Well that was unusual
Last night I taught a rock painting class at my gym and I did something really weird – I didn’t take ANY photos of the students or rocks. I took ONE photo, of my plate of food to send Steven, because he had sent me a picture of his dinner.
(I ate more when I got home – there was not a lot of vegan food, nor did I expect there to be and was totally fine with that! I don’t like making my veganism a thing.)
If you know me, you’ll know it’s unusual for me not to take a ton of photos – that’s kind of my MO – I’m always documenting.
But I just wanted to be in the moment, and it felt nice. I didn’t even know where my phone was for half the class.
Did I regret it when I got home? Just a little. It does feel odd to have that photo as my only documentation. But I swear it happened!
About 15 people showed up, and everyone brought dishes to share because it was wwmsgiving – we even went around the table and said what we’re grateful for (mine was a poorly explained version of this post and how grateful I am to find new friendships and community in unexpected places). Everyone did an awesome job painting and many said how calming and relaxing it is. I’m really glad I could share it with them and they felt that way – that’s what it is for me too.
Photo I took of their rocks this morning!
Special shoutout to Bobbi for helping me set up. I got there at 5:30 for the 6:00 pm start and we were setting up for almost that entire thirty minutes. I left at 9:00 pm and still need to organize and put all my painting stuff away. Eh, I will get to it. I did get all the rocks resined and ready to take in on Monday for people to pick up though, so that’s something!
Noticeable progress
Ha, I’ve been forgetting to share workout stuff in a public post, since I write it in my private training recap, and my brain gets confused and thinks I’ve written about it, and I have, but kind of haven’t?! Anyway!
I had TWO noticeable improvements at the gym this week! On Monday, I shoulder pressed 55 lbs. I could barely do the 45 lb bar when I started! Woo hoo!
And on Tuesday I did box jumps! They’ve always scared and intimidated me, but I was able to do them!
I’m feeling proud! And so glad I joined WWM. I love our trainer, Marybel, and all the students that go there, and have so much fun strength training this way.
After talking about regretting not taking measurements at the beginning of the year, I took some in late October and think I’ll make that a monthly thing. I doubt I’ll have any noticeable progress there for a while, but maybe in several months!
Random Thoughts Thursday 430
- These photos are not great, but here is the mani I got last week. I also did a matte finish on my toes for the first time, and love it.
- I feel a lot of relief that I was able to get so much painting done in LA. I’m teaching a rock painting class at my workout studio tomorrow night and I didn’t have much prepped for it! I normally don’t do rocks with lettering but figured the positive messages made sense for a gym!
All the words ones are mine
- Ahh, speaking of rock painting, I said no to cohosting a challenge (#felinefestive) with a group of friends that I’ve hosted with previously. I really hate saying no because we have fun doing it, but the timing and my mood just aren’t right for it. I don’t want to force myself to create art for the challenge prompts, and I don’t want to spend a lot of time on Instagram looking at the entries of people who participate. I will promote the challenge and participate when I can, and maybe feel like hosting again for #felinethelove in February? I should be less busy in January and able to prep?
- I didn’t have a list of things I wanted to talk with my therapist about on Tuesday so I was just shooting the sh*t, then right when my session was ending I had a breakthrough on a big thing I need to work on. I felt silly about not realizing it beforehand until I was talking about it with Tiff and she reminded me that things often need to be talked out to get to that point. I feel good knowing we’re going to work on that at my next session! And I feel weirdly proud for continuing my therapy. Like, look at me, attempting to take care of my mental health. Ha.
A New Treasure
When we were driving back to LA from Carpinteria Saturday night, one of the questions Tiff asked me and Val was “what’s the ideal number of close friends?” Val said 5 or less. Tiff and I struggled to answer immediately, and the three of us ended up having a long discussion on what defines a “close friend.” I couldn’t define what it is succinctly, it was a lot of:
- They’re there for me when xyz
- I go to them with good and bad news
- I can be 100% myself around them
- I can be honest with them
- We give each other grace
- Etc, etc
Tell me! What defines a close friend for you? And what’s the ideal number?
(Tiff and I both settled on 10 or less)
I need to gush on them just a bit more. Val and Tiff both had thoughtful custom gifts for me [insert tears in eyes emoji] when I saw them. Tiff gave us koozies with a photo from our July trip, and Val had poems written for us!
D.M. Kingsford sets up a table with a typewriter and will write a poem for you on the spot. Val said “I told him I have a friend who is the most generous friend, she loves to help and give presents. She’s an amazing friend who is a great listener and loves to run. I told him that you’ve run marathons and ultra marathons and that you love to paint rocks.”
[seriously, insert all the tears in eyes emojis!!!!]
LA November 2023 Day 3 & 4
We had two things planned for Saturday – getting vegan donuts and meeting our rock painting friend Danny and his family in Carpinteria.
Right before I left for the trip Veg News came out with their 2023 list of best vegan restaurants. There was a restaurant in the LA area in almost every category, but the one that really caught my eye was Donut Friend, which was voted the #1 vegan donut place.
Oh! Let me start at the beginning of the day though. Val and I went on a short run around campus, then went to Tiff’s where Val braided my hair (she did the day before too – thanks, Hair by Valerie), then we headed to the donut shop.
Val and I both have major sweet tooths and were so so pumped to get donuts. I walked in and my mouth with agape with how beautiful they all were. I had a hard time deciding on which I wanted. Thankfully, we each picked out two so I got to try a lot! We got X-Ray Speculoos, Caramel on Parade, Custard Front Drive, Pumpkin Piebald, Saves the Danish, & Jimmy Eat Swirl.
We tried the custard and pumpkin in the shop and they were amazing. I think that custard donut may be the best I’ve ever had (I brought one home for Steven, which he ate Sunday and enjoyed). I wish I could go there more often, but it’s probably a good thing it’s a couple of thousand miles from home.
We stopped at Starbucks on the way out of town and picked up drinks courtesy of my snis – she sent us a gift card to use on Thursday. Thanks so much snis!
Then we continued on to Carpinteria, which took about an hour and a half. We chatted the whole way, of course.
When we got to town we met up with Danny and he showed us around until his wife and daughter came and joined us. Their town is so beautiful – just a small downtown right next to the ocean. It wasn’t super crowded, which I appreciated. Very chill vibes!
We walked a bit more then got lunch at The Good Plow. Tiff and I split the falafel burger and fried cauliflower tacos, and Val and I split the brussels sprouts.
After lunch we checked out a makers market in Summerland (and I got a chai from Red Kettle Coffee),
then we headed back to Carpinteria and Danny’s family went home. Tiff, Val, and I went to a t-shirt shop,
then we continued on to Rincon Beach. Danny had mentioned the tide would be low so we could check out the tide pools. I’m so glad we did – it was super neat! We saw starfish, anemones, a million clams, crabs, and other creatures I’d never seen before!
We set up a little camp and each painted a “create” rock,
then we took some silly jumping photos,
and headed back. While we were walking back to the car, we saw dolphins jumping the waves! That was truly magical for this Midwest girl.
It was awesome to get so much time with Danny and his family, and to see the beautiful area they live in. We had been talking about going to the ocean but I hadn’t thought about how fulfilling that would be. I’m really glad we did.
I drove us back to Tiff’s, which took about 2 hours and twenty minutes, yikes. But, Tiff googled some great questions on her phone to ask and we had deep, connecting conversations, which made the trip so memorable. Thank you Tiff!
We went to her place and shopped her homemade ceramics, painted a bit, and ordered a mediocre vegan pizza from Jay’s (sorry, gals) then finished our rocks and called it a night early so we could get packed up and ready to go for our early flights. Wah!
While there, I kept saying the days felt really long but went by so fast. I know you know what I mean. I love how time moves slower with them, since I am truly focusing on things I love doing each hour, and feel absolutely present. I’m so grateful for our time together.
I packed up Saturday night and went to bed and was delighted both cats slept with me! I was up at 4:45 am the next morning (I should note, we all went to bed at reasonable times on this trip and I tried to get a decent amount of sleep) and did a bit on my computer then got ready and took care of a few house things. Tiff picked us up at 6:15 and drove us to LAX. It was a bummer to say goodbye, but we’ll all be together again in February!
LA November 2023 Day 1 & 2
I just got back from spending the long weekend with Tiff and Val in LA (where Tiff lives)!
When we parted ways in July we weren’t expecting to all be together again until February so I’m absolutely thrilled this trip came together! I really cherish my time with them – I can be 100% myself and know they completely accept me as I am. It feels weird to point that out, but spending time with them made me realize I can’t always do that and how draining it is when I can’t*. So, thank you for that, Tiff & Val! It means more to me than I can coherently explain.
We didn’t have many plans for our time there. I’ve been so go go go lately that I really wanted to have downtime with them to chat and paint (and eat!!!). The ONE thing on my list was redoing a trip to the Griffith Observatory since it was so foggy when Steven and I went in March. And we had plans to meet up with a rock painting friend Saturday (more on that in the next post).
Val and I arrived at LAX late Thursday afternoon, and Tiff picked us up and drove us to her neighborhood, where her lovely neighbor let us stay in their home and watch their cats while they were away. Val and I were stoked to have kitty time – we miss our cats when we’re away! And I was excited to save money on housing, ha ha.
Bowie & Roxie. Bowie would hang out a bit and slept with me each night, Roxie was shy and didn’t show up much but slept with me the last night and let me pet her!
Thursday night was chill. We hung out at Tiff’s house and had burgers (from Burgerlords) and painted.
I’m teaching a rock painting class this Friday night at my gym so I focused on positive affirmation rocks.
On Friday we walked down to Cal State and got drinks (chai for me) and wandered campus for a bit. Tiff’s husband and their kids came down a bit later and joined us. I adore her family and loved our time with them. Her husband is kind, welcoming, so chill, and hilarious, and the kids are so sweet.
After our walk we painted,
and Tiff’s close friend Trudy came over to join us for the day. Val and I have heard so much about Trudy and really wanted to meet her, and we’re both so glad she joined us for the day! She had amazing energy and was so fun to talk to. It made me feel good knowing Tiff has such an amazing friend close by that she gets to see often!
We ordered from Cena, a vegan Mexican place, for lunch and HOLY COW they gave us so much food. I ordered a torta to try and loaded fries to share with Val (who let me try her tacos). I had NO idea how big tortas were! I ate 1/3 then worked on it a bit that night and the next day and maybe left 1/3 of it behind? Ha, I did my best. It was ALL delish. Steven would have loved it.
After eating all that food we were properly fueled (ha ha) for our Griffith hike and headed out! The hike to the observatory itself was just under a mile, and we got to see the Hollywood sign on the way up (and for most of the hike). I felt a bit bummed seeing it because I knew Steven wanted to when he was here, and we were right there but it was just too foggy. He’ll get another chance, I’m sure.
After we went by the observatory it was another 1.5 miles to an overlook where we could see a lot of the city.
I’m so happy Tiff took me there and that I got to see the city from that view. We had beautiful weather and it was pretty clear (for LA) – we could even see the ocean!
And I loved all that time the four of us had together to chat and goof around. Trudy definitely matched our silly vibes!
We hiked back down then went home to clean up, and decided to get ice cream for dinner. Ha. Everyone was still pretty full from lunch but we needed a little something so we went to Magpies Softserve which has vegan ice cream pies, and that was one of the most amazing things I’ve EVER eaten (I got the Cookie Butter Softserve Pie). Steven would have loved that place too!
We stopped in one shop then went back to Tiff’s to watch part of The Californians (a ridiculous SNL skit about Californians talking about traffic) and Center Stage, while painting. A great end to a great day!
Ha, that night, while I was sleeping, I heard some meowing in a dream, then woke up and realized the meowing was outside. It was Roxie, outside of the screen window of the room I was in, asking to be let in! Bowie and Roxie are indoor/outdoor cats and we closed their door at dusk each night as instructed but since Roxie was so shy we never knew if she was in when we closed it! (She was the first night, not on the second, then was on the third. Silly girl.)
*during the trip, before, and after. Some people make me so anxious to be around that it affects me for weeks before and after seeing them!
Seventeen Year Runniversary!
On yesterday’s run I remembered today is my Runniversary! I started running on this day in 2006! 🥳
I’m in such a different place with running this year than I was compared to the past couple of years, and I’m so happy for it. I went to my blog and searched “runniversary” and the post that popped up was from two years ago. In it I talked about running not being as enjoyable and getting injured more often because of my weight. And I joked that rock painting would take over as my new obsessive hobby.
It totally did. And the social media that went along with it. (It’s not the only reason why but) I didn’t focus on my health.
This year, I reprioritized. I took December – February off running (good timing, right? ha) to focus on walking and my eating habits, and I started running again in March. I took it very slow – I took a few months to train for a 5K in June, then got half marathon ready for a half I didn’t do in mid August (I ran one last month and felt great though!), and have kept my double distance mileage up since then.
I stopped tracking my overall mileage and how many days a week I ran. I stopped caring how far I ran and stopping my watch on a .00. I rarely ran with pace on my Garmin screen before, and still don’t now – it just shows the time of day and beeps at each mile.
In a year that’s been so chaotic (mostly in good ways!), I’ve somehow been able to develop a balanced (for me) approach to running. Maybe out of necessity from the chaos? It feels good though. It feels like a much healthier relationship. I absolutely love running, but am fine to go a day (or days) without it. I’m not obsessing over stats. I’m not hurting myself. I’m proud that I’ve been so careful in my return to running, and respectful of my body.
I hope I am writing something similar next year on November 10th!
I am eyeing the Denver Marathon next May. I know it’s possible to be this casual about running and successfully train for a marathon (that I’ll be running for fun). I will keep myself in check though. I don’t want to go back to my old obsessive ways! (and again, the chaos likely won’t let me!)
Random Thoughts Thursday 429
- My INR appointments have been going well, and at this week’s we scheduled my next one for 4 weeks out. That’s the longest I’ve gone between appointments and I’m excited we’ve gotten to this point (and hope to stay here)!
- Part I of the vegan whole turkey reel I made this weekend did really well on Instagram and that made me feel so good! I work hard on these and we usually don’t get much interaction or many views. The Instagram feedback was very positive (YouTube, not so much – which I expected).
View this post on Instagram
- I thought it would be fun to rent My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 and enjoy views of Greece and a cheesy story, but it was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I’ll be thinking about how bad it was for some time. Ha. (Mostly, the story was very weak and disjointed – it was almost like they had AI write it. The editing was bizarre and confusing. The acting was meh and the actors all looked bizarre (maybe they were trying to cover up their aging?). Most of the jokes were repeats and the only ones that made me legit laugh were from Aunt Voula. Do NOT recommend. This review from the LA Times nails it.)
I was so optimistic when I took this
- More media complaining. I am annoyed with the show Silo. At first I liked seeing the book series come alive but I quickly felt annoyed with how much they changed and added and are dragging things out. I wonder if I’d like it better if I hadn’t read the series.
- I don’t have a photo of this, but Snow Jr ate out of a food tube I was holding last weekend! He is becoming more and more comfortable with me.
- OMG the one RAVE from this post. I tried a new-to-me Ben & Jerry’s vegan flavor – Americone Dream – it’s it’s amazing. They describe it as “Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert With Fudge-Covered Waffle Cone Pieces & A Caramel Swirl.” Steven said it may be his fave from them!
Reading Update (2023 #59-61)
[59] House Moms by Jen Lancaster
Fiction / Women?, Amazon First Reads Book, Kindle
Synopsis: Three women are attempting to reinvent themselves in a small town university in rural Indiana. Janelle is hiding from the mob – she literally has a new identity and made up past, CeCe’s glam life came tumbling down when her husband ran away after embezzling funds and she is looking for a place to stay and way to survive, and her daughter Hayden is attempting to be independent. Janelle and CeCe end up as sorority house moms, and Hayden works at a local coffee shop and takes graduate classes.
Review: Well, if my half-assed synopsis didn’t give it away, I didn’t love this book. It was kind of bizarrely disjointed. The writing was really casual, but not in a fun way. I didn’t care about 2 of the 3 stories, and barely cared about the third. Why did I even finish this? Meh.
Recommend? No
[60] Pageboy by Elliot Page
Biography & Autobiography / LGBTQ, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, audiobook
TW: homophobic slurs
Synopsis: Elliot Page shares snippets of his life story from childhood to current day.
Review: Y’all, this is an emotional listen. Prepare to feel lots of feelings when you take it in. Page did an excellent job describing the angst and hatred he felt toward his body and the person others wanted him to be. Honestly, the book made me feel like absolute shit until he got top surgery and finally felt like himself. And I think that’s a good thing – for the reader to feel how hard that is. But whoa, it’s intense.
A lot of reviewers complain that the book is not chronological and reads like poetry. It didn’t bother me as much listening to it, but I can see me putting the book down had I been reading it. Elliot’s monotone did annoy me at times though, ha.
Recommend? Yes, if you are ready to feel all the feelings
[61] A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
Fiction / Family Life / Siblings, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, audiobook
Synopsis: Natalie hasn’t spoken to her two siblings in fifteen years, since she was 18 and got them both arrested and sent to jail. She also hasn’t been home to Santa Cruz since – she went to college in Boston and never returned. But she hears from a lawyer that her mother passed and left her historic Victorian mansion to the three siblings if and only if the three of them show up at the house together. Natalie treks back to California to see if she can get her two siblings to show up.
Review: This book was interesting and kept me engaged. I appreciated the reveal of why the siblings went to jail early on in chapter 5 and not making us wait until the near end of the book. And I liked all the sub stories going on – Natalie’s work and boyfriend issues and trying to find herself, Natalie making new friends and love interests, what’s been going on with Natalie’s siblings. They were all characters I felt invested in.
I do have to say though, the narrator bugged me. I hated how she did men’s voices, and she kind of talked like Holly Hunter, ugh. And Natalie is a bit frustrating. She makes poor choices, is a meddler, and her cat was lost for half the book and her level of worry was too low for me, ha. But at the same time, I found myself getting defensive of Natalie and worried about certain situations, so even though she frustrated me, I was rooting for her.
It tied up a bit rapidly and neatly, but whatever, at least they didn’t leave me hanging.
Recommend? Sure!
Making myself paint
Ha, I said this back in May and it’s still true – when I’m not painting after dinner, I’m snacking or thinking I need second portions (while scrolling my phone and not paying attention to whatever we have on the TV).
It’s gotta stop.
Even though I don’t feel the urge to paint, I need to do something with my hands after dinner that does not involve eating or my phone.
So I got the paint out last night.
These aren’t my best rocks, but at least I painted! I hadn’t since I did with William on October 15th. And before that I hadn’t since September 17th.
Like I said, I just don’t feel the urge or desire to paint as much anymore. That’s probably a good thing – I was obsessive about it for a couple years and felt like I needed to paint most days and definitely have something new to post on my rock Instagram account each day.
It feels good to be broken away from that way of thinking.
And at the same time it felt good to paint again. Ha.
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 work in an account management role. 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! 🙂
