First flight of 2025!
Our first flight of the year is in the books! (Okay, not technically – Steven hasn’t put it in his log book yet ha ha pilot humor)
And we had a new passenger – Troy!
Since it was so cold out (10F when we left, 15F when we got back a few hours later), we got to preflight in the hangar, woo hoo!
We booked the plane early (6:30-10:30) to give ourselves enough time to fly, borrow the club car, get breakfast, and come back on time. We flew to the same place we took Dad – Watertown, WI – and went to the same restaurant.
We had beautiful clear skies for flying. We encountered no other traffic (visually or on radio) on the way in, probably because it was so early. I’m glad it was so quiet – the plane WiFi was not working (but did on the way back) so I didn’t have any live info on ForeFlight to see traffic there. Good practice for me not to use it!
The quiet radios gave us the perfect chance to chat without worrying about missing anything. Plus, the flight there was longer than the return, giving us even more time to talk.
Anyway.
We landed right before 8:00, got the club car right away (I had called to request it the day before) and were sitting down with hot drinks by 8:20. More chatting and eating, then we drove back a little after 9:00 to preflight and fly back.
At breakfast Troy asked us about scheduling the plane and if it’s annoying to have it back at a certain time. I said it’s definitely taught us to be more flexible and Steven immediately said “but it’s still annoying.” Ha. It will be nice when we have our own plane and don’t have to watch the clock as much for that reason.
Our flight back was faster – we had an almost 30 mph tailwind and hit a ground speed of 139 kn (160 mph).
There was a lot more going on on the radios on the way back, and I was glad the WiFi was working again so I could reference ForeFlight from time to time.
And we landed and that was that!
Okay that was not ALL of the flight. I left out a lot of details to try to make this short (and to not embarrass ourselves).
We love taking passengers up with us and we’re so glad Troy worked it into his busy day of watching his son play like a million basketball games. Sharing this passion is one of my favorite things – pointing out landmarks, explaining the process, and watching people’s reactions to seeing Steven fly and realizing just how skilled he is. And it’s always a bonus when they tell us we make a great team (thanks for that, Troy!!!!).
Random Thoughts Thursday 480
- I meant to share the front of our holiday card last RTT and forgot! Here it is (I shared the back here)! Happy New Year!
- I’m doing a Crucial Conversations training at work this week and it’s resonating with me so much that I dreamt about it last night.
- Steven really likes highland cow artwork and we picked some out for him to put up at his office and at home on Monday. I couldn’t believe how many there were to choose from!
- I decided to make all of my YouTube videos private this weekend, and during the process, I saw that Steven did a discovery flight (the first flight you do in private pilot training) in 2012. I had forgotten about this, so yay for this blog serving its purpose of documenting my life. A few comments:
- At the end of the post I wrote “We did not sign up for additional lessons for Steven (yet?), but would like to someday! It would be awesome to fly to Guttenberg, IA, in the summers, to see my family!” It’s very rewarding to see that and know we can do that now (12 years later).
- This comment on the post cracked me up “Kim, as a private pilot with and instrument rating, I highly recommend running as fast as you can away from flying lessons. It is a really fast way to blow a lot of money and accomplish nothing. A flight here and there is fun, but getting a licence is not all it’s cracked up to be. Email me back or ask Pete how great (not) it is. Sorry to be a downer, but I’m sure you would like honesty.” I wonder what that was all about, especially the accomplishing nothing comment. Was their training not going well? Was it not the right time in their life to pay for lessons with other financial responsibilities? Was this person not realistic or knowledgeable about the amount of time it would take and how much it would cost? So many questions. Yet I don’t remember who they are (I do know the Pete they referenced though).
- Steven has flown a low wing plane. And I’ve ridden in one. Huh. Sometimes we look at buying a low wing (vs the high wing style we fly now) and I’m always thinking “I wonder what that’s like” Apparently some part of our brain knows.
My one 2024 goal
As I was commenting on Stephany’s blog this morning recapping her 2024 goals and writing “Goals/resolutions are not for me, but I like reading about other people’s!” I remembered, hey, I did set ONE goal for 2024!
My goal was to stop rushing around so much – no more stacking appointments back-to-back, wearing myself out, and ending up super cranky because of it. I had a bad habit of cramming ALL THE THINGS into one day, thinking I’d be able to relax that evening or the next day, but it never quite worked out that way.
I didn’t turn it into a SMART goal, but I still achieved it over the year by practicing being lazy and putting things off. I started the year still stuck on the idea of trying to reach a “clean slate” to-do list – which is impossible. I had to reteach myself that my world won’t end if I push something off to another day. I had to trust myself to know what my family’s and my own priorities are, and let the rest wait.
In essence, I had to embrace a less structured, more flexible life. For example, no more rigid Sunday morning workouts – now I just wake up, relax, and work out later if I feel like it. Simple changes like that made a big difference.
It’s much better now and more apparent when I’m slipping back into the old habit. The week before Christmas, I had my annual vascular appointment and realized it was on the same day as my manicure, in two different towns. Since it’s hard to reschedule the vascular appointment (and I tried with the mani but Lorena was off the next day), I kept both and filled the in-between time with other to-dos even though I knew it would completely drain me. And I was right. Just the reminder I needed to avoid that in the future!
I also mentioned a few weeks ago that my snister picked out three words for me for 2024 – calm, adventure, and healing.
That just shows how much my snis knows me, because those were big focuses for me this year.
Calm – everything I mentioned above about being less structured and actually relaxing. It’s a work in progress but much better than 2023!
Adventure – so much adventure! Lots of fun travel – Europe, Colorado a few times (1, 2, 3a, 3b, 3c), trips to Iowa, I went to Seattle, etc. We went on at least 13 flying trips. We had adventures at home with our visitors (Stephany, my parents). I ran that marathon. And other things I am too lazy to look up.
Healing – Physically, I got to a much better place with keeping my blood thinners at therapeutic levels (meaning I go in less to have my blood checked!). And mentally, I did a lot of work on my relationship with food.
On to 2025! Happy New Year!
4 for 2024: Favorite Painted Rocks
Ahh, rock painting. A hobby I accidentally fell into thanks to a little nudge from my snister, and it’s completely transformed my life because of the amazing people it’s brought into it. Nearly all the friends we met up with in Europe last April were rock painting friends, and that’s how I met Tiff & Val as well. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s make this rock painting history quick (???).
During the pandemic, I kept stumbling across painted rocks – and so did my mom and snis, who were painting their own and hiding them. Snis kept encouraging me to give it a shot, but I was like, “Nah, I’m not artistic.”
Then I discovered paint pens and have been painting (and hiding) rocks since the end of November 2020. And guess what? I am artistic!
Snis was also like, “you should start a rock instagram.” I was like, “hmm, should I?” then “why the hell not.” I started “Kim Hides the Rocks” December 27, 2020 and I still post almost daily. These days, I schedule my posts through Meta and don’t spend as much time on the app itself. I used to spend a lot of time on Instagram (thanks, pandemic), and through it, I’ve met some incredible people from all over the world, as mentioned. I’m so grateful for it.
And that’s my story! Oh! And what is the point of painting and hiding rocks? The idea is to spread positivity and brighten someone’s day with a simple, encouraging message or design. It’s a fun way to connect with others through small acts of kindness. All my rocks have a sticker on the back that says “You found me! Let me know, then keep or rehide!” with my social handles.
Well, now that we have that long arse intro, here are my top 4 favorite rocks I posted this year! It is VERY difficult to pick only 4! So I am going to cheat and do a few categories. It’s my blog, I make the rules!
4 Favorite Cat Rocks
1️⃣ Cat sleeping on a pile of love letters
This one is significant because I actually designed it myself and kept it. Those two things rarely happen. (If you click through on the links on these, I credit where I found the design – EDITED TO ADD – the titles are all links to the original post)
2️⃣ Pusheen and her mom, Sunflower
3️⃣ Super Cat
4️⃣ Chaotic Christmas Cat
4 Favorite Personalized Rocks
1️⃣ A Cessna 172 to commemorate Steven getting his private pilot license
The funny part is, I tried to be prepared and painted this long before Steven got his actual license – he had to wait to do his final oral exam and checkride. So it just sat there painted and ready to go and I hoped me painting it early didn’t jinx him or something (it didn’t!).
2️⃣ An Mario Bros. themed Ella rock for our niece’s second birthday
I made these for her brothers the year before (see them here) and had to make one for her!
3️⃣ Lila & Eloise
I mean, obvs. Stephany‘s cats are so cute! I gave this to her when she came for our Ameowzing Popcast Weekend.
4️⃣ RIP My Appendix
There is a very funny inside story about me painting this to surprise someone who had an appendectomy, then asking them to tell me which of the rocks I’d painted so far was their favorite and them not even noticing it and picking Super Cat above. You had to be there, but trust me, we were dying laughing.
4 Favorite Rocks with Words
1️⃣ Grow through what you go through
2️⃣ Duck around and find out
I mean, come on! I held on to this one for a loooooong time. Our nephew William chose it last week when I pawned my rocks off on everyone. My heart is happy it’s with family. Ha.
3️⃣ You happy up the world
4️⃣ Chaos Racoon
4 Rocks That Made Me Feel Talented
1️⃣ I’m fast as f*ck boiiiiiiiiiiiii!
2️⃣ Bluebells
3️⃣ Explore More
4️⃣ Don’t stress meowt
Most Liked Rock of the Year (by Instagram likes)
Well that took forever to find! But it was this kawaii windmill that I hid by a windmill in The Netherlands!
4 for 2024: Flying Lessons Learned
4 for 2024 continues!
1️⃣ All flights deserve the same amount of planning
During our October Missouri/Arkansas trip, we encountered two situations where the airports we landed at didn’t have fuel when we needed it. With so many airports around, it seems like it should be easy to just hop over to one for a quick fuel stop, right? However, because the airports were so close together, we didn’t have enough time in the air to properly discuss crucial details like pattern altitude, pattern entry, weather, and more. We should have reviewed these aspects more thoroughly on the ground before taking off, even though it was only a 10-minute flight.
[Original posts: fuel stop 1, fuel stop 2]
2️⃣ Don’t trust skydivers
We’ve flown to two active skydiving airports, and our first visit went much more smoothly than the second. On the second trip, Steven was diligent in speaking with the skydiving facility owner to confirm it was okay for him to take off, and he also checked with the other pilot on the radio (the one who had dropped off the skydivers), who assured him there would be at least 5 minutes before the skydivers landed. So we took off, but shortly after becoming airborne, I spotted a skydiver spiraling down fast in 360s, and Steven had to turn at a much lower altitude than he would have liked to give the skydiver ample space. Despite all the communication with the owner and the other pilot, the unpredictability of skydivers once they’re in the air became clear. It’s better to wait until they’re on the ground before taking off or landing.
[Original posts: successful skydiving encounter, scary skydiving encounter]
3️⃣ Finding a “new-to-you” airport is a lot harder than you’d think
Small airports are surprisingly tricky to spot from the sky. They don’t take up much space, and are sometimes tucked between things or right on the edge of something, making it challenging to locate them from 10 or even 5 miles out. This year’s award for the hardest-to-find airport goes to 58C – a tiny grass strip in a field!
I really want to get better at this in 2025. A good starting point will be studying satellite images and familiarizing myself with the surrounding landmarks. That way, if I can’t spot the airport right away, I’ll have reliable reference points to guide me.
[Original post here]
4️⃣ Don’t rely on ForeFlight
This is a special lesson, just for Kim, which I apparently need to learn quite a few times before it sticks. The lesson is USE YOUR FREAKING EYES TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS KIM, AND JUST USE FOREFLIGHT FOR REFERENCE AND WHEN ASKED. The examples are too embarrassing for me to share here, but let’s just say I’ve said some dumb stuff because of something I saw on ForeFlight. I’ve gotten a little better with it as I’ve learned the app and flown more. I know what is important to share with Steven (airport elevation, radio frequencies, weather, pattern altitude, runway numbers, other planes nearby close to our altitude) and what isn’t. But the truth is I have a lot of improving to do. Good thing I’m not the pilot in command MUAH HA HA.
Honorable Mention: We need to meal plan better on long flights!
Christmas 2024 Highlights
Some highlights from our trip to Iowa for Christmas! (We were there Christmas Eve evening through the morning December 26th – short trip!)
Christmas Eve
- Obviously, being with all my family!
- Crunchwraps for dinner being a huge hit
- The sweatshirt our nephew William gave me
- The holiday photos book my snis made us. She had every family photo we’ve done from the last 40 years printed into a book and gave us all one!
- Pawning my painted rocks off on everyone
- Playing Kahoot trivia with the family (really getting into inside joke territory but I have to share because this made me laugh – on the first round my brother Nick put his name as “Steven” so Steven wrote “the real Steven” and on the second round Steven wrote his name as “Nick but smarter” but the game cut off the r and it was just “Nick but smarte” and gosh, that really made us giggle. For the record, I had had one alcoholic beverage and everything seemed quite funny.)
- My hair looking so cute. Ha!
Christmas Day
- Sleeping in past 6:30
- My snister’s kids showing me all the cool gifts they got
- Eating sugary treats all day long
- Steven surprising me with a necklace (even though this was a “no gift Christmas” between us!)
- Me insisting to my dad that he let me carry the presents up the stairs since his knee was bugging him, him telling me they were heavy, then me telling him “I bench pressed 2 45s this week” and him hearing I “benched 245.” Ha. No. Not quite. I’m maybe at 135?
- Seeing everyone open their gifts – we were especially excited for my dad to open his AC/DC tickets, and for my mom to open the custom puzzle we had made for her
- Eating the vegan lasagna Steven made. I had a whole rant written about running out of meat lasagna and it looking like we were trying to get people to eat our vegan one since that is what was left but I will keep that to myself.
- Playing games and building legos with William
- Edited to add: When William said “Aunt Kim! Aunt Kim! Guess what I figured out? Your cats are like your kids!” Ha ha ha.
- Laughing like crazy with Snis, Mom, Dad, & Steven about I can’t even remember what! All I remember is that we had ribbon candy in our mouth and it made laughing even funnier!
Dec 26
- Building a Mini Blocks set with William
- Visiting the new cafe attached to the bookstore in town
- Playing “the floor is lava” with Ella
- Making it home after driving home with 1/4-1/2 mile visibility due to fog for the entire 4 hour 45 min drive. Ugh! We had reserved the plane for these three days and we may have made it there Tuesday but we knew we would not make it back due to that fog! And we were right.
- Giving the cats their Christmas gifts (from my snis and their sitter)!
Reading Update (2024 #82-84)
[82] The Housemaid’s Wedding by Freida McFadden
Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, loan from Sandra, paperback
Synopsis: Set between books two and three of The Housemaid series, this short story follows Millie on her wedding day.
Review: I had no idea this short story even existed until my gym friend Sandra loaned me her copy. Unfortunately, it was bad. Completely unnecessary. Nothing really happens, and the prologue doesn’t even make sense (like… did it actually happen or was it a dream sequence?). It was one of those books where as soon as I finished I immediately went to Goodreads to see if others disliked it as much as I did.
Recommend? No
[83] Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, rec from Tiff, Snis, & Val, audio
Synopsis: When Eve discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand, her carefully predictable life is thrown into upheaval. Her once-rock-solid friendship with her best friend Willa grows strained, while Willa’s dependable older brother Shep steps in to support her in ways she didn’t anticipate. As Eve navigates the complexities of her relationships – including with the conflicted baby’s father – she begins to question whether she’s been holding herself back from the life she truly wants.
Review: Stephany’s Goodreads review summed it up perfectly: “This book was a goddamn delight.” The audiobook was fantastic, and despite my usual reservations about friends-to-lovers stories (as mentioned in my last post), I absolutely loved this one. Watching the lovable characters fall in love without any unnecessary dark moments was so satisfying. I didn’t think I’d care much for the plot, but it completely won me over. This was such a feel-good read!
Recommend? Big YES!
[83] The Housemaid is Watching (The Housemaid #3) by Freida McFadden
Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, loan from Sandra, paperback
Synopsis: Millie moves her family into the dream home they can barely afford, determined to leave her troubled past behind. But her new neighbors are far from welcoming. One is overly nosy and judgy, while another seems suspiciously interested in Millie’s husband – despite having one of her own. As Millie struggles to settle in, she keeps feeling that something in the neighborhood just isn’t right.
Review: These books must have something going for them if I read all three, right? And they do – they’re entertaining, addictive pageturners, whose super simple writing makes it easy to read longer than you intended. But by the end of the series, I was completely over the author’s writing style, Millie’s personality, and the over-the-top twists.
Recommend? I mean, I read all three, so sure?
Random Thoughts Thursday 479
I forgot I had this post drafted! I started editing it as a recap of Christmas in bullet point form but yeah, that was getting long and obnoxious. I’ll write a full recap if I feel like it!
- We just got back from seeing my family in Iowa for Christmas! It was a fun trip with lots of good food, laughs, and opening gifts. I love watching everyone open gifts, and was super excited to see my dad’s reaction when he opened the AC/DC concert tickets I got for him and me. And I adore this custom stationery my snis made me of our cats!
- Ha, before Christmas my snis and I each bought something for ourselves from the other’s wishlist – she bought a silk bonnet from mine and I bought lip gloss from hers (and we got them for each other as well).
- While we were out with Jen and Troy last weekend, we talked about my FAFO post. They mentioned they had to look up what it meant – ‘f*ck around and find out.’ They said their search showed it originates from the military and conveys a ‘come at me’ or ‘try me’ attitude, and they were kind of surprised that was my MO. I explained that is NOT how I interpret it, and for me it’s literally ‘don’t plan and see what happens’ or ‘play stupid games win stupid prizes.’ Ha. It doesn’t involve anyone else.
- A small town magazine asked for permission to use a photo of mine saying they would give me photo credit in in the article. I said yes and sent it, and… they did not credit me. It completely does NOT matter, but part of me is annoyed and thinking about saying something to them.
Happy Birthday Steven!
We had a lot of fun celebrating Steven’s birthday this weekend!
On Saturday night we went to HuHot and Cold Stone Creamery with Jen and Troy. It’s always so fun to catch up with them!
On Sunday (his birthday) we started the day with presents, then we flew to Janesville, WI for brunch, then we made homemade döner kebabs for dinner.
We’ve been craving vegan döner ever since having it in Germany in April. I’ve tried an American version in Seattle, and we both tried it in Chicago, and both were meh, so Steven decided to make it at home.
First he had to figure out the bread – I won’t get into the technicality of it but it’s a special thick but not dense bread. Something about the water/bread ratio? Who knows. I’m horrible in the kitchen (but will enthusiastically try whatever he makes me!).
Steven researched and combined two recipes and pretty much nailed it after three tries:
He also made homemade seitan, and we got a ton of ingredients (the crappy part of his birthday – grocery shopping) to make all the toppings (all vegan) – garlic sauce, hot sauce, sweet onion with some special spice, shredded lettuce, shredded red cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
They were delish and the closest to the real thing we’ve had! Obviously we need to go back to Germany (maybe Berlin?) to have more, but this is a good substitute until that happens.
This is such a perfect example of who Steven is – he sees a challenge, figures it out, and makes it happen. Like tackling this complicated bread so we could have homemade doner kebab! He’s like that in every arena of his life. Every day I feel lucky I have a partner who’s always up for a challenge and makes things happen.
And now for the sappy part (ha, no, that last paragraph was not it!)! This has been an incredible year for Steven, and while he’s too humble to brag, I’m not! He got his pilot’s license, grew his small business in amazing ways, and still balanced it all with taking a few trips and making time for us. I’m always proud of him and in awe of everything he accomplishes.
Happy Birthday, Steven!
Ha, did you think I was not going to share a few details from our flight? THINK AGAIN!
First of all, how lucky are we that the weather was nice enough on December 22nd to fly?! Woo hoo!
It was cold though, and things operate a bit differently when it’s cold.
But first I am going to detour from THAT thought so say things were also operating differently because the school moved kind of back to their old location and was on a different side of the airport. Which we only knew because Steven called the day before to add an hour to our flight. He specifically asked what to do and how to get the plane and got the response of “someone will be there.” Let’s just say it took us a while to find that someone. It’s a good thing we added that extra time!
Okay, back to business.
Once we got to the plane I was excited to discover we got to do preflight in the heated hangar!!! Since it’s so cold out, all the planes stay inside unless they are being used. It was my first time experiencing this and me likey. If the plane had been outside, we would have done some of the typical engine off preflight checklist later (flaps and lights) after the plane had warmed up AND I WAS SO READY TO REMIND STEVEN OF THIS AND PRETTY PROUD OF MYSELF FOR REMEMBERING but I didn’t need to. I’d say “next time” but it was lovely to preflight in the hangar so I’m good if I never get to do that reminder.
I also learned while cleaning the window to always clean in the direction of the wind, not in circles. If you clean in circles and the window gets scratched, the way light refracts makes the scratches more noticeable than if you clean with the wind in straight lines. Good to know!
So our plan was to fly to Janesville and have brunch at Bessie’s Diner, an on airport restaurant. I knew they didn’t have any vegan options spelled out, but figured I’d order hashbrowns or toast or something.
The clouds were high and it was a beautiful moody day:
It was my first time seeing patches of snow on a flight!
Our flight there was uneventful. We did have someone on our same path headed straight for us out of Janesville, but everyone followed the rules – we both went to the right and they maintained their lower altitude and we stayed at our higher one. I love it when everyone behaves.
I was very proud of myself when Steven was getting into the pattern at Janesville and asked me what his final (final is the last part of the pattern before landing) altitude was and I told him “13” without missing a beat. I AM TRYING SO HARD TO BE A GOOD UNOFFICIAL COPILOT.
Anyway.
It took us a bit to figure out HOW to get to the restaurant, cause we are us, but then we got in, and…
Santa was there and they had a fixed buffet menu! So Steven ate and I didn’t want to pay $25 for potatoes and fruit so I just chatted with him knowing I would eat my fig bar back in the plane (yes this bit me in butt later and I had a meltdown after grocery shopping that I tried to keep to myself since it was Steven’s birthday and he already deals with me melting down over something every day).
It was a cute little restaurant and I was excited to check out someplace new!
I talked to Santa and told him what I wanted for Christmas. For a sign claiming he “flew in there” he did not seem amused when I told him I wanted a plane. No matter. Ha.
So was it the stopping to talk to Santa or Steven talking to another pilot on the ramp that made us run a bit later for our 12:30 return? We’ll never know but thankfully we had a tailwind, and Steven came in hot at Waukegan and we were on the ramp just a few minutes late! And no one was waiting for us, so alllllll good. I can’t wait for our next flight!
4 for 2024: Manis
Really reaching, right? Ha! But here are my four fave manicures from the year!
I’ve been going to my wonderful nail tech, Lorena, since 2018, and we’ve become good friends over the years. She’s actually the friend I see in person the most – we spend two hours together every other week, chatting the entire time. She even goes to my gym! Lorena is amazing.
Anyway, Lorena did all these manis!
1️⃣ Alternating Hearts
2️⃣ Pink Textured Flowers
3️⃣ Purple Leopard
4️⃣ Pink Holiday
Honorable Mention:
Okay, I love the one I just got. In case you didn’t see it in Friday’s post!
And this is the one I got the most compliments on. Oddly, it’s always the simple ones that get the most compliments!
Having my fingernails painted brings me a lot of joy (and keeps me from chewing them and picking at my cuticles). I’m grateful it’s something I can afford and fit into my schedule.
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! 🙂
