Night flight
We went on a flight last night after 4 weeks off. FOUR UNINTENTIONAL WEEKS OFF!
I mean, the first couple of weeks were intentional because we did that big trip to Arkansas and back. But then we had flight cancellations due to airplane availability and weather and I was getting c-r-a-n-k-y.
And I know you guys really missed these posts too!
Ha, that’s a joke.
Anyway. We have a flight planned with my dad this week and we wanted to make sure we remembered how to fly (joking…), so we went after work to the TOP SECRET LOCATION we are taking him to. (Don’t get excited, Dad, it’s not actually cool.)
We took off right after sunset and flew in the dusk on the way there and in the dark on the way back. You know what I LOVE about flying during those times? I can see the other airplanes much easier because of their lights and contrast against the sky. I can see them MUCH better than during the day. So yeah, night flying is great for seeing traffic (not so much for emergency landings since you can’t see much of the ground but… eh?).
I was totally on my A game warning about traffic and being an amazing copilot in general. My goal is to end ONE flying session without Steven having to correct me on something or tell me not to do something. Maybe someday! I’m learning! (This is not a bad thing – I need to learn.)
Steven actually said I was on my A game and asked me how since we hadn’t flown in a month and I told him I’d been practicing and researching. I spent time figuring out how to use Foreflight so I could have more information more easily accessible for us, I’ve been studying the airports we talk about flying to, and I’ve researched how to communicate traffic better.
It was a fun flight. I am looking forward to doing it in the daylight with Steven and Dad!
(Technical notes for me – we flew N408ES, we flew about 50 kn each way, first flight was 4:44-5:18, second was 5:55-6:38, we stayed below 3,000′ because it was overcast, it felt cold on the ramp with the wind (mid 40s) and I turned the cabin heat on)
Stories from the weekend
I have to post some of these now so Random Thoughts Thursday isn’t SUPER long!
WWM Celebrations
The gym I go to turned 5 last week and there were celebrations all week long. On Friday night there was a workout party where we all wore the same outfit, did a warmup and short band workout together, then worked on deadlifts, chest presses, and squats (there was also food and drinks). Sounds lame when I describe it, but it was a blast and my throat hurt from doing so much cheering.
Then on Saturday I went to the 7:00 am class, then went home and showered and came back for 9:15 am book club. I was not expecting folks to be so vulnerable and emotional during book club! Just goes to show what a safe and welcoming environment the gym is. I really enjoyed hearing their experiences and what they got out of the book (Self Made: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way by Nely Galán). What I read of the book just made me anxious.
(Short side vent – folks wrote suggestions for the next book club book on strips of paper, then we drew them and the last one drawn was the winner. When I was adding my suggestion I saw there was a Colleen Hoover book on the list. The first book club was a book of hers and the reason I didn’t go. If she was selected AGAIN I was going to say something (like, can we PLEASE have a different author since the last book was one of hers?!). She was the last to be eliminated! GAH, suspenseful!!!!! They ended up with The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, which I’ve read and liked.)
That was quick!
I ordered our Shitterfly holiday cards on Tuesday and they arrived Saturday! SPEEDY! Now I’m just waiting for the holiday stamps to arrive. I gotta get those Australia cards in the mail soon! It takes forever to get there!
Overdid it
I knew I was going to overdo it last week. I went to five classes plus the bonus workout party Friday night, plus bookclub, and spent my Friday off working and running around to get a tire fixed on my car. Then on Saturday I got groceries and spent a few more hours working. On Sunday when I got back from my (shorter than planned because I was beat) run I put joggers and a sweatshirt on and sat on the couch with Steven for several hours before we did anything productive (we eventually organized the shelves in our office which REALLY needed it). Ahh. I felt so much better. I just can’t be on the go all the time. It’s not for me. I’m grateful I had two days (Monday was a holiday) to be more chill after that.
The end of an era
Ha. Yesterday I finally replaced the toothbrush I’ve had since July 2015.
Ew! It’s not like that – it’s electric!
I remember my snis gave it to me for my golden birthday in 2015. The battery part of it finally corroded. It still works but seems to be running a bit slower. Crazy it lasted this long and they still have this model. I’m very much a fan of buying the same thing over and over again if it generally works (and just gets worn out). It’s so frustrating when you want to replace something that works for you and “improvements” have been made to it that aren’t really improvements. Anyway.
Not actually a compliment
I was going to share this story from work this week and a compliment someone gave me, then the more I thought about it, the more I realized the entire conversation we had was a dig at veganism. Ha. I’ll still share it though.
Long story short (hopefully), I was talking about Thanksgiving with a couple coworkers. Let’s call them Marge and Lisa. Marge said to me, while making a face, “oh, you make that vegan thing that’s shaped like a turkey?”
I ignored the face and tone and shared that yes I was, and was excited about it, then asked about their meal plan.
But Lisa said “Did I know you were vegan? I don’t think I did!”
And Marge responded with, “Yeah, she is but hasn’t made it her whole identity.”
This is the part I thought was a compliment. I don’t want it to be my whole identity. I don’t want it to be the first thing people think about when they think about me. I don’t want someone to think about what I eat unless we are going to be sharing a meal (or they’re surprising me with a treat).
I don’t want to be the asshole vegan. Gawd, there are so so many, and they are freaking unbearable.
So I told them, “Yeah, I am! And thanks, I don’t want it to be my whole identity. I just do it for the animals.”
Then Marge said “well lucky them.”
Sigh.
I have a lot of other thoughts about someone being bothered by a thing I do that doesn’t affect them at all, but I promised I’d keep this short! So, happy Friday! Enjoy whatever you eat today!
Random Thoughts Thursday 472
- When I was flipping through radio stations Tuesday morning I thought I heard sleigh bells and sure enough a station had already switched over to holiday music – 5 days earlier on November 1! I’m here for it. I’m not a huge Thanksgiving fan so this doesn’t feel too early to me.
- So I was very happy to get my first Starbucks holiday cup yesterday:
- And to wear some holiday sunnies on my run today:
- Speaking of Starbucks! Val picked me up the Italy and Rome “You Are Here” mugs on her trip and I am so excited to receive them! And to hear all about her trip.
- I can’t remember if I mentioned (and too lazy to look), but it’s the gym’s 5 year anniversary and there have been theme days all week, and there is a party tomorrow, and book club Saturday. Yesterday’s theme was “Mean Girls” and I LOVED seeing everyone’s outfits (on socials, I wasn’t there since I usually do my office day on Wednesday). Today was “Anything but a Water Bottle” and I wasn’t sure if I’d participate, then when I was getting dressed this morning I saw Steven left an empty Listerine Bottle on the bathroom floor (to remind him to grab another from storage) so I rinsed that out and used it. Ha.
- I really like the RAGRABI logo for 2025. I hope it goes somewhere central or north so Dad and I can participate. And I hope it doesn’t interfere with other summer happenings.
Reading Update (2024 #67-69)
[67] The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone #1) by Abby Jimenez
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, rec from Val, Kindle
Synopsis: Kristen and Josh have a connection from their first meeting, but it isn’t meant to be – she’s dating someone. Even if she wasn’t, she’s going to have a medical procedure that makes it impossible to have children, and Josh wants a big family. Kristen hires Josh to work for her parttime and as they spend more time together, they become closer.
Review: What even is this book. Gawd. This is the classic “keeping a secret” trope for most of the entire freaking book and it MADE ME INSANE. (Spoiler) After Kristen and Josh hook up (she’s broken up with her boyfriend) she’s like “we can only be friends with benefits” then starts being a total bitch to him most of the time, because she wants to keep him at arm’s length because she’s decided for both of them they don’t have a future because of the medical thing she isn’t telling him about. GAH. Kristen obviously has a lot of trauma and self worth issues because of her past but it’s barely touched on so you’re just like “WhY iS sHe DoInG tHiS?” Don’t even get me started on the very dark turn toward the end of the book. This wasn’t the story for me!
Recommend? No
[68] How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, Kindle
TW: suicide
Synopsis: In high school Helen’s sister jumped in front of another student’s (Grant’s) car, and died by suicide. Fifteen years later Helen’s a YA novelist and her book series is being made into a TV show. She joins the writer’s room and discovers Grant is one of the writers. She wants to hate him, but it’s harder than she thought it would be.
Review: So many thoughts. First, this is a really interesting (disturbing) premise. Even though the death was not Grant’s fault, it’s obviously affected him deeply, and he has debilitating anxiety attacks. He seems happy in public, but alone, he’s a shell of a person. Helen is a first generation immigrant and the way she was raised has affected her (traumatized her) so much. She can’t imagine being as cheerful and carefree as Grant in public. She struggles with basic interactions and questions why anyone would ever want to spend time with her, because she wasn’t outwardly shown love growing up. These two are a mess, and therefore pretty interesting yet… the whole “we can have sex and that’s it” trope was too fresh after the first book so it was a struggle at times.
Recommend? Nah
[69] To the Gorge : Running, Grief, and Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail by Emily Halnon
Biography & Autobiography / Sports, heard about from Ali on the Run, audio
TW: cancer, death (including humans and a dog)
Synopsis: Halnon runs the entire Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail (with a goal of getting the FKT – Fastest Known Time) in honor of her late mother, who passed away from cancer. She intersperses stories of her mother, her mother’s cancer, and her sister-in-law’s cancer between recaps of running the trail.
Review: I’ve been interested in this book since Ali mentioned it on her podcast and am so glad I did the audio version. Hearing this from Emily herself felt so raw and real. I would not have felt that if I read it on Kindle.
There is a lot of grief in this story. Her mother passed in January 2020 and she did this run in August 2020. And her mother passing was not the only bad thing going on in her life. So know that going into it. But it’s beautifully done. I felt like the stories she told about her mother, her family, and herself were perfectly placed within her recap of running the trail. It was a lovely exploration of her grief. A little bit of me was like “I want more running stats” – but then she gave them all in appendices in the end.
Recommend? Yes
Stories from the weekend
Khali and Starbuck’s vet visit
Khali and Starbuck had their annual vet visit Friday. They’re healthy! Although Khali had a “senior” blood draw. SORRY MISS KHALI YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO AGE. (She will turn 9 next year.)
But I’m here to talk about Starbuck. Oh, Starbuck. I gave her one gabapentin, even though part of my brain said two. I mean, look at her, she is so smöl! Surely one will work?
No. One gaba was one too few. She was sleepy limp kitty at home but once she got into the car she had ALL THE STRENGTH! Then acted like she was on catnip at the appointment, rolling around on the ground and jumping all over the place.
I told her she was embarrassing the family after how well Apollo behaved last time. The vet reassured me she was fine, just a bit squirmy (she wasn’t being mean or cowering). Anyway, two gaba next time.
And to top it all off, she went under this lid and did the biggest cat poop I’ve ever seen. What a little stinker. Literally.
The good news is we had a fresh fecal sample! Fun times.
All that flight planning for nothing!
We had plans to fly with Josh on Saturday, and Steven wanted ME to sit in the front (eek!) so I did prep for the flight on Thursday and Friday so I wouldn’t look like (too big of) an idiot in front of Josh.
Then we found out kind of last minute that the plane has been out for maintenance all week and we couldn’t go. Womp womp. That was a bummer. It was perfect flying weather too. Sigh! That meant we had time for something else on Saturday though (more on that below).
For real though
Just wanted to share this rock I painted Friday night. Steven suggested I NOT hide it in case a child finds it. Good thinking, Steven. I will be looking for a home for it.
Learning to leaf blow
Since we were going to be home Saturday, that meant we had time to leaf blow. Steven asked for a second leaf blower last year so I could assist, because we have a ton of trees and an acre of grass and it takes him forever by himself!
It was really windy here last week and a lot of the leaves fell. We had huge piles all over (this photo is part of our front yard).
After 2+ hours, we had the whole yard cleaned up! Leaf blowing is fun, but I sure was pooped out after.
Pack Expo
On Sunday we went to Chicago for Pack Expo – a huge expo at McCormick Place for machines that package things, and packaging itself. We were there to see what was new, but also look at machines that package powders.
it was huge. There were 5 halls of vendors. We walked about 11K steps. I forgot how everyone wants to talk and sell to you at expos like this. We just wanted to look and not be talked to and joked about ways to communicate that.
After we left we went to Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat, and really enjoyed it! There was no place to sit so we ate in the car. It was giving 2020.
It was another long day – it took an hour and a half to get there and back because of traffic. I was glad for the extra hour. But still pooped when we got home.
This part of the post is really random but I have to share that we watched Single White Female Sunday night. Have you seen this film? What the AF. It was pretty good until it wasn’t – the ending goes off the rails. And FYI the dog dies. I’m really good at seeing an animal, saying “does this animal die?,” then looking it up, then looking right at the screen when it shows the dead body, then getting upset. Go, me. Like, I am RARELY looking at the screen cause I am painting while we “watch” something, so how do I always look up at the bad spots UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Holiday card outtakes
Every year I try to get a photo of the cats together for the front of the holiday card. It involves bribing them with a food tube and usually happens on the stairs – not the best setting, but that’s where they want to go and I’m just grateful to get them all in one shot.
We took the photo this Saturday, and I only had to do a bit of editing. Original:
Final:
Yes, we gave Ned a derpier face.
And now, for the outtakes. Since they are eating a food tube, we get a lot of funny shots!
Ha, such little goobers.
And now for an important question. We were struggling to find a template to use for our holiday card because most of the images are vertical. We finally found one, then I realized we used it in 2020 (with less images on the front). Think anyone will notice?! I think not.
A few little stories
I have so many little stories I keep meaning to write down. Let’s just get them all out!
Are you moody or just tired?
Well, the title gives it away, but the trainer jokingly asked me that at the gym Monday morning and I was like “Yeah, valid question. I’m just tired.” I’m not sure I’m fully awake until I leave the gym, most days.
(And I was ill or something that day. I got horrible cramps in the morning and took the afternoon off and SLEPT THREE HOURS then NINE MORE that night. I was tired!)
So that’s why I was never sore…
I’ve come to realize I use my back for basically everything I do at the gym and that’s why I’m only ever sore when we do chest presses. I just haven’t figured out a way to use my back to do them.
All joking aside, I’m relearning how to lift, which means going really light, and pretty slow. It’s getting better, and kind of nuts how different certain moves feel WHEN YOU’RE DOING THEM CORRECTLY. And yes, I used to be a certified personal trainer (many years ago). Eek.
I’m an artist, respect my craft
^What I wish I had jokingly said
When we voted last Friday I was STRUGGLING to get my signature to match the one I used 4 years ago. After about 6 tries, they accepted it. It was hard to use the stylus and screen at the angle they had it, and my signature isn’t always the same. When I told this story to Val and Tiff in Marco I said I should have said “I’m an artist, respect my craft! My signature has changed since 4 years ago!” Ha.
That’s a woman’s job
When we were in Arkansas, Steven was on his phone looking for our new friend Kevin‘s last name*. I (kind of jokingly but not really) told him “that’s a woman’s job – we can find ANYONE on the internet!” Then I went on with whatever I was doing.
The next morning I asked if he ever found Kevin, and he told me no (he hadn’t really looked that far into it), and I was like, let me see if I can find him, and FOLKS! I found him after ONE google search. ONE!!!!!!!!! I was pretty impressed with myself. Pro stalker level over here.
*The funny thing is when he introduced himself he actually said his last name but neither of us heard it! And it made me think about how I usually just introduce myself with my first name. Hmm.
It’s that time of year!
Time to start thinking about holiday gifts! The older I get the less stuff I want and the stuff I do want is sometimes pricey. When I’m making a holiday or birthday wishlist, what I generally do is just stop buying things I want/need for a couple months before and put them on the list instead.
Anyway. What’s a nice way to say “can we not do gifts?” Not because I’m cheap, but because I don’t want anything (I’m happy to buy something for someone else)! Unless it’s a plane. We are looking at Cessna 310s but if you are buying it for me I’d be happy with a 172 or 182. Or a Diamond DA40. Can you throw in the hangar too? Thanks!
Random Thoughts Thursday 471
- Happy Halloween! In case you’re like me and are well aware today is Halloween, but are generally confused about what month it is, I’d like to remind you tomorrow is November 1 and DST ends on Sunday. I know. Nutso. Time flies when you’re having fun.
- It’s been two weeks and Penny is still obsessed with the cat house. Even though it’s been hot some days (yesterday it was in the low 80s), she’s still hanging out in there, even going up to the mezzanine level! I’m glad she’s getting used to it, with winter on the way (and that she’s moving farther into it, so Snow Jr can come in as well). Good job Pennifer.
- I really wanted to do book club at the gym last month but it was a Colleen Hoover book, so it was a hard pass. I told myself I’d do the next one, no matter the book, and it’s a kind of self help book that I started yesterday and UGH, it’s just NOT for me. So much repetitive fluff! But folks on GoodReads said there is useful information at the end so I will stick it out.
- Have I mentioned I host a lunch break movie club at work? It’s like a book club, only we watch a movie on our own, then discuss it. It started out in my branch, but now it includes folks from all over the company. Yesterday we had our 16th meeting and chatted about The Shining. Here are the movies we’ve reviewed and next month’s:
- I’m in a phase right now where most (social, but a little of work too) digital communication feels overwhelming. And by phase I mean I have felt this way for most of the year and don’t see it changing. It’s me, not the people contacting me.
- I always forget nautical miles (which is how airplane mileage is measured) are 1.151x road miles. So when we have a headwind and it shows 90 kn, it’s 103.6 road mph.
- We’re not anywhere close to buying a plane but I have a tail number in mind! And it’s available! The last time it was used was Nov 2007 and tracking shows it “landing” on an island somewhere well off the coast of Portugal. Steven doesn’t really care for it, but this is just an imagination game, so it’s all good.
Pumpkin carving and other shenanigans
Gosh, I don’t remember the last time we carved a pumpkin before this weekend.
And I didn’t carve it! Steven did! I drew it for him though.
My mom asked if we could come to town for the family holiday photo, and my snis had already invited us to her pumpkin carving party, so this weekend made sense. Plus, it was my brother and aunt’s birthdays!
We drove in Friday, and hung out and had pizza with the fam (I was approached AGAIN in a pizza parking lot for a ride – it must be something about driving Steven’s car). There were games and a dance party after dinner.
On Saturday we went to the Farmers Market, got donuts,
hung out, (I) painted, did the family photo,
hung out at the park (and drove RC cars), had dinner together, carved pumpkins, then went out to a bar (all the siblings).
I hang out with people to chat with them, so I really struggle in loud bars. I couldn’t hear much. Still fun though.
On Sunday I painted a bit again (the kids did crafts) then snis and I got Starbucks, we all ate breakfast, and we drove home. Short but good trip!
(We would have loved to fly there but it’s a big ask to reserve a plane for the whole weekend and since we just had two weekends ago we didn’t want to ask again.)
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! 🙂
