* response, like responding to “what are you reading?” with “a book.” Ha. I saw his point!
So I added, “I’ve just been running outside!”
But really… I didn’t go anywhere cool, just outside (my house)!
*He may have not said jerk, I can’t remember exactly how he put it. We were joking around though.
Speaking of how tan I am, every year I get horrible running tan lines – my back, my shorts, my watch. My sister-in-law gets horrible tan lines too and it’s something we bond over every summer:
This year I’m actually trying to schedule a spray tan to see if it will even them out somewhat for our annual river trip. I really don’t like how these tan lines are highlighted when I’m in a bathing suit.
But it turns out there are a TON of rules about getting ready for a spray tan then taking care of it and I’m not sure if those fit into my hectic weekend before we go on our trip. So we’ll see. It might be another summer of highly visible tan lines. Maybe I should just learn how to photoshop them away. Ha.
Silly kid thoughts
When Stephany was here we had a conversation about things we believed as a child that make no sense, and I have to share mine with you because it’s so ridiculous – I thought the only way people died was by being murdered. I heard the phrase “die in your sleep” and thought it meant someone murdered you in bed. I was terrified by this!
Gah. How bizarre is that?
Maybe not too bizarre – Steven shared he was afraid of someone breaking into his house and murdering him. Eek!
I was 4 in this photo – hopefully I wasn’t thinking about murder yet
Do you remember thinking anything ridiculous like that?
Stephany shared that she thought “don’t drink and drive” meant don’t drink anything AT ALL. Ha!
Speaking of alcohol, my little kid brain thought having any alcohol in your house made you an alcoholic. I remember being at a friend’s house and her dad came home and grabbed a beer from the fridge and I was like OMG!!!!! Ha. I’m guessing I felt this way because my parents didn’t have any alcohol anywhere that I was aware of in our home (I’ve never seen my dad drink alcohol, and my mom only a few times).
And finally, this is just pathetic, and not a thing that I thought, but something I did to try to fit in that I’m just randomly sharing here. I remember going to friends’ houses as a kid and they’d play music and I’d have NO idea what it was. We’re talking mainstream bands like New Kids on the Block and TLC. When they’d ask me my favorite singer I’d make one up! And when they were all singing along I’d pretend to know the words too.
Ha ha ha ha ha. I was such a little loner (who was listening to classic rock at home).
Hmm, I feel like there was one more embarrassing story I wanted to share, but I can’t remember so I’ll leave it at that!
Reading Update (2024 #40-42)
[40] Finding Mr. Purrfect by Codi Gary
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, saw in Blue House Books and ACTUALLY PURCHASED, paperback
Synopsis: Charity and Will can’t stand each other (for reasons I don’t exactly understand since I didn’t read book 1?), and after one night together, decide they definitely aren’t right for each other. But when Charity tells her family she is dating Will to get them off her back, he goes along with the fake dating act, to make his own mother happy as well.
Why I Bought this Book: So, I bought this book in the bookstore because it had a cat on it and Charity’s character co-owns a cat café. I tried to get Goodreads to load at the bookstore to read reviews but had no service, and figured, hey, I’ll support a small business. Then when I checked it later it had a 3.54 average rating and one of the reviews said no smut. Wah! And I saw it was part 2 in a series. I stuck with it though.
Review: There was just no depth here. I wonder if Charity and Will were built up more in the first book? I kind of doubt it, since the first book focused on their two best friends. I just didn’t buy them as a couple, and the conflicts they had with their families and work life weren’t very interesting. I was happy to leave this book in Val’s Little Free Library.
Recommend: Absolutely not
[41] Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold
Reverse Harem Romance, Courtney and Anita told me about it in the same week LOL, Kindle
Synopsis: Layla is in her late 20s and has never had a boyfriend. The last guy she went on a date with climbed out of a bathroom window just to get away from her! Her three male best friends, who rent the apartment across from her and host a relationship advice podcast, offer to help her out by “fake” dating her, and featuring it as a segment on their podcast to boost their ratings and advertise for her lingerie company (of course she designs lingerie).
Review: Did you catch the part where this is a reverse harem? This book is just a loose story to get you from sex scene to sex scene, and the sex scenes have multiple partners. It was fun to read something different, but the story in between was actually pretty annoying and I was like “really?!” at the ending.
Recommend? If you’re looking to feel randy, yes, if you’re looking for a good story, no
[42] The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
Fiction, saw available on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle
Synopsis: Ella has lost her entire family – her parents and grandparents are gone, and her brother is in the Special Forces overseas. It’s just her and her 5 year-old twins, and the staff of the rustic bed and breakfast she runs in Telluride, CO. When her brother Ryan asks her if she will be pen pals with his best friend Chaos, another soldier in the Special Forces, she doesn’t expect anything, but they develop an instant connection. Then (slight spoiler) months later, Ryan dies, and left a “last letter” for Chaos asking him to go to Telluride and take care of Ella and her kids, one who has cancer. Chaos goes, but doesn’t tell her Ella he’s the one from the letters (she never knew his name), and lets Ella assume Chaos died. Blah blah blah they fall in love, etc., you know how this goes. Or maybe you don’t. This book was a ride.
Review: I was really into this book. It was almost unputdownable. I loved Ella and Chaos (aka Beckett) even though Chaos wouldn’t freaking tell her who he was. This book is absolutely heartbreaking though, FYI. The ending will throw you, and it feels like it came out of nowhere, and I don’t think how the characters reacted was as raw as it would have been in real life (not that I wanted to read a more realistic version). I would also argue this book does NOT have a HEA, even though the epilogue tries to tie it all up.
TW/MAJOR SPOILERS: Childhood cancer, loss of child, lots of death
Recommend: Yeah, if you want the emotional rollercoaster
Random Thoughts Thursday 458
- Penny seems to be doing well. She’s been hanging around the house for 3.5 weeks now. She always shows up for meals, and seems steadier and less itchy. The gray cat (later called Grey Worm & Greg) has been showing up a lot too.
- In office days are so odd for me. I feel super energized by the interactions with my coworkers, but completely drained by the long commute (2 hours door-to-door one way). Hey, I chose to live 50 miles away from my office, and to take the train instead of drive. That’s on me.
- Speaking of driving, Steven and I could not believe the amount of people we saw driving with their phones in their hands on the way to and from Milwaukee when we flew to Colorado two weeks ago. We’ve been seeing that so much around where we live too. You notice it because you wonder why someone is driving like such absolute shit. Then you see the phone in their hands. Sigh.
- I had a whole section here about why I don’t want to share my struggles with friends/family but I took it out. It boils down to: I’m an Enneagram 2, and I prefer in person to texting and that’s a rare occurrence.
- I’ve gone to the dentist several times since I started taking blood thinners and told them I am on them every time but it didn’t seem to click until this week, and they kind of freaked a bit and want my doctor to sign a form. Which they sent to the wrong doctor. And told them I needed a bunch of stuff that I don’t (which would require going off blood thinners for, but regular cleanings don’t). It’s just a mess. Wah wah wah. Adulting.
- Lorena got some new powder polish (not dip, still no chip) that is so vibrant! I love it and imagine I will be using it all summer long.
- I got approval to use chatGPT at my full time job. Interestingly, we are told to use our personal email accounts for it.
- We had our first green beans and peas to harvest in our garden when we got back on July 2. They were delish!
- Last weekend we planted another row of green beans, and put in our tomato plants.
Patterns
I’m deep in my Rebecca Yarros era, greedily devouring her bibliography, which is funny to me, considering I didn’t care for the first book of hers I listened to – The Things We Leave Unfinished. But since then she has become one of my favorite authors, with many a 5-star read rating from me, and one of her books being a new favorite of mine – In the Likely Event.
Okay, all that being said, when you read a lot of the same author you notice some patterns, and that’s what I’m here to laugh/gripe with you all about.
First, this woman’s obsession with keeping water bottles in the fridge, and noting when her characters are drinking them, how aggressively they take off the cap, how they are drinking them, how fast they are drinking them, if they offered one to their partner… I have so many questions. Do you keep water bottles in your fridge? I don’t like dinking super cold water, and I almost always drink of out a reusable bottle, so this is foreign to me. BUT IT’S MENTIONED SO MANY TIMES IN HER BOOKS.
I appreciate how hydrated her characters are. But the use of so much single-use plastic in the home bugs me a bit.
Secondly, the “secret” trope. Gah. So many of her stories have one character keeping a big secret from the other. Sometimes we know what it is, sometimes we know it partially, sometimes we know none of it (and it always turns out not to be a big deal). But they are always consciously keeping this secret, to avoid something. In the book I’m reading now, The Last Letter, the man does not tell the woman that he is the one she’d been corresponding with in the Special Forces. He lets her think that that person died, along with his brother, so that he can fulfill his brother’s wish to look after her. It makes no sense, right? So the whole time you’re reading it wondering when the ball is going to drop. And you’re just thinking “FREAKING TELL HER! Especially since she said in the first letter to you she hates liars and doesn’t give people second chances!”
I don’t have a related photo to share, but here is one Stephany took of me when she was here!
A third one, interruptions! The characters are finally about to kiss or have seggy time or whatever and they keep getting interrupted. I get that is to build suspension, but yeah, you just notice these patterns.
Oh! A fourth! If I read “lickable lines” one more time it will be TOO SOON.
And I keep coming back for more because I love her stories and writing, especially the chemistry between characters. I just had to get these out there. Ahh. I feel better now.
Any author writing/plot/whatever patterns you’ve noticed that you want to share?
Surely, if you have read ACOTAR you would be responding with “a vulgar gesture.” Ha. Ha ha ha.
That’s not him!
A few flying stories for you. Read them all or pick and choose:
- How Steven’s mock checkride went/what’s next
- A a ha moment for me afterward
- That’s not him!
- Status of the Abel Island runway
I feel like there was a fifth but I forgot!
How Steven’s mock checkride went/what’s next
His mock checkride was yesterday morning. I had fun tracking him on flightaware.com and watching all the whoop-de-doos he was doing, and was wondering what maneuvers they were. He text me when he was done and said it was “interesting.” Later when we had a chance to talk he told me about the difficult parts that were things he never learned – turning on a power-on stall, stopping short on a number, and a few other things (major props if the first two mean anything to you! (Ha! Props! Get it?!)). He told me about a few of the things that went well too (I’m sure there were many more than he told me – he’s a classic Enneagram 1 who focuses on what needs improvement much more than successes).
All that being said, he’s still on the board to get a time for his final checkride and oral exam but those are scheduled a few weeks in advance so we’re looking at the end of July. He’ll work on maneuvers with his instructor until then.
A a ha moment for me afterward
Last night we were talking about how we both had a hard time falling asleep Sunday night. He said for him it was probably because he was nervous about his flight. And he asked if that was why I had a hard time falling asleep too.
I told him no – I’m never nervous about him flying (or being prepared) and have 100% confidence that he knows what he’s doing. He told me thank you then I went on to hypothesize about why I had problems falling asleep. Such interesting conversations we have, huh? Ha.
Anyway, telling him that made me think, I wonder how often someone hears that someone else has 100% confidence in them, and whether that is encouraging, or if it makes them anxious. Think about it and tell me! Has anyone ever told you that? How did it make you feel? And imagine, there may be people thinking that about you and NOT EVEN TELLING YOU.
I feel grateful I have a partner I feel that way about, in all arenas of our life, not just this one.
That’s not him!
Oh my gosh, you guys. So it’s the end of my working day today and I hear an airplane outside and pull up flightaware and put in the tail number Steven usually flies and sure enough it’s his tail. So I go outside and watch him fly by (he had logbook review/lesson today). I get so excited when I see him!
Then I finish work and drive to the preserve to run and think there’s a slight chance I’ll see him again. If he flies by the house on the way out he typically does a different approach back to the airport, but you never know.
So I am tracking him and see a plane overhead and sure enough, it’s him! For whatever reason he crossed the track he came in on. I was at the red dot when he flew by.
I sent him a screenshot of the tracker and of his plane and said “Ha you totally flew over me 😊 I saw you at the house too!”
My text dinged back right away and I thought that was odd – he doesn’t see texts when he’s flying. But it was him alright: “No we’re in ma and haven’t taken off yet.”
HA!!!! It was not even him! He usually flies in ES (Echo Sierra) and I was tracking ES, but for some reason they were flying MA (Mike Alpha) and hadn’t left yet (longest lesson ever, he is still not home, it’s 6:40 and he left at 2:30).
Anyway. So then I tracked MA. And DID see him fly over the house when I got back. HA!!!!
Did you find him?
I was laughing at myself for getting excited seeing someone else fly by.
Status of the Abel Island runway
The Abel Island runway, where we would land if we flew to Guttenberg, Iowa is hella flooded right meow:
Photo credit: Michael Bauer
See those two rows of houses? With the water between them? That is the grass runway 🫠 Crazy. I hope they can still have the fly-in in August.
Here’s a photo of it when we flew there last August – it’s the brown patch of land in the middle of the photo.
I still can’t remember what the 5th thing was but I haven’t flown with Steven since December and really miss it and can’t wait to get up there with him soon!
I’m hoping if he is able to get his license this summer he can take me somewhere fun for a birthday celebration! But if not that’s okay too. Getting on the schedule has been really out of his control. Maybe me writing about it here will make it happen. Ha.
It was a big deal
While in Vail I was trying to articulate to Val what was so difficult at work that was making me miserable, and I could NOT do it. I’d like to blame that on the lack of oxygen, but the truth is, I am always that inarticulate.
Ha, here’s proof, and I hope this makes you laugh:
Like, what is going on with my brain? I was able to remember the word articulate but not inarticulate while writing this? I feel like the brainstorming and idea forming part of my brain has been on a leave of vacation for over a year. I am STRUGGLING.
Okay, but that’s not actually what I came here to write about. Back to it!
So Val is being such a great listener and I am describing what was going on and just thinking “WHY was this such a big deal?! It sounds like absolutely NOTHING when you talk about it!”
I quickly shut that thought down. It was a big deal to ME. It had national exposure and was escalated and urgent. I had to coordinate with the head of my organization (and a bunch of other folks that I won’t get in to). That’s big deal status.
But maybe looking back at it and thinking it doesn’t sound like a big deal can help me handle other big deals better in the future. Like… maybe when I am in the moment then, I will stop and think “Hey! Remember the last time you lost your s-word about something and shut off from the planet that after it was all over it didn’t seem like that big of a deal?” Maybe? What do we think? 50/50 chance?
Ha, if not that, at least I learned a lot of lessons about how to handle that specific instance, and what questions to ask when I get assigned a task I’ve never done before! Bright side!
Leadville 2024
Monday was our last full day in Colorado! After checking out Breckenridge on Saturday, and Vail on Sunday, our Monday plan was to go to Leadville. We had rented e-bikes to check out the Mineral Belt Trail a couple of weeks before our trip. I was pumped! I’ve heard a lot about this town because of the Leadville Trail 100 Run.
It was raining and foggy in Vail when we left and raining and foggy in Leadville when we arrived an hour later. I was overjoyed to be wearing a sweatshirt (newly purchased at the Vail candy shop – it says “I’m done peopling”) and drinking a hot chai on the first day of July! Yes, please! It’s just such an absolute treat to not feel miserable because of a super high dew point.
Our bike reservation was at 10:00 but it was still raining so we asked if we could move it back a bit to noon. While we waited for the weather to get better, we walked around and checked out shops. Val even got a coveted spot to shop at Melanzana. It was interesting to see what all the hoopla was about.
We picked up our e-bikes around noon and headed to the trail. I was so glad to have the assist. It was amazing to be going uphill and not get out of breath or feel like I was working at all!
it was still cloudy at the start of our ride. We rode up and saw a few mining structures, then the clouds started to part and the sun was shining for the end of our ride, which was mostly downhill. The ride was a little over 13 miles and took about 2 hours with all our stops. I really enjoyed it and would love for my dad to get to try it one day!
Did you know Leadville is the highest elevation city in the US?
Landing that jump did not feel good
We were super hungry after our ride and went in search of lunch. There used to be an all vegan restaurant (our original plan) but now they have nothing vegan at all (what a flip!), so we got Mexican food. Then we checked out a few more shops and headed a different way back to Vail than we came in, stopping to look at a pretty overpass and red rocks.
We were beat and had a chill evening – chatting, painting (a grand total of one rock, ha), and grilling. Then we called it an early night to get everything packed up and write out postcards. I was glad I threw an extra duffel bag in – we ended up using it to make packing go quicker.
On Tuesday we hung out with Val and Steve for about 45 minutes then hit the road at 8:30 to get back to their place by 11:00 (to drop off their Jeep) then to ride to the airport to fly out at 1:25. It was a long day and we got back home at 6:00.
In Georgetown, on the way back to Denver
We loved seeing all these mountain cities with Val and Steve, and are so grateful they invited us, hosted us, and showed us around. Each town had its own unique vibe, and there is so much to do out there. We were interested in white water rafting, more hiking, (me) actually running… in the future! We felt really worn out going into this trip and really worn out each day. It seems like we need to rest before we go to Colorado, as well as after. Cons of being a flatlander! Worth it though.
I felt sad leaving, but also remembered we’d see Val and Steve in less than four weeks, when they’re out here for a trip to Iowa! And I told them we’d have to plan our next get together then, so we don’t feel sad a the end of that trip.
Vail 2024
Picking up where I left off, Sunday was our first full day in Vail. Steven and I were both so exhausted coming in to this trip that we tried to get enough sleep each night. I didn’t even prioritize getting up to work out (kudos to me – that used to be really hard for me).
I just DO NOT sleep well in Colorado though. And I finally looked it up today – duh, it has to do with the altitude. It sucks – I love visiting, but feel more and more exhausted by the end of the trip because of restless sleep (I typically sleep well at home if my diet is okay, I didn’t have caffeine too late, and am not sick). I wake up feeling super out of it. Ugh. I come around after a bit though.
Okay, now that I am done whining, on Sunday we hit up the farmers’ market. We got cherries and chocolate, and stopped at Yeti’s Grind for breakfast burritos and a chai. This was our first time seeing Vail Village and I adored how cozy it was. Oh! And I must comment on how nice everyone was at the market. I feel like an ass when I spend a bunch of time in a booth and don’t buy anything, but everyone was so nice, wishing us a good day and telling us to enjoy the market.
We walked around quite a bit (we got so many steps in that day – over 22K by the end of the day), stopped to buy gondola tickets, went back to change into hiking clothes, the rode Gondola One up Vail Mountain. That ticket was EXPENSIVE, geesh, like… over $50 a person. Everyone warned us how expensive Vail is, but whoa!
We were originally going to hike up then ride the gondola down for free, then decided to ride up and hike from Gondola One to Eagle Bahn Gondola and ride down. There was not enough shade for us to do that long hike and not be miserable during it and after.
The ride up was fun. I felt like were were getting to the top then it leveled out a bit and we kept going. We hiked the mile over to Eagle Bahn Gondola to check out the Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster. I remembered the day before that this was something I’ve wanted to try and was so excited. Steven, Steve, and I bought tickets (like $35 each? eek!) and Val waited while we waited in line and rode.
Riding the coaster was thrilling! We’d all talked about not using our brakes at all, so I didn’t, then come to find out the boys did a bit. Hmm. They were the smart ones though. I hurt the left side of my neck really bad on the coaster (at least, I think that is what did it???), probably from being tossed around in that little cart due to not using my brakes. It hurt so bad I started crying from the pain in lower body class on Wednesday. I went to Immediate Care that day for something else and asked about it and they were all, “yeah, take meds, heat and ice.” That is what I figured but wanted to check since I was there. It’s thankfully feeling better today.
Wah wah wah, getting old sucks. But the ride was super fun and I’d do it again. It was about a 2 minute ride down, then a 5-ish minute ride up as you get pulled back to the top (that’s what the photo above is from).
After the coaster we went to Val’s favorite spot – the Vail Mountain Wedding Deck. It was gorgeous!
I feel like you can tell how sunny it was from how bright we look – even with those clouds in the background!
Then we rode the other gondola down and shopped and walked from Lionshead Village back to Vail Village and their place. I found some cute gifts, and a lightning bolt necklace for me that matches my earrings. We got rained on a bit on the way back. Val and Steve had told us it would rain every day, and it sure did!
We cleaned up and walked to Bully Ranch for dinner. It started to downpour right as we got there and were running to make it there without getting soaked. We went there because they had a few vegan things on the menu, but everyone was a bit meh about their dish, except the roasted brussels sprouts (and maybe the tots?). Writing this I am remembering how my stomach was popping from all the grease in that meal.
Afterward we went back to their place and played Play Nine, a kind of golf based card game. And we enjoyed some vegan lemon bars Val made. I turned into a competitive ass and quit before the game was over at nine “holes” (rounds). I just cannot play competitive games with people, especially my husband. I’m too much of an asshole. I’ve been this way for years and don’t think it will ever change. Sorry! (Val and Steve thought I was fine… Steven, not so much. Later we discussed that we should have not sat with our partners, so our partners were not passing (OR NOT PASSING) cards to us. Next time?).
Oh! I almost forgot! Val was looking at Instagram and saw people posting a rainbow in Vail and went to look, and sure enough, there was one! A double at that!
This is the view from their place! Isn’t it amazing?!
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and am employed by the federal government. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
