An extra hour
What did everyone do with their extra hour yesterday?
I had to work a bit this weekend (cooking, and filming and editing reels for Fake Meats – lasagna Saturday, vegan turkey yesterday) so I like to think I used that hour for work and still have time for me! If that makes ANY sense.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if our days were always 25 hours long? Not in the sense that our earth got so off orbit that that happened, just if we somehow had an extra hour each day, but we weren’t used to that extra hour, so every day felt longer. Or maybe not everyone wants the days to feel longer. Ha.
Side note: it’s hard to make all this food for my part time job and not overeat, womp womp
What if…
… I had the right gear (and bike) to cycle through the winter?
It was 32°F when I started my ride this morning. My toes (socks too thin) and thumbs were cold.
This is the crazy thought that entered my head just after mile 10 of this morning’s ride, which is when I always stop to hide a rock and fuel. At this point I’ve warmed up, I’ve lightened my load (today’s rock was HEAVY), I’ve got some sugar in my system, and I’ve just gone down a hill and turned on to a road in the full daylight and felt the sun warming me up.
Basically, no decisions should be made at that point.
But what if…
Holiday spirit
What’s your stance on holiday (Christmas) music?
I’m Team Play it November 1st. But I know some people fall into Team Never, Team December Only, & Team Christmas Day Only.
On October 22nd I was at Kohl and they were playing Christmas music. I text my mom and snis about it and I loved that my snis responded “here for it.”
It was too early for me, but I love that it wasn’t for her. And that’s really what I came here to say – I love how much my mom and snis love the holiday season, and that the three of us share that*. I mean, it makes sense we do – we got it from my mom, but still, I get a lot of joy out of it. It feels good knowing that when I see something Christmassy that makes me feel happy that they’ll be just as excited when I share it with them.
Christmas 2022
But gosh, my brain does still feel like it’s way too early to be thinking about the holidays. My brain is stuck in September or something.
*I still feel very lazy about doing any prep for it, but I greatly enjoy the season
Choosing time off
I had my annual review* this week and decided to choose time off instead of a monetary bonus for my individual performance award (the monetary bonus = what you’d get paid for the time off).
I thought about this decision for a while, compared to my usual “go with your gut” decision making process. I just booked our Europe trip and it was $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, and the holidays are coming up and I’ll be spending money on gifts. And in December I start to get 4 more hours of leave a month (which equates to 5.33~ more days off a year).
BUT! I saved for that Europe trip and have the money to pay it off. I can charge holiday gifts and pay them off before the charge is due. And even though I will start getting more leave this month, I have LOTS of ideas in my head for travel next year, and want the cushion to be able to take a day off to relax when we get back if I want. And I want to take random days and chunks of time of here and there. Right now I get 17.33 days off a year + federal holidays + every other Friday (+ separate sick leave that always rolls over). Next year I should have 23.11 days + 4.88 days + federal holidays + every other Friday = about 10.66 extra days.
Woo hoo!
Really I’m just coming here to say I am getting PUMPED about 2024. And I hope talking about it now doesn’t jinx it! Eek! Here’s my tentative travel list:
January: nada
February: Atlanta Olympic Marathon Trials?, [location unplanned] Trip with Tiff & Val
March: NC (to see Caitlin & Joe)
April: Europe – the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium (the only trip that is planned and paid for)
May: Denver, CO (see Val/run Marathon)
June: Vail, CO (see Val & Steve)
July: Guttenberg, Iowa River & RAGBRAI (hopefully with Tiff and Val and their fams!), 40th Birthday Trip #2
August: Guttenberg, Iowa Abel Island Fly-In (Steven will have his certificate and we can actually rent a plane and fly in!!!)
September: nada
October: Girls’ Trip with Christina & Ella
November: nada
December: nada
Christina and Ella and I did not repeat our girls’ trip this year (in 2022 we went to LA). We intended to go to a new location, then life got too busy for all of us (especially Ella), so we talked about making it biennial. We just picked a weekend for next year, yay!
*I’m always surprised when I score high in the Leadership category and my supervisor calls me a natural proactive leader *insert face holding back tears emoji* I’m NEVER surprised when I score “successful” (and not higher) in the analysis category. I HATE analyzing things. But, uh, I better get better at it since it’s part of my job.
Pretty much unrelated (also, TW: body size and weight), I was getting ready to delete all of the October 2022 photos off my computer (I keep photos on my computer for a year then remove them – they’re all backed up in two locations) and I opened up one and saw this photo of me, Ella, and Christina on October 30th last year.
First of all, Ella you are two cute with that silly face. Second, my snis looks gorg, and third, just wow. My face. I look so much bigger than I do now:
That’s the three of us on October 16th this year.
It’s odd. When I’m overweight like I am in the first photo I never feel upset with myself. I try to buy clothes that fit and do the best I can. Sure, I knew I was overweight and not taking care of myself at all, but… it didn’t bug me every day. I didn’t hate on myself. I accepted me. I wasn’t upset when I saw photos of myself. I thought that was a cute photo of us three at the time.
But now? Now I look at it and don’t even see the same person! Which feels odd to me, like… why didn’t you notice the difference then, Kim? I suppose because I wasn’t looking at photos of myself at a smaller size, because that would make me feel crappy.
Ha! That reminds me of someone who used to often send me photos of myself at a much smaller size and it did always make me feel like sh*t.
So I guess I was avoiding seeing it.
In the same vein that I don’t notice it as much on myself unless I compare photos, I don’t really notice weight loss/gain on other people either (unless it’s drastic, I guess?).
People notice it on me though. I get lots of comments on my public Instagram account on it when I post my weekly hiding reels, which feature my body each day of the year. The comments are all very nice and no one has gotten weird, which I appreciate. Everyone is encouraging and cheering me on. And I have said a few times over there that I am focusing on my health this year, so it’s not a secret.
I suppose I am just surprised people notice since I don’t tend to notice on others.
Oh! Then there was one person who said “Stop losing weight! You’re going to disappear. Seriously, I am getting nervous 💙 “. Ha. My snis left the best comment, which I screenshot for prosperity (and am glad I did because they deleted their comment):
Anyone who knows Kim knows that she does things the correct way. Nothing about her health journey should be alarming you, and she is very proud of the progress she’s worked so hard for, as are those who support and love her. This comment is not helpful, and discounts all her efforts. 👎
You probably won’t see this, but I love you snis!
Gosh, this post went down a long rambly path. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Random Thoughts Thursday 428
- Here’s the mani I got from Lorena last week!
- Pretty soon I’ll be doing holiday manis, which just blows my mind. I’m excited about the winter holidays, but feel so burned out I don’t want to devote any headspace to planning or decorating. I just want to show up to things with a gift magically in my hands.
- I have the weirdest AI story to tell. I was having a hard time finding some info about a company I was writing at article on for my parttime job, so I asked AI to do some research for me and it came back with a name and founding year of the company. I was shocked because I didn’t find either when I looked for them. So I asked AI for the source for both and it was basically like “my bad, I made those up.” Ha. WTF! This is why I fact check everything I get from AI, and just use it for a framework. Maybe I needed to tell it to only give me factual information.
- The acupuncture place never called me back about whether they accept my insurance. I called and they said they were still waiting, then got a EOB for well over what I paid. So… I am guessing they do not? Womp womp.
2023 Goals Check-in #10
I’ll be posting monthly check-ins on my 2023 Goals. This is check-in #10!
Take care of my health
Gosh, this month was wild. I got on vacation mode with my eating on October 1st and never really got back on track (and unfortunately, had some binging). I was just hoping not to gain too much – 3.3% gain (20.4% loss for the year).
There will be months* like that. Onward!
I ran, walked, biked, and took strength classes at WWM this month. I’m proud of myself for biking in the colder temps. I did one race – the Shorewood Hot Cider Hustle Half Marathon – and had a great time.
I had two therapy sessions, two massages, and two (good!) INR check-ins. I journaled. I tried meditation. I saw lots of loved ones. I only painted once. I just want to numb out at night – getting all my supplies out and using my brain feels like too much.
*Well, actually, I hope there are not entire months like this again, but there will be celebrations, vacations, overeating, and the off days that follow them
Spend less
(mostly tracking my two vices – sending packages and getting Starbucks)
January: $248.76
February: $81
March: $72.54
April: $44.40
May: $37.37
June: $99.47
July: $15.09
August: $48.86
September: $32.35
October: $0
Total: $679.84
I didn’t spend any money on shipping this month, which is great, but this was actually a hella expensive month. I spent money on/at:
- Kohl – clothes for Steven, holiday gifts, new luggage, sheets
- WWM – two new tops and a hoodie
- Goodrs – two pairs
- Half Marathon
- Shitterfly magnets
- Holiday and birthday gifts
- Haircut and balayage
- Shitterfly holiday cards
- Europe flight tickets & hotels
This month was YIKES level expensive. November will be better, even though I’ll be buying holiday gifts, because there is no way I will spend as much as I did on the Europe trip.
I got Starbucks 4x, eek (all still on gift cards/free, but that’s a lot!) – 10/4 at office, 10/8 at the airport, 10/18 at the office (free one!), and 10/25 at the office AGAIN. I am going to break that office habit in November.
Continue to purge things I don’t use from the house
I have two bags to take to Goodwill in my car!
Visit a new state with Steven
We visited two new states – Maine and New Hampshire!
Maine Day 1
Maine Day 2
Maine Day 3
Maine/New Hampshire Day 4
Maine Day 5
Hide a rock a day for the year
Still doing this and so so ready to be done!
Things I’m excited about in November
Let’s bring this series back! And let’s see if I can remember to do it on a month-by-month basis.
Things I’m excited about in November:
- Getting back to my usual diet
- A (so far) less busy month than October
- Starting to listen to holiday music
- Extra days off work (Veterans Day, Thanksgiving)
- A trip to LA to see Tiff and Val
- Teaching a rock painting class at WWM (where I work out)
- Mailing our holiday cards (I’ll send the Australian ones tomorrow!)
- Mom & Dad visiting
- Getting our holiday tree
- Steven’s first solo flight?
What are you excited about in November?
When you don’t want your guests to leave
Our month began and closed with seeing Courtney* and David, yay!
At the beginning of the month we flew down to Eureka Springs and saw them, and this Friday they flew out to Chicago and spent the weekend with us. We’d been talking about them visiting in the fall, and I’m so glad it worked out for them to come this weekend – how lucky we got to see them twice this year and so close together! Now we need to plan our next visit!
We did the usual “Visiting Kim & Steven” activities:
- El Famous
- Warehouse Tour
- House & Dragonstone Tour (it was their first time at our house)
- Meeting and giving all the cats lots of treats and pets
- Staying up late talking & playing games
- Eating too much food
- Going to Wisconsin (they really liked Milwaukee!):
- The Vanguard
- Sip & Purr
- The Milwaukee Art Museum
-
- Experiencing Woodman’s
- Wildberry Cafe
- Seeing some of the local forest preserves
We had a wonderful time taking them to our favorite restaurants, showing them around, introducing them to the cats, and just sitting and chatting. We can sit and chat with Courtney and David for hours and we do, and we often loose track of time and stay up very late. I’m proud that we all called it a night by midnight each night. Good work, team!
Courtney and David were so excited to meet our cats and right when we arrived home Tywin came running to greet them. Aww. Apollo and Starbuck were social-ish from the start, and Khali and Ned warmed up to them and were hanging out by the end of the trip. I love when people are so excited to meet our crew. And when our crew cooperates.
When we went to Sip & Purr on Saturday I dropped of 31 rocks for them to sell – 11 of my own and 20 that others had sent me. Before I even put prices on them, I had sold one. Woo hoo!
Me and Katy, the Sip & Purr owner
Our wonderful weekend left me with a full heart. I can’t wait to see them again!
*Courtney is a blogging friend I made back in 2005
Booked!
This month has been such a whirlwind. In ways it feels as busy as my July did with those three trips to Iowa – this month had two out of state trips, two sets of visitors, and a race (and I feel like I’m forgetting something?).
I’ve been on autopilot. I’ve been getting my work done (for both jobs). I’ve been working out and enjoying it. I’ve been making and going to self-care appointments (massage, therapy, INR). I’ve been taking care of the cats and house. I’ve been journaling. I’ve been checking things off my to do list.
What haven’t I been doing? Painting. Eating well (more on that in my check in next week). Keeping as in touch with people as I’d like. Planning ahead for the holidays.
I’ve really been living day by day. I plan future things and book them, then kind of forget about them. Like… this LA trip next month. How is it less than 2 weeks away? Whoa that got here fast.
And… drumroll… I booked our Europe trip last week! I haven’t even taken time to process that I did! I booked the flights and hotels and one of the activities. It was a to do thing on a busy day last week and I booked it all then went on with my day.
So I am really coming here to say, yay! That is all booked! And I will take time to process it and get really excited this week. We’re going to Amsterdam, Dresden, and Brussels in spring 2024 for an early 40th birthday celebration for me (don’t worry, I still want to go all out for my actual 40th in July – parties, more trips, etc.).
It was my first time working with a travel agent, Stephany‘s friend Amber from Booked Travel Planners and I had/am having the best experience with her and am so happy I went the travel agent route! I 100% recommend her!
But, again, I will get excited about that next week. For now I have to get back to our guests – Courtney and David are visiting this weekend from Arkansas and we’re having a great time! I’m sad they leave tonight!
Random Thoughts Thursday 427
- Last week I armed myself with Churus in an attempt to get a photo of all four cats together for our holiday card. There were a lot of bloopers, but with the help of Photoshop and AI, I had success!
- I ordered our holiday cards Saturday night. It feels good to have that done. I’m super impressed with myself for even thinking about doing it, because I have NO concept of time lately. I know where I’m supposed to be each day, but not the date, or what month it is.
- All that being said, I have ordered some holiday gifts already – because my snis asked me if I wanted first dibs on her kids’ wishlists. Yes please! Thanks, snis!
- I’ve been thinking about bringing back my “things I’m excited about this month” series that I used to post at the beginning of each month. It was a fun exercise that got me excited for each month. I probably stopped it because I had nothing going on? No idea.
- Today is Ned’s Gotcha Day! He’s lived with us (inside) for two years! We love our little bear cat.
- Speaking of outdoor black cats, Snow Jr is becoming much more comfortable with me and even sniffed my hand last week! He and Tywin are both on the (the backside of) holiday card. And no, I do not want them inside, although I do think I should get Tywin fixed.
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! 🙂
